Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1911-07-13

Dy was an open grave, beside
which an angel of mercy stood
and beckoned him. Thou hast
tarried long, my lover" she
said in a low sweet, voice that
was the distant note of aeolian
harp, or summer zephyr sough-
ing thro' the pines. With a cry
of gladness he cast himself into
'her5cool arms; she touched his
tired eyes with her soft white
hands, Suppressed "a. kiss upon
.hisslips that drained his breath
in an expiring gasp of pleasure
!al;passienless, and, Graded up
on her bosom like a weary child,
he fell asleep. The burthen and
its bearer, hallowed by a pale
glory as of st. Elmo's fire sank
into! the open grave, yet the
sphinx sat stolidly holding the
painted riddle in his stony hand
-"Cui Bono?" But there was
none to answer; the path faded
like the phosphorescent track of
a ship in midnight waters, and
all was dark. He turned fierceIy
to Life, a question on his lip,
but ere he could utter it she had
answered, with a bitter shrug:
t"The angel with the pitying ey-
! es; the beauteous one? MY ,riy-
al, Death-so uncanny and so
coldt All who love me leave ME
for this sorceress, and she holds
them meath the magic of her
spell forevermore. But what
care /? / do take the grain and
give to her the husk; | drink the
wine and leave the lees. Mine
the. bursting bud, hers the with
cred flower Go to her and thou
wilt. l have slain Ambition and
blotted thy foolish ignis fatuus
from the armament. For thee
the very sun henceforth is cold,
the moon a monstrous wheel of
blood, the stars but aged eyes
.winking back their tears as they
look upon thy broken alters and
ruined fsSes the grass grown
green g above the asNes q a,.. my .
laead' Coil sSant thee noh ior =,
tno0 iiast secnsldc' as Z. AIM !
am for the red wine and wild
reyel, where in Folly's cup, still
laughs the bubble JOY for the
idle day dream and the sensuous
dance, the fond kiss Of foolish
Love ndilthe velvet couch of
Lust" Then Death came and
stood near him, beautiful with a
beauty all spirituelle, a world of
pity in her eyes. But he shrank
I from her with a shudder, seeing
| which she said: Am / indeed
so coldAI, who warm the uni
1verse?, Isthe bosom of Mercy
! ltoibe feared and the breath iof
peace despised? What is Life
Iithat she should mock me?- this
hideous harlot whose kisses poi
son and whose words betray?' Is
she not the mother of all ills?
behold her demoniaci brood:
i Hate, and Horror, Discord and
hE Disease, Pride. and Pain! she, is
1.-the creature of Time, the slave
: of Space. She is the bastard
/ spawn Of Heat and moisture
Twas engendered mid the dn.
j tclean ooze of miasmic swamps,
t Pin the womb of noisome ,fens.
81 And l.? I am empress of all that
4 is, or was, or can ever be. Come
E dwell with me, and all the eartf
T Shall be thy home, thy periot
cl eternity. Would'st live again
f Then will Imake of thy cluster
d ing locks grasses to wave in tn,
e. cool, meadows green, of thin,
/ eyes fair daisies that nod in tn,
: dewey dawn, of thy heart
/? great blush rose worn betweel
d fthe breasts of beauty, Of tn,
n bodyah oak to defy the ele
It ments, of thy blood "a WAY
y breaking in slumbrous thunde
!, upon a beach of gold, of tn
h breath the jasmine's perfume
e of thy restless spirit the levi
a brand that crashes in thunde
.yEpeal above the storm. q VIII
so,E press the cruel thorn into tn
v heart the iron into. thy 4, soul
IS Thus do, | clasp thee toa bosol
If ever true, and shield thee frol
N the slings and arrows of tn
/" world. Thy hot heart beat
is faint and ever fainter 'gainst il
..,,1.ol.,s, ,N.llo,,, ,,ak.l - oo..s