Angels and Women (1924)

ll0 ANGELS AND WOMEN
casket of exceeding beauty sealed with the
signet of Hesperus.
After they had retired, I laid aside the
royal gifts, enwrapped myself in a veil of the
finest linen, transparent and white as the
marvelous flower that never sees the sun, and
thus awaited the signal of illumination.
JAPHETH
We entered the crystal court amid a blaze
of light, with sounds of ravishing music and
acclamations of the throng. A band of Darvands
escorted us to a high dais in the center
of the court, where Satanas with royal majesty
awaited the queen; and as she, in robes
of more than earthly splendor, took her seat
by his side, a tempest of applause from the
spectators fairly shook the lofty building. I
was placed in a golden chair upon a step of
the stair, and for a moment gazed enchanted
at the magnificence of the architecture. The
inner court was surmounted by a lofty