The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-17
THE ADVERTISERS # .s .N
 .s 4 DAILY SHORT STORMY,


I 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- sire this life eternal?'
 "' 'Tis in my power to give 1t to | thee. responded the man, but upon certain conditions: First, you must swear to administer to every creature in this city the potion 1 give you; sec ondly, you must swear to keep closed forever the gates of Shor!; 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 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 a prey to the wiles of a demon. and. falling. dragged the king down with her. for he could not bear to see the idol of his heart yearn for a 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- joiced as they partook of the immortal elixir.
 But ere long the evil effects of the dreadful contract were sensibly felt, and the king beheld with inward ter TOT and contrition that in depriving men of the salutary fear of death he had trampled under foot he only effectual barrier against immortality. And he beheld much more. and the sight filled his honest bosom with sstonishment and regret He could not prevent the natural increase of his people. but alas! the limits to which he and they were confined ed not be- come enlarged in proportion to the &C., emulation of the population. To these horrors were added a thousand loath- some diseases. and whilst we suffered all the agonies of mortality death re- lieved us not.
 "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 a vigilant watch kept over its inmates by beings not of this world.
 Recognizing this terrible fact. a
  was decided to beseech the gods to grant the promised relief. On the ap- pointed day the wretched people as- sembled in the streets and squares. inn ploring the dieties to spare them fur their misery. About noon a 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 fled, and many tainted. while others cried for mercy. and praises and confessions and curses were strangely mingled.
 And so' cried a terrific being, whom we recognized as Ator. the tempter. ye are wearied of life eter- nal?'
 i" 'No.' exclaimed a man bolder than the rest not of life eternal, but of eternal suffering!'
 "Thers supon the demon gods raised | a ghastly peal of laughter which rolled like a mighty thunder through the city
 'Relief!' continued the monster. | Ator; 'ye shall have 1t; all but your king. who hath defed us by uttering | prayers to the God called Almighty
 
 " Yes. I answered, and I call upon | Him again, " (for you know, O mortal. | that I am the spirit of komar) A frightful yell of terror and despair fol- lowed my confession of faith, and the | vision vanished from our walls.
 "I tried to prevail upon Maya to ac- cept the God called Almighty, but | though I entreated her with tears. she | firm to the faith Of her an- cestors. Alas! that she did.
 Early next morning. while we were beholding a review of the troops, the terrible darkness again enveloped the land. and wonderful voice came from Heaven. saying: Peace to the soul of Komar. for the Lord God Almighty loveth him. An awful death-like silence followed. and an intense cold diffused itself throughout our doomed and guilty land And as my soul sped upward I realized that the stone im- ages of the inhabitants of Shor must hurden the world forever and ever and that Maya was among them.
 King