Mexico weekly ledger., 1889-10-24

slaye-a slave to do the pleasure and minis
ter to the luxury of the Macedonian Lagidas
---ay, and when she had been so long serf
that, perchance, she had forgot how to put
off the servile smile OF bondage and once
more to look across the world with free
dom's glorious eyess
And then | bethought me Of my prayer
upon the pylon tower of Abouthis and of
the answer 10 my prayer, and wondered If
that, too, were dream.
And one night, as, weary with study, /
walked within the sacred grove that is in
the temenos of the Temple, and thought
such thoughts as these, 1 met my Uncle
Scpa, who also was walking and thinking.
''Holdn' he cried, IN his great voice;
"why is thy face SO sad, Harrnachis. Hath
the last problem that we studied over
whelmed theel"
'Nay, uly uncle" I answered. II am
overwhelmed, indeed, but not of the
problem; it was light one. Ny heart is
heavy within me, for l am aweary of life
within these cloisters, and the piled-up
weight Of knowledge crushes me. 1t is of
no avail to store up force which can not be
used.''
'iAh, thou art impatient, Harlnachis," he
answered; ''it is ever the way OF foolish
youth. Thou wouldst taste of the battle;
luOu uUSb weary VI HdliAluS tlic DFtlhSTS
fall upon the shore, thou wouldst plunge
therein and venture the desperate hazard
Of the war. And so thou wouldst be going,
Harmachisa The bird would fly the nest
as, when they are grown, The swallows fly
from beneath the caves of the Temple.
Well, it shall be as tnou desirest; the hour
is at hand. / have taught thee all that ]
have learned, and methinks that the pupil
hath cutrun his master" And he paused
and wiped his bright, black eyes, for he
was very sad at the thought of my depart
ure.
And whittier shall 1 go, my uncler' I
asked, rejoicing; s'back to Abouthis to be
initiated in the mystery of the Godsa''
LAY, back to Abouthis, and from Atouthis
to Alexandria, and from Alexandria to the
throne of thy fathers, o Harmachis! Listen,
ROW; things are thus: Thou knowest how
Cleopatra, the Queen, fed into Syria when
that false eunuch Pothinus set the will of
AuIetes at naught and raised her brother
Ptolemy to the sole lordship of Egypt. Thou
knowest also how she came back, like a
Queen indeed, with great army in her
train, and lay at Peluslm, and how at this
juncture the mighty Caesar, that great man,
that greatest of all men, sailed with weak
company hither to Alexandria from Phar-
salIa's bloody field in hot pursuit of Pompey.
But he found Pompey already dead, having
been basely murdered by Achilias, the Cen
era!, and Lucius Septimius, the chief of the
Roman legions in Egypt; and thou knowest
how the Alexandrians were troubled at his
| coming and would have slain his lictors.
Then, as thou hast heard, Caesar seized
| Ptolemy, the young King, and his sister
Arsinoe, and bade the army of Cleopatra
and the army of Ptolemy, under Achillas,
TD-I
| band and go their ways. And for
| answer Achillas marched on Caesar and be-
seged him straitly in the Bruchium at
| Alexandria, and so, for awhile, things
were, and none knew who should reign in
Egypt. But then Cleopatra took up the dice
and threw them, andithis was the throw she
| made-in truth it was a bold one For,
| leaving the army at Pelusim, she came at
| dusk to the harbor of Alexandria, and alone
with the Siciiian Apollodorus entered and
landed. Then did Apolodorus bind her in
| a bale of rich rugs, such as are made in
| Syria, and sent the rugs as present to
| Caesar. And when the rugs were unbound
| in the palace, behold! within them was the
| fairest girl on al! the earth-ay, and the
most witty and the most learned. And she
| seduced the great Caesar--even his weight
of years did not avail to protect him from
her charms-so that, as a fruit of his folly,
he well-nigb lost his life and all the glory
he had gained in hundred vars
'sThe fool'' | broke in, ''the fool! Thou
callest him great, but how can the man who
hath no strength to stand against a woman s
wiles be truly great! Caesar, with the
| world hanging on his wordi Caesar, at
whose breath forty legions marched and
changed the fate of peoples! Caesar, the
cold the far-seeiEg! the hero! Caesar, to
fall like a ripe fruit into a false girls lap!
| Why, in the issue, of what common clay
was this Roman Caesar, and how poor a
thinEi'
But Sepa looked at me and shook his
head.
s'Be not so rash, Harmachis, and talk not
with so proud voice. Knowest thou not
that in every suit of mail there is a joint,
and woe to him that wears it If the sword
should search it out. For woman, in her
weakness, is yet the strongest force upon
the earth She is the helm of all things
human; she comes in many shapes and
knocks at many doors; she is quick and
patient, and her passion is not ungoverD,
able like that of man, but gentle steed
that she can guide cen where she will, and
as occasion offers can now bit up and now
give rein. She hath captains eye, and
strong must be the fortress of the heart
wherein she finds no place of vantage.
Doth thy blood beat fast in youtha she will
outrun it, nor will her kisses tire. Art
thou set toward ambitions she will unlock
| thy inner heart, and show thee secret roads
that lead to glory. Art thou worn anG
wearys she hath comfort in her breast
Art thou fallen! she can lift thee up
and to the illusion Of thy sense gilt
defeat with triumph. Ay, Harmachis