The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-11-13

sIistenp she went on. tsThou growest
pale here in this prison, and little dost thou
eat. Gainsay me notl know 1t from the
slaves. / Ihave kept thee here, Harmachis,
for thine own sake, that Is 80 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. Bnt 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 Courtas
my astronomer. And this reason will give
that thou hast cleared thyself; and, more
over, that thy aigpries asfregsrds the war
have been auguries OF truth as indeed,
they have, though thereon have Ino canse
TO thank thee, for methinks thou didstsuit
thy prophecies to 1t thy cause. Now fare
we'll; for must return to those heavy
browed ambassadors and grow notso sud
den wroth, for who known what may come
to pass 'twixt thee and met"
And, with q little nod, she went, leaving
Il On my mind that she had II IN her heart
TO take me to husband. And, OF q truth, !
do believe that, at this hour, such was her
thought. For, II she loved me not, still she
held me dear, and % yet she had not
wearied Of me. ...,.,,.-------.--....- -,--..--,
On the morrow Cleopatra came not, but
Charmion came-7 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 fbitterness. tiy tir ~t
aPardon me,r she said, In her gentle
II. n 90 IN thaa In
Cieopatra's place, Not for long Is thy Joy
delayed, for thou shalt see her presently.
shrank OF her words, as well might,
and, seeing her vantage, she seized 1t.
~ come, Harmachis-Royal no morel /
come TO tell thee that thou art freel Free
thou art 10 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-is at Its
utter end None have been slain, indeed,
unless It's Sepa, who has vanished. But
all the leaders have been seized and put In
chains, or driven from the land, and tier
party Is no more. The storm has melted
ere It burst. Khem Is lost, and lost forever,
for her last hope is gonel No longer may
she struggle--now for all time must she
bow her neck to the yoke, and her back TO
the rod Of the oppressor" ..
I Rroaned aloud. "Alas, was be-
trayedl" said; ''Paulus betrayed u.s."
sThou vast betrayed Nay, thou thyself
vast the betrayerl How came it that thou
didst not slay Cleopatra when thou vast
alone with heri Answer, thou for
swornw
"She drugged me-" / said again.
10 Harmachisp' answered the pitiless
girl, ''how low art thou fallen from that
Prince whom once knewi thou who dost
not scorn to be liari Yea, thou vast
drugged- -drugged with love philtre!
Yea, thou didst sell Egypt and thy cause
for the price Of . wanton's hssl Thou Sor-
row and thou Shamep' she went on, point
ing her finger at me and lifting her eyes to
nv face, ''thou Scorpi-thou Outcastl-
and thou Contempt Deny 1t II thou canst.
Ay, shrink from me-knowing what thou
art, well mayst thou shrinkl Shrink and
crawl to Cleopatra's feet, and kiss her
sandals till such time as 1t pleases her
To trample thee in thy kindred dirt; but
from all honest folk shrfnh-shrtnhf"
NY soul quivered beneath the lash Of
her bitter hate, but / had no words TO an
swer.
"How comes it'll said at last in heavy
voice, "that thou, too, art not betrayed, but
art here 10 taunt me, thou who once didst
swear that thou didst love met Being q
woman, hast thou no pity for the fralty
Of manp -.
'My name was not on the lists" she said,
dropping her dark eyes. "Herein Is an
opportunity betray me also, o Harmachis
Ay, tits because once did love thee-dost
thou, indeed, remember iti-that feel thy
fall the more. The shame Of one whom we
once have loved must in some sort become
our shame, and must ever cling TO US In
that we blindly held thing so base close TO
ourinmost heart. Artthou also, then, q fooll
Wouldst thou, fresh from thy royal wan
toms arms, come TO me for comfort--to me
Of all the world"
"How know IL l said, "that IL was not
thou who, in thy jealous anger, didst betray
our plansl Charmion, long ago Sepa warned
me against thee, and Of truth now that
recall"
"'Tis. like a traitor,p she broke in, red
dening TO her brow, ito think that all are
Of his family and hold common mind
Nay, betrayed thee not; twas that poor
knaye Paulus, whose heart failed him at
the last, and who is rightly served Nor
will stay TO hear thoughts so base. Har-
machis-Royal no more Cleopatra, Queen
Of Egypt bids me say that thou art free,
and that she waits thee In the Alabaster
Hail.
And shooting one swift glance through
her long lashes, she curtsied and was gone
Soonce more came and went about the
Court, though but sparingly, for my hear
was full Of shame and terror, and on every
face I feared TO see the scorn Of those whC
knew me for what was. But naughtI saw
for all those who had knowledge Of the pio
had fed, and for her own sake no word haS
Charmion spoken. Also Cleopatra had pu
II about that was innocent But my gull
lay heavy on me, and made me thin an'
wore away the beauty Of my countenance
And though was free In name, yet was
ever watched; nor might stir beyond th'
palace grounds.
And at length came the day that brough
with It Qulntus Dellius, that false Romal
knight who ever served the rising star. ID
bore letters TO Cleopatra from March,
Antonius the Triumvir, who, fresh from tn
victory Of Philippi, was now in Asia, wiring
ing gold from the subject kings wherewit
to satisfy the greed Of his legionaries.
Well do mindme Of the day. Cleopatra
clad In her robes Of state, attended by tn
officers OF her Court, among whom stood
sat in the great hall on her throne OF gold
and bade the heralds admit the Ambassa