第62章

fancied——soughttoslipoutafterit，and，floatinginthatdirection，fannedmyfacewithabreathasofice，whiletheflameofthecandleflickeredthemore——asthoughittoowereseekingtowrestitselffromthecandlestick，andgofloatingupwardstojointhebandofstars——abandofluminarieswhichitmightwellhavedeemedtobeofabrillianceassmallandaspitifulasitsown。AndI，formypart，sinceIhadnowishtoseewhatlighttherewasdisappear，followedthestrugglesofthetinyflamewithatenseanxietywhichmademyeyesache。

OppressedanduneasyalloverasIstoodbythedeadman’sshoulder，Istrainedmyearsandlistened，listenedever，tothesilenceencompassingthehut。

Eventually，drowsinessbegantostealoverme，andprovedafeelinghardtoresist。YetstillwithaneffortdidIcontrivetorecallthebeautifulprayersofSaintsMakariVeliki，Chrysostom，andDamarkin，whileatthesametimesomethingresemblingaswarmofmosquitosstartedtohuminmyhead，thewordswhereintheSixthPreceptissuesitsinjunctionto:“allpersonsabouttowithdrawtoacouchofrest。“

Andnext，toescapefallingasleep，Ifelltorecitingthekondak[Hymnfortheendoftheday]whichbegins:

“OhLord，refreshmysoulthusgrievouslymadefeeblewithwrongdoing。“

Stillengagedinthismanner，suddenlyIheardsomethingrustleoutsidethedoor。Thenadrywhisperarticulated:

“OhGodofMercy，receiveuntoThyselfalsomysoul！“

Uponthat，thefancyoccurredtomethatprobablytheoldwoman’ssoulwasasgreyandtimidasalinnet，andthatwhenitshouldflyuptothethroneoftheMotherofGod，andtheMothershouldextendtothatlittlesoulhertender，white，andgracioushand，thenewcomerwouldtrembleallover，andflutterhergentlewingsuntilwellnighdeathshouldsupervene。

AndthentheMotherofGodwouldsaytoHerSon:

“Son，prayseethefearfulnessofThypeopleonearth，andtheirestrangementfromjoy！OhSon，isthatwell？“

AndHewouldmakeanswertoHer——

HewouldmakeanswertoHer，andsayIknownotwhat。

Andsuddenly，soIfancied，avoiceansweredmineoutofthebroodinghush，asthoughittoowererecitingaprayer。Yetsocomplete，soprofound，wasthestillness，thatthevoiceseemedfaraway，submerged，unreal——amerephantomofanecho，oftheechoofmyownvoice。Until，onmydesistingfrommyrecital，andstrainingmycarsyetmore，thesoundseemedtoapproachandgrowclearerasshufflingfootstepsalsoadvancedinmydirection，andtherecameamutterof:

“Nay，itCANNOTbeso！“

“Whyisitthatthedogshavefailedtobark？“Ireflected，rubbingmyeyes，andfancyingasIdidsothatthedeadman’seyebrowstwitched，andhismoustachestirre

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