Mexico weekly ledger., 1889-11-21

'SiEET1uus SlS satus WlCES L. fNS
rionl Wa it then "a dream. | dreamed
that Julius Julius who Is dead-cane to
ne, his bloody toga wrapped about his face,
md, having thrown his arms about his child,
ed him away. Then / dreamed | died
4ied In blood and agony; Inc one l might
aot see Knocked me as / diedt AL who Is
that mansh
'sPeace, MADAM i~,eaacei' said CharInion
"'Tis but the magician naTuiacais, whom
thou didst bid he bring to thee at this
hour"
"Ahi the n.agician--taat Harrnachis who
overthrow the giaatt I~reIneulber me now.
He Is welcome. Tell me, Sir Magician, can
thy magic mirror give forth an answer to
this dreail2 Nay, how strange q thing Is
sleep, that, wrapping the mind in a web OF
darkness, straightly compeis it 10 its Will.
Whence, then, cGlIe those images of fear
rising on the horizon of the soul like some
untimely moon upon the twilight skyf
Who grants them power to stalk so lifelike
from Memory's thronging halls, and. point
ing to their wounis, thus confront the
Present with tho Past2 Are they, then,
messengers: Doth the semi-deatho OF sleep
give them o foothold in our brains, and
thus upknit tho severed thread OF human
kinshipa That was Casur's self, | tell thee,
who but now stood at my side and MUIR
INJURED through his muffied robe warning
words whereof the memor is lost to me.
Read me this riddle, thou Egyptian Sphinx,
and I'll show thee d roster path TO fortune
| than all thy stars can point. Thou hast
brought the omen, solve thou its problem"
"In a good hour do l come, most mighty
Queen" / made answer, ''for l nave some
skill in the mysteries of sleep, which is, as
thou hast rightly guessed, a stair whereby
those who are gathered to Osiris may from
time to time enter at the gateways OF our
living sense, and, by signs and words that
cat be read of mortals thereto duly learned,
repeat the echoes of that Hall of Truth
which is their habitation. Thereby also the
messengers of the guardian Gods may de-
sceud in many shapes upon the half-ioosed
spirit of their choice. For, 0 Queen, to
those who hold the key, the madness of our
dreams can show a clearer purpose and
speak more certainly than all the acted
wisdom of our waking life, which is a
dream indeed. Thou didst see great Cesar
in his bloody robe, and he threw his arms
about Prince Casarion and led him hence.
Hearken cow to the secret of thy visions.
Twas Caesars self thou sawest coming to
thy side from Amenti in such a Euise as
might not be mistaken. When he embraced
the child CIsarion he did it for q sign tina,
to him. and him alone, he passed his great
ness and his love. When he seemed tt
lead him hence he led him forth from Egyp,
to be crowned in the Capitol, crowned the
Emperor of Rome and Lord of all the lands
For the rest, | know it not. 1t is hid from
me-"
Thus, then, 1 read the vision, though Il
my sense it had a more evil meaning. Blu
it is not we'll to prophecy evil unto Kings.
Meanwhile Cleopatra had risen, and, hav
- l,..l- &lD -,at ra,-r yr,n-
upon the edge of her COUCH, her eyes fixet
upon my face the while her fingers played
with her girdle's jeweled ends.
s.Of truth" she cried, t'thou art tn,
best of all magicians, for thou readest m.
heart, and out of the rough shell Of evi
omen drawest the hidden sweet"
"Ay, 0 Queen!' said Cbarmion, VIII
stood by with downcast eyes, and me
thought there was bitter meaning in he
soft notes; may no rougher words ever af
front thy ears, and no evil passage les!
closely tread upon its happy sense" Cleo
patra placed her hands behind her head, ant
leaning back looked with half shut eyes.
"Come, show US of thy magic. Egyptian,
she said. 1T Is yet hot abroad, and l an
weary of those Hebrew Ambassadors an
their talk of Herod and Jerusalem. l hat
that Herod, as he shall finland / WI
have pone of the Ambassadors to-day
though q little do l yearn TO try my Hebrey
on them. What canst thou do? Hast tho
no new trick2 BY Serapisi if thou cans
c~onjure as well as thou canst prophecy tho
shalt have d place at court, with pay an
p~erquisites to boot. and thy lofty soul dot
not scorn perqui5ites."
"Nay,n l answered, 'all tricks are old
but there are some forms of magic to b
rarely used, and with discretion, that may
%perchance, be new to thee, o Queen! Al
thou afraid to venture on the charms"
"Naught / fear; go on and do thy worst
Come, Charmion, and sit thou by me. But
stay, where are all the glrlS!-Iris an
Merir?-they, too, love magic"
SHOT So" 1 SAID ssthe charms work i'll bt
} fore so many. Now beholdr' And, gain
at the twain, I cast down my wand upo
l the marble and murmured a spell. For
> moment it was still, and then, as l mutterei
the rod slowly began to writhe. 1t bent i
: self, it stood on end. and of its own motto
= moved. Next it put on scales, and behol
, it was a serpent that crayled and fercel
; Kissed.
ssFie on theel p cried Cleopatra, clappin
: her hands; '-callest thou that magica VIII,
. It's an old trick that any wayside conjure
y can do. l have seen it a score of times"
"Wait o Queen" answered; 'thou ha!
Z not seen all" And even as l spoke the Sc
: pent seemed to break in fragments, an
o from each fragment grew a new serpen
;, And these, too, broke in fragments ar
4 bred others, till in a little space the plac,
to their glamored sight, was a seething Sc
u OF snakes, that crawled, Kissed and knotte
themselves in knots. Then l made a sig
X and the serpents ga hered themselvt
about me, and seemed slowly to twin
. themselves about my body and my liml
till, save my face, l was wreathed thie
o with kissing snakes.
. "Oh, horrible! horribleI' cried Cha
!, mion, hiding her countenance in the skirt
the Queens garment.
NAY, enoughi Magician, enough!" sa
q the Queen; ''thy magic overwhelms u.s."
q waved my snake-Wrapped arms, and s
was gone. There at my feet lay the blat
q wand tipped with ivory, n naught b
< side.
3, The two women looked one upon anoth
S, and gasped with wonder. But 1 took
5, the wand and stood with folded arms b
& fore them.
IS SIS the Queen content will my poor art
y Iasked most humbly.
IS "Aye, that am l, Egyptian; never did
III see its iike! Court astronomer art tht
re- from this day forward, with right of accc
70 to the Queens presence. Hast thou mo
es of such magic at thy call:"
Yes, Royal Egypt; suffer that t
a1 chamber be d little darkened and l "
Is show thee one more thing"
le Half am l afraid" she answere
"a nevertheless, do thou, Charmion, ever
r. this Harnachis says"
le So the curtains were drawn and t
Tx chamber made as though the twilight W
ST at hand. came forward and stood me /
ne side Cleopatra. 'GaZe thou therel''
- said, sternly, pointing with the wand to t
ef empty space where l had been, land tn
shalt behold that which is in thy mind"
Then for a little space was silence, VIII
the two women gazed fixedly and half fe'
full at the spot.
And as they gazed a cloud gathered
fore them. Very slowly it took shape a
form, and the form it took was the form
> a man, though as yet he was but vague
mapped upon the twilight, and seemed nj
to grow and now to melt away.
= Then I cried with q loud voice:
"Shade, l ~conjure thee, apDedr!"
] And evsn as 1 cried the Thing, perfect
every part, leapt INTO form before us, 81
den as the fash of day. His shape was
shape of Royal Cesar, the toga thro'
!, about his face, and on his form a vestnls
o bloody from a hundred wounds. An
slant so he stood, then l waved my W.
H and he was gone.
I'M / turned me to the two women on
couch, and then l saw ~Cleopatra's low
III face all clothed in terror. Her lips W.
" ashy white, her eyes stared WIDE, and
flesh was shaking on her bones.