The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-01-23

drew near. And that Greek, he shriekcd,
and shrieking, died. And this he wcpt and
prayed for pity, and in the end. like cow
ard, breathcd his last Now. note the
Egyptian yonder, he who still lives and
groans; the first he took the draught-the
dcadliest draught OF all, they swore and
yet the slave so dearly loves his life no will
not leave It'll Sec, he yet strives to throw
the poison from him; twice have given
him the cup, and yet he is a;hirst What Q
drunkard have we here! Man, man, know
est thou not that In death only can peace
DO found. Struggle no more, but enter into
rest" And even - shc spoke. tho man,
with great cry, gave up the spirit.
"Thcre.' she cried, ..at length the farcels
played away with those slaves whom !
forced through the difficult gates Of JOY"
and she capped her hands But when they
had drawn the bodies thence sho drew me
to her and thus she spoke:
Olympus, for all thy propliesies, the end
Is at hand. Caesar must conquer, and and
my Lord Antony be lost. Now, therefore.
the play being well nigh done, must make
ready to leave this stage Of earth in such
fashion as becomes aQueen. For this cause.
then, do make trial Of these Ioiscns, see
ing that in my person must soon endure
those agonies Of death that to-day give to
others. These drugs please me not; some
wrench out the soul with cruel pains and
some too slowly work their end. But thou
art skilled in the medicines Of death. Now,
do thou prepare me such draught as
shall. pangless. steal my life away" And
as listened the sense Of triumph filled my
fxr d,
hand should this ruined woman die and the
justice Of the Gods be done.
spoken like Queen, O Clcopatra!" /
said. death shall cure thy Ills. and will
bl ew such wine as shall draw b m down
sudden friend and sink thee in sea OF
slumber whence, upon this earth, thou shalt
never wake again Oh! fear not Death.
Death IS thy true friend; and, surely, sim
less and pure Of heart shalt thou pass into
the dreadful presence of the Gods
She trsmbled. And il the heart be not
altogether pure. tell me--thou dark man
what thenl Nay, fear not the Coos! for il
the Gods Of He'll be men, there shall /
queen it also. At the least, having once
been royal, royal shall ever be-
And as she spoke, suddenly from the pal
ace gates came great clamor and the noise
Of joyful shouting.
"Why, what is this.' she said, springing
from her couch.
Antony! Antony.'' rose the cry-.An-
tony hath conquered!'
Swiftly she turned and ran, her long hair
streaming on the wind. l followed her,
more slowly, down the great hall. across
courfyards to the palace gates. And here
she met Antony, riding through them,
radiant with smiles and clad in his Roman
armor. When he saw her he leaped to the
ground, and, all armed as he was, clasped
her to his breast
''What is itf' she cried; ''is Caesar
fallens'
Nay, not altogether fallen. Egypt; but
we have beat his horsemen back to their
trenches, and, like the beginning, SO shall
be the end, for as they say here: Where
the head goes the tail will follow More
over, Caesar has my challenge and il h. will
but meet me hand 10 hand, soon shall the
world see which is the better man. Antony
or Octavian." And even as he spoke and
the people cheered, there came the cry of
"A messenger from Cnsar..'
The herald entered, and. bowling low,
gave writing . Antony, bowed again, and
went. Cleopatra snasched it from his hand,
broke the silk, and read aloud:
"C6sar to Aatony. Greeting:
9TH s answer to thy challenges: Can Antony
ind no better way Of death tan beneath the
sword OF Caesar: FAREWELL
And thereafter they checred no more.
The darkness came, and ere 1t was mid
night, having Toasted with those friends
who tonight wept over his woes aud to-
morrow should bctray him, Antony went
forth into the gathering Of the Captains Of
the land forces and OF the feet attended by
many, among whom was l.
And when all were come together he
spoke to them, standing barehcaded In
their midst, beneath the radiance OF the
moon. And thus he most nobly spoke:
"Friends and companions in arms! who
yet cling to me, and whom many time
have led to victory. hearken to me now who,
tomorrow, may lie in the dumb dust, dis
empired and dishonored. This is our de-
sign: no longer will he hang on poised
wings above the flood Of war, but will
straightway plunge, perehance thence to
snatch the victor's dadcm, or, failing
there, to drown Be now but true to me,
and to your honor's sake, and still may you
sit, the most proud of men, at my right
hand in the Capitol of Rome. Fail me now,
and lost Is the cause Of Antony and lost are
We. Hazardous indeed must be to morrow s
battle, but many a time have we stood and
faced q fiercer peril and ere the sun had
sunk once more have driven armies like
desert sands before our gale of valor and
counted the spoils of hostile Kings. What