第38章 THE BANQUET(14)

"More filthy than a bitch or a sow, thou hast prostituted to pagans and infidels a body which the Eternal had intended for a tabernacle, and thy impurities are such that, now that thou knowest the truth, thou canst not unite thy lips or join thy hands without a horror of thyself rising in thy heart."She followed him meekly, over stony roads, under a burning sun.Her knees ached from fatigue, and her throat was parched with thirst.But, far from feeling any of the pity which softens the hearts of the profane, Paphnutius rejoiced at these propitiatory sufferings of the flesh which had so sinned.So infuriated was he with holy zeal that he would have liked to cut with rods the body that had preserved its beauty as a shining witness to its infamy.His meditations augmented his pious fury, and remembering that Thais had received Nicias in her bed, that idea seemed so horrible to him that his blood all flowed back to his heart, and his breast felt ready to burst.His curses were stifled in his throat, and he could only grind his teeth.He sprang forward and stood before her, pale, terrible, and filled with the Spirit of God--looked into her very soul, and then spat in her face.

She calmly wiped her face and continued to walk on.He followed, glaring at her in pious anger, as if she had been hell itself.He was thinking how he could avenge Christ in order that Christ should not avenge Himself, when he saw a drop of blood that had dripped from the foot of Thais on the sand.Then a hitherto unknown influence entered his opened heart, sobs rose to his lips, he wept, he ran and knelt before her, called her his sister, and kissed her bleeding feet.He murmured a hundred times, "My sister, my sister, my mother, O most holy!"He prayed--

"Angels of heaven, receive carefully this drop of blood, and bear it before the throne of the Lord.And may a miraculous anemone blossom on the sand sprinkled with the blood of Thais, that those who see the flower may recover purity of heart and feeling.O holy, holy, most holy Thais!"As he prayed and prophesied thus, a lad passed on an ass.Paphnutius ordered him to descend, seated Thais on the ass, and led it by the bridle.Towards evening they came to a canal shaded by fine trees; 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 Ifeel 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," she said, "amongst the Marys."Paphnutius then related how Thais had been brought to the House of Salvation, and asked that she should be at once confined in a cell.

The abbess consented, and led the penitent to a hut, which had remained empty since the death of the virgin Laeta, who had sanctified it.In this narrow chamber there was but a bed, a table, and a pitcher, and Thais when she crossed the threshold, felt filled with ineffable joy.

"I wish to close the door myself," said Paphnutius, "and put thereon a seal, which Jesus will come and break with His own hands."He went to the side of the spring, and took a handful of wet clay, mixed with it a little spittle and a hair from his head, and plastered it across the chink of the door.Then, approaching the window, near which Thais stood peaceful and happy, he fell on his knees and praised the Lord three times.

"How beautiful are the feet of her who walketh in the paths of righteousness! How beautiful are her feet, and how resplendent her face!"He rose, lowered his hood over his eyes, and walked away slowly.

Albina called one of her virgins.

"My daughter," she said, "take to Thais those things which are needful for her--bread, water, and a flute with three holes."