Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-12-31

me. It was as though hands were stretch
| ed up from the blackness to drag me down
yes, saw the hand-but You saved me
this time, Outram, though that will not
help me, for shall die in sollle such way
| at last. So DO il. II is best that should
die, who cannot conquer the evil of my
heart
Nonsense, my dear fcilowr' said Leon
| ard Don't talk like that about dying.
We can none of us afford to die just at
pressnt-that is, unless we are obliged to
! do so. Your nerves are upset, and no won
/ derl As for the evil of your heart
wish that most men had as little. Tho
world would be better. Come. go to sleep.
You will feel very differently tomorrow.
| Francisco smiled sadly and shook his
1 head, then knelt and began to say his
prayers. The last thing that Leoc ard saw
before his eye closed in sleep was the rapt
4 girlish face of the priest, round which the
| light of the taper fell like an aureole, rs
he knelt muttering prayer after prayer
with his pale lips.
1t was O'Clock before Leonard awoke
| next morning-for they had not slept till
nearly 3-to find Francisco already up,
dressed, and, as usual, praying. When
| Leonard was dressed. they adjourned to
Juanna's room, where breakfast was ready
4 for them. Here they found Otter, looking
i somewhat disturbed.
'Baas, baas, :" he said, they have come
1 and will not go away
"Who:'' asked Leonard
The woman, baas she who was given
to me to wife, and many other women
| her servants-with her. There are more
than 90 of them outside, baas, and all Of
| them very big. Now, what shall do with
l her. baas, j, who came to serve you and to
| seek the red stones that you desired, and
not a woman tall enough to be my grand
| mother"
II really don't know and don't care"
| answered Leonard. ''If you will be n god,
( you must take the consequences. Only
| look here, Otter, lock up your tongue, for
this woman will teach you to speak her
language, and she may be n spy"
Yes, baas, / will see to that. Is not
my name Silence, and shall women make
me talk-me, who have always hated
| them? But-the baas would not like to
marry her; 1 am a god, and my heart Is
| large. 1 will give her to you, baas."
Certainly not, =" answered Leonard de-
cidedly. See If the breakfast is ready.
No, forgot. You are a god, SO climb up
into that throne and look the part, if you
cam
AS he spoke Juanna came from her
room, looking a little pale, and they sat
down to breakfast. Before they had fin
ished their meal Soa announced that Olfan
vas waiting without. Juanna ordered
him 70 be Admitted, and presently he en-
/ tered
us all we'll, Ssaan'" asked Juanna
IAN is we'll. queen, he answered.
Mann and 300 priests held counsel at.
dawn in the house of the priests ~yonder.
\ There is much stir and talk in the city,
but the hearts of the people are light be-
cause the ancient gods have come hack to
us, bringing peace with them
Good said Juanna Then she began
/ to question him artfully on many things,
i and by degrees they learned moro of the
| People of the Mist.
| 1t seemed, as Leonard had already
| guessed, that they were a very ancient pco-
| pie, having existed for countless genera
tions on the same misty upland plains
| They were not, however, altogether iso-
| lated, for occasionally they made war with
| the savage tribes. But they never inter
| married with these tribes, all the captivcs
| taken in their wars being offered in sacri-
fee ut the religious festivals. The real
| governing power in the community was
the society of the priests of the snake, who
held their Office by hereditary tenure, out
sidcrs being admitted to their body only
| under very exceptional circumstances.
| The council of this society chose the kings,
| and when they were weary of one of them
they sacrificed him and chose another
| either from among his issue or elsewhere
This being the custom, as may be i'm
agined, the relations between church and
state are much strained, but hitherto, as
| Olfan explained with suppressed rage, tho
| church had by far the best of it. Indeed
| the king, for the time being, was only its
mouthpiecc executive officer. He led
the armies, but the supcrstitions of the
people, and oven of the soldiers them
selves, prevented him from welding any
A 1. II. n.
naturally his end was nearly always tho
same-to be sacrificed when the seasons
were bad or jail was angry.
| The country was large, but sparsely pop
ulatcd, the fighting men numbering not
more than 1000, of whom about half
lived in the great city, the rest occupying
villages here and there on the mountain
slopes. As a rule, the people were monog-
| amous, except the priests. 1t was the
custom of sacrifice which kept down the
| population to its low level made the pow
| er of the priests absolute and their wealth
| greater than that of all tho other inhabit-
ants of the country put together, for they
chose the victims that had offended against
| Jal or against the mother goddess and
confiscated their possessions to the service
| of the temple.
| Thus the great herds of half wild cattle
which the travellers had met with on the
| plains belonged to the priests, and the
| priests took fourth of the produce of ev-
| cry mans field and garden-that is, when
they did not take it all, and his life with it.
Twice in every year great festivals were
held in the Temple of jail at the beginning
of the spring season and in the autumn
after the ingathering of the crops. Al
each of these festivals many victims were
offered in sacrifice, some upon tho stone
and some by being hurled into the boiling
| pool beneath the statue, there to be con.
sumed by tho snake or swept down the
secret course of the underground river
The feast celebrated in the spring was
, sacred to Jal, and that in tho autumn ia
the mother goddess and there was this diff.
ference between them-that at the spring
ceremony female victims only were sacri.
feed to Jal to propitiate him and to avert
his evil influence, while at the autumn
celebration males alone were offered up to
the mother goddess in gratitude for her
gifts of plenty; also victims were occa.
sionally thrown to the snake that his hun.
ger might be satisfied, and the priests had
, other rites that, Olfan added, they would
have an opportunity of witnessing IL the
+ spring festival which should be celebrated
on the second day from that date werr
held according to custom.
1T shall be celebrated, - said Juanna
almost fiercely.
Then Leonard, who had hitherto listened
I | in silence, asked question. How Is II, y
he said, that Nam and his fellows, being
already in absolute power, were SO willing
, to accept the gods jail and Aca when they
appeared In person, seeing That henceforth
they must obey, not rules"
For two reasons, lord, - Olfan answer.
+ ed. First, because the gods are gods, and
their servants know them, and, secondly,
= because Nam has of late stood in danger
: | of losing his authority. OF all the chief
| priests that have been told of. Nam is the