The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-05-14

Arbaces sat. His releasers had
given him sparingly of food; but the
chief sustenance that nerved his feeble
limbs was revengei
"'The priest Calenusl CalenusI'
cried the mob. rs it he? No, it is a
dead man =
alt is the priest Calenus,' said the
praetor. bravely. What hast thou to
sayY
".Arbaces of Egypt is the murderer
of Apaecides, the priest Of Isis;
these eyes saw him deal the blow.
It is from the dungeon into which
he plunged me, it is from the
darkness and horror of death
by famine, that the gods have raised
me to proclaim his crimei Release
the Athenian-he is lnnocentl'
att is for this, then, that the lion
spared him. A miracle! miracle'
cried Pansa.
GA miracle a miracle = shouted the
people; remove the Athenian-
Arbaces to the lionr
'rThe power Of the praetor was as a
reed beneath the whirlwind; still, at
his word the guards had drawn them
selves along the lower benches, on
which the upper classes sat separate
from the vulgar. They made but a
feeble barrier; the waves Of the hui
man sea halted for moment, to en-
able Arbaces to count the exact mo-
ment of his doom! In despair. and in
a terror which beat down even pride,
he glanced his eyes over the rolling
and rushing crowd, when, right above
them, through the wide chasm which
had been left in the velaria, he beheld
q strange and awful apparition; he
beheld, and his craft restored his cour-
age!
'tHe stretched his hand on high;
over his lofty brow and royal features
there came an expression Of unutter-
able solemnity and command.
"'Behold' he shouted with a voice
Of thunder which stilled the roar Of
the crowd; behold how the gods pro-
tect. the guiltless! The fires of the
avenging Orcus burst forth against
the false witness Of my accusers r"
The fires Of the "avenging Orcus"
were those Of the great eruption of
Vesuvius in 20 A. D. Toward such a
melodramatic climax, furnished him
by Nature, the author had been spin
MI 10 = ~, as1+n Sv,<
little city which nestled under the
shadow of the volcano.
The converging threads of the story
are many, giving in the final weaving
complete picture Of the life Of POM
peii-its shops, tiny palaces, baths,
forum, theater, circus, and all that
daily took place in the energetic life
of this toy copy of Rome at the begin
ming of the Christian era. The story
centers around Glaucus the Athenian,
brilliant, gay, witty, descendant of a
nobler race frivolling himself away
amid the coarser pleasures Of the RO-
mans, until finally all that was fine
in him was brought forth by his love
for lone of Naples, who, like himself,
| was 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 happi-
ness in winning the affection of Glau-
Gus. To this end she gains possession
Of love potion which the opulent
Julia has had prepared in the belief
that it will bring to her the much-de-
sired Glaucus. In reality the potion
is poison which will drive the I'M
fortunate drinker mad. It is designed
by the sinister Egyptian Arbaces to
clear his path to lone from his rival
Glaucus. In his raving, Glaucus comes
upon Arbaces just as the latter has
killed Ione's brother Apaecides, a
young priest Of Isis, who, much to the
annoyance Of Arbaces, has embraced
the new Christian faith. ArbaceS
throws the guilt upon poor Glaucus
with apparent success. But the priest
Calenus was a hidden witness, with
the final result shown in the great epi-
sode of the book. AS the crowdin the
circus turned their eyes toward .Vesu-
vius, they beheld "a fire that shifted
and wavered in its hues with every
moment, now fiery luminous, now of
a dull and dying red, that again blazed
terrifically forth with intolerable
glare. Then there arose on high the
universal shrieks 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 roofs; an instant more and
the mountain-cloud seemed TO roll to-
wards them, dark and rapid, like
a torrent; at the same time it cast
forth from its bosom a shower OF
ashes mixed with vast fragments of
burning stone! Over the crashing
vines, over the desolate streets, over
the amphitheater itself, far and wide,
with many a mighty splash In the agi-
tated sea, fell that awful shower! No
longer thought the crowd of justice or