.

.
But now he had lost himself altogether.

He had wandered up a long corridor, thinking that it would lead him back to the Court of St.
Damasus, whence he knew his way well enough; and he now paused, hesitating.

For it seemed to him that every step he was taking led him farther from the lights and the din of voices and music.
He could see behind him, framed in a huge open doorway, as on an illuminated disc, a kaleidoscope of figures moving; and in front, as he stood, the corridor, although here the lights burned as brilliantly as elsewhere, seemed to lead away into comparative darkness.

Yet he felt certain of his direction.
Then, as he stood, a door opened somewhere in front, and he thought he heard voices talking again.