The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1889-10-24

draw our destiny with them q they roil
What says the Greek fable Of him who be
came star? Perchance 1t hath truth, FOL
yonder tiny SPARKS may be the souls Of men
but grown more purely bright and placed IN
happy rest to iilume the turmoil Of their
mother Garth. Or arc they lamps hung high
In the heavenly vault that night By nigh,
some Godhead. whose wings are darkness
touches with his immortal fire, 70 that they
leap out " answering fiamcl Give me
somesshat Of thy wisdom and open these
wonders to me, q my servant, for have
| little knowledge. Yet my heart il large.
| aud fain would fill it, for have the wi,
| could but find the teacher
Thereon, being right glad to find footing on
| a safer shore. ard marveiing somewhat 70
| learn that Cleopatra had i place for lofty
| thoughts, I spoke and told her willingly
such things as arc lawful ! told her how
tn. sky Is q liquid mass pressing round the
earth and resting on the elastic pillars OF
tho air. and how above is the heavenly
| .cean Nolt, wherein tho planets float hiss
ships as they rush upon their radiant way.
Many things told her, and among them
how through the certain. ncver-ceasing
movement of the orbs OF light tho planet
that was called Donaou tEennsD when she
showed as the morning star, became the
planet Bonou when she came as the sweet
Star Of Eve. Tine motion Of the planets
appears to have been familiar to the Egyp-
tiansl. And, while l stood and spoke
watching the stars, she sat. her hands
| c.aspcd upon her knee, and watched my
face.
.-Ah!" she broke in at length, land so
Venus is To bc seen both in the morning and
the evening sky. Well. of truth, she is
everywhere, though best she loves the
night. But thou lowest not tha; should use
these Latin names to thee. Come, we will
talk in the ancient tongue of Khen, which
! know right well: tine first, mark thou, OF
all the Lagil;H am | who know it. And
now.' she wen: on. speaking IN mine own
tongue, but with = little foreign accent that
did but make her talk more sweet. .cnough
Of stars. for, when all is said, they are but
tickle things, and perchance may even now
be storing up an evil hour for thee or me-.
or for us both together. Not but what
love to hear thee speak of them, for then
thy face doth lose that gloomy cloud Of
thought wherewith thou drapest il and
grows quick and human. Harmachis, thou
art too young for such q solemn trade: me-
iHitthS THAI iuhcl AusA IuEG ~ UCltGIs IDlil
comes but once; why waste it in these
musings. Time is it TO think when we can
no longer act. Tell me how old art thou.
Harnachis. ~
81 am six and twenty years, o Queen"
answered, "fcr l was born In the first
month Of Shomou. in the summer season,
and on the third day of the month";"
..Why. we are of an age even to day."
. ma s.r.nl stfnr hayc q and
years, and /, too. was born on the third day
81 the first month Of shomou. We'll, this
may we say-those who begot Us need have
no shame. For If BE- the fairest woman
in Egypt. mc,hinks, Harmachis. that there
is in Egypt no man more fair and strons
than tiIo,i. aye, or more learned. Born on
the same day, why, lis manifest that we
were destined to stand together, as the
Queen. and thou, pcrchance, Harmachis. as
one n the chief pillars Of my throne, and
thus TO work each others veal
''Or, pcrchancc, each others woe" /
answered, looking up. for her sweet
speeches stnng my ears. and brought more
color 10 my face than | loved that she
should see therein.
sSay, never talk Of woe. BE seated here
by me. Harmachis, and let US talk, not as
Queen and subject. but as friend TO frit nd.
Thou Vast angertd with me al the feast to-
Eight-was it not so,--in that / Knocked
thee with yonder wreath. Nay, twas but
jest. Didst thou know how heavy is the
tasi.nf monarchs, and low wcarisone 8rc
their hours, thou wonldst not be wroth be-
cause lit my dizziness with a jest. Oh.
they weary me, those princes and these
mobiles, and those stifs-nccled, pompcus
Romans. TO my face they vow Intensely "a
my slaves, and behind my back they mock
me and proclaim me the servant of their
triumyiraie, or their empire, or their re-
public, as the wheel Of fortune turns, and
each rises on its round. There is never \
man among them-nothing but fools, para
sites and purpciH-nevcr man since with
their cowardly iaggcrs they slew that
Caesar whom all the world IL arms was not
strong enough 10 tame. And l must play
OF one against the other. II, may be, by SO
doing / can keep Egypt from their grip.
And for reward, what. Why, this is my
reward; that all men speak i'll Of me and-I
know Tiny subjects hate pc! Yea, I be-
lleve that woman though be, they would
murder me- could they find q neansr' And
she paused, covering her eyes with hca
hand. and it was well, for her words pix.x,cd
me SO that ! shrank there upon the scar be-
side her.
..They think i'll OF me, know il; and call
me wanfon, who have never stepped aSide
save once, when loved the greatest man
Of all the world, and at the touch of love my
passion famed indeed, but burnt with q
hallowcd fame. These ribald Alexandrians
do swear that ! poisoned Ptolemy, my
brother-whom, most unnaturally, the RO-
man Senate would have forced on me, his
sister, as a husband! but it is false; he
slckened and died Of fever. And even SO
they say that would STAY Arsinoe, my sis
ter-who. indeed. would slay me!-but that,
too, is falsel Though she will have none of
me, love my sister. Yea, they all think
i'll OF me without cause: even thou dost
think i'll of me, Harmachs. Oh, Harmachis,
before thou judgest, think what thing IL
envy that foul sickness Of the mind which
makes the jaundiced eye of pettiness to sec
all things distraught-to read evil written
on the open face Of good. and find impurity
in the whitest virgins soul. Think what q
thing it is, Harmachs, to be set on high
above the gaping crowd OF knaves who hate
thee for thy fortune and thy wit; who gnash
their teeth and shoot the arrsws Of their
lies srom the cover of their own obscure
ness. whence they have no wings to soar; ;
and whose hearts quest it is to drag down
thy nobility to the leye! Of the grounding
and the fool.
'Be not, then, ready to think evil Of the
great, whose every word and act is searched
Tor error by o million angry eyes, and
whose most tiny fault Is trumpeted by q
thousand Threats, till the world shakes
with the echoes Of their sin! Say not: s'Tis
thus. it's certainly thus'-say. rather: Nay,
may it not be otherwise. Have we heard
Alright: Did she this thing OF her own
wili' Judge gently, . Harmachis, AS vert
thou me thou wouldst be judged. Remem-
Der that Queen is never free. She is, in
deed, bat the point and instrument Of those
forces polite, wherewi,h are craven the
iron books of history. y, Harmachis! be
thou my friend-my friend and counsellor /
my friend whom can trust indced.-for
here, in this crowded court, am more ut
terly alone than any soul that breathcs
| about the corridors. But thee trust; there
is faith written in those quiet eyes, and l
am minded TO lift thee high. Harmachis, l
can no longer bear my solitude of mind Il