The Irish standard., 1889-12-14
woru Of rear. Che which to use unworthily

" oru OF rear. Che which to use unworthily
is DEATH n
Swiftly the answer came. For in the
silence heard the sound of the shaken
sistra heralding the coming of the Glory,
Then at the far end of the chamber grew
the semblance Of the horned moon, CLEAN
ing family in the darkness, and 'tWixt the
golden horns rested the small dark cloud,
in and out whereof the fiery serpent
climbed.
And my knees waxed loose in the pres.
ence Of the Glory. and sank down before
it.
Then spake the small, sweet voice within
the cloud:
ssHarmachis, who was my servant and my
son. have heard thy prayers and the
summons that thou hast dared to utter,
which on the lips of one with whom have
communed, hath power to draw me from
the Utternost. No more, Harmachis, may
we be one in the bond of love divine, for
me hast thou put away Of thine own act.
Therefore, after this long silence I come,
Harmachis, clothed in terrors, and per-
chance, ready for vengeance; for not lightly
can Isis be drawn from the halls of her
Divinity
ssSmite, Goddessp' answered. "Smite,
and give me over to those who wreak Thy
vengeance; for no longer can bear the
burden of my woe"
ssAndif thou canst not bear thy burden
here, upon this earth" came the soft reply,
chow then shalt thou bear the greater burden
that shall be laid upon thee there, coming
deiled and yet unpurifed into my dim
realm of death, that is Life and Change I'M
ending? Nay, Harmachis, smite not, for
not al! am wroth that thou hast dared to
utter the awful word which calls me down to
thee. Hearken, Harmachis; I praise not, 1
reproach not, for I am the Minister of re-
ward and punishment and the Executor Of
DEGREES; and if I give, give in silence;
any if I smite, in silence do smite. There
fore, naught will add to thy burden by the
weight of heavy words, though through thee
it has come to pass that soon shall Isis, the
Mystery, be but a memory in Egypt. Thou
hast sinned, and heavy shsll be thy punish
ment, as did Warn thee, both in the flesh
and in my Kingdom Of Amenti. But 1 told
thee that there is road of repentance,
and surely thy feet are set thereon, and
therein must thou walk with a humble
heart, eating of the bread of bitterness, till
such time as thy doom be measured"
u 'haVe L, Llien. uO AOpo. o>Iloiy!
'sThat which is done, Harmachis, is done,
nor can it's issues be altered. Khem shall
no more be free till all its temples are as tho
desert dust; strange people shall, from ago
to age, hold her hostage and in bonds; new
religions shall arise and wither within the
shadows of her pyramids, Tor to every
world, race and age the countenances of
the Gods are changed. This is the tree that
- H.. 80 civ TJo,r
CHS, and from the sin OF those who tempted
theep'
''Alas am undonei' I cried.
''Yea, thou art undone; and yet shall this
be given to thee: thy destroyer sk&2G thou
destroy, for so, in thepurpose of my justice,
is it ordained. When the sign comes to
manner as I shall put into thy heart do
Heavens vengeance on herl And now for
myself one word, Tor thou hast put Me
from thee, Harmachls; and no more shall I
come face to face with thee till cycles
hence, the last fruit of thy sin hath ceased
to be upon this earth! Yet, through the
vastness of the unnumbered years, remem-
Der thou this: that love Divine is love
eternal, which can not be extinguished,
though everlastingly it be estranged. Re-
pent, my servant; repent and do well
while there is yet time. that at the
dim end of ages once more thou mayest be
gathered unto Me. Still, Harmachis, though
thou seest Me not; still, when the very
name by which thou knowest Me has be-
come meaningless mystery to those who
shall be after thee; still, I, whose hours are
eternal, who have watched Universes
wither, wane, and, meath the breath OF
Time, melt into nothingness; again, to gath.
err, and, reborn, thread the vast maze of
space-still, say, shall companion thee.
Wherever thou goest, in whatever form OF
life thou Invest, there shall be! Art thou
waited to the farthest star, art thou buried
in Amentl's lowest deep, in lives, in deaths,
in sleeps, in wakings, in remembrances, In
obllyions, in all the fevers Of the outer
Life, in all the changes of the Spirit-still,
if thou wilt atone and forget Me no more, ]
shall be with thee, waiting thine hour of re-
demption. For this IS the nature Of the love
Divine, wherewith 1t loves that which doth
partalze Of its divinity and hath once by the
holy tie been bound to it. Judge then, Har-
machis; was it we'll to put this from thee to
win the prize of earthly woman: And, now,
dare not again to utter the Word Of Power
till these things be donel Harmachis, for
this season, fare thee well.
As the last note of the sweet voice died
away, the fiery snake climbed into the heart
of the cloud. Now the cloud rolled from
the horns of light. and was gathering ineo
the blackness. The vision of the crescent
moon grew dim and vanished. Then as the
Goddess passed, once more came the faint
and dreadful music of the shaken sistra,
and all was still.
I hid my face in my robe and, even then,
though my outstretched hand could to1cE
the Chill corpse Of that father who had died
cursing me, felt hope come back into my
heart, knowing that was not altogether
lost nor utterly rejected of Her whom had
forsaken, but whom yet loved. And then
WEAKNESS overpowered me, and slept
woke, the faint lights of dawn were
creeping from the opening In the roof.
CHASTITY they lay upon the shadowy sculpt-
ured walls and CHASTITY upon the dead face
and long white beard Of my father, the
gathered to Osiris. I started up, remem-
boring all things, and wondering in my
heart what I should do, and as rose heard
faint football creeping down the passage