Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-09-05
THE PALACE OF DOOM
A STRANGE STORY ABOUT THE mYS-
TERIOuS STATUE IN ROME.
The Discovery Of q Diligent Young Man
and the Fate Which Overlook Him-si-
lent Grandeur Revealed-Fina tho Mora,
If You Have Eyes to See,

/ IL Aou haSo Eyes to See.
There stood in Rome MANY ores ,,o ,
beautiful marble statue tho mystery of
which attracted the attention of all the
wise men from far and near. Nobody
could remember when it had been erected
and nobody knew what it meant.
1t was the figure of woman, tall,
strong and supple. She stood erect, with
her right arm outstrctchod, her mantle
falling in graceful folds about her figure,
on her face look, half smile, half frown,
Turing, yet rcpeiling, but always holding
the observer by II strange feeling that it
reused of mystery, glory and horror.
But even all that writtcn so clearly in
the mystic signs that art uses, might have
| been overlooked by the people had it not
| been for a more material puzzle presented
by the statue On the third finger of the
outstrctched hand was written in unfading
letters, Strike here" And therein lay
the mystery.
Years came and went and wise men
| puzzled their brains to find the secret.
Seers from faroff lands camo to Rome, at
| tracted by the statue, and still it stood,
mute, cold, incxplicablc.
| One day young man stood before it,
| the mystery, and each day since he was Il
| little child he had come for Il few mo-
| ments and stood silently gazing at the
| strange countcnance.
He had learned to love the face, the wise
lips that looked as If they might part and
tell the secret that ages had ycarncd to
know But through those ages only he
had been siaGcre in his search. Faithful
VI oil Il ntr ho h,I s-ai,
ed strength and wisdom. And now as he
stood before the statue the sun, half way
up the eastern sky, suddenly shone full
upon the image.
A strange thrill passed through the
man, and looking in the direction indicat-
ed by the pointing finger he saw, some
yards away, the shadow of the outstrctch
cd hand on the ground. He gave u low
cry, and after noting the spot well he de-
parted.
How strange that no one had thought
of that, but the man remembered that
never before had he behcid the figure
bathed in light as it then was.
That night at midnight he went to tho
place and began to dig in the ground
where the shadow of the hand had fallen.
A long time he worked, but nothing but
these years he was not impatient of lit
tie labor, and he still pursued his digging
when suddenly his spade struck some
thing hard.
Then his zeal increased, and clearing q
space he saw beneath him trapdoor with
great stone ring. Grasping the ring, 10
pulled open the door and started back,
dazzled for flood of light burst upon
| Of bO he
Quickly recovering, the young man
looked again and behcld a wide marble
staircase descending from the trarloor
Throwing down his spade he passed
through the door down the steps and
found himself in vast hall Tho
floor of this room was Of marble, puro
white, while the walls and ceiling were of
the same material in many colors. The
huge pillars upholding the vast dome
shone like alabaster. Rare paintings hung
upon the walls, and rich rugs lay strewn
upon the floor, their colCrs brought vivid
y into relief by the snowy background.
In the center of the room fountain
stood. The water in its basin was as pure
rs crystal, but not ripple stirred its sur
face, and no pleasant tapping charmed the
ear as it docs when water falls from on
emily perfect no water rose from it to fall
again.
On seats running around this silent
fountain were many men i'll rich brocades
and costly fur robes. Lifcliko they looked,
but to the touch they were as marble. 1t
was as if in tho midst of life death had
come and petrified these beings in. mock
cry.
+nh o,,I l,o, oh,
tered piles of gold and precious gems Del
icate enamelcd vases and swords inlaid
with gems added their wealth to the place
But rarcst of all the gems was great
carbuncle, which stood in corner of the
room, and from which came the sole light
by which the place was relieved from
darkness. In the corner opposite to this
stone stood an archer. his bow bent, his
arrow on the string, aimed ut tho carbun-
Gle On his bow shining with reflected
light We're the words:
Il am that l am. My shaft is inevita-
bic. Yon glittering jewel cannot escape
its stroke"
As he looked on all this in silent won
der the young Roman heard o voice utter
one word" Bewarcw
Then he passed into the next room and
lOuliu lb Httcu up Us lu'tSlDiccltly IT'S INC
one he had just left All manner of
couches were about this room, and reclin-
ing on them were wonderfully beautiful
women. But their lips We're sealed in this
place of silence.
From there bo passed on, finding many
more wonders-rooms filed with treasures
of art, stables filled with fine horses, gran
aries filled with forage. Everything that
could make palace complete was there
The servants were not lacking, but stood
Us if they had suddenly been transfxed.
The young Roman returned to the hall
81 have here SEEM" he said, "what no
man will believe. l know that of this
wealth should take nothing, but to prove
to them that 1 speak truth can be no
harm.
Then he took in his arms a jeweled
sword and some rare vases, but suddenly
all was dark
The charm was broken. The arrow had
left the bow and shattered the carbuncle
into a thousand pieces. Pitch darkness
overspread the place
Then the young man remembered the |
warning but too late. And there he prob |
ably adds one more to the silent watchers
of the magic chamber