Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1890-01-09

that am hedged from i'll at thy hands by .
q fence Of honor more hard for thee 70 pass
than all the spears Of all my legions, tnou
hadst been dead ere now, Harmachls Seo
here is thy knife" And she handed me the
dagger. snow slay me II thou canst-" ana
she drew near and tore open the BOSOM Oh
her robe, and stood waiting with calm eyes |
sThou canst not STAY me-" she went Oh,
.sfor there are things, as know well, that
no man-uo such man as thou art-may 90
and live: and this u the chief OF them-to
slay the woman who is all his own. Nay
stay thy hand! Turn not that dagger
against thy breast; for II me thou mayst
not slay, by how much the more mayst thou
not slay myself, O thou forsworn Priest
of Isisl Art thou. then, so eager 10 race
that outraged Majesty in Ament! win
what ewes, thinkest thou, will the Heavenly
Mother look upon her son who, shamed IN
all things and false to his most sacred vow,
comes to greet Her, his ife-blood on ms
hands? Where, then, will be the space Tor
thy atonement-if, indeed, thou mayst
atonep
Then I could bear no more, Tor my heart
was broken within me- Alas! II was TOO
true-I dared not die. To such pass was
come that did not even dare 70 dleI
flung myself upon the couch and wept-
wept tears of blood and anguish.
But Cleopatra came TO me, ano' seatinH
herself beside me, she strove to comfort
me, throwing her arms about my neck.
..Nay, Love, look up" she said. "All Is
not lost for thee, nor am angered against
thee. We did play mighty game; ort as
I warned thee, matched my woman
magic against thine, and have conquered
1~4 Nnylfh
Queen and woman thou hast my pity-ay,
and more; nor do love to see thee plunged
in sorrow. Well was it and right that thou
shouldst strive to win back that throne my
father seized, and the ancient liberty OF
Egypt Myself as lawful Queen had done
the same, nor shrunk from the deed OF
darkness whereto was sworn. Therein,
then, thou hast my sympathy, that goes
ever out to what is great and bold. Well Is
it also that thou shouldst grieve over
the greatness of thy fall. Therein,
then. as woman-as loving woman-thou
hast my sympathy. Nor is all lost. The
plan was foolish-for, as l hold, Egypt
never might have stood alone; for though
th,A1 hadst won the crown and country, as
without a doubt thou must have done, yet
was there the Roman to be reckoned with.
And for thy hcre learn this: Little am
known. There IS no heart in this wide land
that beats with truer love for ancient
Khem than does this heart OF mine: nav
not thine own, Harmachis. But heavily
have been shackled heretofore, Tor wars
rebellions, envies, plots have hemmed me
in on every side, 30 that might not serve
NV Leople as I would. But thou, Har-
nachis, shalt show me how. Thou shalt %
nv counselor and my love. Is 1t little
thing, o Harmachis, to have won the heart
! of Cleopatra that heart-fie on thee!-that
thou wouldst have stilled! Ay, thou shalt
unite me to my people, and together Will we
reign, linking thus in one the new kin gdom
and the old. Thus do all things work Tor
good-ay, for the very best-and thus, by
another and eentler road, shalt thou climb
to Pharaoh's throne.
See thou this, Harmachis: thy treachery
shall be cloaked about as much as may be.
Was it, then, thy fault that Roman
knaye betrayed thy plans! that, thereon,
thou vast drugged, thy secret papers
stolen and their key guessed! VIII IL,
then, be "a blame to thee that, the great
plot being broken and those who built IL
scattered, thou, still faithful to thy trust,
dist serve thee of suca means as Nature
gave thee. and win the heart OF Egypt
Queen, that, through her gentle love, thou
highest yet attain thy ends and spread
thy wings of power across the rolling Me:
Am an ill-counselor, thinkest thou,
Harmachis?"
lifted my head, and ray Of hope crept
into the darkness of my heart; for when
men fall they grasp at feathers. Then, Tor
the first time, spoke.
sand those with me-those who trusted
me what of them"
.Ay.n she answered, "Amenemhat, thy
father, the aged Priest of Abydos; and
Sepa, thy uncle, that fiery patriot, whose
great heart is hid beneath so common a
shell of form; and"
Methought she would have said Char
mion, but she named her not
"And many others-oh, know them all II
"Ay!" said, ''what of them!"
"Sce thou, Harmachis," she answered
raising and placing her hand upon my arm
sfor thy sake will show mercy to them
No more will I do than must be done.
swear by my throne and by all the GODS
Egypt that not one hair OF thy aged father
head shall be harmed by me; and, II 1t
not too late, thy uncle Sepa will l ais
spare, ay, and the others. l Will not 90
did my forefather Epiphanes, who, wne
the Egyptians TOSc A'AAAs ~ ~~f7 =
= AthinIs, Pausiras, Chesuphus and lrobasf
q tus, bound to his chariot-not as Achille
q dragged Hector, but yet living-round tn
L city walls. will spare them all, save tn
Hebrews, if there be any Hebrews; Tor tn
/ Jews hate"
!. "There are no Hebrews" Is lid.
q SIT is we'll" she said. "for no deore'
n will ever spare. Am then, indeed,
cruel women as they sayi In thy list,
p Harmachis, were many doomed to die; an
d have but taken the life Of one Roma
1t knave, a double traitor, for he betraye
N both me and thee Art thou not owe
o. whelmed. Harmachis, with the weight
IS mercy which give thee, because such al
t; woman's reasons thou pleasest me, Ha
e machis! Nay, by Serapisr' she adde
with little laugh. '.I'll change my mind;
g will not give thee so much for nothin
ID Thou shalt buy it from me, and the pri
Of shall be a heavy one-it shall be KS
d Harmachis"
Nay" I said, turning from that fa
"a temp:ress, ''the price is too heavy; l II
no more'
a, "Bethink thee" she answered, with
ae heavy frown. 'Bethink thee and choos
en- am but a woman, Harmachis, and one WI
4h1p