Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1902-04-02


and declared it perfect.
1t was a useless form, this last,
seeing that by calculation they knew
exactly how the stone must rest; but
the guilds have their forms and Gus
toms, and on these occasions of high
ceremonial they are punctiliously
carried out, because these middle
class people wish always to appear
| mysterious and impressive to the
poor vulgar folk who are their in
feriors. But perhaps [ am hard
there on them. A man who is need
lessly taken round to plumb and duly
| level the tomb where his love lies
buried living may perhaps be excused
| by the assessors on high little spir-
| it of bitterness.
l had gone up the steps to do my
| hateful work man full of grief,
though outward1y unmoved. As
came down again 1 had q feeling of
| ilcompleteness; it seemed as though
| half my inwards had been left be-
hind with Nais in the hollow of the
stone, and their place was taken by
| a void which ached YEARLY; but still
/ carried a passive face, and a mem
DRY that before all these private mat
| tiers stood the command of the high
council, which sat before the Ark of
the Mysteries.
So I went and stood before Pho
renice, and said the words which the
ancient forms prescribed concerning
the carrying out of her wish.
"Then now" she said, 81 will give
myself to you as wife. We are not
as others, you and I, Deucalion.
There is a law and form set down
for the marrying of these other peo-
pie, but that would be useless for our
purposes. We will have neither priest
nor scribe to join us and set down
! the union. / am the law here in At
lantis, and you soon will be part of
! me. We will not be demeaned by
| profaner hands. We will make the
ceremony for ourselves, and for wit
nesses there are sufficient in waiting.
Afterwards the record shall be cut
deep in the granite throne you have
built for me, and the lettering filled
in with gold, so that it shall endure
and remain bright for always
THE empress can do no wrong
[ said, formally, and took the hand
she offered me and helped her to
rise. We walked out from the scar
let awning into the glare of the sun
shine, she leaning on me, nushed,
and so radiantly lovely that the peo-
| pie began to hail her with rapturous
shouts of ga goddess! our Goddess
Phorenice!" But for me they had no
welcoming word. L think the set
| grimness of my face both scared and
repealed them.
We went up the steps which led to
the throne, the people still shouting,
and sat her in the royal seat be-
meath the snakes outstretched head,
and she drew me down to sit beside
her.
She raised her jeweled hand, and
a silence fell on that great throng,
as though the breath had been sud
| denly cut short for all of them.
Then Phorenice made proclama-
ton:
Hear me, Q my people, and hear
me, 0 high gods from whom 1 am
come. l take this man Deucalion to
be my husband, to share with me the
prosperity of Atlantis, and join me
IN guarding our great possession.
May all our enemies perish as she is
now perishing above whom we sit"
And then she put her arms around
i my neck and kissed me hotly on the
/ mouth.
In turn L also spoke: 'Hear me, o
most high gods, whose servant l am,
and hear me also, o We people. I
take this Empress Phorenice to
wife, to help with her the prosperity
Of Atlantis, and join with her in
guarding the welfare Of that great
possession. May all the enemies of
this country perish as they have per
ished in the past
And then l too, who had not been
permitted by the fates to touch the
lips of my love. bestowed the first
kiss I had ever given a woman to
Phorenice, that was now being made
my wife.
But we were not completely linked
yet.
"a woman is one, and man is one,
she proclaimed, following for the
J first time the old form of words, ''bu
, in marriage they merge, so that wife
and husband are no more separate
but one conformity. In token of thi
! we will now make the symbolic join
ing together, SO that all may see an.