Yet while they uttered this exclamation the youngman and the Lily turned an apprehensive glance at theirdreary associate， deeming it hardly possible that sometale of earthly affliction should not make those precinctsloathsome， as in every former case. The old man stood justbehind them， so as to form the chief figure in the group，with his sable cloak muffling the lower part of his visageand his sombre hat overshadowing his brows. But he gaveno word of dissent from their purpose， and an inscrutablesmile was accepted by the lovers as a token that here hadbeen no footprint of guilt or sorrow to desecrate the siteof their temple of happiness.
In a little time longer， while summer was still in itsprime， the fairy-structure of the temple arose on thesummit of the knoll amid the solemn shadows of thetrees， yet often gladdened with bright sunshine. It wasbuilt of white marble， with slender and graceful pillarssupporting a vaulted dome， and beneath the centre of thisdome， upon a pedestal， was a slab of dark-veined marbleon which books and music might be strewn. But therewas a fantasy among the people of the neighborhoodthat the edifice was planned after an ancient mausoleumand was intended for a tomb， and that the central slab ofdark-veined marble was to be inscribed with the namesof buried ones. They doubted， too， whether the form ofLilias Fay could appertain to a creature of this earth， beingso very delicate and growing every day more fragile， sothat she looked as if the summer breeze should snatchher up and waft her heavenward. But still she watchedthe daily growth of the temple， and so did old WalterGascoigne， who now made that spot his continual haunt，leaning whole hours together on his staff and giving asdeep attention to the work as though it had been indeed atomb. In due time it was finished and a day appointed fora simple rite of dedication.
On the preceding evening， after Adam Forrester hadtaken leave of his mistress， he looked back toward theportal of her dwelling and felt a strange thrill of fear， forhe imagined that as the setting sunbeams faded from herfigure she was exhaling away， and that something of herethereal substance was withdrawn with each lesseninggleam of light. With his farewell glance a shadow hadfallen over the portal， and Lilias was invisible. Hisforeboding spirit deemed it an omen at the time， and so itproved； for the sweet earthly form by which the Lily hadbeen manifested to the world was found lifeless the nextmorning in the temple with her head resting on her arms，which were folded upon the slab of dark-veined marble.
The chill winds of the earth had long since breathed ablight into this beautiful flower； so that a loving hand hadnow transplanted it to blossom brightly in the garden ofParadise.
But alas for the temple of happiness！ In his unutterablegrief Adam Forrester had no purpose more at heart thanto convert this temple of many delightful hopes into atomb and bury his dead mistress there. And， lo！ a wonder！
Digging a grave beneath the temple’s marble floor， thesexton found no virgin earth such as was meet to receivethe maiden’s dust， but an ancient sepulchre in which weretreasured up the bones of generations that had died longago. Among those forgotten ancestors was the Lily tobe laid； and when the funeral procession brought Liliasthither in her coffin， they beheld old Walter Gascoignestanding beneath the dome of the temple with his cloakof pall and face of darkest gloom， and wherever that figuremight take its stand the spot would seem a sepulchre. Hewatched the mourners as they lowered the coffin down.
“And so，” said he to Adam Forrester， with the strangesmile in which his insanity was wont to gleam forth， “youhave found no better foundation for your happiness thanon a grave？”
But as the shadow of Affliction spoke a vision of hopeand joy had its birth in Adam’s mind even from theold man’s taunting words， for then he knew what wasbetokened by the parable in which the Lily and himselfhad acted， and the mystery of life and death was openedto him.
“Joy！ joy！” he cried， throwing his arms toward heaven.
“On a grave be the site of our temple， and now ourhappiness is for eternity.”
With those words a ray of sunshine broke through thedismal sky and glimmered down into the sepulchre， whileat the same moment the shape of old Walter Gascoignestalked drearily away， because his gloom， symbolic of allearthly sorrow， might no longer abide there now that thedarkest riddle of humanity was read.