Page:Afterglow; pastels of Greek Egypt, 69 B.C. (IA afterglowpastels00buck).pdf/94

90 Upon a warm and perfumed day of summer, on the Isle of Cyprus, where the meadows, rich with grain and flowers, smiled up toward the sky, Lysidice, herself slender and fair as a flower, stood before the image of Pan, in a little grove of trees.

"Lord of the Woods and Fields:" she said, "See, I have brought thee a coronal of the oleander which thou lovest, and a bowl of fresh milk from the goats. For thou art my friend, and a friend of the shepherds, and these gifts from my hand will please thee."

It pleased her, also to bring the offerings, because she believed in Pan. To him and to Demeter she owed thanks for all she had. Demeter was mysterious—almost unknown—inscrutable; but Pan was very real. So real indeed that, for all his kindness, one would not go alone into the grove at night, even when there was moonlight