But
overhead, where God dwelt, all heaven was alive. The huge arch resting,
as it appeared, on the monstrous bases of the moors and hills standing
round this place, like the mountains about Jerusalem, was one shimmering
vault of glory, as if it was there that the home of life had its place,
and this earth beneath but a bedroom for mortals, or for those that were
too weary to aspire or climb. The suggestion was enormously powerful.
Here was this mortal earth that needed rest so cruelly--that must have
darkness to refresh its tired eyes, coolness to recuperate its passion,
and silence, if ever its ears were to hear again. But there was radiance
unending. All day a dome of rigid blue; all night a span of glittering
lights--the very home of a glory that knows no waste and that therefore
needs no reviving: it was to that only, therefore, that a life must be
chained which would not falter or fail in the unending tides and changes
of the world....
A soft breeze sprang up among the tops of the chestnuts; and the sound
was as of the going of a great company that whispered for silence.
II
It was within an hour of dawn that the first mass was said next morning
by Mr. Robert Alban.
The chapel was decked out as they seldom dared to deck it in those days;
but the failure of the last attempt on this place, and the peace that
had followed, made them bold.
The carved chest of newly-cut oak was in its place, with a rich carpet
of silk spread on its face; and, on the top, the three linen cloths as
prescribed by the Ritual.
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