'To mount over the bodies of the Christian slain,' continued the old
man, his sinister eyes dilating in anticipated triumph as he whispered
close at the senator's ear, 'to rebuild the altars that the Christians
have overthrown, is the ambition that has made light to me the
sufferings of my whole life. I have battled, and it has sustained me in
the midst of carnage; I have wandered, and it has been my home in the
desert; I have failed, and it has supported me; I have been threatened
with death, and it has preserved me from fear; I have been cast into
slavery, and it has made my fetters light. You see me now, old,
degraded, lonely--believe that I long neither for wife, children,
tranquility, nor possessions; that I desire no companion but my
cherished and exalted purpose! Remember, then, in the hour of
performance the promise you have now made to aid me in the achievement
of that purpose! Remember that you are a Pagan yourself! Feast, laugh,
carouse with your compeers; be still the airy jester, the gay companion;
but never forget the end to which you are vowed--the destiny of glory
that the restoration of our deities has in store for us both!'
He ceased.
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