Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1879-08-28


"Vengeancel and wherefore?" ?"
"The first, the Governor of the citadel,
is One-eyed, and frightenS me every time
l meet him; the second, the chief of the
the slaves, hate because he threatens
me with rivals; the third, the General
of the army, depriYes me too often of
your company; you are constantly in the
camp"
terry were mingled, enchanted Minus.
Good" said he, laughing. Here are
the first three officers of the empire dis
missed for very sufficient reasons"
The gentlemen of the court now came
to present their gifts to the Queen.
Some gave precious stones; others, of a
lower rank, flowers and fruits, and the
slaves, having nothing to give, gave
nothing. Among these last were three
young brothers, who had come from the
Caucasus with Semiramis, and had res
cued the caravan, in which the women
were, from an enormous tiger.
And you," said she to the three broth
ers, as they passed the throne, shave
you no present to make your Queen?"
NO other" replied the first, Zopire,
"than my life to defend her."
None other" replied the second, Ar
taban, than my saber against her enc
miles,"
"None other, replied the third, Assar,
than the respect and admiration which
her presence inspires"
Slaves" said Semiramis, at is you
who have made me the most valuable
presents of the whole court, and l will
not be ungrateful. You, who have of
fered me your sword against my enc
mics, take this order, carry it to the
General of the army encamped under
the walls of Babylon, give it to him, and
see what he will do for you. You, who
have offered me your life for my de-
fence, take this order to the Governor
of the citadel, and see what he will do
for you. And you, who offer me the re-
spect and admiration which my presence
inspires, take this order to the Com
mandant of the palace, and see what
will be the result"
Never had Semiramis displayed so
much gayety, so much grace, and never
was Minus so captivated. Nor were her
charms lessened i'll his eyes when, q
slave not having executed properly an
insignificant order, she commanded his
head to be struck off, which was imme-
diately done.
Without bestowing a thought ON this
trivial matter, Minus still continued to
converse with Semiramis till the eve
ming and the fete arrived. When she
entered the saloon which had been pre-
pared for the occasion, slave brought
her plate on which was the head of the
decapitated eunuch.
"'Tis well" she said, after having ex-
amined it. "Place it on stake in the
court of the palace, that all may see it,
and be you there on the spot to proclaim
to every one that the man to whom this
head belonged 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
dens, and SemiramiS received the hon.
age of all with grace and majesty per-
fectly regal; she continually turned to
and conversed with Minus, rendering
him the most distinguished honor.
"You are" she said, "a 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 bot
tom of the table. He was 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
herself near the three brothers of the
Caucasus.
Are my orders executed" she de-
manded of them.
"Yes," they replied.
The fete was very gay. A slave hav-
ing, by the force of habit, served the
King first, Semiramis had him beaten
with rods. His cries mingled with the
laughter of the guests. Every one was
inclined to merriment. 1t was come
dy, in which each played his part. To
ward the end of the repast, when wine
had added to the general gayety, Semira-
mis- rose from her elevated seat,a said
my Lords, the Treasurer of the empire
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 gift"
"Who is it ?"' cried Minus. HE must
be punished severely"
at is you yourself, my Lord-yOu who
speak. What have you given to the
Queen this morning?"
! Minus rose, and came with a smiling
countenanee to whisper something in
the ear of the Queen.
'The Queen is insulted by her SER
want" exclaimed Semiramis.
81 embrace your knees to obtain your
pardon. Pardon me, beautiful Queen"
said he; pardon me-" And he added,
in lower tone, 81 wish that the fete
were finished"
"You wish, then, that 1 should abdi-
cate ?" said Semiramis. "But no-I still
have two hours to reign" and at the
same time she withdrew her hand, which
the King was covering with kisses. 81
pardon not" said she, in a loud voice,
such an insult on the part of a slave.
Slave, prepare thyself to die"
"Silly child that thou art" said Minus,
still on his knees, ''yet 1 give way to thy
folly; but patience, thy reign will soon
be over"
"You will not then be angry" said
she, in a whisper, Eat something l am
going to order this moment"
"Nop said he.
slaves, Salu Sne, ALOUD, SelZe IIlS
man-this Minus"
Minus smiled, and put himself into the
hands of the slaves.
Take him out of the saloon; lead him
into the court of the seragliO, prepare
everything for his death, and wait my
orders"
The slaves obeyed, and Minus follow
ed them, laughing, into the court of the
seraglio. They passed by the head of
the disobedient eunuch. Then Semira-
mis- placed herself on balcony. Minus
had suffered his hands to be tied.
Hasten to the fortress, Zopire; you to
the camp, Artaban; Assar, do you secure
all the gates in the palace"
These orders were given in a whisper,
and executed Immediately.
beautiful Queen" said Minus, laughing
"this comedy only wants its deno,Genae,1t;,