The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-02-21

three months prepared myself according
to the holy customs ate no meat. Twas
constant in the sanctuaries and in the study
Of the secrets Of the Great Sacrifice and Of
the passion of the Holy Mother. Watched
and prayed before the affairs. lifted up
my soul to God ay, in dreams communed
with the Invisible, till at length earth and
earth's desires seemed to pass from me.
longed no more for the glory Of this world,
my heart hung above it as an eagle on his
outstretched wings, and the voice Of the
worlds blame could not stir it, and the
vision Of its beauty brought no delight.
For above me was the vast vault Of Heaven,
where in uualterable procession the stars
pass on, drawing after them the destinies
of men; where the Holy Ones sit upon their
burning thrones and watch the chariot
wheels Of Fate as they roll from sphere to
sphere. o hours of holy contemplation |!
who having once tasted Of your joy could
wish again to grovel on the earthl Ovile
flesh! to drag us down. I would that thou
hadst been altogether fallen from me, and
left my spirit free to seek Osiris!
he ulOutuS VI ptOUdtiOh PoSSCu Uug wv
swiftly, and now the holy day drew near
when / was in truth to be united to the
universal Mother. Never hath Night so
longed for the promise of the Dawn; never
hath the heart of q lover so passionately
desired the sweet coming OF the bride; as
Ionged to see Thy glorious face, o Isis!
Even now that have been faithless to
Thee, and Thou art far from me, o Divine!
my soul goes out to Thee, and once more
know But as it is hidden that l should
draw the vail and speak of things that have
not been told since the beginning of this
world, let me pass on and reverently set
down the history of that holy morn. For
seven days had the great festival been cele-
brated, the suffering of the Lord Osiris had
been commemorated, the passion Of the
Mother Isis had been adored. and glory had
been done to the memory Of the coming Of
the Divine Child Horus, the Son, the
Avenger. the God-begot. All these things
had been carried out according to the
ancient rites. The boats had floated
on the sacred lake, the priests had
scourged themselves before the sanctu-
aries, and the images had been borne
through the streets at night. And now, as
the sun sank on the seventh day, once more
the great procession gathered to chant the
woes of Isis and tell how the evil was
avenged. We went in silence from the
Temple, and passed through the city ways.
First came those who clear the path, then
my father. Amenemhat, in all his priestly
robes and the wand Of cedar in his hand.
Then, clad in pure linen, followed l. the
neophyte, alone; and after me the white
robed priests, holding aloft banners and
the emblems of the Gods. Next came those
who bear the sacred boat, and after thsn
the singers and the mourners; while
stretching as far as the eye could reach
marched all the people, clad in melancholy
black because Osiris was no more. In
silence we went through the city streets
I'LL at length we came to the temenos of the
Temple and passed in. And as my father,
the High Priest, entered beneath the gate
way the outer pylon, sweet-voiced
woman singer began to sing the Holy
Chant, and thus she sang:
"Sing we Osiris dead,
Lament the fallen head:
The light has left the world, the world is gray.
Athwart the starry skies
The web Of Darkness flies,
And Isis weeps Osiris passed away.
Yourt tears, ye stars, ye fires. ye rivers shed.
Weep, children of the Nile, weep, for your
Lord is dead-
She paused in her most sweet song, and
thereon the whole multitude took up the
melancholy dirge:
softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold:
Soft on the Dead that liveth are We calling!
Return. Osiris. from thy Kingdom cold!
Return to them that worship thee OF old"
The chorus ceased, and once again she
sang:
"within the court divine
The Sevenfold-sacred shrine
We pass, while echoes Of the Temple walls
Repeat the long lament
The sound of sorrow sent
Far up within the imperishable halls,
Where, each in others arms, the Sisters
weep,
Isis and Nephthys. DER His unawaking
Sleep"
And then again rolled out the solemn
chorus of a thousand voices:
"Softly We tread, our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold;
Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling:
Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold!
Return to them that worship thee OF DID,"
1t ceased, and sweetly she took up the song:
80 dweller in the West,
Lover and Lordliest
Thy love, thy sister Isis calls thee home.
Come from thy chamber dun,
Thou Master of the Sun,
Thy shadowy chamber far below the foam!
With weary wings and spent
Through al the armament
Through all the horror-hauhted ways of hell,
Iseek thee near and far,
From star to wandering star,
Assl.A 49, \
Isearch the height the deep. the lands, the
skies.
Rise from the dead and live. our Lord
Osiris, RISE"
softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold;
Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling:
Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold:
Return to them that worship thee Of old"
Then, in strain more high and glad, the
singer sang:
He wakes-from forth the prison
We sing Osiris risen,
We sing the child that Nout conceived and
bare.
Thine own love, Isis waits
The Warden OF the Gates.
She breathes the breath OF Life on breast and
hair.
And in her breast and breath
Behold! he wakeneth,
Behold! at length he riseth out Of rest;
Touched with her holy hands,
The Lord of all the Lands.
He stirs, he rises from her breath, her breastl
But thou. fell Typhon, fly,
The judgment day draws nigh,
Fleet on thy track as fame speeds Horus from
the sky"
Softly We tread. our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold;
Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: