|
The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: rigid and stark; blind to the bloom of the wild flowers, deaf to
the glee of the insects--one hand still resting heavily on the rim
of the emptied caldron, and the face still hid behind the Black
Veil. What! the wondrous elixir, sought with such hope and well-
nigh achieved through such dread, fleeting back to the earth from
which its material was drawn to give bloom, indeed--but to herbs;
joy indeed--but to insects!
And now, in the flash of the sun, slowly wound up the slopes that
led to the circle, the same barbaric procession which had sunk into
the valley under the ray of the moon. The armed men came first,
stalwart and tall, their vests brave with crimson and golden lace,
|
