The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-03-27

gaze, and the chain which now, for the
first time without concealment, he held
up triumphantly, dragging her by it to
every corner of the polluted and ruined
temple, to show her how complete and
hopeless the ruin was. Then drawing
the links tighter than before, 80 that
they CALLED and wounded her wrists, he
led her to tho image of herself, which
he had adorned, and painted, and so
often fattered. He dragged off the
tinsil ornaments, and eflaced the delu-
sive coloring, and left her, at last, face
to face with the defaced and broken idol,
saying
"This is the worship you yourself
have chosen. Pursue it still. There is
no other for you.
She could not bear to gaze on it; and
as he went she fell PROSTATE on the altar
steps, and hid her face on the stones.
Yet still, though with but feeble hope,
she sobbed out
"If thou art good-if thou canst help
me, come-oh, come, and set me free !"
Weariness at last brought sleep; and
in her dreams she saw a lovely vision of
the temple as it once had been. While
columns cleaned, sweet and solemn
music sounded, and she herself minister
ed in VIII te robes at the altar, before a
radiant form, on which she could
scarcely for moment gaze.
The awaking from this dream to the
desolation around he was more terrible
than all she had felt before. 1t must
have bereft her of reason, but for the
echo of three cheering words which
seemed to have awakened her--'I will
come"
The next day, with the light OF that
radiant vision ON her heart, she dragged
her fettered limbs to the altar, and
strove with her feeble and trembling
hands to tear that marred image from
the shrine. But in vain. 1t was too
firmly imbedded there and she could
only turn her face from it, and weep
and cry for help. And before the next
mornings dawn help came. In the
night, heavenly yisitant decended;
and win human words, i'll n language
she had not spoken for years, but every
word of which melted her heart like the
accents of her mother-tongue, he touch
ed her chains, and they fell off; he
spoke, and the wild beasts fled, bowling;
he touched her broken harp, and it was
restrung and turned; he touched the
dry choked-up channel OF the sacred
spring, and it welled forth pure and
fresh from beneath the altar ; he touch
ed the idol on the shrine, and it fell,
and in it's stead shonc that wondrous
radiance which she had seen in her
dream then he poured on her head the
fragrant oil of conservation, and clothed
her in white vestal- -priestly garment,
and placed the restrung harp in her
hand, and rose again to heaven.
At first her Joy knew no measure
She gazed on the sacred shrine, and in
the glory above it at times she perceiv-
ed the lineaments of the form Of Him
who had done all this for her. She
touched her harp, and the sweet strings
responded as if they knew her hand ;
she sang holy songs in that old, long
forgotten, yet familiar tongue, so heaven
ly and happy that the wild beasts would
not venture near, and the morning-blrdS
were silent to listen. She bathed IL
the newly-opened fountain and drank o
it and as she drank, her strength ant
her youth came back.
For time her Joy was without clou'
or measure; but as the daylight re
turned, the desolation Of the ruine'
temple struck sadly on her heart. |
was indeed a sacred place once more
and she its consecrated priestess bu
was this ruin never to be repaired?
She began to cleanse the sacred vessel
and to sweep the earth of all the refus
and dry bones which had been gathere
, there; and then, with her renewe
, strength, she set herself to collect til
, broken fragments of the columns, an
tried to piece together the shattere
, tracery and the delicate carvings
, flower and foliage. But it was in vail
She conld indeed bring the shattere
. fragments together, and see what the
r had been, but she could not join then
or replace one PROSTATE shaft or capita
and as she sat down mournfully befol
3 her shrine, tears dimmed her eyes, S
that she could scarcely see the radianc
there, and, falling on her harp-string
= would have rusted them and MARIE
D their sweetness; whilst in the silence
voice, too long and bitterly familia
was heard at the door. Turning roun'
4 she preceived the form of the enen
r there, whilst behind him glared fer
j. and hungry eyes and in her terror Il
q harp almost fell from her hands.
But she threw herself on her kne
o before the altar, pressed the harp Co
vulsively to her heart, and cried, "Wi
these ruins never be repaired, the'
II doors never closed against my enen
o and thinep" The pressure of her trer
q bling fingers drew forth some plalntl'
e strains, like the wind on Eolian string
h but low and plaintive as they were, Il
IS enemy disappeared, and the wild beas