San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-01-14

SAID TO nm, 1at Is this huge creature
Who hes here on the sandr'
And he said, This is woman; she that
bears men in her BODY
And said, "Why does she lie here motion
less, with the sand piled round herr
And he answered, Listen, viii tell you.
Ages and ages long she has lain here, and the
wind has blown over her. The Oldest, oldest
man living has never seen her move; the
oldest, oldest book records that she lay here
then, as she lies here now, with the sand
about her. But listenl Older than the oldest
book, older than the Oldest recorded memory
of man, on the Rocks of Language, on the
the hard baked clay Of Ancient Customs, now
crumbling to decay, are found the marks of
her footstepsl Side by side with his who
stands beside her you may trace them; and
you know that she who now lies there once
wandered free over the rocks with him."
And said, "Why does she lie there nown
And he said, 81 take it, ages ago the Age
of Dominion OF Muscular Force found her.
and when she stopped low to give suck to her
young, and her back was bowed, he put his
burden of subsection on to it, and tied it on
with broad band of Inevitable Necessity.
Then she looked at the earth and the sky,
and knew there was no hope for her; and she
lay down on the sand with the burden she
could not loosen. Ever since she has lain
here. And the ages have come and the ages
have gone, but the band of Inevitable Neces-
sty has not been cut"
And looked and saw in her eyes the terri
BILE patience of the centuries; the ground was
wet with her tears, anu her nostrils blew up
the sand.
And said, HAS she ever tried to mover
And he said, Sometimes limb she quiz
cred. She is wise; she knows she cannot rise
with the burden on her."
And / said, "Why does not lie who stands
by her leave her and go onF'
And he said, HE cannot. Look!"
And | saw broad band passing along the
ground from one TO the other, and it bound
them both together.
He said, while she lies there he must stand
and look across the desert"
And l said, "Does he know why he cannot
mover
And he said, NO"
And heard a sound of something crack
ing, and l looked, and | saw the band that
bound the burden broken asunder, and the
burden rolled on to the ground,
And I said, What is this?"
And he said, The Age Of Muscular Force
is dead. The Age of Nervous Force has
killed him with the knife he holds in his
hand, and silently and invisibly he has crept
up to the woman, and with that knife of
Mechanical Invention he has cut the band
that bound the burden to her back. The In
evitable Necessity is broken. She might rise
now"
And saw that she still lay motionless on
the sand, with her eyes open and her
neck stretched out. And she seemed to look
for something on the far OFF border of the
desert that never came And wondered if
she were awake or asleep. And as looked
her body quivered, and light came into her
eyes, like when q sunbeam breaks into dark
room.
! said, "What is itG"
He whispered, "Hushl the thought has
come to her, Night not riser"
And | looked. And she raised her head
from the sand, and saw the dent where her
necl; had lain 50 long. And she looked at the
earth and at the sky, and at him who stood
by her; but he looked out across the desert
And saw her body culver; and she pressed
her front knees to the earth, aud veins stood
out; and | cried, ''Sae is going to rise!"
But only her sides heaved; she lay still
where she was.
But her head she held up; she did not lay it
down again And he beside me said, "She is
very weak. See, her legs have been crushed
under her so longW
And saw tho creature struggle, and the
drops stood out.
And said, Surely he who stands beside
her will help hcr2'
And lie beside me answered, He cannot
help her She must help herself. Let her
struggle until she is strong"
And cried, AT least he will net hinder
hcrl See, he moves farther from her. and
tigLtcus the cord between them, ard he
drags her down."
And he answered, "He does not under
stand. When she moves she draws the band
that binds them, and hurts him, and he
moves farther from her. The day will come
when he will understand, and will know
what she is doing Let her once stagger on
to her knees. In that day he will stand close
to her, and look into her eyes with sym
pathy."
And she stretched her neck, and the drops
fell from her
The creature rose an inch from the ground
and sank back.
And | cried, "Oh, she is too weak She
cannot walk! The long years have taken
all her strength from herl Can she never
moveF
And be answered me, See the light in her
eyes!"
And slowly the creature staggered on to its
knees.
And awoke; and all to the east and to the
west stretched the barren earth, with the dry
bushes on it. The ants ran up and down in
the red sand, and the heat beat fiercely. l
looked up through the thin branches Of the