Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-12

Phoenicians. who, in different countries,
passed by the various names of Astarte or
Ashtoreth or Baaltis, and who, in their
coarse worship, was the parsonifcatio Of
the moon and the emblem of fertility.
Standing before this rude object ard be-
tween 1t and the altar, whereon lay some
Mowers. In such fashion that the moonlight
struck full upon her. was a wilite-robed
woman. She was young and very beautf-
lui, both in shape and feature, and even
With her black hair streaming almost to
her knees she seemed tall. Her rounded
arms were outstretched; her sweet and pas
slonate face was upturned toward the sky,
ana even at that distance the watchers
could see her deep eyes shining in the
moonlight Her song was finished, and
now she was praying aloud praying from
her very heart. not to the idol before her,
however, but to the moon above
'Oh. Queen OF Heaven" she said. thou
whose throne I see. but whose face 1 can
not see, hear the prayer of thy priestess
Oh. as thou fillest the night with light, so
fill the darkness Of my soul with the wis
dem that l crave. Oh, whisper into my
ears and let me hear the voice OF heaven,
teaching me that which 1 would learn
Read me the riddle of my life, show Inc nv
destiny, and let ma know wherefore l am
not as my sisters are; why feas:s and sac
rifces delight me not, why / thirst for
knowledge and not for wealth, and why
crave such love as here cannot win Sat-
1sfy my being with thy immortal lore and
love that does not fail or die, and If thou
wilt, take my life in payment. Speak to
me from the heaven above or show me
some sign upon the earth beneath Fill up
the vessel Of my thirsty soul and satisfy
the hunger Of my spirit. Oh, thou that art
the god, thou that hast the gift of power
give me, thy servant, of thy power of thy
godhead, and of thy peace. Hear me, oh,
heaven-born, hear me, ELISA, the daugh-
ter Of Saxon. the dedicate Of thee. Hear,
hear and answer now In the holy hour
answer by voice, by wonder, or by SYM
boil"
She paused as though exhausted with the
passion Of her prayer, hiding her face in
her hands, and as she stood thus silent and
expectant the sign came. or, at least. that
CHANGED which in after days she believed
to have been an answer to her invocation.
Her face was hidden, therefore she could
not see. and fascinated by her beauty as
IT. appeared to them in that unhaIloWed
spot, and by the depth and dignity of her
wild prayer, the two watchers had eyes for
her alone. Therefore 1t happened that not
until his arm was about her to drag her
away did either of them perceive a huge
man, black as ebony in color. clad in
cloak of leopard skins. and having in his
right hand broad-bladed spear, who, fol-
lowing the shadow of the trees. had crept
upon the priestess from the further side Of
the glade. With cultural exclamation of
triumph, he gripped her with his left arm
and, despite her struggles and her shrill
cry for help, began half to drag and half
to carry her toward the deep shade of the
baobab grove. Instantly Aziel and Metam
sprang up and rushed forward, drawing
their bronze swords while they ran. AS IL
CHANGED, however, the Israelite caught his
foot in one of the numerous tree roots
which stood above the surface of the
ground. and fell heavily upon his face. In
a few seconds, twenty. perhaps. he found
his feet again, to see that Metem had come
up with the black man, who, hearing his
approach, suddenly wheeled around to meet
him, still holding the struggling priestess
with his left arm. Now, the Phoenician
was close upon him that the savage
could find no time to shift his grip upon
his spear, but drove at him with the
knobbed end Of its handle, striking him
full upon the forehead, and telling him as
turned to fly with his captive. but before
he had covered ten yards the sound of
Azefs approaching footsteps caused him
to wheel round again.
At the sight of the Israelite advancing
upon him with drawn sword the great
barbarian freed himself from the burden
Of the girl by throwing her heavily to the
shaken out Of her; then snatching the
cloak from his throat he wound it over his
left arm to serve as a shield, and. with q
savage yell. rushed straight for Aziel, pur-
posing to transf1x him with the broad
headed spear. Well was 1t for the prince
that he had been trained in sword play
from his youth, also that, Notwithstanding
his slight build, he was strong and active
as leopard. To await the onslaught
would be to die. for the spear must pierce
him before ever he could reach the at
tackers body with his short sword. There
fore, as the weapon flashed upward he
sprang aside. avoiding 1t, at the same
time. with one swift sweep of his sword,
slashing Its holder across the back as he