Connecticut western news., 1920-07-15

slfSh u'ib opoi inSiy OI IOOu' UuL- luc ch'et sus' enance that nerved his feeble .iyups was re~enge!
 The priest Catenust Calenusr cr'e1 th mob. Is II he? No, it is a lea.d lran?
 "'lt is the priest Calenus,' said the praetor, bravely. What hast thou to sayr
 "'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 a death by famine, that the gods have raised me to proclaim his crimel Release the Athenian-he Is innocentr
 "Tt is for this, then, that the lion spared him. A miraclei miracler cried Pansa. "A miracle miracle r shouted the people; remove the Athenian-- Arbaces to the lionr
 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 . feeble barrier; the waves of the hu- man sea halted for a moment, to en- able Arbaces to count the exact mo ment of his doomi 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 a strange and awful apparition; he beheld, and his craft restored his cour- agel ------------.----'---r.----- "He stretched his hand on high, over his lofty brow and royal features there came an expression of unutter- able solemnity and command.
 "Beholdr he. shouted with a voice of thunder which stilled the roar of the crowd; behold how the gods pro tect. the guiltlessi The fires of the averaging Orcus burst forth against the false witness of my accusersr"
 The fires of the "avenging Orcus" were those of the great eruption of Vesuyfus in 79 A. D. Toward such a mel0dramatic climax, furnished him by Nature. the author had been spin ming the lives of his characters In the little city which nestled under the shadow of the volcano. S-
 The converging threads of the story are many, giving in the final weaving a complete picture of the life of Pom- peii-its shops, tiny palaces, baths, forum, theater, circus, and all thak 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 @ 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 1t will bring to her the much-de sired Glaucus. In reality the potion is a poison which will drive the un. fortunate, thinker 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 hidden witness, with the final result shown in the great epi sode of the book. AS the crowd in the circus turned their eyes toward .Vesu. vius, they beheld ga fire that shifted and wavered in it's hues with every moment, now fiery luminous, now o1 dull and dying red, that again blazed terrifca11y 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 ir 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 torrent; at the same time 1t cast forth from its bosom shower o1 ashes mixed with vast fragments ot burning stonel Over the crashing vines, over the desolate streets, over tue amphitheater itself, far and wide with many a mighty Splash in the agi tated sea, fell that awful showerl Nc longer thought the crowd of justice or of Arbaces; safety for themselves &g,oS~ r1H xaf