Evening Star Newspaper, April 9, 1898, Page 20

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1898-24 PAGES. CHAYTER XIV. ‘The Martyrdom of Issachar. It was done, and from the mouths ot the Priests and priestesses rose a shrill ery of triumph, for had not their gods conquered? Had not this servant of the hated Lord of Israel been caught by the bait of the beau- ty of a priestess of Baaltis, denying and re- jecting Him? Was not evil once more tri- umphant, and must not they, its ministers, rejoice? n the Shadid raised his wand and silent. e indeed done well and wisel: he said, addressing Aziel. “Now, take to wife the divine lady who has chosen you and he pointed to Elissa, who lay fainting j on the ground, “and be happy in her love, sitting im my seat, whicn henceforth yours, as ruler of the priests of El and master of their mysterics, forgetting follies of your former taiin and spituug its ultars. Hail to you Snaaia, lura of ue and chosen of ki. ‘fake him, you and with him the divine iady, ms . bearing them in triumpn to their hign “What of the Levite?” asked a voice. The Shaaid glanced at Issachar, wo all this whice had stood like one stricken to the soul, woe stamped upon nis face and a | stare of horror in his eyes. “Jew,” he said, | | “I had forgotten you; but you also are on your trial, who dared against the law to hold secret meeting with the Lady Baaltis. For this sin the punishment is death, nor woman name you husband to save you from it. Still, in this hour of joy we will be merciful; therefore do as your master , cast incense on the altar, sa. ing the appointed words, and go your way. Before I make my offering or yonder al- tar according to your command, I some words to say, O, priest of El swered Issachar, quietly, but in a voice hat chilied the blood of those who heard it. ‘First, I address myself to you, Aziel, and to you, woman,” and he pointed to Elissa, who had risen, and leaned trem- bling upon her father. | “My dream is ful- filled. Aziel, you have sinned indeed, and must bear the appointed punishment of your sin, yet hear a message of mercy spoken through my lips. Because you ..ave sinned through love and pity, your offense is not unto death, yet shall you sorrow for it all your life’s days, and in desolation of heart and bitterness of soul shall creep back to the feet of Him you have forsworn. Woman, your spirit is noble and your feet are set in the way of righteousness, yet through you has this offense come, and therefore your love shall bear no fruit, nor shall the blasphemy of your beloved save your flesh from doom. Upon the earth there is no hope for you, daughter of Sa- . Set your eyes beyond it, for there is ane ‘Where is she who swore our lives away?” and he pointed to Mesa. “Woman, you plotted this that you might succeed to the throne of Baaltis. Hear your fate: You shall live to sweep the huts and f ar the babes of savages. You. Yna he pointed to the Shadid, “I read your heart. You design to murder this man whom you greet as your success- or, that you may usurp his place. I show you yours. It lies in the bellies of the jack- als of the desert. You priests and pries| esses of El and Baaltis, think of my word: and raise your loud song of triumph to your gods when you yourselves are their offering, and the red flame of the fire burns you up. all of you, save your sins, which are immortal. You citizens of an accursed city, look on the hilltop yonder and tell | me, what dq you see? A sheen of spears, fs {t not? They draw near to your hearts, citizens of an accursed city, whereof the very name shall be forgotten, and the naked towers but the source of wonder to men unborn. And now, oh, priest, having said my say, as you bid me, I make my offering upon your altar.” Then, while they all stood fearful and amazed, Issachar the Le for- | ward and, seizing the anci ima ot | Baaltis, he spat upon it and dashed the | priceless thing down upon the altar, where | it broke into fragments and was burned | with the fire. “My offering is made,” he sald. “May He whom I serve accept it. Now, after offer- | ing sacri son Azicl, fare you well.” | For a few moments a silence of horror | and dis: y fell upon the a: mbly as they gazed at the shattered and burning frag- | ments of the consecrated image. Then, moved by a common impulse, with curses and yells of fury, the priests and priest- esses sprang from their seats and hurled | themselves upon Issachar, who stood aw: ing them with folded arms. They smote him with thee, tvory rods, they rent and | tore him with their hands, worrying him | as dogs worry a fox of the hills, till the | life was beaten out of him and he lay | dead. Thus terribly, but yet by such a/ death of martyrdom as he would have chosen, perished Issachar the Levite. Unarmed though he was, Azicl had sprung | to his aid, but Metem and Sakon, know- | ing that he would but bring about his own destruction, flung themselves upen him and held him back. While he was still strug- gling with them the end came, and Issa- char grew still forever. Then Azi strength left him, and presently he slipped | to the ground senseless. Thereafter it seemed to Aziel that he was plunged in an endless and dreadful dream. and that through its turmoil and shtfting visions he could continually see the dreadful death of Issachar and hear his stern accents prophesying woe to him who renounces the God of his forefathers to bow the knee to Baal. At length he awoke from that horror-haunted sleep to find him- self lying in a@ strange chamber. It w: night and lamps burned in the chamber. and by their light he saw a man whose face he knew mixing a draught in a glass vial. So weak was he that at tirst he coi not remember the man’s name, then slow degrees it came to him fetem,”” he The Phoentc srrile by 3 am I?" an looked up from his task, dend Ww d: “Where in your own house 1. But ‘ow must n en fil. | Drink eet Az | sant r. When { wo ning brightly through the wi and! ite rage |= fell upon th r who tered. 3 r tried after a new | fashion, and that ed but most honor- able fool, Issachar, went to his reward. Well, I will whe eaten,” an-| Swered Metem, him food. | “First,” he said pr “you have lain | here for three days, raving in a fever, | rursed by If and visited your wife, } the Lady Baaltis, whenever she could c= { cepe from her religious duties —' | “E s she been here?” | prince. Certainly she more, she will be back Ithobal has been as good | es his word, end invests the city with a| vast army, cutting off all supplies and pos- | eibilities of escape. It is believed that h will try an assault within the next week, | which many think will be successful. Thi ly, to avoid that risk it the priests and priest 5 ance of the council, ure discussing the wisdom of giving over to him the person of the! Gaughter of Sakon, on the plea that her as the Lady Baaltis brought y bribery, and fs therefore void, as not “she is my wife, ac- igious law. How, then, ven in mariage to another?” ay, prince, if she is not the Ladf Baal- tls, your husbandship falls to the grou! with the rest, for you are not the Shadid, &n office which perchance you can dispense with. But all this priestly juggling means i but I shall the chamber were drawn, and through them came E clad im her splendid robes of office, and wearing upon her brow the golden crescent of the moon. “How goes it with the princ2, Mstem?” she asked in her soft voice, glancing anx- ieusly toward the couch, which was half hidden in the shadow ef the wall. “Leok for yourself, lady,” answered the Proenici: for , then with a low wallow swooping to ) to him and was wrapped nd thus they stayed, mur- nur words of “Is it yeur pie ild leave you ssently. ‘o? Then, prince you remember that nd sheuld not give way It was noble €rse upon yon- life might be saved, but net. I spake from the . indeed. 10 offer i r that m when I prayed heart. 1 bit that fi = await us. Oh, Prince Aziel, I should have Ceye well to go as I might have done when yow and Issachar were taken after that mad meting in the temple, from which : never looked for anything but ill, but - grow foolisa in my old age, and thought that I should like to see the last of you. Well, so far we are all alive, except Issa- char, who, although bigoted, was still the most worthy of us, but how long we shal. remain alive-I cannot say. Now, our best chance is to defeat Ithobal if we can, and afterward, in the confusion, to escape from Zimboe and join our servants, to whom 1 have sent word to await us in a secret place beyond the first range of hills. If we cannoi—why, then we must go a little sooner than we expected to find out who it is that really shapes the destinies of mea, and whetFer or no the ‘sun and moon are the chariois of El and Bzaltis. But, prince, you turn pale.” “It is nothing,” said Azicl; “bring me the fever still burns in me.” Metem went to seek for water, while Elissa knelt py the couch and pressed her hand. ‘I must stay no longer,” she whispered; “and, Aziel, 1 know mot how or when we shail meet again, but my heart ts heavy, for, alas! I think that doom draws near ve brought much sorrow on gou, and yet more upon and I ; 8929000)" g aso your soul with such a sin. Moreover, It will avail nothing, for the doom of the dead prophet lies upon us and I cannot es- cape from death, neither can you escape re- morse, and, as I think, that worst of all desires, the desire for the dead.” ‘Can we not stil! flee the city Azicl. + “Metem will tell you that it is imposible; day and night I am watched and guarded; also Ithobal hol mboe so firmly in his net that no sparrow could fly out of it and he not kno And there is worse to tell: Beloved, they purpose to give me up as a peace ring to Ithobal. Yes, even my asked father is in the plot, for he thinks it his duty to vifice his daughter to save the town, if, indeed, it will avail to save 1t.” “But you are the Baalti “In such a time the god not be held inviolate in nd hi Tm boe, jher priest Aziel. This very night they purposc me; yes, Mesa and others have been chosen for the deed, and offer me as a bribe to Ithobal, for he will take no other price. Aziel groaned aloud. “It were better that we should die,” he said. She nodded and answered, “It were bet- ter that I should die. But hear me, for I have a plan and there is still hope, though ry little. Perchance as you drew near to Zimboe by the coast read you may have noticed three miles or more from the gates of the city a shoulder of the mountain al- most overhanging the path on which you traveled where the rock is cut away, show- {ing the narrow entr: to a cave closed vith a door of bronze. saw it,” answered Aziel, “and was told that there was the most sacred bury- ing piace of the city it is the tomb of the high priestesses of Baaltis,”” went on Elissa, and this day at sunset I must visit it to lay an offering upon the shrine of her who was the Baal- tis before me, entering alone. and closing the gate, for none may pass in there with me. Now the plan is to lay hands on me as Igo back from the tomb to the palace, not go back, Aziel. I shall in the tomb—nay, do not fear—not 1 have hidden food and water there, enough for many Gays, and there with the departed I shall live till I am of their num- But if so, how can it help you? For they will break in the gates of the place and Grag you away = “If so, Aziel, they will drag away a and that they will scarcely care to to Ithobal. See, in my breast I hidden poison, and here at my girdle Are not the two of them © an end of one frail life? me, as I shall tell them through the bars, most certainly I shall drink the bane or use the knife, when they know it they will leave me trusting to chance to ure bold,” murmured Aziel, in ad- but self-murder is a sin.” is a sin that I will dare, beloved, as past days I would have dared it for less ther than be given living into the hands of Ithobal, for to whatever else I may be false, to you through life and desth I will be true.” Now Aziel groaned in his doubt and bit- of heart, then. turning to Metem, terne you aught to say, Metem Yes, prii two things.” answe Fhoerician. ‘irst, that the Lady is rash, indeed, to speak thus openly fore me, who mig the council or the priests. “Nay, Metem, I am not rash, for I know that, although you love gold, you will not ray me.” You are right, lady, I shall not, for gold would be of little service*to me in a city that is about to be taken by storm. Also I hate Ithebal, who threatencd my life— as you did also, by the way—and will do my best to keep you from his clutches, Now for my second point. It is that 1 “an see little use in all this, because Itho- bal, being defrauded of you, will attack, and then——” “And then he may be beaten, Metem, for the citizens will"fight for their lives, and the Prince Aziel here, who is a general chosen by the unaided evil of | skilled i. war, will fight also, i€ he has recovered his strength——" “Fear not, Elissa. Give me two days and I will fight to the death,” put in Aziel. “At the least,” she went on, “this scheme gives us breathing time, and who knows but that fertune will turn, or if it does not, I have no better.” said Metem, “for at “No more have I,’ length the oldest fox comes to his last Uttle, the truth being that the city in its} double. I might escape from this city, or terror will throw her as a sop to Ithobal, the prince might escape, or Lady Elissa loping thereby to appease his rag# The] even might eseape, but I am sure that the Lady Elissa knows her danger—byj here] three of us could not escape together, see- she comes to speak for herself.” As he spoke the ing that within the walls we ere watched curtains at the end off and without them the armies of Ithobal . ! clean-handed I leave you, and if we m: m have given you nothing, except the most common of all things—a woman's love.” “That most perfect of all things,” he ae swered, “which I am glad to have lived to 4 win.” “Yes, but not at the price that you have paid for it. I know well what it must have cost you to cast that incense on the flame, and I pray to your God, who has become my God, to visit the sin of It on my head, and :o leave yours unharmed. Aziel! Aziei! woman or spirit, while I have life and memory, I am yours, and yours only; ¥ et again in this or in any otMer world, an and faithful I shall come to yuu again. Giad am T to have lived, because in my life I have known you, and you have sworn you love. Glad shall I be to live again if uguin To may know you and hear that eath-if not, it is sleep T seek; for life without you to me would be a hell. You grow weak and I must be gone. Farewell, and, living or dead, forget not; swear that you will not forget mi “I swear it,” he answered, faintly; “and God grant that I may die for you, not you for me.” “That is no prayer of mine,” she whis- pered; and, bending, she kissed him on the ‘brow, for he was too weak to ft his lips to hers. Then she was gone. CHAPTER Xv. Elissa Takes Sanctuary. Two hours had gone by, and a procession of priestesses might be seen advancing slowly toward the holy tomb along the nar- row 10ad of rock cut in the mountain face. In front of the procession, wearing a black vell over her roidered robes, walked Elissa, with downcast eyes and hair un- bound, in token of grief, while behind her came Mesa and other priestesses, bearing the offcrings to the dead in bowls of ala- baster, food and wine, and lamps of oil and “Have No Fear, Prince.” vases filled with perfumes. Behind these again marched the mourners, women who sang a funeral dirge, and from time to time broke into a wail of simulated grief. Nor, indeed, was their woe as hollow as might be thought, since from that mountain path they could see the outposts of the army of Ithobal upon the plain, and note with a shudder of fear the spear-heads of his countless thousands shining in the gorges of the opposing heights. It was not for the Gead Baaltis that they mourned that day, but for the fate that overshadowed them and their city of gold. J “May the curse of all the gods fall on her!” ‘muttered one of the priestesses, as ske toiled forward beneath her load of of- ferings; “because she is beautiful and pet- dish we must be put to tho spear or be- come the wives of savages,” and she point- ed with her chin to Elissa, who walked in front, lost in her own thoughts. “Have patience,” answered Mesa, at her side; “you know the plan—tonight that proud girl BF false priestess shall sleep in the camp of Ithobal. “Will he be satisfied with that,” asked the woman, “and leave the city tn peace?” “It seems 80,” answered Mesa, with a laugh, “though jt is stfange that a king should exch: spoil and glory for a round-eyed, thin-limbed girl Who loves his rival ell, let us thank the gods that made man foolish and gave us women wit to profit by their folly. If he wants her, let him take her, for few will be tae poorer by her loss.” “You, at least, ybe the richer,” said the other woman, the crown of Pcal- tis. Well, I do net, grudge it you, and as for the daughtem of:Sakon, she shall be Ithobal’s if I take Mer to him limb by ret . limb.” “Nay, friend, fhgt/}is not the bargain. Remember, she must; be delivered to him without hurt or blemish, otherwise we shall do sacrilege in vain. “Be silent, here is the cave.” a Having reachedithe platform in front of the tomb, the ession of mourners ranged themselve$ about it in a semicircle, with their backgjto the edge of the cliff that rose sheer,jfor sixty feet or more from ‘the plain baneath, across which, but at.a little distanée from its foot, ran the read followed the caravans of mer- chants in their Journeys to and from the ecast. Then, a hymn’ having been sung, invoking the blessing! of the gods on the dead priestess, Elissa as the Lady Baal- tis, unlocked the gates of bronze with a golden key that hung at her girdle, and the bearers of the bowls of offerings pushed them into the mouth of the tomb, whose threshoid they were not allowed to pass. Next, with bowed head and hands crossed upon her breast, Elissa entered the tomb, and, locking the bronze gate behind her, took up two of the bowls and vanished with them into its gloomy depths. . “Why did she lock the gate?’ Asked a priestess of Mesa. “It is not customary.” ‘Doubtless because it was her pleasure to do so,” answered Mesa, sharply, though she also wondered why Elissa had locked the gate. ‘ When an hour was gone by and Elissa hed not returned, her wonder turned to fear and doubt. ‘Call to the Lady Baaltis,” sh> sald, “for her prayers are long, and I fegr lest she skould Lave come to harm.” So they called, setting their lips against the bars of the gate, until presently Elissa came and stood before them. “Why should you disturb me in the holy place?” she asked. “Lady, because they set the night watch upon the walls,” answered Mesa, “and it is time to return to the temple.’ “Return, then,” said Elissa, “and leave me in peace. What, you cannot, Mesa? Nay, and shall I tell you why? Because you have plotted to deliver me this night to those who should lead me as a peace offer- ing to Ithobal, and when you come to them empty-handed they will greet you with hard words. Nay, trouble not to deny it, Mesa. I have taken sanctuary in this holy place.”” Now Mesa pressed her thin lips together and answered: “Those who dare to lay hands upon the person of the living Baaltis will not shrink from seeking hr in the company of her dead sisters.” “I know it, Mesa, but the gates are barred, and here I have food and drink in plenty.” “Gates, however strong, can be broken,” answered th> priestess. ‘So, lady, do not wait till you are dragged hence like some aiscovered slave.” “Ay,” replied Elissa with a littke laugh, “but what if, rather than be thus dishon- ered, I should choose to break another gat2, that of my own life? Look, traitress, here is poison and here is steel, and I swear to you that, should any lay a hand upon me, by one or other of them I will die he- fore their eyes. Then, if you will, bear’ thes2 bones to Ithobal, and take his thanks for them. Now, begone and give this mes- sage to my father and all those who have plotted with him, that since they cannot bribe Ithobal with my beauty, they will do well to be men and to fight him with their swords,” and sh3 turned and left them, vanishing into the darkness of the tomb. Great, indeed, was the dismay of the councilors ef Zimboe and the priests who had pletted with them when, an hour later, Mesa came, not to deliver Elissa into their hands, but to r2peat to them her threats and message. In. vain did they appeal to Sakon, who only-shook his head and an- swered: “Of this I am sure, that what my daugh- ter has threatened that she will certainly do if you force her to the choice. E you will not belive me, go ask her and isfy yourselves. I know well what she will answer you, and I hold that thts is a judg- ment upon us, who first made her Baalus against her will, and now would do sacri- lege to her office and violence to horself.”" So the leadars of them visited the holy tomb and reasoned with Elissa through the bars, but got no comfort from her, for she spoke with them ‘withthe vial of pvison in her bosom and fhe naked dagger in her hand, telling them what she had told Mesa —that they had best glve up their plot and fight Ithowa! likeymen, seeing that, even if ahé surrendered: herself to them, Wwheai he grew weary of her the war must com} at ‘or a hundred years,” she added, “this stcrm has gathered, and now it mus? burst. When it has rolled away it will be known who is master of the land, the ancient city of Zimboe or Ithobal, king of th tribe: So they went buck as they had come, and next day at the dawn, with a bold face but heavy hearts, received the messengers of King Ithobal and told them their tale. The messengers heard and laughed. “We are glad,” they answered, “sinve, we who are not in love with the daughter of kon desire war and not peace, holding, as we do, that the time has come when you upstart white men who have usurped the land should be set beneath our heel. Nor do we think that the task wi!l be difficult, for surely we have little to fear from a city whose councillors cannot conquer the will of a single maid.” ‘Then, although in their despair the elders offered other girls to Ithobal in marriage as y as he would, and with them a great bribe in money, the envoys took their leave, saying that nothing would avail, since they preferred spear thrusts to gold, for which they had little use, and Ithobal, their king, had fixed his heart on one wo- man alone. So, with a heavy and foreboding heart, the elty of Zimboe prepared itself to resist attack, for, as they had guessed, when he learned all, the rage of Ithobul was great, nor would he listen to any terms that they could offer, save one which they had no power to grant—that Elissa should be de- lvered unharmed into his hands. Councils of war were held, and to these, as soon as he was sufficiently recovered from his sick- ness, the Prince Aziel was bidden, for he was known to be a skilled general; there- fore, though he had been the cause of much of their trouble, they sought his aid. Also, should the struggle be prolonged, they hoped through him to win Israel, and per- haps Egypt, to their cause. Aztel’s counsel Was that they should sally out against the army of Ithobal by night, since he expect- ed to attack and not to be attacked, but to this advic> they would not listen, for they trusted to their walls. Indeed, in this Metem supported them, and when th> prince urged with them ‘he answered: “Your tactics would be gvod enough, princ>, if you had at your back the lions of Judah or the wild Arab horsemen of the desert. But here you must deal with men of my own breed, and we Phocnicians are traders, not fighting men—like rats, we fight only when there is no other chance for our lives, nor do we strike the first blow. It is true that there are some yood soldiers in the city, but they are foreign mercenaries, and as for the rest, hali- breeds and’ freed slaves, they helong as much tu Ithobal as to Sakon, and are not to be trusted. No, no, let us stay behind our walls, for they were at least built wher: men were honest, and will not betray us. Now in Zimboe there were three lines of defense; first, that of a single wall bulit about the huts ofthe slaves upon the plain, then that of a double wall of stone with a ditch between thrpwn round the Phoenician city, and, lastly, the great fortress temple and the rocky heights above it, guarded by many forts, within whose circle the cattle were herded, which, as it was thought, could only be takén with the sword of hun- ger. On the third morning after Elissa had barred herself within the tomb Ithobal at- tacked the native town. Uttering their wild battle cries,;tens of thousands of his warriors, armed ‘with great spears and shields of ox hide and wearing crests of plumes upon théir heads, charged down upon the outer wall. Twice they were driven back, but the work was in baa re- pair and too long:to defend, so that at the third rush they flowed over it like lines of marching ants, driving its defenders before them to the inner gates. In this battle some were killed, but the most of the slaves threw down thelr arms and went over to Ithobal, who spared them, together. with their wives and children. Through all the night that followed the generals of Zimboo made ready for the on- slaught Which must come. Everywhere within the circuit of the-inner wall t were stationed, while the double southern ‘ateway, where Prince Aziel was the cap- in in command, was built. up with loose blocks of stone. A while before the dawn. just as the eastern sky grew gray, Aziel, Watching from his post above the gate of the wall, heard the savage war song of the tribes swell suddenly from 50,000 throats and the measured tramp of their innumer- able feet. Then the day broke, and he saw them advancing in three armies toward the three ppints chosen for attack, the largest of the » headed by Ithobai, the king, directing {ts march upon the wall gate of which he was in command. It was a wondrous and a fearful sight, that .of these hordes of plumed savages, their broad spears flashing in the sunrise and their fierce faces alight with hereditary hate and the lust of slaughter. Never had he seen such a spectacle, nor could he look upon it without dreading the issue of the war, for if they were savages, these foes were brave as the lions of their own plains and had sworn by the head of their king to drag down the sheltering walls of Zim- boe with their naked hands or die to the last man. Turning his head with a sigh of nee Aziel found Metem standing at his le. é “Have you seen her?” he asked, eagerly. “No, prince. How could I see her at night when she sits in a tomb like a fox in his burrow? But I have heard her.” “What did she say? Quick, man. tell me.” 3 “But little, prince, for the tomb is watch- ed, and I dared not stay there long. She sent you her greetings, and would have you know that her heart will be with you in the battle, and her prayer beseech the throne of heaven for your safety. Also she said that she is well, though it is lonesome there in the grave among the bodies of the dead priestesses of Baaltis, whose spirits, as she vows, haunt her dreams, reviling her because she desecrates their sepulcher and has renounced their god.” “Lonesome, indeed,” said Aziel, with a shudder. ut tell me, Metem, had she no other word?” “Yes, prince, but not of good omen, for now, as always, she is sure that her doom is at hand, and that you two will meet no more. Still, she bade me tell you that all your life long her spirit shall companion you, though it be unseen, to receive you at the last on the threshold of the under world.” Aziel turned his head away, and said presentl; = “If that be so, may it receive me scon.” “Have no fear, prince,” answered Metem, with a grim laugh: “look yonder,” and he pointed to the advancing hosts. “These walls are strong, and we shall beat them back,” answered Aziel. “Nay, prince, for strong walls do not avail without strong hearts to guard them, and those of the womanish citizens of Zim- Loe and their hired soldiers are white with fear. I tell you that the prophecies of Is- sachar the Levite, made yonder in the temple on the day of sacrifice, and in the hour of his death, have taken hold of the people, and by eating out their valor fulfill themselves. Men hint at them, the women whisper them in closets and the very chil- cren cry them in the streets. More—one man last night pointed to the skies and shricked that in them he saw that flery sword of doom of which the prophet spoke, hanging point downward above the city, whercon all present vowed they saw it, too. Another tells hcw he met the very spirit of Issachar stalking through the market place, and that, peering into the eye of the wraith, in a mirror, he saw a great flame wrap- ring the temple walle, and by the light of it his own dead body. “This was the priest who struck down the holy man yonder in the place of judgment. Again, when the Lady Mesa did sacrifice last night on behalf of the Baaltis who kas fled, the child they offered, an infant of six months, rose from the altar after it was dead and cried with the voice of a man that before three suns had set its blood should be required at their hands. That is the story, and if I do not believe it, this at least 1s true, that the priestesses fled fast from the secret chamber of death; for I met them as they ran shrieking in their terror and tearing their robes. But what need is there to dwell on omens, true or false, when cowards man the walls and the spears of Ithobal shine yonder like all the stars of heaven? Prince, I tell you that this ancient city is doomed, and in it, as I fear, we must end our wanderings upon earth.” “So be it, if it must be,” answered Aziel; “at the least I will die fighting.” “And I also will die fighting, prince, not because I love it, but because it is better than being butchered in cold blood by a Savage with a spear. Oh, why did you ever chance to stumble upon the Lady Elissa making prayer to Baaltis and lose your heart to her? That was the beginning of the trouble, which, but for those eves of hers, would have held off long eno en to see us safe in Tyre, though doubtless soon. or late tt mugt have come. But see, yon- der marches Ithobal at the head of his Buard. Give me a bow; the flight is long, but perchance I can reach his black heart h an arrow. lave your strength,” answered Aziel; “the range is too great, and presently you will have enough of shooting,” and he turn- ed to talk to the officers of the guard. (To be concluded next week.) CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR NOTES Tha regular meeting of the Junior C. E. Union will be held next Monday evening at Luther Place Memorial Church at 7 o'clock. The topic is, “How to Interest the Sunday School Children in Junior Christian En- deavor.” An April fool social was held by the Y. P. S. C. E. of Faith Chapel Presbyterian Church on th2 Ist inst., at which those present enjoyed a musical and literary pro- gram and refreshments. Among thos2 tak- ing part in the program were Mesdames Isel and Wient and Misses Isel, Davis, Goodard and Woodbridge. The Christian Endeavor topie for tomor- row is “Conquering the Fear of Death.” The Endeavor Society of Mount Vernon Place M. E. Church South will have an Easter song service at 6:30 tomorrow even- ing, in charge of Mr. Page L. Zimmerman, chairman of the union music committze. The Y. P. 8. C. E. of Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church has accepted an invi- tation to participate in the flag raising cel- ebration at the new engine house in Ana- costia mentioned in a r2cent issue of The Star, and delegates from the society will be present. The Junior Society of Union M. B. Church gave a pleasing and successful olde folkes* concerte on th2 evening of April 1, the pro- ceeds for missions. his is the sixth year this society has supported an orphan in the school at Chinkiang, China, besides giving to Mary Reed's work among the lepers in India and a contribution last year to the famine suffsrers. The Sunday school room of the Church of the Reformation has a bright new carpet onit which the Endeavorers helped to buy. Services have been held at this church 2ach night this week, and the juniors will hold a special song service tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow evening th> prayer meeting committee of the Y. P. 8. C. H. of Central M. P. Church will have charge of the church services, In the absence of the pastor, Rev. D. L. Greenfield, who 1s att2nding the con- ference of his church, now in session in Baltimore. The latest statement of the enrollment in the Tenth Legion is 8,123. The young ladias of the First Presbyterian Church are doing much good through their sewing guild. The weekly meetings are in- teresting and instructive, and the guild has proven one of the most active of the church soci>ties this winter. The C. E. Society of the West Washing- ton Lutheran Church takes charge of the meeting at the Georgetown branch of the Central Union Mission once a month, Calvary Baptist Intermediate C. E. Soci- 2ty held its semi-annual election of officers Tuesday evening, choosing the following: President, Sackett Duryea; vice president, Eunice Berry; corresponding secretary, Fern Hoskins; treasurer, Dana C. Holland; recording secretary, Albert Wells. Of the members now enrolled, 22 will shortly graduate into the Young People’s Society. es In the Movement. From Punch. Athleta—“I want to 0: Wagner cycles are talking about, and, if I like it, I'll subscribe, “‘D'je read about such-and-such,’ I've got to le and answer ‘Yes,’ to prevent him from telling me all about t—for 1 like to get my news at first hand. Then he drags me into an argument. I don’t like to ar- gue, for I'm fully aware that my views on all human affairs betoken a disordered mind, and my wife teils me that when 1 get into an argument I give vent to ugly, brutal and vicious expressions. But my neighbor wants to inform me what he thinks of the mediation of the sultan, or A CRUSTY OLD CHAP Who Takes Little or No Stock in His Neighbors. something like that, and after awhile I WANTS SOME EVENINGS 10 HIMSELF | tna°msstic tcccne hot rote ea and saying to myself, ‘I wish this chuckle- ———>—_—_ headed idiot would let me read my paper,’ and then I fal into the argufying trap he has laid for me, an hat, a talk through my d jeopardize my digestive appare- Draws the Line on the Dropping in 5 tus—and what's the good of it all? Neither Habit. my neighbor nor I amounts to a leaky beanbag in the councils of the nat nm, we Es both did our musket packing a matter of thirty-five years zo, and whet the GROUNDS FOR COMPLAINT | sense of our getting ourselves purple in the face lambasting each other over @ —> question where we have no cut-in whatso- ever? My neighbor doesn't look at it in Written for The Evening Star. this way, however. and when he finally “Cc o - gets up to go I always f that he's say- Somtee NALLY Ty] ing to himself, “Well. if this man tent @ ermine eae mulish, bull-headed bigot, just show me am naturally unsoci-| One, that's all able, morose, sulky More erruptio: “When he finally goes, and I am again settling myself back to read a lin> or two, my wife's bosom pal—‘we unde other so perfectly, you know, my dear, the way I hear them tossing posies at each cther—runs in." My wife’s bosom pal se28 that Iam trying to read my paper, and she says to me: ‘Now, don’t let me interrupt you, by any means—go right on reading.” Then she sits down and talks to me. I He and a bad pill in gen- eral in so far as my relations with my neighbors are con- cerned, or whether I'm simply growing old and intolerant,” sald a Washington man who has fallen into the habit of self-analysis, to a Star writer. “I do not speak of ‘my neigh- bors’ in the broad, biblical sense of the term, that Includes all living, sentient be- ings with ten fingers and ten toes. I mean the people that live in my neighborhood— the friends of my wife. I like to throw the responsibility for my neighbors upon my wife. I like to say to her, when any of my neighbors reveal petty unlikeable traits or indulge in minor meannesses, “Weil, they're your friends, you know; you made ‘em; you inaugurated the running back and forth, or, at least, you encouraged it; so I suppose you mean to stand for them row, do you not” When I put it in this way (which is about on a par with other little digs I work in at home for the con- servation of autonomy) she always swears that I have been thicker with the unmask- ed neighbors than she ever was. She takes it for granted, you know, that because, when the neighbors ‘run in,’ I do not drive them hence from my abode—that I do not heap contumely and vituperation and scorn upon them, and throw dishware at them— I ectually do ‘love them as myself.’ Well, I don’t. I guess there must be something fundamentally wrong about me, for I cer tainly don’t love my neighbors as m: elf, by a long shot. They're all right, all of them, and I could not bring any specific charges against them that would land any of them in jail—eminently respectable men and women; but I'm built on such out-of. whack lines, probably, that I often envy Daniel Boone for the isolation he enjoyed from neighborly offices, and his immunity from the miseries of the ‘running in’ habit. With a Jaundiced Eye. “Tals running in habit is what makes me regari my neighbors with a jaundiced ey According to my way of thinking—which is the result of a quarter of a century of ob- servation from the point of view of a tamed family man—neighbors are all right to look at. For example, I like to see the man who lives in the house to the left of me pottering around in his front yard. I enjoy seeing him work. I enjoy seeing al ody work. My pottering neighbor gives me something to think about over a Pipe, as I observe him from a window of my house. I wonder why he doesn't give a kjack man and brother a dime for doing that bit of hoeing and hedging and vine- training, and stay inside and smoke him. self to the verge of the other world, like I do. The matrons in my block, bosom friends of my wife's, present a cheerful spectacle as I pass along in the morning. rolling up the front curtains into wads, and doing all of the sweeping and dusting them- selves, while their housemaids regard them approvingly. The young women in my neighborhood, tried and tested, weighed and proven, and forever and ever sworn A Chance to Invest. again by saying that I've read the whols Peper, ads. and all, and she asks me to try @ bit of the lemon pie that she’s brought in on a saucer, covered with the prettiest napkin in her house. I try to crawl out of this by telling her that I'll be tickled to death to eat-it just as soon as I finish my cigar, and I let the cigar go out four or five times, and smoke it lingeringly when I relight it. She makes it her business, though, to stay until she sees me >at soma of that pie. Of course, I've got to tell her that the pie is simply heavenly. When she goes my wife picks over the crust that I'va left on the saucer, and says to me: ‘Did you ever in your life see such doughy stuff? This does not reassure me as to what's going to happen to me internally in the middle ‘of the night. “By this time three or four of my boys? friends from the next block have stamped- ed in at the front door. Th boys from tho next bleck ere ostensibly brought in by my beys for th> purpose of comparing the fol- lowing day's lessons, and they all adjourn to the upper part of the house, in accord- ence with instructions. I hear “em jawing away at eoch other after a while, and by the time I reach the upper part of the hous> they've got as far as in-fighting and hitting in the break-away, and I have to pry them loose. The same boys are around the next night, however, T ce. Daughter's Young Man. “By this time, perhaps, my eldest daugh- ter makes her appearance from the up- stairs region, all prettied up, and she be- gins to work me right off. She gives me a chuck or two under the chin, and I know that she's about due to say then: ‘Papa, would you really mind not smoking down stairs any more tonight? Mr. So-and-Se is coming, and the smoking down stains is 80 horrid; now, isn’t it, you dear, good old thing!" What's a man going to do w! it's are exceeding ainlabte og anna: | thrown out so da thin way. exe to ae at- vl i d hide of sight? “Mr. tractive young women in my eyes wher] | (r@¥_upstairs and hide out of sight? “Mr So-and-So’ is en addle-pate as I've made him out, pick up on a remnant the bulge on me, all the sa pies tho whole lower part of thi snoop of a kid, u wouldn't pr; but he gets for he oceu- house I've see them framed in the lintels of their ow: homes as I skate along. ‘The youne cata in the neighborhood I live in are manly, well-conducted Mttle chaps, as I see then, about two blocks away from my house, Na ing shinny with my boys. By all means, neighbors were devised for purely orna. mental purposes, to sort o’ fill in the com- that Position and color scheme. I amend the relic of barbarism maxim, ‘Children should be seen, not heard,’ by’ striking out the Word ‘children’ and inserting ‘neighbors.’ “But I started to unburden this running in habit. from the west. In the minor cities of the West every citizen has more or less of @ yard arourd his home, and ‘ds are great- ly conducive to the format of tremend- ously thick friendships between neighbors. When the washing is being hung out in the back yard on Monday mornings the wife and mother at the head of the house- hold that has just ‘moved in’ is pleasantly greeted by the wife ard mother next door, and the exchange of confidences begins right off. When the man comes home from work in the evening and prowls around the grounds of his new establishment in his shirt sleeves to get the lay of the land the proprietor of the ’dobe next door, also in his shirt sleeves, leans over the fence and volunteers the information that it's going to rain, and a couple of evenings later the adult members of the two fami- lies are playing euchre and eating sponge cake under the same roof, the young wo- men declare to each other that they ‘seem n myself on Its an importation jon. kept my nose to the grindstone to pay for two evenings a week, and drives me to my dive upstairs. “Wher it's not his evening, the neighbors continue to drop man two doors on my left is paying for a couple cf lots somewhere out in the woods, and he spends a frequent half hour with me in telling me that I'm missing the chance of a lifetime in not investing in land right alongside of his. I've had to tell this man that I've undergone an examination for heart disease, and that it would therefore be pure foolishness for Me to begin to acquire any property what- soever, as I expect to go off at any minute, and after my death my family wouldn't be able to continue the payments. My neighbor in the next block, who wants me to join his building and loan association, hammers me for about an hour each week, and I tell him, too, that I feel my end to be near. This, however, I find, starts him off on the subject of religion—he calls himself ‘a man of liberal views on relig- fon’—and so I'm generally really grateful when the two elder: sters from the house across the w come in, bonnets, wraps, gloves and all, for a visit of state in the parlor. I do the best I can in con- tributing my share to the entertainment of these woman, but it’s very plain to be seen that they don’t regard me favorably. I fancy they've set me down as boorish and vulgar because I smoke downstairs. I can’t get any talk out of ‘em at all. My wife spreads herself to amuse them, for they are influential personages on the block, and it is known, besides, for obvious reasons, that it is politic to keep on the good side of them. Nevertheless, there are distal lapses in the conversation, and = can see that the elderl¥ spinsters consider the pictures on the parlor walls to be in the very height of execrable taste, and are mentally setting us down as extreme- ly underbred_pecple. Evening Parties. “Then, we have the fegular exchange of “evening parties’ in my neighborhood. The women folks prepare for these things a couple of weeks in advance. They lay themselves out in the devising of eatables, however, in. The Views on Cuba. to have known each other all their Iyes,’ and the small boys are confidentially tell ing each other what great and illustriou men their respective fathers are, This is the western way. Theoretically, it’s beau- tiful. In the abstract, neighborliness of this sort is delightful to contemplate. The western idea of neighborliness has invaded the east. I like to stand off and regard it as practiced by the people three squares away from where I live. States His Complaint. ow, I'm what you might call a set- tled man. My wife has had me in hand for twenty-five years, and she’s got me trained. I don’t care to go down town at all any more after I return home in the evening from the office. It's a whole let of a job, even, for me to take my wife to thg theater orce a week. My idea of comfort after I finish the meal that’s wait- ing mo upon my arrival home is the even- ing paper, an easy chair and plenty of and everybody has to stuff himself. All cf my men neighbors and I have to*tog out and sit around fér three or four hours, lis- tening to little girls sing-‘Let Me Like a Soldier Fall,” to men that think they've got voices sing “The Paims,’ to badly Inge. instructed young women play “The In- that I've known for years, most of ‘em, | Vitation to the Dance’ on the piano, to and most of them, too, have got such pieas- | the little digs our women folks give each ant homes that it seems extraordinary | other with beatifically smiling countenances ‘to me that they don't stay in them oftener.| and to each other's worked-over jokes about eating the hestess out of house and home, and so on. “I haven't made any mention of the doz- paper preparatory to going over it all in | borhood, who drop in in duos and trios to Getail, when the man living three or four | inform my wife how the sick folks in the doors down ‘runs in.’ Of course, I've got | nelghbornood are getting on. They de- .to ‘Hello, old man,’ him, tell him to sit | scribe at great length and with minute de- down, hang up his hat and overcoat andj tail the symptoms of the man who's got settle back and make believe that I'm en- | rheumatism over the way, and they often his views on-the: Cuban question. | drag my wife out to see the little girl in jow, this man has always read the evening | the next block who's got a bad heart from per Se ae eee betore be ae jumping rope too much. on me. How the dickens he does it I “I suppose you've made up your mind Son’t ‘know. But he has got all the news! by this time that I’m a mean man. Well, of the day dowm pat. When he asks me, {J think so myself.” | ’