Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-04-03

Dost thou not know by what right speak
thus to theei Then must tell theea Well,
tits the fashion IN Alexandria By that
first and holy right Of woman-by the right
of the great love bear thee, and which, it
seems, thou hast no eyes to see-by the
right Of my glory and my shame. O, be not
wroth with me, Harmachis, nor set me
down as light, because the truth has at last
burst from me; for am not 30. am what
thou wilt make me. I am the wax within
the molder's hands, and as thou dost
fashion ne 30 shall be. There breathes
within me now q breath Of glory blowing
across the waters Of my soul. that can watt
me to ends more noble than ever have
dreamed afore, If thou wilt be my pilot and
my guide. But if 1 lose thee, then lose all
that holds mo from my worse self-and let
shipwreck comet Thou knowest me not,
Harmachis! thou canst not see how big .
spirit struggles within this frail form Of
minei To thee I am q girl, clever, way
ward, shallow. But am morei Show me
thy loftiest thought and viii match it, the
deepest puzzle of thy mind and viii make
it clear. OF one blood are We, and love can
ravel up our little difference and make US
grow one indeed. One end we have, one
land we love, one VOW binds US both. Take
me to thy heart, Harmachis, and set me by
thee on the Double Throne, and swear
that win lift thee higher than ever man
has climbed. Reject me, and beware lest
I pull thee downi And now, putting aside
the cold delicacy Of custom, stung thereto
by what saw of the arts Of that lovely liv-
ing falsehood, Cleopatra, which for pastime
she doth practice on thy folly, have spoken
out my heart, and answer thouv' And she
clasped her hands, and. drawing one pace
nearer, gazed all trembling on my face.
the magic of her voice and the power of her
speech, despite myself, had stirred me
like the rush of music. Had I loved the
woman doubtless she might have fired me
with her flame; but loved her not, and
could not play at passion And so thought
came, and with thought that laughing mood
which is ever apt to fasten upon nerves
strained to the point of breaking. In a
fash, as it were, I bethought me of the way
in which she had that very night forced the
wreath Of roses on my head. 1 thought Of
the kerchief and how / had flung it forth.
thought Of Charmion in the little cham
Der watching what she held to be the arts
Of Cleopatra, and of her bitter speeches.
Lastly, thought OF what my uncle Sepa
would say OF her could he see her now, and
Of the strange and tangled skein where
with was immeshed. laughed aloud
the FOOLS laughter-that was my knell Of
ruin!
She turned whittier yet-white as the dead
and on her face there grew look that
checked my foolish mirth. ''Thou fndest,
then, Harmachis," she said, in a low, choked
voice, and dropping the level Of her eyes
''thou indest cause Of merriment in what
have said"
''Nay," I answered, "nay, Charmion !;
forgive me if I laughed. Twas rather a
laugh Of despair; for what am to say to
theea Thou hast spoken high words of all
thou highest be; is it left for me to tell
thee what thou art?''
She shrank, and I paused.
"Speak," she said.
''Thou knowest-none so well-what am
and what my mission is; thou knowest-
none so well-that / am sworn to Isis, and
may, by law divine, have naught to do with
thee"
cay" she broke in, in her low voice and
with her eyes still fixed upon the ground ;
''ay, and know that thy vows are broken
in spirit, if not in form-broken like
wreaths of clouds-for, Harmachis, thou
lowest Clcopdtrd!''
sit is lie!" I cried. ''Thou wanton
girl, who wouldst seduce me from my duty
and put me to an open shame who, led by
passion or ambition, or the love OF evil,
hast not shamed to break the barriers of
thy sex and speak as thou hast spoken
beware lest thou go too far! And if thou
wilt have an answer, here it is, put
straightly as thy question. Charmion, out
side the matter of my duty and my vows,
thou art naught to me !-nor, for all thy
tender glances, will my heart beat one
pulse more fast! Hardly art thou now my
friend-for, of a truth, scarce can trust
thee. But, once more, beware! To me
thou mayest do thy worst; but if thou dost
dare to lift finger against our cause, that
day thou diesti And now is this play
donea"
And as, wild with anger, spoke thus.
she shrank back, and yet further back, till
at length she rested against the wall, her
eyes covered with her hand. But when !
ceased she dropped her hand, glancing up,
and her face was the face of statue,
wherein the great eyes glowed like emberS,
and round them was a ring of purple
shadow.
'tNot altogether DONE" she said gently
"the arena must yet be sanded" This she
said having reference to the covering up of
the blood stains at the gladlatorial shows
with fine white sand. 1--WE ;" she went on,
'swaste not thine anger on a thing SO vile.
have thrown my throw and have lost.
We victis !-ahi Vac victis! Wilt thou not
lend me the dagger in thy robe, that here
and now may end my shame! MOI Then
one wora more, Most Royal Harmachis: If
thou canst, forget my folly; but, at the
least, have no fear from me. / am now, as
ever, thy servant and the servant of our
cause. Farewellr'
And she went, leaning her hand against
the wall. But I, passing to my chamber,
flung myself upon my couch and groaned in
bitterness of spirit. Alas! we shape our
plans, and by slow degrees build up our
house of Hope, never counting on the guests
that time shall bring to lodge therein. For
who can guard againstcthe Unforeseen.
At length I slept, and evil were my
dreams. When I woke the light of the
day which should see the red fulfillment of
the plot was streaming through the case
ment, and the birds sang merrily among
the garden palms. 1 woke, and as woke
the sense Of trouble pressed in upon me,
for remembered that before this day was
gathered to the past must dip my hands
in blood-even in the blood Of Cleopatra,
who trusted mel Why could not hate her
as should? There had been q time when
had looked on this act Of vengeance with
somewhat of righteous glow of zeal. And
now-and now, why, would frankly give