The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1894-07-04
..L,stenr' she went on. .erhou erowest

-'Listenrp she went on. ''rhou growest
pale here in this prison, and little dost thou
eat. Gainsay me not! know it from the
slaves. have kept thee here, Harmachis,
for thine own sake, that is SO dear TO me;
and for thine own sake, and thy honoi's
sake, must thou still seem TO be my prison.
.er. Else wouldst thou be shamed and slain
-ay, murdered secretly. But here can
meet thee no more; therefore tomorrow
will free thee in all save in the name, and
thou shalt once more be seen at Court as
my astronom Ter. And this reason will give
that thou hast cleared thyself; and, more
over, that thy auguries as regards the war
have been auguries Of truth--as, indeed,
they have, though thereon have no cause
to thank thee, for nethinks thou didst suit
thy prophecies to fit thy cause. Now fare
well; for l must return to those heavy
browed ambassadors; and grow not so sud-
den wroth, for who knows what may come
to pass 'twixt thee and mel'
And, with little nod, she went, leaving
it on my mind that she had it in her heart
TO take me to husband. And, Of truth, l
do believe that, at this hour, such was her
thought For, if she loved me not, still she
held me dear, and as yet she had not
wearied Of me.
On the morrow Cleopatra came not, but
Charmion came-Charmion whom had not
seen since that fatal night OF ruin. She en-
tered and stood before me, with pale face
and downcast eyes, and her first words
were words of bitterness.
pardon me-" she said, in her gentle
voice. 'in that / dare TO come to thee in
Cleopatra place. Not for long is thy joy
delayed, for thou shalt see her presently.
shrank at her words, as well might,
and seeing her vantage, she seized it.
II come, Harmachis-Royal no morel l
come to tell thee that thou art freel Free
thou art to face thine own infamy, and see
it thrown back from every eye that trusted
thee, even as shadows are from water. l
come to tell thee that the great plot-the
plot of twenty years and more--ls at Its
utter end. None have been slain, indeed,
unless It's Sepa, who has vanished. But
all the leaders have been seized and put in
chains, or driven from the land, and their
party is no more The storm has melted
ere it burst Khem is lost, and lost forever,
for her last hope is gonel No longer may
she struggle-now for all time must she
bow her neck to the yoke, and her back to
the rod of the oppressorp
groaned aloud. "Aas, ! was be-
trayedl'' l said; "Paulus betrayed US"
'Thou vast betrayed Nay, thou thyself
vast the betrayerl How came 1t that thou
didst not slay Cleopatra when. thou vast
alone with here Answer, thou for
swornm
"She drugged me-" said again.
30 Harmachisp' answered the pitiless
girl, show low art thou fallen from that
Prince whom once knewl thu who dost
not scorn to be a liarl Yea, thou vast
drugged-- drugged with love philtrel
Yea, thou didst sell Egypt and thy cause
for the price Of q wanton's kiss! Thou Sor-
row and thou Shame p she went on, point
ing her finger at me- and lifting her eyes to
my face, "thou Scorn Thou Outcast!-
and thou Contempt! Deny it If thou canst.
Ay, shrink from me-knowing what thou
art, well mayst thou shrinkl Shrink and
crawl to Cleopatra's, feet, and kiss her
sandals till such time as it pleases her
to. trample thee In thy kindred dirt; but
from all honest foil: shrtnkl--shrflkw
Ny soul quivered beneath the lash Of
her bitter hate, but / had no words to an
swer
voice, 'that thou, too, art not betrayed, but
art here to taunt me, thou who once didst
swear that thou dIdst love me? Being a
woman, hast thou no pity for the frailty
of manln '.a stra
"My name was not on the lists" she said,
dropping her dark eyes. "Hercin Is an
opportunity betray me also, o HarmGchis
Az, it's because 1 once did love thee-dost
thou, indeed, remember itl-thatI feel thy
fail the more. The shame of one whom we
once havo loved must in some sort become
our shame, and must ever cling to us in
that we blindly held thing so base close to
ourinmost heart. rtthou also, then, q fool
Wouldst thou, fresh from thy royal wan
toms arms, come to me for comfort--to me
of all worldr
SHOW know l." I said, ''that 1t was no,
thou who, in thy jealous anger, didst betruy
cur plans Charmion, longago Sepa warned
me against thee, and of truth now that
recall"
"'Tis like traitor" she broke in, red
dening to her brow, "to think that all are
of his family and hold common mind
Nay, l betrayed thee not; twas that poor
knave Paulus, whose heart failed him Of
the last, and who is rightly served. Nor
will stay to hear thoughts so base. Har-
machis-Royal no more cleopatra, Queen
of Egypt bids Inc say that thou art free
and that she waits thee in the Alabaster
Han"
And shooting one swift glance through
her long lashes, she curtsied and was gone,
Soonce more cane and went about the
Court, though but sparingly, for my heart
was full of shame and terror, and on every
face feared to see the scorn of those who
knew me for what was But naught saw
for all those who had knowledge of the plot
had fed and for her own sake no word hat
Charmion spoken. Also Cleopatra had pu
it about that was innocent. But my gull
lay heavy on me, and made me thin anC
wore away tho beauty Of my countenance
And though l was free in name, yet was
ever watched; nor might STIR beyond tn,
palace grounds.
And at length came the day that brough
with it Qulntus Dellius, that false Roman
knight who ever served the rising star. H,
bore letters 10 Cleopatra from Marcus
Antonius the Triumvir, who, fresh from tn,
victory of Philippi, was now in Asia, wiring
ing gold from the subject kings wherewitl
to satisfy the greed OF his leglonaries.
Well do mind Inc of the day. Cleopatra
clad in her robes of state, attended by tn,
officers of her Court, among whom stood
sat Ia the great hall on her throne of gold
and babe the heralds admit the Ambassa
dor of Antony the Triumvir. The great door
were thrown wide and amidst the blare o
trumpets and salutes of the Gallo guards
clad in glittering golden armor and scar
let cloak Of silk, came the Roman in, fo
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