St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-03-31
THE SECOND ACT
BY Owen Oliver.

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nR. STRANGE has told YOU of m,
~ delusion," he said, with an un
mirthful smile. LET us start from tn
delusion. cannot very well tell m,
story in any other way
He pushed his papers aside, leane.
back in the cozy reading chair ant
folded his hands. The scene haunts m,
yet. His dark, grave face, with its ravel
hair and long, pointed beard; his soft
weary voice; the chirping Of the birds
the humming of the bees, and the har,
breaths of summer air, stealing il
through the barred windows--I remem
Der them all. This is the story:
Fours thousand years ago, when mer
worshiped God under the name of Osiris
and Isis, was Amenemhat w, king in
Kem-which you call Egypt. My con
quests and my learning are craven upor
the great tablets, bat the scribes left
unsaid what should be unsaid. There
fore you will seek in vain for mention o1
Numidea, the slave.
Felix, the trader, brought her from
over the Mediterranean. When she
stood before me with flushed cheeks
and in her pale blue eyes, the cum
ming knave refused to name price.
The world is thine. Q king he said,
"and the maid, if it be thy will. Give
to me only what she seemeth worth to
thee.
So gave him nome-or province
and dealt somewhat niggardly with
him, methought. Then L took her to the
palace to be queen, under the name of
Sebek-nefru-ra. which is on the tablets.
The people murmursd. yet none dared
to- complain to my face, but Numidea,
the blue-eyed slave, with her soft looks
and her frightened voice, was hraver
than they.
Kill me, if thou wilt, oh king" she
said, tauntingly, -"fpr in truth 1 love
thecnot at all" A whole month wooed
her, disdaining force, and she said no
more. Then she cast her eyes upon ka-
les, the captain Of the guard. and cared
less than ever for me.
sent Kales on journey beyond the
seas. I would have slain him, but he
was brave man. and we had played and
fought together as children. And then
Numidea struck me with her small, soft
hand.
s'Take her to the deathsmen," COM
manded; sin the morning she shall
die Lest I should break kings
word rode to the great temple far
away. But l could not sleep for the
thought Of her great blue eyes, wide
with fear. So rose and bade them
harness the swiftest horses to the light
est chariot, and Charmicles drove for
me, whose hand was the lightest upon
the reins. All the night we sped in the
moonlight with the sand flying in long
clouds behind us and the great pyra-
mids scow1ing upon us from afar.
"If thou lovedst slave, Charmicles,"
l asked him, ..and she loved not thee?"
sIf loved her little, he said, 'hap-
ly she would perish, oh lord"
aAnd if thou lovedst her much ?" He
looked at the moon fieeting through the
clouds for long time, and his face
grew sad.
aIf loved her enough. oh king
chance should set her free"
I covered my head in my robe and
said nothing. Was not racing the fly
ing hours to open her prison doors?
IA, the sun-god. sprung up, and
laughed upon the land, and Charmicles
wiped the sweat from his brow and
ceased to strike the horses as they pant
ed and struggled to the base Of the
great pyramid, where the prison was.
And behold they had tortured her;
and she had died in the night!
I drew my sword upon myself. but
Charmicles stayed my hand. ''Shall they
write upon the tablets that Amenemhat
or the holy line died for love of a slave?'
he said.
So went back to the temple and
dwels. Presently / made spell, from |
nv arts, that I might be reborn when |
she was reborn, and another spell that |
1 died, and none knew why. So fell |
asleep. and my sleep was 1000 years. |
when I was newborn q child knew
none Of these things; but one by one
they came back to me.
One evening my father held me upon
MIS- knee and showed me quaint pic
ture book, and trembled with vague
..This is how people drew in Egypt
of yesterdays ago." he said.
.sThe lines are all straight, because they
were cut upon stone. See, these are
,rchers. and these are horses. and this
Iooks ike big bull"
touched the figure Of Apis reverent-
II with my hand.
.sThis.' : I said, '.is god"
another time they took me to mu-
.@uIm,I and stopped by>a carven sar-
roohaxus and would not move away.
mere we're things craven upon it that
I ,eemed almost to understand, and
.r.s that were half familiar.
when i went back to school stood
,,s,.f from the games to dream of fly- (
- xpears and racing chariots. My
.,.vfellow-I viii call him Rupert
- always il the memories with me.
netea when ~ usestled together the