The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-10-12

tered a spacious quadrangle wherein
the waters Of fountains shone and
sparkled in the moonlight, but twas
not the grand beauty of the spot that
transfixed my attention but the ap-
pearance of numerous ranks CT SOL
diers all turned-in the very act Of ex-
erclsing-tO stone. " g. :
= Behold said my conductor, lyon
tower; that was mine own, private
sanctum for study, and now seat thy
se..: on this column and thou shalt hear
the story of the City of Silence!
Know that thou he continued
''art in the very heart of Africa, into
(which the enterprising sons of all civ
. ilized nations have so often but vainly
endeavored to penetrate. +.
"Shor, the original name of the City
of Silence, was the capital of -four
ishing and powerful kingdom, and had
reached the pinnacle of it's glory when
the wise and virtuous monarch, Ko-
mar, ascended the nations throne
And beside him sat Maya, his queen
who was beloved by all for her beauty,
intelligence and gracious manner.
Both king and queen labored sedu-
lously in acts of piety> and in arts of
peace, expending the public money in
beautifying the city with noble works
and in encouraging sublime sciences.
but alas! it came to pass that one
day to the queen appeared venerable
man, who said to her: % foolish
Maya, you think you possess all the
joys ever known, but there is one
that you have not, and that is life
eternal
''The queen was silent; then, arous-
ing herself as if from a dream, she
asked of the stranger: And if de-
sired this life eternal?'
Tis in my power to give it to
thee responded the man, but upon
certain conditions: First, you must
in this city the potion I give you; sec
ondly you must swear to keep closed
forever the Gates OF Shor;z thirdly,
continued the ancient, Thirdly, your
deities (of whom I, Ator, am one,)
have decreed that should you weary
of your bargain you must not seek the
i aid of the God called Almighty with
whom we are at war, but the aid of
your gods, for they alone can answer
your prayers And then he vanished.
But the seed was sown, and the
queen began to coVet the prize which
she had not; and, like poor Eve, she
fell prey to the wiles of demon,
and, falling, dragged the king down
with her, for he could not bear to see
the idol of his heart yearn for pleas
ure within his power to purchase and
not. grant it; and so, the deed was
done-the gates of~the city were for
ever closed, and the inhabitants re-
Jolced as they partook Of the immortal
elixir. ...s~ - H..
! But ere long the evil effects of the
dreadful contract were sensibly felt,
and the king beheld with inward ter
Tor and contrition that in depriving
men of the salutary fear of death he
mad trampled under foot the only
feffectual barrier against immortality.
And he beheld much more, and the
sight filed his honest bosom with
astonishment and regret. He could
not prevent the natural increase of his
people, but alas! the limits to which
he and they were confined did not be-
come enlarged in proportion to the ac-
cumulation Of the populace. To these
horrors were added a thousand loath-
some diseases, and whilst we suffered
all the agonies of mortality death re-
lieved us not ..s. .sz. s..:.
At last, driven to desperation, some
bold spirits attempted to unbar the
gates of the city, to find them held fast
by some supernatural power, and the
dreadful lightnings which flashed from
wall and tower when they attempted
to scale them proved that the city was
guarded and yigilant watch kept over
lts inmates by beings not of this world.
Recognizing this terrible fact,
public council was called, in which it
was decided to beseech the gods to
grant the promised relief On the ap-
pointed day the Wretched people as
= 4
sembled In the streets and squares, i'm
plorlng the deities to spare them fur
ther misery. About noon darkness,
darker than the deepest night, over
spread the city, and, suddenly, in the
very midst Of it, the high walls, towers
and ponderous gates appeared alive
with blue and livid flames Upon the
summit Of these were seated, in sol
emn conclave, the living forms OF our
hideous gods. Many fed, and many
tainted, while others cried for mercy,
and praises and confessions and
curses We're strangely mingled.
#s !. And So cried terrific being
whom we recognized as Ator, the
tempter. We are Wearied OF life eter-
nal?'
No! exclaimed a man, bolder than
the rest; not of life eternal, but OF