Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1909-09-02
HERCULES WARNING.
BY r. A. mitchell.

Of Herculaneum sat a youth and a
maiden. Beside the girl, its base rest
ing on the marble seat. stood a harp,
the strings Of which she now and
again struck plaintively. Above them
to the cast lowered the cone of the
Vesuvian volcano, to the west reposed
the pale blue waters of the Mediter-
ranean, while to the south were visi-
BILE the tiled roofs OF the temples of
the neighboring city of Pompeii.
"Heraclea." said the youth gloomily.
this intention Of your father to make
you a priestess in this religion of the
Egyptians will surely bring down upon
him the wrath BIZ the true gods. Yet
It may be that you and shall 60 free
to wed in foreign land"
/ "Have you consulted the oracles,
Gavius?'
"NO; but Hercules, from whom your
city was named and whose name your
father gave to you. last night appeared
to me in dream and told me this"
"Oh, Gavius. be not deceived! There
is no hope Tomorrow, as surely as
Jove dwells on Olympus, must go to
Pompeii to 20 initiated in the mysteries
IN the temple Of Isis there. My father,
like many others, is infatuated with
the worship OF this foreign goddess,
and though l have wept and pleaded
with him he wiIl not forego his In
tent"
Trouble will surely come from this
slight to the true gods. The senate at
Rome has forbidden it."
Nevertheless there stands the tenn
pie at Pompeii on the slope near the
ampitheater You NAV see its roof"
Meanwhile the young man was re-
garding the summit of Vesuvius,
which was emitting 4itful puffs of
smoke
81 have not for several days." he
said, liked the looks Of the mountain.
fear the earthquake Do you know,
Heraclea. have feeling-perhaps it
has been planted within me by the
immortal gods-that in some way the
volcano is connected with our fate
that rather than see you priestess OF
false goddess Hercules will emerge
from the crater, descend upon her
temple and destroy it."
'And us, too, perhaps" replied the
girl, giving frightened look up at the
cone, which at that moment uttered an
ominous growl.
Enough of these melancholy words.
dear heart. With our approaching eter-
nal separation and the volcano mutter-
ing above us l am plunged in gloom.
Sing the song l love so well. that old
air brought by your ancestors from the
isles of Greece. 1t may be the last
} time shall hear It,"
The girl commenced to sing in low,
plaintlve tone, accompanying herself
on her harp. The air, though monoto-
nous, was sweet. rising and falling at
intervals. The words were a recital
of their grief at their coming separa-
ton. The song served to deepen their
gloom. When it ceased Gavius clasped
Heraelea in his arms. and they wept
silently. Then after an impassioned
, farewell they separated.
The next day. as Heraclea. under the
guardianship of her family. was leav-
ing for the temple of Isis, Vesuvius
gave shudder. then sent up that col,
unn from the bowels Of the earth
: which destroyed the cities at its base.
: Gavius. maddened at the prospect OF
I losing his love. collected a number OF
: his friends who were opposed to the
worship Of the Egyptian goddess
among them priests from the temple OF
Jupiter-and. sallying from his house
on the main street crossing Pompeii
north and south, turned into the one
: leading to the Herculanean gate There,
g supported by his band. he stood ready
S for desperate attempt to rescue Her
aclea on her entrance into the city.
But Heraclea did not come. At the
hour appointed for her initiation both
> Herculaneum and Pompeii were being
covered by showers of ashes and earth
' rained down from VeSuvius, while the
mountain roared and the earth quaked
Gavius started to Herculaneum tC
y die with his love. but in the darkness
= lost his way. Painting. he lay stupe
n fed by gases from the volcano, but
was taken up by one Of his slaves and
carried to the sea. Later when all was
again serene he went and stood
> on the crust above the buried Hercu
h laneum. There wandering. he was re
n garded by those who were trying t
|. dig their way down to where they
a might recover treasures as having los
n his mind through the terrors attending
the late eruption. When night cam'
they left him there and found hin
there again in the morning. The onll
words he was heard to say were:
Il 20 Hercules. direct me-"
Ia On the evening Of the second da!
i after the eruption as the twilight deep
/, ened Gavius was still wandering abov
the buried Herculaneum. The sea
the mountain, the ground on which b
ID stood. were STILL A stream had fiowe'
on either side Of The site of the town
e. Wandering aimlessly toward one o
he these streams. out OF the silence Their
"a came to him a sound. Gavius listene,
-. s..&a aFF.sT 81 a1rs