"Does it still beat?" I asked, finding my voice suddenly--"Surely the
great sea has drowned it!"
Still holding my hand, he looked full into my eyes.
"'Many waters cannot quench love'!" he quoted softly. "Dear child, you
have proved that truth. Be satisfied!"
Raising myself on my pillows, I studied his grave face with an earnest
scrutiny.
"Tell me,"--I half whispered--"Have I failed?"
He pressed my hand encouragingly.
"No! You have almost conquered!"
Almost! Only 'almost'! I sank back again on the couch, wondering and
waiting. He remained beside me quite silent. After a little the tension
of suspense became unbearable and I spoke again--
"How did I escape?" I asked--"Who saved me when I fell?"
He smiled gravely.
"There was nothing to escape from"--he answered--"And no one saved you
since you were not in danger."
"Not in danger!" I echoed, amazed.
"No! Only from yourself!"
I gazed at him, utterly bewildered. He gave me a kind and reassuring
glance.
"Have patience!" he said, gently--"All shall be explained to you in
good time! Meanwhile this apartment is yours for the rest of your stay
here, which will not now be long--I have had all your things removed
from the Probation room in the tower, so that you will no more be
troubled by its scenic transformations!" Here he smiled again. "I will
leave you now to recover from the terrors through which you have passed
so bravely;--rest and refresh yourself thoroughly, for you have nothing
more to fear. When you are quite ready touch this"--and he pointed to a
bell--"I shall hear its summons and will come to you at once."
Before I could say a word to detain him, he had retired, and I was left
alone.
I rose from my couch,--and the first impression I had was that of a
singular ease and lightness--a sense of physical strength and
well-being that was delightful beyond expression. The loveliness and
peace of the room in which I was enchanted me,--everything my eyes
rested upon suggested beauty. The windows were shaded with rose silk
hangings--and when I drew these aside I looked out on a marble loggia
or balcony overhung with climbing roses,--this, in its turn, opened on
an exquisite glimpse of garden and blue sea. There was no clock
anywhere to tell me the time of day, but the sun was shining, and I
imagined it must be afternoon. Adjoining this luxurious apartment was
an equally luxurious bathroom, furnished with every conceivable
elegance,--the bath itself was of marble, and the water bubbled up from
its centre like a natural spring, sparkling as it came. I found all my
clothes, books and other belongings arranged with care where I could
most easily get at them, and to my joy the book 'The Secret of Life,'
which I thought I had lost on my last perilous adventure, lay on a
small table by itself like a treasure set apart.
I bathed and dressed quickly, allowing myself no time to think upon any
strange or perplexing point in my adventures, but giving myself
entirely up to the joy of the new and ecstatic life which thrilled
through me. A mirror in the room showed me my own face, happy and
radiant,--my own eyes bright and smiling,--no care seemed to have left
a trace on my features, and I was fully conscious of a perfect strength
and health that made the mere act of breathing a pleasure. In a very
short time I was ready to receive Aselzion, and I touched the bell he
had indicated as a signal. Then I sat down by the window and looked out
on the fair prospect before me. How glorious was the world, I
thought!--how full of perfect beauty! That heavenly blue of sky and sea
melting into one--the tender hues of the clambering roses against the
green of the surrounding foliage--the lovely light that filtered
through the air like powdered gold!--were not all these things to be
thankful for? and can there be any real unhappiness so long as our
Souls are in tune with the complete harmony of Creation?
Hearing a step behind me, I rose--and with a glad smile stretched out
my hands to Aselzion, who had just then entered. He took them in his
own and pressed them lightly--then drawing a chair opposite to mine, he
sat down. His face expressed a certain gravity, and his voice when he
began to speak was low and gentle.
"I have much to tell you"--he said--"but I will make it as brief as I
can. You came here to pass a certain psychic ordeal--and you have
passed it successfully--all but the last phase. Of that we will speak
presently. For the moment you are under the impression that you have
been through certain episodes of a more or less perplexing and painful
nature. So you have--but not in the way you think. Nothing whatever has
happened to you, save in your own mind--your adventures have been
purely mental--and were the result of several brains working on yours
and compelling you to see and to hear what they chose. There!--do not
look so startled!"--for I had risen with an involuntary exclamation--"I
will explain everything quite clearly, and you will soon understand."
He paused--and I sat down again by the window, wondering and waiting.
"In this world," he went on, slowly--"it is not climate, or natural
surroundings that affect man so much as the influences brought to bear
upon him by his fellow-men. Human beings really live surrounded by the
waves of thought flung off by their own brains and the brains of those
around them,--and this is the reason why, if they are not strong enough
to find a centre-poise, they are influenced by ways and moods of
thought which would never be their own by choice and free-will. If a
mind, or let us say a Soul, can resist the impressions brought to bear
upon it by other forces than itself--if it can stand alone, clear of
obstacle, in the light of the Divine Image, then it has gained a
mastership over all things. But the attainment of such a position is
difficult enough to be generally impossible. Influences work around us
everywhere,--men and women with great aims in life are swept away from
their intentions by the indifference or discouragement of their
friends--brave deeds are hindered from accomplishment by the suggestion
of fears which do not really exist--and the daily scattering and waste
of psychic force and powerful mentality by disturbing or opposing
brain-waves, is sufficient to make the world a perfect paradise were it
used to that end."