Who
was this extraordinary woman, Queen over a people apparently as
extraordinary as herself, and reigning amidst the vestiges of a lost
civilisation? And what was the meaning of this story of the Fire that
gave unending life? Could it be possible that any fluid or essence
should exist which might so fortify these fleshy walls that they
should from age to age resist the mines and batterings of decay? It was
possible, though not probable. The infinite continuation of life would
not, as poor Vincey said, be so marvellous a thing as the production of
life and its temporary endurance. And if it were true, what then? The
person who found it could no doubt rule the world. He could accumulate
all the wealth in the world, and all the power, and all the wisdom that
is power. He might give a lifetime to the study of each art or science.
Well, if that were so, and this _She_ were practically immortal, which
I did not for one moment believe, how was it that, with all these things
at her feet, she preferred to remain in a cave amongst a society
of cannibals? This surely settled the question.
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