"'Man of Ramos, the hour hath now arrived when, if thy faith or thy courage hath not failed thee, thou mayest, by the ordinance of Eternal Fire, obtain a greater span of years for thy decaying body. If thou hast the nerve within thee to let this living Fire embrace thee, then shalt thou become possessed of that for which thy heart hath craved.'
"'And hast thou, Volinè, daughter of Gathma's mighty King, sought and got thy royal Father's free consent to take this man of Ramos for thy husband? If so be thou hast, speak!'
"'In truth, most Holy Echri, the King hath said that this shall be, and I assure thee this man of Ramos, standing by my side, goes through thy sacred ceremony with the King's full knowledge and approval unto that end,' Volinè answered, in a voice choked with the emotion that was fast overcoming her.
"'Enough! Now let us, therefore, enter upon our solemn duty.'
"And as he finished speaking, the multitude of Priests formed themselves into procession; the incense-throwers swung their cups to and fro, the lamp-bearers hoisted their lights on high, and the singers in the gallery commenced their solemn anthems. When they had finished singing, the grand procession began its imposing movement to the distant strains of some wind-instrument of great power and loud tone, on which twelve priestly artistes played, with marvellous precision, a march of soul-stirring beauty, though sad and tenderly plaintive in its cadence. At the end of this long company of marching Priests came Volinè, Echri, and myself; and so we wended our way around the spacious Hall and under an archway, into a larger building which was beneath the mightiest of the three brazen domes.
"This larger Temple was fitted up even more gorgeously than the one we had left; and right in the centre thereof was a High Altar, at the front of which flowed a constant stream of molten fire, smokeless and silent, yet so brilliant that it lighted up the vast dome into its uttermost recesses with a noonday brightness. The heat, as we passed within fifty paces of this wondrous fire-stream, was great, and beads of perspiration formed themselves on my face; but these were more the result of the great and awful excitement that filled my brain, than the glow of heat that radiated from this living furnace. As we passed, Echri said: