In the verdant glen of Ardair, far in the silent interior of Amma, shut in by hoar old cliffs, Yillah the maiden abode.
So small and so deep was this glen, so surrounded on all sides by
steep acclivities, and so vividly green its verdure, and deceptive
the shadows that played there; that, from above, it seemed more like
a lake of cool, balmy air, than a glen: its woodlands and grasses
gleaming shadowy all, like sea groves and mosses beneath the calm sea.
Here, none came but Aleema the priest, who at times was absent for
days together. But at certain seasons, an unseen multitude with loud
chants stood upon the verge of the neighboring precipices, and
traversing those shaded wilds, slowly retreated; their voices
lessening and lessening, as they wended their way through the more
distant groves.
At other times, Yillah being immured in the temple of Apo, a band of
men entering the vale, surrounded her retreat, dancing there till
evening came. Meanwhile, heaps of fruit, garlands of flowers, and
baskets of fish, were laid upon an altar without, where stood Aleema, arrayed in white tappa, and muttering to himself, as the offerings were laid at his feet.
When Aleema was gone, Yillah went forth into the glen, and wandered
among the trees, and reposed by the banks of the stream. And ever as
she strolled, looked down upon her the grim old cliffs, bearded with
trailing moss.
Toward the lower end of the vale, its lofty walls advancing
and overhanging their base, almost met in mid air. And a great rock, hurled from an adjacent height, and falling into the space intercepted, there remained fixed. Aerial trees shot up from its surface; birds nested in its clefts; and strange vines roved abroad, overrunning the tops of the trees, lying thereon in coils and undulations, like anacondas basking in the light. Beneath this rock, was a lofty wall of ponderous stones. Between its crevices, peeps were had of a long and leafy arcade, quivering far away to where the sea rolled in the sun. Lower down, these crevices gave an outlet to the waters of the brook, which, in a long cascade, poured over sloping green ledges near the foot of the wall, into a deep shady pool; whose rocky sides, by the perpetual eddying of the water, had been worn into a grotesque resemblance to a group of giants, with heads submerged, indolently reclining about the basin.
In this pool, Yillah would bathe. And once, emerging, she heard the
echoes of a voice, and called aloud. But the only reply, was the
rustling of branches, as some one, invisible, fled down the valley
beyond. Soon after, a stone rolled inward, and Aleema the priest
stood before her; saying that the voice she had heard was his. But it
was not.
At last the weary days grew, longer and longer, and the maiden pined
for companionship. When the breeze blew not, but slept in the caves
of the mountains, and all the leaves of the trees stood motionless as
tears in the eye, Yillah would sadden, and call upon the spirits in
her soul to awaken. She sang low airs, she thought she had heard in
Oroolia; but started affrighted, as from dingles and dells, came back
to her strains more wild than hers. And ever, when sad, Aleema would
seek to cheer her soil, by calling to mind the bright scenes of
Oroolia the Blest, to which place, he averred, she was shortly to
return, never more to depart.
Now, at the head of the vale of Ardair, rose a tall, dark peak, presenting at the top the grim profile of a human face; whose shadow, every afternoon, crept down the verdant side of the mountain: a silent phantom, stealing all over the bosom of the glen.
At times, when the phantom drew near, Aleema would take Yillah forth, and waiting its approach, lay her down by the shadow, disposing her arms in a caress; saying, "Oh, Apo! dost accept thy bride?" And at last, when it crept beyond the place where he stood, and buried the whole valley in gloom; Aleema would say, "Arise Yillah; Apo hath stretched himself to sleep in Ardair. Go, slumber where thou wilt; for thou wilt slumber in his arms."
And so, every night, slept the maiden in the arms of grim Apo.