It fluttered
on her ear, and she thought there came a whisper--
"I am thy good spirit."
"Oh, tell me," she cried with vehemence: "show me who thou art!"--a mist
curled round her, and a lambent flame, like the soft lightning of a
summer's night, shot from it. She saw a form, glorious but indistinct,
and the flashes grew paler every moment.
"Leave me not," she cried; "I will be thine!"
Then the cloud passed away, and a being stood before her, mightier and
more stately than the sons of men. A burning fillet was on his brow, and
his eyes glowed with an ever-restless flame.
"Maiden, I come at thy wish. Speak!--what is thy desire."
"Let thought be motion;--let my will only be the boundary of my power,"
said she, nothing daunted; for her mind had become too familiar with
invisible fancies, and her ambition too boundless to feel either awe or
alarm. Immediately she felt as though she were sweeping through the
trackless air,--she heard the rush of mighty wings cleaving the
sky,--she thought the whole world lay at her feet, and the kingdoms of
the earth moved on like a mighty pageant. Then did the vision change.
Pages:
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618