The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1916-09-14
The Spell of the Past
sY Or. FRANK CRANE
copyright, 1915, by Frank Crane)


The monarch swung down the avenue,
riding his housekeeping horse, between
the crowded rows of cheering people with
drums flags. and loud fanfare: and sud-
denly 1t came to him how many times
aforetime kings had ridden thus. and
now they were still, soft dust: and he
grew sick at the thought and went home
to his bed and turned his face to the wall
and died.
The poet wove verses to his maiden,
turning his desires into all manner of
curious, jeweled metaphor; and he OPEN
ed book at his elbow and read
Greek anthology Of a thousand years,
and saw that all his delicate fancies had
been done before by Meleager and Sap
pho Melanippides, Simonides, Alcaeus
and Pamphilius; and he remembered also
that the same nothings had been written
by the bards of old Italy, Germany,
France, and England, and by singers and
lovers in Arabia, Persia, China and where
not2 So he ceased from writing. and
ate and drank until he was sleepy
The beauty smiled at her freshness In
the mirror, and was proud of her round
breasts and long hair and all her goodly
charms; but the thought Of Cleopatra
came TO her, and Of Blancheheur and Hell
en-, and of the many, many enchantresses
of men who once enkindled ardor and now
were gone back to earth and air, silent
nd har -
sank, and she covered her body with
coarse clothes and betook herself to a
nunnery. there to end her days.
The epicure ate rare viands and drank
the choicest of wines at the feast, and
knew how to draw out the lingering taste
OF things, and to appreciate the incest
shades of flavor and aroma, until there
came 10 MS mind the vision of the mil
lions of men and animals, feeding, biting.
chewing, gulpng, since the world began;
and repletlon irked him above hunger.
The lover sighed and held her palm
and looked voorhees, rapture into her eyes
and spoke wild things 10 her heart, until
ne recalled the innumerabe lovers who
mad, since life appeared on the planet,
done likewise, not % mention mating
birds and beasts and all the amending
epithdlamium OF passion seemed TO rise
from the past ana the thought OF it was
like the sickly sweet Of chloroform to
him, and he turned away in disgust and
left the maid wondering
The drunkard stopped in his cups when
he remembered how infinitely often this
experiment in forRetfulness had been
tried, the artists hand fell limp, for the
cloud Of ghosts of them that had lived
and strived in art rose before him like
an eXhalation; the saint paused in his
prayers, remembering the petitions, thick
as the rain or the sea sands, that in the
long years had assaiIed heaven.
All were choked by the past, asphyxi-
Iated by the gases Of corrupting yester-
days, strangled by ghost hands of gone
years; and they cried
We staggcr under the enormous weight
OF all tho heavy ages piled on Us.
And they rebelled at history, and COM
planned against the weight Of experience,
and onged for the youth Of the world
when all was fresh, untried and full Of
wonder; and they cried again:
O antique fables beautiful and bright
And Joyous with Tho Joyous youth of wore:
O antique fables for ttl" light
or that which shinc'h in YOU evermorel
To cleanse the dimucs- from our weary eyes.
And battle our old world in q new surprise
"a Hot.p .pIr ql f lna