noon
A moisture as of tears glistened on the silky fringe of his eyelids , -- his lips quivered , -- he had the look of a Narcissus regretfully bewailing his own perishable loveliness . On a swift impulse of affection Theos threw one arm round , his neck in the fashion of a confiding school-boy walking with his favorite companion . `` Nay , thou shalt never die , Sah-luma ! '' he said with a sort of passionate eagerness , -- `` Thy bright soul shall live forever in a sunshine sweeter than that of earth 's fairest midsummer noon ! Thy song can never be silenced while heaven pulsates with the unwritten music of the spheres , -- and even were the crown of immortality denied to lesser men , it is , it must be the heritage of the poet ! For to him all crowns belong , all kingdoms are thrown open , all barriers broken down , -- even those that divide us from the Unseen , -- and God Himself has surely a smile to spare for His Singers who have made the sad world joyful if only for an hour ! '' Sah-luma looked up with a pleased yet wondering glance .