Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-06-05

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I SAW SPAR OF WOOD, TO WHICH I SWAN.
they shrieked with fear and cast themselves
down upon the deck. And within a very
little while, as rode towards the rocky
coast, q great wave poured into the vessel,
that rode broadside on, and pressed her
down into the deep, whence NO more she
rose.
And so she sank, with all her crew. And
in that same storm also sank the galley that
Cleopatra had sent to search for the Syrian
merchant. Thus were all traces Of me lost,
and OF q surety she believed that ! was
dead.
But I rode on toward the shore. The
wind shrieked and the salt waves dashed
upon my way, while the sea-birds screamed
about my head. No fear felt, but rather a
wild uplifting of the heart; and in the stress
of my imminent peril the love Of life seemed
once again to waken. And so I plunged and
drifted, now tossed high toward the lower
ing clouds, now cast into the deep valleys of
the sea, till at length the rocky headland
doomed before me, and saw the breakers
smite upon the stubborn rocks, and through
the screaming Of the wind heard the suIlen
thunder of their fall and the groan of stones
sucked seaward from the beach. On high
throned upon the name of a mighty billow-
fifty cubits beneath me the level of the hiss
ing waters; above me the inky sky! It was
donel The spar was torn from me, and,
dragged downward by the weight of the bag
Of gold and the clinging of my garments,
struggling furiously, sank.
Now I was under-the light for q moment
streamed green through the waters, and
then came darkness, and on the arkness
pictures of the past. Picture after picture
all the long scene Of life was written here.
Then in my ears heard only the song of
the nightingale, the murmur of the summer
sea, and the music Of Cleopatra's laugh of
victory followed me softly and yet more
soft as sank away to sleep.
. sense of deadly sickness and Of aching
pain. I opened ny eyes and saw kindly
faces bending per me, and knew that was
in room of q builded house.
"How came hitherr' asked, family.
''Of truth, Poseidou brought thee,
Stranger" answered a rough voice in bar
barous Greek, ''for we found thee cast high
upon the beach like q dead dolphin, and
brought thee to our house, for we are fisher
folk. And here methinks must thou lie
awhile, for thy left leg is broken by the
force of the waves.''
strove to move my foot, but could not. It
was true, the bone was broken above the
knee.
who art thou and how art thou namedH'
asked therough-bearded sailor.
81 am an Egyptian traveller whose ship
hath sunk in the fury Of the gale, and Olym-
pus am named" I answered, for Olympus
these people called a mountain that we had
sighted, and therefore took the name at
hazard. And as Olympus henceforth was
known.
Here with these rough isher-folk did I
abide for the half of year, paying them a
little out of the sum Of gold that had come
safely ashore upon me. For long was it be-
fore my bones grew together again, and
then was left somewhat Of a cripple; for
who had been so tall and straight and strong
now imped-one limb being shorter than
the other. And after recovered from my
hurt, still I lived there, and toiled with
them at the trade of fishing; for whittier
should go or what should do that knew
not, and, tor awhile, fain was I to become
a peasant fisherman, and so wear my weary
life away. And these people entreated me
kindly, though, as others, they feared me
much, holding mo to be a wizard brought
hither by the sea. For methinks that my
sorrows had stamped SO strange an aspect
on my face that men gazing thereon grew
fearful of what lay beneath its calm.
There then I abode, till at length one
night as 1 lay and strove to sleep, great
restlessness came upon me, and a mighty
desire once more to see the broad face OF
Sihor. But whether this desire was of the
Gods or born of my own heart, not knowing
can not tell So strong was it at the last,
that before it was dawn Irose from my bed
of straw. and clothed myself in my fisher
garb, and, because had no wish to answer
questions, thus took farewell of my hum
BILE hosts. First on the well-cleaned table OF
wood placed some pieces of gold, and then
taking pot of -four I strewed it in the
form of letter-writing-
'sThis gift from olympus, the Egyptian, irdO
returns INFO the sed.''
Then went, and on the third day came
to the great city Of Salamis, that is also on
the sea. Here abode in the fisherman IS
quarter till q vessel was about to sail for
Alexandria, and to the captain of this YES
sci, a man of Paphos, I hired myself as a
sailor. We sailed with favoring wind,
and on the fifth day came to Alexandria,
that hateful city, and saw the light glaring
on its golden domes.
hcr0 mlSnG j not dOlQc. % OuC0 again i
hired myself out sailor, giving my
labor in return for passage, and we passed
up the Nile. And from the talk of men
learned that Cleopatra had come back to
Alexandria, drawing Antony with her, and
that together they lived In royal state in
the palace on the Lochias. Indeed, the
boatmen already had a song thereon, which
they sang as they labored at the oar. Also
heard how the galley that was sent to
search for the vessel which carried the
Syrian merchant had foundered with all
her crew, and the tale that the Queens as
tronomer, Rarmachis,- had flown to
Heaven from the roof Of the house at
Tarsus. And the sailors wondered because
sat and labored, and would not sing their
ribald songs of the loves of Cleopatra For
they, too, began to fear me, and mutter con-
corning me among themselves. Then
knew that was q man accursed and set
apsrt-a man whom none might love.
On the sixth day we drew nigh to