The Irish standard., 1889-10-12

outstretched wings and the voice of the
worlds blame could not stir it. and the
/ vision Of its beauty brought no delight.
/ For above me was the vast vault of Heaven,
] where in unalIerablc procession me stars
| pass on, drawing alter them the destinies
of mel; where the Holy Ones sit upon their
burning thrones and watch the chariot
wheels Of Fate as they roll from sphere to
! sphere. Q hours Of holy contemplation
4 who having once tasted of your joy could
wish again to grovel On the eartha o vile
| heshi to drag Us down. I would that thou
hadst been altogether fallen from me, and
left my spirit free to seek Osiris
The months of probation passed but too
/ swiftly, and now the holy day drew near
/ when | was in truth to be united to the
universal Mother. Never hath Night 30
longed for the promise Of the Dawn, never
hath the heart of a lover so passionately
desired the sweet coming Of the bride: as
ionged to see Thy glorious face, o Isis
j Even now that have been faithless to
! Thee, and Thou art far from me, O Divine
my soul goes out to Thee, ard once more I
/ know But as it is bidden that should
draw the vail and speak Of things that have
not been told since the beginning of this
!, world, let me pass on and reverently set
down the history of that holy morn. For
/ seven days had the great festival been cele-
! brated, the suffering of the Lord Osiris had
been conmemOrated, the passion OF tne
| Mother Isis had been adOred, and glorv had
been done TO the memory of the coming Of
the Divine Child Horus, the Son, the
'Avenger, the God-begot. All these things
had been carried out according TO the
ancient rites. The boats had floated
/ on the sacred lake. the priests had
/ scourged themselves before the sanctu-
1 aries, and the images had been borne
through the streets at night And now, as
the sun sank on the seventh day. once more
the great procession gathered to chant the
woes Of Isis and tell how the evil was
avenged. We went in silence from the
Temple and passed through the city ways
First came those who clear the path, then
my father, Amenemhat, in all his priestly
robes and the wand Of cedar id his hand
Then, clad in pure linen, followed I. the
neophyte, alone; and after me the white
robed priests, holding aloft banners and
the emblems of the Gods. Next came those
who bear the sacred boat, and after them
the singers and the lnourners; while
stretching as far as the eye could reach
marched all the people, clad in melancholy
black because Osiris was no more. In
silence we went through the city streets
till at length we came to the temenos of the
, Temple and passed in. And as my father,
| the High Priest entered beneath the gate
way OF the outer pylon, a sweetvoiced
woman singer began to sing the Holy
Chant, and thus she sang:
" Sing we Osiris dead,
Lament the fallen head:
The ght has left the world, the world is gray
Athwart the starry skies
The web OF Darkness flies,
And Isis Weeps Osiris Eassed away.
YoIrtears, We stars, We fires, We rivers, shed.
Weep, children Of the Nile, weep for your
Lord is deadp'
She paused in her most sweet song and
thereon the whole multi ude took up the
melancholy dlrge:
Softly we tread our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold:
Soft On the Dead that liveth are we callingI
Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom coldl
Return to them that worshi3 thee of old. 30
The chorus ceased, and once again she
sang:
within the court divine
The Seve nfold-sacrcd shrine
WI pass, while echoes of the Temple walls
Repeat the long lament
The sound Of sorrow sent
Fer up within the lmperishable halls,
Where, each in Others arms, the Sisters
weep,
Isis and Nephthys, DER His unawaking
sleep"
And then again rolled out the solemn
chorus Of q thousand voices:
"Softly We tread our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Seyenfold;
Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling:
Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom coldl
Return them that worship thee of Old
II ceased, and sweetly she took up the song
20 dwel,er iii the West
Lover md Lordliest,
Thy love, thy sister Isis calls thee home!
Come from thy chamber dun.
Thou Master of the Sun,
Thy shadowy chamber far below the foam
w th weary wings and spent
Through all the armament,
Through All the horror-hauhted ways or hell,
Iseek thee near and far,
From star to wandering star
Free with the dead that in Ament dwell.
Isearch the height the deep. the lands, the
skies.
Rise from the dead and live, our Lord
Osiris, rise
softly we tread, ourmeasured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold
Soft onthe Dead that lveth are we calling:
Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold
Return TO them that worship thee of DID, y
Then, in a strain more high and glad, the
singer sang:
4 He wake5--tro!l forth the prison
We sing Osiris risen,
We sing the child that Nont conceived ana
hare.
tn ne own love, Isls waits
The Warden OF the Gates.
She breathes the breath of Life on breast and
hair.
And in her breast and breath
Beholdi he TaEeneth,
Behold! at length he riseth out OF rest;
Touched with her holy hands,
The Lord Of al the Lands,
He stirs, he rises from her BREATH her breasti
But thou, felETyphon, fly,
The judgment day draws nigh,
Fleet on thy track as fame speeds Horus from
the sky
Softly we tread. our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Scve mold;
Soft on the Dead that llveth are we calling:
Return, Osiris, from tJy Kingdom cold
Return to them that worship thee of old. :"
Once more, as we bowed before the Holy,
she sang, and sent the full breath Of her
glad music ringing up the everlasting walls,
till the silence quivered with her round
notes Of melody, and the hearts Of those
who hearkened stirred strangely in the
breast And thus, as we walked, she sang