ed thickly with ivy, which looked silvery in the
moonlight. That was Ostrianum.

Vinicius's heart began to beat now with more vigor. At the gate two
quarryrnen took the signs from them. In a moment Vinicius and his
attendants were in a rather spacious place enclosed on all sides by a
wall. Here and there were separate monuments, and in the centre was
the entrance to the hypogeum itself, or crypt. In the lower part of the
crypt, beneath the earth, were graves; before the entrance a fountain
was playing. But it was evident that no very large number of persons
could find room in the hypogeum; hence Vinicius divined without
difficulty that the ceremony would take place outside, in the space
where a very numerous throng was soon gathered.

As far as the eye could reach, lantern gleamed near lantern, but many
of those who came had no light whatever. With the exception of a few
uncovered heads, all were hooded, from fear of treason or the cold; and
the young patrician thought with alarm that, should they remain thus, he
would not be able to recognize Lygia in that crowd and in the dim light.

But all at once, near the crypt, some pitch torches were ignited and put
into a little pile. There was more light. After a while the crowd
began to sing a certain strange hymn, at first in a low voice, and then
louder. Vinicius had never heard such a hymn before. The same yearning
which had struck him in the hymns murmured by separate persons on
the way to the cemetery, was heard now in that, but with far more
distinctness and power; and at last it became as penetrating and immense
as if together with the people, the whole cemetery, the hills, the pits,
and the region about, had begun to yearn. It might seem, also, that
there was in it a certain calling in the night, a certain humble prayer
for rescue in wandering and darkness.

Eyes turned upward seemed to see some one far above, there on high,
and outstretched hands seemed to implore him to descend. When the hymn
ceased, there followed a moment as it were of suspense,--so impressive
that Vinicius and his companions looked unwittingly toward the stars,
as if in dread that something uncommon would happen, and that some one
would really descend to them.

Vinicius had seen a multitude of temples of most various structure in
Asia Minor, in Egypt, and in Rome itself; he had become acquainted with
a multitude of religions, most varied in character, and had heard many
hymns; but here, for