united so much
of loveliness with awe; half way up the extremities of the steps
darkened the green and massive foliage of the aloe, and the shadow of
the eastern palm cast its long and unwaving boughs partially over the
marble surface of the stairs.

Something there was in the stillness of the place, and the strange
aspect of the sculptured sphinxes, which thrilled the blood of the
priest with a nameless and ghostly fear, and he longed even for an echo
to his noiseless steps as he ascended to the threshold.

He knocked at the door, over which was wrought an inscription in
characters unfamiliar to his eyes; it opened without a sound, and a tall
Ethiopian slave, without question or salutation, motioned to him to
proceed.

The wide hall was lighted by lofty candelabra of elaborate bronze, and
round the walls were wrought vast hieroglyphics, in dark and solemn
colors, which contrasted strangely with the bright hues and graceful
shapes with which the inhabitants of Italy decorated their abodes. At
the extremity of the hall, a slave, whose countenance, though not
African, was darker by many shades than the usual color of the south,
advanced to meet him.

'I seek Arbaces,' said the priest; but his voice trembled even in his
own ear. The slave bowed his head in silence, and leading Apaecides to
a wing without the hall, conducted him up a narrow staircase, and then
traversing several rooms, in which the stern and thoughtful beauty of
the sphinx still made the chief and most impressive object of the
priest's notice, Apaecides found himself in a dim and half-lighted
chamber, in the presence of the Egyptian.

Arbaces was seated before a small table, on which lay unfolded several
scrolls of papyrus, impressed with the same character as that on the
threshold of the mansion. A small tripod stood at a little distance,
from the incense in which the smoke slowly rose. Near this was a vast
globe, depicting the signs of heaven; and upon another table lay several
instruments, of curious and quaint shape, whose uses were unknown to
Apaecides. The farther extremity of the room was concealed by a
curtain, and the oblong window in the roof admitted the rays of the
moon, mingling sadly with the single lamp which burned in the apartment.

'Seat yourself, Apaecides,' said the Egyptian, without rising.

The young man obeyed.

'You ask me,' resumed Arbaces, after a short pause, in which he seemed
absorbed in thought--'You ask me, or w