ey stopped in
front of the great altar. The moon threw off her veil of clouds, and the
light from her glorious body shone forth, illuminating the veil that hid
the statue of the goddess.

'See thou that glorious orb, Saronia--for thou shalt ever retain thy
name, a favour granted to few--seest thou that globe of light? 'Tis the
symbol of our goddess--the symbol set in the blue heavens--and behind
this purple veil her image stands, shadowing her forth, the mother of
nature, protector of cities, and dispenser of all good gifts to men. On
earth we worship her as such; above she is Luna, the Queen of Heaven;
and when the time comes that thou canst bear it, thou shalt know her as
Hecate, the goddess of the underworld, she who governs the shades and
rules the spirits in Hades with an eternal power. This goddess--the
Triformis--thou art about to serve with all thy soul. Is it not so?
Canst thou be true to her, forsaking all, follow where her great spirit
leads? She will speak to thee, maiden--she will speak to thee; and,
having once spoken, that voice will ever reverberate through the deepest
recesses of thy being, will live on for ever to bless thee, or wind
around thy soul to curse thee down to Tartarus as thou art faithful or
false.

'Saronia! Saronia! it is not yet too late to withdraw and throw thyself
into the mighty throe of the great world's agony. Which shall it be? It
is for thee to decide. No one is pressed into the service of the great
goddess Diana, neither may any follow her as a matter of convenience.'

A cloud passed o'er the moon, and they were shrouded in darkness. Then
as suddenly passed those cloudlets away, and Saronia, trembling with
fear, said:

'Great priestess of the goddess, fear not; my mind is settled. Long,
long have I wished for this hour, the hour of joy. My soul thrills with
anticipation; my whole being is like one grand instrument tuned to the
hand of my lady goddess, Diana Trivia. Let the night hasten; let the
darkness be driven with power of the storm-wind; may the night speed on,
and make way for the morning. Oh, chaste moon, flee thy way to the west,
that the scarlet shafts may appear and I may pour my soul out before
thee. My spirit longeth for thee, oh gracious one, that I may dwell in
thy Temple evermore.'

Then deep silence fell on all, and the pillars and roof cast great
ghostly shadows on the floor, conjuring up mighty forms of weirdness,
and the priestesses murmured reverently: