Page:Eleusinia.pdf/15

10 At length the long procession reached the place,

Holy to Demeter: then passing on

Through gates and dimly lighted passages,

Until they came unto the central hall,

All set with marble columns, dimly seen,

And here and there a lamp with rosy light

Burning before a statue or a shrine,

Lighting the dimness of the painted walls:

Until the place is full.

All through the night never a voice is heard

In all the echoing passages and halls.

All through the watches of the silent night

The lurid light of many torches shines,

On altar, statue, dimly painted frieze,

Of which the features flicker, hardly seen

In the dim light of torches borne on high.

Still not a word! the watches of the night

Are passing swiftly: and the day is near.

Still must they stand,

Waiting and longing for the dawn to come;

For every light burns dimly; and the soul,

Weary of anguish, sickened with the watch.

Paler and paler grows the torch's light,

More and yet more uncertain shew the walls;

And still no sign...

Not from the priest, or from the weary crowd,

But very silence...

See! the rosy dawn

Is come at last: the priest has given the sign,

"Depart in peace, the vigil has been watched."