Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-06-26

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for they pursued not
"Fly, Antony. fy!" cried Eros, his servant,
who alone with me stayed by him "Fly
ere thou art dragged . prisoner to Cesarp
So he turned and fed, grooming heavily.
With him went, and a. we rode through
the Canopic Gate, where many folks stood
wondering, Antony spoke to me:
500 thou, Olympus, go to the Queen and
say: Antony sends greeting to Cleopatra,
who hath betrayed him! To Cleopatra he
sends greeting and farewelir"
And 30 / went to the tomb, but Antony
fed on to the palace. When came to the
tomb knocked upon the door. and Char
mion looked forth from the window
"Open," cried, and she opened.
sWhat news, Harmachisl" she whis-
pered.
s.Charmion,' said, s'the end is at hand
Antony 10 fiedf''
at il WELL" she answered; II am
aweary."
And there on the golden bed sat Cleo
patra-
s.Speak, man ~ she cried.
"Antony has fed his forces are fed;
Cesar draws near. To Cleopatra the great
Antony sends greetings and farewell.
Greeting to Cleopatra who hath betrayed
him, and farewell
cit is q IeI' she screamed; 81 betrayed
him noti Thou Olympus, go swiftly to An
patra who hath not betrayed him, sends
greetings and farewell Cleopatra Is no
more.'"
And so went, following out my purpose.
| In the Alabaster Hall found Antony pacing
to and fro, tossing his hands toward the
heaven, and with him Eros, for Of all his
servants Eros.alone remained by this fallen
man.
sLord Antony" said, EGYPT bids thee
farewell Egypt is dead by her own hand"
"DeadI deadi'' he whispered, land Is
Egypt dead1 and that form Of glory now
| food for worms9 Oh, what woman was
thisi Fen now my heart goes out toward
her. And shall she Guido mo at the last,
| who have been 90 great; shall become 30
small that q woman can o'ertop my courage
nnd pass where I fear to followl Eros, thou
hast loved me from boy-mindest thou
how found thee starving in the desert, and
made thee rich, giving thee place and
wealth. Come, now, pay me back. Draw
that sword thou wearest and make an end
| Of the woes Of Antony"
"Oh, sire" cried the Greek, II can notl
How can take away the life Of god-lilke
Antony1'
"Answer me not, Eros; but in the last ex-
treme Of fate this charge thee. Do thou
| my bidding, or begone and leave me quite
aloneI No more will I see thy face, thou
| unfaithful servant"
|
knelt down before him and barred his breast,
turning his eyes to heaven. But Eros, cry
ing: 81 can not! oh, i can noti' plunged
the sword to his own heart and fell dead.
| Antony rose and gazed upon him. ssWhy,
Eros, that was nobly done," he said.
''Greater art thou than I, yet I have learned
| thy lesson /" and he knelt down and kissed
| him.
Then, rising Of q sudden, he drew the
/ L. <oATH ~.1,, -
into his bowels and fell, groaning, on the
couch.
| 80 thou Olympus!' ~ he cried, s'this pain is
more than can beari Make an end Of me,
Olympus"
But pity stirred me, and this thing could
not do.
Therefore 1 drew the sword from his
vitals, stanched the flow Of blood, and,
| calling to those who came crowding In to
see Antony die, I bsde them summon Atoua
from my house at the palace gates. Pres
emily she came, bringing with her simples
and life giving draughts. And these gave
to Antony, and babe Atoua go with such
speed az her old limbs might to Cleopatra,
in the tomb, and tell her Of the state Of
Antony.
| SO she went, and after awhile returned
saying that the Queen yet lived and sum-
moned Antony to die even in her arms.
! And with her came Diomedes. And when
Antony heard, his ebbing strength came
| back, for he was fain to look upon Cleo
patra's face again. So called to the
slaves-who peeped and peered through
curtains and from behind pillars to see this
great man die-and together, with much
toll, We bore him thence till we came to the
| foot Of the Ma1soleum.
| But Cleopatra, being afraid Of treachery,
| would no more throw wide the door; so she
let down rope from the window and we
made it fast beneath the arms Of Antony.
Then did Cleopatra, who the while wept
most bitterly, together with Charmion and
Iras, the Greek, pull on the rope with all
| their strength, while we lifted from below
| till the dying Antony swung in the air,
grooming heavily, and the blood dropped
from his gaping wound. Twice he nearly
| fell to earth; but Cleopatra, striving with
till at length she drew him through the
| window place, while all who saw the dread
full sight wept bitterly, and beat their
breasts-all save myself and Charmion.
When he was in, once more the rope was
| let down, and with some aid from Char
mion, I climbed into the tomb, drawing up
the rope after me. There found Antony,
laid upon the golden bed of Cleopatra: and
| she, her breast bare, her face all stained
| with tears, and her hair streaming wild
| about him, knelt at his side and kissed him,
w1ping the blood from his wounds with her
robes and hair. And let all my shame be
written: as I stood and watched her the old
| love awoke once more within me, and mad
| jealousy ragged in my heart, because
though 1 could destroy these twain-their
| love could not destroy.
20 Antony! my sweet, my husband and
my God" she moaned. s'Crue1 Antony,
hast thou the heart to die and leave me to
| my lonely shamea Swiftly will l follow
| thee to the grave. Antony, awake!
awaken
He lifted up his head and called for wine,
which gave him, mixing therein draught
that might allay his pain, for it was great.
And when he had drunk he babe Cleopatra
lie down on the bed beside him, and put her
| arms about him, and this she did. Then
was Antony once more man; for forget
ting his own misery and pain, he counseled
her as to her own safety; but to this talk
she would not listen. THE hour is Short"
she said; s'let US speak of this great love of
ours that has been so long and may yet en-
dure beyond the coasts of Death. Mindest
thou that night when first thou dldst put
thine arms about me and call me Lover
Oh! happy, happy night! Having known
that night, it's well to have ived-even to
this bitter endi"
Say, Egypt, mind it well and dwell upon