The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1867-12-05

capped death during long siege Of ten
years, embarked upon the Mediterranean
Sea, to seek far off land, Italy. Without
compass or chart, and even without any
knowledge Of the direction in which the
land they sought lay, for seven long years
they were waited hither and thither upon
the stormy waves. At length they reach
ed the coast of Carthage, where -Eneas
landed. Here, in deep wood his moth
er, the Goddess Venus, appeared to him,
and pointed him the way to the Tyrian
city where Dido reigned.
The beautiful young queen received the
hero with distinguished honor, and that
night gave him great banquet in hall
which We'd in spltndor and magui6cence
with the Temple Of Solomon When much
wine had been quaffed from golden COB
lets, and the night was far spent in song
and dance, the lovely queen requested
Eneas to tell the story Of Troy, and Of
his adventures upon the sea. Eneas, the
Trojan hero, complied with her desire, and
beguiled the morning hours until the
setting hours invited to sleep" Among
the many thrilling ilcidents he told was
the following, which the great Latin poet,
Virgil, so thrillingly relates in his second
Kneid, and Of which We present tie fo,-
lowing translation
"Laocoon ordained Neptune's priest bv
lot, was sacrificing a stately bullock at the
affairs set apart for hatsoemnity; when 10
from Tenedos, { shudder even at the re-
lation) two serpcnts, with orbs immense.
stretch their lengths along the smooth sur
face of the sea, and with equal Motion
shoot forward toward the shore; whose
breasts erect amidst the waves. and chests
bedropped with blood, tower above the
flood their other parts sweep the sea be-
hind, aud wind their spacious backs in
rolling spires. Lashed by their strokes
the foods resound, the briny ocean foam
ing. And now they reached the land, and
darting fire from their glariny blood-red
eyes, with forked tongues licked their
kissing mouths. Half dead with the hor-
rid sight, we fly in different ways. They,
with resolutc motion, advance towards
LAGOON and first both scrpents, with
close embraces. twine around the little
bodies of hi. two sons, and with their cruel
fangs, mapgle their wretched limbs. Next
they seize the priest himself, as he is COM
ing up with weapons to his boys relief, and
bind him fast in their prodigious folds ;
and now grasping him fast twice about the
waist, twice winding their scaly backs
around his neck, they overlap him with
the head and lofty neck. He strains at
once with both hands to tear asunder their
knottel spires, while his holy fl!ets are
stained with gore and black poison at the
same time he raises hideous shrieks to
heaven such believing as when bull has
fed wounded from the altar, and has
eluded with his neck the erring axe
Painters and sculptors have essayel with
remarkable success, to present ON canvass
and in marble this story Of LAGOON sirug-
Cling within the relentless folds of the ser
penis. We have stood for an hour, with
mingled feelings Of horror and admiration
before q statue representing the frishtful
scene. In vain was the poor victim, with
eyes starting from their sockets, and with
knitted muscles, working with giants
strength, striving with the energy of des-
pair to relieve his crushing body from the
ever tightening coils. Not one feeble ray
of hope could you read in that terror-strlck-
en- countenance.
We have not taken the pains to recount
this old story of LAGOON without a pur-
pose. The danger in which the old prizes,
stood when the fierce serpents were da.ting
over the waves towards where lie stood.
lashing the ocean into foam, is the dan
ger in which the masses Of the people of
this country stand to-day Two serpents,
far more terrible and deadly than those
that shot out from Tenedos, have landed
upon our shores, and are already winding
their mortal coils around the body polite
Their names are debt and taxation. II
the people act with promptness, energy
and decision. they may yet save themselves
from the fate Of LAGOON; if they hesitate
or despair they arc totally lost
There can be nc truce, No compromise
between the people and these deadly SER
pents. If debt and taxation triumph.
then will the people OF the United States
become the impotent powerless serfS ard
slaves Of mOneyed aristocracy, IS in
England and Ireland.
The battle between the people and these
monsters must be commenced speedily, and
waged energetically and relentlessiy. Day
by day the coils of these serpents are
about us. Soon our powers Of
resistance will be gone The secretary Of
the treasury has been deluding the coun-
try with the idea that the debt was dimin
ishing Yes, it has been diminishing, as
the serpent diminishes its length wheu he
coils himself to strike a deadly blow. The
nou-gold interest-bearing debt has been
but with what frishtful
rapidity has the gold interest bearing deb,
been increasing But few months ago
the gold interest bearing debt was 5ut
81 GOO, 600, 900 calling for but sixty mil
hons of gold interest year. 1t is now
nearly $500. 100000, calling for Sl0S,-
100000 from the treasury to pay the in
terest. la very few months more it will
be So 200, 100000, calling for sl32 600
900 of gold interest The moneyed aris-
tocrscy, the banking and bond-holiing
classes, are exerting all their powers to