The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1907-03-29

'Sh oiS'c .NeEe uO more COnQu0A W
!or Chiacas he was made prime mi1i!
lister and as lawgiver proved himself
as great as a soldier. His king died
endless, and. the legal heir to the
tnrone being weaklfng. the peoDIe
demanded that Chlacas assume the
crown. He deferred to the unanimous
cali, ana the government was made
perpetual In him and his family.
Up to that time Chlacas was the
greatest an that had ever lived. He
was initiated later by Caesar. who was
poth general and lawgivcr. and I'm the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
"A. ID. by NAPOLEON Bonapartc. But
unlike either Of these men. he was rot
AMBITIOUS for himself. He loved his
people, and his only wish was to make
thein great and prosperous. This he
achieved. From n petty kingdom with
no markets for their products except
within their own borders he mntle them
an empire, with the neighboring ma
tons tributary to them. and forced pur
chasers or what they produced. All
he desired from them was their graft
tude, which they lavlshed upon him to
his hearts content
When Chlacas had mounted to the
pinnacle of fame and could climb no
higher, soothsayer came to his domin-
Ions and foretold many wonderful
things. King Chlacas was seized with
desire to know what would be his
end. He sent for the soothsayer and
asked him to give him picture of
himself in his last days.
20 king" said the prophet, "you ask
what is not for your good, the good of
your people or Of the world Heaven
has wisely concealed our future. the
hour OF death. Were these revealed
the affairs Of the people Of the earth
could not go on. Do not ask me to
reveal what is In store for YOU"
a." replied the king. "am superior
to the detriment such revelation would
occasion In another. Show me myself
aSr will onnenr nt nv """' "~r"
linen the soothsayer touched the king.
VINO stralghtway fell into deep slum.
Der. And he dreamed a dream. In
desolate place he saw a hut, and in
the hut on rude cot, covered with
ragged bedciothing. lay an old man
dying. There was no one to minister
TO him. no one to hear the groan he
gave when his spirit left his body.
The soothsayer touched the king. and
he awoke.
Interpret the dream have dream
ed he said to the soothsayer.
20 king. know that the old man is
yourself. Your subjects shall rebel
against you, and a foreign ruler shall
dispossess you Of your dominions. You
Shall die In exile, with no one to sound
your praises or to give you even
crust OF bread"
From this moment King Chlacas was
changed. The ingratitude of his sub.
5ects rankled In, his breast. From
loving them he grew to hate them. In.
stead OF redressing their wrongs, he
took no interest In them. From then
be began to oppress them. .GraduaIly
that love they had borne him abated
and at last turned to animosity. This
antagonism between the sovereign and
his people led to many troubles for
both. Taking advantage Of the op-
portunity, one Of the strongest Of the
subject nations rebelled, and, ChIacas.
having to oppose 1t with an army who
<isliked him. could not fight them with
the same effect as formerly. The rebels
~ct0 buCCc3Slu VI unO dCuleVcU tneir In
dependence. This rebellion was fol-
lowed by others till every subject prov.
ince had become free.
Then a neighboring king who had
been growing strong while Chlacas had
been growing weak determined to
make war with a view to subjugating
the man who had been 30 great. This
he succeeded In doing and annexed
his territory to his own dominions
Chlacas fed with a number Of his ad-
herents, but he had no means 81 re-
tanning them about him. and they grad
ually dwindled away till the ex-king
was alone. He wandered from ono
place to another and finally built him
q hsst on a desOiate island. There he
lived alone till death relieved him Of
his sufferings.
The story Of Chlacas teaches the wis
dom Of our future being kept hidden
from US. b. A. NITCHN-