The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-15

his hand was on the door, and at a
touch 1t appeared to open almost of its
own accord. He found himself looking
from the dusk of the outer white
washed passage into high vaulted
chapel, wherein many dim lights glim-
mered. At the end there was great al
tar of iron standing the whole height
of a man from the platform on which
it was set up. and behind it, cut in
distinctly against a greeniSh glow of
light and imagined rather than clearly
defined, the vast statue of man with
curioUsly shaped head. Laurence
could not distinguish any features, so
deep was the gloom but the whole fig
ure seemed to be bending slightly for
ward, as if gloating upon that which
was laid upon the altar. But what
struck Laurence with a sense of awe
and terror was the fact that as the
greenish light behind waXed and waved
he could see shadowy horns which pro-
jected from each side of the forehead.
and lower, short ears pricked and
shaggy like those of a he-goat.
Nearer the door where he stood in
the densest gloom something moved to
and fro, and as his eyes grew accus-
toned to the gloom Laurence could see
that it was certainly a woman of
great age and bodily weakness, whose
tangled hair hung down her back and
who halted curiously upon one foot as
she walked. She was bending over a
low couch on which lay little shroud-
ed figure from which proceeded the low
whispering sound which he had heard
from without. But even at that mo-
ment. as he waited trembling at the
door, the moaning ceased, and there
enSued long silence, in which Laur-
ence could distinctly distinguish the
beating of his own heart. 1t sounded
loud in his ears as a drum that beats
the alarm III the streets of a city.
The figure of the woman bent low
to the couch. and then with a salts
fed air, she threw a white cloth over
the shrouded form which lay upon it.
Then without looking toward the door
where Laurence stood, she went to the
great iron altar. at the upper end of
the weird chapel, and threw something
on the red embers which glowed there.
'Barran-most mighty Barran-Sath-
anas, accept this offering and reveal
thyseif to my masterp' she said in a
voice like a chant.
a greenish smoke of sitting odor rose
and flied all the place, and through it
the huge horned figure above the altar
seemed to turn its head and look at the
boy.
Laurence could scarcely repress q
cry of terror. He set his hand to the
uooI anu 10! as IL had opened so it
appeared to shut of itself. He sank
almost fainting against the cold
iron bars of the window which
looked out upon the COURTYARD
below. The wind blew in upon
him sweet and cool, and with If
there came the sound of the singing of
the choir. They were singing the song
OF the holy innocents which by com.
nand or the marshal himself Precentor
Renout had set TO excellent and an-
cordant music, of his own invention:
A voice was heard in Ramah.
In Ramah
I1amentatiOn and bitter weeDine-
Rachel weeping for her children
Refused to be comforted
For her children
Because they were not.
Obviously there was some mistake ar
lack of attention on the part of the
choir. for the last line had to be re-
peated three times:
Because they were not,