Thomas County cat., 1890-01-23

thought me of death. A knife
was at my girdle, wherewith l might cut
the threSd of sorrow and set my spirit free.
Free! ah, free to fly to face the last ven-
geance Of the holy Gods! Alas and alas! I
dld not dare to die. Better the earth with
all it's woes than the quick approach of
those unimagined terrors that, lowering in
dim Amenti, wait the advent Of the fallen.
Igroveled on the ground and wept tears
Of agony for the lost, unchanging past
wept till could weep no more; but from the
silence came no answer, no answer but the
echoes Of my grief. Not a ray of hope! My
soul wandered in a darkness more utter
than that which was about mel was for
saken of the Gods and cast out of men. Ter
ror took hold upon me, crouching in that
lonely place hard by the majesty Of the aw-
full dead. rose to fly. How could fly in
this glooma-how find my path down the
passages, and amid the columnsl And
where should fly, who had no place Of
refuge2 Once more crouched down, and
the great fear grew on me till the cold sweat
ran from my brow and my soul was faint
within me. Then, in my last despair, !
prayed aloud to Isis, to whom had not
dared to pray for many days.
20 Isis Holy Motherr' cried, "put away
Thy wrath, and of Thine infinite pity, O
Thou all pitlful, hearken 10 the voice Of the
anguish of him who was Thy son anf
servant, but who by sin hath fallen frst
tho vision Of Thy love. o throned GlorI
who, being in all things, hast Of all things
understanding and Of all griefs knowledge.
Cast the weight Of Thy mercy against the
scale of my evil doing, and make the balance
equal. Look down upon my woe, and meas
ure it; count up the sum of my repentance,
and take Thou note Of the food Of sorrow
that sweeps my soul away. o Thou holy,
whom it was given to me to look upon face
to face, by that dread hour OF commune I
summon Thee; summon Thee by the mys-
tic word. Come, then, in mercy to save me;
or, in fury, to make an end of that which
can no more be borne"
And, rising from my knees, I stretched
out my arms and dared to cry alond tho
Word Of Fear. the which to use unworthily
IS death.
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 semblauce of the horned moon, gleam-
ing family in the darkness, and 'twixt the
golden horns rested the small dark cloud,
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:
"Harmachis, who was my servant and nv
son. I have heard thy prayers and the
summons that thou hast dared to utter,
which on the lips of one with whom I have
communed, hath power to draw me from
the Uttermost. 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 l come.A
Harmacnis, clothed in terrors, and PERI
chance, ready for vengeance; for not lightly
can Isis be drawn from the halls of her
'Smite, Goddessr' I answered. "Smite.
and give me over to those who wreak Thy
vengeance; for no longer can l bear the
burden of my woei"
''And if thou canst not bear thy burden
here, upon this earth" came the soft reply,
'howthen shalt thou bear the greater burden
that shall be laid upon thee there, coming
1efed and yet unpurIfied into my dim
realm OF death, that is Lie and Change un-
ending? Nay, Harmachis, smite not, for
,ot all am l wroth that thou hast dared to
liter the awful word which calls me down to
'hee. Hearken, Harmachis; praise not, I
'eproach not, for / am the Minister of re.
ward and punishment and the Executor Of
oecrees; and if I give, give in silence;
my II l smite, in silence do sn,ite. There
ore, naught will add to thy burden by tho
weight OF heavy words, though through thee
has come to pass that soon shall Isis, the
dystery, be out a memory in Egypt Thou
last sinned, and heavy shall be thy punish
nent, as did warn thee, both in the flesh
nd in my kingdom Of Amenti. But I told
hee that there is road Of repentance,
nd surely thy feet are set thereon, and
herein must thou walk with humble
cart, eating Of the bread Of bitterness, TIL
uch time as thy doom be measured"
"Have ], then, no hope, o Holyi"
THAT which is done, Harmachis, 10 done,
or can its issues be altered. Kheu shall
o more be free till all its temples are q the
esert dust; strange people shall, from ago
D age, hold her hostage and in bonds; now
eligions shall arise and wither within the ~
hadows OF her pyramids. for 20 every <
Iorld, race and age the countenances o.
ne Gods are changed This is the tree that
ball spring from thy seed Of sin, Harma-
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