he
tied the ass to the trunk of a date palm, and sitting on a mossy stone
he shared with Thais a loaf, which they ate with salt and hyssop. They
drank fresh water in their hands, and talked of things eternal. She
said--

"I have never drunk water so pure nor breathed an air so light, and I
feel that God floats in the breezes that pass."

"Look! it is the evening, O my sister. The blue shadows of night cover
the hills. But soon thou wilt see shining in the dawn the tabernacles
of Light; soon thou wilt behold shine forth the roses of the eternal
morning."

They journeyed all night, and, while the crescent moon gleamed on the
silver crests of the waves, they sang psalms and hymns. When the sun
rose, the Libyan desert stretched before them like a huge lion-skin. At
the edge of the desert, and close to a few palm-trees, some white huts
shimmered in the morning light.

"Are those the tabernacles of Light, father?" asked Thais.

"Even so, my daughter and my sister. Yonder is the House of Salvation,
where I will confine you with my own hands."

Soon they saw a number of women busy around the buildings, like
bees round their hives. There were some who baked bread, or prepared
vegetables; many were spinning wool, and the light of heaven shone upon
them like a smile of God. Others meditated in the shade of the tamarisk
trees; their white hands hung by their sides, for, being filled with
love, they had chosen the part of Magdalen, and performed no work but
prayer, contemplation, and ecstasy. They were, therefore, called the
Marys, and were clad in white. Those who worked with their hands were
called the Marthas, and wore blue robes. All wore the hood,
but the younger ones allowed a few curls to show on their
foreheads--unintentionally, it is to be presumed, since it was forbidden
by the rules. A very old lady, tall and white, walked from cell to cell,
leaning on a staff of hard wood. Paphnutius approached her respectfully,
kissed the hem of her veil, and said--

"The peace of the Lord be with thee, venerable Albina. I have brought
to the hive, of which thou art queen, a bee I found lost on a flowerless
road. I took it in the palm of my hand, and revived it with my breath. I
give it to thee."

And he pointed to the actress, who knelt down before the daughter of the
Caesars.

Albina cast a piercing glance on Thais, ordered her to rise, kissed her
on the forehead, and then, turning to the monk--

"We will place her," sh