Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-02-16

4
And he with thee, he whom we know
of''-the priest tromblingly pointed to OF
ter-.'is he god or manf'
He is both god and man, y she answer
/ cd.
sAnd those yonder, who are theys'
They are are cur ministers and sery-
ants white for the white and black for
the black, the companions of our wander
| ings-men and not spirits
| The priests consulted together while
the chief looked On Juanna's beauty with
| wondering eyes. Then the Oldest of them
| spoke again:
Thou tellest us in our own tongue of
things that have long been hidden, though
perchancc they arc remembered Either.
o beautiful, thou hast learned these
things and lest to US, and then food are
! ye all for the snake against whom thou
dost blasphome, or ye are gods indeed, and
as gods We shall be worshiped Tell us
now thy name and the name of yonder
dwarf, of whom we know
Il am named the Shephcrdess of Heay-
en- among men. He is named Otter,
Dweller in the Waters among men. Once
We had other names. /"
Tell us the other names, o Shepherd
css
"Once in the far past l was named
| Brightness; l was named Dawn; / was
named Daylight. Once in the far past ho
was named Silence; he was named Ter
ror; he was named Darkness. Yet at tho
beginning we had other names. Perchanco
ye know thcm, ministers of the snakeS''
'Perchance we know them, thou
who art named Shepherdess of Heaven,
o thou who vert named Brightness and
Dawn and Daylight. o thou who art
named Dwoler in tho Waters and were
named Silence and Terror and Darkness
Perchancc we know them, although they
be known TO few and are never spoken
save in utter gloom and with hidden head
But do you know them, those names of
the beginning? For if We know them not,
o Beautiful, then ye lie, and ye bias
pheme, and yc are food for the snake
seldom through all the years have
those holy names been spoken save in ut
ter darkness and with covered heads,
Juanna answered boldly, tbut new is
the new hour the hour of the coming,
and now they shall be called aloud in. the
light of day from open lips and with up
lifted eyes. Hearken, Children OF the
Snake, these are the names by which we
were known in the beginning; Aca is my
name, the Mother of the Snake Jal is
he named who is the Snake Say, do ye
know us nowi"
AS these words rang from her lips
groan of terror burst from every man who
heard them. Then the aged priest cried
aloud: Down upon your faces, ye Chill
dren of the Snake Worship, all ye PEG
pie of the Spear, Dwellers in the Mist
A tho NJ inn a1 hae, -.
Jal, the god, has put ON the flesh of men
Olfan, lay down thy kingship. 1t is his.
Ye priests, throw wide the temples They
are theirs. Worship the mother; Go homer
to the god.
The multitude heard and Frustrated
themselves like Il single man, every one OF
them crying in shout of thunder:
'Aca, the queen of life, has comet jail
the death god, has put ON fleshl Worship
the mother; do honor to the godi'
1t was as though the army had sudden
ly been snlitten with death, and of the
hundreds there Juanna and Otter alone
were left standing. There was one excer-
tion, however,, and that was Olfan, the
warrior CHIEF, who remained upon his feet,
not seeming to relish the command to abb
dictate his authority thus brusquely in ia
vor Of dwarf, were he god or man.
Otter, who was utterly bewildered, not
comprehend1ng word of what had been
said and being unable to fathom the mean
ing Of these strange antics, pointed at tho
chief with his spear by way of calling Ja-
Annals attention to the fact that he was
still standing. But the great man inter
preted the action otherwise. Evidently
he thought that the newly arrived god
was invoking destruction on him His
pride yielded to his superstition, and he
sank to his knees also.
When the sound of the worshiping had
passed away, Juanna spoke again, adj
dressing the old priest.
Rise, my child, she said--he might
well have been her great grandfather
"and rise all yc soldiers of the spear and
servants of the snake, and hear my words.
Ye know me now. 70 know me by
the holy name. Ye know me by the
fashion of my face and by the red stone
that CLEANS upon my brow. In the begin
ming my blood fell yonder and was frozen
into such gems as these which today ye
offer yearly to him who is my son and
slew me. Now the fate is accomplished.
and his reign is finished. / come with
him indeed, and he is still god, but he
loves Inc as q son again and bows the knee
to me in service. Enough; ye know the
ancient tale that is fulfilled this day Now
we pass on toward your city, there to SO.
journ with you awhile and to proclaim
the law of the ending, and we pass alone.
There in your city let place be made
ready for us, a place apart, but nigh to
the temple, and Let food be brought to the
place, that my servants may eat. AT the
gates of the city also let men be waiting
to bear us to that place. Let none spy
upon us, lest an evil fate attend you all,
and let none be disobedient, lest we pass
from you back to the land of death and
dreams. Perchance we shall not tarry
here for long. Perchance we come to bring
q blessing and to depart again. Therefore
hasten to do our bidding and Go it all
FOR this time farewell, my servants. .
Having spoken thus with much dignity,
accompanied by Otter, whose hand she
held as before Juanna withdrew herself
stepping backward very slowly toward the
circle of rocks and singing as she went
TO BE CONTINUED