Angels and Women (1924)

46 ANGELS AND WOMEN
"SIN, DESPAIR, DEATH"
Through a mist of tears the last look of
mortal eyes was now bestowed upon the forsaken
beauty of the Lost Paradise.
OMENS
Turning toward the altar, my father lifted
his voice in solemn confession and prayer.
We then removed to the boat, and waited at
a distance, repeating in the usual form of our
oblation:
"Accept, most Holy God, the offering of
thy sinful but repentant creatures, and give
the gracious token by fire."
A moment of breathless suspense, and the
answer came---but in a manner which filled
us with terror. A fearful rumbling like
subterranean thunder was heard; the earth
shuddered; the rock heaved and with a loud
explosion burst asunder. Fierce flames and
sulphurous vapors rushed upward from a
yawning chasm, and downward from the