The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1889-09-19

L [Xur stOCkcu Will tue hHONl.
IlMZ4 yI1 edge Of men and the ancient
| lMA wisdom of Egypt. And once
w. again / saw the old lands
and the known faces, though Of these
| some few were wanting, having been
gathered to Osiris. Now, as ! came
nigh to the temenos Of the Temple. having
| ridden across the welltilled fields, the
priests aud the people issued forth TO bid
me welcome, and with them the old wife,
Atoua, who, but for a few added wrinkles
| that Time had cut upon her forehead, was
| even as she had been when she threw the
| sandal after me five long years agone.
LA! la lar she cried: land there thou
art, my bOnny lad; more bonny even than
| thou vert! La. what 4 man. what shout
dcrS! and what a face and form. All. il
does an old woman credit to have handled
thee! But thou art over pale: those priests
down there at Annu have starved thee,
surely! Staryc not myself; the Gods love
| not q skeleton. Empty. stomach makes
empty head rs they say 1t Alexandria.
But. this is glad hour: ay, u joyous hour.
Come income in!' ana as lighted down
she embraced me.
But thrust her aside. My father.
where is my father.' cried. II see him
not
| Nay, nay, have no fear she answered:
''his Holiness is well: he waits thee IN his
chamber. There, pass on. o happy day.
o happy Abouthis ~
And SO went. or rather ran, and reached
the chamber Of which have written. and
there at the table sat my father. Amen
emhat. even the same as he had been, but
very old: and / ran TO him. and knceling
before him kissed his hand, and lie blessed
me.
'.Look up, my son." he said, .'Gnd let my
old eyes gaze upon thy face, that may read
thy heart"
SO lifted up my head. aud long and ear
ncstlv he looked upon me-
Il read thee no said at length: .rure
thou art and strong IN wisdom; have not
been deceived in thee. Oh, lonely have been
the years; but / did well to send thee hence.
Now, tell me, tell me OF thy life, for thy let
tiers have told me little. and thou canst not
know, my son, how hungry is fathers
heart
And so told him; far into the night we
sat and communed with one another. And
in the end he babe mo know that | must
now prepare me 10 be initiated into those
great mysteries that arc learned Of the
chosen Of the Gods.
And SO it came to pass that for a space OF
three months prepared myself according
to the holy customs. / ate no meat. was
constant In the sanctuaries and in the study
Of the secrets Of the Great Sacrifice and OF
the passion Of the Holy Mother. watched
and prayed before the affairs. lifted up
my soul to God; ay, in dreams communed
with the Invisible, till at length earth and
earth's desires seemed to pass from me.
longcd no more for the glory Of this world,
my heart hung above it as an eagle on his
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 unalterable procession the stars
pass on, drawing after them the destinies
of men; where the Holy Ones sit upon their
burning thrones and watch the chariot
wheels Of Fate as they roll from sphere Ia
sphere o hours Of holy contemplation
who having once tasted of your JOY could
wish again TO grOvel on the earth. Ovile
flesh! to drag us down. 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 l was in truth to be united to the
universal Mother. Never hath Night SO
longed for the promise of the Dawn; never
/
desired the sweet coming Of tho bride; as ]
longed to see Thy glorious face. o Isis
Even now that ! have been faithless to
Thee. and Thou art far from me, . Divine
my soul goes out to Thee, and once more |
know But as it is hidden 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. Fol
seven days had the great festival been cele
brated, the suffering Of the Lord Osiris haG
been commemOrated, the passion OF ths
Mother Isis had been adored. and glory haG
been done to the memory of the coming q
the Divine Child Horus, the Son, the
Avenger. the God-begot. All these thing,
had been carried out according to tn,
ancient rites. The boats had fiosnes
on the sacred lake. the priests hat
scourged themselves before the sanctu
aries, and the images had been borhl
. through the streets at night. And now, \,
, the sun sank on the seventh day. once NOR,
. the great procession gathered to chant tn
woes Of Isis and tell how the evil wa
> avenged. We went in silence from tn,
, Temple. and passed through the city ways
First came those who clear the path, thcr
my father. Amencmhat, in oil his priestl
robes and the wand of cedar in his hand
+ Then, clad in pure linen, followed l. tn
, neophytc, alone; and after mo the white
/, robed priests, holding aloft banners an,
| the embleins Of the Gods Next came thos
+ who bear the sacred boat, and after then
D the singers and the mourners; Will
, stretching Us far as the eye could reacl
marched all the people. clad in melanchol
: black because Osiris was no more. II
{ silence we went through the city street
3 till at length we came to tho temenos Of tn
Temple and passed in. Aud rs my father
! the High Priest, entered beneath the gate
way Of the outer pylon, swcctvoice
i woman singer began to sing the Hol
| Chant, and thus she sang:
: "Sng We Osiris dead
n Lament tho fallen head:
The '.h. s.s lei, inc world, the world Is era,
A1hwart the starry skies
The web Of Darkness fiies
!. And Isis wceps Osiris passed away.
Yourtears, 70 stars, We nres, We rivers, shct
8 Weep, children OF the Nile. weep for sou
Lord is dead!"