The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-01-09

,Mosg KY the body Of my dead
ssSSaN-1 ANY, father, VINO had lived
tEfA EASH to curse me, the ut
VA EN44 terly accursed, while
HSN@1 the darkness crept
WIGHT EaMM and gathered round
IN SsEY US, till ut length the
pead and / were alone
EE-l in the black silence.
- Oh, how full the misery
So r. of that hour!-imagina-
.LeIl5@ ton can not dream it,
SA nor words paint it forth! Once
80 more in my wretchedness be-
thought me Of death. A knife
was ut my girdie, wherewith ! might cut
the thread of sorrow and set my spirit free.
Free! ah, free to fly to face the last ven
geance Of the holy Godsl Alas! and alas!
did not dare to die. Better the earth with
all it's woes than the quick approach Of
those unimagined terrors that, lowering in
dim Amenti, wait the advent of the fallen.
Igroveled on the ground and wept tears
Of agony for the lost, unchanging past
wept till could weep no more; but from the
silence came no answer, no answer but the
echoes Of my grief. Not q ray Of hope! My
soul wandered in darkness more utter
than that which was about mel was for
salscn Of the Gods and cast out Of men. Ter
ror took hold upon me, crouching in that
lonely place hard by the majesty OF the aw-
full dead. rose to fly. How could l fly in
this glooms-how find my path down the
passages, and amid the columns. And
where should fly, who had no place Of
refuges Once more ! crouchcd down, and
the great fear grew on me till the cold sweat
ran from my brow and my soul was faint
within me. Then, in my last despair, /
prayed aloud to Isis, TO whom | had not
dared to pray for many days.
20 Isis Holy Motherr' cried, sprt away
Thy wrath, and of Thine infinite pity, o
Thou all pitlful, hearken 70 the voice Of the
anguish of him who was Thy son and
servant, but who by sin hath fallen from
the vision OF Thy love. o throned Glory,
who, being in all things, hast Of all things
understanding and Of all griefs knowledge,
cast the weight Of Thy mercy against the
scale of my evil doing, and MAKE the balance
equal. Look down upon my woe, and meas
ure it; count up the sum of my repentance,
and take Thou note Of the food OF sorrow
that sweeps my soul away. Thou Holy,
whom it was given to me to look upon face
to face, by that dread hour of commune
summon Thee; / summon Thee by the mys-
or, In fury, to make an end of that which
can no more be borne"
And, rising from my knees. ! stretched
out my arms and dared to cry aloud the
Word of Fear. the which to use unworthiiy
is death.
Swiftly the answer came. For in the
silence heard the sound of the shaken
sistra her aiding the coming of the Glory.
Then at the far end of the chamber grew
the semblance Of the horned moon, glcam-
ing family in the darkness, and 'twixt the
golden horns rested the small dark cloud,
iu and out whereof the fiery serpent
climbed.
And my knees waxed loose in the pres
cncc Of the Glory. and I sank down before
it.
Then spakc the small, sweet voice within
the cloud:
"Harmachis, who was my servant and my
son. ! have heard thy prayers and the
summons that thou hast dared to utter.
which On the lips OF enc with whom have
communed, hath power to draw me from
the Uttermost. No more, Harmachis, may
ave be one in the bond Of love divine, for
me hast thou put away OF thine own act.
Therefore, after this long silence come,
Harmachis, clothed in terrors, and per-
can Isis be drawn from the halls OF her
Divinity
..Smite, Goddess answered. sSmite,
and give me over to those who wreak Thy
vengeance; for no longer can ] bear the
burden of my woe!'
'sAnd If thou canst not bear tiny burden
here, upon this EARTH" came the soft reply,
"how then shalt thou bear the greater burden
that shall be laid upon thee there, coming
iefled and yet unpurlfied into my dim
realm Of death, that Is Lite and Change un-
ending? Nay, Harmachis, smite not, for
not all am / wroth that thou hast dared to
utter the awful word which calls me down to
thee. Hearken, Harnachis; praise not,
reproach not. for / am the Minister of re.
ward and punishment and the Executor OF
DEGREES; and if l give, ! give in silence;
any If smite, in silence do smite. There
fore, naught will add to thy burden by the
weight of heavy words, though through thee
it has come to pass that soon shall Isis, the
Mystery. be Du. a memory in Egypt. Thou
hast sinned. and heavy shall be thy punish
ment as did warn thee, both in the flesh
and in my kingdom Of Amenti. But I told
thee that there is road of repentance,
and surely thy feet are set thereon, and
therein must thou walk with a humble
heart, eating of the bread Of bitterness, till
such time as thy doom be measured"
'.Havc /, then. no hope, Q Holy.''
THAT which Is done, Harmachis, is done,
nor can its issues be altered. khem shall
no more be free till all its temples are as the
desert dust; strange people shall. from age
10 age, hold her hostage and in bonds; new
religions shall arise and wither within the
shadows Of her pyramids, for 10 every
ovid a,,l h0 ton pf
the Gods are changed. This is the tree that
shall spring from thy seed Of sin, Harma-
CHS, and from the sin OF those who tempted
thec!'
ALAS! l am undone!' cried.
"Yea, thou art undonc; and yet shall this
be given to thee: Try destroyer shalt thou
destroy, for SO, in the purpose of my justice,
is it ordained. When the sign comes to
thee, arise, 60 to Cleopatra, aud in such
manner as | shall put into thy heart do
Heavens vengeance on her! And now for
myself one word, for thou hast put Me
from thee, Harmachls; and no more shall
come face to fac, with thee till, cycles
hence, the last fruit of thy sin hath ceased
10 be upon this earth! Yet, through the
vastness of the unnumbered years, remem
Der thou this: that love Divine is love
eternal, which can not be extinguished
though everlastingly it be estranged. Re
pent my servant; repent and do wei
while there is yet time. that at tn
dim end of ages once more thou mayest b
gathered unto Me. Still, Harmachis, thoug
thou seest Me not; still, when the YER
name by which thou knowest Me has be
come a meaningless mystery to those VIII
shall be after thee; still, ], whose hours ar
eterual-I, who have watched Universe
wi,her, wane, and, meath the breath o
Time, melt into nothingness; again, to gath
err, and, reborn, thread the vast maze Q
space-stlll, ! say, shall companion thee
Wherever thou goest, in whatever form Q
life thou Invest, there shall be! Art tho
waited to the farthest star, art thou burie
in Amenti's lowest deep, in lives, in deaths
in sleeps, in wakings, In remembrances, i
obl,yions, in all the fevers of the QUITE
L,fe, in all the changes Of the Spirit-stii
if thou wilt atone and forget Me no more,
shalt be with thee, waiting thine hour Of re