The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-03-01

which We now found ourselves,
that wound up from terrace
to terrace, my eye lit upon the crowning
wonder Of the scene. For in the center
of the topmost platform or terrace,
which may have inclosed eight or ten
acres Of ground, and almost surrounded
by groves OF orange trees, CLEANED
buildings Of which / had never seen the
like. There were three groups OF them,
one in the middle and one on either
side, and little to the rear, but, as
afterwards discovered, the plan Of all
was the same. In the center was an edi-
fee constructed like an ordinary Zulu
hut-that is to say, in the shape OF a
beehive, only it was five times the size
of any hut ever saw, and built OF blocks
of hewn white marble, fitted together
with extraordinary knowledge of the
principles and properties of arch build
ing, and with so much accuracy and fin
ish that it was often difficult to find the
fronts Of the massive blecks. From this
center hut ran three covered passages
leading to other buildings of an exactly
similar character, only smaller, and each
WlOl0 DlCCh Was luC4OsCu ~ q hA%ANA0
wall about four feet in height
OF course we we're as yet too fas OF TO
see all these details, but the general
outline saw at once, and it astonists.i
me considerably. Even old Indaba-zim-
bi, whom the baboon-woman had been
unable to move, deigned to show won
der.
'sOhl'' he said; ''this is a place OF mar
yels. Who ever saw kraa1s built OF
white stone?"
Stella watched our faces with an ex-
preston of intense amusement, but
said nothing.
.sDid your father build those kraals?"
i gasped at length.
+ tsMy father! no, of course not" she
answered. elbow would it have been
possible for one white man to do so, or
to have made this road? He found them
as you see"
ssWho built them, then?s said again.
IT do not know. My father thinks
that they are very ancient, for the
people who live here now do not know
how to lay one stone upon another, and
these huts are SO wonderfully con-
structed that, though they must have
stood for ages, not stone OF them has
'fal}en. But can show you the quarry
where the marble was cut; it is close
by, and behind it is the entrance to an
ancient mine, which my father thinks
was silver minn, Perhaps the people
who worked the miae built the marble
huts. The world is old, and no doubt
plenty of people have lived in it and
been forgotten
Then we rode on in silence. l have
seen many beautiful sights in Africa,
and in such matters, as in others, COM
parsons are odious and worthless, but
do not think that / ever saw love-
the combination of the mighty peak
looking forth on the everlasting plains,
the great cliffs, the waterfalls that
sparkled in rainbow hues, the rivers
girdling the rich, cultivated lanas, the
gold-specked green Of the orange trees,
the flashing domes of the marble huts
and thousand ether things. Then
over all brooded the peace OF evening,
and the infinite glory of the sunset that
filled heaven with changing hues of
splendor, that wrapped the mountain
and cliffs in cloaks of purple and of gold
and lay upon the quiet face of the water
like the smile of a god.
Perhaps also TIE contrast and the
memory of those three awful days and
nights in the hopeless desert enhanced
the charm, and perhaps the beauty of
the girl who walked beside me COM
pleted it. For of this am sure, that
of all sweet and lovely things that
looked on then, she was the sweetest
and the loveliest. All, it did not take
me long to find my fate. How long will
it be before find hex oGce again?