The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-04-04

Il
Of the great love bear thee, and which, II
seems, thou hast no eyes to see-by the
right Of my glory and my shame. q, be not
wroth with me, Hsrmachis, nor set me
down as light, because the truth has at last
burst from me; for am not 80. am what
thou wilt make me. I am the wax within
the molder's hands, and Is thou dost
fashion ne SO shall be. There breathes
within me now . breath Of glory blowing
across the waters Of my soul thatcan watt
me to ends more noble than ever have
dreamed afore, if thou wilt be my pilot and
my guide. But If 1 lose thee, then lose I all
that holds me from my worse self-and let
shipwreck comel Thou knowest me not,
Harmachisi thou canst not see how big q
spirit struggles within this frail form of
minel To thee l am girl, clever, way
ward. shallow. But am morel Show me
| thy loftiest thought and 1 will match it, the
deepest puzzle Of thy mind and will make
| it clear. OF one blood are we, and love can
| ravel up our little difference and make US
grow one indeed. One end we have, one
land we love, one vow binds US both. Take
me to thy heart, Hsrmachis, and set me hy
thee on the Double Throne, and swear
| that l will lift thee higher than ever man
| has climbed Reject me, and beware lest
pull thee down! And now, putting aside
| the cold delicacy Of custom, stung thereto
by what saw Of the arts Of that lovely liv-
ing falsehood, Cleopatra, which for pastime
she doth practice on thy folly. Ihave spoken
out my heart, and answer thour' And she
clasped her hands, and, drawing one pace
nearer, gazed all trembling on my face.
For moment stood struck dumb. for
the magic of her voice and the power of her
speech, despite myself, had stirred me
like the rush of music. Had loved the
woman doubtless she might have fired me
with her fame; but loved her not, and l
could not play at passion And so thought
came, and with thought that laughing mood
which is ever apt to fasteu upon nerves
strained to the point of breaking. In
fash, as II were, bethoueht me of the way
in which she had that very night forced the
wreath Of roses on my head. l thought of
the kerchief and how had flung it forth.
| thought of Charmion in the little cham
Der watching what she held to be the arts
Of Cleopatra, and Of her bitter speeches.
Lastly, I thought of what my uncle Sepa
would say OF her colld he see her now. and
Of the strange and tangled skein where
with was imueshed. l laughed aloud
the FOOLS laughter-that was my .kneu of
ruiuI
She turned winter yet-white as the dead
and on her face there grew a lock that
checked nv foolish mirth. sThou ffndest,
then, Harmschis.n she said, in low. choked
voice, aud dropping the level of her eyes
''thou fndest cause Of merrineut in what l
have said"
Nay" I answered, "nay, Charmion:
forgive me if laughed. Twas rather a
laugh of despair; for what am to say to
theel Thou hast spoken high words of all
thou highest be; is it left for me to tell
thee what thou art.''
She shrank. and paused.
Speak she said.
Thou knowest-none so weIl-what am
and what my mission is; thou knowest-
none so well-that am sworn to Isis, and
may, by law divine, have naught to do with
thee"
"Ay," she broke in, in her low voice ard
with her eyes still fixed upon the ground;
lay, and know that thy vows are broken
in spirit, If not in form-broken like
wreaths of clouds-for, Harmachis, thou
iorest Cleopatra
s'It is lier' cried. Thou wanton
girl, who v'ouldst seduce me from my duty
aud put me TO an open shame.-who, led by
passion or ambition, or the love OF evil,
hast not shamed to break the barriers of
thy sex and speak as thou hast spoken
beware lest thou 60 too fart And if thou
wilt have an answer, here it is, put
straightly as thy question. Charmion, out
side the matter of my duty and my vows,
thou art naught to me!-nor, fsr all thy
tender giauces, Will my heart beat one
pulse more FAST Hardly art thou now my
frieud-for, of a truth, l scarce can trust
thee. But, once more, bewarel To me
thou mayest do thy worst; but if thou dost
dare to lift finger against our cause, that
day thou diest! And now is this play
done?'
And as, wild with anger, I spoke thus,
she shrank back, and yet further back, till
al length she rested against the wall. her
eyes covered with her hand. But when
ceased she dropped her hand, glsncing up,
and her face was the face of a statue.
wherein the great eyes glowed like embers,
and round them was a ring of purple |
shadow.
"Not altogether done,'' she said gently;
''the arena must yet be ssndedr' This she |
said having reference to the covering up of
the blood stains at the gladlatorisl shows |
with fine white sand. We'll" she went on, |
waste not thine anger on a thing so vile. |
l have thrown my throw and have lost |
Vac victis l-ahI Vac victisi Wilt thou not |
lend me the dagger in thy robe, that here |
and now l may end my shame! NOT Then |
one WORD more, Most Royal Harmachis: II |
thou canst, forget my folly; but, at the |
least, have no fear from me. am now, as |
ever, thy servant and the servant Of our |
cause. Fareweur'
And she went, leaning her hand against |
the wall But 1, passing 10 my chamber,
flung myself upon my couch and groaned in /
bitterness OF spirit. Alasl we shape our |
plans, and By slow degrees build up our |
house of aope, never counting on the guests |
that time shall bring to lodge therein. For |
who can guard against-the Unforeseen.
At length I slept, and evil were my
dreams. When / woke the light of the |
day which should see the red fulfllHent of /
the plot was streaming through the case
ment, and the birds sang merrily among
the garden palms l woke, and as woke
the sense Of trouble pressed in upon me,
for remembered that before this day was
gathered to the past must dip my hands /
in bIood-eveu in the blood Of Cleopatra,
who trusted mel Why could / not hate her
as shouldl There had been time whenI
had looked on this act Of vengeance with
somewhat of arighteous glow OF zeal And
row-snd now, why, would frankly give
nv royal birthright to be free from its ne
cess;ty! But, alas! knew that there was
no escape i must drain the cup or be for
ever cast away. / felt the eyes Of Egypt
watching he, and the eyes Of Esypt's Gods.
prayed 70 my Mother Isis to give me
strength to do this deed, and prayed as
had never prayed before; and. o wonder!
no answer came. Nay, how was thisl
" hat then had loosed the link between US
that, for the first time, the Goddess deigned
no reply to her chosen servant. Could it be
that had sinned in heart against herl