almost forgot the very presence of her dying victim. Occasionally
indeed, he glanced at the agonized creature where he lay huddled
on the ground in the convulsive throes of his dreadful death-
struggle,--but it was now with precisely the same quiet and
disdainful smile as that for which he had momentarily hated Sah-
luma! There was a sound of singing somewhere,--singing that had a
mirthful under-throbbing in it, as though a thousand light-footed
fairies were dancing to its sweet refrain! And Nir-jalis heard it!
... dying inch by inch as he was, he heard it, and with a
last superhuman effort forced himself up once more to his feet,
... his arms stiffly outstretched, . . his anguished eyes full of a
softened, strangely piteous glory.

"To die!" he whispered in awed accents that penetrated the air
with singular clearness--"To die! ... nay...not so! ... There is
no death! ... I see it all! ... I know! ... .To die is to live!
... to live again.. and to remember...to remember,--and repent, . .
the past!"

And with the last word he fell heavily, face forward, a corpse. At
the same moment a terrific roar resounded through the dome, and
the tigress Aizif sprang stealthily down from the dais, and
pounced upon the warm, lifeless body, mounting guard over it in an
ominously significant attitude, with glistening eyes, lashing tail
and nervously quivering claws. A slight thrill of horror ran
through the company, but not a man moved.

"Aizif!--Aizif!" called Lysia imperiously.

The animal looked round with an angry snarl, and seemed for once