Sacred allegories . rthly glory shed its brightness uponhis path. And yet, after all, his lowly dwelling was not withoutits beautiful legend. There were some who could tell how, in thedim twilight, or in the still hour of night, they had seen the trainof Royal Messengers moving stealthily from his door. They werenot arranged in ranks, like those sent by Euprepes. Every indi-vidual walked alone. And yet it was clear that all formed part ofthe same long procession, for each had his left hand muffled closelyin his garments, while with the right he pointed to the East tomark the direction of his j
Sacred allegories . rthly glory shed its brightness uponhis path. And yet, after all, his lowly dwelling was not withoutits beautiful legend. There were some who could tell how, in thedim twilight, or in the still hour of night, they had seen the trainof Royal Messengers moving stealthily from his door. They werenot arranged in ranks, like those sent by Euprepes. Every indi-vidual walked alone. And yet it was clear that all formed part ofthe same long procession, for each had his left hand muffled closelyin his garments, while with the right he pointed to the East tomark the direction of his journey. Slowly and silently, one by one,they moved onward through the least frequented streets of the a footfall was heard as they passed along. At length theyreached the Eastern gate. It was closed against them, but, likea long line of shadows, the procession still continued its unswerving THE KINGS MESSENGERS. 237 course, and, passing straight through the opposing barrier, werelost in the darkness These things were not, indeed, reported publicly in the of the wealthy merchants had heard them at all, and fewerstill believed them. Those who witnessed them felt their voiceshushed by the solemnity of the scene. Its silence seemed, as it L h 258 THE KINGS MESSENGERS, were, to rest upon them; and they could only whisper of it fromear to ear, or meditate upon it quietly in their own homes. Andwhen they asked themselves with a thrill of eager interest, whitherthat long procession had gone, a voice within them would reply,It is gone far, far beyond the boundaries of the city,—the barrierswere unable to arrest its progress,—and it now bears the treasuresof Sophron to the distant Palace of the Great King. Such was the legend: but there is one part of it which yetremains to be told. It was said that when the few, who hadwitnessed the secret procession, returned to the street in which themerchant lived, they perceived his doorway to be strewed withpearls, wh
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