me?"

"Punishment!" said I. "What! would you be punished?"

"Punished!" said the Kohen. "That, of course, would be inevitable. I
should be esteemed an unnatural monster and the chief of criminals. My
lot in life now is painful enough; but in this case my punishment
would involve me in evils without end. Riches would be poured upon me;
I should be raised to the rank of Kohen Gadol; I should be removed
farther away than ever from the pauper class--so far, indeed, that all
hope in life would be over. I should be made the first and noblest and
richest in all the land."

He spoke these words just as if he had said, "the lowest, meanest,
poorest, and most infamous." It sounded like fresh mockery, and I
could not believe but that he was amusing himself at my expense.

"This is cruel," said I. "You are mocking me."

"Cruel?--cruel?" said he; "what is cruel? You mean that such a fate
would be cruel for me."

"No, no," said I; "but alas! I see we cannot understand one another."

"No," said the Kohen, musingly, as he looked at me. "No, it seems not;
but tell me, Atam-or, is it possible that you really fear death--that
you really love life?"

"Fear death!--love life!" I cried. "Who does not? Who can help it? Why
do you ask me that?"

The Kohen clasped his hands in amazement.

"If you really fear death," said he, "what possible thing is there
left to love or to hope for? What, then, do you think the highest
blessing of man?"

"Long life," said I, "and riches and requited love."

At this the Kohen started back, and stared at me as though I were a
raving madman.

"Oh, holy shades of night!" he exclaimed. "What is that you say? What
do you mean?"

"We can never understand one another, I fear," said I. "The love of
life must necessarily be the strongest passion of man. We are so made.
We give up everything for life. A long life is everywhere considered
as the highest blessing; and there is no one who is willing to die, no
matter what his suffering may be. Riches also are desired by all, for
poverty is the direst curse that can embitter life; and as to requited
love, surely that is the sweetest, purest, and most divine joy that
the human heart may know."

At this the Kohen burst forth in a strain of high excitement:

"Oh, sacred cavern gloom! Oh, divine darkness! Oh, impenetrable
abysses of night! What, oh, what is this! Oh, Atam-or, are you mad?
Alas! it must be so. Joy has turned your brain; you are quite
demented