“They may possibly be somewhere in the world,—­two of them, I know, were buried in the coffin of one of the last princes of Chaldea,—­perhaps they will be unearthed some day.  There is also a rumor to the effect that Esdras engraved his ‘Last Prophecy’ on a small oval tablet of pure jasper, which he himself secreted, no one knows where.  But to come to the point of immediate issue, ... shall I find out and translate for you the allusions to the ’field of Ardath’ contained in this present volume?”

“Do!” said Alwyn, eagerly, at once returning the book to Heliobas, who, seating himself at the table, began carefully looking over its ivory pages—­“I am all impatience!  Even without the vision I have had, I should still feel a desire to see this mysterious Field for its own sake,—­it must have some very strange associations to be worth specifying in such a particular manner!”

Heliobas answered nothing—­he was entirely occupied in examining the small, closely engraved characters in which the ancient record was written; the crimson afterglow of the now descended sun flared through the window and sent a straight, rosy ray on his bent head and white robes, lighting to a more lustrous brilliancy the golden cross and jeweled star on his breast, and flashing round the silver clasps of the time-honored relic before him.  Presently he looked up...

“Here we have it!” and he placed his finger on one especial passage—­it reads as follows: 

“’And the Angel bade me enter a waste field, and the field was barren and dry save of herbs, and the name of the field was Ardath.

“’And I wandered therein through the hours of the long night, and the silver eyes of the field did open before me and I saw signs and wonders: 

“’And I heard a voice crying aloud, Esdras, Esdras.

“’And I arose and stood on my feet and listened and refrained not till I heard the voice again.

“’Which said unto me, Behold the field thou thoughtest barren, how great a glory hath the moon unveiled!

“’And I beheld and was sore amazed:  for I was no longer myself but another.

“’And the sword of death was in that other’s soul, and yet that other was but myself in pain;

“’And I knew not those things that were once familiar,—­and my heart failed within me for very fear.

“’And the voice cried aloud again saying:  Hide thee from the perils of the past and the perils of the future, for a great and terrible thing is come upon thee, against which thy strength is as a reed in the wind and thy thoughts as flying sand ...

“’ [Footnote:  See 2 Esdras x. 30-32.] And, lo, I lay as one that had been dead and mine understanding was taken from me.  And he (the Angel) took me by the right hand and comforted me and set me upon my feet and said unto me: 

“’What aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is thine understanding troubled and the thoughts of thine heart?