The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1894-02-10
The seyen SIecpcrs.

The first and perhaps the most
unique of these sleeper'slegends occurs
in Egyptian mythology. Osiris the
lord of the earth, was great king,
who, setting out from Egypt trav-
ersed the world, leading a host of
fauns and satyrs On his return
Typhon laid n stratagem for him. He
had a chest made exactly Osiriss size
and studded heavily with jewels. Al
a banquet he offered the chest to the
one whose body fit the interior. When
Osiris made the trial number of
Typhon's slaves rushed in and nailed
down tho lid, afterwards pouring
pitch upon the chest and throwing it
into the Nile.
As soon as Osiris wife, Isis, learned
of this, she went in search of the
chest and found 1t many months after
wards on the coast of Byblos, lodged
in the branches of tamarisk bush.
She took it down, cut it open with
care, and to her amazcment was
clasped in her husbands arms, the
gods having preserved him in deep
slumber.
The Roman legend of the Seven
Sleerers is perhaps the best known
of all. In the year A. ID. 430, when
the Emperor Decius prosecuted the
Christians, seven noted youths of
Ephesus concealed themselves in
cave, the entrance of which was inn
mediately after choked with huge
stones by the emperor's orders They
Immediately fell into slumber, last
ing 1877 years, ut the end of which
time the stones were removed Upon
their awakening, the sleepers dis
patched one of their number to Sc
cretly return to the city to procure
bread. Tho youth Off we may still
employ that appellation) could no
longer recognize tho once familiar
aspect of his native country. He
heard people using the Lords name,
and was moro perplexcd.
yesterday no one dared to pro-
nounce the name of Jesus; now it is
on cveryone's lips"
His singular dress and obsolete Ian
guage COMPOUNDED the baker, to whom
he offered an ancient medal of Decius
as the current coin of the empire. The
shopman seized him, crying:
'Whoever you are, you have found
a secret treasure. Show us where it
is that we may share it with your
The youth being too frightened to
answer, they put rope around his
neck and drew him through the streets
into the market place before the
judge, who asked him whence he came.
n til 81. I, Il
Ephesus, '1f this be Ephesus. 'Send
for your relations, then" said the
judge, Tho youth mentioned their
names, but no such names were known
in the town. Then the Judge cx-
claimed:
'How dare you say that the money
belonged toyour parents, when it dates
back nearly 200 ycars?"
II implore YOU" said the youth,
"where is the Emperor Decius gomez
my son." was the answer, she who
was thus called died long ago"
The bishop of Ephcsus. the clergy,
the magistrates, and, it is said, the
Emperor Theodorus himself, has tened
to visit the cavern of the seven sleep
ers, who bestowed their bencdiction,
told their story and instantly expired.
This story has been adopted by the
nations from Bengal to Africa and is
found in the Syrian, Scandinavian,
Abyssinian and Russian calendars.
The Persian legend states that the sun
altered its course twice day for the
whole period, so as to shine into the
cavern. and faithful dog stood watch
at the mouth of the cave for the whole
two centuries.