Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1903-08-29
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camp OF the enemy lay just outside
the walls of the city. A truce had
been declared that the people might
celebrate their holy rites to the gods.
And so, grateful for the lull in the
strife which for six months had
1 borne heavily upon them, the peo-
pie threw care to the winds and put
Ial their hearts and souls into the
1 pure pleasure Of this one blessed
1 day. They needed not that this re-
.Iprieve was but the false hope sent
iIby cruel fate and that the darkest
hour Of their trial was coming swift
ly on silent wings.
The people now passed in throngs,
jail gayiy attired in their holiday
4 clothes, which for months had been
put aside. 1t was time for the
ceremony Of sacrifice, and the young
maidens, dressed in spotless white,
with white flowers intwined in their
locks and trailing over the flowing
robes, looked like seraphs, with their
young faces all aglow with holy en-
i thusiasm.
On a smooth, rolling plain, COW
cred with its natural carpet of green
and dotted with flowers which SEEM
led like sprinkling Of sunbeams, the
altar had been erected. The process
Ision formed slowly, the white .robed
maidens coming first, chanting and
! Bwaying slightly to an easy dancing
1step. Then followed the youths of
the kingdom, their boyish voices
taking up the strain of the maidens,
/ Swelling it louder and rolling it over
the long ranks.
When these had formed a circle
about the altar, a long avenue was
left clear, and then the glory Of the
| procession came into view. Six tiny
| maidens, clad in rainbow hue, held
| in their hands masses Of flowers in
twined about ribbons and leading
by them a snow white bull. Its
horns were like ivory and shone in
the sunlight. No flower or orna-
ment was needed to add charm to
the perfect animal.
Walking beside it, her arms thrown
caressmgly around its neck, was the
| pride Of the kingdom, Scylla, the
kings daughter. She was tall and
slight and as graceful as a reed.
| Her dark hair hung about her in
lustrous coils and swept over the
back Of the bull. Her robe was Of
cloth of gold, and deep purple anne
thysts fastened its folds and glisten-
ed from her black hair. Other orna-
ments she had none.
Closely following her was Nisus,
the king, surrounded by his guards.
He, like his daughter, was tall and
dark, with the same kind of hair,
except that one lock, falling over his
shoulder, shone purple, like the light
from her amethysts.
No wonder the daughter loved the.
purple stone, even as, Nisus. treas
ured the purple lock, for it reflected
the light from that lock on which
depended the safety of the country.
The children led the bull to the
altar Scylla stood beside it till
the king approached with the gleam-
ling knife. Then, with a. low cry, she
threw her arms about the creatures
neck and pressed a kiss on its white
face. But her grief did not inter
rupt the ceremony, and the sacrifice
was made. Z
When Scylla reached home she
went up into the high tower Of the
palace, from which she could look
down over the whole city and be-
.yond it. Outside the walls she saw,
as she had seen for the last six
months, the camp Of King Minos Of
Crete, and beyond the wide plain the !
ocean stretching out, out, to liberty.
For though she was a princess,
scylla felt like bird in a golden
cage. y
As she looked down over the camp
and watched the tents a figure is
sued from one of them. During the
whole time of the siege she had
watched the enemy from the tower,
and had learned to distinguish Off
GERS by name. And he who but 1
now emerged from his tent was no
other than King Minos himself.
It was easy to know him from the
Others, for, tall as they were, he
oyertopped them all, as a great oak
in the midst Of beech grove. Then,
too, his bearing was that Of king.
That noble brow revealed a charac-
ter grand, good and just. In fact,
the king was what king should be,
and when, dressed in his flowing pur-
pile, he rode his white horse he had
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