The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1889-11-14

quered me, she had robbed me of my honor
and stepped me to the lips In shame, and j,
poor. blinded wretch! l kissed the rod that
smote me and was her very slave.
Az, even now. in those dreams which will
come when sleep unlocks the secret heart,
and sets all its terrors free TO roam through
the open halls Of thought, seem TO see her
royal form. as crst I saw it, come with arms
outstrcfched and loves own light shining
in her deep eyes, with lips apart and flow
ing locks, and stamped upon her face the
look Of utter tenderness that she alone
could wear. Az, still, after all the years.
seem to see her come as erst she came, and
still wake to know her an unutterablc lie.
And thus one day she came. She had
fled in haste. she said, from some great
council summoned concerning the wars Of
Antony in Syria, and she came. as she had
left the council, in all her robes of state,
and in her hand the scepter, and on her
brow the urseus diadem Of gold. There she
sat before me laughing: for, wearyiug of
them. she had told the ENJOYS, to whom she
gave audience in the council, that she was
called from their presence by sudden
message come from Rome; and TO her the
jest seemed merry. Suddenly she rose,
took the diadem from her brow, and set it
on my hair, and on my shoulders her Royal
chlamys, and in my hand the scepter, and
bowed the knee before me. Then, laugh
ing again, she kissed me on the lips and
said was, indeed, her King. But, remem-
bering how had been crowned in the halls
of Abouthis, and remembering also that
| wreath of roses whereof the odor haunts
me yet, rose pale with wrath and cast the
| trinkets from me, asking her how she
dared to mock me-her Gagged bird. And
| methinks there was that about me that
startled her. for she fell back.
NAY, Harmachis,' she said, "be not
| wroth! How knowest thou that 1 mock
| thee. How knowest thou that thou shalt
| not be Pharaoh in fact and deed!"
what meanest thous" l said. ''Wl,t
| thou, then, wed me before Egypt. How
else can be Pharaoh now.'
She cast down her eyes. "Perchance.
love, it's in my mind to wed thee" she said
gently.
.Listenw she went on. Thou growest
pale here in this prison, and little dost thou
| eat. Gainsay me not! know it from the
| slaves. have kept thee here, Harmachis,
| for thine own sake, that is SO dear to me !;
and for thine own sake, and thy honor s
sake. must thou still seem to be my prison
er. Else wouldst thou be shamed and slain
-ay, murdered secretly. But here can
meet thee no more; therefore tomorrow
| will free thee in all save in the name, and
thou shalt once more be seen at Court as
my astronomer. And this reason will give
that thou hast cleared thysef; and, more
| over, that thy auguries as regards the war
| have been auguries of truth-as, indeed,
| they have, though thereon have no cause
| to thank thee, for methinks thou didst suit
| thy prophecies to fit thy cause. Now fare
| well for | must return to those heavy
browed ambassadors; and grow not 50 sud
den wroth, for who knows what may come
to pass 'twixt thee and me."
And. with n little nod, she went, leaving
| it on my mind that she had it in her heart
to take me to husband And, of a truth, l
do believe that, at this hour, such was her
| thought For, if she loved me not, still she
held me dear, and as vet she had not
wearied Of me.
On the morrow Cleopatra came not, hut
Charmion came-Charmion, whom had not
seen since that fatal night OF ruin. She en-
| tered and stood before me, with pale face
and downcast eyes, and her first words
were words of bitterness.
pardon me,n she said, in her gentle
voice, .n that dare to come to thee in
Cleopatra's place. Not for long is thy JOY
delayed, for thou shall. see her presently
shrank at her words, as well l might,
and, seeing her vantage, she seized it.
81 come. Harmachis-Royal no more!
come to tell thee that thou art free! Free
thou art to face thine own infamy, and see
it thrown back from every eye that trusted
thee, even as shadows are from water.
come to tell thee that the great plot--the
plot of twenty years and more-ls at Its
utter end. None have been slain, indeed
unless It's Sepa, who has vanished. Blu,
all the leaders have been seized and put in
chains, or driven from the land, and trell
party Is no more. The storm has melted
ere it burst Khem is lost, and lost forever
for her last hope is gone! No longer may
she strugglo-now for all time must she
bow her neck to the yoke, and her back K
the rod of the oppressor!''
l groancd aloud. s.Alas, was be
trayedm SAID; "Paulus BETRAYED us
Thou vast betrayeds Nay, thou thysel
vast the betrayer: How came 1t that tho,
didst not STAY Cleopatra when thou was
alone with hers Answer, thou for
sworn!
.She drugged me-" said again.
% Harmachisr' answered the pitiles.
girl, show low art thou fallen from thai
Prince whom once knew! thou who dos
not scorn to be q liar! Yea, thou las
drugged -drugged with o love philtrc
Yea, thou didst sell Egypt and thy cause
for the price OF . wanton's kiss! Thou Sor
row and thou Shame" she went on, point
ing her finger at me and lifting her eyes Il
my face, ''thou Scorn thou Outcast =
and thou Contempt! Deny it if thou canst
Ay, shrink from me-knowing what tho,
art, well mayst thou shrink! Shrink anc
crawl to Cleopatra's feet, and kiss he
sandals till such time as it pleases he
to trample thee in thy kindred dirt: bu
from all honest folk MISUNDERSTANDING
My soul quivered beneath the lash O
her bitter hate, but I had no words to an
swcr
How comes it'll said at last in hcav,
: voice, THAT thou, too, art not betrayed, bu
art here to taunt me, thou who once dds
J swear that thou dldst love met Being
woman, hast thou no pity for the frailt!
, of man3n
MY name was not on the lists" she said
} dropping her dark eyes. Herein Is al
: opportunity! betray me also, o Harmachis
Ay, its because / once did love thee-dos
tsou, indeed, remember itl-that feel tn,
fail the more. The shame of one whom W.
once have loved must in some sort becom
, our shame, and must ever cling to US il
that we blindly held thing SO base close Il
onrinmest heart Art thou also, then, fool
Wouldst thcu, fresh from thy royal wan
toms arms, como tn me for comfort TO ~