Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1909-06-12
HERCULES WARNING,
Ry ?. A. MlrcnE,

Isf4M
ciation.l
In a garden behind one NJ IN. r-,,,
cipai Dwellings of the ancient CITY
OF Herculaneum sat a youth ana Z
maiden. Beside the girl, its base reat.
ING ON the marble seat. stood a harm.
the strings Of which she now ana
again struck plaintiyely. Above them
to the east lowered the cone Of IN.
sesuFian volcano. to the west reposea
the pale blue waters OF the Mediter-
ranean. while to the south were visa.
pie the tiled roofs Of the temDlea AZ
the nelghboring city Of Pompen.
heraclea." said the youth Rloomilv
this intention Of your father TO MAKE
you pFiestess in this religion OF the
Egyptians win surely bring down uDo1
MIN the wrath Of the true gods. YET
Il may be that you and l shah 70 Free
10 wed In foreign land"
Have you consulted the oraeIea
GaviusT'
No; but Hercules, from whom your
city was named and whose name Your
rather gave to you, last night appeared
to me In a dream and told me this"
On, Gavius, be not deceived! Thera
IL no hope. Tomorrow, as surely a
Jove dwells on Olympus, must 20 to
Pompeii to be initiated in the mysteries
In the temple Of Isis there. My father
IKE many others, Is infatuated with
the worship Of this foreign goddess.
and though | have wept and pleaded
with him he win not forego his in
tent"
Trouble viii 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. tho
ampitheater. You may see its roof"
Meanwhile the young man was re-
garding the summit Of vesuvfus.
which was emitting fltful pufEs Of
smoke.
I have not for several days." he
said, liked the looks OF the mountain,
fear the earthquake. Do you know.
Heraclea. have feelIng-perhaps Il
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 a priestess OF
a false goddess Hercules will emerge
from the crater, descend upon her
temple and destroy it."
"And us, too, perhaps" replied the
girl, giving a 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 / am plunged in gloom.
Sing the song love 50 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 a low,
plafntive 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 1t ceased Gavius elasped
Heraclea 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
umn from the bowels Of the earth
which destroyed the cities at its base.
Gavius, maddened at the prospect OF
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, sallylng from his house.
on the main street crossing POmpeil
north and south, turned into the one
leading to the Herculanean gate. There.
supported by his band, he stood ready
for a 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 Pompeli were being
covered by showers Of ashes and earth
rained down from VesuEius, while the
mountain rOared and the earth quaked.
Gavius started to Herculaneum 70
die with his love. but in the darkness
lost his way. Painting. he lay stupe-
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-
laneum. There wandering, be was re-
garded by those who were trying TO
dig their way down to where they
might recover treasures as having lost
his mind through the terrOrs attending
the late eruption. when night came
they left him there and found him
there again In the morning. The only
words he was heard to say were:
20 Hercules, direct me-"
ON the evening Of the second day
after the eruption as the twilight deep
ened Gavius was still wandering above
the buried HeFeulaneum. The sea.
the mountain, the ground on which be
stood. were stIIl. A stream had flowed
- he fnRFn