Saronia commands those
spirits by her goodness; I draw them by the evil within me. But those
shades are the slaves of the priestess, slaves like she was a slave to
thee, with this difference: she treats the most abject with compassion;
thou treatedst her with----'

'Hush, woman; no more of this! Let her be.'

'Ah, let her be, indeed; thou dost not intend to. As soon as thou art
hence, thou wilt do thy best to devour her, as the night-hawk a sleeping
bird. But beware, girl! Thou art treading a great abyss, an unfathomable
chasm. Be careful, or thou wilt regret thy undertaking! Shall I say
more?'

'No, no; the philtre! Give it me, and let me go.'

'Here, take it! But wilt thou not also take this, a counter-one for the
Roman, to make him, cool as Chios, burn with love? I have such ready.'

'Let it be so,' said Nika.

Then the witch said:

'Be wise: the rose-coloured phial for Chios; the azure for the Roman.'

But the azure one was the brewage of hell.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE CHARMED WINE

There was great excitement in the city of Ephesus, so strong had the
power of the Christians become.

The story of the demoniac also filled the minds of the people, and a
great crowd had gathered in the Agora, it being rumoured that converts
to the new faith would at noon openly burn their mystic books and
publicly renounce their magical rites.

When the multitude of onlookers saw a vast concourse advancing, bearing
symbols of the cross, all looked forward to unpleasant proceedings.

As the Christians drew nigh in regular procession, many leading men and
women were observed amongst them. They came on, singing hymns to their
God and His Messiah, with heads uncovered in the presence of the sacred
emblems.

Judah was amongst them, leading a number of men carrying aged
manuscripts--manuscripts on Asian magic, written by some of the
cleverest men of ancient times.

The books were piled together, each man laying down his load. A torch
was applied, and the smoke went up against the cloudless sky. Volumes
were thrown upon burning volumes, the flames leaped high, rising into a
pyramid of fire, till the whole were consumed.

Judah stood forward, and, bending over the blackened ashes, cried:

'Thus may error die everywhere down the line of centuries, until good
shall reign supreme! One God, one Lord, and His Christ, for ever and
ever!'

Amongst the spectators were Venust