"And it was night in his heart also.
"Then from the marshes to his right and left cold mists arose and closed
about him. A fine, imperceptible rain fell in the dark, and great drops
gathered on his hair and clothes. His heart beat slowly, and a numbness
crept through all his limbs. Then, looking up, two merry wisp lights came
dancing. He lifted his head to look at them. Nearer, nearer they came.
So warm, so bright, they danced like stars of fire. They stood before him
at last. From the centre of the radiating flame in one looked out a
woman's face, laughing, dimpled, with streaming yellow hair. In the centre
of the other were merry laughing ripples, like the bubbles on a glass of
wine. They danced before him.
"'Who are you,' asked the hunter, 'who alone come to me in my solitude and
darkness?'
"'We are the twins Sensuality,' they cried. 'Our father's name is Human-
Nature, and our mother's name is Excess. We are as old as the hills and
rivers, as old as the first man; but we never die,' they laughed.
"'Oh, let me wrap my arms about you!; cried the first; 'they are soft and
warm. Your heart is frozen now, but I will make it beat. Oh, come to me!'
"'I will pour my hot life into you,' said the second; 'your brain is numb,
and your limbs are dead now; but they shall live with a fierce free life.
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