"I could not speak for joy and gratitude; I grasped my friend and preserver by the hand. We stood thus together for a brief interval, when suddenly Heliobas drew himself up to the full stateliness of his height and bent his calm eyes deliberately upon me. A strange thrill ran through me; I still held his hand.
"'Rest!' he said in slow and emphatic tones, 'Weary and overwrought frame, take thy full and needful measure of repose! Struggling and deeply injured spirit, be free of thy narrow prison! By that Force which I acknowledge within me and thee and in all created things, I command thee, REST!'
"Fascinated, awed, overcome by his manner, I gazed at him and would have spoken, but my tongue refused its office--my senses swam--my eyes closed--my limbs gave way--I fell senseless."
Cellini again paused and looked at me. Intent on his words, I would not interrupt him. He went on: "When I say senseless, mademoiselle, I allude of course to my body. But I, myself--that is, my soul--was conscious; I lived, I moved, I heard, I saw. Of that experience I am forbidden to speak. When I returned to mortal existence I found myself lying on a couch in the same room where I had supped with Heliobas, and Heliobas himself sat near me reading. It was broad noonday. A delicious sense of tranquillity and youthful buoyancy was upon me, and without speaking I sprang up from my recumbent position and touched him on the arm. He looked up.
"'Well?' he asked, and his eyes smiled.
"I seized his hand, and pressed it reverently to my lips.
"'My best friend!' I exclaimed. 'What wonders have I not seen--what truths have I not learned--what mysteries!'
"'On all these things be silent,' replied Heliobas. 'They must not be lightly spoken of. And of the questions you naturally desire to ask me, you shall have the answers in due time. What has happened to you is not wonderful; you have simply been acted upon by scientific means. But your cure is not yet complete. A few days more passed with me will restore you thoroughly. Will you consent to remain so long in my company?'
"Gladly and gratefully I consented, and we spent the next ten days together, during which Heliobas administered to me certain remedies, external and internal, which had a marvellous effect in renovating and invigorating my system. By the expiration of that time I was strong and well--a sound and sane man, as my rescuer had promised I should be--my brain was fresh and eager for work, and my mind was filled with new and grand ideas of art. And I had gained through Heliobas two inestimable things--a full comprehension of the truth of religion, and the secret of human destiny; and I had won a LOVE so exquisite!"