The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-01-02

Pillars. Here paused and gazed around
me-not sight, not . sound IN tho dim and
| holy place! On with beating heart went
| to the second great hall Of six -and-thirty
| pillars, where had been crowned Lord Of
all the Land; still not . sight or sound !
Thence, half fearful Of my own football, SO
| terrible did 1t echo in the silence OF the de-
serted Holes. passed down the passage OF
the names Of the Pharaohs toward my IA
| theirs chamber. There still swung the cur
tain DER the doorway; but what would
there be within r. also emptinessa lifted
1t. and noiselcssly passed in, and there in his
carven chair at the table whereof his long
white beard flowed down, sat my father,
Amenemhat, clad in his prlestly robes. At
| first thought that he was dead, % still he
| sat. but at length he turned his head, and
saw that his orbs were white and sightless.
He was blind, and his face was thin as the
face Of dead man, and woeful with age and
grief.
stood still and felt the blind eyes wan
| dering over me. could not speak-I dared
not speak to him; would so and hide my
self afresh.
Already Md turned and grasped the cur
tain, when, in deep, slow voice, my father
spoke:
.Come hither, thou who vast my son and
art q traitor. Come hitter, thou Harmachis,
| wherein Khem builded up her hope. Not
| in vain. then, have drawn thee from far
| away! Not in vain have held my life In
| me till heard thy football creeping down
these empty Holes, like the football of .
thIefr'
"Oh! my father gasped, astonished
Thou art blind how knowest thou meF'
s.How do know thee! and askest thou
that who hast learned Of our lore! Enough,
l know thee and brought thee hither.
Would, Harmachis, that knew thee not.
would that had been blasted Of the in
visible ere drew thee down from the
womb Of Nout to be my curse and shame,
and the last woe Of Khem!"
.Oh, speak thou not thus ~ moaned, lis
| not my burden already more than can
bearl Am not myself betrayed and utterly
outcast. Be pitiful, my father!''
BE pitiful! be pitiful to thee who hath
shown so great pitys Thy pity twas which
gave up noble Sepa to die beneath the hands
Of the tormentors!'
.Oh, not that-not that! I" cried
| "Ay, traitor, that! to die in agony, with
his last poor breath proclaimlng thee, his
murderer, honest and lnnocentl Be pitiful
to thee, who gaveth oil the flower Of Khem
a. the price Of q wanton's arms !-thinkest
thou that, laboring in the darksome desert
mines, those noble ones in thought are pitt
full to thee, Harmachis! Be pltiful to thee,
by whom this holy Temple Of Abouthis hath
been ravaged, its lands seized, its priests
scattered, and alone, old and withered, left
to count out its ruin Ito thee, who hath
poured the treasures of Her into thy leman's
lap, who hath forsworn thysclf, thy country,
thy birthright, and thy Gods! Yea, thus
am tiful:-Accursed be thou, fruit of
| my loins !-Shame be thy portion, Agony thy
end, and He'll receive thee ut the last!
Where art thou! Yea, Rrew blind with
weeping when heard the truth--surc, they
strove to hide it from me. Let me find thee
that / may spit upon thee, thou Renegade
thou Apostate! thou Outcast and he
rose from his seat and staggered like . liv-
ing wrath toward me. smitlng the air with
his wand. And as he came with outstretched
arms, awful to see, suddenly his end found
him, and with . cry he sank down upon the
ground, the red blood streaming from his
died. he babble...
He was my son, bright-eyed, lovely
boy, and full Of prolnlse as the spring; and
now-and now-oh, would that he were
dead!'
| Then came pause. and the breath ratified
! in his throat
"Harmachis," he gasped, tart thcre!'
| "Yea, father
"Harmachis, atone !-atone! Vengeance
can still be acknowledgements may still
be won. There's gold; I've hidden IT.
4 Atoua-she can tell thce-ah, this pain
4 FAREWELL"
i And he struggled family in my arms. and
was dead. Thus, then, did / and my holy
father, the Prince Amenemhat. meet togeth.
err for the last time in the flesh, and for the
last time part.
/ lTO BE CONTINUED