THE RIBBON OF GOLD
Saronia had been sent on an errand of mercy, and was returning,
disguised, towards the Temple, when, as she was passing close to the
garden of Chios, a crowd of brawlers, inflated with wine, came towards
her. Wishing to avoid them, she turned within the gate left open by
Varro; but the fellows were too quick-sighted for her, saw her
movements, guessed her mind, and followed her to have some sport, not
knowing who she was. She ran quickly down the pathway to hide behind the
foliage, and, not daring to follow, they let her go. She heard the
shouting of the ribald crew as they passed down the road.
The moon shone out its full, and the silver light lit up the marble
building. In passing the steps, she beheld the statue by Phidias, and
her love for the beautiful prompted her to steal forward and take a
hasty look. Standing near the doorway, she turned her eyes upwards
towards the moonlit sky, and, in so doing, caught sight of the word
'Chios' carved over the splendid entrance. For a moment her heart failed
her, and she nearly fell to the ground, but, leaning against the statue
of Dawn, she recovered herself, and determined to hurry away. But the
door of the studio was partly open, and she gazed within. She stepped
noiselessly forward another step, and saw the light of the moon falling
through the open roof. The light fell full on the face of a man, who
seemed as dead. And she knew it was Chios.
Then came back the true nature of the woman who was destined to become
great as a priestess of Diana. Old love sprang up anew. The smouldering
embers of the almost dead past burst into life. Here was the man she
would have loved--perhaps silently--had her course turned otherwise.
Here was the man who had befriended her in deepest misery. Here was
Chios lying stretched death-like before her. Should she at all hazard go
within and see if he lived? Yes, by the goddess whom she worshipped she
would venture! She passed noiselessly over the polished floor, step by
step, like a night-thief treads; one step more, and she was beside him!
She threw back her black mantle, displaying a garment of purest white
clasped round the waist with a girdle of gold. Her massive tresses of
rich dark hair floating over her brow shadowed her face until she looked
like some great spirit queen, the Spirit Queen of Night.
She stooped; she placed her lips close to those of Chios, but they did
not touch. She felt his warm breath on her cheeks. He lived! He sighed
like the soughing of the wind amongst the reeds. He murmured, 'Saronia.'
She started up; stood near him. He still slept. She stood erect, with
arms crossed over her bosom and head bowed, looking sweetly on his manly
face. Then, taking from her neck a little silver shrine, in form like
unto the Temple, she laid it on his bosom, fled noiselessly as she came,
and passed up the road which led towards the great Temple.
* * * * *
Chios awoke, and for a moment was bewildered. He had slept when the
golden sunlight smiled, and now the silver moon lit up the sky, lit up
the garments of the night, and he said:
'Sleep is a blessed thing. Its mysteries, who can know? Dreams, they
say, are fables of the mind. Would to Heaven I could have dreamt on, and
have slipped through the thin gauze of mortality, and never more entered
this vile clay supposed to be the temple of the soul!
'I wandered on and on into infinite space--without light, without the
faintest dawn; no beloved hand led me. Weary and sad I flew from star to
star, looking for my rest, but finding none. No chain of sympathy bound
me until I drew nigh unto a world as one suspended glory. Then my whole
soul stretched out to reach it, and I knew I had found sanctuary. I
stood before the gates of a great city whose walls shone forth like a
thousand suns, and I essayed to enter; but a being of transcendent
loveliness stood before me, and I knew it was Saronia! She said: "Not
yet, Chios. Thy humanity still lives, and the silver cord still binds
thee to it. Thou must return and work out thy destiny. This city shalt
thou dimly see, and then go back to earth."
'And we twain floated upwards, and stood on the diamond floor on the
summit of the massive walls.
'And I looked on the great city until its loveliness bewildered, dazzled
my comprehension, and I shuddered at my own deformity, and said: "Let us
go!"
'Then, with a love radiant with eternal life, she pressed her lips to
mine, saying: "My soul shall strengthen thine. Thou hast seen the city
wherein is built a home for Saronia and Chios. Go, now, to earth whilst
thou hast power. Make use of thy life that thou mayest be found meet to
inherit the plane where our palace stands."
'I awoke to find myself lying on this couch, and to hear the whisperings
of the evening breeze.
'Ah, me! I will go out and gaze up into the deep blue of the heavens.
Perchance I may see the star on which is the City of Light.' And, as he
arose, there slipped from the folds of his dress the little silver
temple placed there by Saronia. It fell to the ground like a silver
bell. Stooping, he took it in his hand. A cloudlet passed from the face
of the moon. He grew deathly pale, and said: 'What meaneth this? Whence
this charm? Great gods! Its ribbon is marked with the sign of a
priestess, and another which tells me 'tis blessed by the goddess! Whose
can it be? Has she been here? Is this the kiss of my dream? Is this
emblem of faith the symbol of strength to me?
'My brain whirls with a strange delight. But, no, it cannot be! I
neither can foster a love for Saronia nor may I embrace her faith.
'Why shall I not do both? No, no, Chios will kill the thought. I am
seeking the truth to walk to the great life beyond. It shall be so.
Saronia is too pure to miss her way, by whatever coloured light she may
be led. She may worship Diana, I the Christ. We shall join hands on the
diamond floorway which circles the city of God.
'Little silver shrine, little ribbon of gold, what shall I do with thee?
Shall I cast thee from me, and bid farewell with longing eyes, as the
mariner bids adieu to the last low streak of misty land ere he launches
out on the trackless deep? or shall I wear thee on my breast, hid from
the vulgar gaze, in memory of whom--of whom? Saronia? Perchance 'twas
her! It shall remain. It cannot harm, and shall be near me until I know
the giver.'
So he placed the golden ribbon around his neck, and hid the symbol on
his heart, and stood like one drunken with new wine, until the shriek of
the night-bird awoke him from his reverie.