Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-09-05
q
J A Royal Lion Hunt. !
q By Mrs. Reginald DeKoven.
8


lSeing an extract from BY the Waters OF
6aoylon" Republished by permission.l
which we'll deserves the success It i.
achieving, is Mrs Reginald DeKoven's
new novel by the Waters of Babylon,
published by Herbert s. Stone e. Co, Chi.
The time of the story is laid five
san on before Christ when Artaxerxes
Inc plot of the story has to do with the
y between the king and the priests
VI Del Ior the possession of a beautiful
pure Jewish maid, held captive in the cor.
rupt Babylonian court, and ends with the
me king. But it is more tae wonderful de.
sGripuve power of the author than the
pte lpe 81 aer story that makes the book in
.e1esting. From cover to cover the whole
Story IS ablaze with color, and truly won
er rai are the descriptions of the scenes
caUuho ana connected with the regal
Sourt Ihe opening chapter of the story
and SIsla description of a royal lion hunt,
anu a. We give the following extracts from
TINS as illustrating the general characfeI
OF the book:
L was the day OF the great kings
hunting in the Towering month
OF Nissan and many lions were to be
offered to Nergal and to Bel. Artax-
erxes was proceeding to the chase,
Erect, exultant, he drove, holding the
relns lightly in his long fingers, while
ABOUT him roared the chariot wheels
OF his huntsmen and the tramplinp
feet of many horses. The darkened
rms OF his large, almond yes drew
close together as he faced the level
sun-rays- The golden light caught the
Jewels IN his royal tiara and shone on
the twin lions of his dagger hilt.
Three horses, f~eet-footed and black
as the night, drew on his chariot. In
gllded harnesses and tassels of gold
and scarlet they swept along the river
o which traversed Babylon from
wall to wall.
The pleasure-loving king was hap
Ply, for who in the two kingdoms could
equal him in craftsmanship? His
thoughts leaped high as his ewes
greeted the royal sun and he delighted
in the swift rush of his horses. Foot
to foot with them dashed the white
steed of Amytis, sister of the king.
The royal beauty held the reins, dis
daining the ~charioteer who stood idly
by her Behind her, swaying un-
comfortably in the swiftly rolling
chariot a ~long-robed eunuch held a
golden umbrella owe her head. Her
beautiful arms, yellow and polished
as ripe fruit, emerged from her wide
embroidered tunic, which after the
Babylonian custom was fastened over
one shoulder only, leaving her right
breast and shoulder free. A jewelled
fllet was bound low about her brows.
Her brilliant eyes, mobile, almond
shaped like her brothers, velvet-dark
and exquisitely drawn as if by a pen
Gil, were wide open and flashing with
the Joy of the chase. Her beauty
was still in its perfection, but it was
not that of a girl. The full curved
lips were powerful as they were petu-
lent. The face blazed with vitality
and insolent pride. She stood far for
ward in her chariot holding the three
horses with a light and practiced
hand, while her scarlet draperies
streamed behind her in the swift wind
of their fight, and her long black
curls whipped about her face.
The king looked down upon Amytis
with a bright glance of pleasure. In
all his childish sports she had been his
companion. While he vas passing be-
fore the eyes of his people he had re-
NAMED as calm as a sc~ulptured idol,
but now as they emerged into the
open plain, leaving the city with its
shouting crowds behind, the imperial
face changed suddenly into that of a
youth. smiling with joy at the pros
-pect of his favorite sport. This latest
monarch of the Achaemenian line was
famed throughout Asia for his mighty
statue and for his beauty which was
the very perfection of the aristocratic
Persian race. AS far as Greece, and
in all the provinces of Italy and Asia
Minor, Artaxerxes Longimanus was
considered the most splendid monarch
of his time. Spending the larger part
of the year at Shushan-the capital
OF his hereditary kingdom-he con-
sidered conquered Babylon as a win
ter residence, and brought to its
palaces a luxurious Persian retinue.
and with banquets and hunting festi-
walls provided a constant and magnii-
cent spectacle to the pleasure-loving
Babylonians. 1t was his custom to
follow the monthly hunts, but that
which fell In Nissan the month of
flowers was the important one of all
the year. Now, lilies and tulips, pop
pies and lowers of every hue car
peted the Babylonian plain. The tow
ering palms and tamarisks by the
bank of the Euphrates and the inter-
secting canals were freshly green.
The sun was bright, but tolerable.
4 few weeks later what was now a
garden of flowers would be a desert,
swept with burning winds and sand
storms. So quickly did the merciless
sun of summer destroy the beauty
of the spring.
But this was a day of all perfection,
royalIy blue and gold. Golden tenn
piles. prodigious, towering, glittered in
a bath of azure air. Beside them
flowed the wide stream of the Eu-
phrates blue as the sky. Before them
blazed the splendid sun, and the
breath of the flowers was in their nos
trils. Their chariot wheels rolled to-
gether as the six horses few like wind
across the plain.
.WiIt not be tired?" he asked her.
I'VE hunt tonight in the jungle at
tits far and we must reach
If ere the moon rise"
.sTired? /, thy sister? The night
will not be long enough for me-"
..As thou wilt, but I have command
al the barges to await us at b bend
mo of the stream. We will return in
them at sunrise"
.eTis well. I care not; the day is
d. N1-%. CInD,oz