Death gleaming eyes, stern hands to grasp and tear
Life from beseeching life, till all the heavens
Strike havoc to the terror-trembling stars"...

when the two small, black pages lately dispatched in such haste by
Sah-luma returned, each one bearing a huge gilded bowl filled with
rose water, together with fine cloths, lace-fringed, and soft as
satin.

Kneeling humbly down, one before Theos, the other before Sah-luma,
they lifted these great, shining bowls on their heads, and
remained motionless. Sah-luma dipped his face and hands in the
cool, fragrant fluid,--Theos followed his example,--and when these
light ablutions were completed, the pages disappeared, coming back
almost immediately with baskets of loose rose-leaves, white and
red, which they scattered profusely about the room. A delightful
odor subtly sweet, and yet not faint, began to freshen the already
perfumed air,--and Sah-luma, flinging himself again on his couch,
motioned Theos to take a similar resting-place opposite.

He at once obeyed, yielding anew to the sense of indolent luxury
and voluptuous ease his surroundings engendered,--and presently
the aroma of rising incense mingled itself with the scent of the
strewn rose-petals,--the pages had replenished the incense-burner,
and now, these duties done so far, they brought each a broad, long
stalked palm-leaf, and placing themselves in proper position,
began to fan the two young men slowly and with measured
gentleness, standing as mute as little black statues, the only
movement about them being the occasional rolling of their white
eyeballs and the swaying to and fro of their shiny arms as they