The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1879-03-04
shook with the plunge of Death toward

shook with the plunge of Death toward
its victims
Suddenly, in the last moment,the mai
ten hy great Effort writhed to her feet
and covered the youths body with her
own. Such Lowell 1t should have sweet.
ened death for that young man How
white bis face grows! How his eyes
fame, immovably fixed upon the coming
dim ms! Those who have often turned
up their thumbs in this place for men to
die, nov hold their breath in utter dis
ist aud sympathy
Look for brief time upon the pic.
ture: fifty thousand faces or more thrnst
fctward gazing 1.-THE helpless couple,
lost g everything but the black horrors
OF death. quivering from foot to crown.
Note .the spotless beauty and the unset
! is5ksye OF the girl Mark we'll the stern
ipowef OF the young mans face Tank
Of the marriage vows just taken--of the
golden bowl OF bliss moment ago at
their young lips Think how sweet life
must be to them on the threshold of their
hpnel moon And now, oh now, look
st the bounding, naming-eyed tigers i
See how one leads the other in the awful
race 20 the feast The girl is nearer
Than the man She will feel the claws
and fangs first. How wide those red,
srothy mouths cape! How the red
tongues loll! The sand flies up ia a
cloud from the armed feet of the leaping
brutes
| There came from the place where
lCommodus stood clear musical note
such as might have come from the gra
vest cord of lvre If powerfully strick
en-, CLOSELY followed bv keen, far reach
ing hiss, like the whisper of date, ending
In heavy blow The multitude caught
breath and stared The foremost tiger,
while yet in nit air, curled itself up with
a gurgling cry of utter pain, and with
the blood gushing from It's eyes, ears
and mouth fell heavily down dying -
Again the sweet. insinusting twang, tue
hiss and the stroke. The second beast
Tell dead OF dying upon the first This
explained all The emperor had demon
strated his right to be called the Royal
Bowman of the world
Had the tyrant been content to rest
here, all would have been well While
yet the beasts we're family struggling
with death he gave orders for the shift
ling Of the scene He was Unsuitable.
For the frst time during the ordeal the
youths eyes moved Tue girl, whose
back Was turned toward the beasts, was
lstill waiting for the crushing horror ol
Their assault.
| A soldier, as directed, now approach
ed the twain, and seizing an arm of each
led them some PAGES farther away from
,he emperor, where he stationed theH
facing each other aud with their sides to
Commodus, who was preparing to shoe,
again. Before drawing his bow, how
ever, he cried aloud:
"Behold! Commodus will pierce The
center OF the ear Of each!
r AZ before, the cry was'eaught-up by
other voices and echoed around the vas
place.
| The lovers we're gazing into each 9th
er's eyes, still as statues, as if frozen b,
the cold fascination Of death In tht
next following moments they must hav,
lived long life of horror Some Of tb'
most observant onlookers saw pinl
hnsh tinge the small, delicately turned
ear Of the maiden, as if the blood wer,
gathering there to be ready to gush from
the hideons wound of the arrow. Ths
youth saw this, too, and his eyes glitteret
with an agony fercer than any death
throe No doubt be was waiting to Sc,
her die, knowing full well that Commo
dus would not be likely TO forego the re
fined pleasure OF killing her first :
The excitement~of the spectators
reached the lat degree when the grea
horn bow was again rsised.
/ "A very halo of beauty seemed tc
qdiyar and shine around the girls head
/ A nameless, fEigid fear was at last mas
tering the noble vouthsi His eyes wer
beginning TO waver, his lips to twitcI
convulsivplv, o Deathl Here is th,
victory. Thou canst make towards o
us all bv attacking our loved ones! ]
ia all well enough for men to court the
in, the roar and rushing of the floods Q
; battle, and call 1t heroism,--it is wei
, enough for a Socrates to meet thee grim
!. Nv as he did,-for a Nero, even to &C
cept thee in his own way,---but love
love only, can fash into thine awful eye
the immitigable torment, the unbearabl
!, terror! r. So s.f ses,.
What a consummate mastery of tn
! subject of revenge was evinced by Con
!, modus Though the whole of this spects
4 Gle! 4 Is it possible to imagine NOR
= subtle dia5olismp think not. Let U
/ dissect the plan of procedure 1t tbeginl
: very naturally, in most trivial mattel
: The emperor was quite easily hatteret
. and more easily insuIted Especially d.
: . slrous of being accounted the be:
! swordsman and the most fearless gladi,
= tor. in Rome, he still better enjoyed tn
! Reputation Of being the Incompatible a
: icisgr With view to this, be had al
: siduously trained himself 80 as to /
= able, in various pablo places, to Civ
!, startling exhibitions OF his skill with th
Il bow aud arrows Often 10 the Circus b
h had shot off an ostrich's head while ii
bird was running at full speed across Il
arena in view of the astonished multi
y tudes, and the historians say that som
y y times, so sheerly and evenly was th
'e head severed from the neck, that the d
! capita:ed trunk would continue runnir
- for several PAGES, all headless and spou
= ling blood Sometimes he chose to plal
y his chats in the eyes Of his victims {
!, above their ears, where they remaine
= sticking like tdfted horns, and, so acc
g rate was his aim, his execution SCENE
- perfect No archer had ever been ab
p to compete with him. This success hs
: rendered him a monomaniac on the sul
5 lject of archery, affecting him so deepl
indeed, that he cared more for his fau
IN as q consummate bowman than for Il
dignity and honor Of his name and r
q sponsibility as emperor of Rome Tn
II being true, it can we'll be understood
It how Claudius, by publicly boasting tn
Is be was better archer than Commodu
p had brought upon himseli the calami
hs n. A