Angels and Women (1924)

92 ANGELS AND WOMEN
grief of such a being. He constrained me by
his woe, he entranced me by the melancholy
of his eyes; again I felt the strange magnetism
that had so nearly overpowered me at
the Hermitage, and I cried out in an agony
of distracting emotion---"O God, deliver me
from the power of this Spirit l Save him
from himself; save him from my love! Why
are the creatures of God so tempted?" Then
a voice fell from Heaven, saying, "To prove
them and to show forth God’s great Power !"
With that, strength returned, and I raised
my head. The Deva had left me.
Then I retired to my chamber and sat in
anxious fear, far into the night. At length,
reassured by continued quiet, the tumult in
my breast was hushed, and I composed myself
to record the adventures of this fateful
journey. A weight had fallen upon me, my
heart is as lead, my steps falter, a discord
enters life, harsh, intolerable. Yet listen,
doubting Aloma; does not a soft voice
whisper, "The jarring symphony, the chord