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of gold. thus having prepared myself, i laced the strong sandals on my feet, arr
anginng the pleats of my robe
conveniently to conceal what was underneath, yet leaving all things ready to be
snatched-at in case of necessity. but there
was nothing left, excepting my magic apparatus, and the truck and lanthorn which
had come with me to the place.
but, on pondering the thing again, i was ware (from the carpets between the colu
mns, and from a certain aspect
of the porphyry altar), that the temple in which i stood was no longer a deserte
d temple, forgotten because buried
by the lapse of ages, but actually a temple in daily use. from which portent, i
also was ware that
it behoved me to be ready to inflict my presence upon anyone (or at least to exp
lain it plausibly to
anyone) who by chance might totter in my direction, and, indeed, not to wait for
such discovery, but to go
at once in search of the society of articulately-speaking men, and to take my sh
are in life as i should
find it on the grain-giving earth. for these reasons, then, i set my cabinet of
essences and quintessences in a
darkish recess, hiding it, in case i should need it again: but it remains there
to this day. but i
retraced my steps toward the causeway, recrossing the dark river; and, coming th
ere, i broke my truck and lanthorn into
pieces, and committed them to the swiftly-flowing stream. but i went on toward t
he light of the outer world, having
the crystal orb (silver-banded with adornments of rose-crystals and blue- moonst
ones) hanging by its chain from my neck, and the
silver divination-cup in my left hand, and in my right the magic staff with its
silver chain twisted round my
wrist, thus, i passed majestically through the ante-chambers; and a fold of my r
obe inshrouded my head, lest my silver
hair and beard should bewray me to the shaveling priests guarding every portal.
but they, seeing me emerging from the
holy place with a holy and even mind and wearing priestly habiliments, were unpe
rturbed; and, beside, the sight of the
very beautiful instruments in my hands, and the word of silence in the ancient t
ongue of khem which i gave
them in my passage, prevented any doubts of me from afflicting their ingenious m
inds. but also, of course, i was
receiving favour from the gods. so, at last, i stepped up through the secret tra
p-door on to the sandy