Lives of Alcyone

acquired a reputation for writing temple manuscripts, and also for
the extraordinary number of verses that he knew in proportion to his
age, the latter being of course due to the influence of his mother.
When he was about twenty he married Uranus, the daughter
of another of the priests. Although there was not yet at this period
and in this place exactly a Brahman caste, there was a priestly class
which already tended somewhat to keep apart, so that it was natural
that a priest’ s son should marry a priest’ s daughter, although he
was in no way bound to do so. The father of Uranus was a priest of
considerable position, but not quite equal in rank to Proteus, who
was a man of great power because he was in charge of the principal
temple, a magnificent polished stone building wit elaborate
sculptures. The local Raja, Castor, attended and supported this
temple, so that the position of Proteus as his spiritual adviser was
one of great importance in the State. Castor owed allegiance to an
overlord, Mars, who ruled a far larger kingdom, but he was
practically independent, except as to foreign affairs.
Soon after the marriage of Alcyone a new factor was
introduced into the case by the arrival from the north of Aries, a man
with a great reputation as a magician—a reputation which was not
altogether undeserved, for he really had studied deeply and
acquired control over certain astral entities, and he also possessed
a knowledge of some facts in chemistry and electricity, which
enabled him to perform what to the men of those days seemed
marvellous miracles. He had, too, some mesmeric power; and by
the display of these various accomplishments he soon acquired
complete ascendancy over Castor, and so became a formidable