The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1889-11-14

fore thy door, but be not deceived. Knew
not that do hold thee TO me bv bonds more
strong than prison chains; knew | moi
that | am hcdged from i'll at thy hands by
fence Of honor more hard for thee to pass
than all the spears Of all my legions, thou
hadst been dead ere now. Harmachis. See,
here Is thy knife" And she handed me the
dagger. 'Now slay me If thou canst-" And
she drew near and tore open the bosom Of
her robe, and stood waiting with calm eyes.
Thou canst not sIay me-" she went Oh,
'.for there are things, as know well, that
no mau--no such man as thou art-may do
and live; and this Is the chief OF them-to
STAY the woman who Is all his own. Nay.
stay thy hand! Turn not that dagger
against thy breast: for II me thou mayst
not slay, by how much tho more mayst thou
not slay myself. O thou forsworn Priest
OF Isis! Art thou. then, SO eager to face
that outraged Majesty in Amenti. With
what eyes, thinkcst thou, will the Heavenly
Mother look upon her son who, shamed In
all things and false to his most sacred vow,
comes to greet Her, his life-blood on his
haudst Where, then, will be the space for
thy atonemcnt-if, indeed, thou mayst
atoncn'
Then I could bear no more, for my heart
was broken within me. Alas, it was too
truc-I dared not die. To such pass was
come that did not even dare to die!
flung myself upon the couch and wept-
wept tears of blood and anguish.
But Cleopatra came to me. and seating
herself beside me. she strove to comfort
me. throwing her arms about my neck.
"Nay, Love. look up" she said. ..All is
not lost for thee. nor am angered against
thee. We did play Q mighty game; but as
/ warned thee, / matched my woman's
magic against thine, and have conquered.
But | will be open with thee. Both as
Queen and woman thou hast my pity-ay.
and more; nor do love to see thee plunged
in sorrow. Well was it and right that thou
shouldst strive to win back that throne my
father seized, and the ancient liberty OF
Egypt Myself as lawful Queen had done
the same, nor shrunk from the deed Of
darkness whcrcto | was sworn. Therein,
thon, thou hast my sympathy. that goes
cvor out TO what Is great and bold. Well is
it also that thou shouidst grieve over
the greatness Of thy fall Therein,
then, as woman-as loving woman-taou
hast my sympathy. Nor is all lost. The
plan was foolish-for, as | hold. Egypt
never might have stood alone: for though
thou hadst won the crown and country, as
without doubt thou must have done, yet
waa there the Roman to be reckoned with.
And for thy hope learn this: Little am
known. There is no heart in this wide land
that beats with trucr love for ancient
e lem than does this heart Of mine; nay.
MT thine own. Harmachis. But heavily
hare been shackled heretofore, for wars,
rebcllions, envies, plots have hemmed me
in on every side, 40 that | might not serve
nv PEOPLE as l would But thou, Har
machis, shalt show me how. Thou shalt be
my counselor and my love. Is it o little
thing, o Harmachis, to have won the hear,
OF Cleopatra, that heart-fic on thee THAT
thou wouldst have stilled. Ay. thou shall,
unite me to my people. and together will we
reign, linking thus in one the new kingdom
and the old. Thus do all things work fol
good-ay, for the very best-and thus, b,
another and gentler road, shalt thou clint
to Pharaoh's throne.
'.Sce thou this, Harmachis: thy PREACHER,
shall be cloaked about as much as may be
Was it. then, thy fault that Roman
knave betrayed thy plans. that, thereon
thou vast drugged, thy secret paper.
stolen and their key guessed. Will it
then, be q blame TO thee that. the grea
plot being broken and those who built i
scattered, thou, still faithful TO thy trust
didst serve thee of such means as Nature
gave thee. and win the heart Of Egypt's
Queen, that, through her gentle love, thou
highest yet attain thy ends and spreae
thy wings Of power across the rolling Nile
Am l an ill-counselor, thinkest thou
Harmachiss"
.And those with me-those who trustee
me-what OF them."
..Ay,n she answered, ..Amcncmhas, thu
father, the aged Priest of Abydos; ani
Sepa, thy uncle, that fiery patriot whose
great heart is hid beneath so common q
sh ell Of form; and
Methought she would have said Char
mion, but she named her not.
'sAEd many others-oh, know them all r
"Ay." said, ..what Of thems''
'sSee thou, Harmachis," she answered
raising and placing her hand upon my arm,
.'for thy sake will show mercy to them
No more will / do than must be done.
swear by my throne and by all the Gods o1
Egypt that not one hair Of thy aged fathers
head shall be harmed by me; and, If it b.
not too late, thy uncle Sepa will | alst
spare, ay, and the others. / will not do as
did my forefather Epiphanes, who, wher
the Egyptians rose against him, dragged
ATKINS, Pausras, Chesuphus and lrobash
tus, bound TO his chariot-not as Achillc.
dragged Hector, but vet living-round tn.
city walls. Twill spare them all, save tn,
Hebrews, if there be any Hebrews; for tn,
Jews hate"
''Thcre are no Hebrews" Isaid
"It is weii.'' she said ..for no Hebrew
VIII l ever spare. Am then, indeed, s,
cruel a women as they say. In thy list,
Hnrmachis, were many doomed to die; an,
have but taken the life of one Roman
kuavc, a double traitor. for he betrave,
both me aud thee Art thou not over
whelmed. Harmachis, with the weight o
| mercy which give thee, because-such ar
| q Woman's reasons thou pleasest me, Har
mAchisl Nay, by Serapis.'' she added
with little laugh, I'm change my mind;
| will not give thee SO much for nothing
thou shalt buy it from me, aud the pric
| shall be q heavy one-it shall be kiss
HArnachis."
May" I said, turning from that fai
| te'nptress, 1.-THE price is too heavy; / kis
NO more.''
| "Bethink thee.'' she answered, with
heavy frown. "Bethia.s thee and choose
| sm but a woman, Harmachis, and one VIII
is not wont to sue men. Do as thou wilt
but this say to thec-if thou dost put IN
away, will gather up the mercy | hav
mated out. Therefore, most yirtuou
priest, choose thou 'tvixt the heavy burde
Of 0ly love and the swift death Of thy age
fasher and Of all those who plotted wit
| him.
lglanced at her and saw that she wa
angcred, for her eyes shone and her bosor
heaved. So, signing, l kissed her, thereb
setting the seal upon my shame and bono
age. Then smiling like the triumphan
Aphrodite of the Greeks, she went theme,
bearing the dagger with her.
Not yet did know how deeply was b.
trsyed; or why still was left TO draw th
breath Of life; or why Cleopatra, the tigc
hs artcd, had grown merciful. I did NJ
krow that she feared to slay me lest, :
strong was the plot and so feeble her hol
upon the Double Crown, the tumult ths
might tread hard upon the tidings of 10
m lrder should-even when / was no more
shake her from the throne. Ibid not kno,
that because Of fear and the weight {
policy only she showed scant mercy /,
l %hcuo ,v,hop, I bod hot ~. %k,ns lon....