Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1890-07-03
THREE DREAMS IN A DESERT.

lilIlLL UllLhlYl0 III Il U-0llll,
As travelled across an African plain
the sun shone down hotly. Then /
drew my horse up under a mimosa-
tree, and took the saddle from him
and left him to feed among the parched
bushes. And all to right and left
stretched the brown earth. And sat
down under the tree because the heat
beat fercely, and all along the horizon
the air throbbed. And after while a
heavy drowsiness came over me, and
laid my head down against my sad
die, and | fell asleep there. And in
my sleep had curiou. dream.
| thought / stood on the border Of
great desert, and the sand blew about
everywhere. And | thought | saw
two great figures like beasts of burden
of the desert, and one lay upon the
sand with its neck stretched out, and
one stood by It. And / looked Curl
ously at the one that lay upon the
ground for it had a great burden on
its back, and the sand was thick about
1t, so that it seemed to have piled over
1t for centuries.
And | looked very curiously at it.
And there stood one beside me watch
ing. And | said to him, What is this
huge creature who lies on the sand?"
And he said. This is woman; she
that bears men in her body"
And said Why does she lie here
motionleSs with the sand piled around
her?n
And he answered, Listen, I will tell
you! Ages and ages long she has lain
here, and the wind has blown over her.
The oldest, Oldest man living has never
seen her move; the oldest, oldest book
records that she lay here then. as she
lies here now, with the sand about her.
But listen Older than the oldest
book, older than the Oldest recorded
memory Of man, on the rocks Of Lam
guage, on the hard-baked clay of
Ancient Custom, now crumbling to
decay, are found the marks of her foot
steps! Side by side with his who stands
beside her you may trace them; and
you know that she who now lies there
once wondered free over the rocks with
him."
And said, why does she lie there
now?'
And he said, II take it, ages ago the
Age of : dominion of muscular-force
found her, and when she stopped low
to give suck to her young, and her
back was broad, he put his burden of
subsection on to il, and tied 1t on with
the broad band of Inevitable Necessity.
Then she looked at the earth and the
sky. and knew there was no hope for
her; and she lay down on the sand
with the burden she could not loosen.
Ever since she has lain here. And the
ages have come and the ages have
gone, but the band of Inevitable Neces-
sity has not been cut"
And | looked and saw in her eyes
the terrible patience Of the centuries;
the ground was wet with her tears, and
her nostrils blew up the sand.
And l said, Has she ever tried to
movep" III" ~
Aud he said. Sometimes limb has
quivered. But she Is wise; she knows
she cannot rise with the burden on
her."
And I said, ''why does not he who
stands by her leave her and 60 on?"
And he said, HE cannot. Look
-
And l saw a broad band passing
along the ground from one to the 9th.
er. and 1t bound them together.
He SAID, while she lies there hs
must stand and look across the desert.
And said. Does he know why he
cannot moveP"
And he said, NO"
And heard a sound Of something
cracking, and looked and I saw the
band that bound the burden on to hel
back broken asunder; and the burden
rolled on the ground.
And / said, What Is this?"
And he said. "The Age-of-muscular
force is dead. The Age-of-uervous
force has killed him with the knife h,
held in his hand; and silently aud in
visibly he has crept up to the woman
and with that knife of Mechanical In
vention he has cut the band that bounc
The burden to her back. The Inevita
BILE Necessity is broken. She nigh
rise now"
And | saw that she still lay motion
less on the saud, with her eyes oper
and her neck stretched out. And sh'
seemed TO look for something on tn,
far-off border of the desert that never
came. And wondered If she wer,
awake or asleep. And as / looked hel
body quiyered, and light came int
her ewes, like when sunbeam break
into dark room.
said. What is it?"
He whispered Hush! the though
has come to her, Might not rise?'"
And looked. And she raised he
head from the sand, and saw the den
where her neck had lain SO long
And she looked at the earth, and sh,
looked at the sky. and she looked a
him who stood by her; but he locke,
out across the desert
Aud saw the body culver; and sh
pressed her front knees to the earth
and her veins stood out; and l cried
She is going to rise!n
But only her sides heaved, and sh
lay still where she was.
But her head she held up; she di
not lay it down again. And he besid
me said, ''She is very weak, See he
legs have been crushed under her s
long
Aud | saw the creature struggl,
and the drops stood out on her. d
And s,id, Surely he who stand
beside her will help herp"
And he beside me answered, H
cannot help her; she must help hei
sell. Let her struggle till she
STRONG
And | cried. AT least he will nc
his Jer her. See. he moves farthe
from her. and tightens the cord be
tween them, aud he drags her down,
Aud he answered, He does not an
dsrstand. When she moves she draw