Angels and Women (1924)

CHANGE 41
us of the necessity for repose, Father and
Cheros warped the boat into a shady cove,
and made it fast for the night. We lingered
long over supper, spread upon the deck of our
little vessel, and when it was finished, tired
with the day’s journey, I lay down and fell
asleep listening to the voices of my parents
as they chanted the evening orison.
Before our boat was unmoored in the
morning we went ashore to view the ruins
of an ancient city, once famous for its magnificence
and learning, now only a mound
of ashes overgrown with a straggling forest.
Seth, the founder of this city, was a great
sage, the inventor of the characters used in
writing. He caused two wonderful pillars
to be erected upon which was inscribed the
history of the world. These previous memorials
of better days were destroyed by
order of the Devas, but not until scribes of
our family had copied some portions of the
writings.
The scene grew wilder and more drear