Thomas County cat., 1889-12-05

in the end he bade me know that -
now prepare me to be initiated inAothaee
great mysteries that are learned a o.
chosen of the Gods.
| And soft came to pass that for Q spacoek
three months prepared myself ACCORDING
to the holy customs ate no meat. Tvs
constant in the sanctuaries audin the study
I of the secrets Of the Great Sacrifice and Of
the passion Of the HOW Mother. Iwatchel
and prayed before the affairs. lifted NJ
my soul to God: ay, in dreams communed
with the Invisible, till At length earth and
earth's desires seemed to pass from me.
longed 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 unalterablc 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 .
sphere. o hours Of holy contemplation
who having once tasted Of Jour joy could
wish again to grovel on the earthl Ovile
heshl 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 toe
swiftly, and now the holy day drew rear
when I was in truth to be united to the
universal Mother. Never hath Night 80
longed for the promise Of the Dawn; never
hath the heart of a lover so passionately
desired the sweet coming Of the bride; rs
ionged to see Thy glorious face, o Isisf
Even now that l have been faithless to
Thee, and Thou art far from me, o Divines
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. For
seven days had the great festival been cele-
brated, the suffering Of the Lord Osiris had
been commemorated, the passion OF the
Mother Isis had been adored and glory 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 foated
on the sacred lake. the priests had
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 in his hand.
Then, clad in pure linen, followed /. the
neophyie, 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 mOurners; 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 ut length we came to the temenos CT the
Temple and passed in. And as my father,
the High Priest, enterei beneath the gate
way Of the outer pylon, sweet-voiced
woman singer began to sing the Holy
Chant, and thus she sang:
"Sing we Os RS dead,
Lament the fallel head:
Tn 4 ,;..t has .t tie worl the world 10 gray.
Athw:-t the starry skies
The WEB o. DARKNESS fl es.
And Isis weeps Os y aiaeI away.
Yourtel-s, ye sta-s, sc frs. " rivers, shed.
Weep, ch ID. n OF the Nile, weep for your
Lord is dcadr
She paused in her most sweet song, and
thereon the whole multi ude took up the
melancholy dirge:
"Sof;ly We t-ea Lou measured footsteps falling
Wita,n t e ST., .ctuary Sovenfoli:
Syft on the Dead that hveih are We callng'
Return. Osiris from thv Kingdom cold
Return to them that worshi thee OF old"
The chorus ceased, and once again she
sang:
wv thin the court divine
The Seve .fold-sacrcd shrine
We pass VIII 10 echo, OF the Temple walls
Repeat the long lament
The sound Of so row sent
Far up with n the impershable halls,
Where, each in others arms, the Sisters
weep,
Isis and Nephthy. Ger His unawakins
Sleep"
And then again rolled out the solemn
chorus Of q thousand voices:
"SoflIy We tread. our measured footsteps falling
With n the Sanctuary Sevenfold:
Soft on tae Dead tlat l!veth are We calling:
Return. Os-.s from thy Kingdom coldi
Return to them that worsh p thee OF DID,"
It ceased, and sweetly she took up the song:
"Odweller in the West
Lover AID Lordlsest
Thy love, thy ster Isis calls thee homei
Como from thy chamber dun,
Thou Master OF the Sun,
Thy shadowy chamber far below the foam
w th weary wings and spent
Through al the armament
Through al the horror.bauLted ways OF hell
Iscek thee near and far,
From star TO wandering star,
Free with the dead that IN Amenti dwell
Isearch the he .gnt, the deep. the lands, the
Sk e..
Rise from the dead and live. our Lord
Osiris, rise."
''Sofsly We tread, our measured footsteps falling
Within tho Sanctuary Sevenfold:
Sorton the De.d that l.veth are We calling:
Return. O3 r;s, from thy x ngdom coldi
Return TO them that worship thee Of old.
Then, in . strain more high and glad, the