Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-11-13
CLEOPATRA.
Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis, the
 Royal Egyptian.

Royal Egyptian. srtered in, though the great gates stood wi,,e: and then I saw that herbs were growing 'twIxt the stones, where no herbs had grown for ages. What could this be! Was the Temple deserteds Nay; how could the worship of the eternal Gods have ceased that for thousands of years had, day by day, been offered in the holy placea Was, then, my father deada It well might be. And yet, why this silences where were the priests? where the worshipersl No moro could l bear the doubt, but as the sun sank red crept like a hunted jackal through tho open gates, and on till reached the first great Hall of Pillars. Here paused and gazed around me-not a sight, not a sound Tn the dim and holy place On with a beating heart went to the second great hall of siX-and-thlrty pillars, where had been crowned Lord of all the Land; still not a sight or soundl l Thence, half fearful of my own footfall, so terrible dld it echo in the silence of the de- serted Holies, passed down the passage of tho names of the Pharaohs toward my la ther's chamber. There still swung the cur tain OCT the doorway; but what would there be within!- !- also emptiness! lifted it, and noiselessly passed in, and there in his carven chair at the table whereon his long white beard flowed down, sat my father, Amenemhat, clad in his prlestly robes At first thought that he was dead, so still he sat; but at length he turned his head, and saw that his orbs wero white and sightless He was blind, and his face was thin as the face of dead man, and woeful with age and grief.
 l stood still and felt the blind eyes wan ,,ok. T Ioy> not speak to him; I would go and hide n.y. self afresh.
 Already had turned and grasped the cur tain, when, in deep, slow voice, my father spoke:
 "Come hither, thou who vast my son and art traitor. Come hither, thou Harmachis, whereon Khem builded up her hope. Not in vain, then, have I drawn thee from far away! Not in vain have held my life in me till heard thy footfall creeping down these empty Holies, like the footfall of a thiefp'
 "Ohl my father."I gasped, astonished. ''Thou art blind; how knowest thou met"
 "How do know theel and askest thou that who hast learned of our lorea Enough, know thee and I brought thee hither. Would, Harmachis, that I knew thee not would that had been blasted of the in- visible ere I drew thee down from the womb of Nout to be my curse and shame, and the last woe of Khem!"
 "Oh, speak thou not thus !'' mcaned, 'is not my burden already more than l can bears Am not myself betrayed and utterly outcast Be pitiful, my fatherP'
 "Be pitifull be pitiful to thee who hath shown so great pitys Thy pity twas which gave up noble Sepa to die beneath the hands of the tormentors"
 "Oh, not that-not that !'' cried
 "Ay, traitor, thatl to die in agony, with his last poor breath proclaim,ng thee, his murderer, honest and innocent! Be pitiful to thee, who gaveth all the flower of Khem as the price of wanton's arms l-thinkest thou that, laboring in the darksome desert mines, those noble ones in thought are pitt full to thee, Harmachis3 Be pltiful to thee, by whom this holy Temple of Absuthis hath been ravaged, it's lands seized, its priests scattered, and alone, old and withercd, left to count out it's ruin Ito thee, who hath poured the treasures of Her into thy leman' s | lap, who hath forsworn thyself, thy country, | thy birthright, and thy Godsi Yea, thus | um pitiful: l:-Accursed be thou, fruit of my loins !-Shame be thy portion, Agony thy l end, and Hell receive thee at the last | Where art thoua Yea, grew blind with | weeping when heard the truth-sure, they strove to hide it from me. Let me find thee that may spit upon thee, thou Renegade thou Apostatel thou Outcast!"-and h. rose from his seat and staggered like liv ing wrath toward me. smiting the air witt | his wand. And as he came with outstretchet arms, awful to see, suddenly his end fount him, and with a cry he sank down upon the ground, the red blood streaming from his lips. l ran to him and lifted him; and as hs died, he babbled:
 "He was my son, bright-eyed, lovely boy, and full of promise as the spring; ant now-and now-oh, would that he were l dead!'
 Then came pause, and the breath rattlee in his throat.
 "Harmachis," he gasped, tart tn, .er' 1 "Yea, father.'
 l "Harmachis, atone !-atonei Vengeanc, can still be WI leaked-forgiveness may stil be won. There's gold; Two hidden it. Atoua-she can tell thee-ah, this pain Farewelll'
 And he struggled faintly in my arms, ant was dead. Thus, then, did I and my hol. father, the Prince Amenemhat, meet togeth CT for the last time in the flesh, and for th last time part: