Esther, A Sonnet Sequence: Ix

I stopped, I listened, and I entered in, With half--a--dozen more, that sight to see. ``The Booth of Beauty,'' 'twas a name of sin Which seemed to promise a new mystery. There was a crowd already in the place, And 'twixt me and the stage, now darkly hid, The gathering evening had come down apace, And all was dim within and overspread. I know not by what instinct or mute proof Of Providence it was, but this is true, Even as I stepped 'neath that ignoble roof, A prescience warned me there of portents new, And a voice spoke with no uncertain sound Warning me back as from ungodly ground.