from thy sins. I will seal the door, and there, a happy
prisoner, thou wilt wait in tears till Jesus Himself come, as a sign of
pardon, to break the seal that I have placed. And doubt not that He will
come, Thais, and how the flesh of thy soul will tremble when thou shalt
feel the fingers of Light placed upon thy eyes to dry thy tears!"

Thais said a second time--

"Take me, my father, to the house of Albina."

His heart filled with joy, Paphnutius gazed around him, and tasted,
almost without fear, the pleasure of contemplating the works of
creation; his eyes drank in with joy God's light, and unknown breezes
fanned his cheeks. Suddenly, seeing at one of the corners of the public
square the little door which led to Thais' house, and remembering that
the trees, whose foliage he had been admiring, shaded the courtesan's
garden, he thought of all the impurities which there sullied the air,
to-day so light and pure, and his soul was so grieved that bitter tears
sprang to his eyes.

"Thais," he said, "we must fly without looking back. But we must not
leave behind us the instruments, the witnesses, the accomplices of thy
past crimes; those heavy hangings, those beds, carpets, perfume censers
and lamps, which would proclaim thy infamy! Dost thou wish that,
animated by the demons, and carried by the evil spirit that is in them,
those accursed belongings should pursue thee even to the desert? It is
but too true that there are tables which bring ruin, seats which serve
as the instruments of devils, which act, speak, strike the ground, and
pass through the air. Let all perish which has seen thy shame! Hasten,
Thais, and, whilst the city is yet asleep, order thy slaves to make,
in the centre of this place, a pile, upon which we will burn all the
abominable riches thy dwelling contains."

Thais consented.

"Do as you will, my father," she said. "I know that spirits often dwell
in inanimate objects. At night some articles of furniture talk, either
by giving knocks at regular intervals or by emitting little flashes of
light as signals. And even more. Have you remarked, my father, at the
entrance to the Grotto of Nymphs, on the right, a statue of a naked
woman about to bathe? One day I saw, with my own eyes, that statue turn
its head like a living person, and then return to its ordinary attitude.
I was terrified. Nicias, to whom I related this prodigy, laughed at
me; yet there must be some magic in that statue, for it inspired wi