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the divine is limitless. Even the nearest frontier of the Future is beyond computation. There is a sea of unfathomable light. . . . O Psyche, I am tired, I am blind, and I shall soon die. In this place, here I will stay. Psyche, look through the telescope. Is the night too dark? Do you see anything?”

“The stars give a dim light.”

“Look through the telescope. What do you see? Tell me, what do you see?”

“In the glass, right at the top, I see a dark spot, which emits a few rays. Is that a black star?”

“No, Psyche, that is a spider. Emeralda has sent a spider. The spider has crawled to the top, along the smooth diamond; there the spider weaves his web. And the diamond . . . . is crumbling to pieces. . . .

“Astra . . . .!!”

“Psyche, creep closer to me. . . . Let me feel your little round head, your wingless shoulders. . . .”

“Astra, everything is black; clouds are drifting past the stars!”

“Sleep thus in my mantle, sleep thus at my feet. Sleep, my little child, and cover yourself for the night. . . . Psyche, your old