The Washington times., 1906-02-04


This is written, For me, DEATH whereat L
rejoice. For thee. spear cast by thine own
hand For the land OF Kaioon. blood and ruin
bred Of thee. ATENE.
Khsnia Of Kalocn
Ayesha listened in silence. but her
lips did not tremble, nor her cheek pale.
TO Oros she said. proudly:
Say 10 the messenger Of Atene that
have received her message, and ere
long VIII answer il, race 10 face with
her IN her palace of Kaloon. Go. priest.
and disturb ne no more"
When Oros had departed she turned
70 Us and said.
That tale OF mine Of long ago was
wei htted to this hour. for as Amenar-
tas prophesied OF III, so does Atene
prophesy Of i'll. and Amenartas and
Atene are one. Well. let the spear
ian. II fail it must. and ! will not
ninch from IL who know that l shall
surely triumph at the fast. Perhaps the
hhania does but think to frighten me-
with cunning lie. but il she has read
Alright. then be sure, beloved. that il is
still well with US, since none can escape
their destiny. nor can our bond of union
which was fastened with the universe
ihat bears US ever be undone.
II tell thee, Leo, that out Of the con-
fu.siOHs Of our lives and deaths order
shall yet be bo-n. Behind the mask OF
cruelty shine mercy's tender eyes; and
the wrongs OF this rough and twisted
world are but hot, binding sparks.
which stream from the al-rightinR
sword OF pure, eternal justice The
heavy lives We see and know are only
links in a golden chain that shall draw
US safe to the haven OF our rest; steep
and painful steps are tney whereby We
climb 20 the allotted palace Of our JOY.
Henceforth j fear TO more. and fight
no more against that which must befaIl.
For ! say We are but winged seeds
blown down the gales OF fate and
change TO the appointed garden where
We shall grow. filling It's blest air with
the immortal fragrance or our bloom.
Leave me now. Leo. and sleep a
while, for We ride AT dawn"
II was midday on the morrow when
We moved down the mountain side
with the army Of The tribes. nerce and
savage-looking men. The scouts were
out before Us. then came the great body
OF their cavalry mounted on wiry
horses, while TO right and left and be-
hind. the foot soldiers marched in regi-
ments. each under the command or its
own chief
Ayesha, veiled now-for she would
not show her beauty 10 these wild folk
rode in the midst Of the h0rsernen on
a white mare Of matchless speed and
shape. With her went Leo and myself,
Leo on the khan's black horse. and on
another not uni:ke il. though thicker
built About Us were a bodygua-d OF
armed priests and a regiment Of chosen
soldiers, among them those hunters that
Leo had saved from Ayesha's wrath
and who were now attached TO mis- per-
son
We were merry. all OF US. for in the
crisp air OF late autumn. flooded with
sunlight, the fears and forebodings tnat
had haunted us in those gloomy. f1reIit
caves were forgotten. Moreover the
tramp OF thousands Of armed men and
me excitement Of coming battle thrilled
our nerves.
Not for many a day had I seen Leo
look 50 vigorous and happy OF late he
had grown somewhat thin ana male
probably from causes that 7 have sus-
gested. but now his cheeks we're red
ana his eyes shOne bright again. Ave
sha also seemed joyous, for the moods
OF this strange woman were as fickIe as
those OF natures self and yar,sd as a
landscape varies under the sunshine or
the shadow. Now she was noon and now
dark night, now dawn. now evening.
ana now thoughts came and went in
the blue depths of her eyes like vapors
waited across the summer sky. and in
the press of them her sweet face chang
ed and shimmered as broken water
shimmers beneath the beaming stars.
Too long she said. with a little
thrilling laugh. have I been shut in the
bowels Of sOmoer mountains. com
panied only by mutes and savages or by
melancholy. chanting priests, and n5w
l am glad TO look upon the world again.
How beautiful are the SHOWS above
and the brown slopes below and the
broad plains beyond. that roll away TO
those bordering hills. How glorious is
The sun. eternal as myself; how sweet
the keen air Of heaven
Believe me, Leo, more than twenty
centuries have gone by since ] was
seated on steed, and yet thou seest 1
nave not forgot my horsemanship.
though this beast cannot match those
arabs that l rode in the wide deserts OF
Arabia Oh. / remember how, at mv
fathers side, I galloped down to war
against the marauding BedOuins. and
-''"- WIN ny own lanu. / SpcaTed their
and made him cry for mercy.
one day / will tell thee Of that father Of
Nine. for / was his darling, and. though
We have been long apart, | hold his
memory dear and look forward to our
meeting.
Look. yonder is the mouth OF that
gorge where lived the cat-xorshIping
sorcerer, who would have murdered both
OF you because thou, Leo. didst throw
his familiar To the fire II is strange,
but several of the tribes of this noun
tain, and of the lands behind it. make
eats their gods. OF divine by means of
them. I think that the first Rassen.
the general of Alexander. must have
brought the practice here from Egypt.
OF this Macedonian Alexander / could
tell thee much, for he was almost
OF mine, and when I last
was born, the world still rang with the
fame of his great deeds.
1t WAS Rassen who on the mountain
suppianted the primeval FIRE worship
whereof the flaming pillars which light
rs sanctuary remain as monuments, by
that of Hes or Isis. or, rather, blended