The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-04

q Is III ANAllN ltdIltN AdA Il great tAlt Ou-
! poSltc 10 the royal apartments. From
/ the long row OF windows streamed a
/ blaze Of light Parliament was not in
/ session, and the Illumination at this mid
/ night hour was wholly unacCouuJable.
/ The king commanded Count Brahc 10
summon the marshal of the castle 10 his
presence. The old man came in a state of
/ bewildermcnt and trepidation. and could,
I OF COURSE, give no explanation OF the mNS
terry The king determined to ascertain
/ The cause for himself. and bidding the
SeueSChal prcCedC hun with his lantern
/ and keys, he crossed the deserted court
( yard with his two attendants Entering
the veStibule Of the Diet hall they became
aware that the walls We're hung with
| black cloth, entirely covering the faded
tapestries. Awed and impressed, the
! party stood silent and undecided for 4
while, "A murmuriug OF many voices, evil
IDENTIFY proceeding from the great hall
beng family but distinctly audible. De
CldIng 10 solve the mystery at all hazards
! the king commanded the scneSChal TO
open the door forthwith. Ia mortal ter
rHr the old servant fell on his knees aud
lmpOred his majesty To fOregu his de-
! termination, declaring his own inability
to obey his kings command Turning to
the count, the king babe him open the
door Your majesty can bear me wit
ness, said Brihe. that ] have always
done my duty in defence of my king and
country. | fear no mortal foe, but / con
fcsS have no courage to face those of
another world IN whose awful presence
we evidently stand"
The physician likewise showed his tim
idity or unwiiliuRucsS. whcreupon the
king suatched the KEY from the hand Of
the scneschal, eNclaiming; Il perceive
that these things concern myself alone
Without further hesitation, heopened the
door, and crossed the threshold, his at
PENDANTS following. in fear and trembling,
but ashamed to desert their master
\ parliament was i'll full session and the
vast hall was crowded with people None
looked at or seemed to be aware of the
! king and his party as they entered. a
noticeable thing was the unfamiliar garb
| of the members of the midnight parlia-
ment. 1t was not that of the period, nor
that OF the past. The Swedish rigsdag
or diet Of that day consisted Of a supreme
council and president and the members OF
the four estates of the realm-the mobiles,
| clergy, burghcrs and the peasants. As
| usual the benches IN the lower part of
| the hall were occupied by the peasant
members; above them sat the burghers
! the clergy and members of the nobility
according to their degree At the eX-
treme upper end of the great apartment
| was raised dlaS, occupied by the SUI
! preme council or court and the president;
| in the center appeared magnificent bier,
| upon which rested corpse, partly Gov
cred with n velvet mantle. displaying the
! royal arms of the House Of Nasa. A large,
! open space interviewed between the
| raised platform and the first benches
| of the nobility. I'm the midst stood
! 4 block, and the headsman lsning on
! his AK
The mmmuring had gradually died
| away into silence. An eager and horri-
! bic suspense was apparent in the faces Of
! the assembly. Presently the president
! arose, Il gigantic figure, but bent with
! age, made sign NhcreupOn wOful
! procession of men. bareheaded and with
manacled hands and attended by guards
| i'll strange uniforms, was seen issuing
! from a side door aud approaching the
| sraffOld. Another sign from the pres-
| dent and the first man knelt down and
| WAS dispatched by the headsmau. One
after another came mp and suffered his
! doom, deugiug the floor with blood. rho
! last, man in middle life, was evidently
! the chief criminal He lifted his hand in
menace at the Judges and then Laid il on
| the block. II was severed At once by a
stroke of the AK The head followed I'M
mediately ana rolled in Il strange manner
| up To where the king stood, seemingly be-
| SCATTERING his feet with blood. In amaze
| ment and horror the king exclaimed in Il
! loud voice, "Merciful Lord, is this to be
| my reign. or does it forboie the future"
The response came from the aged chief
and was repeated by the multitude:
Woe! woe woe to the blood of Nasa! ~
The words, though faint and distant,
! were distinctly heard AS the sounds
died away the light faded and the figures
grew dim and shadowy and soon the
whole vision vanished. The guest hall
was empty and dark, save where the sen
eschaIs lantern made the gloom visible
| I'm the ante-chamber the worm-eatcn
! hanginqs appeared as usual. When the
! king reached his apartments having
sworn mis- attendants TO secrecy. he com
handed the physician to place on record
I the potentionS scene which they had all
witnessed that night. He then affixed
! lis signature and seal The attendants
likewise signed the document, which is
sold still to exist among the secret ar
ChivCs of the Nasa family.