She hesitated, and the color deepened on her cheek as she repeated, in a low voice: 

“’And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’

“Mr. Leigh, the star on the ram’s horn may be the Star of Bethlehem that shone over the manger, and the Arabic inscription is certainly the salutation of the angel to the shepherds.  ’Peace, good will toward men,’ says St. Luke; ’Peace be with thee,” said Islamism.”

“Your solution seems plausible, but, pardon me, is totally inadmissible, from the fact that it blends crescent and cross, and ignores antagonisms that deluged centuries with blood.”

“You forget, Mr. Leigh, that Mohammedanism is nothing but a huge eclecticism, and that its founder stole its elements from surrounding systems.  The symbolism of the crescent he took from the mysteries of Isis and Astarte; the ethical code of Christ he engrafted on the monotheism of Judaism; his typical forms are drawn from the Old Testament or the more modern Mishma; and his pretended miracles are mere repetitions of the wonders performed by our Saviour—­for instance, the basket of dates, the roasted lamb, the loaf of barley bread, in the siege of Medina.  Even the Moslem Jehennam is a palpable imitation of the Hebrew Gehenna.  Beside, sir, you know that Sabeanism reigned in Arabia just before the advent of Mohammed, and if you refuse to believe that the Star of Bethlehem was signified by this one shining here on the ram’s horn, at least you must admit that it refers to stars studied by the shepherds who watched their flocks on the Chaldean plains.  In a cabinet of coins and medals, belonging to Mr. Murray, I have examined one of silver, representing Astaroth, with the head of a woman adorned with horns and a crescent, and another of brass, containing an image of Baal—­a human face on the head of an ox, with the horns surrounded by stars.  However, I am very ignorant of these things, and you must refer the riddle of the ring to some one more astute and learned in such matters than your humble ‘yokefellow’ in Hebrew.  ’Peace be with you.’”

“I repeat ‘Peace be with thee,’ during the new year on which we are both entering, and, as you have at least attempted to read the riddle, let me beg that you will do me the honor to accept and wear the ring in memory of our friendship and our student life.”

He took her hand, and would have placed the ring on her finger, but she resisted.

“Thank you, Mr. Leigh, I appreciate the honor, but indeed you must excuse me, I cannot accept the ring.”

“Why not, Miss Edna?”

“In the first place, because it is very valuable and beautiful, and I am not willing to deprive you of it; in the second, I do not think it proper to accept presents from—­any one but relatives or dear friends.”