The evening world., 1920-08-19
THE SECRET OF SARE<
s:- BY MAURICE LEBLANC -:-

on the morning OF the day when my
story begins there was great excite
/ ment among one Of those Celtic tribes
which had settled a century or two
| earlier between the banks of the
' Danube ana the sources of the Elbe,
amidst the Hyrcanian forests. The
warriors, assisted by their wives, were
striking their tents, collecting the
sacred axes, the bows and arrows,
gathering up the pottery, the bronze
and tin implements, loading the
horses and the oxen.
1 And the chief of chiefs, with a
solemn gesture, drew the yellow
cloth and revealed a block OF granite
IN the shape of a slab about two
yards by one, granular in appearance
and dark in color, with a few g1it-
tering scales cleaning in its sub
stance.
There was a single shout raised
] by the crowd Of men and women;
and all, with outstretched arms, fell
nat on their faces in the dust.
Then the chief of chiefs took up
metal sceptre with a jewelled
handle, which lay on the block OF
granite, brandished 1t on high and
spoke:
The all powerful staff shall not
leave my hand until the miraculous
stone is in place of safety. The
au-powerful staff is born of the mir
aculous stone. 1t also contains the
IRE or heaven, which gives life or
death. While the miraculous stone
was the tomb of my forcfathers, the
all-powcrfui STAFF never left their
hands on days Of disaster or of VIC
tory. May the fire of heaven lead
way!' '
He spoke: and the whole tribe set
out upon its Journey"
Don LUIS struck an attitude and
repeated, in self-satisfied tone:
He spoke: and the whole tribe set
"ut upon its journey"
Don Luis took a second sin of WA
ter and continued:
For weeks and months the tribe
followed the course Of the Elbe: and
one evening, on the stroke of half
past nine, reached the sea-buard in
the country which afte rwards became
the country of the Frsians. 1t re-
NAMED there for weeks and months,
without finding the requisite secur-
lty. 1t therefore determined upon a
fresh exodus.
This time it was a naval exodus.
thirty boats put out to sea-obserye
TINS number thirty. which was that
or the famil es composing the tribe.
and for weeks and. months tngy
wandered from shore to shore, set
Ting first in Scandinavia, next among
the SaXons, driven off putting TO sea
again and continuing their voyage.
And assure you il was really a
strange, moving, impressive sight to
see this vagrant tr be dragging in It's
wake the tombstone OF its kings ana
seeking safe, inaccessible and final
refuge in which 10 conceal its idol.
protect 1t from the attacks OF its
enemies, celebrate its worship and
employ 1t to consolidate TT bal power.
The last stage was Ireland: and It
was here that, one day, after th-y
, had DIV nlt in the green isle for half q
century or perhaps century. after
their manners had acquired a certain
softentng by contact with nations
which were already less barbarous,
the grandson or great gradson of the
great chief. himself a great chief,
received one Of the emissaries whom
he maintained in the neighborng
countries. This one came from the
continent. He had discovered the
miraculous refuge. 1t was an almost
unapproHchable island, protected ov
thirty rocks and having thirty granite
monuments TO guard It,
Thirty The fateful number! It
, was an obvious summons and COM
, mand from the mysterious deities.
: The thirty galleys were launched
once more and the expedition set
, forth.
at succeeded. They took the ISL
and by assault. The natives they
simply eXterminated. The tribe set
l tied down; and the tombstone of the
Y Kings of Bohemia was installed
in the very place which II
occupies to-day and which | showed
4 to our friend Vorski Here | must
interpolate a fow historical data Of
= the greatest significance. will be
- brief"
Adopting a PROFESSIONAL tone, Don
!, Luis explained:
= 1.-THE island of Sarek, like all
= France and all the western part of
o Europe, had been inhabited for thou
s sands Of years by a race known as
I the Lguri, the direct descendants OF
e the cave-dwGllers part of whose
|. manners and customs they had re-
r tanned. They were mighty builders,
= those Hguri, who, in the neolithic
period, perhaps under the influence
n Of the great civilizations of the east,
had erected their huge blocks of
neral chambers.
$. at was here that our tribe found
It and made great use ~ u system of
" caves and natural crypts adapted by
q the patient hand of man and of a
If cluster of enormous monuments
u WnlGn SIIutk Ine mystic M super
IL stitious imagination Of the Celts.
l. I'VE find therefore that, after the
i first or wandering phase, there be-
e gins for the God-stone a period Of rest
IT and worship which we will call the
A. Druidcal period. 1t lasted for a
e thousand or fifteen hundred years
8 The tribe became mingled with tn,
= neighboring tribes and probably LIVED
ir under the protection Of some Breton
IN king. But, little by little, the ascend.
3, ancy had passed fTom the chiefs Il
/; the priests; and these priests, that i,
a t. say the Druids, assumed an au,
-e thority which increased in the cours,
P? Of the generations that followed.
3 "In my eyes il dominates the Who'll,
[! OF the legendary and tabled past q
Is Brittany 1t is the radating centr,
of all the superstitions, all the be
he l!efs, all the fears and hopes OF m,
l." country. BY virtue of the stone a.
OF the magic sceptre which the arch
as druid welded and with which h,
rs burnt mems flesh or healed their sore
re at will, we see the beautiful tales n
ot romance springing spontaneously int,