The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1889-11-30

A43S gs
NV thplg hts Ahs, IN sSs
MA sSs noble
IL il nau
and know when ~ to con ritii at orr
need value this golden u
service, and 81 the md dri INKS
have been set before us s
aybe, a thousand sestertj ~
Thou hast understated ~ by half noble B
sAntonyi But, such 81 III is, a ii its thee I
and those with thee as d free token Of my 4
friendship B. a And more Wi ~ Is show thee
now. Il myself will eat and drink ten thou \
sand sestertia 1T adraug n n. tss
ssThat can not be, fair Egypt l'' sS$ 653
25a She laughed, and babe q slave bring her e
vinegar ii glass. When II was brought
she set Il before her and laugh He'd again,
while Antony, rising from his couch, drew
d sar and sat himself at her side, and all the
company leant forward to see what she
would do And this she did From her ears
she took one of those great pearls, which
last OF all had been drawn from the body Of
the divine Pharaoh; and before any could
guess her purpose let 1t fall into the vine
gar. Then came silence, the silence OF Won
der, and slowly the peerless pearl melted In
the acid When it was melted she took the
glass and shook it, then drank the vinegar
to tue last drop. .s
.More vinegar, slavev' she cried, 'my
meal is but half finished 1" and she drew
forth the second pearl
ssBy Bacchus, no thou shalt not - cried
Antony, snatching at her hands; 81 have
seen enough" And at that moment, moved
thereto by know not what, called aloud:
svThe hour falls the hour Of the coming Of
the curse Of Ms,lta-rG'' fl.
An ashy whiteness grew upon Cleopatra's
face and furiously she tnrned upon me,
while all the company gazed wondering, not
knowing what the words might mean.
.rThou ill-omened slavel' she cried.
ssSpeak thus once more and thou shalt be
scourged with rods!-ay, scourged like an
evil-doer- that promise thee, Harmaohisl'
"What means the knave of an astrol-
ogers'' asked Antony. "Speak, sirrahs
and make clear thy meaning, for those vine
deal in curses must warrant their wares"
II am servant of the Gods, noble An
tony. That which the Gods put in my mind
that must say; nor can road their mean-
ing" answered humbly.
s.Ohi oh! thou servest the Gods, dost thou,
thou many-colored mystery2" (This he
said having reference to my splendid
robes) well, serve the Goddesses,
which is a softer cult. And there's this
between us: that though what they put in
my mind I say, neither can read their
meaning" and he glanced at Cleopatra as
one who questions. &
ssLet the knave be, !" she said impatientiy,
'sto morrow we'll be rid Of him. Sirrah, be-
gone!"
bowed and went; and, as went, heard
Antony say: "Well, a knave he may be, for
that all men are, but this for thy astroioger--
he hath a royal air and the eye Of kng-ay,
and with it,. Il s@t',
Without the door paused, not knowing
what to do, for was bewilde7ed with mis-
ery; and, as stood, some one touched me
on the hand. glanced up-it was Char
mion, who, in the confusion Of the rising
of the guests, had slipped away and fo'.
lowed me. $.&
For in trouble, Charmion was ever at my
side. ~ ....7.
ssFollow me-" she whispered; Esthou artin
danger" r
turned and followed her. Why should
Inot?
whittier go weep asked, at length.
ITO my chamber she said. Clear not,
we ladies of Cleopatra's Cou:'t have small
good fame to lose. It.any one by chance
should see us, they'll think tl~at It's love
tryst, and such are all the fashion,"
followed, and, presently, skirting Inc
crowd, we came, unseen, TO q llvJie sid~ en-
trance that led TO stair up witch wa
passed. The stair ende' in a p; 8, re-; we
turned down it till we IL nd d do on the
left hand Silently Chat nion e1t,. d, and
I followed her into dark chamber. Being
in she barred the door, and, kindling finder
to fame, lit a hanging lamp. AS the light
grew strong gazed around. The chamber
was not large and had but one easement
closely suffered. For the rest, it was sim
ply furnished, having white walls, soma
chests for garments, An ancient chair, what
I took to be a firing table, wherein were
combs, perfumes and all the frippery tnas
pertains to woman, and white bed with 3
broidered coverlid, over which was hung
gnat gauze.
'sBe seated, Harmachis," she said, point
ing to the chair.
[ took the chair, and Charmion, throwing
back the gnat gauze, sat herself upon the
bed before me. is.
ssKnowest thou what heard Cleopatra.
say as thou didst leave the baiqueting
halle" she asked presently.
s'Nay, know not.''
ssShe gazed after thee, and, as went
over to her to do some service. she MUIR
INJURED to herself: by Scraps, l will make
an endI No longer will I wait; tomorrow
he shall be strangledp"
$500" said; sit may be; though, after
all that has been, scarce can believe that
she will murder me.'
'sWhy canst thou not believe it, o thou
most foolish of menu Dost forget how nigh
thou was to death there in the Alabaster
Halll Who saved thee then from the knives
of the eunuchs9 Was it Cleopatral Or
was it and Brennus2 Stay win zell
thee. Thou canst not yet believeit, because
in thy folly thou dost not think it possible
that the woman who has but lately been a.
wifs to thee can now in SO short time
doom thee to be basely done to death. Nay,
answer not-I know all; and this tell thea
thou hast not measured the depth d
Cleopatra's perfidy. nor canst thou dream
the blackness Of her wicked heart. She had
surely slain thee in Alexandria had she not
feared that thy slaughter, being noised
nj, N11 nS.p1k l. ,I~I ~k L