Thomas County cat., 1890-02-06
Alexandria, who hated Cleopeare "a vere

hato0 - oef.
Nor, when she had maAs q end Of telling
hin. tho Queen called o. him 70 drink . cup
with her TO the success Of this new scheme,
bidding him, - che I'D %. steep his wreath
o. roses In tho Dino, and make tho draught
more sweet fhis. then. he did, and It be-
Ing done, 80 pledged hum. But when he
was ahout - pledge her back, she caught
lis ham. .erying 'Hesdr' whereat he paused,
wandering.
Nov, among the servants Of Cleopatra was
ens 4udosius. . steward; and this Eudosius,
seeipG that the fortunes Of Cleopatra were
st IN end. had laid plan TO hy that very
aight 70 Cesar. ss had done many OF his bet
ters, taking with him all the treasures in
the palace that he could steal. But this de-
sign being discovered to Cleopatra, she de-
termined to be avenged upon Eudosius.
"Eudosius." she cried, for the man stood
near, come hither, thou faithful servanti
Seest thou this man. most NOBLE Anton !;
through all our troubles he hath chung ous
and been Of comfort to us. Now, therefore,
he shall ba rewarded according to his de-
serts and the measure Of his faithfulress,
and that from thine own hand. Give him
thy golden cup Of wine, and let him drink q
pledge to our success: the cup shall be his
Guerdon."
And still wondering, Antony gave it TO
the man, who, stricken in his guilty mind,
took it, and stood trembling. But he drank
not.
Drink, thou slave, drinkW cried Cleo
patra, half rising from her seat and flashing
q fierce look on his white face. "By Scraps
so surely as I yet shall sit in the Capitol at
Rome. and thou dost thus fout the Lord
Antony, I'll have thee scourged to the
bones, and the red wine poured upon thy
open wounds to heal themi All at length
though drinkestl Why. what is 1t, good
Eudosiusl art sickl Surely, then, must
this WINE be as the water Of jealousy Of
those Jews, that hath power to slay the
false and strengthen the honest only. Go,
some Of you, search this mans room; me-
thinks he is q trsitor?'
Meanwhile the man stood, his hands to
his head. Presently he began to trsmble,
and then fell, shriek;ng, to the ground.
Anon he was on his feet again, clutching ut
his bosom, as though to tear out the fire in
his heart. He staggered, with ivid, tw ST.
ed face an foaming lips, to where Cleo
patra lay watching him with slow and
cruel smile.
..Ah, traitor thou hast it nowl" she said
"Prithee, is death SWEET"
"Thou wantoni" yelled the dying man,
"thou hast poisoned mel Thus mayst thou
also perlsh!" and with one shrek he flung
himself upon her. She saw his purpose,
and swift and supple as tiger sprang to
onA side, 50 tha; he did but grasp her Royal
cloak, tearing it from its emerald clasp.
Down he fell upon the ground, rol ing over
and over in the purple Chiffon till presently
he lay still and dead, his tormented face
and frozen eyes peerine ghastly from its
folds.
"AhI" said the Queen. with hard laugh,
1.-THE slave died wondrous hard, and fain
would have drawn me with him. See, he
hath borrowed my garment for pail Take
him away and bury him in his livery"
What means Cleopatra" said Antony.
As the guards dragged the corpse away;
1.-The man drank of my cup. What Is the
purpose Of this most sorry Jesta"
ut serves a double end. noble Antony!
This very night would that man have fed |
10 Ucravianus, bearing Of our treasure with |
him. Well, have lent him wings, for the !
dead fly fastl Also this: thou didst fear !
that should poison thee. my Lord; nay, !
know it. See now, Antony, how easy were !
t that 1 should slay thee il had the will. |
That wreath of roses which thou dldst steep
within the cup is deweu with deadly bane. |
Had I, then, mind to make an end Of thee,
had not stayed thy hand. o Antony,
trust me; sooner would slay |
myself than harm one hair Of thy beloved |
leadi See, here come my messengers!
Speak, what did ye fnd?"
"Royal Egypt, this we found. All things
n the chamber Of Eudosius are made ready
or fight, and in his baggage is much treas
,re"
"Thou nearest" said she, smiling darkly.
Think ye. my loyal servants all, that Cleo
,atra is one with whom it is well to play the
raitor9 Be warned by this Romans fater'
Then great silence of fear fell upon the
and Antony sat also silent.
CHAPTER xxx.
He LEARNED OLYMPUS AT MEMFI: POISON
INGS; SPEECH OF ANTONY TO HIS CAPTAINS;
PASSING OF ISIS FROM TIE LAND OF KHEM.