Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-01-23

tUftitat AiC.
Thu. it came to pass that /, the
Pharaoh, crowned of Khem, stood among
eunuchs and waiting women behind the
souch of Egypt's Queen while the feast
went merrily and tile wine cup passed.
And ever Antony sat, his eyes fixed upon
the face OF Cleopatra, who from timo to
time let her deep glance lose itself III his,
and then for little while their talk died
away. For he tod her tales OF war and
deeds that he had done-ay, and love-je
such as are not meet for the ears OF
women. But at naught took she offense;
rather, falling into his humor, would she
gap his stories with others of q finer wit,
but not less shameless.
At length. tue rich meal being finished,
Antony sazed at the splendor roHnd him.
Tell me, then, most lovely Egypt!' he
said. .''are the sands OF Nile compact Of gold,
that thou canst, night by night, thus squan-
der the ransom of King upon single
feasts Whence comes this untold WEALTH."
l bethoughL me of the tomb of the divine
Men;za-ra, whose holy treasure was thus
wickedly wasted, and looked up, SO that
Cieopatru's eyes clught mine; but, reading
my thoughts, she frowued heavily.
why, noble Antony" she said, "sure!y
it is naught! In Egypt we have oar secrets,
, and know whence to conjure riches at our
heed. Say, what is the value Of this golden
service, ind of the meats and drinks that
have been set before us!''
s'MayDe. a thousand sestertia."
'SThou hast understated it by half, noble
Antony! But, sach rs it is, l give it thee
and those with thee as q free tokei of my
friendship And more will i show thee
now. !, myself, will eat and drink ten thou
sand sestertia at o draught."
'That can not be, fair Egyptp'
She laughed, and bado slave bring her
vinegar IN glass. When 1t was brought
she set it before her and laughed again,
while Antony, rising from his couch, drew
nelr and sat himself at her side, and oil the
company leant forward to see what she
would do. And this she d From her ears
she took one of those great pearls, which
last of all had been drawn from the body Of
the divine Pharaoh; and before any could
guess her purpose let 1t fall into the vine
gar. Then came silence, the silence Of Won
der, and slowly the peerless pearl melted in
the acid. When it was melted she took the
glass and shook 1t, then drank the vinegar
to the last drop.
More vinegar, slaveW she cried, "ny
meal is but half fnishedr' and she drew
forth the second pearl
by Bacchus, mol thou shalt not!" cried
Antony, snatching at her hrnds; 81 have
seen enough" And at that moment, moved
thereto by know not what, l called aloud:
''The hour falls the hour Of the coming Of
tn curse Of Meaka-ra"
| An ashy whiseness grew upon Cleopatras 8
face and furiously she turned upon me,
while all the company gazed wondering, not
| knowing what the words might mean.
Thou itl-omened slaveI' she cried.
'Speak thus once more and thou shalt be
scourged with rods!-ay, scourged like an
| svil-doer-that l promise thee, Harrnachis ~
"What means the knave OF an astrol
oger?' asked Antony. "Speag, sirrahI
| and make clear thy meaning, for those who
deal in curses mGst warrant their wares
Il am servant of the Gods, noble An.
! tony. That which the Gods put in my mind
| that must say; nor can read their mean
| ing" / answered humbly.
"Oh! Oh J thou servest the Gods, dost thou,
thou many-colored mysteryl" (This he
| said having reference to my splendid
| robes.) ''Well, l serve the Goddesses,
| which is softer cult. And there's this
| between US: that though what they put iu
| my mind / say, neither can / read their
meaning" and he glanced at Cleopatra as
| one who questions.
'Let the knave be- she said impatiently
| ssto morrow Wen be rid of him. Sirrah, be-
goner'
bowed and went; and, as I went, heard
| Antony say: "Well, q lnave he may be, for
! that all men are, but this for thy astrologer-
| he hath royal air and the eye of q king-ay,
| aud with it,
| Without the door I paused, not knowing
| what to do, for 1 was bewilde ed with mis-
| cry; and, as stood, some one touched me
| on the hand. G anced up-it Vas Char.
| mion, who, in the confusion of the rising
Of the guests, had slipped away and fol
| lowed me.
For in trouble, Charmion was ever at my
| side.
"Foilow me,'' she whispered; "thou artin
| langer."
turned and followed her. Why should
tnoti
"Whither go wea" asked, at length.
ITO my chamber" she said. "Fear not,
| we ladies' Of Cleopatra's Court have small
| good fame to lose. 1t any one by chance
| should see US, they II think that It's love-
| ;ryst, and such are all the fashion"
I followed, and. presently. skirting the
| .rowd, we came, unseen, 10 a little side en-.
rance that led to stair up which we
,assed. The stair ended in a passsge; we
| ;urned down it till we found door on the
| eft hInd. Silently Charmion entered, and
| followed her into dark chamber. Being
| IL quo ICu thS uoOI obus h1uuhuS GiHuCC
| 10 fame, lit a hanging lamp. As the light
| grew strong gazed around. The chamber
| was not large and had but one easement
| closely shuttered. For the rest, it was SIM
| ply furnished, having white walls, some
| chests for garments, an ancient chair, what
I took to be tiring table, wherein were
| combs, perfumes and all the frippery that
| pertains to woman, and white bed with a
broidered coverlid, over which was hung q
| gnat gauze.
| ''Be seated, Harmachis." she said, point
| ing to the chair.
| Itook the chair, and Charmion, throwing
back the gnat gauze, sat herself upon the
ued before me.
| ',Knowest thou what heard Cleopatra
say as thou dflst leave the banqueting
halll' she asked presently.
| "Nay, know not.''
| ''She grzed after thee, and, as I went
| over to her TO do some service. she mur-
| INJURED to herself: by Serapis, will make
| an end! No longer viii I wait; tomorrow
he shall be strangledv''
$50" said; sit may be; though, after
all that has been, scarce can believe that
she will murder me-"
"Why canst thou not believe it, o thou
most foolish of mens Dost forget how nigh
| thou was to death there IN the Alabaster
| Hall? Who saved thee then from the knives
of the eunuchsl Was it Cleopatral Or
was it I and Brennus? Stay, will tell
thee. Thou cansL not yet believe it, because
| in thy folly thou dost not think it possible
that the woman who has but lately been as
, a wife to thee GIN now IN SO short time
| doom thee to be base.y done to death. Nay
answer not-I know ell: and this tell thee
! thou hast not measured the depth of
! Cleopatra's pertdy. nor canst thou dream
the blacaness OF her wicked heart. She had
! surely slain thee in Alexandria had she not
| feared that thy slaughter, hning noised
| abroad, might bring trouble to her. There
fore las she brought thee here to kill thee
secretly. For what more canst thou give
her?-she has thy hearts love, and is
wearied of thy strength and beauty. She
has robbed thee of thy Royal brthright anG
brought thee, King, to stand amidst her
| waiting women behind her at her feasts {:
she has won from thee the great secret OF
| the holy TREASURED"
"Ah, thou kuowes thata'
''Yea, know all: and tonight thou seest
! how the wealth stored against the need Of
Khem is being squaudered to fill up the
4 wanton luxury of Khem's Macedonian
Queen! Thou seest how she hath kept her
| oat h to wed thee honorabiyi Harmachis
/ atlength thine eyes are open to the truth ~
, "Ay, see too well; she swore she loved
me, and, fool that was, did believe her ~
'She swore she loved theei" answered
Charmion. lifting her dark eyes: ''now will
I'll. Al.