Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1896-07-31
THE LORELEI.

was large and bare, with curious hooks
and corners, with windows deep and
dark curtained, and a yawniDg cavern
Gus fireplace, l sat and pondered. Tho
fire was burned out, save a pile Of glow
ing Goals, which threw a ftful glare
through the shadows of the room up to
the brown rafters overhead. Without the
wind shrieked and howled and whis-
tied, the shutters clattered and the hail
beat upon the window Ianes. The fire
CLEANS ceased. The wind shrieked loud
er and the spirit of fear entered into and.
took possession of me.
Oh, for light
Stating in q frenzy, 1 raked some
Goals together, and s~eizing an old violin
that lay in a corner l threw it on the
Goals in hope of light sufficient to dispel
the gloom for a few moments at least.
There was a cracking, and there went
up a blue fame, and at that instant
there came a quick, stinging blow on
my temple-a blow like the shock from
an e~lectri1 battery-and / fell to the
floor, insensible. When my mind came
back to me, the room was filled with
darkness so intense l could discern moth
ing. / looked toward the fire. Written
i'll letters Of flame upon the back wall Of
black, in letters that hickered and grew
pale and then bright, nov with a blue
light and now with a red, l saw this
strange story that l try to tell to you:
OF old there was a race of women
who were 1.-the and tall and fair. Their
eyes were like stars and their hair like
strands of gold, or a veil covering them
below the knees. This was when Jove
reigned in Olympus and the gods and
goddesses paid homage to him there,
Now these women were slaves to the
goddesses, but when they sang, Jove left
his throne and all the gods wept and
thought Of naught save these-the Lore
lei.
Then the goddesses were sore dis
pleased, and their hearts were bitter
with jealousy, so that they pleaded with
Jove and finally prevailed upon him to
cast the Lorelei out Of Olympus and to
drown them in the sea.
So the Lorelei were hurled into the
waters. But as they sank they cried
aAOhht ahd AhO oMOOthtoo IA bhOlA NOiNCo
pierced Neptune's heart, SO it was filed
with compassion, and no sent ENJOYS to
guide them through the waters and into
the cavernous palaces under the seattle
palaces whose walls were of silver span
gled with gold, whose light was the
glimmer from diamonds, whose floors
were of pearls, and many gems were in
the sands around. The Lorelei sang to
thank kind Neptune, and the monsters
of tine deep drew near and ceased to
move, but stood by the entrances to the
caverns and were sp~ellbound by the mu-
sic.
The Lorelei maidens were happy.
They danced and sang the livelong day,
and the queen of Lorelei led them. The
water was warm, and its surface glitter
cd and sparkled and flashed, and the
Lorelei chased each other and sang for
very gladness. There was a ship ON the
sea, and when the breeze reached it laden
with music-the music of the Lorelei's
notes.-the sailors were charmed, SO
that the helmsman' stood as one dead,
and the captain was silent, but reached
forth his hands. The winds and waves
bore the ship ON, and the voices of the
Lorelei sounded more plainly than be-
fore.
The ship was without guidance. It
struck upon the rocks and sank. But the
men were as dead men before it went
down, for their ears were filled and
their pulses were stopped by the songs
of the sirens. The waters closed over
the ship and her crew, and after many
days the bones Of the sailors were cast
npon the sands of the shore, and the
summer suns and winter rains bleached
them. Other ships came. The crews
heard and persisted, and the shore was
strewn with bones, even as the sands.
The Lorelei mourned and sang to warn
men away. But the voices were so sweet
men came ever toward them to their de-
struction.
The Lorelei were accused by man
kind, so that the queen of the Lorelei
came no more through the waters, but
wandered in and out through the coral
groves in the depths Of the sea. Ships
ceased to be lost and the bones upon the
seahore were covered with moss and the
grass and flowers grew near TO the va
ter's edge.
Now, back from the shore wal a for
est, mighty and old. The trunks Of the
trees were like great columns and the
branches formed arches overhead the
leaves were the canopy and the whole
seemed like a great cathedral. The
ground was soft with the fallen leaves,
and in this forest the sun never shone
save when the winds came softly and
gently through the boughs, lifted the
leaves fiutteringly and let a sunbeam
through, which fell aslant upon the
ground. In the heart Of this forest was
a castle. The castle was old, dark and
grim, and tho lord Of the castle had
been wandering in foreign lands FOX
many years
a new year had como aud was half
gone when the lord came home. The air
was soft and warm and filed with the
song Of birds and the hum Of insects.
The sunbeams came down ON the old
castle. glancing OF on the blooming