Zara smiled, and gently repeated her request to me for some music—­a request in which Mrs. Challoner and her daughters eagerly joined.  As I went to the piano I thought of Edgar Allan Poe’s exquisite poem: 

  “In Heaven a spirit doth dwell,
   Whose heart-strings are a lute;
   None sing so wildly well
   As the angel Israfel,
   And the giddy stars, so legends tell,
   Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell
   Of his voice—­all mute.”

As I poised my fingers above the keys of the instrument, another long, low, ominous roll of thunder swept up from the distance and made the room tremble.

“Play—­play, for goodness’ sake!” exclaimed Mrs. Everard; “and then we shall not be obliged to fix our attention on the approaching storm!”

I played a few soft opening arpeggio passages, while Zara seated herself in an easy-chair near the window, and the other ladies arranged themselves on sofas and ottomans to their satisfaction.  The room was exceedingly close:  and the scent of the flowers that were placed about in profusion was almost too sweet and overpowering.

  “And they say (the starry choir
   And the other listening things)
   That Israfeli’s fire
   Is owing to that lyre,
   By which lie sits and sings,—­
   The trembling living wire
   Of those unusual strings.”

How these verses haunted me!  With them floating in my mind, I played—­losing myself in mazes of melody, and travelling harmoniously in and out of the different keys with that sense of perfect joy known only to those who can improvise with ease, and catch the unwritten music of nature, which always appeals most strongly to emotions that are unspoilt by contact with the world, and which are quick to respond to what is purely instinctive art.  I soon became thoroughly absorbed, and forgot that there were any persons present.  In fancy I imagined myself again in view of the glory of the Electric Ring—­again I seemed to behold the opaline radiance of the Central Sphere: 

  “Where Love’s a grown-up God,
   Where the Houri glances are
   Imbued with all the beauty
   Which we worship in a star.”

By-and-by I found my fingers at the work of tenderly unravelling a little skein of major melody, as soft and childlike as the innocent babble of a small brooklet flowing under ferns.  I followed this airy suggestion obediently, till it led me of itself to its fitting end, when I ceased playing.  I was greeted by a little burst of applause, and looking up, saw that all the gentlemen had come in from the dining-room, and were standing near me.  The stately figure of Heliobas was the most prominent in the group; he stood erect, one hand resting lightly on the framework of the piano, and his eyes met mine fixedly.

“You were inspired,” he said with a grave smile, addressing me; “you did not observe our entrance.”

I was about to reply, when a loud, appalling crash of thunder rattled above us, as if some huge building had suddenly fallen into ruins.  It startled us all into silence for a moment, and we looked into each other’s faces with a certain degree of awe.