The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-05-30

dnu THIS Que tHlnS aous sDflNcH Dy Ky
great love, have sinned against thee unto
DEATH I have ruined thee, have ruined
Khem, and myself also have ruinedl Let
death reward mel Stay thou me, Har-
machisl Gladly will die upon thy sword !;
ay, and kiss its bladei Stay thou me, and
go; for IL thou slayest me not, myself win
surely slayr' And she threw herself upon
her knees, lifting her fair breast toward
me, that might smite her with my dagger.
And, in my bitter fury, minded was to
strike, for above all ] thought how, when /
was fallen, this woman, who herself was
my cause of shame, had scourged me with
her scorn. But hard IL Is to slay fair
woman; and even as lifted my hand to
strike / remembered that now twice had she
saved my life.
"Womani thou shameless womani" I
said, 'arisei Islay thee noti Who am ],
that should judge thy crime, that with
mine own do oyertop all earthly judy
mentl"
"Slay Harmachls I" she moaned; "slay
me or slay myself NY burden is too great
for me to beari Be not SO deadly calmi
Curse me and slayr'
"What was 1t that thou didst say to me
anon, Charmion-that as I had sown SO
must reapi 1t is not lawful that thou
shouldst slay thyself; it is not lawful that
/, thine equal in sin, should slay thee, be-
cause through thee / sinned As thos hast
sown, Charmion, so must hhos also reap.
Base woman whose cruel jealousy hath
brought all these woes on me and Egypt,
Twelve on, and from year to year pluck
the bitter fruit of crimel Haunted be thy
sleep by visions of thy outraged Gods,
whose vengeance awaits thee and me in
their dim Amentii Haunted be thy days by
memories of that man whom thy fierce love
did bring to ruin, and by the sight of Khem
a prey to the insatiate Cleopatra and slave
to Roman Antony"
'Oh, speak not thus, Harmachisi More
sharp are thy words than any sword, and
more surely, il more slowly, shall they
slayi Listen, Harmachis," and she grasped
my robe; ''wheu thou vast great and all
power lay within thy grasp, thou didst re-
iect me. Wilt reject me now that Cleopatra
hath cast thee from her now that thou art
poor and shamed, and with no pillow to thy
headl Still am fair, and still worship
theel Let me fly with thee, and make atone
ment by my lifelong love. Or, IL this be
too great thing to ask, let me be but as thy
sister and thy servsnt-thy very slave, so
that may still look upon thy face and share
thy trouble and minister to thee. OHarma-
CHS. let me but come and / will brave all
things and endure all things, and naught but
Death himself shall spear me from thy side.
For do believe that the love that sank me
to so low a depth, dragging thee, can yet
lift me toan equal height, and thee with me-"
"Wouldst tempt me to fresh sin, womanl
And dost thou think, Charmion, that in
some howell where must hide, could bear,
day by day, to look upon thy fair face, and
seeing, remember, that those lips betrayed
mel Not thus easily shalt thou atone This
even now know: Many and heavy shall
be thy lonely days of penancei Perchance
that hour of vengeance may yet come, and
perchance thou shalt live TO play thy part in
it. In the Court of Cleopatra must thou
still abide, and while thou art there, if yet
live, / will from time to time find means to
give thee tidings. Perchance a day may
dawn when once more l shall need thy
service. Now, swear that, in this event,
thou wilt not fail me second time"
II swear, Harmachi.l I swear! May
everlasting torments, too hideous to be
dreamed-more hideous even, by far, than
those that wiring me now-be my portion if
I fail thee in one jot or title; ay, even
though 1 wait a lifetime for thy wordI"
"'Tis well; see that thou keep the oath
not twice may we betray; 60 to work out
my fate; abide thou to work out thine. Per-
chance our divers threads will once more
mingle ere the web be spun. Charmion,
who unasked didst love me-and who,
prompted by that gentle love of thine, didst
betray and ruin me-fare thee well!r
Wildly she gazed upon me-she stretched
out her arms as though to clasp me; and
then, in the agony of her despair, cast
herself at length and groveled upon the
ground.
l took up the sack of clothing and the
staff and gained the door, and, as passed
through, one last glance 1 cast upon her.