Verily, if the wonders he had already seen and heard could be possible in the nineteenth century of progress and enlightenment, nothing was impossible. Dianthe was gone. The world outside held nothing dear to one who had always lived much within himself. The Queen was loving, beautiful—why not accept this pleasant destiny which held its alluring arms so seductively towards him? A sudden moisture filled his eyes; a curious vague softness and tenderness stole over him. Turning abruptly toward his hostess, he held out his own swimming goblet:
“Drink we a loving cup together, oh Queen Candace!” he said in a voice that trembled with earnestness. “I pledge my faith in return for thine!”
The Queen returned his ardent gaze with one of bright surprise and joyous happiness, and bending her head, drank a deep draught of the proffered wine.
“Almost thou lovest me, Ergamenes. May the Eternal Trinity hold fast our bonds!” With a graceful salute she returned the goblet. Reuel drank off in haste what remained within it.
“Behold! I have prepared against this happy hour,” continued the Queen, and going to an inlaid cabinet at one side of the room, she took from it a curious ring of dull gold, bearing one priceless gem cut in the form of a lotus lily. “Hold forth thy hand,” she said, and on his finger placed the ring.
“Thus do I claim thee for all eternity.”
The Sages had watched the actors in this life-drama with jealous eyes that noted every detail with open satisfaction. At Queen Candace’s last words, Ai extended his arms with the solemn words:
“And now it is done and never can be undone or altered. Let us hence, that the union may be speedily accomplished.”
XVII
In a month the marriage was to be celebrated with great pomp and rejoicing. Preparations began as soon as the interview between the Queen and the prospective King was over.
After his return from this betrothal, the power of second sight which seemed to have left Reuel for a time, returned in full force. Restlessness was upon him; Dianthe’s voice seemed ever calling to him through space. Finally, when his feelings became insupportable, he broached the subject to Ai.
The latter regarded his questioner gravely. “Of a truth thou art a legitimate son of Ethiopia. Thou growest the fruits of wisdom. Descendant of the wise Chaldeans, still powerful to a degree undreamed of by the pygmies of this puny age, you look incredulous, but what I tell you is the solemn truth.”
“The Chaldeans disappeared from this world centuries ago,” declared Reuel.
“Not all—in me you behold their present head; within this city and the outer world, we still number thousands.”
Reuel uttered an exclamation of incredulous amazement. “Not possible!”
Silently Ai went to his cabinet and took down a small, square volume which he placed in Reuel’s hand. “It is a record of the wisdom and science of your ancestors.”
Reuel turned it over carefully—the ivory pages were covered with characters sharply defined and finely engraved.
“What language is this? It is not Hebrew, Greek nor Sanskrit, nor any form of hieroglyphic writing.”
“It is the language once commonly spoken by your ancestors long before Babylon was builded. It is known to us now as the language of prophecy.”
Reuel glanced at the speaker’s regal form with admiration and reverence.
“Teach me what thou knowest, Ai,” he said humbly, “for, indeed, thou art a wonderful man.”
“Gladly,” replied Ai, placing his hand in loving tenderness upon the bowed head of the younger man. “Our destiny was foreordained from the beginning to work together for the upbuilding of humanity and the restoration of the race of our fathers. This little book shall teach your soul all that you long to know, and now grasp but vaguely. You believe in the Soul?”
“Most assuredly!”
“As a Personality that continues to live after the body perishes?”
“Certainly.”
“And that Personality begins to exert its power over our lives as soon as we begin its cultivation. Death is not necessary to its manifestation upon our lives. There are always angels near! To us who are so blessed and singled out by the Trinity there is a sense of the supernatural always near us—others whom we cannot see, but whose influence is strong upon us in all the affairs of life. Man only proves his ignorance if he denies this fact. Some in the country from which you come contend that the foundations of Christianity are absurd and preposterous, but all the prophecies of the Trinity shall in time be fulfilled. They are working out today by the forces of air, light, wind—the common things of daily life that pass unnoticed. Ethiopia, too, is stretching forth her hand unto God, and He will fulfill her destiny. The tide of immigration shall set in the early days of the twentieth century, toward Africa’s shores, so long bound in the chains of barbarism and idolatry.”
Reuel listened entranced, scarce breathing.
“I was warned of your coming long before the knowledge was yours. The day you left your home for New York, I sat within my secret chamber, and all was revealed to me.”
“Ay, Ai,” Reuel answered, feebly. “But how?”
“You believe that we can hold communion with the living though seas divide and distance is infinite, and our friends who have passed to the future life of
