The Van Buren press., 1879-07-19
/" Vengeance! and wherefore 2

4 tiuc lhecJ lllm tHe second, tnc cnlet
of slaves, hate, because he threatens
ME with rivals; the third, the general OF
the army, deprives me too often of your
company, you are too constantly in the
camp"
This reply, in which caprice and flatte-
ry were mingled. enchanted, completely,
Minus.
Good" said he, laughing, /" here are
three first officers Of the empire dismiss
ed for very sufficient reasons"
The gentlemen Of the court now came
TO present their gifts to the qneen. Some
gave precious stones; others, of lower
rank, flowers and fSS, its, and the slaves,
having nothing ksss sro, gave nothing.
Among these last. were the three broth.
ers, who had come from Caucasus, with
Semiramis, and had rescued the caravan,
in which the women were, from an enor.
nous tiger.
"And YOU said she to the three bro
thers, have you no present to make to
your queen 7"
None other" replied the first, Zopire,
F" than my life to defend her,
None other" sfplied the second, Ar
taban, than my Sabre against all her
enemies"
None other" replied the third, As,
sar, than the respect and admiration
which her presence inspires"
"Slaves," said Semramis, " il is you
who have made me the most valuable
presents Of the whole court, and / will
not he ungaateful You have offered me
your sword against my enemies; take
this order, take i to the general Of the
army, encamped Hnder the walls of Bah.
ylon; give it to him, and see what he
will do for you. You who have offered
your life for my defence, take this order
to the governor of the citadel, and see
what he will do for you. And you who
have offered me the respect and adnira.
ton which my presence inspires, take
this order to the commandant of the pal
ace, and see what will be the result"
Never had Seramis displayed so much
gayety, SO much folly, SO much grace,
and never was Minus so captivated Nor
were her charms lessened in his eyes,
when slave, not having executed prop
erly an Insignificant order, she comman-
ded his head to be struck off, which was
Immediately done.
Without bestowing thought on this
trivial matter, Minus continued to con-
verse with Semiramis till evening, and
the fete arrived. When she entered the
saloon, which had been prepared for the
occasion, slave brought her plate on
which was the head of the decaptated
eunuch.
.',ris wall !. 4asS. si.ns .fn~ having nx
amned it. "Place it ON stake in the
court of the palace, that all may see it,
and be you there on the spot, to pro-
claim to every one that The mah to whom
this head belorg ged, lived three hours
ago, but that, having disobeyed my will,
his head was separated from his body"
The fete was magnificent; a sumptu-
Gus banquet was prepared in the gar
dcns, and Semiramis received the hom-
age of all with grace and majesty per
fectly regal. She continually turned to,
and convcrsed with Minus, rendering him
the most distinguished honor.
You are" said she. F" foreign king,
come to visit me in my palace; must
make your visit agreeable to you"
Shortly after the banquet was served,
Semiramis confounded and reversed all
ranks Minus was placed at the bottom
of the table. lie was the first to laugh
at this caprice, and the court, following
his example, allowed themselves to be
placed, without murmuring, according to
the will of the queen. She seated her
self near the three brothers Of the Cau-
casus.
"Are my orders executed" !" she de-
manded of them.
"Yes," they replied.
The fete was very gay. A slave, liav
ing, from force of habit, served the king,
first, Semiramis had him beaten with
rods. His cries mingled with The laugh
ter of the guests. Every one was incli-
ned to merriment. 1t was a comedy in
which each played his part. Toward the
end of the repast when wine had added
to the general gayety, Semiramis rose
from the elevated seat and sald
"My lords, the treasury OF the en-
pire has read me list of those who this
morning have brought me their gifts of
congratulation on my joyful accession
to the throne. One grandee alone OF the
court, has failed to bring his gilt"
" Who is it Z" cried Minus. "Hc must
be punished severely"
1t is yourself, my lord-you, who
speak. What have you given to the
queen, this morning 7"
Minus rose, and came with smiling
countcnancc to whisper something in the
car OF the queen.
"The queen is insultcd by her scrv.
ant " exclaimed Semiramis
% embrace your knees to obtain my
pardon. Pardon me, beautiful queen"
said he, pardon mel And he added,
in lower tone, a l would that this fetc
were finished"
You WISH then, that should abdi-
cate Z" said Semiramis But mol
still have two hours to reign, )" and at
the same time she Withdrew her hand
which the king was covering with kiss
es. 81 pardon mott" said she in a loud
voice, " such an insult on the part of
slave Slave, prepare thyself to die"
Silly child. that thou art said Nj
nus, still on his knees "yet ! will give
way to thy folly. But patience; thy
reign will soon be over
You will not then, be angry said