The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1894-04-11

ETC., Etc, Etc.
Illustrated by NIcHoLL. after CATION WOOD
VILE ond GREFFEEEAGEN
II read thee" ne said at Iengun; '.purc
thou art and strong in wisdom, have not
been deceived in thee. Oh, lonely have been
the years; but did well to send thee hence.
Now, tell me, tell me of thy life for thy let
ters have told me little, and thou canst not
know, my son, how hungry is a fathers
heart
And so told him; far into the night we
sat and communed with one another. And
in the end he babe me know that / must
now prepare me to be initiated into those
great mysteries that are learned Of the
chosen of the Gods.
And so it came to pass that for space of
three months prepared myself according
10 the holy customs ate no meat. | was
constant in the sanctuaries and in the study
OF the secrets of the Great Sacrifice and OF
the passion of the Holy Mother. Watched
and prayed before the affairs. lifted up
my soul to God ay, in dreams l communed
with the Invisible, till at length earth and
earth's desires seemed to pass from me.
longed no more for the glory OF this world,
my heart hung above it as an eagle on his
outstretched wings, and the voice Of the
worlds blame could not stir it, and the
vision OF its beauty brought no delight.
For above me was the vast vault of Heaven,
where in unalterable procession the stars
pass on, drawing after them the destinies
of men; where the holy Ones sit upon their
burning thrones and watch the chariot
wheels Of Fate as they roll from sphere to
sphere. o hours Of holy contemplation !!
who having once tasted of your joy could
wish again to grovel on the earthl Ovile
flesh! to drag US down. l would that thou
hadst been altogether fallen from me, and
left my spirit free to seek Osiris!
The months of probation passed but too
swiftly, and now the holy day drew near
when l was in truth to be united to the
universal Mother. Never hath Night so
ionged for the promise of the Dawn; never
hath the heart of lover so passionately
desired the sweet coming of the bride; as I
longed to see Thy glorious face, o Isis !!
Even now that ! have been faithless to
Thee, and Thou art far from me, o Divine !!
my soul goes out to Thee, and once more l
know But as it is hidden that / should
draw the vail and speak Of things that have
not been told since the beginning of this
world, let me pass on and reverently set
down the history of that holy morn. For
seven days had the great festival been cele-
brated, the suffering OF the Lord Osiris had
been commemorated, the passion Of the
Mother Isis had been adored, and glory had
ham AOpa m ha ~ tho IF
the Divine Child Horus, the Son, the
Avenger, the God-begot. All these things
had been carried out according to the
ancient rites. The boats had foated
on the sacred lake, the priests had
scourged themselves before the sanctu-
aries, and the images had been borne
through the streets at night And now, as
the sun sank on the seventh day, once more
the great procession gathered to chant the
woes of Isis and tell how the evil was
avenged. We went in silence from the
Temple and passed through the city ways.
First came those who clear the path, then
my father, Amenemhat, in all his priestly
robes and the wand Of cedar in his hand.
Then, clad in pure linen, followed /, the
neophyte, alone; and after me the white
robed priests, holding aloft banners and
the emblems of the Gods. Next came those
who bear the sacred boat, and after them
the singers and the mourners; while
stretching as far as the eye could reach
marched all the people, clad in melancholy
black because Osiris was no more. In
silence we went through the city streets
till at length we came to the temenos Of the
Temple and passed in. And as my father,
the High Priest, entered beneath the gate
way of the outer pylon, sweet-voiced
W, man singer began to sing the Holy
Chant, and thus she sang:
Sing we Osiris dead,
Lament the fallen head:
The Light has left the world, the world 10 gray.
Athwart the starry skies
The web OF Darkness flies,
And Isis weeps Osiris passed away.
Yourtears, ye stars, ye nres ye rivers, shed.
Weep, children of the Nile, weep, for your
Lord is deadV'
She paused in her most sweet song, and
thereon the whole multitude took up the
melancholy dirge:
softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold:
Soft on the Dead that livcth are we callingi
Return to them that worship thee of old. : "
The chorus ceased, and once again she
sang:
"Within the court divine
The Sevenfold-sacred shrine
We pass, while echoes of the Temple walls
Repeat the long lament
The sound OF sorrow sent
Far up within the imperishable halls.
Where, each in others arms, the Sisters
weep,
Isis and Nephthys. Ger His unaw akinn
sleep"
And then again rolled out the solemn
chorus Of a thousand voices:
softly we tread our measured footsteps falling
Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold;
Soft on the Dead that liveth are We calling:
Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom coldl
Return to them that worship thee Of old
n ceased, and sweetly she took up the song
40 dweller in the West
Lover and Lordliest
Thy love, thy sister Isis calls thee homei
Come from thy chamber dun,
Thou Master OF the Sun,
Thy shadowy chamber far below the foam
With weary wings and spent
Through all the armament
Through all the horror-hauhted ways of he'll,
Iseek thee near and far,
From star to wandering star,
Free with the dead that in Amenti dwell.
Isearch the height, the deep. the lands, the
skiea
Rise from the dead and live, our Lord
Osiris, RISE"
.Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling