El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-07-05

were those Of the great eruption or
I Fesuvius in 70 A D. Toward such a
melodrama tic climax, furnished him
/ by nature. the author had been spin
ming the lives Of mis- characters in the
( little city which nestled under the
shadow OF the volcano.
The ccnverging threads of the story
are many, giving in the final weaving
a complete picture of the life Of
Pompeii-its shops, tiny palaces. baths,
forum. theater. circus, and all that
oaily took place in the energetic life
I OF this 10Y copy OF Rome at the be-
/ ginning Of the Christian era The
story centers around Glaucus the
Athenians brilliant. gay, witty de-
scendant Of a nobler race, frivollng
himself away amid the coarser pleas
ures OF the Romans, until finally all
that was fine in him was brought
forth by his love for lone Of Naples.
who, like himself, was a child OF
Greece And alongside this tale OF
love runs the pathetic story Of Nydia.
the blind slave girl, who centers all
her hopes Of happiness in winning the
a1tection OF Glaucus- To this end she
which the opulent Julia has had pre-
pared in the belief that it will bring
TO her the much desired Glaucus In
reality the potion is a poison which
viii drive the unfortunate drinker
mad It is designed by the sinister
Egyptian Arbaces to clear his path to
lone from his rival Glaucus. In his
rayings Glaucus comes upon Arbaces
just as the latter has killed Ions's
brother. Apaecides, a young priest Of
Arbaces. has embraced the new Chris
tan faith Arbaces throws the guilt
upon poor Glaucus with apparent sue
cess. But the priest Calenus was
shown in the great episode OF the
book. As the crowd in the circus
turned their eyes toward Vesuvius,
they beheld "a fire that shifted and
wavered in its hues with every mo-
ment, npW fiercely luminous. now OF
a dull and dying red, that again
PLACED terrifically forth with intol-
cradle glare. Then there arose on
hi h the universal shriel1s of women:
the men stared at each other. but
were dumb At that moment they felt
the earth shake beneath their feet
the walls Of the theater trembled. and
beyond in the distance they heard the
crash Of falling roofs5 an instant more
and the mountain cloud seemed to roll
towards them dark and rapid, like a
from its bosom shower OF ashes
mixed with vast fragments Of burning
stone, over the crushing vines. over
the desolate streets, over the amphi-
theater itself, far and wide, with
many a mighty splash in the agitatsd
sea, fell that awful shower. No
longer thought the crowd OF justice
or Of Arbaces; safety for themselves /
was their sole thought Each turned
to fly-each dashing. pressing. crush
ing. against each other"
It was save himself who could in
that night of horrors. OF the many /
episodes seen in the flashes of light /
was that OF blind Nydia guiding /
Glaucus 10 lone. and then leading J
both to safety, she the only one at |
home in the darkness in which she 1
had always lived And then. when 4
they had gained a ship and put to sea
and all but Nydia had fallen into ex-
hzusted slumber, May the gods bless
you. Atheniang she murmured. may i
you be happy with your beloved one:
may you sometimes remember Nydiai"
A sailor. half doing on the deck,
heard a slight splash on the waters.
Drowsily he looked up and believed.
as the vessel merrily bounded on, he
fancied. he saw Something white
above the waves-Copyrigh 1913. by
Post Publishing Co. CHE Boston
Post). Published by special arrange
nent with the Mcclure Newspaper
syndicate. All rights reserved.
~Slr Nigel. by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, Is condensed by Alice G. Gro
Ter, viii be printed Monday.