Angels and Women (1924)

GREATER CHANGE 99
Instantly my thought reverted to the
group I had seen upon the mountainside:
the timber was for the building of Tebah;
the patriarch was my father’s brother, the
resemblance was not accidental; the sons
were my cousins; and the beautiful youth
whose gaze had, I fear, found in my eyes a
too responsive answer, was the youngest son,
he of whom the woman spoke. Why did I
tremble lest I was in error? Ignorant of my
interest in the family, she changed the subject,
and with languid indifference said:
"And are you not the daughter of the new
queen? She is surpassingly beautiful, according
to report, though mature, and may
not hold sway longer than did the last
favorite."
"When did--the queen die ?" I inquired.
"I know not if she be dead; ’tis but a
moon’s quarter since she drank the amaranthine
cup, and was placed in the crypt of
Nirvana. It is said that Lord Satanas can
recall those whom he places there, but I have