THE EQUINOX
“ She looked like a penny toy,” murmured the Neptunian
of the party.
None of the others smiled, for the Ancient was already
beginning:
“Per illud nomen per quod Solomo constringebat dae-
mones, et conclusit . . .”
He stopped short, however, seeing that the irrelevant in-
terruption had found no echo; and he went on with his narra-
tive, moving his arms to the rhythm of his voice, and with
his fingers kneading unseen shapes in the air.
II
“Tue boy comes in later. I want you to realize how beautiful
was the little girl. Like a thick thread of scarlet were her lips,
comely was her countenance, most pleasing to the sight was
her earthly body, a temptation to the Angels her soul. Her eyes
expressed the Infinite Sweetness, the Love Merciful; the Pure
Innocence of the Eternal Equi-balanced. They were like
crystalline drops of dew falling on a perfect rock of Carrara
marble; eyes that looked upon you and created you holy;
eyes clearer than the clearest rivulet, more beautiful than the
most royal amethyst; eyes that illuminated the darkest corner
of Hell; eyes that set the fashion to the stars of the Celestial
Vault of Heaven; eyes that were but the imperfect mirror of
the soul behind. Such was the ten-years-old Ljubov of the
goodly countenance.
When, later on, the usual legend grew around her, it was
said that wolves had once entered the village, in the midst of
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