Thomas County cat., 1890-01-16

arc 30 harshi Why, 'tis praise, indeedp,
"Ay, ne went on, "'twas q royal feast
though grieved that thou didst waste that
greas pearl; and what meant that hour
calling sstrologer Of thine. with his ~
omered talk Of the curse of Menka-raP'
a snadow He'd across her glowing face.
II know not; he was lately wounded in .
brawi ana methinks the blow has erased
him"
':He seemed not crazed, and there was
that about his voice which doth ring in my
ears like some oracle Of fate. So wildly,
too, ne looked upon thee, Egypt, with those
piercing eyes of his, like one who loved and
yet hated through the love"
"'TIs q strange man, tell thee, noble
Antony, and learned. Myself, at times,
almost fear him, for deeply is lie versed in
the ancient arts Of Egypt. Knowest thou
that the man is Of royal blood. and once he
plotted to slay me? But 1 won hlm over,
and slew him not, for he had the key to Sc
crets that faln would learn; and, indeed,
love his wisdom, and to listen to his deep
talk of all hidden things"
"By Bacchus, but / grow jealous Of the
knave! And now, Egypt"
sand now have sucked his knowledge
dry and have no more cause to fear him.
Didst thou not see that these three nights
have made him stand slave amid nv
slaves, and call aloud the hours as they fed
in festivala No captive king marching in thy
Roman triumphs can have suffered keener
pangs than that proud Egyptian Prince as
he stood and shamed behind my couch"
Here Charmion laid her hand on mine
and pressed it. as though in tenderness.
"Well, he shall trouble us no more with
his words of evil omen," Cleopatra went on
slowly; tomorrow morn he dies-dies
swiftly and in secret, leaving no trace Of
what his fate hath been. On this is my mind
fixed; Of truth, noble Antony, it is fixed
Even as speak the fear OF this man grows
and gathers in my breast. Half am minded
to give the word even now, for till he be
dead breathe not freely" and she made
as though to rise.
"Let it be till morning." lie said, catching
her by the hand; 1.-THE soldiers drink, and
the deed will be i'll done. 'Tis pity, too, I
love not to think OF men slaughtered in
their sleep"
'.In the morning, perchance, may the
hawk have flown" she answered, ponder
ing 'sHe hath keen ears, this Harmacnis,
and can summon things that are not of the
earth to aid him. Perchance even now he
hears me in the spirit; Tor, Of truth,
seem to feel his presence breathing round
me. / could tell thee-but no, let him bel
Noble Antony, be my firing woman and
loose me this crown Of gold; it chafes my
brow. Be gentle, hurt me not-so."
He lifted the uraus crown from her
brows, and she shook loose her heavy
weight of hair that fell about her like q
garment.
'Take thy crown, Royal Egypt" he said,
speaking low, take it from my hand;
will not rob thee Of it, but rather set it more
firmly on that beauteous brow"
"What means my Lordr' she asked,
smiling and looking into his eyes.
"What mean II Why, then, this; hither
thou camest at my bidding, to make an
! swer to the charges laid against thee as to
matters polite. And knowest thou, Egypt,
that hadst thou been other than thou art
thou hadst not gone back to Queen it on
! the Nile; for Of this I am sure, the charges
against thee are true, in fact. But being
what thou art-and look, thou! never did
Nature serve a woman better!I forgive
thee all. Fen for the sake of thy grace
and beauty forgive thee that which hath
not been forgiven to virtue, or to patriot
ism, or to the dignity Of age See, now, how
good q thing is woman's wit and loveliness,
that can make Kings forget their duty and
cozen e'en blindfolded Justice to peep ere
she lifts her sword! Take back thy crown,
o Egypt! my care now it is that, though it
be heavy, it shall not chafe thee"
'Royal words are those, most noble
Antony" she made answer; gracious and
generous words, such as befit the Con-
queror of the world And touching my mis-
deeds IN the past-if misdeeds there have
been-this l say, and this alone, then I
knew not Antony. For, knowing Antony,
who could sin against hima What woman
could lift a sword against one who must be
to all women as a God-one who, seen and
known, draws after him the whole al
legiance of the heart, as the sun draws
fowerss And what more can say and not
cross the bounds of woman's modestya
Why, only this-set that crown upon my
brow, great Antony, and will take it as
gift from thee, by the giving made doubly
dear, and to thy uses will guard it. There
now am thy vassal Queen, and through
me all old Egypt that rule doth homage
unto Antony tho Triumvir, who shall be
Antony the Emperor and Khem's Imperial
Lord"
And he, having set the crown upon her
locks, stood gazing on her. grown passion
ate in the warm breath Of ner living beauty,
till at length he caught her by both hands.
and, drawing her to him, kissed her thrice,
saying:
Cleopatra, love thee, Sweet!-I love
thee as ne'er loved before!'
She drew back from his embrace, smiling
softly; and as she did 40 the golden circlet
Of the sacred snakes fell, being but loosely
set upon her brow, and rolled away into the
darkness beyond the ring Of light
Even in the bitter anguish OF my heart
saw the omen and knew its evil import. But
these twain took no note.
"Thou lowest met" she said most sweetly;
chow know that thou lowest met Per-
chance tits Fulvia whom thou lovest-Ful-
| via, thy welded wifea'
'.Nay, tits not Fulvia; 'tis thee, Cleopatra,
and thee alone. Many women have looked
favorably upon me from my boyhood up,
but to never . one have known such de-
sire as to thee, o thou Wonder OF the
World, lil-e unto whom no woman ever
wasi Canst thou love me, Cleopatra, and
to me be true-not for my place and power,
not for that which can give or can with
hold, not for the stern music Of my legions'
tramp, or for the light tnat flows from my