The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1886-10-09
The River OF Madness.

dering. 1t was a mild and starlight
night, when the world was silent.
We went straying through the forest
of Siren-the dim and misty and SOM
bre forest of Siren. was all Joy and
pleasancc for a dream of Titan tress-
es and gray eyes, with the soft and
tender gaze of love swelled my
heart. The leaves on the trees were
musical as the breezes kissed..them, the
soft south wind sighed in lullabies and
the waters of the river of Madness
murmured delicious roundelays in
gentle strains that melted in an agony
Of bliss through the corridors and
chambers of my mind.
But Tartara was sad. The gloom of
despair had hung the gray mist of its
drapery about her.
at is all mockery and desolation
and the blackness Of VICE." Said Tar
tara. "She is false as yon light that
glimmers above the marsh. She but
tcmpts and leads you on and whispers
her honeyed words, and gives you a
taste of heaven with her dimpled arms
about you that the fierce flames of t
hell on earth may the more consume
you, while she laughs at you and
weaves her spells about some other
moth to be scorched and burned in
the flames, and the glare and glitter of
her beauty and her heartlessness.
Come with me up the tortuous stream
of the river of Madness. l have a
scene to unfold to you, to unfold to
you beneath the gas lights CLEAN in
the Palace of Perdition, on the crumb-
ling shores of the black waters of the
river Of Madness
Through trellissed walk and flower
strewn paths Tartara led me to the
brilliant palace. 1t was radiant in the
sheen of light; it was redolent with
the aroma of flowers; it was jubilant
with the music of laughter and the
ruby and amber tides of the
vintages of Bacchus flowed and
and sparkled OH the brims of glisten-
ing chalices. She with the Titan
tresses and the melting gray eyes was
there-the widest, merriest, fairest
one of the throng.
A youth with glowing face and
pleading eyes was pouring forth the
chrism of his soul in loves voluptuous
tide OF burning words. The Titan
hair mingled its meshes of gold with
his ebon curls: the soft touch of cheek
to check and lip to lip thrilled him;
the melting tenderness of gray eyes
beaming all their Righteousness met
his, and the dimpled arms about him
gave him taste Of heaven, too.
1t was enough. Tartara and wan
dered away, down the stream, in the
wild and starlight night, through the
dim and misty and sombre forest of
Siren, and with Tartara ] plunged
meath the waters of the river of Mad
ness. The chambers and corridors of
the Temple of my Mind are now
filled-not with joy and pleasance and
"a dream of Titan tresses and gray
ewes with The soft and tender gaze OF
love. but with troops of furies, with
knocking laughter, and red-hot spears
TO goad me, from the caverns in the
depths of the river of Madness.
And the youth with the ebon curls
is wandering OH the shores of the
self-same river; but she with the
Titan tresses and the glorious and
melting gray eyes is still smiling and
quaffing of the ruby and the amber
tides of the vintages of Bacchus in the
Palace of Perdition.
And the dim and misty and sombre
forest of Siren waves its boughs,
while the green leaves make music,
and the river of Madness rolls on
through its midst.