ATLA.
ATLA.
% Storg of the IJCcrst isknb.
BY
Mes. J. GREGORY SMITH,
AUTHOR OF -DAWN TO SUNEISE " " SEOLA,'" " SELMA," ETC.
"Temples, towers, and domes of many storeys
There lie buried in an ocean grave
Undescried, save when their golden glories
Gleam at sunset through the lighted wave."
LONDON :
WAED AND DOWNEY,
12, YOEK STEEET, COYENT GARDEN, W.C.
188G
CHAELES DICKENS AND EVANS,
CBYSTAL PALACE PBESS.
-<&£.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION . . . . . , » , 1
CHAPTER I.
ATLANTIS. .....♦•• 5
CHAPTER II.
NATAL 12
CHAPTER III.
ATLA 14
CHAPTER IV.
THE FLOATING GARDEN ...... 20
CHAPTER V.
TYRHENA . . . . . . . ,26
CHAPTER VI.
STORY OF DEDAN THE PILOT . . . . .34
CHAPTER VII.
HEREKLA, DISCOVERER AND INVENTOR . . ,39
CHAPTER VIII.
THE BREATH OF A STONE . . . . .45
577
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER IX.
THE ASTROLOGERS . . . .. . . .49
CHAPTER X.
THE LOTUS LAND 54
CHAPTER XI.
THE FEAST OF BAAL 70
CHAPTER XII.
ION A THE CAPTIVE . . . ... 74
CHAPTER XIII.
SAILED ........ 79
CHAPTER XIV.
AT THE GATES . . . . . . . 82
CHAPTER XV.
THE EDEN OP THE WEST 93
CHAPTER XVI.
THALOK 98
CHAPTER XVII.
ATLA 104
CHAPTER XVIII.
WHISPERS IN THE WIND HI
CHAPTER XIX.
FALL 115,
CHAPTER XX.
ASTERA AND ZEMAR 119
CHAPTER XXI.
LOVE 12&
CONTENTS, t«
TAGE
CHAPTER XXII.
THE SUN OF THE CRYPT . . . , . .132
CHAPTER XXIII.
IN THE HALL OF THE GOD 139
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE GARDEN OF PALMS .144
CHAPTER XXV.
THE WINGED DREAM 146
CHAPTER XXVI.
IN THE CHAMBER . . . ' . . .159
CHAPTER XXVII.
ATLA AND ASTERA 163
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE PALACE OF NIGHT 167
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE FEAST OF RAYNIR 188
CHAPTER XXX.
THE VAULT OF THE QUENCHED LAMP . . . 202
CHAPTER XXXI.
IN THE PAVILION . 20.7
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE OPAL 211
CHAPTER XXXIII.
UNCERTAINTY 216
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE FLIGHT ..,,...- 221
viii CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XXXV.
A STORM AT SEA 229
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THALOK THE KING 239
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE PURSUIT 246
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE FATE OF ZEMAR 252
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE WRECK OF A WORLD 264
CHAPTER XL.
ALONE . 273
CHAPTER XLI.
THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING . . . 276
CHAPTER XLII.
MIRAGE 288
CHAPTER XLIIL
kirtyah's revenge 293
CHAPTER XLIV.
THE SUNSET OF A STORMY DAY • • . . 300
CHAPTER XLV.
THE NEW ATLANTIS 304
ATLA.
INTRODUCTION.
" Where now are seen aerial gardens, height on height,
Eising like Media's mountains crowned with wood ?
Where the fane of Belus now ? "
However the modern mind may exalt in the dis-
coveries and inventions of the present age, it
must concede that little has been added to the
civilisation of the past, while much has certainly
been lost. The men sometimes called primitive
were not savages. The oldest written characters
of which we have the key prove themselves not
only richest in power of expression, but reveal
startling facts connected with prehistoric society.
In massive architecture, in naval structures, in
tremendous mechanical appliances, in agriculture
and peaceful commerce, and in the domestication
of the lower animals, no less than in language as
2 ATLA.
a vehicle for thought, the nations of antiquity at-
tained a marvellous perfection. It would seem
that almost as many arts have been lost as have
been preserved.
Who now can manufacture transparent gold,
malleable glass, and quenchless lamps ; construct
garden ships, and self- directing magnetic chariots,
build hanging gardens, or elevated viaducts and
aqueducts of Cyclopean proportion, such as are
found in the ruins of Central and South America ?
A recent explorer remarks : " The Incas tempered
copper to an edge keen as steel ; they cut jewels
with an art that modern lapidaries cannot imitate ;
their colours are as lasting as their architecture ;
under their political economy millions of people
lived as one family."
Who now will hew temples and cities of night
under the rocky ribs of mountains ? What modern
chisel can restore the flinty statues of Elephanta
Ellora, and Ajunta, whose sculptors u built like
giants and finished like jewellers ? ** Where is the
artist who can carve and colour marble to rival living
flesh, and finish statues whose diamond eyes seem
to follow the beholder ? Where the scholar who can
write a page of history with one dash of the pen ?
INTRODUCTION. 3
Were not the metaphysics and cosmogonies of
Hindu philosophers more profound and far-reach-
ing than our own?. Where are our astronomical
and geological calculations that stretch backward
and forward through a kalpa, a period of time
expressed by a unit and sixty cyphers? In the
ancient esoteric doctrine is contained all that
mere man can know of the origin of the universe,
the laws of force, and the mystery of human
existence. The Gommerean mind may be more
clear and methodical in detail, but the root-
thought will ever be found with the Hindu
mystic and dreamer.
Did not the priests of Egypt use the telephone
and audiphone, or their equivalent, and penetrate
the mysteries of magnetism as moderns have
never done ?
What monarch now will yoke the lion to his
car, or tame the savage ounce, or use a serpent
for a walking-stick? And what theatrical trans-
formation scene at the present day equals the
celebration of the Egyptian and Greek mysteries ?
It may be asked, What was the source of this
perfected civilisation ? There is much evidence
to prove that the impress was from the West to
b 2
4 ATLA.
the East, from America to Asia; that the grand
canals of Atlantis, no longer a fabled island, were
the gateways through which issued the arts,
sciences, and whatever else contributes to that
material prosperity which is at once the blessing,
or the bane, of national existence.
The author of the following story has been for
many years collecting materials for a study of this
wonderful country, the Merope of Theopompus,
called by the Greeks The Garden of the Hespe-
rides, and by the Argonauts the Island of Flowers ;
and has, under the guise of fiction, endeavoured
to embody an idea of its stupendous civilisation,
also to describe the awful cataclysm by which,
according to Hindu geology, it was destroyed
eleven thousand four hundred years ago.
I.
ATLANTIS.'
" In that fair land
All days were golden, all the months were strings,
On which the master-harper of the world,
The Sun, was ever making harvest songs."
Midway between the continents of Europe, Africa,
and America, where now the ocean rolls its un-
broken surges, many thousand years ago there lay
a vast island, or continent, called Atlantis. Its
shores were high and heavily wooded, and inland
was a group of lofty mountains on which the sky
seemed to rest ; these were volcanoes ; and while
fire often blazed from their craters, the everlasting
snow upon the summits made them the home of
refreshing breezes.
In this ancient land were lakes, rivers, meadows,
and forests; also populous cities, the grandest of
which was imperial Atlan, the home of five hundred
6 ATLA.
thousand inhabitants, the magnetic gem which at
once attracted and dispersed a nation's glory.
It was built in the centre of the island, upon a
high plain at the foot of Noraghi, the loftiest vol-
cano, and was surrounded by a wall, broad and
high, upon which hung ever- verdant gardens. At
the base of the wall was a zone of water deep
enough to support the heaviest sea-going vessel;
from this canal radiated seven ship-roads leading
directly to the ocean. Between the canal that
surrounded the high plain of Atlan and the open
sea were other circumvallations and zones of water
passing through other cities, all of which were pro-
vided with quays, docks, and every accommodation
for an immense home and foreign commerce.
At each intersection of the canals, as also on the
rock-bound shore, were massive gates of brass that
could be closed in time of storm or invasion, mak-
ing Atlantis one vast impregnable fortress, while
across the streams were bridges of such propor-
tions that an army could march over, or a ship
pass under in safety. These encircling water-ways
were so admirably arranged that at the pleasure
of the gate-keepers vessels of the largest burthen
could sweep majestically into the very centre of
ATLANTIS. 7
the island, or lie on its confines powerless to effect
a landing ; these were the coiled dragon of fable,
that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides ;
the gates were its hundred mouths. At one place
only the sea deeply indented the shore. This was
the Bay of Pirhua, a harbour on whose tranquil
waters a whole fleet might ride at anchor.
The most wonderful natural feature of Atlantis
was a lake, or inland sea, called Ziclan, lying at
the foot of the imperial city, embosomed in green
and purple hills. The waters of this lake were salt,
and subject to the ebb and flow of the tide ; it was
therefore supposed to have a subterranean connec-
tion with the sea.
Upon this Land of the Blessed a semitropical
sun for ever shone ; there reigned perpetual spring ;
seed-time and harvest were one ; breezes cool from
mountain snows, or warm from ocean currents that
laved the shore, with springs both hot and cold,
produced a climate favourable to health, longevity,
and the perfection of animal and vegetable life. In
the rich soil grew grain, fruit, flowers, and trees,
such as have never since been seen. Elephants,
horses, droves of cattle and sheep, wild beasts, birds
of gayest plumage and sweetest note swarmed in
8 ATLA.
meadow, forest, and hill ; there also were seen fish
of every kind that sport in stream and fountain, or
prowl in ocean deeps. Upon an opal sea the
nautilus launched its rainbow keel and spread its
silver sail, while beneath the wave the coral built
fairy groves, teeming with life in strange and
beautiful forms. Humming-birds flashed through
the gardens like spirits of flowers, and in the dark
forests the nightingale wooed his mate, the glow-
worm and firefly each evening lighted the lantern
of love.
In the mountains were quarries of wonderful
stone and mines of gems and precious metals, gold,
silver, orichaleum, and nephyte — these last un-
known save in that favoured land.
In such conditions the human race attains its
greatest physical perfection, unbroken health de-
velops nervous and muscular energy, while lon-
gevity increases the sum of individual power. At
the period of which we write a dense population,
increasing through ages of prosperity, thronged
this nidus of life.
The beautiful city of Atlan, a coronet upon the
brow of the island, was the residence of the king
and his eldest brother, who filled the place of
ATLANTIS. 9
high-priest, while ten princes of royal blood were
subordinate rulers in other cities.
The public edifices in the great metropolis,
product of generations of mighty toilers, surpassed
anything since reared by human art. In its cen-
tre was a grand plateau surrounded by a brazen
wall, and within a still loftier terrace, upon which
stood a magnificent temple and tower used for
astronomical and religious purposes ; also an obser-
vatory overlooking the island. Upon the verge of
the inner terrace, enclosing all, was the Palace of
Hesper, Star of the West, an immense hexagonal
building of red and white nephyte, overlaid, as
were tower and temple, with silver and gold.
The spacious inner court was planted with rare
trees, flowering shrubs and trailers, ornamented
by arbours, arches, fountains, and statues, and en-
livened by the presence of gentle animals and
birds. Within the adytum of the temple was a
colossal statue of the sea-god, who, it was be-
lieved, raised this island from the depths of ocean
and founded upon it a kingdom for his ten sons,
children of Kleita, a mortal woman. This golden
statue was seated in a chariot drawn by six winged
horses, and around it were ranged images of the
10 ATLA.
ten demi-gods. Before this group stood a pillar
of orichaleum, on which were engraved the laws
of the land, and an altar of sacrifice, from which
oracles were delivered.
The banks of Lake Ziclan were gorgeous with
cool colonnades, vast amphitheatres, racecourses,
boat-houses, and airy villas, whither the people
were wont to resort for public recreation.
For many ages the government of this wonder-
ful empire was just and beneficent, the religion
simple and pure, the people happy, but innova-
tion and corruption had changed the conditions of
society ; arbitrary rule and abuse of privilege had
snpplanted earlier law, ruler and people loved
power and pleasure more than justice. The pol-
icy of the government had become aggressive;
war was not only a pursuit, but a pastime; the
Sun- Serpent was worshipped by cruel and obscene
rites ; the smoke of abominable sacrifices dimmed
the serenity of heaven ; moral obligation was ig-
nored; and the inevitable consequence of such
deterioration became apparent to the thoughtful
patriot. A discriminating historian remarks : " The
lowering of the moral standard in any commu-
nity or nation is a sure precursor of convulsion."
ATLANTIS. 11
Political paralysis and national death were immi-
nent in Atlantis, and yet material prosperity was
unabated, still patient nature seemed to smile.
Kron, the king, was in the prime of manhood ;
he represented a dynasty that had ruled for thou-
sands of years ; none dared dispute his sway. By
successful conquest, many colonies had been formed,
which now offered homage and tribute to the
central power. Ships laden with the wealth of
distant lands waited humbly at the sea-gates ; the
riches, prestige, and power of the nation exceeded
that of any other, and Atlantis exultingly sang :
" I sifc on my throne in the sea,
I open the gates of sunset,
I know not fear nor sorrow.
I am Queen of Hesperos,
Garden of the Gods."
II.
NATAL.
ASTERA, DAUGHTER OF THE STARS.
On the night of the vernal equinox, the city of
Atlan was wild with excitement; the birth of a
princess had been announced, the first heir of
Kron the Magnificent. The infant was named
Astera, Star of the West, and in her honour con-
stellations of fire illuminated every building in the
city. Atlan blazed in a glory that might have out-
shone the lights of heaven and the fiery volcanoes ;
but neither moon nor star rivalled the artificial
glare, for a panoply of storm-clouds filled the sky.
In a gorgeous inner chamber of the palace,
Ishma of the Bast, the Court physician, and the
midwives watched by the bedside of the queen,
while Thalok, the high-priest, performed the cus-
tomary natal rites in the temple. Throughout
NATAL. 13
the palace all sounds were muffled and all lights
subdued, perfume of flowers and burning incense
mingled like love whispers in the soft airs that
were permitted to stray through the luxurious
chamber which welcomed to wealth and homage
the royal maiden.
III.
ATLA.
GIFT OP THE SEA.'
" Oh, night and storm and darkness !
Ye are wondrous strong."
On this eventful night, while the newly-born
princess lay upon a curtained pillow, wrapped in
soft slumber, another infant opened its eyes for
the first time, under far different auspices.
At Pirhua, the harbour nearest Atlan, the fury
of the equinoctial storm was appalling. The wind
howled, the rain came down in torrents, and great
waves broke heavily against the mole that pro-
tected the harbour.
In the watch-tower of the gate stood Karmet
and Occuna, warders of the port. The building
was constructed upon acoustic principles, so that
ATLA. 15
those within it could catch every sound coming
from the sea. As midnight approached the vio-
lence of the storm increased ; the noise inside the
tower became intolerable.
1 c Good Occuna," said Karmet, raising his voice
to the utmost, "let us go forth, or we shall lose
our senses."
Occuna paused, placing his hand behind his ear.
" Listen ! " he exclaimed ; " sounds other than
the roar of the tempest meet my ear. I hear the
shriek of human voices. I hear the pounding of
a vessel as it dashes against the rocks — the sound
is off the bar. A ship has struck ! ,J
The two men rushed to the cliff, straining their
eyes in vain endeavour to penetrate the darkness.
At that moment the guard in the lighthouse,
perceiving something unusual in the harbour,
turned upon it a powerful reflector, and lo ! a
vessel of foreign construction lay breaking upon
the mole.
Occuna and Karmet were skilled sailors ; they
speedily procured a lifeboat, manned it with their
subordinates, and launched forth. Inside the mole
the water was comparatively calm, and the oars-
men were making rapid headway, when they
16 ATLA.
suddenly ran across a small boat that had left
the sinking ship unperceived in the rush and
roar of the mighty surges. The shock was so
severe and unexpected that the men in the foreign
craft had barely time to lift a female figure into
the arms of their dangerous rescuers, when the
boat swamped to rise no more.
While the warders held their breath in astonish-
ment at this strange event, a great sea rolled in,
making a clean sweep of the bar, carrying away
the wreck, and tossing the lifeboat back to the
very landing of the quay. Carefully raising their
helpless burden, the sailors conveyed it to a
shelter, and there beheld in amazement a woman
very fair, with features of almost unearthly beauty.
Her golden tresses were banded with a coronet of
gems ; the drenched garments were of finest wool
embroidered in silver. Her high rank was evident,
and as she lay with closed eyes, those around
were strangely impressed, for she seemed of more
than mortal mould.
By means of signals, intelligence of this re-
markable adventure was immediately transmitted
to the king in Atlan, and early next morning
came the flying ship Nagil, with orders to bring
ATLA. 17
the beautiful stranger to the palace, the Court
physician being in attendance if his services
were required. Vain precaution ; the fair-haired
queen expired during the night, after giving
birth to a daughter.
Oh, blind and cruel fate, that so unequally
metes out the lot of helpless mortals ! Waited
for and welcomed by a proud nation, in the per-
fumed hush of a palace chamber, Astera, Daughter
of the Stars, was ushered into life, while on the
same night, driven by a black tempest out of
the raging sea, amid the horrors of shipwreck
and death, another infant, unnamed and unknown,
struggled into existence.
But one solution of this extraordinary event
was possible. A ship from some far-off, undis-
covered . country, disabled and driven south by
stress of weather, was wrecked on the Atlantean
coast, and all had perished save one fruil atom
of humanity. The fittest perish, the feeblest sur-
vive, when the will of the Lawmaker moves
upon the face of the waters.
The islanders regarded the whole affair as
little less than a miracle, and looked upon the
helpless waif with superstitious awe; but Ishma,
o
18 ATLA.
the Court physician, who had been cast upon the
island in a similar manner, moved by pity for
the homeless stranger, besought permission to
adopt her. The king cheerfully assented, named
the child Atla, Gift of the Sea, bestowed upon
her the title of princess, and decreed that she
should be brought up at Court as the companion
of his own daughter.
Thus Atla, received into a royal home, became
a child to the lonely Ishma, and the recipient of
his long - smothered affection. He taught her
infant lips to fashion the language of the Bast,
and heard with ever fresh delight the sweetness
of once familiar words repeated by a Northern
tongue, for Atla's snowy complexion and delicate
flush revealed unmistakably the heritage of wintry
skies and cold seas.
The fair exotic, in the bland air of a semi-
tropical climate, grew in strength and loveliness.
She became tall and graceful ; her eyes were
violet, her hair was golden, a beauty marvellous
and exceptional in this Land of the Sun.
In disposition the princesses were as diverse as
in their style of beauty. Astera was impulsive,
ardent, passionate ; Atla dignified, spiritual, tran-
ATLA. 19
quil, by innate authority controlling those around
her without designing, or appearing to do so.
Both were motherless, for Queen Nyah died
during the infancy of her daughter, and both, no
doubt, would have been spoiled by admiration
and flattery, but for the gentle discipline each
exerted upon the other.
As they grew to maturity Atla intuitively chose
robes. of delicate tint and texture, while Astera's
dark bloom, black eyes and hair, were intensified
by rich fabrics of crimson and gold.
Nothing could be more attractive than the
contrasting charms and sisterly fondness of these
incomparable maidens, and passers-by would in-
voluntarily linger to gaze upon the harmonies
of Astera and Atla, the Euby and the Pearl.
c 2
IV.
THE FLOATING GARDEN.
" On an ethereal lake whose waters lie
Blue and transpicuous like another sky."
In tins Eden of the West, nothing that the genius
of man could invent to please the sense, or gratify
national pride, seemed wanting. Architectural
monuments, sculptured pillars, triumphal arches,
temples, towers, and palaces abounded. Land-
scape gardens, orchards, fountains, and vast
theatres for open-air amusements, had long since
exhausted the ingenuity of architects. Yet the
king demanded that some grand and novel memo-
rial should be built to commemorate the birth of
his daughter and heir ; for, in failure of male issue,
the royal prerogative was transmitted directly
through the female line.
As months passed away and no satisfactory sug-
THE FLOATING GARDEN 21
gestions were made by the skilled designers, King
Kron became impatient, and Ishma, the physician,
ventured to address him upon the subject.
" Oh, mighty Kron," said Ishma, w the God of
my fathers giveth wisdom to his worshippers
through visions of the night. Even when I was
wrapt in deep slumber, the thought of the king's
perplexity troubled my dreams. Then suddenly
my soul was thrilled with wonder and delight, for
a marvellous vision appeared before the eyes of
my spirit. I saw upon the lake named Ziclan,
which lies to the westward of this city, a sight of
ravishing beauty, the like of which, I verily believe,
has never yet existed. It was an island, in shape
circular. Upon it grew all manner of trees and
flowering plants, and in the centre thereof rose
a fair tower, inlaid with gold and painted tablets
glittering in the sun, and from the windows and
balconies were silken banners suspended by
cords.
"Directly above the island, for night seemed
suddenly to have fallen, in the soft twilight heaven
hung the crescent moon, and in her arms a brilliant
star. The island was round, like the full moon ;
above it was a star, and in my sleep I murmured
22 ATLA.
' Astera V As I gazed, wondering what the vision
might mean, a breeze came in from the sea, the
waters of the lake were tossed into small waves,
the trees upon the island bent low, the banners
swelled out like the sails of a ship, and then,
king ! a miracle appeared. The island rocked like a
vessel in harbour, it moved forward and floated
over the bosom of the lake, till it touched the
farther shore."
At this relation the king was mute with aston-
ishment ; but when he recovered speech, he said :
" Ishma, this is indeed [a wonder. Canst thou
interpret the dream?"
And Ishma answered : " Thus are the wise
men and master-builders instructed. Shall not
that miracle of beauty, till now unknown even in
Atlantis, become a memorial of the Princess
Astera's birth, a floating garden on Lake Ziclan,
as yet seen only in visions of the night ? u
" And the moon with the star in her arms ? "
" king ! of this I know not the meaning, it
is for the present hidden ; but I am well assured
that the fate of the king's daughter is involved in
the building of this island."
" Ishma," said the king, " I give thee my com-
THE FLOATING GARDEN. 23
mand with full power for its construction ; if thou
verify the dream, wealth and honour shall be thy
reward. The heart of Kron is at rest."
The royal decree went forth that an nnlimited
supply of material, machinery, and skilled work-
men should be placed at Ishma's disposal, and
labour upon the novel structure was begun imme-
diately.
An immense network of woven sea-rods, pliable
and strong as steel, formed a living, growing
foundation for the superincumbent mass. Upon
this huge wattle, now anchored to the shore, earth
was carefully spread and filled with fibrous roots
of aquatic plants. After they had become tho-
roughly impacted, the soil was made deep enough
for shrubs and trees. These were left undisturbed
for several years, and when the foundation was
pronounced by the architects safe and firm, a
tower of dream-like beauty, built of cork and
painted to resemble stone, was erected among
groves and gardens of supernal luxuriance.
Finally stays of timber were placed beneath
the island to strengthen it, and when all was per-
fect, silken sails were suspended from roof and
balcony, and on the pinnacle of the tower glittered
24 ATLA.
a silver moon with a star in its arms. The Atlan-
tean world thronged to behold the trial of its
sailing qualities, which proved to be perfect : and
thus was the dream of Ishma made a reality.
Before this marvel of architecture was com-
pleted many years had passed ; Astera and her
companion had attained maturity, and notable
events had transpired. The king was still with-
out a consort, and it was more than suspected that
the beautiful Atla was destined to fill the vacancy
on the throne. An arrow from the bright eyes
of Astera had pierced the heart of her cousin
Zemar, son of the high-priest, while deadly pas-
sions and desperate plans were secretly cherished
in the breast of Thalok, his father. This unscru-
pulous man had long since discovered whither the
eyes of the king and Zemar turned, and his
schemes were vaguely forming. Kron, the reign-
ing monarch, Astera, his immediate successor,
and Zemar, her lover, were bars in the pathway
of his ambition. If these obstacles were removed,
Thalok would be king of Atlantis, and Atla, of
whom he was deeply enamoured, could grace his
throne.
The seasons came and went, and made no sign ;
THE FLOATING GARDEN 25
youth and maiden increased in years and beauty ;
the king planned measures for the aggrandisement
of national glory, and particularly busied himself
in perfecting a colony founded on the coast of a
great continent lying to the west. The high-priest
schemed and plotted, yet during all these years,
though "the heavens maintained their terrible
composure," nature was secretly marshalling her
mighty forces, and in a far-off country there was
preparing a new factor in coming events; a net-
work of fate was weaving, undreamed of by sage
or prophet.
V.
TYRHENA.
THE SONS OF NIMROD, THE MIGHTY.
Thousands of miles to the east of Atlantis, on
the shores of the Sea Cham, now called Mediter-
ranean, lay the walled city Cacara, a place of
great commercial importance, in that far-off, for-
gotten time. An unceasing tide of human activity
streamed through its paved streets ; caravans laden
with merchandise stretched away into the desert ;
the port was alive with water-craft of every
description; the quays were crowded with men
busily employed among the wares of commerce.
Along the shore rose tall chimneys, from which
black smoke drifted like plumes. Here were the
largest manufactories and metallurgic works in the
world, where were produced molten images, orna-
TYBKENA. 27
ments, implements of peace and war, rich dyes
and fabrics.
But beyond all this, Cacara was celebrated for
the manufacture of glass amphora and lustre drops,
or beads, lozenge-shaped and polished like sap-
phires; the secret of their manufacture was con-
fined to the Phoenicians, who used these gems as
coin in mercantile transactions.
Upon the walls of the city were watch-towers
and astronomical observatories, and, according to
the custom of Sabeans or star-worshippers, in a
grove upon a high place east of the city, stood a
temple dedicated to Ashteroth, Queen of Heaven.
Near by were the Magian towers and the royal
residence, built of massive stone and roofed with
cedar.
Kirgath Melek, reigning monarch at the time
of which we write, was a wise ruler and a man of
affairs, who gathered into his service the learned
and skilful of all nations.
But the pride of Court and people was his son
and heir, the young Prince Herekla, now eighteen
years of age, already tall and grand, for he in-
herited the physical traits of his primogenitors,
the famous Annakim. His features and form
28 ATLA.
of matchless perfection were transfused by a
wonderful sweetness of expression, never seen at
the present day save in old Phoenician statuary.
Beneath this peculiar charm and dignity, un-
usual at any age, the face of Herekla wore a look
of profound thought and self-repression, while his
changeful colour and dark glowing eyes flashed
denial to the intellectual repose of his countenance.
His presence was of the rare type that imposes
respect, almost awe, even in childhood.
His mother, Queen Nansyka, a woman of many
virtues, had greatly influenced his character. She
taught him to shun the women's apartments,
where the handsome boy would have been spoiled
by flattery, but encouraged him to cultivate the
acquaintance and friendship of the elders and wise
men, among whom were two persons especially
entitled to confidence — Madai, a Persian Magus,
and Kadmon, a Hindu Arhat, deeply imbued with
the philosophy of his native land, and of great
repute among Chaldean priests as an astrologer.
At his mother's suggestion Herekla chose these
wise men for his instructors, and at night would
repair with them to the observatories, there to
study the sacred cypher, read the stars, and watch
TYBEENA. 29
the combinations of the planets. Thus he acquired
the lore of sages and even supplemented their
wisdom by his quick insight. From these adepts
in Oriental philosophy he learned the profound
virtues of self-repression and self-abnegation, and
in their practice obtained control of those with
whom he was associated, no less than of his own
spirit.
His days were spent in the laboratory inspect-
ing the charts of sailors and models of ships ; him-
self planned and projected sea-going vessels and
voyages ; assisted by skilled artisans he also ex-
perimented in fusing metals and earths, and in
perfecting fabrics and dyes.
During leisure hours he practised with sword
and lance, managed all kinds of water-craft, was a
powerful swimmer and successful hunter, but
most of all athletic pursuits he delighted in the
subjection and management of spirited horses.
To gratify this predominant taste, his father
procured from the deserts of Joktan two wonder-
ful steeds, Zuzin and Zummin. Black in colour
they were, dappled like the dawn and fleet as the
wind, the admiration of all who beheld them.
These fiery animals brooked ^not the restraint of
30 ATLA.
bit and bridle, neither could they be persuaded to
draw the heavy chariots of the king. Being de-
clared utterly unmanageable, Melek was about to
return them to their desert home, when Marchar,
a merchant from the land of the Tsinim, begged
an audience.
" Most noble Melek/' he said, prostrating him-
self, "although the children of Tsin are as the
dust of the balance before thee, bear with me
patiently while I declare that there are, in the
land of my fathers, chariots of the sun, before
which even the intractable Zuzin and Zummin
will be meek as the oxen that tread out the corn ;
neither will charioteer nor groom be required, for
the chariot is enchanted, and guideth both itself
and the steeds."
" Son of Yu," answered Melek, * ' if it be as
thou sayest, go to thy country, purchase for me at
any price a Chariot of the Sun, bring it to Tyrhena,
and great shall be thy recompense. But if thou
deceive the king, thou knowest the law."
u Upon my life be it," said the merchant, and
departed.
After many months had passed a caravan
arrived from the East and with it were Marchar
TYRHENA. 31
and the chariot. King and noble assembled in
the court of the palace to witness a trial of its
power. The horses, loosened from their stalls,
rushed out with such strength and ferocity that
the utmost efforts of four Nubian giants scarcely
restrained them. When they entered the court,
excited by the presence and number of the crowd,
they reared and plunged frightfully, their eyeballs
rolled in frenzy, their neighing was like the roar
of wild beasts ; they seemed possessed by demons.
The dismayed courtiers begged the king to
retire, but he ordered the assistance of other
grooms, and after a furious struggle the steeds
were forced within the traces of iron.
Marchar watched his opportunity, and at a
propitious moment adroitly threw a chain of fine
wrought steel over the head of each horse, slipped
a bit of the same metal between the teeth, and
clasped thereon another chain depending from the
pole of the chariot.
Then stepping back, he cried : " Remove the
bridles and release the steeds ! "
The grooms reluctantly obeyed, springing aside
in terror, but a hush of astonishment held them
and every spectator spellbound. The horses, find-
32 ATLA.
ing themselves at liberty, made a desperate plunge
as if they would go forward, but stopped short
trembling, their eyes closed, their heads drooped,
their knees bent, they seemed about to lie down.
" Who will enter the chariot ? w cried Marchar.
" Who will venture ? "
All were silent save the young prince, who,
with heightened colour and flashing eyes, stepped
forward and said :
"Instruct me, merchant of Tsin, and I will
essay that task."
"Thou art brave, Herekla," responded
Marchar; " thy courage is the promise of success.
First caress each horse, call him gently by name,
but touch not bit or bridle."
Herekla went forward without fear, patted
the sides of the trembling steeds, stroked each
face and neck, calling them by name, till they
became reassured, and bent affectionately toward
him. When they were accustomed to his voice
and touch, Marchar said:
" Now take thy place in the chariot ; the horses
will go through the gate to the south, ever keeping
the same direction. When thou wouldst guide
them otherwise, press the lever in front of the
TYBRENA. 33
chariot to right or left, as is desired. Go forth
fearlessly ; no harm can befall thee, the horses
are enchanted."
Then Herekla, taking his place, cried out :
" Zuzin ! Zummin ! Away, away ! M
The horses, cheered by the voice, and feeling
some impulse that urged them forward, sprang
through the gate, taking a course due south, while
king and courtier, rapt in astonishment, watched
them move swiftly but steadily forward, until they
were lost to sight on the distant plain.
Toward evening Herekla returned, bringing in
the horses perfectly tractable, but as fresh as when
they left the Court. Gracefully acknowledging the
shouts of welcome, he drove directly to the stables,
released and fed the horses with his own hand,
caressed them, called them by name and retired.
From that hour the fiery steeds of the desert
accepted the young prince as their master; they
knew his kind voice and touch, they left their
stalls at his summons, and every day the superb
equipage of the royal charioteer might be seen
swiftly scouring the southern plains.
VI.
STORY OF DEDAN THE PILOT.
THE TOILERS OP THE SEA."
One summer morning, not long subsequent to
the events just related, King Melek entered the
council-chamber in the Hall of Audience and
took his place upon the ivory throne. His son,
the Prince Herekla, stood by his side, and around
were ranged the councillors and Magi. Their
faces wore a troubled expression, for they had
been summoned to deliberate upon matters deeply
affecting the welfare of the nation.
After a brief silence, the king thus addressed
the assembly : u Again have the ships of Tsin out-
voyaged those of Phoenicia, and have entered a
dangerous harbour while ours were wrecked in the
attempt to follow; one man alone remains alive
to tell the story."
STORY OF DEDAN THE PILOT. 35
Then turning to an attendant, he added : " Call
in Dedan the Pilot, who arrived yesternight with
the Brythean caravan."
Presently there entered a man, travel-worn and
sad of countenance, who, after prostrating himself
at the feet of the king, rose and related his mis-
adventures.
" king, live for ever," said Dedan the Pilot.
"Six months ago, thy ship, the Whale, was re-
turning from the land of Ophir, laden with gold,
ivory, apes, and peacocks ; for by the goodness of
Baal, giver of fortune, the voyage had prospered.
We came in sight of a strange land, and upon the
shores were many sunken rocks, round which the
sea boiled like a pot. While sailing along this
coast, we saw in advance of our ship a vessel of
the Tsinim, floating like a log upon the water.
Even as our sailors were still deriding this clumsy
craft, it passed between the rocks, steering skil-
fully, and landed near a city where a river entered
the sea. Oar voyage had been long; we were
straitened for food and water, and seeing the good
fortune of these men, a murmur of discontent
arose among the crew.
" ' Shall the children of Gog/ they cry, ' eat of
d 2
36 ATLA.
the fresh fruits and drink of the pure springs,
while the sons of Cush perish with hunger and
thirst ? '
And they stood and cursed.
cc Then said the master of the ship : ' Be it on
your heads/ He commanded me, and the helm
being put about we followed. But as we came
near to land, some god of Tsin caused a mist to
rise over the water, and having no object whereby
to steer, we fell upon the rocks ; the ship was
broken up, and all thy servants, with the treasure,
were plunged in the deep and perished.
" But it so chanced that the helm, to which I
clung when it parted, caught on a rock and stuck
fast, where I lay, knowing naught till the ships of
Tsin returned, and seeing a man in that plight,
sent a boat to fetch me, more dead than alive.
Some of the sailors would throw me back into the
sea, but the more merciful said ; ' Leave him on the
deck ; perchance his life may come to him again."
" So they left me till the going down of the
sun, and my spirit returned, but I made no sign,
for in my heart I said ; ' If the lord Baal prosper
me, in the night I will creep forth and discover
the god that guides the ship in mist and darkness/
STORY OF BEBAN THE PILOT. 37
for as we departed from the coast I had seen the
pilot look often into a box near the helm.
" Night fell upon the sea ; the moon and the
Lady Ashteroth walked in the pathway of heaven ;
the wind was light, the water calm ; and the pilot,
seeing there was no danger, fell asleep. Then I
arose stealthily, and creeping to the box, looked
therein. "
The pilot paused, and the king inquired anx-
iously : " What sawest thou, Dedan ? "
"I saw, king, a bowl of earthenware, such
as is sold by the merchants of Tsin, and upon the
inside thereof were graven lines marking the four
corners of the earth, and around were pictures of
the host of heaven and other curious figures that
I did not understand. The cup was filled with
water and in its midst a float of cork, and lying
upon it was a needle of iron like those used by
women in broidery. When the ship turned, even
if it were completely put about, the needle and
the float that sustained it whirled away and re-
mained always pointing to the south. It was like
a living creature, yet it stirred not at the approach
of my finger. By this I perceived that it had been
enchanted and was the slave of some spirit or god.
38 ATLA.
Then I trembled with fear and crept silently away
and lay upon the deck till morning, and no one
was aware of what I had seen.
" After I had eaten and recovered strength, I
wrought with the men, and they treated me
kindly. The pilot often consulted the spirit in
the box, and the ship swerved not from its course,
and the voyage prospered till we arrived at the
entrance of the Erythean Sea, and I, unwelcome
messenger that I am, hastened to Cacara, to lay
my misfortunes at the feet of the king. Thy ship
and the sailors "lie on that accursed shore, and I
alone am left to tell the story."
Then Dedan fell to the ground in the violence
of grief, but the king spake comfortably, and
said : " Fear not, Dedan ; thou hast done
well ; perchance this loss may be for our greater
advantage. Go in peace ; nevertheless, speak not
to any concerning this matter."
As Dedan retired, the king sighed heavily,
and said : u Oh, that one could make known to
us the spirit that enchants the needle of iron,,
then should Phoenicia be ruler of the sea, and
her merchants become rich above all others, for
verily our ships and our sailors are better than
those of the Tsinim."
VII.
HEREKLA, DISCOVERER AND INVENTOR.
At these words, the young prince rose, and
obeisance to his father, left the Council-
chamber and descended to that part of the city
where the smoke and glare of the furnaces gave
token that the smiths wrought the hot metals.
He entered the largest of the factories, and, calling
to the overseer, said : " I pray you, master smith,
make for me a staff pointed with steel, wherewith
I can climb the mountain ; and make also a needle
of iron well tempered, such as is used by women
in broidery. These keep safely till I call for
them."
After Herekla had given these orders, he went
forth in his chariot, as was his custom, driving the
steeds of Joktan, and as he journeyed, he mused :
" An enchanted needle, an enchanted chariot ;
40 ATLA.
one guideth a ship, the other controlleth furious
horses; both are from the land of the Tsinim.
The needle is of iron, and it lieth along a float of
WQpd — so said Dedan — and along the wood of the
chariot is not iron everywhere placed ? Have not
mine eyes often observed this and as often I
wondered thereat? And doth not the chain of
steel that encircles the heads of my steeds, and
the iron that curbs them, attach to that of the
chariot ? Each day the horses grow stronger,
and yet each day my power over them increaseth.
u Surely this is a mystery, and yet through the
mists I dimly perceive a law defined, a fact at-
tainable. Oh, that I could grasp it and aid my
father and glorify my countrymen !
" To-morrow I will sacrifice to my god, even
to Melkarth Herekles, after whom I am named, the
pure god my mother worships. Perchance he will
aid my earnest endeavour."
The next day Herekla went from the palace
alone, for he was greatly beloved and discreet, so
that his father, having no fear for his safety, en-
couraged in him a daring spirit. He took the
staff and needle that the smith had made, and
climbed the mountain, where was an altar in
BEREKLA, DISCOVERER AND INVENTOR. 41
honour of Melkarth, the achiever of mighty deeds,
the god of blooming youth.
The young prince abhorred the bloody and
foul rites of Baal, Ashtoreth, and Moloch, even as
he loved the ideal of strength and purity repre-
sented by his mother's god.
Before the altar he now bowed, offering flowers
and fruit gathered on the way, and calling upon
the deity : " O friend of man, for the honour of
my father's kingdom and the good of his people,
reveal to thy servant the spirit that controls the
steeds and guides the ship/' This he repeated
many times, giving his soul to prayer.
At length, resting his staff upon a rock that
overlooked the city, he sat down and remained a
long time in earnest meditation. The ordinary
pleasures of childhood and youth had little fasci-
nation for this remarkable young prince; he was
more happy in the council-chamber, the Magian
tower, at the crucible of the alchemist, or the
forge of the artisan, than in the halls of mirth
and feasting. Knowing that if he outlived his
father he would one day be king, his mind was
filled with schemes for the aggrandisement of the
nation and welfare of the people.
42 AT LA.
And now he sighed : " Would that I might
solve this mystery and become a blessing to the
nation, for verily onr people are given to traffic
and not to war! Our sailors could thus explore
the four quarters of the world, and its treasures
would be poured into our bosom."
Absorbed in these thoughts, the hours passed
unheeded ; he grew drowsy from inaction and the
warmth of the sun, and, leaning back against the
rock, fell asleep and dreamed. And lo ! the sun-
god presents him a cup of gold and an arrow of
steel ; with these in his hand, he crosses the deep,
until he reaches a land in the far west, where a
dreadful storm is raging. In the darkness and
danger floats a human form, luminous like a spirit ;.
he struggles to reach and rescue it, but wakes with
a start, to find the day past and the sun setting.
He rose quickly and prepared to descend the
mountain, but in taking up the staff, felt it slightly
adhere to the rock. Again and again he replaced
it, and each time perceived the same dragging sen-
sation. Upon closer examination he saw particles
of sand and small pebbles whirl after and attach
themselves to the point.
At this he smiled, and said : H The staff is cer-
BEREKLA, DISCOVERER AND INVENTOR. 43
tainly bewitched ; " but instantly, as another
thought flashed through his mind, he trembled
and sank upon the earth, saying : " This is Bae-
tylia, a rock that hath life. Is it not the spirit
that controls the ship and the chariot ? M
Moved by some sudden intuition, he drew forth
the needle he had brought, and, applying it to the
point of the staff, saw it stir in his hand and cling
to the steel. Overcome with emotion, he fell
down before the alter, saying : " Melkarth,
thou hast unveiled the mystery ! I am thy servant
for ever."
The sun's broad disk now dipped in the sea,
and, clasping his treasure firmly, Herekla de-
scended to the valley.
He felt confident that he had discovered a pecu-
liar power possible to iron after contact with cer-
tain earths or rocks ; but how should he apply this
knowledge to the construction of a compass ? He
confided his perplexity to no one, for reticence
was a strong characteristic of his nature ; but he
summoned Dedan, and, after obtaining from him
a more detailed description of the instrument used
by the foreign sailors, he retired to the solitude of
his laboratory and wrought assiduously to repro-
44 ATLA.
duce it. After many days of patient toil and
many discouraging failures, he at last perfected
his invention. The cumbersome float and cup of
water was discarded, the needle was suspended
upon a delicate pivot, the balance was perfect, and
to Herekla's great joy he found that it always
pointed to the north. This peculiarity he accepted
as a fact, although the cause he could not fathom.
Wherever he went, walking or driving, the mag-
netic needle was his companion, and by a certain
tremulousness he detected a sympathy between it
and the self-directing chariot.
VIII.
THE BREATH OF A STONE.
The council again assembled. A great ship was
ready for sea; its destination must be determined.
The wise men urged that it be sent to the country
of the Tsinim, where, by purchase or force, their
mysterious power over iron might be learned.
The king approved the plan, and a decision was
imminent when the young prince modestly asked
permission to speak.
"Oh, my father, and ye nobles of Cacara, let
not anxious thoughts trouble you; neither waste
the months in journeying to seek that which lieth
at your own door.
" Behold the arrow of Baal transfixed in a
heart of iron and brought to earth by the hand
of Melkarth, the victorious."
Throwing open the box, he exclaimed : u I pre-
46 ATLA.
sent for your acceptance, the breath of a stone, the
spirit of a rock, even that which controls the
chariots and ships of the Tsinim."
Greatly astonished, King Melek replied : u How
can the course of any be guided by this cup ?
Prove thy words, my son, and thou shalt be
accounted wisest among men/'
Then, answered Herekla: "Bandage mine eyes
so that I can see nought but the cup in my hand,
turn me around many times until all memory of
my position is lost, lead me forth from this cham-
ber, and I will pursue the pathways of the court,
as thou shalt direct."
They did according to this plan, and unerringly
he crossed the court and walked through grove
and garden with eyes close covered, seeing only
the cup in his hand. In other ways they tested
his ability, and at last the most incredulous were
convinced, saying: "The benevolent Melkarth,
the friend of youth, hath inspired him ; our ship-
masters shall waste no time voyaging to the land
of Tsin."
The council decreed, that to honour Herekla
for this wonderful discovery, he should be made
commander of the ports, that he should hold a
THE BREATH OF A STONE. , 47
signet of power, and the captains should do his
bidding.
Being invested with authority, he went to the
harbour where the new ship lay, named it the
Whale, after that which was lost, appointed Dedan
to be the master, gave him the cup of Herekles,
instructed him in its use, and issued these orders :
" Sail ever to the west ; steer by the cup of Mel-
karth ; follow the track of the sun and the stars ;
look often to that small star low in the north that
has no track ; it neither rises nor sets and changes
not ; mayhap it will help thee in time of trouble.
Yet neglect not to take in thy ship the customary
basket of pigeons; the power of these birds to
discern land is wonderful ; they may be of service
if the cup should be broken or fail.
c c Sail ever to the west ; stay only to replenish
the stores of the ship ; pass every island, double
every cape, dare every sea, make charts of the
same to aid thee on thy return. At last, per-
chance thou wilt come to some unknown land,
and if the people of that country are friendly,
make a treaty of amity, trade with them, inter-
change commodities, make them presents, and.
after thou hast disposed of thy cargo, which is of
48 ATLA.
the abundance of Phoenicia, return by the way
thou earnest, trading and dealing honourably by all
thou shalt meet on the way, steering ever east by
the cup of Melkarth till thou shalt reach this har-
bour in peace."
Dedan and the sailors applauded the words of
the prince, and swore by the gods that control the
sun, the moon, and the five planets, that they
would keep sacred the commands of Herekla.
Then the sails were unfurled, the heavy oars
struck the water, the Whale swung from its moor-
ings, and, amid the cheers of the multitude that
stood upon the shore, it steadily moved out of the
harbour, freighted with the treasures of the East.
While king and courtier went in state to offer
sacrifices of blood in the temples of Baal and Ash-
teroth, Herekla repaired alone to the hill where
his discovery was made, and watched the white
sails till night fell upon the earth, and the wester-
ing ship disappeared in the darkness.
IX.
THE ASTROLOGERS.
Two years passed, and in a climate where the
energies of nature are most active, Herekla at-
tained maturity. By wise preferences in training
he had become a true son of Anak, agile and
hardy; his form developed into the perfection of
manly strength and beauty. Yet he was still
simple and severe in habit, grave and quiet in
manner, tranquil and serene in disposition, though
the rich colour that mounted to his dark cheek and
the flash of his piercing eye gave token of a
smothered fire that might at any moment burst
into a conflagration. But fuel there seemed none,
soft sentiments were merged in stern pursuits, his
eyes wandered not towards the ladies of the Court,
E
50 ATLA.
and the king grew anxious lest his son should
never wed.
Upon Herekla's twentieth birthday Melek sum-
moned his wise men and astrologers, to take
their advice concerning the welfare of the young
prince.
After various plans had been proposed, and the
council could come to no agreement, Kadmon the
Hindu, teacher and friend of Herekla, rose and
thus addressed the king :
"0 sovereign lord, since thou hast honoured
me by a place at thy Court, and, by the secrets of
our high Order, hast committed me to thy confi-
dence, I have carefully observed the life of our
young master, and by methods known only to the
descendants of Charmos, father of the Chaldeans,,
and by the Magi of that nation communicated to
me, I have cast his horoscope." Profound silence
fell upon the assembly as Kadmon continued :
" king, listen to the voice of the stars ! Thy
son shall excel in power and might all who have
gone before him; yet a great disaster threatens.
Before Baal, the sun-god, shall twice fill the
baskets of the vintage, strange and portentous
signs shall appear in heaven. The sun and moon
TSE ASTROLOGERS. 51
shall be darkened at midday, and Mazzaroth
shall blaze forth in splendour from the western sky.
To Herekla this is the hour of fate, for, as thou
well knowest, Mazzaroth is the star of his nativity.
But whether good or ill portend, I swear, by
the majesty of the Unnameable One, I know not.
The place of the vision was strange, the land
heaved like the surges of Cham, darkness fell
upon mine eyes, and mine ears were stunned by
the roar of mighty waters." *
Kadmon paused, the assembled councillors were
silent, and the heart of the king was troubled.
At length Persep, youngest of the Magi, spoke
thus:
" Let not my lord, the king, be dismayed. The
vision of Kadmon was of a foreign land. At
home, in Cacara, our beloved prince will, no doubt,
be in safety. Therefore, for two years, the time
of the vision, do thou surround him with all
delights, and suffer him not to depart from his
own country until the danger is past."
To this plan the council agreed, and it was so
determined.
While the wise men were thus deciding his
future, Herekla sat alone in a tower upon the
E 2
52 ATLA.
hill Melkarth, overlooking the sea. The ship,
two years ago, confided to the care of Dedaa
the Pilot, had not returned, nor yet sent tidings,
and fears of disaster oppressed both king and
subject, for many a man had friend and fortune
in that venture. To Herekla its success was of
supreme importance, involving, as it did, the
practical utility of his discovery and invention.
He had recently contrived a lens which caused
distant objects to seem near. By its power he
could distinguish every movement of the sailors in
the harbour below, and could even read the hiero-
glyphs painted upon the vessels. Now long and
earnestly, as he had often done before, he swept
the vacant line where sea and sky are mingled.
He almost ceased to hope ; but, lo ! a white speck
dots the horizon — it increases in size ; a vessel is
surely approaching.
For hours the young prince keeps watch, till at
length the outline is discernible through the glass,
and he recognises the form of the long absent
ship.
His heart beats high, the blood rushes through
his veins as he swiftly descends to the city, and
carries the joyful intelligence to king and Court.
THE ASTROLOGERS. 53
The excitement and tumult were unbounded.
Everybody hurried to the wharves, where now
the colours of the vessel were clearly to be seen.
Soon the Whale was safely moored, and Dedan
and his comrades received the embrace of their
friends.
The unlading took place immediately, and
great was the wonder as many unfamiliar objects
were landed upon the quays; strange birds and
beasts, fruits, fabrics, and plants before unknown,
even in the abundant marts of these merchants of
the world.
The night was given to feasting and mirth, but
Herekla, anxious to learn the particulars of the
voyage, after the ship -master was refreshed,
hastened to the audience-chamber of the king,
where Dedan related this marvellous story.
THE LOTUS LAND.
u Soft are the skies of the lotus land,
White is the surf that laves the strand,
Tall are the waving lotus palms,
Dark is the shade of their outstretched arms.
Dreamy the life of the mystic band,
Steeping each sense in perfume bland,
Floating through vapours rainbow spanned,
They live and walk in a trance-like sleep ;
They hear strange voices call from the deep,
And though the sun sinks in the west,
They turn not to a place of rest,
But softly sing in the dark'ning air,
1 Though other lands of earth are fair,
For ever and for ever more,
We will dream on the lotus shore.' M
"0 king," said Dedan, "as thy soul liveth,
our adventures have been wonderful and our
dangers great, but the power of Melkarth and his
enchanted cup prevailed.
"After leaving the port of Cacara, we passed
the countries and islands where we are wont to
THE LOTUS LAND. 55
trade, and when we had sailed west for many days
through the sea of Cham, we came to a strait,
where was a fierce conflict between the wind and
the sea. We were driven about by the incon-
stancy of the elements that contend in this place,
until, for want of water, we were forced to land.
On one side was a mountainous shore, and on the
other a frowning rock of great height. We were
nearly wrecked, but after much tossing fell into
calm water under the shadow of the rock, and the
sails hung idle, though the wind still howled in
the sky. We climbed the height, and lo ! to the
west was an ocean, gray and misty, with surges a
league in length heaving against the sky.
" The waters of the sea of Cham are blue, and
comparatively quiet, but in these straits they were
tumultuous, for the great ocean ever poured itself
into the sea, and the wind was contrary.
" At this fearful sight the sailors cried out :
4 It is the sea Muhit/ for they knew not what to
say.
" Then they murmured : € The godsf orbid that
we should enter this dangerous ocean; no vessel
can withstand its might, even though it escape be-
ing dashed upon the rocks/
5(> ATLA.
"But remembering the orders of my lord
Herekla : f Sail ever to the west/ when all were
asleep I surveyed the harbour from the height, and
determined by the needle in which way I could
pass out to sea. I then called Karmos the Stead-
fast, and the best sailors, and together we weighed
anchor, loosened sail and dashed into the strait.
The conflict was terrible, but the wind prevailed,
and by dawn we were far out at sea. The crew
yielded to fate, and after four days' sailing we
sighted an island.
" The shores were high, and dense with verdure ;
snow-capped volcanoes rose majestically against
the sky, fair cities dotted the slopes, and orange
groves like cloud shadows darkened the plains.
"As we drew near, double-prowed boats came
out to meet us. They were manned by sailors
grand in form and dark in visage. They spoke
a diverse language, but when by gesture we signi-
fied that our mission was one of peace, they
brought us into harbour and ministered to our
wants.
" Next day ambassadors came from the king of
that land, one of whom was a venerable man,
Ishma by name, whose features marked him a son
THE LOTUS LAND. 57
of Shem. To our joy he addressed us iu the
Phoenician language, saying that he was born in
Tyrhena, though brought up in Egypt, and taught
the science of the priesthood. Many years ago he
crossed the great desert that lies to the west of
Egypt with a caravan sent out to explore the
country beyond. The camels and many of the
men died, and the remnant, being unable to re-
turn, constructed a rough boat and launched upon
a sea which they had discovered, hoping thereby
to reach Egypt again. But a storm overtook
them, and after much suffering they were rescued
by strange sailors and brought to this country,
Atlantis it is called, where the king received
Ishma with great favour, and after he had acquired
the language, made him the royal physician. We
told him our story, and he kindly offered his aid.
" We were then conveyed through a grand canal
to the royal city Atlan. The country is very
populous, the inhabitants are darker than we,
their foreheads are high and retreating, which
gives them a lordly look; their eyes are black,
their features regular, but expressive of unrest.
" These people are great warriors, and have con-
quered many lands ; they are ever busy, and their
£8 ATLA.
works are mighty, so that we were dumb through
astonishment. The streams caused by melting of
snows on the volcanoes are gathered into tanks
and brought to the cities in aqueducts. These
streams not only supply the people with pure
water, but irrigate the heated plains, and at night
turn great wheels that flood the streets of hewn
stone and carry all impurity through the canals
into the sea.
u On our way to the city we passed a beautiful
salt lake called Ziclan, lying among wooded moun-
tains ; on its bosom drifted pleasure boats of fanci-
ful shape. But the most wonderful object on this
inland sea is an artificial island, or Floating Gar-
den, built to commemorate the birth of the Prin-
cess Astera, only child of the king and heir to
. all his grandeur. This Floating Island is green
with trees and vines, and gorgeous with flowers,
amid which nestles a tower of exceeding beauty,
gay with banners and silken sails.
"In the city are hanging gardens, towers, palaces,
and temples, which exceed those of Chaldea; the
carved and molten images are more wonderful
than those of Egypt ; the paintings and tapestries
outvie those of Tyrhena; the tower of Kohl is
TEE LOTUS LAND. 59
greater than that of Belus; in its grand adytum
is a colossal image of the sea-god, a pillar of
nephyte, and an altar where sacrifices are offered
and oracles given once a year.
u In this temple we were received by the king,
whose name is Kron. He is a tall, grand man,
who wears his crown and carries his sceptre right
royally. We bowed to the earth before him, and
when, by the interpretation of Ishma, we were
commanded to rise, we presented the gifts and
message of our sovereign lord, Melek Kirgath of
the East, who desired to make a treaty of friend-
ship with the ruler of this land, and to ask his
most gracious favour.
" The king approved our suit, and inquired many
things concerning my lord Melek and his country.
He gave command that we should receive the
courtesy due to ambassadors and be nourished at
the palace till our return.
" After we were dismissed, Ishma instructed us
in the laws and customs of the land, and warned us
in no way to violate them. He further informed
us that Kron, the king, is a beneficent ruler and
mindful of the good of his subjects ; but bade us
beware of Thalok, the high-priest of the Sun-Ser-
60 ATLA.
pent, a foul and cruel deity, worshipped by many
of the people. Though the laws were originally
well observed, through the machinations of this
wicked and powerful man, innovations have crept
in, abominable rites are practised, crime and ini-
quity are legalised under cover of the sacerdotal
office. These practices are abhorred by Ishma,
who worships the God of his father Shem.
" I had left the royal presence rejoicing at my
good fortune in finding a countryman and in being
permitted to see this unknown land. I hoped,
after examining its wonders and concluding a
treaty with the king, to bring our vessel speedily
homeward and lay much treasure at the feet of
my lord. But soon a soft languor crept over me,
a dreamy forgetfulness took possession of my soul.
I cared no longer to traffic or even observe the
strange sights around me. I went no more to the
harbour where my ship was lying, I had no memory
of friends or country, but I longed for the fruits
around me, and would abide in that land for ever.
None save my comrades observed this change,
until one day Ishma, the physician, came to me
with a message.
(( ( Oh, Dedan/ he said, ' I bring you good
THE LOTUS LAND. 61
tidings. Kron the Magnificent gives thee his
favour and grants an audience, for he is about to
return thee to thy country with gifts and tokens
for thy master/
<c But I answered vaguely : c Oh, my friend, what
words are these? Who is my master but King
Kron ? And what home have I save this island ? '
and I looked in his eyes wistfully, striving to
gather his meaning.
u Then was Ishma affrighted and said sharply :
c Hast thou taken aught for food beside the king's
portion ? '
" I answered : ' As my soul liveth, I have taken
nought save delectable fruit and the tender buds
of flowers that grow in the gardens of Kohl;
pleasant to the eye are they, and desirable for
food/
" Then said Ishma in dismay : ' Oh, rash and un-
fortunate one, did I not warn thee to beware of the
wiles of Thalok the priest? He is suspicious and
malign; he fears that the influence of foreigners
may in some manner conflict with his own, there-
fore he scruples not at desperate means to gain
control over them. He wills that thou shouldst die
in this land. Oh, Dedan, through his craftiness
62 , ATLA.
thou hast partaken of the flowers of forgetfulness
that grow in the valley of dreams, and of the fruit
that causeth all memory of friends to perish and
benumbs the heart so that it throbs with affection
no longer. I know not if it be too late for thy
restoration. Come quickly to my chamber; per-
chance remedies may yet avail/
" e God of my father Shem/ he devoutly
prayed, ' enlighten his mind ; let not this error be
fatal ! »
" I was devoid of will or purpose, and passively
followed the physician as he hurried me to an
inner chamber of the palace, where he had in store
diverse strange jars and bottles. From one of
these he dropped medicine into a cup and offered
it to me.
iC ' Nay, nay/ I said, ' I do not require thy re-
medies. My heart beats slowly and my head is
heavy, but indeed I am not ill/
"But Ishma in great anxiety urged me forcibly,
saying : * Take these drops, lie down upon my bed.
Thou must sleep, if so be God will grant thee
slumber. 3
11 So I swallowed the bitter draught and fell
heavily upon the couch ; but, although the place
THE LOTUS LAND. 63
was dark and noiseless, I did not sleep, and now
remembered with, stupid wonder that for many
days and'nights I had not sought my bed, but had
wandered through the gardens as in a dream.
"In this chamber I lay a long time like one
dead, only that mine eyes were unclosed ; my soul
longed for the accustomed food, but my limbs were
powerless to move and procure it.
u Ishma visited me constantly, dispensing simple
fare and repeating the bitter drops. At length
I passed into unconsciousness. I spoke not, I
roused not, I dreamed not. After many days, I
hungered, and with eyes still closed, thinking I was
at home and that my wife was near, I said : ' Zara,
my beloved, bring water, for I thirst, and bread,,
for verily I hunger/
" Then one spake my name, and looking up, I
saw Ishma standing by the bed. c Oh, Dedan/ he-
said, and the tears were in his eyes, ' God is
merciful ; thou hast spoken the name of thy wife \
memory has returned, thou art saved.' He had
mentioned my case to no one, and no doubt the
high-priest thought me more crafty than himself,
and that I had not been tempted by appetite.
"From that hour strength and reason were
64 ATLA.
restored. I came before the king, and through the
interpretation of Ishma answered many questions
concerning the kingdom of my lord Melek, of his
power and majesty, of his laws and people.
" After speaking of many matters, the king
said : ( Hath thy master a son ? ' I answered :
c Yea, my lord, he has one son only/ c Tell me of
his age and person and qualities/
" Then I gladly told him of the young Prince
Herekla now attaining manhood, in beauty and
wisdom excelling all others ; of his skill in manly
pursuits, and of his wonderful inventions. I
spoke also of the prophecies of his might and
power, in which he would exceed all who had
reigned before him, that he would live long and
prosper, for Mazzaroth the Potent is the star of
his nativity.
"After I ceased speaking, there was a long
silence. Then Kron earnestly addressed the
council, and although I understood not the lan-
guage of the country, I perceived that the wise
men were greatly moved, the countenance of
Thalok was darkened; he withstood the king
to his face, casting upon me an evil eye. I
THE LOTUS LAND. 65
trembled with fear, for had -I not already suffered
through his craftiness ?
" Finally the voice of the king prevailed,
quiet was restored, and I received this message :
" i Dedan, may the gods that rule the waves
prosper thy voyage, for thou must once more cross
the great deep, making all speed till thou come to
the kingdom of thy master, and carry to him this
our message :
"'Most noble and exalted King Melek, sove-
reign of the East, Kron, thy brother, sendeth
thee greeting. We have heard of thy splendour
and power, and the excellency of thy government,
and would make with thee a treaty of peace for
ever.
" ' As thy people are skilful seafarers and
cunning artificers, send thy ships with all manner
of stores to our land; they shall be returned to
thee in safety, laden with the products of our
kingdom ; this shall be greatly to the advancement
of both nations, for thus shall we rule the world —
thou in the East and I in the West. And that
the bonds of this treaty may be made sure and
perpetual, I do solemnly offer my daughter,
Astera, peerless iu mind as in beauty, to be given
66 ATLA.
in marriage to the Prince Herekla, thine illustrious
son.
"'As the life of man is brief and uncertain,
and the seas that divide us are wide and dangerous,
if this arrangement is pleasing in thine eyes, send
the young prince without delay, that he may be
united to his bride.
" c In token of my sincerity, I send, by the hand
of Dedan, gifts of the fruits of this land, and
especially a ring of transparent gold, wrought
with the royal insignia; this is for thy son,
whereby he may assuredly be known/
" I went out hastily, for the king's command-
ment was urgent; the sailors were speedily sum-
moned, and all prepared for our departure on the
morrow.
"But when night fell upon the earth and the
city was wrapped in slumber, I could not rest ; and
thinking my long unconsciousness in the chamber
of Ishma might be the cause, I went forth silently
upon the housetops to seek him, and to procure
some draught to cause sleep, for the labours of the
morrow would be excessive.
"As I came forth, I saw two men lurking
beneath the balcony of my window, which aroused
THE LOTUS LAND. 67
suspicion, none being permitted in the streets of
the city at that hour. So I proceeded cautiously
till I reached the chamber of Ishma, and informed
him of what I had seen.
u € It is the hand of Thalok ! ' he exclaimed ; ' I
know of what his subtlety is capable ; thou must
not sleep to-night, lest a worse evil befall thee/
" We then crept along silently till, reaching the
place where the men still lay, we heard these words
in whispers :
u * Mazzaroth is the star of his master's nativity,
say'st thou ? Then we must not do the deed while
it is in the sky, for it is brighter than the star of
our lord Thalok, and Mazzaroth hath an evil
eye/
" We glanced at the heavens ; lo ! the great
star trembled in the west. At this Ishma drew
me within his chamber. * Haste, haste/ he whis-
pered, ' men and cargo are all on board the ship ;
from this chamber there is a subterranean passage
to the quay. Depart this moment, drop noiselessly
down the canal ; thy life is not worth a handful of
sand after that star has set.'
"Oh, King Melek, what need to recount the
perils of our departure from the Lotus Land and
f 2
08 ATLA.
our homeward voyage ? I delayed not to perform,
the bidding of Ishma; the winds and waves were
propitious; thy servant is before thee to deliver
the gifts and message of the ruler of the West,
and to receive thy gracious commands."
Then said Melek : " Dedan, by the favour
of Baal the mighty, thou hast more than repaired
the losses of thy former voyage; thou shalt receive
a bountiful reward in treasure, and from hence-
forth be called Chief Captain of the ships of
Tyre.
" And as by the gift of the god Herekles,
bestowed upon my son, thou wert enabled to pass
through the confluent waters of two raging seas,
I do now solemnly decree, that while Phoenicia
rules the waves, those dangerous straits shall, in
his honour, be called The Gates of Herekles."
With that the young prince arose and saluted
Dedan : " Most valiant chief," he cried, " thou art
worthy of all honour and gratitude; thou hast
proved the merits of the cup of Herekles. An-
other and better ship shall be built, and together
we will visit the wonderful country thou hast dis-
covered."
" Say not so, my son," the king interposed.
THE LOTUS LAND. 69
greatly alarmed ; " there is danger ; the stars give
a warning. For two years thou must remain at
home."
"Do not deny me," the youth replied, while
his eyes flashed with a new fire. " I must visit
Atlantis; it is the decree of Pate."
XI.
THE FEAST OF BAAL.
" Then all was still — the drums and clarions ceased,
Only the roaring of the flames was heard."
It was morning of the vernal equinox; Magi
and astrologer predicted that during the day the
Lady Ashtoreth would throw herself into the
arms of the god Baal. In modern parlance, a
transit of the planet Venus was imminent. This
rare event was considered among star- worshipping
nations so auspicious in affairs pf love and mar-
riage, that the king and council yielded to the
wishes of the prince, and his departure for the
kingdom of Atlantis was fixed for an early day.
The expectant city was astir before dawn, and
when the beautiful morning star peeped over the
hills, and the pursuing sun majestically followed,
flooding the world in glory, ten thousand voices
THE FEAST OF BAAL. 71
shouted a welcome : " All hail, Ashtoreth and
Baal ! Givers of life and fortune, hail ! "
As the level rays streamed through the portal
of the temple and rolled along the marble floor,
the enclosing curtains were withdrawn, unveiling
the images of the god and goddess, bathed in rosy
light and seated in a gilded car. The ready priests
seized the silken traces, the idols were drawn to
the grove and placed before an altar, amid the
shouts of the multitude and the roll of drums.
King and courtier walked behind the chariot,
followed by an immense crowd, who swarmed
through the groves and clustered on the high
places.
Herds of oxen and flocks of sheep, with doves
and swans, mournfully ascended the hill, made the
circuit of the idols, were forced shrinking between,
two columns of fire, and fell before the pitiless
knives of sacrifice. The blood was sprinkled over
the crowd and the bodies were thrown upon the
altar. Over these combustibles were heaped, and
the whole pyre was saturated with inflammable oil,
which ran down and filled an encircling trench.
Then while the assembly stood hushed with
awe, King Melek, by means of a burning glass,
72 ATLA.
brought down fire from the sun, the river of naph-
tha ignited, flames leaped upon the altar, devoured
the sacrifice, and streamed up to heaven in dense
volumes of smoke.
At this moment priest and people beat their
breasts, gashed themselves with knives and
shouted frantically : " Great Baal, hear us ! "
But there were two in that vast assembly who
bowed not the knee to Baal, nor called upon the
name of the god : Herekla, the prince, who stood
calmly observing the awful rites ; and near by, in
a curtained booth, a maiden, who at the moment
when Ashtoreth was to throw herself in the arms
of the sun-god, would be offered in sacrifice, and,
more dreadful still, become a portion of the mid-
night feast.
Herekla's eye, sweeping the scene, rested upon
the despairing features of this beautiful girl. A
captive on an alien shore, no friend or sympathizer
near ; young and full of life, with possibilities of a
long and happy future — in a few hours— The
horror of her fate rose before his imagination; a
quick resolve was taken. She should not die to
insure his good fortune ; the thought was intoler-
able.
THE FEAST OF BAAL. 73
When the morning rites were over, and all had
retired for the midday siesta, he sought the pre-
sence of his father and begged that the life of the
captive be spared for his sake.' The king listened
in surprise. Was the heart of his son stirred by
compassion only, or had softer sentiments at last
found place in that impassive soul ? Might this
not be the first link of a chain that would fetter
the ambition of the prince till the dangerous crisis
was over? Melek pondered, and promised to
consult the Magi.
XII.
IONA THE CAPTIVE.
11 Now diamond drops bedew the lea
And whitest blossoms veil the tree,
And bluest waves dance on the sea.'
The appeal of Herekla was successful.
As the sun lingered on the Western horizon,
and a small dark spot slowly crossed its disk, the
usual rites were performed in the temple. Cakes
of flour and honey were offered to the Queen of
Heaven, but no human sacrifice defiled the altar
of Ashtoreth.
And now throughout the city were heard the
sounds of revelry. Feasting and drinking, dance
and song, soon degenerated into gross debauchery,
for morality was no part of the worship of Baal.
At midnight Herekla left the distasteful scene.
As he passed through the court Medoc, the cham-
berlain, followed and saluted him.
IONA TEE CAPTIVE. 75
"Dear master/' lie said, "be persuaded; go to
the temple of Eryx, there thou wilt meet Ash-
toreth."
"Nay," said the prince, gravely, "the temple
of Eryx I will not enter, but walking in Eden, I
may discover Chavah."
The chamberlain, who acted upon the king's
suggestion, bowed and departed;
Wise Herekla ! didst thou, by the intuition of a
pure soul, thus early distinguish good from evil?
Or hadst thou read in ancient legend that when
God bestowed upon Adam his helpmate Chavah,
a woman pure and fair, the devil placed in his
path Ardat Lilith, a witch, beautiful to behold,
yet foul and wicked; mother of the sorceress
brood, who from that time forward by their en-
ticements have been the curse and opprobrium
of humanity, whose syren shores are strewn with
wrecks of glorious manhood, health, reputation,
fortune, soul !
The noise and glare of the banquet hall grew
indistinct as Herekla passed through the walks of
the inner court, and sought the garden tower,
where he was to sleep. He went to the observa-
tory and consulted once more his maritime charts
76 ATLA.
and the stars of heaven. Returning, he paused
for a moment in the trellis walk that led to his
chamber to contemplate the beauty of the night.
The soft wind swaying the fountain, the perfume
of flowers, the unclouded sky, the silent shadows
lying on the turf, the distant sounds of revelry,
with thought of his departure from the home he
loved, all conspired to soften his feelings. At
such illusive moments, stern duty is wont to relax
her grasp and the heart yield to tender emotion.
A low sigh is heard, the echo of his own; he
turns, and near him stands the captive maid. She
is unlike the daughters of the land. Her fair
pale face is irradiated by the moonbeams, her blue
eyes are upturned to heaven, the waving tresses
of her well-poised head are gathered into a heavy
knot and bound by a fillet of gold, her white robe
is girdled by a band of the same precious metal,
her unsleeved arms circled by jewelled bracelets,
her bosom heaves with sighs.
Herekla was startled and confused.
" Who art thou ? " he demanded, recovering
himself.
4i I am called Iona in my native land."
" Whence earnest thou ? "
IONA TEE CAPTIVE. 77
" From Helles, a captive in thy father's ship."
" Why art thou in this place, at this hour ? "
The fair head drooped, a flush suffused her fea-
tures; she shivered and replied: "Thou hast
saved my life; I am here by thy father's command,
and I am a slave."
Herekla paused ; his quick apprehension solved
the mystery — this plot of his father's and the
priests. By some newly awakened interest, by
some love entanglement, they would delay his de-
parture.
Presently he spoke: "Iona, hast thou a
mother ? "
"My mother mourns my absence in her Pelas-
gian home."
" Hast thou a lover ? "
" The noble Diomede is my lover, and is beloved
by me."
" Wouldst thou see them again ? "
11 Oh, my lord ! " cried the captive, while tears
sprang to her eyes.
Herekla called his trusty servant.
" Orziba, take thou this signet, accompany the
maiden to the harbour, where lie many ships at
anchor. Seek the master of the Sea Bird, which
78 ATLA.
sails at dawn for the land of the Pelasgi. Tell
him that Herekla, its owner, wills that he convey
this maiden to her home in Helles, and that he
show her due honour and courtesy."
Iona would have knelt to thank her deliverer,
but he prevented her, saying : " Spare me, fair
captive. May thy voyage be speedy and pros-
perous ! "
XIII.
SAILED.
" The eastern sky grows bleak and cold,
The day is nearly done,
My ship rocks in a path of gold
Mapped by the setting sun."
The equinoctial storms were over, the feather
was propitious,- artifice could not entangle the
young prince or change his determination to visit
the newly-discovered country, and King Melek
reluctantly consented to his departure. The ships
designed for the voyage had been built under his
supervision. No fairer vessels had ever ploughed
the waters of Cham, and the heart of Herekla
swelled with pride as he contemplated the result
of his careful study of marine architecture.
The ship appropriated to his especial use was
built of the famous Cyprian wood, and named by
his father The Sun, in honour of Baal. Its consort,
80 ATLA.
designed for the bride, in which to transport the
retinue and treasure, was called The Moon, in
honour of the goddess that rules the waves.
The methods of the journey had been wisely
ordered. Chilmad, a merchant of vast experience,
had care of the lading and stores. Wares and pro-
ducts of all the nations of the East were collected
as a present for King Kron. These were silks,
carpets and muslins, amber, myrrh, cinnamon and
cassia, incense and almug trees, chefit wood and
ebony, glass of opalescent hue, balsams, and
leopard skins. For the bride, there were robes,
ornaments of precious metal, ivory and bronze,
gems, instruments of music, girdles, mantles, and
mirrors. Dedan and Karmos were appointed cap-
tains, Kadmon the Pundit and Madai the Persian
were the chosen companions and councillors of the
young voyager.
The vessels were to go out with the tide, and
the entire population of the city thronged the
shore and crowded the quays to witness the em-
barkation.
After receiving the parting embrace of his
father and mother, the iron chain that barred the
entrance to the harbour was dropped, and Herekla
SAILED. 81
stepped upon the deck of The Sun. His superb
form was draped in robes of Tyrian dye richly
embroidered with the insignia of his rank, the
fillet and cap of an Eastern prince crowned the
shapely head and proud features, and when he
threw off the cable that linked the vessel to the
shore, and waved his farewell, the universal shout,
" Long live the prince ! " was no empty adula-
tion.
As the rustling sails responded to the breeze,
and the keel of the ship dashed the blue waters
into foam, the heart of Herekla sang :
"Farewell, farewell, dear friends and home be-
loved ! Farewell, ye steeds of Joktan ! incompar-
able in speed and beauty; none shall draw rein
over your necks till I return. The winds whisper,
the waves murmur, c On and beyond are the paths
of glory. Mighty is he who conquers the sea.' I
go to the land where the sun finds rest, I follow
the track of the sailing stars. There the Queen
of the Sunset, the Star of the Evening, is waiting
for me."
xir.
AT THE GATES.
"like the stars, unhasting, unresting ."
" Be of good heart — we cannot fly
The dangers of the place,
But we can conquer them."
The voyagers sped prosperously, for by the aid
of chart and compass these enterprising sons of
Cush had acquired the art of night sailing. After
touching at the colonial islands, in the sea of
Cham, they followed the track of Dedan's voyage,
passed the Gates of Herekles in safety, and skirt-
ing the outer shore northward, came to a fine
harbour and promontory named Gades, where they
rested three days before encountering the perils of
the exterior ocean, named by the sailors the Sea
Muhit.
On the evening previous to the day of their de-
AT THE GATES. 83
parture, the two sages stood together upon the
sandy beach, while the young prince climbed the
rocks on the shore. Suddenly the eyes of
Kadmon became fixed upon the distant horizon,
as if trying to pierce the overhanging mist.
Madai addressed him, but he made no answer, and
seemed absorbed in troubled thought or vision.
At length he turned abruptly and said :
" Dear brother, thou must again cast the horo-
scope of the prince. I cannot trust myself at this
moment. Thou knowest the day and hour of his
birth."
The night was fair, the stars were brilliant.
Madai at once took observations, and applied him-
self to chart and formula, placed the result before
his associate, after which they sought Herekla in
great alarm.
u Dear master," said Madai, " the aspect of the
heavenly bodies is portentous ; their position is
changing rapidly, and the combinations are malific
almost without precedent. Oar lords, Adar, Mero-
dach, and Nergal, are conjoined in the eighth
house, and in the constellation Cancer. The moon
is on the cusp ; Adar the Malignant rules for the
next month, retrograding to the fourth house in
84 ATLA.
the constellations of the Twins. The moon in
setting is afflicted by Nergal and Adar. This
presages great disaster, earthquakes, floods, and
violent death. ,, He paused a moment, and then
continued : " But before the Lady of Night shall
have twice waxed and waned, she will separate
from the square of Nergal and enter the trine of
Ashtoreth, who will hang in the cusp. This sig-
nifies good fortune."
" Let us not hesitate/' said Herekla, "if the end
be favourable."
" This much for moon and planets," Madai re-
plied. " But what means the voice of the eternal
stars? For during an eclipse of the sun, which
we perceive is about to take place, thy star, Maz-
zaroth, will blaze forth at midday in the western
heavens ; and even now a new star, strange and
fearful, faintly glows in the northern sky."
While he was yet speaking, a shower of me-
teors flashed from the western heavens and fell
into the sea. The Persian, greatly agitated,
paced the sandy shore where the three had been
standing.
Kadmon now addressed the prince :
" No doubt the crisis of thy Pate is near ; that
AT THE GATES. 85
which I presaged while we were yet in Cacara,
that which so alarmed thy royal parents. The
stars have an evil aspect, the meaning is dubious,
the result is a secret of the Future. Will it not
be wise to put about the ship and return to the
nearest colony, or linger in this place until the
danger be past? Can we otherwise justify our-
selves to thy father?"
Herekla pondered long and made answer : " No
man can escape from Fate ; a brave spirit will con-
quer Destiny. Like the stars, I must go forward,
though the heavens fall ! "
The wings of night overshadowed the sea, the
distant horizon grew dim, sky and water faded
to indistinguishable gloom. The friends sat in
thoughtful silence; each felt that startling events
and an uncertain future were before them. This
hour might be the last for that interchange of
thought and sentiment, which had so long been
their bond of friendship. As the darkness in-
creased, a shadow fell upon the soul of Kadmon,
and he spoke mournfully: "Thou hast the un-
daunted courage and resolution of youth, my
Herekla, but with age and study come doubt and
caution, yet thou shalt have thy will, dear prince,
86 ATLA. \
for whether we go on, or return, the end is one.
I have pondered long upon the mystery of human
existence, the mission and destiny of man. I have
found that all of earth is illusion — and the end,
absorption into the One all-pervading Force."
The others made no answer, hoping that the
Arhat would continue a subject they had often
discussed, and in which they were greatly in-
terested.
Presently the sage resumed : u We wake to con-
sciousness, we know not from what; our wonder-
ing eyes behold the sky, the earth, the faces of
kindred ; our ears are entranced by loving voices,
music, and stir of the elements; we inhale per-
fumed air, we taste food and are satisfied, we bask
in sunshine; soft languor overpowers us, we sleep
and are refreshed. We love — a double sense
awakes the soul to richer life. Oh, happy world,
thy name is Paradise !
" A discord enters — the sun scorches, the winds
chill, harsh words and sorrowful wailings distract
the ear. The fruits of Eden turn to ashes on the
lip, sleep forsakes us, pain racks the body, fear
torments the soul; we fight to retain our flitting
happiness, in vain. And now stalk in vague,
AT THE GATES, . 87
shadowy forms, which take shape before our un-
willing eyes, Injustice, Treachery, Error, and Sin :
under their noxious blight, Faith, Hope, and
Youth soon die, and Love worn out by Disen-
chantment or Satiety, falls in a mortal swoon.
"Another spectre now confronts us, dulls the
sense, saps the strength, palsies the frame, steals
the weapons of defence, and Old Age or Accident
delivers us over to inexorable Death.
" evil, miserable world ! thy name is Hell.
" We know that we entered this present exist-
ence, but whence ?
" That we have sinned and suffered, but why ?
" That we must go hence, but whither ?
"The body thrilling with pleasure or tortured by
pain, the heart bounding with joy or sinking in
despair, the brain devising good or evil, these we
know will moulder to dust. But the animating
principle, Atma, the spirit, what is its condition ?
" Paradise for Youth — Hell for Manhood —
Death for Age, and then ? "
He paused, and Madai taking his hand gently,
spake thus :
"Dear brother, this is to thee an hour of dark-
ness; some phantom overpowers thee; the shadow
88 ATLA.
will soon pass, and thy soul again be illuminated.
O Kadmon, thou who hast initiated us into the
Mysteries of the Ages, who hast trained eye and
ear to perceive occult wisdom* and hast calmly
looked in the face of Danger and Death ; and thou
beloved Herekla, whose feet even now press the
threshold of Paradise, look upward to the vault of
night, where the eternal fires tremble and flare in
the all-pervading breath. Listen to the rushing
wind, the surging sea. The flowing stream, the
flitting cloud, the flame that quivers and reaches
toward the sun, the rustling leaf, the crepitating
insect, each sound and motion of nature whisper
to man, ' Life, life, unending life ! *
" Shall the tree mourn because it must sleep
through the wintry night ? Foolish one ! thy
strength and beauty will be greater in the spring-
time.
" Shall the worm tremble as it weaves its
shroud? Fear not, poor, creeping thing! thou
shalt yet sip nectar and soar to the clouds.
" Activity and repose succeed each other in one
eternal round. Wouldst thou, O man, remain
the same for 'ever ? Nay, nay ! Stagnation is
death, progress is life.
AT THE GATES. 89
"Joy for youth, wisdom for manhood, and
change to higher life for age. All this is — or may
be — transformation for the body, transmigration
for the soul.
" By all the analogies of nature, by the yearn-
ing of the human heart, by the divine intuitions of
enlightened men, we must believe that body and
spirit, atoms and force, are facts and principles
eternal"
Again there was a pause, after which Herekla
spoke.
" Oh, my friends, I will now relate an expe-
rience which I have hitherto regarded as too sacred
for utterance.
" One evening my glorious steeds carried me
into the mountains of Lebanon, and being wrapped
in thought, I heeded not their flight, till I was borne
far into the heart of the range. Return was im-
possible, for darkness had settled upon the un-
familiar paths. I gave the horses mountain grass
and water from the rills, and when they were
satisfied I laid me down fasting under the shadow
of a rock, repeating the formula of a chela, but
sleep came not to my eyelids. In the solemn
stillness of the night the interests that had so
90 ATLA.
absorbed my life in the valley below faded like a
dream.
"From the snowy peaks of Lebanon my eyes
swept upward to the climbing stars, onward
through the band of quivering light that encircles
the worlds. Then saw I the architecture of the
heavens, the order of the universe. My eyes
grew strong to penetrate, till suddenly, low in the
southern sky, beyond the starry cross, where azure
melts to blackness, a vision met my sight which
scarce can be described by words of mortal
man.
" I saw upon vanishing folding scrolls the im-
press of character, the record of the lives of men ;
slowly paling or deeply glowing in awful obscurity
were hideous naked forms, distorted shapes, lean,
shrunken outlines, malignant faces, and blood-
dabbled hands. "
The Arhats exchanged glances as Herekla
continued :
" Shrieking with terror, I would have turned
away, but some irresistible power held every sense.
I gazed yet more intently, and far beyond this
place of horror, beyond the ocean of ether, I dis-
covered, as it were, luminous shadows floating in
AT THE GATES. 91
an atmosphere of glory, souls perfect in bliss as in
beauty, whose features were radiant by reason of
love and purity.
"Then I wept with joy, and thanked the
Maker and Disposer of events ; and when I looked
again I saw nought but soft clouds rising over the
sea and the stars growing dim in the light of early
dawn."
There was deep silence after Herekla paused,
till Kadmon spoke : " Blessed art thou, Herekla.
Thou art Buddha, enlightened, thou hast sought and
found knowledge ; to the pure only is such truth
revealed.
"Thou hast entered Devachan and Avitchi,
where the soul reaps the harvest of its human
life. Thine eyes have looked upon the World of
Effects, upon the scroll where, by his own acts, the
record of man is made."
" favoured seer," said Madai, with awe,
" were the forms individual in the dreadful shades
of Duyhak?"
" They were," the young man replied. a I
saw — I remember — I shudder. Spare me, my
friends."
Presently he continued : " But among the
92 ATLA.
luminous names in upper glory I knew the forms
of Madai and Kadmon; I saw my own shadow,
and — another walked by my side.
"0 friends, the spirit of man transcends the
glory of the stars; these turn not affrighted
though heaven trembles and earth quakes ; and
shall we fear ? Nay, though the elements rage,
though the sea devour and death shall swallow us,
we will go forward and fulfil our destiny."
Night was far advanced, yet the three friends
thought not of retiring. No other word was
spoken; motionless and silent they watched the
great surges rolling in from the outer sea, and
listened to the roar as they dashed against the
beach. Soothed by the monotony, overpowered
by the immensity, they rested in the realm of
thought till dawn ushered in the day of their
departure from the land of Gades.
XV.
THE EDEN OF THE WEST.
" The island rested on the glass
Of breathless dreamy waters."
" There breathed a fragrance from the shore
Of flowers yet fresh with childhood. ,,
The skill and experience acquired by Dedan during
his voyage of discovery, now proved of incalculable
advantage.
Despite some stormy weather, in seventy days
after leaving the port of Cacara the white peaks
of the volcanoes appeared on the western horizon,
and in a few hours the vessels were safely moored
in the outer harbour of Pirhua.
The pilot recognised Dedan and his sailors.
The Phoenician ships, which had been anxiously
expected, were immediately convoyed through the
Seagate and drawbridge, up the grand canal, to
the foot of the city of Atlan.
94 ATLA.
Great is the expectation of the prince and his
attendants; the magnificence of Atlantean civili-
sation fills them with astonishment. The immense
monoliths that face the walls of the canals and
form the quays, docks, and storehouses, the mar-
vellous skill by which strength and elegance are
united, surpass anything known in the Eastern
world. Kadmon declares the structures more
wonderful than the rock temples and subterra-
nean cities of Hindustan.
The order and quiet of the crowded thorough-
fares are novel and surprising. By means of dials
conspicuous in every district, all the business of
the city is perfectly systematised ; at fixed hours
food is taken, sleep is sought, labour begins or ends.
No carriage or foot passenger going toward the
centre of the island is ever seen on the left ; none
going from the centre on the right; none may
cross the streets except on elevated bridges. The
same right of way prevails on the canals; and
thus, in the midst of a crowd, accident is avoided •
and order maintained. Over the smooth, clean
pavements, horses prance and chariots rumble
without dust or noise.
The climate and, verdure are a perpetual sur-
THE EDEN OF THE WEST. 95
prise to the dwellers of the arid East. In the
bland, moist air, vegetation flourishes continuously,
trees of gigantic proportions wave signals to the
stars, ambitious vines covered with bloom aspire
to their topmost boughs. No unclad earth or
barren sand offend the eye, the turf is an emerald
carpet, clusters of flowers relieve the deep green
of the hedges, zephyrs bear to the delighted sense
health-giving perfume.
In this thornless Eden, fruits such as have never
since satisfied the desire of man, ripened in peren-
nial harvest; the use of flesh as food was almost
unknown, and perfect health prevailed.
The voyagers were welcomed at the landing by
Court officials and a band of soldiers. Ishma, over-
joyed to behold once more Oriental faces and
costumes, embraced them with tears, for he at
once recognised by their language and other secret
signs the presence of advanced sages. He initiated
them in the etiquette of the Atlantean Court,
and in the king's name presented the prince with
a signet which conferred the liberty of the island.
The guests were then escorted to the royal residence,
the Palace of Hesper, and left undisturbed for
a day to recover from the fatigues of the voyage.
96 ATLA.
The north-western wing of the quadrangle near
the apartments of Ishma was appropriated to their
use. The chamber of the prince was a marvel of
beauty and luxury.
The flat ceilings and walls of Phoenician palaces
were of glass, enwrought with mosaic of diverse
colours; here was a rotunda hung with gorgeous
tapestries, surmounted by a dome of transparent
blue, embossed with silver stars. The furniture
was of ivory overrun in designs of green and
gold.
" A murmuring stream flowed at the base of the
outer wall, and upon the terraced bank rose lofty
evergreens, whose tops, caressing the clouds, were
at once a protection from the heat and a screen of
living verdure through which the [white peaks of
the volcanoes were visible.
To the west was seen fair Ziclan and its Float-
ing Garden ; on the sky-tinted bosom of the lake
boats of fantastic shape lay motionless, or dreamily
swung between earth and heaven.
After refreshments and a bath, the prince
sought the cool shade of his chamber, and, over-
come by the fatigue of the voyage and excitement
of arrival, rested through the midday hours.
TEE EDEN OF THE WEST. 97
The silence of a tropical noonday fell upon the
air ; bird and beast were taking their siesta ; the
cicada's grating wings were still ; a fitful breeze
wafted to the tired sense perfume of flower and
drowsy hum of bee ; all the surroundings breathed
of unbroken peace and tranquillity. The apart-
ment was noiseless but for the monotonous drip
of a fountain in the centre of the marble floor, the
colours were soothing, the half shadows grateful to
the eye, the atmosphere slumberous, and Herekla,
while yielding to these influences, remembered the
spell that enchanted Dedan, and wondered if this
were not indeed the realm of calm forgetfulness,
the Lotus Land, where care and toil being over,
the shadows point always to the Bast, even the
Land of the Afternoon.
Alas, how dull is human prevision,
A hush often portends the tempest !
XVI.
THALOK
" In the cup of sin he would dissolve thee.
Thou most precious pearl — then drink thee up."
Conspicuous among the high officials who re-
ceived the Phoenician ambassadors at the landing
was Thalok, the high-priest. This notable man was
tall and handsome, but of haughty mien; before
his bold, flashing eyes the most daring glance
would falter. His manner and aspect indicated a
cool brain, a colder heart, hot passions, and in-
domitable will. His motive in this act of conde-
scension was purely selfish ; he would know at the
ealiest possible moment the character and temper
of the new element about to be introduced into
the political complications at the Court of King
Kron.
The guests having been escorted to the palace,
THALOK 99
Thalok retired to the privacy of his chamber and
gave himself to profound meditation.
"The Phoenicians have arrived," he mused.
"In the present state of affairs, possibly this is
well ; they must be made subservient to my pur-
pose. Yet they look not like men easily duped;
their eyes pierce below the surface ; they will re-
quire delicate management.
" The prince is physically magnificent ; he has
intellect, courage, and will to supplement his
strength — that is evident from his lofty carriage
and fearless eye. I doubt the expression of his
face — it has honour's impress ; the mouth is tender,
the smile is sweet — not one dark line ; a face and
form to please a woman. Would I could look like
this foreigner and be — what I am. I were then
more sure of success in certain quarters. Atla's
doubtful sentiments are my most formidable ob-
stacle. Unlike other women, she is strong and
brave; the man who wins her adds to his own
power. Can I bend her to my will?
"This suspense is unendurable. I will know
her mind at once — before she sees the prince.
Some insane fancy may Thalok, that was
a boyish jealousy ! Herekla is the betrothed of As-
100 ATLA.
tera, and Atla is the soul of honour — a good quality
in a woman. But possibly she may desire to ac-
company her friend to Tyrhena. That must not be
permitted — I must obtain her promise to remain
in Atlantis. If her faith be plighted, I am sure.
" But Atla avoids and even repels me ; I can-
not penetrate the environment of her lofty soul.
How shall I get speech with her ? By what means
gain her favour?
" All women are pleased with finery and devo-
tion ; I have both to offer. Surely in this she will
not belie her sex."
He went to a cabinet and took therefrom various
superb articles of luxury, and, after rejecting
many, laid aside an ivory casket containing a coro-
net of diamonds and sapphires ; a royal mantle,
embroidered in gold and lined with ermine; a
silken carpet, representing a garden and fountain
of gems ; and, lastly, a lyre of extraordinary beauty
and sweetness of tone.
These works of art were priceless in value, and,
after viewing them complacently, he called his page.
" Zilba," he said, " I am about to honour thee
with a confidence. Which of these gifts thinkest
thou will best please a fair lady ? "
TEALOK. 101
The page, a youth of remarkable grace and
beauty, whose peculiarly lustrous and restless eyes
had given him the name, " Zilba of the Glittering
Eye/' carefully scrutinised each fair treasure ; his
face flushed and his breath came fast, but he made
no answer.
Thalok was gratified by this evident apprecia-
tion ; but, becoming impatient of delay, commanded
him to speak.
Zilba bowed low, and, with eyes averted, said :
<c Which of these gifts, says my lord, .will best
please a fair lady ? If she be ambitious, the
crown ; if vain, the mantle ; if luxurious, the car-
pet; if spiritual, the harp — but, if she loves thee,
one kiss of thine outweighs them all."
Thalok was startled; he had never given his
page credit for so much penetration, or such deli-
cate sentiment. Could Zilba have had experience
in love affairs? Impossible; and yet he had
observed the boy often linger near Zarah, the Lady
AtWs maid.
This feeling of surprise gradually merged itself
into a displeased consciousness that in some way
he had compromised himself, and, turning to Zilba,
he said, coldly : " Fold these baubles, present
102 ATLA.
them to the Lady Atla, and with Thalok's love and
duty, humbly beg her acceptance.
" She is now alone on the north balcony of the
pavilion in the Garden of Palms. There is a
secret door in the basement of the conservatory —
know it by the colour of this key. The passage
beyond leads to the corridor of her apartments.
Swing the picture that covers the door outward,
and make it fast again. Address the lady with all
due worship ; deliver the message ; mark well her
words and manner ; then return by the open way,
and, if thou lovest life, prate not with any one.
Hasten, for the day declines."
Zilba went out as directed ; but soon returned,
bringing back the treasures. Thalok's eyes flashed;
he raised his hand, as if about to give the mes-
senger a blow, but checked himself, saying :
" How is it my gifts are not delivered ? "
"I humbly offered them, and they were
rejected."
" Eejected ? In what manner ? M
" The manner of Princess Atla was gentle but
firm."
" What said she ? "
THALOK 103
11 ' Give my duty to Lord Thalok, and say that
royal gifts do not befit an untitled maiden/ w
a Said she aught else ? "
" I ventured to urge that she had higher claims
to royal gifts, and even queenship, than any mere
title could bestow."
"Boy, thou wert bold. But what answer did
the lady give ? "
" She answered so coldly that I shivered. Her
words were these: ( Return the gifts to their
owner; they are not for me. Take this for thy
trouble, poor boy/ giving me a piece of gold. My
lord, the lady is not ambitious, nor vain, nor yet
luxurious. She may be spiritual ; she is certainly
cold. No colour suffused her cheek, no sparkle
flashed from her eye. Perchance a kiss might
warm this frozen statue."
Thalok regarded his page curiously. What did
this keen interest, this subtle discrimination imply?
Had Zilba dared to love the peerless Atla? He
gave a penetrating glance, but seeing nought save
conscious innocence, he briefly dismissed the boy,
and arraying himself in his most magnificent robes,
went out alone.
XVII.
ATLA.
" She rose up in the silent night,
She made her dagger sharp and bright."
Atla remained in the balcony where the page
of Prince Thalok left her, absorbed in unquiet
thought. The warm light of the setting sun
lingered among her golden tresses, and irradiated
her lovely face and figure with more than mortal
beauty. Yet her features wore a troubled expres-
sion, for the event that had just taken place in-
creased a feeling of isolation and danger, by which
at times she was greatly oppressed. Her position
at the Court of King Kron was anomalous ; she,
a waif from the broad stream of human life,
stranded upon an alien shore, holding place only
by sufferance. Ishma, her father by adoption,
was also a foreigner, and without influence, except
through royal favour, proverbially uncertain.
ATLA. 105
Several of the young nobles of Atlantis had
offered her honourable marriage, but even before
an answer could be given, each suitor, by some
mysterious fatality, died or disappeared.
She had observed with increasing repugnance
and distrust, the admiring glances and covert
flatteries of the high-priest, attentions she intui-
tively dreaded, but which, till this hour, she had
successfully ignored.
Now they had assumed a definite, obtrusive
form, and had been rejected.
What would be the consequence of this grave
offence ? To whom could she appeal for protec-
tion ? To no one. Her defence must be from
within, she must fight out this battle alone ;
courage and firmness were her only weapons.
Her only weapons? Nay, the dagger at her
girdle, by some undefined intuition, had been made
sharp and bright ; her northern hand was strong,
her nerves unflinching, but violence must be the
last resort of desperation. Oh, that some super-
human power would bestow its aid !
As the half-formed prayer faltered upon her
lips, a step within the chamber roused her. She
started, and her face flushed crimson as she recog-
106 ATLA.
nised the intruder. She would have withdrawn,
but Thalok, standing in the entrance of the balcony,
barred the way.
After an instant of confusion, she said, for-
mally :
"My lord, to what strange chance am I indebted
for this unannounced visit ? "
"Atla," he said, in a voice trembling with
passion, " I will answer the question plainly. I am
drawn hither by an irresistible attraction. I am
no longer master of my heart, scarcely of my
actions. I cannot live without thy love. Thou
art now, and must remain for ever, in the empire of
my affection, a throned queen."
Atla was greatly alarmed by this outburst of
passion. A cry would no doubt bring speedy
assistance, but embarrassing questions and explana-
tions must necessarily follow, distressing to herself
and exasperating to Thalok. She therefore deter-
mined to temporise, hoping that some person would
appear, or something happen for her relief.
She assumed a careless manner, and with slight
irony replied :
" My lord, I know nothing of love, and am still
too young to think of marriage. I beg you will
ATLA. 107
press me no further upon a subject so extremely
distasteful. Coming years may bring a change of
feeling ; at present it is worse than useless to urge
this matter."
"But I cannot wait these years, uncertain of
the change they may bring. Reflect, dear Atla.
A maiden, young, beautiful, nameless, and alone,
with no protector or friend, is exposed to a thousand
perils. With me thou art safe, honoured, titled*
unassailable. The splendour and power of the
whole earth will be laid at thy feet, and with them
the doting adoration of Thalok." Extending his
hand, he added : " Dearest Atla, give me the token
of acceptance.' '
Atla, with frigid formality, made answer :
" Thou wouldst not prize my hand without my
heart, and that I cannot give. My fancy is no
more within control than is thine own, my lord.
I have no love for thee; nor yet for any man."
u Thou'rt fair as the snows of Noraghi, and as
cold ; but my fervour, like its fires, will melt thy
heart of ice."
"My lord, when snows are warmed they are
snows no longer. Prince Thalok would soon tire
of tepid water."
108 ATLA.
" Atla," he said, firmly, " do not trifle ; I am in
no jesting mood. There is not a high-born lady in
Atlantis but would kneel to gain my favour."
"All the world knows thy boast is not idle;
therefore, my lord, I pray thee waste not thine
affection on one so humble ; bestow thy gifts and
thy devotion on the ladies of the Court ; there wilt
thou find a better mate than I." Then, fearing she
had spoken rashly, she added : " Spare me for the
present, my lord, I will counsel with the king and
Ishma."
The countenance of Thalok darkened; his ex-
pression was terrible, his manner changed.
"Foolish child/' he cried, harshly, "wouldst
thou throw thyself on the protection of the king ?
Know, then, that there is no power in Atlantis
greater than that of the high-priest. Neither man
nor woman dare dispute my will, or brave my
wrath. Thy weak caprice will not avail. Impassive
maid, thy will must bend to mine."
Having previously dealt with spirits inferior to
his own, Thalok miscalculated the strength of the
slight girl now before him.
Atla's face blanched for an instant, but not
through fear ; then the transmitted blood of
ATLA. 109
generations of heroes rushed like fire along her
veins, mounted to her cheek, and strung her nerves
with steel. She bounded to her feet and confronted
Thalok. She spoke; every word fell with clear,
ringing emphasis.
" My lord, thy threats intimidate less than thy
blandishments allure. With princely courtesy thou
dost remind me that I am friendless, nameless,
alone. ; Tis true, my origin is involved in obscurity,
my country and my people are unknown, but of one
thing let Lord Thalok be assured — no drop of
coward blood runs in my veins. I am not defence-
less, as thou may'st prove to thy hurt. I shall not
bend to thy will; if forced beyond endurance I
shall take my own life " — then sinking her voice to
an impressive whisper, "or mayhap I shall take
thine/ 7
She stood erect, defiant, self-sustained ; her blue
eyes gleamed cold and dangerous as a dagger's
blade ; her right hand clenched the silver ornament
suspended at her girdle.
There was an inflexible determination in her
whole bearing that could not be disregarded, and
would not be trifled with.
For the first time in his life of desperate intrigue
110 ATLA.
the sovereign priest met a spirit more resolute and
daring than his own, for the first time he encountered
the majesty of indignant virtue ; his meretricious
lance was shattered, even before it touched the
heaven-forged armour of pure womanhood.
Thalok owned himself baffled, defeated; and,
bowing low, he retired.
xvm.
WHISPERS IN THE WIND.
As the form of her unwelcome guest disap-
peared through the outer gate, Atla left the bal-
cony and walked rapidly to a shadowy recess in
the garden, where a great fountain sent up its
ghostly spray. Here she reviewed the hazardous
struggle which had just taken place, and strove to
calm her perturbed spirit. In vain did she strive
to maintain that tranquillity which Ishma had
assiduously taught her to cultivate, and which had
become the habit of her life ; in vain did she re-
peat the forms of prayer.
Atla was an improvisatrice, and found expres-
sion for her deepest emotion in song. Like the
sound of the wind harp, her music began, she
scarce knew when, and died, she scarce knew
112 ATLA.
where ; and now she gave words to an ill-defined
uneasiness that would not be dissipated:
{< On the breeze I hear voices of warning,
There are sighs in the bland air of night ;
Though mist fades away at the dawning,
Ghosts flit in the spectral moonlight.
" Hark ! there's a roar on the mountain ;
List to the moan of the sea :
Like tears fall the drops of the fountain,
In the gloom of the dark cypress tree.
" Alone in the darkness I shiver,
A foul spirit stands in my path ;
No powerful friend to deliver,
I must suffer his love or his wrath.
" Gray ocean, if I am thy daughter,
Let me to thy bosom return ;
Beneath the black pall of thy water,
No death-fire of passion can burn."
As her voice died away, and the twilight deep-
ened, the shape of the fountain seemed slowly to
change, and two ghostly figures to emerge from
the spray ; they were faintly luminous, but vague
and shadowy as mist.
One was tall and grand, like a stern warrior ;
his face and powerful limbs were white, his locks
were fair, his eyes blue stars in the edge of a
cloud.
WHISPERS IN THE WIND. 113
The other was a woman, proud and beautiful :
her face was like an angel's, her long, golden
tresses floated lightly on the stream.
Atla's eyes were fascinated by this apparition ;
but when a gust of wind swayed the fountain
and the phantoms bent over her, she trembled.
Then the faces grew sweet with love unspeakable,
the grand figure stretched out its shadowy arms,
and a voice, solemn as the muffled thunder of a
waterfall, uttered the words : " Depart, depart,
depart ! '• Then a sound, soft as the plash of the
f onntain, swept by, and seemed to murmur : " Woe,
woe, woe ! The waves that lap the shore whisper,
Woe ! »
Atla opened her eyes. Had they but that
moment closed ? Did she dream ? The waters of
the fountain were climbing toward the stars, and
falling hopelessly back into the basin, as she had
always seen them, and the voice of Astera was
heard calling from a distance :
"Atla, dear sister, where art thou? Here in
solitude? I sought thee in the chamber, where
stands the neglected harp. Come, sing for me,
dear sister, and drive away my gloom."
"Astera," she replied, "think you not the
i
114 ATLA.
garden is warm and stifling to-night ? The place
is filled with phantoms." Then, checking herself :
" Shall we not go to the terrace roof of the palace ?
In that lofty height we shall better catch the
evening breeze."
"With great pleasure/' Astera rejoined. "I
am restless, and would fain have change."
XIX.
EATE.
" Two shall be born the whole wide world apart,
And speak in different tongues and have no thought
Each of the other's being, and no heed.
And these o'er unknown seas, to unknown lands
Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death,
And all unconsciously shape every act
And bend each wandering step to this one end —
That some day, out of darkness they shall meet
And read life's meaning in each other's eyes."
While Herekla rested in the enchanted atmosphere
of his chamber, the necessary packages were
brought from the ship, and, when he awoke at
twilight, Sardas was ready with the royal robes.
After the toilet was finished, finding Kadmon and
Madai still asleep, the prince, attended by his
servant only, went out upon the roof of the palace
to obtain a view of the city and enjoy the evening
air. Skirting the borders of the hanging gardens,
i 2
116 ATLA.
he came to a tower that obstructed the pathway.
As he paused a moment to decide his course, a lady
appeared at the half-curtained door. Her graceful
figure, brought into relief by the soft light within,
was draped in a robe of pale blue, confined at the
waist by a girdle. Upon the right shoulder was a
badge of rank, and her head was crowned with an
aureola of golden hair. Her face and arms were
delicate as the almond blossom; her eyes were
blue as the sea of Cham; her mouth expressed
a pride and dignity that scarcely coaicealed its
tenderness.
Shrouded by the outer darkness, Herekla stood
undiscovered and immovable through surprise and
admiration.
A soft voice in the chamber addressed the lady.
She responded by sweeping the strings of a lyre,
accompanying the music by song. The words
were in a foreign tongue, but breathed that natural
language by which genius can convey ideas to any
responsive soul.
Herekla listened, and his heart interpreted. He
heard, in tones of sweetness and power such as
he had never imagined, a story of the sea. The
rustling sails, the dashing water, the swing of a
FATE. 117
ship, the boatmen's song. Now a storm is rising ;
he listens to the cries of the sailors, to words of
command; a struggle, a shock, the swell of the
surge — the stillness of despair.
The breathing of Herekla is suspended; his
senses are swept away in the tempest of song ;
but as the voice dies slowly he* recovers, and,
forgetting prudence in his bewilderment, he
speaks :
c ' Astera, art thou a star ? Nay, the moon in
fleecy clouds, bending over a sobbing sea ! ,J
The lady, startled by this unexpected inter-
ruption, immediately withdrew, and the curtain was
lowered. Herekla moved, as if to follow, but
checked himself, saying : " Night has fallen ; we
can proceed no farther."
Sardas, to whom this incoherence in his master
was an astonishment, became greatly alarmed lest
he was losing his reason, the more so, that a band
of soldiers, hastily summoned, were now heard
approaching. To his great relief, Kadmon and
Madai, who followed at leisure, chanced to arrive
at this moment, and, upon presentation of the royal
seal, the guard saluted the prince and retired.
Herekla briefly related what had just occurred ;
118 ATLA.
the party then withdrew to a distance, and, finding
a place in this aerial garden, which commanded a
magnificent view of the city below and the varied
landscape beyond, they sat down to enjoy it at
leisure.
To Herekla all seemed like a dream of paradise.
"Walking in Eden, he had discovered Chavah."
XX.
ASTERA AND ZEMAR.
<c AROUND US RAGE THE DEADLY ELEMENTS."
The sound of their retreating footsteps had scarcely
died away when a young man of distinguished
appearance came from the opposite direction. His
air of command and lofty carriage, no less than
his white tunic banded with gold, cap of trocan
plumes and jewelled sandals, marked his near rela-
tionship to the imperial family.
The distinguished young nobleman was Prince
Zemar, only son of Thalok the high-priest, who
designed him for the same profession ; but becoming
disgusted with the craft and trickery that met him
even at the initiation, Zemar utterly refused to take
further orders.
The king, his uncle, then offered him command
120 ATLA.
of a military expedition, for which his executive
qualities and bravery admirably fitted him; he
was, however, aware of the predatory character of
Atlantean campaigns, and feeling the injustice of
wars waged for conquest only, he declined a pursuit
almost as distasteful to his noble nature as the
priesthood of the Sun Serpent. Nevertheless he
made himself master of military tactics, the art of
navigation, and other accomplishments necessary
in the education of princes, and also visited the
numerous colonies founded by Atlantean enter-
prise.
Afterward, having carefully studied municipal
law, he sought and obtained the office of chief
arbiter in the city of Atlan, a position which he
had at this time honourably filled for two years,
his administration uniting gentleness and tact
with firmness and integrity. He was the beloved
of all save his own father, whose character and
practices suffered greatly by comparison with his
son's.
When Zemar reached the tower, he tapped
lightly upon the door and inquired of the slave
who opened it if the Princess Astera would be
pleased to see her cousin.
ASTEBA AND ZEMAB. 121
A voice from the chamber responded : " Wait
without, dear Zemar."
Presently a young lady appeared whose dress
and manner betokened royalty. She was tall and
dark, with rich bloom, beautiful but imperious;
her black eyes flashed bright as the diadem that
adorned her raven hair.
" Come with me to the battlements in the
shadow of the tower," said Astera. "I would
overlook the city unperceived, and freely breathe
the air of night."
" Leave me, Tula," addressing her attendant.
The maid retired, but a spotted ounce that
glided through the doorway and arched his grace-
ful neck against her hand, was allowed to follow.
Without other speech they reached a seat upon the
battlements, from which the city and plains of
Atlan could be seen.
At length Astera spoke: "I know what thou
wouldst tell me, dear Zemar — the Phoenician has
arrived ; I saw the ships enter the basin."
" Yes, and I have seen the prince. He is a man
both grand and gentle; one to please a woman's
eye and win a woman's heart."
" But if a woman's eye be already pleased and
122 ATLA.
her heart already won ? Atla is both grand and
gentle, and she is fairer than I. Canst thou
transfer thy love to her ? "
" Atla is beautiful as a statue and as cold, but
even though she had thy fire, my star, 'twould
rouse in me no kindred flame/ 5
" Dost thou ask me why ? Who can weigh
fancy in a balance, or gauge the nice discrimina-
tions of a lover's eyes? And not the eye alone
elects — an undefinable influence moves the entire
being, mind and soul, body and spirit; yea, all
that we call self is no more ours, merged in the
existence of another."
" That which we call love, my Astera, is like
the flash between two storm-clouds — none can
foreknow what affinity will determine its course;
none can foretell where it will fall; and when it
has passed, what power can recall it ? "
u Zemar, playmate of my childhood, friend
and lover of later years, thou hast spoken truly.
The words I have uttered cannot be recalled, nor
can the love I have bestowed. Thou and I, dear
Zemar, are the blended clouds, and around us rage
the deadly elements."
ASTEBA AND ZEMAR. 123
Zemar clasped her in his arms, then suddenly
checking himself, spoke again : " Dost thou re-
member, my Astera, our narrow escape when
Midgar of the North would have thee for his
queen ? Then every expedient was exhausted.
Neither the same device, not yet another, will now
avail. Thy father and mine are inflexible. Listen,
beloved, while I explain.
u Thy father, King Kron, adores Atla ; he would
exalt her to the throne and make her children
heirs to his glory ; that would be to thy disparage-
ment. But the king is generous; he loves his
daughter, and therefore wills that thou wed the
Phoenician prince, and in a distant home forget
that another fills thy place upon thy father's throne.
" My father, Thalok, has also fastened his eyes
upon Atla, with a passion deep and deadly. He
loves not me, nor any but himself; He is un-
scrupulous and cruel. He would wed Atla and
place her on the throne — when thy father is
removed! For this purpose he withdraws his
opposition to the foreign marriage. In the far
East thou art no longer an impediment in the way
of his ambition and passion — and I must be his
124 ATLA.
pliant tool, or perish. Thalok breaks that which
he cannot bend.
" To-morrow thou must see the prince."
" Zemar, I will not see him on the morrow, nor
the next morrow, not yet the day following."
"But, Astera, thou canst not delay ! "
11 1 shall be ill ; I am so already. Dost thou not
perceive the fever in my veins ? "
" It will avail nothing. The dynasty of Atlantis
boasts ten thousand years. Long arbitrary rule
has made its monarchs inflexible. Will thy father,
or mine, yield to our wishes? Nay, I have
struggled to break the barriers, in vain."
" Does Atla know aught of this ? She is sad
and reticent of late — I fancy that something
oppresses her. Her songs this evening brought
tears to my eyes."
u I hope she knows nothing, nor suspects ; it
would be unfortunate were she to do so. Atla has
a bold spirit ; Ishma would soon become involved
in her action, and our one faint ray of hope would
be extinguished. He has influence with the king,
and Thalok fears him.
" My beloved, to-morrow thou must see the
prince ; otherwise thy freedom, nay, thy life, is
ASTERA AND ZEMAB. 125
imperilled ; this hour is the last I may honourably
spend with thee."
Astera drew the feather-mantle more closely
round her shoulders, looked over the battlement,
and shuddered.
" How sheer and dizzy is the depth ! " she mused;
"how cold and dark the moat ! how awful would be
the breathless fall, how fearful the deadly shock !
Yet I have courage to dare it !
"Zemar, dost thou remember the tradition of
Itza the Beautiful ? Thus I might leave thee, but
never with the Phoenician/ -
" Thou shalt not leave me thus ! ,J cried Zemar,
embracing her passionately ; " but we can die
together ! Oh, Astera, must this be our last fare-
well? Must I henceforth avert my eyes from
thine, be deaf to the music of thy voice, and think
of thee only as the bride of another ? Nay !
rather let us die."
At this moment the ounce, lying at Astera's
feet, growled ominously ; the midnight signal
boomed from the turrets of Kohl, and the prin-
cess, from the force of long habit, rose at the
sound, and, bidding Zemar an affectionate farewell,
hastily retired.
126 ATLA.
After parting with Astera, Zemar sought the
chamber of his friend, the physician. He was
warmly welcomed, and seating himself near the
window, spoke abruptly :
" Ishma, I have seen the princess."
He used an Oriental language which Ishma had
taught him as a matter of precaution.
" How did she receive the tidings ? n
" She utterly refuses to meet the Phoenician
prince."
"It is as I feared; Astera has been the idol
of king and Court; her every wish indulged, her
every word a law. She inherits the firmness of
her family. Her refusal is a serious complication."
" I tried in vain to persuade her ; but what do
words avail when heart gives the lie to lip ? I
fear I was a false negotiator. Oh, Ishma, what
can be done?"
" We must wait the issues of the morrow," said
the physician, and continued: "Zemar, I have
made another startling discovery. While in the
Chamber of Secrets, consulting with the king in
regard to customs of the East, I heard a faint
indrawn breath, and, after his majesty retired, I
found an aperture in the upturned bud of a carved
ASTERA AND ZEMAR. 127
lotus — I then discovered that all sounds under the
canopy of the throne converged to this aperture*
Every word spoken in that chamber is heard in
the temple of Kohl ! I caused the position of the
throne to be slightly changed ; but Thalok's keen
glance will at once detect the interference. Who
can elude the craft of thy father, who can defeat
his machinations ? "
" I now remember," said Zemar, " that the
ounce, lying at Astera's feet this evening, growled
angrily, without apparent cause ; the sense of
these savage beasts is keen. Mayhap he perceived
a hidden danger. Are we safe even in this
chamber ? "
" He cannot comprehend our conversation ; that
is our safeguard.
" Now must we rest and prepare for the events
before us. Sleep sometimes brings wisdom. May
the God of my fathers illuminate the path so beset
with snares."
XXI.
LOVE.
From the window of an adjoining chamber the
three Orientals looked out upon the sleeping city —
Herekla was speaker. "I feared almost to meet
the princess, lest I might feel disappointment or
distaste. Who could dream of a soul so pure, in
a form so divine and voice unlike all others ? It
held my spirit, even as the chain of steel subdues
the fiery steeds of Joktan. It is magic !
" The dark beauties of the Bast withdraw into
shade ; but Astera's presence is luminous by reason
of a celestial fire within. A lode-star among
lamps — a snowy dove among flaunting trocans ! I
am entranced by her syren voice, enchained by the
links of her golden hair.
LOVE. 129
" I am enchained, but she is free — is free and
cold. In that sad glance there is no fire of love,
it burns without consuming ; the voice is firm
and clear, it wavers not with passion. How would
it speak my name ? "
Then, turning abruptly, he said: "Kadmon,
hast thou ever loved ? "
" My love was Maya," Kadmon sighed. " On
the waves of the sacred river it floated far away
to the illimitable ocean that encompasses all the
world.
"Behold, dear prince, the hollow universe,
sprinkled with stars; beneath it, on the plains of
Time, flit phantoms pursued by, and pursuing other
shapes unsubstantial as themselves, without power
to pause in happiness or flee from misery, driven
onward by the blast of fate — I was — I am, having
left the dull realms of the Sansara, a phantom.
The illusive love I fancied I experienced was
sweet, enjoyed for a brief moment ; but, like the
sound of the lyre, it passed to the unknown."
The words of the Hindu were so vague and
mystic, that Herekla, uncertain of their true
meaning, replied : " Much study of the incom-
prehensible problems of life and the occult lore
130 ATLA.
of ancient sages has, I fear, blighted the delicate
buds of happiness in thy soul, dear Kadmon. Is
not the world still full of hope and joy ? "
Then, turning to Madai, he added : " Is it
not so ? "
" It is, and it is not," Madai answered. "Ahura
and Ahriman mix the cup of life. Night and day
brood alike over all ; Nature does not discriminate.
In the city lying below us, merry youth hold feast
and revel ; the watcher sobs by the bedside of the
dying ; the council decide the fate of nations ; the
mother soothes her infant ; the murderer creeps
forth to slay his victim ; fond lovers stay in Eden or
perchance weep over love betrayed ; the balances of
life and death tremble."
" Dear Madai," said Herekla, "in all these years,
how strange, I never thought to say, ' Hast thou too
loved?'"
" Yes, my prince ; sooner or later each human
heart thrills to the mysterious influence. For ten
happy years the bliss of love was mine; and then
my Rena, from the funereal pyre, went up to dwell
among the eternal stars. But I do not mourn,
knowing I shall surely follow ; for through all the
world a Triad shines, over which a Monad rules \
LOVE. 131
all things are the progeny of one Fire, and to the
bosom of the Triad, Ormazd decrees the soul's
return "
Herekla, perceiving that his teachers thus
endeavoured to check his excessive ardour, smiled
softly, as he answered: "Suffer me, dear friends,
to rest in the rose-bowers of Eden; to listen to
the music of the lyre, and drink the cup of
happiness, if I may.
u This star transcends all other lights celestial ;
but oh, it rides so high in heaven, can I hope to
wear it in my crown ? Oh, that I might woo her
all unknown, that she might love me for myself
alone. "
"Dear Herekla," said Kadmon, "thou must
have thy dream."
K 2
XXII.
THE SUN OF THE CRYPT.
In the arched vault of a subterranean chamber,
beneath the temple of Kohl, hung the Quenchless
Lamp. A cup of crystal held the precious oil of
gold, the priceless legacy of ancient priests, whose
secret art ages ago was buried in their tombs.
Prom the asbestos wick glowed a quintuple star,
or sun, that had been the light and warmth of this
undiscoverable crypt thousands of years, guarded
by the vigilance of successive generations of priests
and vestal virgins.
In the dome of the vault was a complicated
instrument, or parapegm, that marked artificial time,
and also recorded changes of the heavenly bodies,
the ebb and flow of the tides, and variations of air
currents. In the side walls of the vault were
TEE SUN OF THE CRYPT. 133
numerous small apertures, round which were graven
hieratic words and symbols.
Upon the eventful evening that followed the
arrival of the Phoenicians, Thalok, the high-priest,
entered this subterranean chamber, and threw
himself upon a luxurious divan beneath the Sun
of the Crypt. His garments were of white and
gold, over which was now thrown a red cloak lined
with ermine. Upon his head was a cap of feathers,
banded by the insignia of his office, an emerald
serpent with crest of flame, and upon his arm a
sacerdotal talisman, set with a powerful burning
glass, never used except in great emergencies.
He now held in his hand a goblet of pulque, an
intoxicating drink made from the agave, or century
plant, a liquor sometimes poured out as a libation
to the gods, but more frequently consumed by the
priests.
At his side stood Ciquan, the incumbent next
Thalok in the priesthood; his chosen companion,
his ready tool ; a man the equal of his master in
all that was evil, his inferior only in courage and
sagacity.
Thalok was restless and out of temper ; his
countenance was not pleasant to behold. Ciquan
134 ATLA.
understood his mood and said nothing, but
frequently replenished the goblet of pulque, which
the high-priest as constantly emptied.
After repeated draughts, he spoke : " The
Phoenicians are safely landed and sheltered beneath
the roof of the palace, under the protection of the
king. Nevertheless, they are in my power;
and wittingly, or otherwise, they shall be my
auxiliaries. "
" All men are such," said the obsequious sub-
ordinate, " and women also, for that matter."
A scowl darkened the face of the high-priest ;
he moved uneasily, but continued :
" These foreigners look not like men easily tam-
pered with. The prince is a demi-god; if the
Lady Astera sees him such, it will be for her
advantage."
He rose and paced the room impatiently, then
stopped before the lamp.
" Ciquan," he said, " does not the sacred flame
burn low to-night?"
"Yes, my lord; some of the currents are
stopped."
" Which, think you?"
" That leading to the Chamber of Secrets."
THE SUN OF THE CRYPT. 135
M It is the hand of the physician ; he has know-
ledge of the eleruentals, though his practice is far
different from ours. I would make short work of
his interference, if the Lady Atla stood not in my
path. If evil befall him, she may grow suspicious.
The passions of North women are slow to move ;
but, when once roused, they are daring and fierce
as panther's.
"Atla is glorious when scornful ; her eyes flash
blue like quivering steel; there is danger in her
glance, and death in her stroke, if it should fall.
She must come of a brave and warlike race. Such
a creature is worth winning. But, have a care,
my lady, thou mayst yet sue at my feet in vain."
" My master dreams/' said Ciquan, " while busi-
ness of importance waits/'
"True, Ciquan; no doubt I am foolishly in
love. What is the fancy of youth to a man's deep
passion ? But we will to business. What is the
situation at this moment ? "
Ciquan made answer : " Astera, loving Zemar,
refuses even to see her new suitor, who, by acci-
dent, has had one glimpse of Atla's marvellous
beauty, and supposing her to be the princess, has
wildly given her his heart. The king walks
136 ATLA.
blindly; he sees and suspects nothing, so absorbed
is he by love for Atla — who now has in her train
at least three men enamoured by her charms."
The priest moved uneasily, his hand grasped the
dagger in his belt.
u The king I " he muttered savagely. " A few
days hence these will be no king in Atlantis, save
Thalok. Then Astera shall marry the Prince
Herekla, or die a maid. The Phoenician shall
leave my kingdom with or without a wife. The
physician will accompany him, or suffer a worse
fate. Thus shall I be rid of foreigners.
"How will all this be accomplished, sayest
thou ? Listen.
" After the feast of Eaynir, the Chatzes, still
armed with sacrificial knives, must come to the
palace at midnight, and attack the royal guard,
who, by that time, will be helpless from intoxica-
tion. Three chosen men are already instructed to
enter the king's chamber, led on by thee, my
Ciquan, to protect his majesty. In the melee a
blow may happen to fall in the wrong place ; a
light blow, well directed, lets out life."
" But if this plan should miscarry ? *
" I have another, quiet and sure ; a plan which
THE SUN OF THE CRYPT. 137
I will not divulge, even to thee, my noble Ciquan,
for it requires no accomplice."
" Why resort to violence, if another plan be
quiet and sure^? Is not the easiest way the best
way ? "
Thalok deigned no answer ; his eyes were fixed
on vacancy; he muttered some unintelligible
words, and turning to Ciquan, said coldly :
w Give me a last report before I sleep."
The subordinate applied his ear to one of the
apertures in the wall, and after listening long and
intently, replied :
" The ladies have left the palace roof, and are
now at the pavilion in the Garden of Palms.
Astera has retired with her maid. Atla, from the
balcony, breathes softly her wild songs."
Thalok sprang from the divan and took Ciquan's
place. Presently he returned, and the other con-
tinued: " Nothing from the chamber of Ishma.
Zemar, no doubt, is with him."
After a pause he spoke again : " The Orientals
mutter in their own language. I cannot catch the
meaning."
Another pause. "Kron, the king, sleeps un-
easily."
138 ATLA.
" Would he might never wake/ ; said his
brother.
" Enough, good Ciquan. To-night guard thou
the Lamp. Let nothing escape thee. And now
call Kaipa, for I fain would sleep."
XXIII.
IN THE HALL OF THE GOD.
The royal household was astir at an early hour
next morning, to complete arrangements for the
reception of the foreign embassy ; this was to take
place in a magnificent rotunda in the centre of the
court named the Hall of the God, which was open
to the sky in fair weather, and closed by awnings
during the rainy season.
In the broad space above, relieved against the
blue vault of heaven, was a wonderful group of
sculptured figures, suspended in mid-air by in-
visible means, representing the apotheosis of the
founders of the Atlantean Kingdom. Painted
upon the wall of the building was a brilliant pano-
rama. The sea-god rides the waves in a scallop-
shaped car, drawn by dolphins; his right hand
holds the guiding reins, and his left arm is round
140 • ATLA.
the beautiful Kleita, mother of the ten Atlantean
princes. In the distance is a volcanic island,
rising from the ocean. On other parts of the wall
the deeds of his mighty sons are commemorated.
On one side of this stupendous structure was a
high dais, where stood the throne of ivory and
pearl, under a canopy of green enamelled gold.
Here King Kron, in royal pomp, awaited his
guest. His robe of silver tissue was bordered
with gems, his dazzling crown was enriched by
two extended wings of transparent gold. Around
him were ranged his brothers, the subordinate
princes, who had been summoned* to receive the
Phoenician ambassadors, and also to celebrate the
annual sacrifice of the Summer Solstice, a festival
which fell on the king's birthday.
Presently the sound of silver trumpets an-
nounced the nobles and other officials of the
realm, who, with music and soldiery, formed the
escort of the visitors. These filed to right and
left, leaving an open space through the middle of
the hall. Then came a train of bearers, strange in
dress and physiognomy, who laid the gifts of King
Melek on the steps of the dais, prostrated them-
selves, and retired.
IN THE HALL OF THE GOD. 141
And now the breathless hush of expectation fell
upon the assembled crowd; every eye was fixed
upon the broad archway, as the young prince en-
tered the hall alone.
No need of jewelled cap, broidered caftan,
purple robe and gemmed sandals, to proclaim his
rank. His grand form, noble bearing, and firm,
elastic tread , marked him a king by heaven's own
impress, a son of conquering Anak, most power-
ful of Eastern monarchs. His proud features were
softened by sweetest smile, and an air of inexpli-
cable serenity that astonished while it awed. With
infinite grace and dignity he advanced, and knelt
at the foot of the throne, until the king, strangely
moved, raised and embraced him, and motioning
to the vacant place at his right hand, said :
"Welcome to our kingdom and heart, beloved
son ! "
For a moment every soul in that vast assembly
was silent through admiration and surprise, and
then, by common impulse, a shout went up :
" Welcome to Atlantis and to our hearts, be-
loved prince ! 7
After the attendants of Herekla had been pre-
sented, a long discourse of ceremony and business
142 ATLA.
ensued by the aid of Ishma, the interpreter. This
over, the eyes of Herekla ranged dai's and gallery
for a face, which, seen but' for one brief moment,
had changed the current of his life.
At length he ventured to address the king.
<c O mighty Kron, among the pleasures of this
auspicious hour I perceive the greatest is yet re-
served. I had hoped through your gracious conde-
scension to be permitted on this happy occasion
to offer my hand to your exalted daughter. Know,
great king, that by a strange chance I have looked
upon her incomparable loveliness, and that which
was anticipated as a joyful duty has become a
necessity of my very existence ; essential as is sun-
light to vision, or air to breath."
After a momentary hesitation King Kron re-
plied :
t€ At the fortunate moment when thy glances
are returned, beloved prince, I doubt not my
daughter's heart will follow her eyes ; for surely
thou art a man, the like of whom she has never
seen. But for the moment that happiness must be
deferred. The princess is slightly iudisposed this
morning, and her physician prescribes quiet."
The countenance of Herekla betrayed disap-
IN THE HALL OF THE GOD. 143
pointment, but he answered cheerfully : <c Most
gracious king, it were in accordance with my
secret hope, if I might meet the Lady Astera all
unknown, even as her loveliness was revealed to
me; then would I strive to win her, not as a
prince demanding, but as a man suing for her
favour."
This timely proposal relieved the embarrass-
ment caused by Astera's unaccountable refusal to
be presented to the foreign suitor. The king,
hoping that chance might effect what his daughter
so persistently denied, smiled assent, saying: " Thou
art no less wise than beautiful, my son ; the plan
meets our approval.
u Astera is now in the Garden of Palms ;
thither shalt thou repair at thy leisure. Seek an
opportunity, and, untrammelled by statecraft, woo
and win thy bride. The love of kings would be
more constant if all princes were of thy mind. On
the west side of the Garden a stream issues beneath
a bridge ; cross over, and with this key unlock the
gate. Enter alone. Thou hast my seal ; it will be
thy passport. May good fortune attend thee ! "
XXIV.
THE GARDEN OF PALMS.
" Larger constellations burning, yellow moons and happy skies,
Breadths of tropic shade and palms in clustering knots of
Paradise."
When Atlantis, Queen of the West, smiled from
her throne on the Kronian waters, the world was
young, health was in the breeze, the dew of early-
morn freshened the gardens, unsullied down lay
upon peach and grape, the rose, as yet unspoiled by
art, exhaled salubrious perfume.
There flowed the fountain of youth, there lay
the land of dreams; history was not a lie, nor
words a drapery wherewith to conceal thought.
The eye fearlessly sought a reflection of its own
fire, the language of passion kept time to the
heart's rhythm. Love was not then feeble impulse,
nor calculating selfishness. In the heart of Herekla
THE GARDEN OF PALMS. 145
it was what God originally made it — the outburst
o£ a fire latent in every human breast, a purifying
flame that dispels the vapour of lust — it was the
bud of Nature's sweetest flower, whose fragrance
antidotes miasmal passion, and whose fruitage is
the wealth of nations.
Sons and daughters of this weary old world,
leave for a moment the dull pains of reality,
where only thorns and thistles grow, cross the
turbid stream of traffic and toil, close your ears to
its discordant roar, forget wasting care, pain, and
injustice, while you wander at will in the Garden
of Palms.
XXV.
THE WINGED DEEAM.
" Young flowers were whispering love in melody
To other flowers that night, and tree to tree ;
Fountains were gushing music as they fell
In shadowy grove and moonlit dell."
As the day drew to a close, and the languor in-
separable from a hot climate was mitigated by the
sea-breeze, the Phoenician prince went forth alone,
unlocked the gate of the Garden of Palms, and
stood bewildered by its enchanting beauty.
Here was a vast living arcade ; the trunks of
lofty fern palms, arranged with mathematical pre-
cision, were its columns, the long interlacing fronds
its arches ; around the trees were twined roses,
honeysuckles, and jessamines, carrying clusters of
bright bloom to the very tops. The borders of the
walks were fringed with flowers, and each inter-
THE WINGED DREAM. 147
section was made elegant by statues, columns, and
other architectural designs.
On silvery ponds the flag and lily reposed.
Fountains of graceful or quaint conceit flashed
ghost-like in the thickets ; rare fruits hung on the
walls, and the sunny side of the enclosure was
screened by hedges of cactus and aloe. A stately
pavilion gleamed in the distance, and beyond, like
a castle in the air, rose the tower of Kohl.
The verdure of this paradise was made
perennial by streams of water flowing over painted
tile.
At this hour the swans in the fountain drowsily
floated to cover, belated birds, nestling in the
branches, murmured a sleepy good-night to each
other and to departing day ; the rising moon
threw shadows across the white walks — motionless,
save when the night wind swept the tree-tops,
and the delicate fronds trembled and rustled as
with the footsteps of spirits. Now the music of
iEolian harps, in fitful cadence, swells and dies upon
the breeze, and the perfume-laden air breathes its
benison.
The gate by which Herekla entered was opposite
a long walk, bordered by stately yuccas in full
l 2
148 ATLA,
bloom. Transfigured by the moo'nbeams and
quivering shadows, the tall white shafts bowed
and nodded like wood-nymphs, ready to step from
their bayonet pedestals at a moment's notice.
Up this weird avenue, uncertain of purpose,
Herekla strayed, and, finding an arbour at its
termination, entered, and soon became lost in
a reverie, which mingled with the magical
surroundings.
Hitherto the energies of this great soul had been
concentrated upon one object, the perfecting of
navigation for a maritime people, and the opening
of new marts for their commerce. In this patriotic
endeavour he had achieved success, and, as a
consequence, was offered the hand of the island
princess. He had, as he fancied, seen this renowned
maiden — himself unseen — and from that moment
an element of character, unsuspected by himself,
was suddenly developed. All poetry, sentiment,
tenderness, and desire were warmed to vehement
impulse by the fire of a tropical nature. He was
environed with its glow, and, as the rosebud,
expanding in sunlight and dew, blushes at discovery
of its own sweetness and beauty, Herekla woke to
a consciousness of unsuspected power and capacity
THE WINGED BREAM. 149
of enjoyment. His step was elastic; his eyes
beamed with unwonted lustre; his whole expression
was of ecstacy.
" Is this enchantment ? " he mused. "Nay, 'tis
a new existence. True life is dual; how incomplete
has been my own! But now I live because I
love.
" The form of a goddess ; eyes, the twin stars of
my nativity ; colour, the snow of Lebanon, kissed
by the setting sun ; and voice, the breath of evening,
sighing through spice-groves ; a soul exalted, self-
contained, pure.
"And this transcendent being is mine — my
other self. But if she return not my love, if her
heart be already given — then is she naught to me.
I will have no unwilling sacrifice — the thought
gives me strange pain.
u How shall I approach her and learn her mind?
By what adroit scheme compel attention to an
unrecognised suitor?
" She will not understand my .speech ; but the
language of love is that of nature; it is one the
whole world over.
" Aid me, Melkarth, friend of the young ! n
A low, sweet murmur, as of song mingled with
150 ATLA.
the music of the wind-harp. Was it imagination or
reality ; thought or sense ?
His eyes were raised to solve the problem. Had
one of the flower-sylphs alighted in the pathway ?
His heart ceased to beat, for the embodiment of his
dream approached the arbour.
The moonbeams illuminated a matchless form,
draped in a soft, white fabric, enwrought with
beetle wings, and bordered by plumage of tropic
birds. The features, proud and calm, were crowned
by a nimbus of golden hair. Such harmony and
grace pervaded this presence, the movement and
song were one. She seemed the spirit of a bird, or
winged messenger from a sinless sphere.
For a moment Herekla gazed entranced ; but,
feeling the impropriety of concealment, he arose to
make his proximity known.
At this instant a look of terror overspread the
beautiful face, the lady shrieked, and turned to fly.
With a bound Herekla reached the spot, and lo I
a coiled serpent, with swaying head and quivering
body, in the act of springing upon its prey.
Instinctively his sword was drawn, and, by an
adroit blow, the head of the flying serpent was
THE WINGED DREAM. 151
severed; its body dropped at the feet of the
maiden, and the danger was over.
In the sudden alarm , all ceremony was forgotten.
Herekla supported the trembling girl to the arbour,
and, as if she had been the acquaintance of years,
exclaimed : " Eemain here while I search for the
mate ; these evil beasts are seldom alone."
After Herekla was satisfied that no further
danger was to be apprehended, he returned to the
arbour.
14 1 owe my life to thy ready help," said tho
lady ; " the poison of the cobra is swift and sure.
H I am amazed that it could be hidden in the
garden ; the place is carefully searched at sunset,
when it is the habit of serpents to come forth."
In the excitement of this unexpected adventure,
neither Herekla nor the lady noticed the marvellous
fact that they were speaking a common language,
and that every word was perfectly understood.
The princess continued : " I was rash to come
hither alone; but knowing the sacredness of tl;is
seclusion, and tiring 'of Court restraint, I ventured
to indulge in a solitary ramble.
"I met a serpent" — then looking up, with a
152 • ATLA.
grateful smile, she added, " and a stranger, who
saved my life at the risk of his own"
"Lady/' said Herekla, bowing low, "I am a
stranger, but not an intruder upon the sacredness
of this Eden; I am a loyal man. That I came
hither by the king's permission this signet and ring
bear witness.
" I thank the gods who sent me at a moment
when I could do thee a service."
" Thanking them and thee, I will now retire."
" Lady," said Herekla, trembling with emotion,
" I beseech thee, do not leave me so soon. Listen
to what I have His Majesty's permission to speak :
u Walking upon the terrace roof of the palace
last night, I saw thee, heard thy voice in song. I
love thee, beautiful one — pardon my boldness, how
could I do otherwise ? And I came hither to offer
the first affection of a true heart, if, perchance, I
might seek a return."
She looked earnestly in his face, and the
unerring intuition of an innocent soul prompted
the answer:
" I believe thee to be honest and true ; the act
which saved my life at peril of thine own proves
thee self -forgetting and brave. Among the princes
TEE WINGED DEEAM. 153
of Atlantis thou hast no peer. I have seen none
like thee save in dreams."
She blushed at her own frankness, and added :
" But a maiden should not lightly give her heart."
u She may permit a man to hope, if her heart be
yet untrammelled."
"I have 'never loved," she replied, smiling;
"more than this I cannot say, for I must leave
thee."
u Ah, do not so cruelly deprive me of thy pre-
sence. Behold, the shadow of the arbour has not
moved a span since we met, and I have so much to
say."
"Pardon me, my lord, I must retire; if the
king confirm thy word, 1 will see thee on the
morrow ; and now farewell ! "
She rose and left the arbour, Herekla attending
her. As they passed the dead body of the cobra,
the princess shuddered.
<e Dost thou fear the dead beast ? " said Herekla.
<c No ; I fear a living serpent that lies in my
path and thine, if thou lovest me."
"Sweet lady, canst thou not tell me of this
peril?"
" I may give thee warning of thine own. The
154 ATLA.
Prince of Pirhua loved me, and although I did not
return his affection, Thalok slew him ! M
" Dedan spoke of that dangerous man, Thalok."
" Yes ; he is the eldest of the royal family, next
the king."
(€ Was he not punished for such a crime ? "
" No. Thalok is more powerful than the king,
and artful as he is strong. Yonder temple is the
seat of a power, before which even the throne
trembles."
"Can no combination be made to crush this
power ? "
"That were hopeless. He knows every word
spoken in the secret chamber of the palace; the
birds of the air seem to carry a voice, the elements
to obey his will. It is said, and I so believe, he
has dealing with evil spirits. The eyes of his
servants pierce the soul.
u Seest thou the Tower of Kohl that overlooks
this garden ? In it is a basilisk eye that watches
every movement. We must not enter the moon-
light, lest we should be observed.
"How strange," she continued, musing, "1
should thus confide to thee that which I have
never spoken to my father or my earest friend,
THE WINGED DREAM. 155
yet my heart tells me the confidence is not mis-
placed."
" Thy words are sweeter than thy voice, if that
were possible/' Herekla answered. "Thou mayst
trust me, dear lady ; I would give my life for thee,
or to thee," he added, smiling.
" And it is so fortunate we can converse thus/'
said the lady. " I shall now more than ever bless
my father for teaching me in infancy the language
of the Bast."
Herekla was greatly perplexed by these words,
but fearing to disturb the current of conversation
by an inopportune question, made no answer.
Passing through the shady walks, they emerged
near the pavilion.
"Here we must part," said the princess.
" Would I might speak thy name to say farewell,
yet this much I can conjecture — being Phoenician
in speech — thou art of the foreign embassy recently
arrived, and by thy dress and lofty bearing thou
art of exalted rank."
" Lady, thou hast rightly divined/' said Herekla,
bowing.
u If the Prince Herekla be like thee, then must
my sister Astera be well pleased."
156 ATLA.
With a look of profound astonishment, Herekla
exclaimed :
"Thy sister— Astera?"
" Yes ; Astera, the king's daughter, my sister
by adoption, and my dear friend, the betrothed of
thy Prince Herekla."
" Oh, lady," he cried, while his heart stood still
to listen, "oh, lady, who art thou?"
"I am Atla, Gift of the Sea to Ishma, the
Court physician, the only parent I have ever
known."
Seeing the look of despair in his face, with sud-
den insight she exclaimed : " And thou — this
agitation betrays the secret — thou art Herekla,
Prince of Phoenicia, suitor for the hand of the Lady
Astera ! ! n
Daring this astonishing denouement both stood
in the full moonlight, forgetful of all else but the
painful misunderstanding in which they were
involved.
Herekla was silent, distracted by conflicting
emotions. Loyalty to his father's wishes, his
honour pledged to the king of Atlantis, the pub-
licity of his intention in making the voyage, the
ignominy of a return without the princess, all this
THE WINGED BBEAM. 157
rose before him like a black, insurmountable wall.
Sound policy, a noble pride, and an uncompromis-
ing sense of duty, bad hitherto ruled his every
thought and act, but another feeling, long re-
pressed, now asserted sovereignty; his passionate
nature clamoured for recognition, and struggled to
break the barriers of restraint.
He stretched out his arms, as if to embrace
Atla, but the habit of self-repression turned the
trembling balance.
"I am Herekla/' he cried impetuously, "the
most unhappy man the moon looks down upon.
My father was filled with foreboding, the stars
warned in vain. How strangely I misunderstood
their meaning ! I trusted Fate, by which I am
outwitted and betrayed.
" Ah, love is blind and deaf, else I should not
have seen in one so fair a daughter of dark
Kronos ; I should have recognised the miracle of
my own language spoken so purely by an alien
voice.
"Supposing thee to be Astera, I have given
my first love — it is thine — now and for ever. I
will wed none but Atla ; the words I have spoken
will not, cannot be recalled.
158 ATLA.
"I planned to win a bride and I embrace
despair ! "
Then taking her hand, he said softly: "0
Atla, Child of the Water, art thou like the sea,
unstable ? *'
Surprised and blushing deeply, she replied :
" In calm or storm, the sea is constant to her
lover, the moon ; moved by its power, the tides
roll round the world/'
( ' To this sea I entrust the treasure of my love ;
absent or present, living or dying, remember,
dearest Atla, I am thine. Thy words are music,
though they speak my doom; thy memory will
be my cherished sorrow, the ghost of [a dead joy.
' f Farewell ; I go — I know not whither ! "
XXVI.
IN THE CHAMBER.
" The mind has a thousand eyes,
The heart but one ;
And the light of a whole world dies
When love is done."
How Herekla reached his chamber in the palace
he never knew. An hour later Sardas found his
master lying on his couch cold and motionless.
Being unable to rouse him, Kadmon and Madai
were summoned, who, in great alarm, sent for the
Eastern physician. After a careful examination,
Ishma pronounced this sudden illness to be in
consequence of some violent shock, and by skilful
appliances consciousness and speech were soon re-
stored. HerekWs first words disclosing the cause
of this unprecedented malady, startled and dis-
tressed his friends.
160 ATLA.
"Alas/' lie sighed, "that in one moment the
heart of man should wake to love and sorrow !
Grief is twinborn with joy. The strings of the
lyre are broken, the chord is lost ; my feet stumbled
upon the threshold of Paradise.
"I am the sport of inexorable Pate; through
its distorting mist, I fancied I saw Astera, the
princess I was to make my queen. I gave my
heart to this peerless maiden, who is not the
daughter of the king. Her name is Atla, Child of
the Sea ! "
" Oh, woe, woe," said Ishma ; " what a mis-
fortune! The God of Shem only can save him
from the rage of Thalok's jealousy."
"The error is irreparable," said Herekla.
" Duty, interest, and the love of life lose their
power; even honour struggles with impulse. Dear
friends, this is the decree of Fate which neither
gods nor men can resist. In the upper glory I
saw the shade of Atla beside my own spirit. In
the next sphere, if not in this, she will be mine.
Let us go hence ; there is no safety but in flight.
I cannot trust myself to see her again. Eouse my
servants; there are six hours before day. We
must sail at once; leave the Moon in the basin
IN TEE CHAMBER. 161
with its mockery of nuptial gauds ; the Sun, not yet
unladen, is ready for sea ; I have the king's passport.
" Hasten, my friends. Why do we linger?
Away, away ! "
" But King Kron, what will he think of this
unceremonious flight ? " said Kadmon.
" Ishma will excuse us. Say I am ill, insane ;
it is true. I may soon return, but now I must
have change and time to consider, as I cannot in
this land of illusion."
While the servants hastened to execute these
orders, the Arhats and Ishma held a consultation.
The forecast of Kadmon amounted almost to pre-
vision ; to him the others deferred, and after a
few minutes of profound reflection, he decided
that the wishes of the young prince should rule.
The sages then compiled a letter to the king, and
Ishma, ever practical and provident, arranged for
the voyage.
THE LETTER.
"to the noble and exalted kron, lord op the
western world.
" Thy servants, Kadmon and Madai, with grate-
ful acknowledgments of the royal favour, beseech
pardon for their hasty departure.
262 ATLA.
"Our beloved master, the Prince Herekla, has
been suddenly stricken by a strange malady, and
after consultation with the Court physician, it is
deemed imperative that we put to sea for a few
days, hoping by this means to restore the balance
of his mind, which is seriously affected.
" We pray the urgency of the case may excuse
this abrupt leave-taking from the Court and country
of our generous and gracious host.
"When our young master is relieved of this
malady, we will return and complete the weighty
business entrusted to our care, and again lay our
service and allegiance at the feet of our lord and
king, whom may the gods preserve.
" Kadmon.
"Madai."
XXVII.
ATLA AND ASTERA.
After Herekla left the garden, Atla returned
to the Pavilion with a heavy heart. By the
strange error into which the Phoenician prince
had fallen, another complication was added to the
net in which she was already entangled. Yet in
face of this double danger Atla was conscious of a
new and peculiar exaltation, and she wondered
that her fears for the safety of a stranger were
greater than for her own.
Concealment was impossible in so true and fear-
less a nature, and she resolved at once to inform
Astera of the extraordinary events which had oc-
curred during their brief separation. Yet this
could not be done till morning, for she would not
disturb the needed slumber into which her sister
had fallen ; but as she entered the hall, Tula, who
m 2
164 ATLA.
was in waiting, informed her that the princess
was awake and had inquired for her.
Astera was alone, sitting in the moonlight.
Her attitude and voice betrayed the deepest
dejection. " Come hither, dear Atla," she said ;
u my heart will break unless thou share my sorrow.
I have but this moment received a message — nay
— a mandate from my father. To-morrow, so he
decrees, my betrothal to the foreign prince must
take place. Oh, Atla, I cannot marry this stranger
and go to an unknown country. My heart for a
long time has been given and my faith pledged to
my cousin Zemar."
This not altogether unexpected confession re-
lieved Atla's embarrassment, and she answered
cheerfully : c( Be comforted, dear Astera ; there is
a possible way of escape. The strangest events
have happened to-night. Surely fate is mightier
than monarchs !
" When I saw thee quietly sleeping I went out
for a solitary ramble in the Garden. As I strayed
along the Avenue of Sylphs, a sharp hiss smote
upon my ear and arrested my footsteps. I turned,
and, to my horror, saw in the dewy grass a cobra
springing out upon me. I was paralysed through
ATLA AND ASTERA. 165
fright, a dreadful death seemed inevitable ; but,
quick as thought itself, a bright blade flashed in
the moonlight, and the severed head of the serpent
fell at my feet.
" I looked up to solve the miracle of my rescue,
and lo ! the grandest man I have ever seen was
standing before me. His dress and features indi-
cated foreign birth and exalted rank. He proved
to be no other than the Prince Herekla, the suitor
for thy hand.
u And now I must tell thee of something more
wonderful than the slaying of the serpent. The
prince, who was in the Garden by thy father's
permission — of this I am certain, from the ring
and signet in his possession — was seeking for thee.
In the confusion of the sudden alarm all ceremony
was forgotten ; he supposed me to be Astera, the
princess, whom he sought, and with the fiery
impulse of his people, at once gave me his
heart.*'
" Oh, fortunate error ; auspicious mischance,'*
said Astera, interrupting her. " Surely the gods
have interposed. Thy peril will prove my salva-
tion. My father must relent ; he will not compel
me to wed a reluctant bridegroom. Thou shalt
166 ATLA.
go with me to negotiate. If thou art my ally, he
will deny me nothing." Then, suddenly checking
her enthusiasm, she inquired : u But canst thou
love this prince, dear Atla?"
" I do not know/' Atla replied, blushing.
Early the next morning they sought the royal
presence. When the usual salutations were over,
Astera said :
" Dear father, thou art loving and wise. May
I — nay, may we — proffer a request ? w
" Thy request is granted before it is made, if it
be reasonable," the king replied, cheerfully.
Thus emboldened, Astera began : " My request
pertains to the Phoenician prince n
"Name him not," said the king, somewhat
sternly. iC There is no Phoenician prince in At-
lantis. He departed in the night suddenly, with
scanty leave-taking, stricken by some strange
malady. So say his counsellors in this letter
which I have just received. A most unaccount-
able proceeding. After the urgent business of the
festival is over we will investigate the matter."
Astera's light sigh gave token of relief, but
Atla's face paled to deadly whiteness.
XXVIII.
THE PALACE OP NIGHT.
Musa : " A serpent woman ? "
Varus : " Come and see."
While Herekla and Atla, crowned with the nimbus
of young love, walked in Paradise, Thalok perfected
the last plan of his wicked conspiracy, that to
which he alluded in his conference with Ciquan
as " quiet and saf e." One person must be taken
into confidence, a person whose presence and power
even dark Thalok feared.
Beneath a volcanic mountain in a grotto partly
natural, but reformed by the hand of art, dwelt
Kirtyah the Sorceress, daughter of Lilith, a witch
woman, and Obon, a reputed serpent-father. Its
hidden entrance was in the remote part of a
cypress grove, esteemed by the populace too
sacred for any person to enter, save the high-
168 ATLA.
priest, who encouraged this convenient super-
stition.
When night fell upon the earth Thalok himself
drove his fleet horses, Wind and Wave, to this
gloomy forest, and, after securing them within
its precincts, entered the hollow trunk of a
tree, which rested its huge bulk against the
mountain.
He made a signal, the door unclosed, and a
dwarf with a lamp in his hand appeared, and con-
ducted him through labyrinthian passages, till
they emerged in a subterranean palace, or temple,
hewn from the solid bed of the mountain, which
burst upon the vision like a dream of enchant-
ment.
The immense dome of this marvel of architec-
ture was coerulean blue in colour, and glittering
with a similitude of the heavenly host; around
its base, carved from the rock, was stretched the
emblem of infinity, a great serpent, holding its
tail in its mouth. The dome was supported by
giant pillars, left in place by the architects ; while
in the centre of the vault a revolving wheel, bril-
liant with phosphorescent light, served the double
purpose of ventilator and midnight sun to this un-
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 169
hallowed fane. The sides of the grand nave
were tunnelled with arched openings, leading to
shadowy conservatories and chambers that invited
to repose. The rocky walls were softened by
gorgeous tapestries, paintings, and carved reliefs ;
mysterious images with diamond points in their
eyes, looked out from niche and alcove ; perfumed
lamps suspended from the ceilings diffused a
moonlight softness through the seclusion of the
recesses.
Into these marble halls of night had been
gathered all that pertains to luxurious living, not
only magnificent decorations andhousehold furniture?
but statues single and in groups, embossed tablets,
mosaics, self-luminous pictures, screens, and altars
burning with fragrant incense.
A great geyser in the centre of the grotto at
once warmed and beautified this marvellous palace.
Graceful jets of water climbed upward to the vast
dome and fell in diamond showers beneath the
phosphorescent sun, or were transformed into
clouds of spray, changing with rainbow hues.
Around the crystal brim of the fountain, amid
statues and fantastic stalagmites, were ranged
flowering plants and trees, amid which fluttered
170 ATLA.
singing birds and gossamer insects. Eugs of em-
broidery and skins of wild beasts were spread
upon the mosaic pavement, and seats of various
devices opened their soft arms to welcome the
visitor.
Upon an ermine-covered couch, or throne, near
the brink of the fountain, the mistress of this
more than regal palace now reclined. She was
a woman in middle life, but of extraordinary
beauty. Her form was slender and graceful, her
features were regular, the colour rich, the expression
haughty; her hair black and waving, but dark
eyes, that blazed with the least excitement, were
her most startling and irresistible fascination. The
man who dared that glance of glorious but deadly
beauty, felt himself under a magic spell.
Kirtyah's dress was as remarkable as her per-
son : the closely-fitting bodice was formed of
golden scales, the centre of each set with an
emerald ; her well-poised head was crowned by a
delicate crest, or hood, wrought in similar scales
and enriched by two rubies that burned like the
eyes of a serpent ; a band of the same crimson
gems encircled her neck.
A robe of woven gold draped her reclining
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 171
form and fell at the side in sinuous folds, her
unsleeved arm rested languidly upon a mantle
made from the breasts of purple humming-birds.
Eendered drowsy by the monotonous plash of
the fountain and heavy odour of flowers, as she lay
with lids half closed over the glowing eyes, her
whole aspect vividly recalled the strange stories
connected with her birth and parentage.
Thalok's step roused her, and all signs of languor
disappeared ; her colour came, her eyes flashed, and
her lips parted, disclosing small teeth of dazzling
whiteness.
She rose with infinite grace and dignity; gave
her guest greeting and motioned him to a place
by her side.
As he bowed and obeyed the gesture, his eyes
fell upon a barrier of trellis-work opposite, which
screened a deep recess in the rock, where lay an
object that unpractised vision might have mis-
taken for rippling sunlight coming through some
vine-curtained crevice in the dome above. Indeed,
the tremulous brilliancy of its yellow hue caused
Thalok instinctively to look up for a rift where
sunlight might penetrate, forgetting that it was
now dark night.
172 ATLA.
As lie gazed, the line of light changed position,
quivered and coiled itself in broad rings, from
which protruded a serpent's head with vicious eyes
and open jaws.
This illusive form was a dread reality, being no
other than that of Lucksor, a yellow asp of great
size and age, the inheritance a serpent father had
bestowed upon Kirtyah — the fearful beast whose
deadly powers were subservient to her magic arts.
* Lucksor is terrible," said Thalok, awe-stricken,
although himself as treacherous and deadly as the
serpent.
" He is my slave," said Kirtyah, " and thine, if
thou lovest me."
" Dost r thou doubt it ? " he answered. " Re-
member my devotion, and how I have braved the
wrath of the king for thy sake. Behold the luxury
with which thou art surrounded. Is this no proof
of doting affection ? And true love can never die.
Hast thou not often said it ? M
"If thy heart still be true, where is the
token?"
" Did I forget ? " said the wily priest, embracing
her formally. " Thou wilt forgive when I confide
to thee my errand.
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 173
"Know then, my dear Kirtyah, that grand
affairs of State engross my thoughts — affairs of
such grave import, that, for the moment, even love
and its endearments must be put aside.
" Startling events are about to transpire, re-
quiring a cool brain and steady nerves — events in
which thy fortune is involved as well as mine."
" Thou wouldst have my aid," said the sorceress,
not heeding the apology.
H I cannot live without it, adorable one, of that
thou art but too well aware. Wilt thou serve
me?"
" I have long been at thy service ; what wouldst
thou at this time ? Who sleeps to-night ? "
u No one, foolish child ; but the king must be
drowsy/' he added, nodding significantly.
Kirtyah started, and for a moment sat ab-
sorbed in thought. " Art thou sure this is wise,
Thalok?"
<c I have said," he responded firmly. fl Eouse
Lucksor, prepare the vapour."
" No need to rouse him, my lord ; the beast is
unquiet enough. His continual restlessness por-
tends evil. For ages this mountain has slumbered ;
but now — mark me — trouble is brewing."
174 ATLA.
" What mean you ? Is the earthquake god at
work ? n
" Look and listen," she said, leading him to a
distant part of the grotto. Here was a huge
fissure into which the priest, peering cautiously,
saw, in its awful depths, sulphurous flames, and
heard a low muttering like the growl of savage
beasts.
"I have never seen the like of this before,"
said the woman, "nor has it occurred within the
memory of man.
"Dear Thalok, it portends evil. Oh, take me
from this dreadful place, where for so many years
I have buried myself for love of thee ! "
" It is naught, it is naught," said Thalok ; u the
many years have made thee timid. Thou art not
growing old and foolish, my Kirtyah ? "
"I could better preserve both youth and
courage in the fair world of light. Oh, my lord,
for thy dear sake I have relinquished the blessed
sunshine ; I have renounced the pleasures of youth
and the communion of my kind, to dwell with a
serpent and to work thy will. And for this I
receive naught but coldness and neglect."
u Nothing ? " cried Thalok imperiously. H Have
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 175
I not lavished my wealth for thy pleasure, and
all the arts of our civilisation to satisfy thy
caprice ? Did not yon midnight sun alone absorb
a thousand lives and a mountain of treasure ?
Have I not given thee the devotion of my man-
hood, and made thee partner of every interest?
And do I not even at this moment confide to thee
my most dangerous secret? And dost thou call
this naught ? "
a Is hunger appeased by memory of a feast ? I
crave thy present love ; that only satisfies a woman's
heart. The forms around me, though beautiful,
are lifeless and cold."
"I love thee still," said Thalok ; "and when all
that I purpose is accomplished, who but thou, my
enchantress, will triumph in my success and share
in the fruits of victory ? "
" But dost thou love no other ? w said Kirtyah,
desperately. * The Lady Atla's name is mentioned
with thine."
Thalok turned upon the woman a fierce and
startled look. Who could have betrayed him ?
No one, save by his order, might visit this Palace
of Night. Was Kirtyah's magic more far-reaching
than he imagined ? But feeliug the necessity of
176 ATLA.
her aid in carrying out his present purpose, he
forced himself to dissemble.
"Foolish one," he answered lightly, "let not
insane jealousy warp thy reason. For the com-
pletion of my schemes, I must obtain possession
of the Princess Atla and win her confidence. The
king is so besotted with love that he has given her
the royal seal."
" But thou knowest, my lord, that I can wile it
from her by my art."
"Forbear," he cried, impatiently, "I cannot
make thee understand. Atlantis is on the verge of
a revolution that will startle the world. Press me
no further, I have not time to explain. Trust all
in my hands, and now, my Psyllah, prepare the
poison."
Kirtyah made no answer, but seemed again
absorbed in thought. Thalok could form no con-
jecture as to the effect of his words, for her face
was inscrutable.
At length, rousing herself, she motioned to the
dwarf, who ran to a recess, and presently returned
with a slender iron rod, upon the point of which
was secured a small piece of flesh.
Meantime Kirtyah rose, and with a movement
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 177
of exceeding grace, more suggestive of gliding
than walking', went to a cabinet, and brought
thence a musical instrument, unlike any Thalok
had seen.
She now began a low, monotonous song, repeat-
ing strange words, thrumming the instrument, and
rocking her body from right to left, fixing her eyes
upon the serpent. The asp gazed as if enchanted,
stretched himself lazily, closed his eyes, and
appeared to sleep.
The music changed, sharp, quick notes fell like
the stroke of a hammer; Kirtyah's voice grew
louder and higher, the words more rapid and
incomprehensible, until they ended in a piercing
scream, during the prolongation of which the name
of the serpent was continually invoked.
Lucksor was marvellously affected. As the
music changed he opened his eyes, trembled, and,
crawling to the front of the den, strove to press
through, but finding himself thwarted, lashed the
bars furiously. As the song became more exciting
he grew still more exasperated, his head swayed
rapidly from side to side, he coiled himself and
sprang again and again, with such -.violence that
the slender barrier seemed about to fall.
178 ATLA.
Kirtyah now placed some dried leaves upon the
rod, fired them, and waved the whole just out of
the serpent's reach. The air was filled with fumes
of a pungent odour, and as these penetrated his
lair, the rage of the serpent was terrible. By his
rapid contortions and struggles, the den seemed
filled with sparks and flashes of electric fire, his
eyes were glowing coals, the forked tongue
quivered, the hissing became a roar.
Suddenly the head flattened, protruded through
the bars, and towered up outside the cage. The
body was about to follow, when Thalok cried out :
11 Enough ! enough t Give the demon his sop ! n
He shuddered at the sight which followed.
Kirtyah seized the writhing neck in her hand,
thrust the end of the rod into the gaping mouth,
and pressed the struggling reptile back into his
den.
The jaws closed, opened again, and the venom
was secured in its deadliest form. As the Pythoness
gave the rod into Thalok' s hand, he was conscious
of a shock and a sharp twinge of pain.
Kirtyah then slipped one of the bars, and still
retaining her grasp upon the serpent's neck, with
motion rapid as his own, accommodated herself to
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 179
his lessening struggles ; her left hand waved over
his head, her eyes shot a strange fire, her lips
moved, and a distant hum, like the whirling of
swift wheels, was heard; it grew louder and
louder, till every object in the rocky temple
seemed to reel, and the great stone serpent to
swim round the dome as in the rush of an
invading stream.
The overpowering current struck the asp — his
eyes closed, his body straightened and grew rigid,
the glitter was gone, the colour faded, and he lay
cold, gray, inflexible as the branch of a fallen tree,
over which has swept the storms of many a
winter.
The sorceress now loosened her hold, and still
waving her left hand, cried:
" Wither, dead stick, till the power which gives
thee life is again required ! M
Dropping the loosened bar into place, she
retired to her laboratory, motioning Thalok to
follow.
Here, amid flames of consuming minerals and
decoctions of deadly herbs, the venom of the asp
was converted to a vapour which Kirtyah deftly
secured in a crystal retort; but not until the
n 2
!80 ATLA.
priest, in awkward attempt to assist, had cut his
hand upon a broken glass.
" My lord," said the sorceress, as she gave him
the deadly treasure, "wilt thou have wine and
song to cheer thee before thy return ? n
"Not now, not now, my enchantress," he an-
swered, hastily. " I am in no tender mood. The
work I have undertaken demands all my time and
energy. Pleasure would unnerve me; and, how-
ever reluctant, I must hasten my farewell."
He was now in possession of the poison, and
with little ceremony took his departure, promising
to return when its potency had been tested.
The dwarf attended him to the door, the high-
priest said farewell, passed through, and placing a
bar which he had brought for the purpose, across
the entrance, effectually closed it upon those
within.
"Now welcome earthquake and volcanic
fire," he savagely exclaimed. " Swallow this
mountain and its troublesome secret; I care not
how speedily."
With that he sprang into the chariot, and the
swift steeds soon brought him to the court of the
temple.
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 181
As Thalok disappeared through the door, the
dwarf, who followed him, detected a peculiar
sound in its closing, and tried to open it as he had
usually done. It resisted his efforts, and the con-
viction forced itself upon his mind that his mistress
and himself were intentionally imprisoned.
He ran to Kirtyah, screaming in terror : " Dear
mistress, the door is fastened from without; we
are both dead ; the high-priest has buried us ! "
Kirtyah, who had not moved from the spot
where Thalok left her, smiled scornfully as she
answered the terrified servant : " Am I a love-sick
girl, Ikba, that Thalok can deceive or surprise?
I know him better than he knows me, or himself
even.
" Ungrateful wretch, he dreams not that the
pale, submissive page, who bears love-tokens to the
Lady Atla, is no other than his forsaken Kirtyah.
A change of colour and costume works wonders,
Ikba. Then is my head with ashes crowned, now
with a flame of fire."
The dwarf looked up and saw two lambent
flames curl in the rubies of the golden crest, and
play above his mistress' head.
She continued speaking: "The girl abhors him;
182 ATLA.
that is her salvation. Atla and Kirtyah have one
common bond of sympathy. Let him work his
will upon the king, who is mine enemy, I care
not ; but the hour of Thalok's triumph will be the
hour of my revenge. The man who betrays me
must perish. I loved him once ; I serve him now,
but for my own purpose. My passion is turned to
gall — nay, to the venom of asps.
" Lucksor, thou art a lamb, a dove, a lily
compared with this Thalok ! M
So saying, she drew from a chest a long ladder
of silken cord, and by a dexterous movement
indicating practice, threw it over what appeared
to be a star in the lofty vault, but was in reality a
hook of steel.
" Ascend," she cried to the astonished Ikba,
who nimbly ran up the slender but strong cord.
" Now push aside the wheel, and enter a passage
on the right."
The dwarf obeyed, and presently returned in
great glee, saying : " I have seen the blessed stars
and the Bay of Pirhua."
" Now thou art satisfied we are not entombed,
and thy courage is restored," said Kirtyah. u I
will entrust thee with another secret. Go through
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 183
the cactus walk, and with this key unlock a door
of the temple, which appears as "but part of the
tapestry covering the farther wall. There call
loudly the name Hunap."
Ikba disappeared, and soon returned, followed
by a young man of superb appearance, clad in the
livery of Thalok's household. He was an athlete
in form, imperious in bearing, but his manner
softened as he approached Kirtyah.
He bowed humbly, saying : " When my master
ordered Wind and Wave yoked to the chariot, I
easily divined whither they would carry him, and
I hastened after, thinking I might be of service."
* The intuitions of love are unerring, my
Hunap," said the sorceress, giving him her hand ;
"thou hast come in good time. The Fates are
like thy steeds, fleet-footed and sure. The crisis
is near. Now thou canst prove thy loyalty."
Hunap pressed the hand he still held, saying :
" I will prove my truth and devotion, if need be,
with my life."
"I cannot doubt thee," she answered. u Yet if
life be imperilled, my Hunap shall not take the
hazard alone.
" And now, what tidings from the palace ?
184 ATLA.
Thou knowest, under pretence of illness, I have
been self-banished from Court since the arrival of
the foreign embassy. Hast thou seen the Phoeni-
cian prince ? ,J
" His reception took place this morning in the
Hall of the God, all the Court in attendance.
Prince Herekla is a grand person; he has taken
every heart by storm."
" Including that of the Princess Astera ? r}
"Nay, strange to tell; neither the princess nor
the Lady Atla appeared ; their absence excites much
comment."
"I believe I can fathom the mystery. Hast
thou seen the Lady Atla since my departure ? "
"I have only heard her voice. After the
repulse of Thalok, to which thou wert witness, I
sought the presence of my master and humbly
offered my service, if he would go forth in the
chariot, as is his wont in the cool of the day.
With blackest visage and sternest words he bade
me leave him. Perceiving that further parley
would be unwise, I went forth to my own lodgings,
and when passing the Garden, I heard the voice
of the Lady Atla singing in the grotto of the
Great Fountain. The strain was melancholy as
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 185
that of a doomed captive. Believe me, dear
Kirtyah, the maiden is in deadly peril."
" She shall be protected ; I have sworn it," the
sorceress replied. " Thinkest thou I am jealous ?
Nay, nay, my friend ; 'tis some diviner impulse.
It may be penitence for myself or pity for another
that moves me. I only know this maiden, no less
beautiful than pure, must be saved, and that by
Kirtyah the sorceress.
" But come with me. I have that to say which
should not be overheard, and Ikba, though a
dullard, hath ears."
Kirtyah then withdrew to the laboratory,
accompanied by Hunap. Here she confided to
him the results of her interview with Thalok, also
her own plan of action in certain contingencies in
which the charioteer was to perform a principal
part. After a few moments of earnest consulta-
tion, Hunap took leave, fearing his absence might
be discovered by his master.
After he had departed, Kirtyah gathered the
drops that had fallen from Thalok's wounded
hand and folded them carefully in a scarf he
had thrown off and forgotten. She then went
to the cage of Lucksor, lingered a moment to
186 ATLA.
contemplate the venomous beast, and with an
exultant smile, as she remembered the habits and
instincts of the asp, sought her couch.
At midnight the high-priest gave his horses to
a groom, and, after securing his deadly treasure,
hastened to the tower of Kohl, and carefully
scrutinised a tablet that reflected the Garden
of Palms. Thereon, impressed by some lunar
chemistry, were two figures, easily recognised
as those of Atla and Herekla, standing near the
Star Pavilion.
u Ha ! " said the priest, grinding his teeth ;
" sits the wind in that direction ? It may increase
to a tornado, that will sweep our fine prince into
the sea ! *'
At dawn, when the ship of Herekla was passing
the Mole of Pirhua, Ciquan found Thalok in a
thicket near the gateway of the garden ; his
haggard features bore witness to a night of anxious
watching.
" I left the vault of the Quenchless Lamp at
midnight, to bring important tidings," said Ciquan,
with a sneer, " and during all these hours have
sought thee in vain."
Examining the point of his dagger, Thalok
THE PALACE OF NIGHT. 187
answered, sullenly : " And I have waited all night
for the Phoenician to leave the Garden."
"And the prince," Ciquan retorted, "is by
this [time under full sail outside the harbour of
Pirhua ! "
XXIX.
THE FEAST OF RAYNIR.
" The sun has crossed the tropic line,
He rests at Aries' double bars,
And tempest-beaten dimly shines
In stormy Libra's triple stars."
The great event of the year, to the Atlanteans,
was the Feast of the Sun-serpent, celebrated at
the Midsummer Solstice, which was also the king's
f&te day. An unusual display had been ordered
for the present occasion; partly to gratify the
luxurious tendencies of the age, and partly to
impress the distinguished foreigners, now so
unfortunately absent.
The morning of the great day opened auspiciously,
and, as the monarch, in the Hall of the God,
awaited the pageant that was to inaugurate the
ceremonies, a messenger announced the coming of
THE FEAST OF BAYNIE. 189
Astera and Atla. King Kron welcomed them with
a smile. After the birthday gifts and good wishes
were offered, he embraced them, as had been his
habit from their infancy, and, throwing an arm
around each, playfully drew them to a place upon
the throne.
At this moment the blare of trumpets and tramp
of armed men resounded through the hall, and the
procession that was to escort the king to the
teocalli entered the archway.
In advance were the Chatzes, sacrificial execu-
tioners, in blood-red uniform, with Thalok the
high-priest at their head. His fierce eyes blazed
with jealousy as he perceived Atla seated on the
right hand of the king, and it was observed that
when all others made obeisance, he bowed not, but
muttered: "Our lord forgets the business of the
day."
The Atlantean world was already assembled to
witness a spectacle of unprecedented grandeur.
Garden and grove, terrace and balcony were
thronged with gaily-dressed spectators, eager to
view the gorgeous pageant. First came an effigy
*of the Sea-god, founder of the kingdom, seated
190 ATLA.
in a scallop car drawn by elephants; next was a
colossal image of the Serpent, with a sun crest on
his head ; to this car was attached a team of eight
black-maned lions, whose roaring echoed the bellow
of the goaded elephants. These were followed by
the chariots of the king, princes, and nobles, vying
with each other in curious shape and magnificent
blazonry. Behind these marched the soldiers, and,
lastly, surrounded by the Chatze guard, came the
victims that were this day to be immolated.
These consisted of ten white bulls, wreathed in
garlands, and a hundred human beings, captives
from distant lands — for the Serpent deity was
supposed to delight in the sacrifice of men and
women.
As the glittering pageant streamed down the
broad avenues of the city, the high walls on either
side reverberated with the roar and bellow of
chained beasts. The noise was increased by the
mournful lowing of cattle, the wail of the captives,
mingled with the clangour of trumpet, gong, and
drum, making a pandemonium intolerable to un-
initiated ears, but pleasing to the vitiated taste of
an Atlantean assemblage.
After passing through the principal thorough-^
THE FEAST OF RAYNIR. 191
fares, the procession turned into the grand avenue
and paused in front of the teocalli. A breathless
silence pervaded the expectant throng, every ear
was attentive, every eye was fixed upon the great
temple, where was to be witnessed a public
exhibition of the mysteries, a transformation scene
by daylight, in the open air.
Suddenly a loud detonation shook the city, and
a vast, white cumulus cloud burst from the roof
of the Tower of Kohl. Majestically it ascended,
climbed higher and higher, as if aspiring to the
ethereal vault. For a moment it hung suspended
in the sky, then separated into seven parts, which,
bending outward and downward, seemed to con-
dense /slowly from vapour to crystal water-drops,
through which innumerable rainbows played. As
the showers descended they became still more
condensed, and seven glittering cascades poured
their treasures over the tower, these gradually
grew less in height and greater in volume, sinking
lower and lower, till at length, when the level
of the roof was reached, there appeared naught
but a sparkling summer sea, heaving in long,
slow undulations. Then upon the vast stretch
of these phantom waves a great commotion took
192 ATLA.
place — thunder, lightning, smoke and flame burst
forth; the water hissed and seethed, and from a
vapour black as night blazed forth the golden
chariot of Poseidon, drawn by dolphins and driven
by the god, whose free arm encircled the form
of his companion, the beautiful Kleita. Simul-
taneously with their appearance the storm passed,
the water grew calm. Above them hovered
winged cupids, around floated sea-nymphs, while
to the sound of aerial music the phantasmal
pageant slowly sailed across the illusive sea,
grew more distant, dim, and cloud-like, till it
faded into thin air. No accident marred the
perfect illusion of this wonderful exhibition, and for
several moments after it had entirely disappeared,
the spectators remained in rapt astonishment.
Agreeably to time-honoured usage, the ladies of
the Court then retired; the procession moved on,
and, like a huge serpent, wound its course up the
broad stairway of the seven terraces, through the
open portals of the temple, pausing before the
inscribed pillar of the adytum, where the white
bulls were slain and their bodies burned upon
the altar.
Here the oracle was received, the voice coming
THE FEAST OF BAYNIB. 193
from beneath the altar. The words were as usual,
ambiguous, and in this instance also alarming.
"When the stem of the Lily is broken,
The flowers will perish."
Thalok was startled ; the voice and words were
not what he expected; being an adept in know-
ledge of the elementals, he was painfully conscious
of adverse currents. Who had dared to tamper
with his arrangements ? He scrutinised the crevice
in the altar from whence the sound proceeded.
Were his eyes at fault or did he perceive a flash
within the dark chamber, a shifting scintillation
that recalled a scene he had recently witnessed in
the grotto of the sorceress ? He would send a spy
at once and ascertain if the seal upon the door of
the cavern were broken. But before an oppor-
tunity was found for carrying out this purpose, an
event occurred that drove the circumstance from
his mind.
At the words of the oracle, the countenance of
the king also grew troubled. He strove to in-
terpret its meaning. " If the stem of the Lily be
broken." To his doting affection there was but
one "Lily" in the world — Atla, fairest of the
daughters of men. " The stem " must be the royal
o
194 ATLA.
favour and support, that could not be wanting
while Kron lived. He fixed his penetrating eyes
on Thalok, and the shadow on his face darkened as
the train left the temple and passed on through the
court to the highest terrace, where a pavilion for
the use of royalty had been erected opposite the
stone altar Vyaka and the funeral pyre.
Among the captives about to be immolated
were two persons round whom centred the chief
interest of this dreadful occasion, Azan, a young
man, and Zagra, his betrothed. These unfortunates, "
who were possessed of extraordinary beauty and
were of exalted rank in their own country, had
been captured by Atlantean pirates during a war
with the cliff-dwellers of the north, waged for the
very purpose of supplying the annual sacrifice.
The melancholy of their sad fate during the
months of mocking preparation was only mitigated
by the knowledge that they might die together.
These victims were not to fall ignobly under
the knives of the Chatzes, but by the hand of
Thalok and the priests of the seven luminaries.
The king and nobles were seated, soldiers and
officers stood on the right, the captives and their
implacable guard on the left; the crowd, in hushed
THE FEAST OF BAYNIB. 195
expectation, waited below ; while over all the
glorious light of a midsummer sun was shining.
The dial on the tower of the temple marked
the appointed moment, the fatal trumpet sounded.
Azan and Zagra walked slowly toward the altar,
casting aside garlands, ornaments, and broken
musical instruments, and in wild despair chanting
their own death-song.
" Another glance, oh, saddest eyes,
O'er the fair earth, the bending skies,
And eager crowd who wait beneath
To hear the warning trumpet's breath
That summons us to die !
Sweet breeze, waft to our northern home
A sad farewell.
The shame and anguish of our doom
Do not reveal.
11 Hark ! 'tis the signal-note of death ;
It stills the heart, it stops the breath ;
Dim grows the sun's unpitying glare,
Dull hiss the serpents in their lair,
The fatal moments fly.
Clasped in a cold embrace, the last,
Love's agony will soon be past
And hushed our latest sigh.''
As their voices died away, Azan threw his
strong arms round the trembling form of his
companion ; there was a stifled groan ; they
shuddered, and sank together upon the marble
o 2
196 ATLA.
steps of the altar. As the prostrate forms re-
mained motionless, the attending priests lifted
them, gazed in their faces, and uttered a shriek of
horror.
Azan and Zagra were dead !
A slender double-pointed shaft, skilfully con-
cealed in Zagra's luxuriant tresses, had unobserved
been placed between them, and the resolute em-
brace of Azan had in one breath for ever stilled
each beating heart. •
Thalok, who stood with uplifted knife, was first
to comprehend the nature of the calamity; with
quick sagacity he foresaw the consequence upon
the superstitious crowd, and springing forward, by
violent words recalled the senses of the stupefied
priests, himself dragged the bodies to the altar, tore
out their yet warm hearts, and held them aloft
toward the sun.
But now a low breathing music was heard, a
mournful wail, that rose and fell in smothered
cadence. Then, from an opening in the terrace,
as from a subterranean cave, emerged the Vestal
Band, the twelve virgins to whose care was en-
trusted the sacred flame ordinarily used to ignite
the funeral pyre. Their tresses were dishevelled,
THE FEAST OF RAYNIR. 197
their garments rent, ashes were scattered upon
their heads, the lamps in their hands were lustreless
and inverted.
As they emerged into the sunlight they beat
their breasts and shrieked, in frantic tones :
" The Quenchless Lamp is dead ;
There is no Sacred Firs.
Oh, presage wondrous, dread,
We saw its flame expire ! "
Those who heard and understood were horror,
stricken, but the courage of Thalok was not
daunted.
" Weak fools ! " he scornfully cried. u Know
ye not I have power to rekindle the sacred flame ?
Behold the magic lens that can draw fire from
reluctant heaven."
So saying he tore off the sacred bracelet and,
raising it aloft, directed the burning focus upon the
heaped combustibles.
But now appeared a more dreadful omen, before
which even his stout heart quailed. The lens
concentrated no light or heat-giving rays !
Absorbed in the unprecedented events which
had just taken place, Thalok had not noticed what
more calm observers had uneasily perceived.
198 ATLA.
Although no cloud darkened heaven, the noontide
sun was surely growing dim. He glanced upward^
and to his inexpressible dismay saw a black object
slowly encroaching up on its disk and blotting out
its light.
He turned to earth; a lurid gloom overspread
the landscape, familiar objects were strangely in-
distinct. In the dreadful noonday twilight the
upturned faces of the terrified multitude grew
livid, like those of men long dead. The brute
creation slunk to cover with suppressed moans,
dogs looked at the sky and howled, birds screeched
and fluttered to their nests, vegetation drooped,
not a blade of grass or a leaf quivered.
And now a deep crimson shadow like a blood-
stain fell upon the distant sea; with undeviating
rush it swept across the water, invaded the land
and struck the breathless city. It passed — a
sickly green hue succeeded — then the air curdled
to transpicuous blackness. In the unnatural dusk
men gazed upon each other in horror ; they would
have fled — but whither ? They turned from the
livid faces around them to the lurid twilight on
land and sea, and thence to the darkened dome
above. Oh, fearful sight ! the stars were out.
THE FEAST OF RAYNIR. 199
Strangely distinct in the black vault, a sword-
shaped comet hung over the sun, and the great
star Mazzaroth blazed forth from midday dark-
ness !
The air grew chill, the wings of death over-
shadowed creation ; in the brooding silence men
heard the throb of their own hearts; breathing
was suspended as in dread of something more
awful still.
It came — a shudder — a roar — an earthquake
jarred the land and rumbled away into the sea.
The eclipse was as unexpected as it was appall-
ing, for the Atlanteans were far behind the Ori-
entals in astrological science. But although
Thalok was for a moment paralysed, he soon
recovered his self-possession. He was a man of
unbounded courage and vast resource, and know-
ing the phenomenon would last but an instant
longer, he shrewdly determined to use this misad-
venture for his own purpose.
" The god is angry at the self-immolation of the
victims!'' he shouted. "The sacrifice must be
greater/'
Then turning to the stupefied Chatzes, he
roared :
200 ATLA.
" To your work ! to your work ! Gut down the
captives and the Vestals through whose neglect
these dire calamities have befallen us. Let blood
flow to slake the vengeance of the Serpent ! M
Thus inflamed, the executioners, led by Ciquan,
rushed upon the unhappy victims, and frenzied by
the unnatural darkness, the infernal butchery, the
groans of the men and shrieks of the murdered
virgins, they struck blindly at each other and at
the terrified crowd. The panic was becoming
general; the throng pressed toward the royal
pavilion in a wild hope of protection, and Thalok,
who had roused this deadly fray, saw with secret
satisfaction that the lives of the king and Prince
Zemar were endangered.
Kron, who had conducted many a battle, also
perceived the danger, and rising in majesty he
signalled the royal archers, thundering out his
orders :
" Let go the arrows ! Shoot the foremost of the
murderers ! Put an end to this insane slaughter ! "
The archers sprang forward, the sharp twang
of a thousand bowstrings was heard, a shower of
arrows hustled through the gloom, and Thalok^
gnashing his teeth in rage, saw Ciquan and the
TEE FEAST OF RAYNIR. 201
three assassins, who were that night to assault the
palace, fall to the ground.
The panic was stayed ; but when the sun burst
forth again his unveiled splendour disclosed a
ghastly spectacle of carnage and death. The
pomp and glory of this ill-omened festival had
departed; with sinking hearts and grave fore-
bodings the vast assembly dispersed.
The evening banquet was spiritless as a funeral
feast, the shadow of a dreadful disaster hung over
the guests, and at an early hour the king retired
to the privacy of his own apartments.
XXX.
THE VAULT OF THE QUENCHED LAMP.
"A black slave walked behind the pageant, proclaiming, in a
monrnfnl voice : ' Even the king must die — must die.' "
In the subterranean vault of the now Quenched
Lamp, the conspirator sat alone. The Sun of the
Crypt hung black ; a feeble candle scarcely served
to make the darkness visible. No faintest click
issued from the auditory tubes ; after the tumult
of the day, a night of awful calm succeeded.
Thalok sat alone and pondered. The art of
relighting the quintuple wick was hopelessly lost ;
vengeance had done its worst upon the unfor-
tunates to whose neglect he attributed its extinc-
tion ; he recalled their cruel death without a pang ;
for the panic and slaughter he felt neither regret
nor remorse.
But at the thought of Ciquan and the chosen
TEE VAULT OF TEE QUENGEED LAMP. 203
assassins lie shuddered and buried his face in his
hands — not from weak sorrow for their fate — no
puerile grief or womanish sympathy melted that
stony heart. Thalok had lost his pliant tools, the
accomplices and executors of his diabolical con-
spiracy. Ciquan and his ruffians were dead — that
perhaps after all was well — none could now betray
him. But they were slain by the royal archers —
at the king's command. Thalok was foiled; and
the cause of his failure, Kron, the King of Atlan-
tis, the lover of Atla, still lived !
The passions of jealousy and revenge warmed
his benumbed faculties into action. He sprang
up with renewed energy, surveyed the parapegm
in the dome of the Crypt, and saw with exultation
his star in the ascendant. He glanced mechani-
cally at the place formerly occupied by Ciquan;
hesitated as if for an approving nod, then went
to a closed niche, took from it the phial of the
sorceress, and pushed with all his strength against
a massive stone in the wall. It yielded to his
efforts, and, turning slowly upon a pivot, disclosed
naught but vacant darkness.
Thalok took the dim candle, stepped within,
and, closing the heavy barrier, disappeared.
204 ATLA.
The hours of night went by; sunrise smiled
upon the city of Atlan ; the buzz of industry and
the roar of commerce again filled its streets; but
in the palace of Hesper an unbroken stillness pre-
vailed, for the slumbers of the monarch were
protracted. As day advanced surprise at this
unusual somnolence increased to apprehension ;
and, after consultation among the household-
officials, Tamitz, a confidential servant, cautiously
entered the chamber.
The shriek which followed drew the waiting
attendants into the apartment. Tamitz had fallen
senseless to the floor. A sickening odour, dissipated
by the draught of air, was perceptible, and upon the
couch lay the majestic form of the monarch in the
rigid repose of the dead. His features were, as
they had been in life, grave and tranquil ; not a
muscle was distorted, not a mark of convulsion
visible.
King Kron, the mighty, had passed, without a
shock, out of the land of dreams to that undis-
covered country from which neither king nor
subject ever returns.
The royal physician was summoned, but all in
vain. The palace was thrown into confusion; a
THE VAULT OF THE QUENCHED LAMP. 205
signal, used only upon similar occasions, announced
to the startled city the death of the sovereign.
The temple of Kohl caught the sound, and for
hours echoed the solemn tone that said to each
listener, " Even kings must die ! "
Thalok, who nervously waited for the signal,
hastened at once to the palace. To a careless
observer, his worn and anxious expression might
have indicated grief, as by virtue of seniority he
took command. By his masterly tact order was
soon restored, the body of his brother, arranged
in royal robes, was laid in the Hall of the God,
guarded by soldiers, and the embalmers were en-
joined to prepare for their office. He repeated in
mournful voice the words of the oracle, and in-
sinuated that the death of the king was due to
the vengeance of the deities so grossly insulted at
the sacrifice.
Preparation for the obsequies would consume
several days, and Thalok immediately assembled
the ten princes, now so conveniently at hand, and
proposed to elect a regent, that the government
might not suffer for want of a head. It was
observed with surprise that Prince Zemar did not
appear at this convention of nobles.
206 ATLA.
According to Atlantean law, the high-priest
would be the successor of his brother if there
should be no male issue in the direct line, that is,
if the Princess Astera should never become the
mother of a son. Although she was during her
minority eligible to the office of the regency so
coveted by Thalok, none of the princes ventured
to propose her name, knowing the desperate cha-
racter of the man with whom they were dealing,
and that their own continued supremacy depended
upon unquestioning acquiescence in his wishes;
therefore the proposition that the high-priest
should be appointed regent with the crown and
title of king, received unanimous assent.
A private coronation then took place, the crown
and sceptre were transferred to Thalok at once,
for the princes were in haste to leave a spot so
fatal.
Thus it happened that the band of official
mourners, who at noontide paraded the streets in
sackcloth and ashes, crying : u The king is dead ! "
that same evening shouted with joyful voice:
<( Long live our master, Thalok the King ! "
XXXI.
IN THE PAVILION.
" Falling leaf and fading tree,
Lines of white in a sullen sea,
Shadows rising on you and me."
When the Court physician saw that his services
were no longer required in the chamber of death,
he hastened to anticipate any injudicious messenger
who might convey to the princesses intelligence of
their irreparable loss.
He found them taking their morning repast in
the Eose Arbour of the Garden with Zemar, an
invited guest. Their happy young faces, framed
by the arched doorway of roses, presented such a
contrast to the scene he had just witnessed, that,
overcome by emotion, he sank speechless upon a
seat outside the arbour. They hastened to his
assistance, perceiving at once that he was the
208 ATLA.
bearer of evil tidings. With reluctant lips he
faltered forth the story, confirmed on the instant
by the solemn booming of the death- signal.
Astera would have flown to the chamber of her
father, but by gentle restraint she was conveyed
to the Pavilion, where her friends strove to calm
her grief and their own scarcely less violent. A
sense of danger mingled with their sorrow. By
this untoward and shocking event the situation,
already so perplexing, had become positively
alarming. They had lost a powerful friend, and
must inevitably fall into the hands of the unscrupu-
lous tyrant who would succeed him.
After a general consultation, Atla took her
foster-father aside and confided to him the story of
her stormy interview with the high-priest.
u I had hoped to pass the ordeal alone and spare
thee any knowledge of this complication," she said,
"but since the dreadful event of this morning,
further concealment would be criminal. By a
necessity forced upon me I have made this
powerful prince mine enemy, but indeed I could
do no otherwise ; I could not marry Thalok."
" Atla," the sage replied, " beauty is a
misfortune and a snare, yet I would not have thee
IN THE PAVILION. 209
other than thou art ; union with Thalok would be
worse than death, my child, my dearest friend."
"Dear father," she rejoined cheerfully, "I speak
of my unfortunate relation to the high-priest, not
that I fear him, but because all these circumstances
must be taken into consideration in deciding our
future course. I beseech you do not give yourself
anxiety on my account; there is One who can
thwart and conquer even proud Thalok, and this
One will come at my call."
" Who is this powerful friend, my Atla ? "
t( It is the conqueror Death ! " she solemnly
replied.
Ishma shuddered, and placing his arm round her
slight form as if to shield her, said :
" There is another friend, my child, more potent
still. One who controls even the issues of life and
death."
" Who is he, dear father ? "
" My God and thine ! "
Both were silent a moment absorbed in thought
•or prayer, then Ishma spoke :
" If immediate danger threatens, remember the
false panel and the hollow wall; there secrete thyself
till I come again. Meantime remain quietly in this
p
210 ATLA.
place ; I will send a message in cypher, if occasion
should require."
As the prince and physician were about to retire
and arrange a definite plan of action, Astera rose in
great agitation, and, throwing her arms around
Zemar, cried out : " My father is no more ; the
cause of his death is unknown. Zemar, thou must
remain with me ; I cannot have thee beyond my
sight ; I shall die if evil befalls thee."
Then, as if ashamed of this sudden weakness,
she put him from her gently, saying :
" Art thou well armed, my Zemar ? "
" I always carry weapons/' he replied, em-
bracing her affectionately ; " but my dearest
Astera has almost disarmed me by her fears. I
must leave thee for the moment to complete some
necessary arrangements with the few faithful ser-
vants Thalok has not corrupted, after which I
will return. But if I am sooner needed, send
a message to the chamber of Ishma. Beloved,
farewell."
XXXII.
THE OPAL.
" talisman of weal or woe,
O wondrous gem, thy magic glow
Is heaven's own fire."
As Zemar left the room Astera turned to her
friend with a troubled look and said : t€ Was I
un queenly or unmaidenly, Atla? I know not
why it is thus, but I am distressed for more than
the death of my beloved father ; I have a dread of
other and still greater misfortune.
" Dost thou believe in the magic power of
gems ? Look then upon this opal, a gem held
sacred in the family of the high - priest for
thousands of years. Zemar entrusted it to my
care, charging me to wear it always next my
heart.
"It was found in some far-off land ages ago,
r 2
212 ATLA.
and it is believed that just before the great deluge
an angel brought it from the sun to propitiate the
favour of a mortal maid. It is also said that upon
the borders of our beautiful lake he prepared a
paradise for her dwelling-place. From this angel
our palace derives its name. But his love was
rejected, because it was sinful.
"The story, I think, is a fable, hiding some
mystery, for the angel was Hesper, Star of the
West, and the name of the maiden was Seola, a
word which means the soul."
"That name," said Atla, "how strangely it
moves me ! I cannot have heard it before. And
yet, when it is spoken, dim memories like ghosts
arise. Perhaps among my ancestry there may
have been some But it is useless to form
conjectures, my origin is involved in impenetrable
mystery. All life, dear sister, is a mystery. But
I interrupt you."
" This glorious gem," Astera resumed, " if what
men assert be true, has power to protect loved
ones from evil. It also warns of approaching
danger. How flashed the scintillations from its
heart of fire ! How glowed the shifting waves of
rainbow light !
THE OPAL. 213
" Behold it now, pale and faded! The lustre
quenched, the colour dimmed ; dull as a pebble on
the sea-vexed shore.
" What does this change portend ? I fear some
serions peril threatens ; there is a shadow in the
way, a shadow invisible to human eyes, but which
so intercepts the light of heaven it cannot reach
the sunborn opal. For myself I care little. But
tell me, my Atla, thou hast the gift of prophecy,
does any disaster threaten the life of my cousin
Zemar ? "
Atla pressed the hand of the trembling girl and
after a long silence spoke.
"The shadow hangs over my path also, dear
sister, we must pass through it together. But be
comforted. Afar off I see Zemar crowned right
royally, standing in the sunlight.
" And I have seen more than this. Dost thou
remember the evening when, sitting by the great
fountain, I proposed that we go to the Hanging-
Gardens because the air was close and methought
I saw phantoms ? ,J
" Yes, I well remember. It was the day of the
Phoenicians' arrival. I was distracted with appre-
hension ; I fancied thou wert distraught also."
214 ATLA.
"Well, now I must tell thee what happened
that night. Thy uncle, Thalok, came to visit me
when I was alone in the balcony. He came unin-
vited and unannounced. No need to repeat what
passed — but he left the place in a transport of
smothered rage. Knowing he would not return,
at least for a few hours, I went forth to quiet my
spirit and form some plan for the future. While
I sat by the fountain a warning vision passed
before me. I heard solemn voices that curdled
my blood saying, c Depart, depart ! Woe, woe ! ' "
" Whence came this mysterious vision, these
warning voices ? "
" If it be true, dear Astera, that I am possessed
of a prophetic gift, some dread event is impending.
We, or I at'least, must ' depart * from this place."
" The gods forbid that thou shouldst leave me,"
Astera replied warmly. " Thou shalt not depart
alone, I will be thy companion ! "
The words were scarcely finished when the
ounce, which had been quietly lying by Astera's
side, sprang up from sleep, broke his leash, tore
madly round the room and bounded through the
open door. Astera flew after him, for no hand
but hers could restrain his rage.
THE OPAL. 215
He ran swiftly along the garden path, sniffing
the ground and air by turns and snarling viciously.
Astera threw the leash over his head, cautiously
checked his violence and by voice and gesture
drew him to her side, at the same time offering a
confection, of which he was fond.
" Yundza ! Yundza ! " she cried, patting his
head and soothing him, " thou art getting danger-
ous. Art mad ? If these wild pranks are repeated
thou must submit to the muzzle, a disgrace to
such a glorious animal. Oome in, good fellow.
Be quiet upon the mat till evening and thou shalt
have a bird for supper."
Then turning to Atla, she said : " I wonder at
the beast. He has never behaved thus until
recently. For two days past he has been restless
and savage, starting without apparent cause,
growling and whining as if he saw or heard a
ghost.
" Can it be possible that Yundza perceives that
which is hidden from our sense ? "
XXXIII.
UNCERTAINTY.
14 The waters have a crimson glow,
The hours are breathing faint and low."
Meanwhile the young prince and the physician
hastened through the deserted walks and silent
corridors till the apartments of Ishina were reached.
When they were alone Zemar exclaimed: "Oh,
my friend, what can be done in this unlooked-for
emergency? Our position is most critical; danger
is imminent."
" I would gladly forfeit the poor remnant of my
days," the sage replied, " to save the young lives I
hold so dear ; but the sacrifice would avail nothing,
we are in the grasp of an enemy who can destroy
us at will.
" Yet we must not yield supinely ; every ex-
pedient to save ourselves must be tried. Thalok,
UNCERTAINTY. 217
no doubt, will defer the consummation of his
conspiracy until the obsequies of the king are
solemnised ; he "will not dare another desperate
crime so close upon the mysterious death of his
brother. Meantime the problem may be solved in
an unexpected manner. Last night, while seeking
wisdom in prayer, I discovered a strange sign in
heaven. What mean the celestial omens? They
are without precedent since the days of King
Nanachus, when the world was destroyed by a
flood."
" Flood and fire," said Zemar, despondingly ;
" these are the weapons with which the gods pursue
helpless mortals."
" Say not the gods," Ishma replied, in solemn
voice; " there is but one God, and He by law
immutable, punishes sin and rewards righteousness."
"But, my friend, do not the wicked prosper, are
not the innocent sacrificed ? "
" In the end justice will certainly triumph; but,
my Zemar, with our limited vision we see not the
end."
" That is a comfortless answer," the young man
replied, " when danger presses so closely, when
the sword hangs over our heads. Yet here I make
218 ATLA.
a vow : if the plotters are overwhelmed, and the
innocent are saved, I will be the servant of thy God
for ever."
" My son/' said Ishma, " do not make con-
ditions with a Being of infinite wisdom. Notwith-
standing this error, I pray God may accept thy
vow.
" It is true Thalok thus far apparently prospers.
He scruples at no crime to accomplish his purpose.
He suborns prince and judge, he clears the path of.
ambition and self-indulgence by the dagger and
.poison, he has the intellect and will of a demi-god
with the heart of a fiend. But there is one stronger
than Thalok, whose law, slow but certain, will
sooner or later overtake him."
"Ishma, may not another be a sword in the
hand of thy God, and turn against himself the
weapons Thalok uses so effectually ? **
u Oh, no ! we should thus make ourselves assas-
sins, breaking one law to fulfil another ; that should
not be; but we may, we must, go armed in self-
defence."
" I have been armed for many a day, yet have
never struck a blow, and now that the crisis has
come, what can I accomplish by further inaction ? "
UNCERTAINTY. 219
"I have a plan by which Thalok may be con-
victed of a crime that even the princes of Atlantis
will not condone.
"But this requires work in the laboratory.
There was a dark stain on the pillow where King
Kron met his doom. He died no natural death.
Perhaps I can detect and aid in the conviction of
the murderer. Alas ! we have fallen on evil times ;
the heavens frown, the earth trembles; if the
foreign astrologers err not, some dreadful crisis is
near. Having no charts or data in this country
by which to reckon, I have lost the ability for
accurate calculations ; but I know this much, the
position of the heavenly bodies is alarming. We
must decide upon our course of action without
delay.
" Wilt thou go with me into the laboratory, my
Zemar?"
As the prince was about to comply, a servant
appeared, with a request that he should go imme-
diately to the Lady Astera, who was now in her
own apartments in the palace. Somewhat surprised
at this sudden recall, Zemar bade the physician
farewell and hastened after the messenger.
During the remainder of the day Ishma wrought
220 ATLA.
among the chemicals, and at last detected in the
dark substance that had fallen on the king's pillow,
the virus of a serpent.
So absorbed did he become in this investigation
that he listened to the monotonous boom of the
death-signal as in a dream, and scarcely noticed
the wail of the mourners passing the palace. But
when evening drew on and increasing shadows
drove him to the open window, he was startled by
the cry :
" Long live our master, Thalok the King ! M
This was amazing ! the king not yet entombed,
and his successor already proclaimed ! such pre-
cipitation was without precedent in the annals of
the nation.
Why this indecent haste, unless to forestall in-
quiry as to the mysterious death of King Kron
and prevent any exposure the penetration and
skill of the Eastern sage might threaten ?
:xxxiv.
THE FLIGHT.
" Signs in heaven and signs on earth,
Blood and fire and vapour of smoke."
Greatly perplexed, Ishma went out upon the
balcony, striving to solve the obscure problem.
The strange star again burned in the northern
sky; a luminous haze pervaded the lower atmo-
sphere and reflected in the placid waters of Ziclan,
lo ! the young moon with the evening star in her
arms ; Ashteroth hangs in the cusp ! A rush of
memory brought the hot blood to Ishma's face, as
he saw before him the realisation of his vision on
the night of Astera's birth.
"My dream ! my dream ! " he exclaimed; "for
Astera this is the hour of fate ; that of her friend
no doubt is involved. How shall I interpret the
heaven-sent warning ? I must consult the prince."
222 ATLA.
He turned and met his trusty servant Zapta,
who that moment entered the chamber and pre-
sented him with a silken roll. " Good master,"
he said, t€ this message admits of no delay. Zilba
of the Glittering Bye, page to the King Thalok,
bade me place the scroll in thy hand, and in no
other. He waits without, to interpret or enforce
the meaning, if that be necessary."
Ishma opened the scroll. Thereon was de-
picted a serpent holding a star within his jaws ; a
flame issued from his crest, and above it was a
sacred vessel, from which a column of steam issued.
Beneath were these words :
" Ply ! This from Kietyah."
Who was Kirtyah ? Ishma pondered ; that
question he could not answer, but his perceptions,
quickened by alarm, gave him at once a clue to
the hieroglyph. The serpent was the high -priest
of the Sun — the star within his deadly fangs was
Astera — the chalice atid the boiling water — what
were they ? Water ? It must mean Atla wasting
in the fire of Thalok's passion. All this was
clear.
"Fly!" Whither? The doubt was dis-
tracting, decision imperative. Seeing the servant
THE FLIGHT. 223
still waiting, a sudden inspiration prompted the
question.
" Zapta ! "
u Master ! "
"What ships lie in the basin of Atlan?"
" None, my lord, save the Eastern vessel called
the Moon."
" The Moon," said Ishma, suddenly illuminated.
" Should not the Star be in its keeping ?
" Zapta, go swiftly to the chamber of thy mis-
tress in the Palace, and tell the Ladies Astera and
Atla that they are to prepare for a long journey."
" My lord, the ladies are not in the Palace."
" What sayest thou — not in the Palace ?
Where are they ? "
"Still at the Star Pavilion, my lord."
"This is unaccountable. A messenger from
Astera called Zemar to her rooms in the Palace
six hours ago."
"Zapta, listen to my orders; observe the
utmost secrecy. Go swiftly to the Garden and
deliver this message. Pause not on the way, nor
speak to any."
He placed in the hands of the servant a tablet
on which he had engraved a number of peculiar
224 ATLA.
figures. " Give this," lie added, " to the Princess
Atla; she will read it and send me a token.
Hasten your return; life and death hang in the
balance."
Zapta sped breathless through the twilight and
delivered the message. Atla read, grew pale, and
springing to her feet called to her sister. She
explained the significance of the hieroglyphs, and
drawing a line across them returned the tablet to
the servant, who departed as silently as he came.
The cypher arranged by Atla and her father,
known to them alone, read thus : " The crisis has
come. Prepare for a long absence. Chariots will
meet you at the gate of the Garden. I will
summon Zemar."
Confidence in Ishma had been the habit of her
life ; and had she not also received a supernatural
warning ? No questions were asked ; fear quick-
ened every movement, and in the briefest possible
time the party stood in the shadow of the gate
listening for the rumble of the chariots.
When Ishma ascertained that the princesses had
not arrived at the Palace, he concluded there was
a mistake in the message of the morning, and that
THE FLIGHT. 225
Zemar had joined them at the Star Pavilion,
where he would learn of the abrupt turn affairs
had taken ; but to prevent the possibility of fail-
ure, he called Salza, another faithful servant, bade
him search diligently for the prince and deliver a
message, advising that he go directly to the harbour
and meet the party who would soon arrive.
This done he paused a moment to review the
situation. "The risk is fearful/' thought he,
"but there is no alternative. Thalok may
summon us at any moment.
" The warning of the mysterious Kirtyah, and
the extraordinary fulfilment of my dream, are
admonitions from heaven — they cannot be misin-
terpreted. The new moon is just setting, dark-
ness will favour our flight ; and yet, if we are
surprised The lives of these young innocents
hang upon my decision. I tremble at the respon-
sibility. I doubt my own judgment."
He hesitated, and again went to the open
window. Upon the mountain slope opposite, a
broad field of poppies had been sown in the spring-
time, among the seeds of which had been inad-
vertently scattered those of the asphodel. The
flaming poppies had opened on the day previous
Q
226 ATLA.
to the fatal Feast of Kaynir, and Ishma had
watched with interest for the effect of the white
blossoms which would soon appear in untutored
shape among the blood-red flowers.
The fading glow of sunset lingering upon this
brilliant patch of colour, caught Ishma' s eye. The
asphodels had suddenly opened, and in such a
manner ! To his horror there appeared stretched
across the crimson field, an undulating line of
light, as it were a white serpent descending the
mountain, its course directed toward the palace !
u It is madness to doubt ! " he cried, in the
alarm of conviction. "If I hesitate longer the
dead walls will speak."
Hastily gathering his parchments, medicines,
and other treasures, he placed them in a big
chest, threw his robes over them, and when the
servants returned, opened the secret passage which
had so facilitated the exit of Herekla, and in a
few moments joined the party in the cabin of the
Moon.
But Zemar had not arrived. Salza declared he
could neither find the prince nor gain any informa-
tion concerning him subsequent to his departure
with the messenger of Astera.
TEE FLIGET. 227
Pilled with alarm Ishma made further inquiry,
and learned that as the afternoon wore away and
Zemar came not, Astera sent a messenger, who
returned, saying he was nowhere to be found.
Thinking he might have been summoned to his
father's presence, she had waited anxiously till
nightfall, and was about to renew the search, when
Ishma's startling message absorbed every other
thought.
Their hearts sank with vague forebodings.
Astera insisted upon delay till this strange dis-
appearance could be investigated, and Ishma was
about to take the hazard, when a heavy boom
sounded from the tower of Kohl and balls of fire
shot rapidly from the Castle, signals always given
for the pursuit of fugitives.
" Our flight is discovered," cried Ishma. u The
guard are already on our track. In a moment
they will swarm upon the quay, and escape will
be impossible."
Everything was in readiness ; Karmos, the cap-
tain, had profound respect for the Oriental physi-
cian ; he was aware that the Moon was a present
to the Princess Astera ; the sumptuously appointed
vessel was placed at her disposal; her commands
q 2
228 ATLA
were law; and when the order to cast off was
given, the rowers bent to their oars, the sails
responded to the invitation of the breeze, the
Moon slipped from her moorings and flew like
an arrow out into the canal before the raging
emissaries of the tyrant could reach the quay.
Zemar was perforce abandoned; it was better
that his fate should be left in uncertainty than
that the destruction of the others should be made
sure.
XXXV.
A STORM AT SEA.
" But who shall bide thy tempest, who shall dare
The blast that wakes the fury of the sea."
The royal seal presented to Atla by the enamoured
king, insured prompt attention from government
officials. The Phoenician Moon dropped quietly
down the canal, the" warders threw open the sea-
gates, and, with these facilities, the fugitives soon
found themselves outside the last breakwater.
Bright starlight made the surroundings visible,
and Atla regarded with mournful interest the scene
of her mother's shipwreck and death and her own
advent into life. Stimulated by these associations,
her thoughts concentrated as never before upon the
mystery of her parentage and country. She had
often visited the different ports of Atlantis and had
learned the names and use of everything that per-
230 ATLA.
tains to sea-going vessels. She had made many-
excursions in the smooth, safe harbours, but this
was her first experience on the broad ocean.
As the vessel struck rough water and rocked
in the long, rolling waves, as the wind piped in
the rigging and the sailors responded to the
orders of the captain, all softer sentiments were
forgotten, a new and inexplicable impulse seized
her.
She tossed off the light turban that covered
her head, her blue eyes sparkled, she sang wild
songs and rejoiced like one who, for the first time,
finds his native element. Soon her songs became
more strange and wonderful, unintelligible words
mingled with those familiar, words in a rugged
tongue but of great power and sweetness.
Awe-struck, her friends recognised tones of
command, triumph, pathos, and grief. Suddenly
her voice was stilled, and a soft, gusty music
took its place — a sound, irregular, mysterious
enthralling. Atla listened with an expression of
peculiar intelligence; unconscious of any human
presence she remained silent and motionless
while a smile of angelic sweetness irradiated her
features.
A ST OEM AT BE A. 231
Although the night was far advanced she could
not be persuaded to go below. Astera and Ishma
could not fathom this unusual mood, and as the
shores of Atlantis faded from sight, they left the
deck, hoping that Atla would follow.
Then, becoming aware that she was alone among
foreign sailors, this daughter of ocean flew down
the companion-way like a frightened sea-bird and
joined her friends below.
The Moon, aided by sail and oar, made good
speed to the southward, where an island called
Surchi, settled by Atlanteans, would afford the
fugitives protection until they could mature plans
for the future. Ishma hoped to fall in with the
ship of Herekla, that they might cross the great
ocean in company and find safety in Tyrhena. At
length, oppressed with care, he lapsed into uneasy
slumber.
Soon after midnight the breeze suddenly fell
off, a sense of suffocation roused the sleepers and
sent them on deck for relief. A startling change
had taken place in the aspect of nature. A dull
haze overspread sea and sky ; a black line hemmed
in the horizon; not a breath of air rippled the
water ; the long swells were glassy ; the sails hung
232 ATLJ,
idle ; the rowers toiled hard, but could scarcely stir
the becalmed ship.
Passengers and crew in helpless anxiety watched
these portentous signs and waited for the day.
At length, without any warning flush of dawn
the orb of light, red and bleared like the eye of a
drunkard, glared from the mist-bound sea, and,
hanging for a moment irresolute upon the horizon's
brim, slowly staggered up the sky ; but the sickly
gloom of day was more appalling than the blackness
of midnight. The shrouded sun was burning hot ;
the water was moveless as a pavement of stone ; an
awful silence pervaded the vault of heaven. The
ship seemed sealed up in nothingness ; the wheels
of nature seemed to stop.
Each countenance disclosed a dread of some
impending horror, every breath was a gasp, every
heart-beat was audible, none spake or moved, as if
fearing a sigh might jar the world.
Suddenly the spell was broken; a terrific
detonation shook sky and sea — another and another
followed in quick succession till the sound was
recognised as the continuous bellow of a volcano.
A lurid glare for a moment overspread the sky;
a shower of pumice-stone and ashes descended
A STORM .AT SEA. 233
then thick darkness fell upon the ship ; a dead
swell heaved the water, and fitful gusts of wind,
hot as the breath of a furnace, tore wild and
ghastly rifts in the black mist through which were
caught glimpses of the fire-illumined heavens.
Overpowered by the dead swell, Astera, Ishma,
and the servants grew ashy pale, hastened below
and threw themselves upon the floor of the cabin
oblivious of rank and precedence. Atla, unaffected
by this malady, followed, and did all in her power
for their relief.
While watching the sick she became conscious
that the dead calm was broken; the boat was
in rapid motion which grew more and more
unsteady — it rocked, heeled and righted, all in a
moment.
At length inky darkness gave token that the
sun had gone down ; the wind increased to a gale ;
it hissed and screeched past the small windows
with frightful persistence till presently a great sea
smote the vessel a blow that shook it from bow to
stern.
Atla, who had wrapped herself in a heavy
silken scarf to be ready for any emergency,
sprang up the companion-way and took one wild
234 ATLA.
look at the sea. A flash of lightning made visible
the retreating surge that had just given the ship
such a terrible shock. Master and sailors stood
paralysed.
Then some inexplicable impulse took possession
of this child of the water. Intuitively she com-
prehended the instant peril and the only hope of
salvation. Her voice of command rang out clear
and distinct above the elemental din :
" Close every aperture, make fast the helm, lash
yourselves ! Lose not an instant, the great wave
will return."
Suiting action to word, she unwound the long
scarf, and bound herself to the mainmast; there
was no time to go below. She had spoken the
Phoenician language, the sailors understood, and
flew to obey as if a celestial messenger had called
from the skies.
None too soon. The black mountain of water
rushed back upon the ship, the swirl took away
the breath and caused a sinking sensation as if
one were taken by the heels and hurled against a
rock ; a singing filled the ears, that drowned for a
moment even the roar of the elements ; everything
A STORM AT SEA. 235
that had not been made fast was carried into the
sea.
After the great wave passed the storm raged
with redoubled fury, the demons of destruction
made a fresh assault ; another shower of hot ashes
and pumice-stone threatened to fire the ship or
swamp it, but the rising waves swept them away.
The grinding of the keel through the rough sea,
the creaking and snapping of the harassed timbers,
the screech of the wind and hiss of seething
water, could be heard at brief intervals between
the roar of volcano and crash of thunder. Hanging
between a black sky and blacker sea, helpless as
drops of shattered foam, all realised that they were
in the grip of the deadliest monster nature lets slip
from her cave of horrors when in her most cruel
mood.
Hours passed; there was no cessation of the
tempest; they knew not if it were day or night;
the palpable darkness was only made visible by
the sharp flicker of electric fire. The sick ones
below sank into unconsciousness, those on deck
felt themselves entering the shadow of death and
yielded to the apathy of despair.
236 ATLA.
At length there came a dull crash, followed by
a tremendous rise of water, as if the foundations
of a continent were shattered and it was settling
into the sea.
The ship, impotent as a dry leaf in a tempest,
was tossed upward, upward on a vast surge that
threatened to drown the very stars. The captain
and many of the crew, stunned and breathless from
the terrific rush, would have been swept away but
for the protecting cords.
At this supreme moment Atla's appearance was
almost superhuman. Her draperies fluttered like
things of life, her loosened tresses streamed out
upon the blast. She manifested neither fear nor
consciousness of danger. Her clasped hands were
raised to heaven, her upturned eyes looked
through and beyond the tempest, an expression
of rapture or ecstacy illuminated her pale face ;
in her unearthly exaltation she seemed to mingle
with the elements and become a phantom of the
storm.
And now the sky-racked vessel was encircled
by a band of flame, and upon the top of the mast
to which Atla was lashed hung a great ball of fire.
It descended, and the doom of this heroic maiden
A STORM AT SEA. 237
appeared inevitable. But she was protected by
nature's immutable law ; her head was enwrapped
in a silken cover, the deadly thunderbolt owned
the presence and power of its subtle antagonist,
glanced harmlessly past, bounded upon the deck
with a terrific report, and fell hissing into the
sea.
Atla's whole frame quivered, some incompre-
hensible spirit possessed her, the pale lips moved
convulsively, strange words struggled a moment
for utterance and burst forth in the fervency of
invocation : " Oh — mighty — Thoe ! **■
Whence came that word of awful power, name
of the Northern Thunder — unheard, unspoken in
the land where Atla had birth? Whence came
the sublime indifference to danger, the exaltation
of this delicately-nurtured princess, in an hour of
elemental fury? What was the latent power,
hitherto undeveloped, unsuspected, that fired her
blood and strung her nerves to supernatural ten-
sion ?
Was it a sudden outburst of transmitted quali-
ties, the evolution of inherited traits ? Was it the
result of pre-natal influences ? Or can the soul,
in moments of supreme exigency, as on a spiritual
238 ATLA.
palimpsest, flash its divine illumination backward
through past ages, and appropriate the experience
of a former existence; or forward into the future
and rending the envelope of material surround-
ings, enter the spirit world, witness sights inde-
scribable, listen to words that cannot be spoken,
cannot even be recalled ?
After the storm was over, and Atla lay upon
the cushions of the cabin, thoroughly exhausted,
Astera said : " Thy forecast, courage, and en-
durance are more than human, dear sister. But
for thee we had been lost.
"By what miracle wert thou made wise and
strong, in the midst of danger that paralysed even
veteran sailors ? "
" I cannot unveil to thee, my dearest friend,"
Atla replied, " the secrets of that tremendous
hour. We have often puzzled over the mystery
of my birth and parentage — I may say this much,
dear Astera — I have penetrated the mystery — My
father was a Sea King ! n
XXXVI.
THALOK THE KING.
Thalok had triumphed. In the Hall of the God,
from his place upon the ivory throne, he had
been crowned and sceptred — no one questioned
his authority, none opposed his will. The hasty
ceremonies were safely passed ; the Court was dis-
missed with a flourish of trumpets, and the monarch
of Atlantis retired to an inner chamber.
His first official act was to summon Aghi, the
public executioner. The other attendants left the
royal presence, and, after receiving the king's
bounty, Aghi also retired.
Proud Thalok sat alone in the embrasure of a
window, endeavouring to compose his mind, so
distracted by the varying events of the last few
fateful days. His interview with the sorceress in
the Palace of Night ; the rage of the serpent ; the
240 ATLA.
Feast of Kaynir; the awful omens in earth and
sky ; the panic and slaughter which resulted in the
loss of Ciquan and the Chatzes ; the death of King
Kron, his brother (here he shuddered and looked
over his shoulder into the gathering darkness of the
room) ; his hasty usurpation of the government ;
the information he had just received from Aghi —
all this passed rapidly in review, as he strove to
bring order out of the chaos of thought. Thus
far he had been successful. His supremacy was
established, assured, save for the claim of one
frail girl. Again he shuddered; but, rousing
himself, muttered, " Thalok, art thou turned
coward ? Shall one slight breath prevent thee ?
Nay, thou hast already dared too much to hesi-
tate." He turned uneasily to sum up resulting
advantages; the picture forming in his mind was
not a pleasant one.
Just then a puff of smoke and a flash of red
light issued from Kopalt, a volcano in range of
vision. Ah! too well he remembered the secrets
that mountain could disclose. How oft in former
days he had from this very window waited for a
far different signal.
" Kirtyah ! " he exclaimed. A breath of night
THALOK THE KING. 241
air came through the window and a faint sound
like the rustle of a curtain softly drawn was
heard within as he spoke again, "Kirtyah, the
accursed ! May the mountains fall and crush her
and the demon that serves her !
" Fool, fool, to be taken by her wiles ! Yes,
men are fools to mate with liliths and serpents.
cc Yet she has served my purpose, else were I
not King of Atlantis. Now I have done with her
for ever. Atla is mine — no power on earth can
thwart my desire. She will be deprived of her
pretty dagger before we meet again. She shall
be queen, her offspring my successors."
He strove to give himself up to pleasant fan-
cies, but could not hold the image which should
have been most prominent in the picture ; it flitted
from his mental grasp, it faded and vanished, or
more dreadful still, it changed shape and bore a
likeness to the dead king, or to Zemar.
Finally he seemed to be seated on the throne
with Atla in all her glorious beauty by his side.
A sharp hiss caused him to turn suddenly, and a
serpent having Kirtyah/s face, embraced him in
its folds.
Springing up he exclaimed : " I am exhausted
242 ATLA.
by fatigue. I have unwittingly slept and—
dreamed l n
He stepped out upon the balcony endeavouring
to shake off the depression which weighed down
his spirit. He looked at the great city lying so
fair on the plain below where lights were be-
ginning to appear, and wondered if any of his
subjects envied their king.
He glanced toward the sky, at first too much
abstracted to take note of anything in nature,
but he soon became aware of a strange star in the
northern heavens that outshone the largest and
caused the trees in the garden to cast shadows to
the south. In alarm he recalled the appearance
of the heavens on the day of the sacrifice — the
eclipse — the scimitar- shaped comet that threatened
the dark sun, the brilliance of the star Mazzaroth
as it glowed in the Western sky.
"The omens are fearful and obscure," he mut-
tered, "I must consult the Oriental Magian, I
require his aid, he knows more than my stolid
astrologers. I hate foreigners ; Ishma above all
others. Would he had disappeared with the
Phoenician prince. I do not understand him, and
I fear he does understand me, his influence with
THALOK TEE KING. 243
Atla antagonises mine, I will tolerate him only
till the crisis is past. The crisis — is it not already
past? Possibly I can use his science to answer
the query."
"Ho, there, without !" he cried.
Instantly Zilba of the Glittering Eye stood before
him. Zilba, fleet of foot and round of limb, Thalok's
favourite page, to whom his most important and
delicate errands were entrusted.
" My lord," said the soft voice of the boy.
Thalok gave him a piercing look. Zilba's man-
ner for the first time reminded him of something
in the past, something dangerous; but in the
present stress of anxiety he did not stop to analyse
the feeling.
" Call Ishma, the physician."
" Pardon, my lord," Zilba replied ; " a new star
has been discovered; the courtiers but now sent
to the tower of the sage to inquire the significance
of the wondei*, and he is nowhere to be seen."
"Run to the apartments of the Lady Atla,"
the king answered hastily; "no doubt he is
there."
" Alas ! alas ! my lord, that I should be compelled
to say it, neither Ishma nor the Lady Atla can be
r 2
244 ATLA.
found. The palace, court, and gardens have been
searched in vain."
Thalok rushed into the corridor and summoned
the officers of the household, who, fearing an out-
burst of wrath, reluctantly confirmed the unwel-
come news, adding that the Princess Astera and
the Prince Zemar were also missing.
" Sound the alarm ! n he cried in rage ; " throw
up fire-signals ; illuminate the palace and city :
call out the royal guards and soldiers; leave no
corner unexplored! Bid Oiquan " he paused.
" Bid Aghi search the subterranean vaults ! Bring
ye the culprits before me, or pay the forfeit of
their lives by the loss of your own ! **
In the confusion that followed, a man came run-
ning in breathless, saying : " mighty Thalok, in
the dim twilight I saw chariots moving swiftly
from the Gate of the Garden to the landing where
lies the Phoenician ship called the Moon."
The crowd paused to listen.
" To the quay," Thalok shouted ; " detain the
ship ; arrest all on board ! "
Before the final words were uttered, another
messenger rushed in. "My lord," he shouted,
THALOK THE KING. 245
" the Moon has left the Basin, and is speeding her
way through the canal to the great harbour/'
"Are there other ships lying at the quay?"
"None, my lord; every vessel has disappeared."
" There is treason ! n he cried.
XXXVII.
THE PUKSUIT.
" Tell us cold, stern philosophy, oh, tell us why,
That for the love-glance of a woman's eye,
Men will renounce all other good — and die ? "
Thalok hesitated for a moment, during which
certain possibilities flashed upon his mind. Mad-
dened by conflicting passions he forgot royal
dignity, official duty, and Court requirements, and,
throwing prudence to the winds, thundered forth
his commands in mingled threat and imprecation.
"Yoke to my chariot the flying steeds Wind
and Wave. Bid the charioteer Hunap, with out-
riders, attend."
"My lord king/' a chamberlain ventured to
suggest, "the coronation feast awaits thee."
Thalok remembered he had eaten nothing
since the death of King Kron. "Bring hither
TEE PURSUIT. 247
a goblet of pulque," he said. It was brought,
and emptying it at one draught, he added: "The
feast may await my return, for I will neither eat
nor drink until " he paused, for the rumble
of wheels was heard, and the chariot drawn by
four white steeds, reined by Hunap, the winner
of many a race, now stood waiting at the grand
entrance.
Beason and policy were stifled; manhood was
lost ; the wolf in his nature dominated ; he would
pursue and raven. Oblivious of all save a burn-
ing desire to overtake the fugitives and obtain
possession of Atla, the monarch of Atlantis gave
orders to the charioteers and outriders to keep
in the broad highway bordering the canal, to spare
neither whip nor spar till they reached the city
of Zuiva only three leagues distant, where the
main sea-road intersected the first encircling
canal. Here he hoped to overtake the Phoenician
ship, and seize his prey before the necessary port
regulations could be complied with and the sea-
gates opened.
The door of the chariot closed, and the im-
perious tyrant sank upon the cushions exhausted.
Stupefied by fatigue, hunger, and the fumes of
248 ATLA.
pulque, he was whirled rapidly along, unconscious
of time and space or the increasing darkness,
and a peculiarity in the motion of the chariot,
till he was somewhat rudely awakened by the
guard, who cried out : " Hear, hear, my lord king ! M
Rousing himself and looking out into the dark-
ness, Thalok discovered that the chariot was
afloat, and the horses were plunging through deep
water.
" Idiot," he shouted to the struggling charioteer,
"thou art in the canal.'"
" Nay, my lord," Hunap replied in a frightened
voice; "we are still on the highway, but for a
long time have been in water, which every moment
rises higher. The people calling from the roofs
of submerged buildings cry out that they and we
are lost. Never was such a tide known."
Thalok recognised the flickering lights on the
towers of Zuiva, and knew from their positiou he
was at the landing of that city. The graceful
foreign ship was nowhere to be seen; indeed,
danger from the flood was so immediate, he scarcely
gave it a thought ; but he saw in dim outline just
before the chariot, a merchant vessel which, though
evidently moored at the wharf, was floating above
THE PURSUIT. 249
it and straining at the cable with a force that
threatened each instant to part it or to swamp
the ship, while master and crew were demented
through fright. Although Thalok realised that his
personal safety, even his life, was menaced, he knew
no fear and faltered not.
There was a heap of merchandise, the lading of
the vessel, lying on the wharf partly out of water ;
to this point he ordered the charioteer to urge the
floundering steeds. By a skilful leap he reached
the top and climbed upon the deck of the ship.
Without a thought for his attendants, he seized
an axe and severed the confining cable. Thus
released, the ship immediately righted and drifted
out to sea.
But Thalok went not alone into the merchant
ship. The charioteer abandoned the drowning
horses, took a strong box from beneath the seat of
the chariot and in the darkness shoved it stealthily
on deck; himself followed and drew after him a
slight boy who had been his companion in this
fearful race. Having secreted these in a remote
part of the ship, he sat down to rest and reflect
upon this unexpected termination of the adven-
ture. Hunap, the favourite charioteer of Thalok*
250 ATLA.
the hero of the turf, also the lover of Kirtyah, her
willing instrument and avenger, was commissioned
and prepared to pursue the traitor with unrelax-
ing vigilance. Zilba, the soft-voiced page, was his
companion, and the mysterious box the resting-
place of a serpent, even of Lucksor the Terrible,
who now lay asleep made torpid by the arts of
the sorceress. At his side was placed the scarf of
Thalok !
The stars disappeared, the night grew darker,
the wind died away, a black mist settled over the
water, sailing and steering were impossible. And
upon the deck of that becalmed bark, shrouded
in impenetrable gloom, stood the King of Atlantis,
a ravening wolf, arrayed in coronation robes,
wearing a jewelled crown upon his forehead
beneath which his dark eyes gleamed with the
fire of desperate passion ; pursuing others, himself
pursued by Fate. Fearless, unscrupulous, malig-
nant, all unconscious of the deadly peril at his
side, he blindly rushed upon his doom.
And in another ship, not many leagues distant,
two fair girls and a venerable sage strove with
anxious eye, to pierce the overhanging mist;
THE PURSUIT. 251
fearing most of all to discover the sails of a pur-
suer.
But these were not alone; other ships swung
upon the sullen waves that awful night over
which the shadows of oblivion have brooded
through so many ages ; for in all the ports of
Atlantis, men and women, inpelled by the instinct
of self-preservation, or some mysterious presenti-
ment we may not fathom, fled to vessels lying in
the harbours and launched upon the flood, pre-
ferring to trust themselves to that fickle element
rather than remain on the solid earth which it
was assuredly swallowing.
XXXVIII.
THE FATE OF ZEMAR
° There was a door to which I found no key,
There was a veil through which I could not see,
Some little talk awhile of me and thee
There was — and then no more of thee and me."
At noon of the eventful day that witnessed the
death of King Kron, the coronation of his brother,
the flight of Ishma with his wards, and the pursuit
by Thalok, it will be remembered that Prince Zemar
left the laboratory with a familiar messenger of the
Princess Astera. He wondered why he should
have been so soon recalled, but these were strange
days, unlike the slumberous tranquillity of the past ;
events crowded each other with a rapidity that
staggered surprise.
Nevertheless, when the servant led the way to
an unoccupied portion of the palace, he inquired
the meaning of the sudden removal of the royal
TEE FATE OF ZEMAB. 253
ladies from the Star Pavilion. The page replied
that Thalok had caused apartments opening into
a rare conservatory and overlooking the Place of
Fountains, to be put in order for the princesses, as
befitting their now more exalted rank, and that by
his order they had just gone thither.
This magnificent suite of rooms, the most
gorgeous in Atlan, had never been opened since
the death of Queen Nyah, the mother of Astera.
Zemar expressed surprise that a change should
have been effected so soon after the death of
King Kron — even before the days of mourning
had begun.
"It is the will of Thalok," the messenger re-
plied, " a, will that neither prince nor slave may
dispute."
At this moment he opened a door and stepped
aside for Zemar, who entered a dimly-lighted hall,
where, by the management of colour and shadow,
every line was made illusive. He took a step
forward upon what appeared a level floor and found
himself descending an inclined plane. He glanced
back to perceive that the guide had not followed,
and that the door closed with a click peculiar to
spring locks. The steep was smooth as glass, there
254 ATLA.
were no railings or side walls, and Zemar slid swiftly
down the long descent to a landing below without
the possibility of a pause.
Here, in a marble vault ceiled with stone on
every side, where a dreary twilight reigned and
the rush of water sounded beneath, Zemar found
himself alone.
No — not alone; for, as his eyes became ac-
customed to the weird light, he was horrified to
discover an awful form standing before him.
Too surely he recognised the lineaments of Aghi
the dreaded, the abhorred — Aghi, the public
executioner !
What a contrast was then presented in the dim
light of that gloomy cell !
Zemar, whose perfect figure was model for the
statue of a god — stately, graceful, lithe as a
panther, whose beautiful, features reflected a soul
as fair, upon whose well-poised head and curling
hair a turban seemed a crown, robed in the white
and gold vestments of royalty — Zemar, beloved of
the nation, the friend of all, strong and brave no
less than just and gentle, stood in the dismal
vault like an angel who had just dropped from
the skies.
THE FATE OF ZEMAE. 255-
And confronting him, axe in hand and head-
man's block at his side, was a dreadful shape
associated with the most shocking public spectacles
— Aghi, a tall, square-built, burly giant, with small
black eyes and grizzled hair, dark and cruel of
visage, ferocious in mien, wearing a blood-red cap
and frock, holding in hand the instrument of his
revolting office, grim as death, relentless as a
fiend !
The heart of Zemar sank. The emotion of
Astera at parting was a prophecy — the messenger
was a decoy — he had been betrayed, ensnared — he
must die like a felon.
Mental action under such circumstances is
more rapid than the electric flash. The soul
illuminated for one sublime moment by the divine
spark of its own immortality, sees at a glance
the past, the present, the future — an eternity of
thought in a point of time.
Zemar's first impulse was to spring upon Aghi
and stab him to the heart, but an instant's re-
flection convinced him of the folly of such an
attempt. The giant had double his strength. It
was youth against manhood; the slender dagger
against the ponderous axe. Aghi's horrible craft
256 ATLA.
had quickened eye and hand; he knew how to
parry as well as to deal blows. His business was to
destroy human life, Zemar' s to protect it.
He glanced round this trap of death ; there was
no outlet save the glazed incline, which he now
perceived with dismay had noiselessly disappeared.
His murder had been planned with infernal in-
genuity; resistance was useless, for escape was
impossible. If the executioner fell, Thalok, im-
patient for intelligence, would send emissaries to
find him. Better that Zemar should die at one
stroke than live a few hopeless hours to perish by
some more cruel though not less certain death.
The man of blood stood silent, piercing the soul
of the doomed youth with cold, hard eyes.
At length he spoke. " Zemar, thou art
dead ! »
" Aghi, wouldst thou take my life ? "
"It is the king's command."
"There is no king in Atlantis."
u King Kron is dead, but Thalok thy father at
this moment holds crown and sceptre in the Hall
of the God. His first decree honoured Aghi the
headsman. Thalok does not deliberate; it was
the warrant for thy death."
THE FATE OF ZEMAB. 257
Zemar was silent ; he did not know what had
occurred in the court of his father during this
fateful morning; but the information given by
Aghi, confirmed by his present condition, assured
him of instant doom.
At length he spoke : " Have I ever wronged
thee, Aghi?"
" Nay, Prince Zemar, thou hast never wronged
me, nor yet any man. As chief arbiter thou didst
mete out justice to all. Thou didst restore my
Zillah when Thalok took her from me, and for
that, as for many another act of righteousness, he
hates thee. And thou didst bring the Eastern
physician who saved the life of our boy."
" Has my father proved himself thy friend ? "
"Nay; he is friend only to Thalok. I am not
his friend ; I am but the weapon with which he
strikes."
" Thou art not a passive weapon in my father's
hands as is the axe in thine. Men declare and
say it boldly, that in courage and resolution Aghi
is the equal of Thalok."
" By the gods, they speak the truth ; the king
on his throne shall not move me against my
will."
s
258 ATLA.
* Thou art no coward, Aghi ; it is not through
fear that thou wouldst slay me."
iC Nay, nay, most noble prince ; I fear not the
face of man. I have courage to dare even Thalok's
wrath."
Cl And thou wilt do what thou darest. Aghi is
a man of deeds, not words."
" Ay, I will dare and I will do, even were it
to the sparing of thy life. I could not behead my
innocent boy, nor will I by all the gods of Atlan-
tis, now that I consider the matter, take the life
of one who saved him and his mother. Yet it
must appear that I am thy executioner, else we
are both dead men. No doubt I am wicked, but
Thalok is worse; he scruples at nothing. I will
not be his accomplice in the murder of his own
son. Prince Zemar, the land reeks with iniquity ;
times are changed ; not criminals alone are
doomed to die : and if all criminals were pun-
ished, some who sit in high places would lose
their heads. For this the heavens frown, the
earth trembles ; there is warning in the wind.
For this I tire of mine office, my spirit fails, my
hand shakes.
"Thou art good and brave; no guilt makes
THE FATE OF ZEMAR. 259
thee coward. Thou didst not blanch before my
axe. Neither thy father, nor yet Aghi, have
courage like thine. Let Thalok do his worst, I
will not strike the blow."
The axe fell from Aghi's hand as he said : " My
lord Zemar, come hither."
He raised a trap in the floor, descended and
motioned Zemar to follow, by the exit, no doubt,
prepared for his dead body. They pursued the
course of a small rushing stream for a long distance
and coming to a blank wall, Aghi removed a stone
and entered an underground chamber.
" Prince Zemar/' he said, " thou art now
beneath a boat-house of Lake Ziclan. The stream
that flows into it from the palace has often washed
away the blood of innocence ; it is free from thine !
Remain in this place till I come again at night-
fall bringing food and clothing. I must report
thine execution to thy royal father."
Aghi retired as he came through the dark
passage, and for long hours Zemar paced the floor
of his cell, tortured by thought of the anxiety his
friends would feel at his mysterious disappearance,
and fear that they also might be already victims
of the unscrupulous malignity he had himself so
a 2
260 ATLA.
narrowly escaped ; and here he must remain,
caged as in a felon's cell, powerless to relieve or
to suffer with them. The mercy of Aghi was a
miracle ; he could not hope to find it repeated by
his relentless father.
In the silence and darkness of the subterranean
chamber, he soon became conscious of unusually
severe vibrations of the earth and a low rumbling
indicative of volcanic action. Although so accus-
tomed from childhood to these phenomena that
ordinarily they were scarcely noticed, they assumed
a new importance as he recalled the recent omens
in earth and sky and asked himself if possibly
it might be true, as Ishma and Aghi forebode,
that dire calamities were threatened.
At length after hours of watching, the gruff
voice of Aghi was heard above. The ceiling of
the vault opened and a rope-ladder was lowered,
by means of which Zemar left the cell. It was
night, with not even a lantern to reveal the sur-
roundings.
Aghi spoke : " I came in darkness for light
would be hazardous ; our lives hang on a thread.
I have seen the newly crowned king ; he is
assured of the death of his son. I received a
TEE FATE OF ZEMAR. 261
generous reward in treasure and that which always
pertaineth to mine office, the clothing of the con-
demned. Having the royal passport to enter thy
chamber, and being unmolested while in it, I also
took many other costly trifles. I have bestowed
them in the Tower of the Floating Island, together
with whatever else I thought necessary for sus-
tenance. All these are thine, for thou must go
far hence."
" Aghi, thou art a saviour indeed ; but how
can I leave my beloved princess and other friends
to the wrath of my father ! "
" They have escaped ; even as I came hither,
the ship of Phoenicia called the Moon, under full
sail and oar sped like a swallow along the canal.
Their flight is no doubt discovered. Dost thou
not hear the signals ? The search is already
begun. Come forth and listen."
Zemar left the boat-house and perceived a great
uproar in the city, the sound of alarm and lights
flashing from the tower of Kohl.
ts Thou must depart speedily or the guards may
discover us. Throw this black mantle over thy
shoulders lest the white garments betray thee. It
is lined with fur of the lynx, and may serve to
262 ATLA.
protect thee from cold, for in what distant country
the remainder of thy life will be passed, who can
tell ? Hasten ! Cross swiftly to the Floating
Island ; I will cut the wythes that fasten the
bridge, and loose the cable that moors the island.
The wind sets from the north, unfurl sail and
soon thou wilt reach the other shore. There I
will have ready conveyances that will speed thee
and the treasure to the southern harbour. Then
take ship for some distant land. There is risk,
but it is thine only chance for safety. Mayhap
thou wilt fall in with those that love thee."
" Aghi, I am most grateful ; how can I repay
thee?"
" Give me no thanks, and as for favour or
treasure, I need them not from any man — my
days are numbered."
"Thou must hope for better days."
"Not so, not so, most noble prince. I have
received the summons"
" The summons ? "
"Yea; the summons to die. Thou remem-
Vrest the black-maned lion that lies chained by
the Gateway of Ancient Shadows ? I have always
menaced him with my axe ; but this morning,
THE FATE OF ZEMAB. 263
when I essayed to enter and store the unused
weapon, this terrible beast rose up against me
with clank of chain and horrible roar. As I live,
Prince Zemar, the lion spake to me ! "
"Spake to thee? What said he?"
u There were no words, but the meaning was
clear."
u Aghi ! this is the vagary of a distempered
imagination."
" Nay, my prince ; Aghi, the executioner, is not
a man given to foolish imaginings. Have I not
often heard him speak to the condemned as they
passed through that gate ? And thus he spake
to me. I tell thee, Prince Zemar, my days are
numbered and finished."
" Oh, my friend, may the gods — nay, may the
One Supreme remember thee in the hour of trial,
even as thou hast remembered me."
XXXIX.
THE WRECK OF A WORLD.
" The cloud -capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, . . .
. . . all shall dissolve,
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind."
" There were thunderiDgs, lightnings, an earthquake, and great
hail.' ,
The Floating Island softly yielded to the breeze,
and drifted from shore. Overcome by the exhaust-
ing adventures of the day, Zemar slept heavily on
the bed Aghi's forethought had provided. Toward
morning he awoke with a sense of oppression ; the
breeze had fallen off, the island was stationary in
the middle of the lake, there was a dead calm, an
expectant hush, nature was pulseless.
Looking anxiously toward the city he was aware
of something unfamiliar in its appearance. The
THE WRECK OF A WORLD. 265
shores seemed more distant, the lake larger; yet
every object on the island bore its usual propor-
tion. He pressed his hand upon his forehead.
Had the harrowing events of the previous day
and the heavy sleep that followed, deranged his
senses? He looked again; the shore-lines were
certainly less bold, the buildings on the banks
lower ; the whole plain seemed depressed, or flat-
tened, the distant landscape ill-defined; strangest
of all, the northern sea a hundred leagues away,
was visible.
The mountains also in some unaccountable way
were changed in position or distorted in outline;
no sky-tinted snow smoothed the furrows on their
rugged brow ; the giant cypresses, monarchs of the
forest, no longer stood in serried ranks proudly
saluting the stars ; decrepit, straggling, bowed,
they stretched out spectral arms as to implore
mercy from the scowling heavens.
The coloured domes and turrets of palace,
castle, and temple, stood grand and beautiful as
ever. Yes, but not as upright. Ah ! all the build-
ings slanted to the east.
Zemar was dazed at this inexplicable condition
of things. The events of the last few fateful days
266 ATLA.
passed before him, crowding and jostling each other
into frightful confusion. Was he losing his mind,
or were the forebodings of Ishma and Aghi about
to be realised ?
He gauged with his eye the height of water on
the nearer buildings, and saw with consternation
that it was rising. Evidently a flood was in pro-
gress, yet there was no rain, or incoming surge ;
even the snow had disappeared from the mountain-
tops and the streams had gone dry. What, then,
could cause this unprecedented overflow of the
lake?
There must be some hidden agency threatening
the country with destruction. The plateau upon
which the city of Atlan stood was the highest lane}
in Atlantis; Noraghi its loftiest mountain-peak.
What, then, must be the condition of the lower
portions ? Was there no power on earth to arrest
the progress of the flood ? His friends and de-
pendants, where were they ? He groaned aloud in
helpless anguish.
As day advanced, the sun became obscured;
the heavens were overcast with tumultuous clouds
hurrying in different directions; the air was
stifling; a sickening yellow haze quivered above
TEE WBECK OF A WORLD. 267
the city — the distant landscape melted from sight.
Zemar recognised the earthquake signs, and waited
in breathless expectation.
The shock came with terrific violence — another
and another followed ; the buildings shook, the
earth heaved, and on the silent lake inky surges
rose and fell like the backs of enormous dragons
preparing to swallow the land. Again all was
deathly stillness.
A wild suspicion that had previously flashed
through Zemar's mind now forced itself as an
awful certainty — the water was not rising — the
land was sinldng ! Atlantis, Queen of the Sea,
was disappearing beneath its waves!
He now perceived a great commotion on land.
Panic-stricken men and women rushed through
the streets or crowded the heights, flocks of birds
circled over the city not daring to alight ; ferocious
beasts and domestic animals dashed across the
plains in promiscuous herds, or struggled up the
hills together, all other instinct lost in that of
self-preservation .
His absorption in this scene of terror was sud-
denly terminated. A crash broke the ominous
silence— a grinding, abysmal crash, as if the very
268 ATLA.
ribs of earth gave way beneath the weight of a
continent — a crash that seemed infinite in depth
and awf illness, that jarred the clouds, the earth,
the ocean. Was it an echo of the crash, a rever-
beration that rolled beneath the lake with such
horrible distinctness ? Shuddering, Zemar turned
to inquire.
Alas ! alas ! there was no western shore ! The
fringed banks, the wooded steeps, the purple hills,
had vanished. Fair Ziclan was no more, merged
in the illimitable waters of the outer sea !
Again his despairing gaze turned to the city.
Buildings were falling in every direction; dust,
smoke, and flame went up to the relentless
heavens, mingled with shrieks of mortal agony.
The volcanoes opened their throats, and their
bellow became one incessant roar. Dun smoke
streamed from a hundred craters, and, assuming
frightful shapes, crawled round the stony dome
like shadows of gigantic bats and dragons.
Pumice and ashes were hurled into the clouds, to
fall again in showers. Daylight was blotted out,
and from the murky sky thunder echoed the roar
of volcanoes, lightning vied with the fire of the
craters in illuminating this wreck of a world.
THE WRECK OF A WORLD. 269
A deluge of rain and rocks of ice, mingled with
coals of burning sulphur, now fell from the sky,
and the last vials of wrath were poured out upon
the doomed city. It sank lower and lower, till
all disappeared save the magnificent structures on
the terrace. By the electric flicker Zemar saw the
gleaming ruins reel like a ship in a storm, and at
last, with a whirl, sink from view in an abyss of
mud and ashes, while the writhing vapours above
were drawn into the vortex and closed the scene.
Zemar now recalled the mysterious words of
the oracle on the day of the eclipse :
" When the stem of the lily is broken the
flowers will perish. " And, while tears of anguish
fell from his eyes, he moaned : " lily of the
sea, fringed by verdant shores, thou art fallen ; thy
fair cities have perished ; thy heart of fire has
ceased to glow !
" wreck ! ruin ! mangled corse of all
earth's loveliness ! "
At this moment he became aware that the
Floating Island also felt the inward draught, and
was certainly descending into the maelstrom of
death. As he stood in the majesty of desolation
lone spectator of the most appalling tragedy ever
270 ATLA.
enacted on earth, he exclaimed, in the bitterness of
despair :
" The One Supreme ? Supremely cruel, or in-
different — who destroys alike the innocent and the
guilty.
" Justice will in the end prevail ! So said
Ishma.
" I HAVE SEEN THE END !
" In another moment the frail foundation upon
which I stand will be but a bubble in that seething
hell, and I A puff of mist rising from a
bottomless pit ! "
Insensibility was about to spare him conscious-
ness of the last agony, when an icy gust from the
north swept by, and recalled the flitting sense.
Instinctively he wrapped himself in the fur
mantle, and a feeling of warmth revived his
courage.
The cold blast struck the Island, it quivered
like an aspen ; there was a confusing jar, an
unsteady whirl, a hoarse dissonance, as when the
wind veers and changes. And now is heard the low,
sullen roar of mighty waters; a distracting din like
the turning of ten thousand wheels rends the air.
The noise increases, it draws nearer, the gale shrieks
THE WRECK OF A WORLD. 271
and howls : it rushes upon the lowering vapours,
they are shattered by its force, they are twisted
into fragments and hurled away.
The black pall is rent, and behold, another
horror ! A mountain of water that would have
overtopped the city, if it were standing, rolls in
from the north, a vast unbroken surge.
Zemar waits in dull despair the oncoming of
this new engine of death, by which the Island, his
last hope of salvation, will be swept away.
But, lo ! a miracle ! The avalanche of water
hurls itself into the abyss where proud Noraghi,
last survivor of the volcanic group, still lifts its
blazing front.
Fire and water meet, the giant forces grapple,
but at the very onset the incandescent mountain
splits from top to base. •
The infernal regions quake, the crater yawns,
and from its gaping jaws a molten lake swells
upward to the scowling heavens in billows that
flash and flare as if the world were all on fire.
Defiantly they meet the foe; they rage and roar,
they hiss and seethe. But vain the struggle —
they falter and fade — they flicker and expire ; the
water triumphs, for an ocean is its reserve !
272 ATLA.
The conquering tide rushes on, seeking for
other prey, but its strength and fury are exhausted ;
it sinks in sullen wrath.
And now Zemar gazes upon a dreary, vacant
waste of water ; the frowning bluff, the city amid
groves and gardens, the towering mountains with
plume of smoke and crown of fire, all y all are
gone ! The convulsion is over, the agony past,
and he, a leaf torn from the tree of life, flutters
upon the breast of palpitating darkness.
The awful tide reaches the Floating Island a
spent wave, with force only sufficient to carry it
gently forward, far, far from that Sea of the
Shadow of Death, beneath whose dismal mist and
turbid water rests the fairest kingdom upon which
the sun has ever shone.
Here pitying nature spreads a mantle of peren-
nial green, to hide the melancholy ruin from the
gaze of men ; * and the winds for ever sigh, the
waves sob evermore, and all the elements join in
a requiem for the countless thousands that sleep
beneath the sea !
* The Sea of Sargasso.
XL.
ALONE.
" friends, I am a lone benighted ship,
Before me lies a vast untravelled gloom ;
Behind, a wake of glory fading fast
Into the hungry waves that gave it birth."
Zemar realised, with blank indifference, that by
some miracle he was saved, that wind and tide
were bearing him southward. His heavy eyes
were lifted as in supplication to the scowling
heavens, then turned despairingly upon the tu-
multuous water; he strove to recall the scenes
through which he had just passed, to remember
his friends and former life ; but persons, places,
and events were distorted, incoherent, disarranged.
In dull agony he struggled to retain his fast-failing
senses, but mind and body had lost their tension ;
he sank upon the bed and passed into a state of
profound lethargy.
274 ATLA.
The Floating Island, built to gratify the caprice
of a luxurious monarch, proved itself a marvel
of strength, no less than of beauty. The living
sea-rods that formed its base, matted and inter-
laced during a growth of twenty years, had be-
come stronger than steel ; no natural force could
rend them asunder. The tower of cork buoyed
itself and the garden ; flying stones and rocks of
ice fell harmless upon the elastic wood, while the
circular foundation repelled the assault of wind
and wave, and preserved the balance of the super-
structure, though its drenched and battered con-
dition gave token of the hardship it had encoun-
tered. Ishma builded better than he knew; his
dream of the model was an inspiration and a
prophecy.
When Zemar woke from the unnatural slumber
into which he had fallen, the sun was shining,
the wind was but a breeze, and the Floating
Island without motion. He soon discovered that
it had grounded among other wrecks, upon the
coast of Surchi. Information of the extraordinary
arrival of Prince Zemar being immediately com-
municated to the authorities, he was welcomed and
conveyed to the city of Yonga, not far distant.
ALONE. 275
Here, to the extreme delight of both parties, he
found the Phoenician prince and his councillors,
who had taken refuge in this port after leaving
Atlantis.
Herekla, soon recovering tranquillity, had deter-
mined upon a plan of action, and was contem-
plating a return; but the aspect of the stars, the
eclipse of the sun, and the noonday brilliancy of
Mazzaroth so verified the prediction of the astro-
logers aud warned them of some great disaster
that they determined to remain in their present
moorings.
Their surprise at Zemar's strange arrival in
Surchi was changed to fear and horror by his
explanation. To their anxious inquiries he could
only repeat the information given by Aghi, that
the Moon and its precious freight left Atlantis
several hours previous to the catastrophe.
4 * With this assurance," said Herekla, "we must
be content, for the prince is sorely in need of rest.
After he is refreshed, we will listen to his mar-
vellous story."
t 2
XLI.
THE MYSTERY OP HUMAN SUFFERING.
" What dreadful noise of water in mine ears !
What sights of ugly death before mine eyes !
Methought I saw a thousand fearful wrecks,
Ten thousand men that fishes gnawed upon ;
Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,
Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels,
All scattered in the bottom of the sea."
The governor of Surchi gladly offered the hos-
pitalities of the island to his distinguished visitors,
and placed the viceregal residence at their dis-
posal. Zemar was conducted to an inner chamber,
where, surrounded by every comfort wealth could
command or sympathy suggest, he was left to
repose.
After long hours of sleep, he rose refreshed, and
joined his friends on a broad verandah overlooking
the sea. Here the evening meal was served, after
which, in the deepening twilight, he, sole witness
and survivor, described the cataclysm by which
THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING. 277
Atlantis was overwhelmed, and related the story
of his miraculous escape from the hate of man
and the rage of the elements.
As he paused, Kadmon, whose eyes had been
closed during the recital, spoke: "All this I fore-
saw in Cacara and again at Gades, when I cast
the horoscope of our beloved prince.
"Madai, thou wilt remember what I said to
King Melek at the council of the Magi ? "
" I well remember," Madai answered ; " thy
words were these : c To Herekla it is the hour of
fate; but whether good or ill portends, I swear
by the majesty of the Unnamed One, I know
not — the place was strange — the land heaved like
the surges of Cham ; darkness fell upon mine eyes,
and mine ears were deafened by the roar of mighty,
waters/
a To the prince it has proved the hour of fate.
By what seemed at the moment a strange misfor-
tune, he was forced to leave the place of danger
for one of safety. By the same fortune he was
separated from her whose welfare henceforth must
be bound up in his own. I doubt not Atla is also
saved, and we may rest assured that with her
Astera and Ishma will be found."
278 : ATLA.
- " Thy words are comforting," said Zemar. cc If
it so prove, thanks to the One Supreme, whose
worshipper I am henceforth. But oh, my friends,
ye who are from the East, whence wisdom cometh,
tell me, I pray, why my beautiful country, its
glorious mountains, fruitful plains, its works of
incalculable wealth and toil, its magnificent cities ;
above all, its thronging population, the young and
innocent, no less than the aged and wicked, must
in one day and night of horror sink in the whelm-
ing sea ?
"Mine eyes blench before the vision of their
agony; their shrieks still distract mine ears. If
the One Supreme is beneficent, why this indis-
criminating fury of the elements, why this cruel*
unmeaning sacrifice ? "
What mortal can solve the problem or fathom
the mystery ?
"Who but the Lawmaker can conciliate the
antinomies ?
All were silent — answer there was none.
At length the lips of Kadmon the Mystic were
unsealed. The voice, sweet and low, came from
afar ; the voice of the soul uttered these words :
" Thou Ether God ! Thou limitless One ! Thou
THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING. 279
Perfection ! Brahm ! kindle the Divine Spark in
the self of these souls, that they may know their
spirits, one with Thee ! "
The others who had knelt during this invoca-
tion rose, and Kadmon, taking the hand of Prince
Zemar, said : " Brother, thy questioning has the
solemnity of a command. There are words that
cannot be spoken, unlawful for man to utter ; these
thou mayest some time hear, though not from the
lips of mortal. Yet all that I may divulge thou
shalt know.
" The course of events throughout the material
universe is but a consequence of Law Immutable.
For this reason the sages of the world record no
chronology, write no history. They study Karma,
the law of consequences, and by it with mathe-
matical precision forecast history. What has
been, is ; what is, will be.
" The law of matter or atoms is change, and by
this law, at vast intervals of time, the world is
destroyed by conflagration or deluge; by fire
when all the planets conjoin in Cancer;' by water
when the same event takes place in Capricorn.
Thereafter, by the same law, comes re-creation
and renewed life.
280 ATLA.
" Ah, many such changes have passed upon this
old, old earth !
" And mind or spirit is also subject to immu-
table law, though diverse from that which governs
matter — even as the law of fluids differs from that
of solids.
" Here also Karma reigns, but because the
masses of mankind are gross and do not perceive
it, at vast intervals of time enlightened men ap-
pear, members of a sacred Order or Brotherhood,
known to the world as prophets or sages. By
their influence mankind have learned to clothe
and shelter themselves, have compelled the ele-
ments to do them service, have perfected the arts
of civilisation, and have become wiser and better.
"In the later ages the Elder Brother will be
re-incarnated for the last time before attaining
Godhood. He, the Beginning of the Creation,
the Faithful Witness, will reveal a new law to
bless mankind. The Mighty Father, the Prince
of Peace ! I behold him afar off ; I see his star,
but not nigh. A star did I say? Nay, a Sun,
that will in its dawn sing to the waiting world,
1 Arise, shine, for thy light is come ! * "
The seer paused, as if unwilling to disturb the
TEE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING. 281
glorious vision. Presently he continued: " But
the life of a generation is brief, the ages move
slowly, dull man still gropes in shadow; there is
much to be learned. If the Atlanteans had known
the laws that govern the Forces, visible and in-
visible, the horrors of this dire calamity might
have been mitigated, for however incredible it
may seem to the uninitiated, there exists an in-
timate and interdependent correlation between
physical and spiritual law, a certain compensating
balance or adjustment, and in consequence of
this hidden but potent principle, a strong tendency
to absolute evil in the moral world is sure to be
followed by — nay, actually produces — convulsion in
the world of matter. Thus was the Lemurian
continent overthrown seven hundred thousand
years ago ; thus perished an Eastern race that un-
lawfully allied itself by marriage with beings of
another sphere.
" This law has now justified itself in the de-
struction of Atlantis. We had scarcely landed
upon that fair island, when Madai and myself
became aware of a tremendous conflict between
forces that should ever be kept in harmony.
Wicked men, mighty in intellect, but debased in
282 ATLA.
moral and spiritual nature, had acquired occult
knowledge and used it for evil purposes. We
knew what the ultimate result must be, but did
not forecast the day and hour of its coming ; that
would have been the labour of years, perhaps of
generations."
At this point Zemar spoke : " Pardon me, oh,
my teacher, but I would ask if the recurrence of
this tendency to absolute evil is dependent upon
the approach of the cataclysms first spoken of ? If
that be so, then man is not responsible, being the
victim of a power over which he has no control. ,,
" Nay, my son," Kadmon replied ; " although
the approach of these grand periodical crises is
often heralded by the breaking down of moral and
spiritual restraint, they may certainly occur when
the only wreck will be that of inanimate matter,
for by proper spiritual development it is possible
that humanity may be spared all participation.
For all that hath within itself the Divine Spark
may have drifted to another planet. But this
pertains to the Greater Mysteries.
" Knowing the inflexible nature of this principle,
the wise do not bemoan results, however it
may affect themselves personally. Why should
THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING. 283
they struggle or repine ? It would avail nothing.
There is no discrimination by Law. Will the
Aryan turn aside his plough from the panic-
stricken ant-hill? Nay, the welfare of man is
more important than the peace of an insect com-
munity. If the king would build a city, will he
stay the axe because the aspens of the grove
tremble ? Nay, they must fall to make room for a
palace. Progress is the universal law, the cycles
of change move on; what must be, will be, the
final result is Good.
u Therefore we should not despair, though our
friends are no longer with us. Death is not a
finality; the body changes, and the spirit passes
into other conditions, ascending or descending,
according to the acts and aspirations of the previous
existence. Though the wise believe rest to be
better than action, sleep than waking, death than
life, striving through the higher law to attain
Nirvana, yet we know that by the material law
of change the dead will live again, and those
who sleep in the sea will again walk upon the
earth."
"0 worshipper of Brahm," said Madai fer-
vently, "thou art my Brother; our belief is one.
284 ATLA.
Eternal harmony and eternal joy are wrought out
from chaos and conflict. The dead will live again,
and Atlantis will once more rise from the sea."
" fathers/' said Zemar, u I thirst for know-
ledge, yet am I not initiated. Tell me, Prince of
Magians, what will the end be ? w
Again there was prolonged silence, broken at
length by the mystic voice of Kadmon.
"The great Serpent encircles the universe.
End there will be none, even as there was no Be-
ginning. The idea of time is but an artifice of
man. There is — but one eternal Now !
"Yet there are periods of activity and repose.
The Macrocosm, repeating the Microcosm, the
days and nights of Brahm, bright and dark links
in an endless chain of self-perpetuating law.
After incalculable ages our earth and its sister
planets will become dead worlds, and its glorious
governor a dead sun; a lifeless, invisible, ex-
tinguished lamp of heaven, impotent amid the
expiring lights of its own constellation and the
pale fires of a dissolving universe. And Man-
vantaea will surely return, its dawn ushered in
by whirlwinds and cyclones of fire, tornadoes and
tides for which earth has no name.
TEE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING. 285
" Of that tremendous cosmic Night called by the
sages Pkalaya, it is written,
" ' Years sweep along — millenniums pass,
Slow move the ages, the eons so vast,
The long bending cycle, the Sos and the Sar,
Till a Kalpa — man's name for Eternity, ends.
(A Kalpa with Brahm is but one respiration,
A vanishing twilight, the close of a day.)
A Kalpa was finished, but nature knew not
The day nor the hour when her forces must sleep.
The Grand Obscuration by Law predetermined.
' Hark! from the Centre of Glory Ineffable,
The throne of Dominion beyond the seventh sphere,
A sound like a bell in deep water swung,
Diffusive and dread, the breath of a knell.
A voice still and small, but more resonant far
Than thunder of ocean or roar of the tempest,
Volcanoes and earthquakes in fury conjoined.
So ominous, solemn, it startles each seraph,
Who pauses in flight o'erawed by the portent.
It swells from the Centre in deep undulation,
Expanding, increasing with impulse resistless,
'Tis the fiat of Law in grand diapason,
Now let there be Darkness and Silence, it tolls.
* It reaches the stars — a chill and a shudder ;
The great worlds hang black, and reel into stillness,
The moons dash together and shiver to fragments ;
Their light is extinguished as water had drowned them,
They flash and expire — all motion is o'er.
The sound-wave moves on, pervading Creation,
The inbreath of Deity none can resist ;
Nor planet, nor sun, nor grand constellation.
Neither spirit of man, nor loftiest intelligence
Escape the strong surge, all feel its power lethal.
286 ATLA.
The swif fc whirling wheels stand fixed and immutable.
Every tremor is quenched, every spark is extinguished.
Cold and still in their orbits, the stars sing no more ;
The ring belt of light wildly flickers and fades,
The fire mists grow ghastly and vanish in shadow ;
Inertia, and Silence, and Death swallow all.
The Bell hangs in poise, for Law is suspended;
The wave sinks to rest on Vacuity's shore ;
The Great Central Glory grows dim as a phantom,
A gleam slowly drowned in an ocean of blackness.
Yet the germ of all life and beauty and motion,
A spark in the embers lies hid in its bosom.
1 Now the vigilant eyes of Shesha grow dim,
He moves — that Great Serpent, the Guard of the Universe,
For ten thousand years the coil is unfolding ;
For ten thousand more it undulates slowly,
Till the huge length is stretched that encircled creation.
He sleeps — and his rest is for ages untold ;
Then, through the vast Night enshrouding all Space,
Gray shadowy forms, like cloud-wings, slow gather.
Eastward and westward, northward and southward,
Above and below, from zenith to nadir,
Ghostly and vague the mist broodeth in silence,
And the hush of all Nature is Deity's rest.
* But the end is not yet — nor ever will be/"
Daring this discourse the twilight deepens,
night falls on land and water, the lamps in the
palace are extinguished, the inmates slumber ; even
earth and ocean seem to sleep.
Absorbed in contemplating the tremendous
problem of the Destiny of the Universe and of
Man, the friends remain in silence ; they see the
THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN SUFFERING. 287
constellations rise or set, the stars glow and the
planets burn, while the sorrow and discord of
the world, the interests of wrangling, restless
man, grow phantom-like, and fade away. In
dream or reverie the night passes, until the stars
are dim, and the low twitter of birds, a breath
of air and a faint flush in the east, announce the
dawn of day.
XLII.
MIRAGE.
" The palace and pinnacle totter and fade
From the mist of a sapphire sea."
With the stimulus of sunlight came a desire for
immediate action. Herekla expressed the thought
that filled every soul.
u Now must we begin the search for the ship
that holds our treasure. The Sun is ready to leave
port at an hour's notice, and the governor of
Surchi places another bark at our disposal. What
direction shall we take ?
" A captain wrecked upon this island during the
storm reports having seen a vessel launched out of
the very sky, and from the one glimpse as it flew
past he believes it was of foreign construction. As
nearly as he could judge in the terrible scud, it was
carried to the south."
MIRAGE. 289
Zemar made answer : " Two nights and two
days have passed since Aghi saw the Moon under
fall sail and oar flitting through the grand canal.
If it were not overtaken, six hours would suffice to
place it outside the Bar of Pirhua. The captain,
without any fixed destination, would doubtless
sail with the wind, which at that time set from
the north.
" Toward morning of the eventful day that
followed, there was a dead calm for many hours,
and then after the awful catastrophe — how vividly
is every circumstance recalled ! — came the fierce
wind and mighty wave. It must have driven their
ship, as it did my strange bark, to the west and
south. No doubt it was seen by the captain whose
report Herekla has given, but there being no pos-
sibility of landing it was still borne onward to the
south. Our course will therefore be "
The sentence was not finished, for Herekla at
this moment sprang to his feet and pointed to the
western sky, exclaiming : " Behold, behold ! have
my eyes lost their integrity, or have they acquired
a new power ? "
Every eye followed the direction of his hand,
and a cry of astonishment burst from every lip.
u
290 ATLA.
The sun had just risen over the tranquil sea, and in
the western sky just above the horizon was seen a
wonderful apparition ; a harbour and a city sus-
pended in mid-air !
" The New Atlantis," Zemar cried in rapture ;
" our fairest colony. I recognise its outlines/'
u And I," rejoined Herekla, " can see our ship
the Moon ; a phantom bark lying in a spectral
harbour."
" It is a miracle ! "
" Nay, my son," said Kadmon, " I have wit-
nessed the same marvel in the deserts of Africa - x
we see upon the sky, as in a mirror, objects far
beyond the visible horizon. No doubt we are
thus foreshown the land where our friends have
found shelter and safety."
Even as they gazed the mirage slowly faded and
was gone. Then their eyes fell, their heads were
bowed, and silently each heart rendered thanks to
the divine Power that had so marvellously directed
their course.
The earthquake, tempest, and tidal wave had
been felt all along the coast of the western con-
tinent, and vague rumours of some terrible calamity
MIRAGE. 291
suffered by the mother-country were brought in
by escaped vessels. Further intelligence was
anxiously awaited, and when it was rumoured that
two stately ships were coming into port under full
press of canvas, great excitement prevailed through-
out the city. Ishma, the officials, and a crowd of
people hastened to the landing to welcome the
arrival.
The Phoenician Sun was the first to touch the
quay ; the princes sprang on shore and were joy-
fully greeted. Ishma embraced them with pro-
found emotion, listening eagerly to a brief recital
of their tremendous experience, as they hastened
to the viceregal quarters, where the princesses
awaited their coming.
Zemar clasped his cousin in his arms, exclaim-
ing : " Dear Astera, thou and I were dead ; now,
thanks to the One Supreme, a double life is ours."
And Herekla, bowing low after the Eastern
manner, addressed Atla, saying: " Dear princess,
the net in which we were so strangely entangled
has been as strangely broken. Fate is not an
enemy, as I said in my despair; neither heart nor
brain was deceived. I saw thee, my dual, in the
upper glory. I can love none save Atla. I will
u 2
292 ATLA.
wed no other. Bid me rise thine accepted lord, or
banish me M
"Say no more/' cried Atla, giving him her
hand ; €€ in my life, as in my heart, reign thou for
ever, my Lord Herekla ! "
XLIII.
KIRTYAH'S REVENGE.
" Here the sea-snakes coil and twine,
Smooth their scales, and bask in the brine."
But little time was given for explanation or
endearment before a messenger came running in
haste to inform the Court that a large Atlantean
vessel had just been discovered lying hopelessly
wrecked off a dangerous promontory near by, and
begging that the princes would accompany the
authorities to the scene of disaster and give their
advice.
As they rose to comply with this request, Astera
said : " Dear Zemar, I will not so soon let thee from
my sight, lest some new peril be impending. We
will all bear thee company — the place is fearful,
but it is not far distant; we have already been
294 ATLA.
thither to see the whirlpools that struggle among
the breakers, to watch the surges thundering along
the shore, and hear the awful voices calling from
the rayless caverns."
The royal party set out in advance, accompanied,
at a respectful distance, by a multitude of officials
and citizens. They followed the smooth beach that
skirted the shore at the foot of a cliff called Point
Despair, till, upon turning a sharp angle, a scene
met the eye that filled them with astonishment
and stayed their footsteps.
The basaltic rocks that line the coast at this
point, riven asunder by some convulsion in past
ages, now formed a gloomy ravine leading from
the sea into a dark unfathomed cave. Over its
yawning mouth hung spectral yews, black with
age, and gnarled and twisted by perpetual winds.
Beneath their gruesome shade gyrated a hideous
maelstrom, whose black whirling eddies scowled
defiance upon any attempt to penetrate its mys-
teries. The grandeur of this scene was still
farther enhanced by a ghostly cataract, the outlet
of a river that here fell over the cliff and emptied
its waters into the sea.
A line of breakers stretching out from the
KIBTYAH'S REVENGE. 205
shore marked where great masses of jagged rock
had fallen, over which the surges crashed and
thundered into the sunless recess with everlasting
roar. The sounds and voices that reverberated
through these caverns were so awful, it were slight
stretch of imagination to conceive that vengeful
Nature had here her prison-house, where rebel-
lious spirits were doomed to struggle and contend
for ever with monsters of the deep !
Upon the grim, gray reef, an Atlantean vessel,
evidently a merchantman, had struck, and was
now rapidly breaking up. There was no sign of
life — the crew, no doubt, had perished ; but as the
party took in the dismal scene, an object met
their gaze that chilled the blood and stopped the
breath.
Directly fronting them, upon a high rock that
projected out of the raging water like a spectre
of the abyss, sat the upright figure of a tall, dark
man, clad in kingly robes, and wearing a diamond
crown.
Bound tightly around his neck and waist, over
the tunic of scarlet and gold, there glistened and
quivered something like a long scarf of yellow
sunlight.
296 ATLA.
A Iqw cry of fear burst from the lips of Atla.
"It is Thalok ! " she exclaimed.
The abrupt voice and sudden pause produced a
change ; the figure moved slightly, as if about to
turn towards the intruders; the scarf unwound
itself from neck and waist, the head of a snake,,
erect, alert, inquiring, peered forth, and two basi-
lisk eyes returned the stare of the horrified gazers.
The princes drew their swords, fearing a spring;
but the serpent, after a moment of hesitation,
gradually loosened its hold, slid down upon the
rock, hung for an instant on the brink, then dropped
into the pool, and, like a sunbeam rippling under
the water, faded from sight in the darkness of the
cavern.
As the living prop was removed, the fearful
figure, outlined against the sky, was seen to waver ;
it tottered, the balance of the dead weight was lost,
it fell forward with a heavy plunge, and sank like
lead in the seething waters !
Thus Thalok the mighty met his doom. Im-
pelled by ungovernable passion, he braved the
midnight tempest in an unseaworthy bark. In
attempting to enter the harbour of New Atlan by
KIBTYAH'S REVENGE. 297
night, his ship was dashed upon the reef, and
all on board were thrown among the breakers.
While the others were drawn unresistingly into
the whirling abyss and disappeared for ever, this
man of giant will struggled with raging surf
and deadly draught, and, catching upon a point
of the spectral rock, drew himself up to a place
of safety. Of safety ? No ! — a foe was in pursuit
of which he did not dream. The concussion that
shattered the ship, let loose and revived the serpent.
Enraged by long fasting, Lucksor's keen sense
caught the impress of the scarf by his side; he
followed the scent, his quick eye detected a
familiar form ; he rapidly swam the black gulf,
crept stealthily up the rock, coiled himself round
the exhausted frame, and fastened his fangs on
Thalok's forehead.
And now of what avail are the glory of the
temple and grandeur of the palace? What to
him are sceptre and crown, that command homage
from men, and love from women? The scheming
priest, the usurping fratricide, the treacherous lover,
is himself outwitted, betrayed! And in company
of the terrible beast, which has been at once his
298 ATLA.
horror and his instrument of evil, he has left the
fair scenes of earth and is lost in the fathomless
caves of ocean!
Kirtyah had skilfully woven the meshes of her
net. The victim of Thalok's deceit encompassed
him with a more subtle deception ; the partner of
his murderous deeds planned for him a death more
dreadful than any he had conceived — the demon
that served her had wrought out the revenge.
Yet Hunap and Kirtyah see it not, neither do
they rejoice !
They turn not inquiring, they feel no surprise ;
No smile curls the lip, no scorn lights the eyes,
Nor flush that mounts up to the cheek, and then dies.
For they sleep where the deep waters flow,
Keclined on the rocks rifts of snow,
In the dim-lighted chambers below.
Their bodies rest, but in the murky night,
The home-bound mariner shrinks with affright,
As struggling through the storm a spirit-bell
Dismally tolls an antiphonal knell.
He strains his sight to catch the dual spray,
That rises o'er the rock and fades away
Like phantoms flitting at the break of day.
Alas ! alas ! proud Deva, deadly fruit of an un-
natural marriage, born under malific stars, cursed
with celestial grace and beauty, through whose
veins coursed the wild fire of inherited passions,
KIRTYAH'S REVENGE. 299
yet whose heart softened with sympathy for a
defenceless maiden, thou, the perpetrator of many
wrongs, the avenger also of many, in what form
wilt thou reappear? Where find place in the
next stage of existence ?
Beautiful Kirtyah, faithful Hunap, where are
your spirits now ?
XLIV.
THE SUNSET OF A STORMY DAY.
" Blindly the wicked work the will
Of righteous Heaven."
As the body of Thalok fell into the sea, the
crown became loosened from his forehead ; it
struck the rock and flew from point to point with
a sharp rebound that carried it across the narrow
intervening channel to the slant beach where the
group of petrified gazers were standing ; down
the smooth sand it rolled and spent its force at
Astera's feet. The astonishing augury could not
be mistaken. Zemar raised the diadem reverently
and essayed to place it on her brow, but she
prevented him, saying : " Not so, my lord ; it
is too heavy for me to wear."
Taking it in her hand, she bestowed on him the
crown, saying : " Hail, Zemar, King of New
Atlantis ! w
THE SUNSET OF A STORMY DAY. 301
Then Atla came forward and with infinite grace
conferred the royal seal, which till this time re-
mained in her possession. The vast crowd upon
the shore caught the inspiration of the moment,
and, moved by a common impulse, shouted : " Long
live Zemar and Astera, King and Queen of New
Atlantis."
As the acclamation ceased, a peculiar radiance
was seen to illuminate their features. It was the
glory bursting from an iris-hued opal worn upon
the bosom of Astera !
Behold the group assembled under the blue
vault of heaven, standing upon a strip of silver
sand between the verdant steep and boundless
sea. Zemar and Astera, Herekla and Atla, in the
flush of youth and beauty, their eyes beaming
with the rapture of pure love and grateful happi-
ness. Before them stand the venerable sages,
whose features reflect their joy. Near by are the
faithful servants who shared their danger and de-
liverance, around are the nobles and citizens of
the colony, and over all streams the red light of
the setting sun.
The beauty of the picture impressed each be-
302 ATLA.
holder. A sudden impulse moved the spirit of
Ishma; his face was transfigured as by a divine
thought. He stepped forward and raised his
hand; every sound was hushed as he spoke : "My
children," said he, and his voice trembled with
emotion, " the kingdom of the wicked is over-
thrown, our enemies sleep in eternal silence.
The God of our father Shem has brought us
through unparalleled dangers to this happy hour.
We will commemorate his goodness by a sacred
ceremony. In his name and by virtue of my
priestly office, I join Astera and Zemar, Atla and
Herekla in the bonds of a true marriage/'
The princes and their beautiful brides knelt be-
fore the revered sages and received their blessing.
Nor theirs alone, for the spray of the waterfall,
borne on a sudden gust, swiftly descending, en-
veloped the bridal group ; the background of hor-
ror was veiled in a rosy mist, aerial music filled
the air, echoed among the crags and died away in
the vault of heaven.
For an instant all was hushed in awe, till the
crowd, recovering from surprise, sent up a shout
of congratulation. Then Athor, the famous runner,
sprang up the steep like a chamois, and speeding
TEE SVNSET OF A STORMY DAY. 303
across the plain carried news of these astonishing
events to the city. The soldiers were summoned,
and with a crowd of citizens went out to swell
the vast cortege, which, as the sun sank in the
wave, with music and paean, escorted the illustrious
party to their home in the New Atlan.
In Nature's temple, under the crags that gird
the shore, a coronation and a double marriage had
been celebrated. Man rejoiced, Earth smiled, the
Sun bestowed a kiss of peace, Spirits of air chanted
the epithalamium.
But the everlasting Sea, melancholy witness of
the death of races and destruction of continents,
the Sea hoary with grief and eld, whose bosom
heaves with woe unutterable above the wreck of
all that beauty was, or is, or e'er will be, the rest-
less moaning Sea retired to his sunless temple, and
through its sounding aisles poured forth a monody
for the living and for the dead — a solemn under-
tone, for ever utfcered, for ever heard by the atten-
tive ear, even 'mid life's most sparkling rhythm.
XLV.
THE NEW ATLANTIS.
" years of loss, joyful years,
What are ye all when Heaven appears ?
Who will look back for smiles or tears ? M
The colony, now the kingdom of New Atlantis,
had been perfecting through the reign of several
monarchs. King Kron, being greatly pleased with
its situation upon the mainland, its wonderful
climate and tropical productions, had made its
growth and progress his especial care. He had
lavished upon its development his vast resources,
and had transported thither the best ideas of At-
lantean civilisation and government. The chief
city was modelled after magnificent Atlan, and
was in many respects its formidable rival.
THE NEW ATLANTIS. 305
Indeed, it was more than suspected that the saga-
cious monarch, fearing the possibility of a casu-
alty such as actually did occur, was about to
remove his court to the great western continent.
Everything was in advanced preparation for such
a change.
Thus it happened that Astera and Zemar suc-
ceeded to no empty title or barren heritage, and
without contest for supremacy or conflict of
interest, they assumed the prestige and glory of
an ancient dynasty, in the freshness and vigour of
a youthful kingdom.
The happy turn events had so unexpectedly
taken caused universal rejoicing. Finding it im-
possible to restrain the enthusiasm of his subjects,
Zemar permitted the wedding festivities to con-
tinue seven days, after which he instituted a
solemn fast and lamentation for the lost country
and its countless dead. Thus originated the
mournful anniversary of Izcalli, celebrated for
ages among the nations of Central and South
America, a reminiscence of which is to be
recognised even to this day.
When the festivals were over Zemar organised
x
306 ATLA.
his court and government. In this he was assisted
by the wisdom of the sages and the quick sagacity
of Herekla, who, from the extraordinary events of
the past, was bound to him by more than fraternal
ties. In these congenial labours, and the quiet
social pleasures so grateful after a season of hard-
ship and peril, the flight of time was forgotten.
Astera and Atla could not easily sever a com-
panionship which began with their first conscious
existence, and wherever Atla dwelt, there Herekla
was more than content.
Thus they lingered till winter, when the days
began to shorten ; then the Phoenician sailors cast
longing glances towards the sunrise, and spoke
often of friends at home. The prince also be-
thought him of duty to his father and his own
country, and prepared to return.
After consultation, it was arranged that Ishma
should accompany his daughter to the East, and
that Kadmon and Madai should remain with the
young king and queen until Phoenician ships
would come again for friendly interchange.
Therefore, when the tranquil days were come,
the season when the sweet influence of the Pleiades
THE NEW ATLANTIS. 307
encircles the earth, and the waves rest that
Halcyone may brood her young, Herekla and Atla
bade their friends farewell, and turning the prows
of the ships homeward, crossed the ocean, now,
unhappily, so much more vast. They rested
awhile at the Pillars of Herekles, where the prince,
in pious gratitude, erected lighthouses for the
benefit of future voyagers, and dedicated them to
Melkarth, saviour of men.
His arrival, with his beautiful and gifted bride,
was welcomed in Cacara by enthusiastic demon-
strations of joy, and by none with greater apparent
delight than by the wonderful steeds, Zuzin and
Zummin.
The queen-mother received Atla as a beloved
daughter, rejoiced to find in the chosen of Herekla
one who would so faithfully supplement her own
influence, and King Melek, proud of her virtue,
beauty, and accomplishments, always bestowed
upon her the deference due to a queen.
In consequence of Ishrua's peculiar relationship
to the Princess Atla, no less than from his medical
skill, wisdom, and piety, he was at once admitted
to the royal council, and to the close of a long life
308 ATLA.
was revered and loved by all with whom he was
associated.
In company with the prince and princess he
visited the New Kingdom in the West, and had
the satisfaction of witnessing the happiness and
prosperity of his early friends.
Herekla and Atla lived long and happily, reaping
that harvest of peace and joy of which their well
regulated youth gave abundant promise.
When King Melek slept with his fathers Herekla
succeeded him, governing his people wisely, even as
he always governed his own spirit.
During his reign ancient Martu, or Tyrhena,
attained the maximum of its power and grandeur.
Many new cities were built and manufactories
established.
Upon the magnetic rock where his great
discovery was made Herekla erected a splendid
temple and observatory, overlooking the sea,
dedicating them to the honour of the god
Melkarth. The lighthouses at the Gates of
Herekles were also greatly enlarged and made
brilliant by being overlaid with copper.
The sea-going vessels modelled by his genius,
THE NEW ATLANTIS. 309
and furnished with the unerring compass, swept the
waters of the habitable globe. Peaceful commerce
was the glory of the nation; her merchants scattered
bronze and vitrified implements, utensils and gems
through all countries. They mined for tin in the
British Isles, collected ivory, apes, and peacocks
under tropic suns, and lighted Baal's fire along the
Norway shore.
In Central America, in Central Asia, in
Northern Europe and the Pacific Isles, the
remnants of Cushite civilisation and the names
of Phoenician deities, identical and unaltered,
attest to the present age the extent and strength
of Phoenician supremacy.
And King Zemar reigned long and pros-
perously. His study of the laws of Atlantis, and
administration of justice in a city where his un-
worthy father was so potent, developed in him a
poise of character and genius for statesmanship far
beyond his years.
Kadmon and Madai remained in his service,
and greatly assisted in maintaining at Court and
throughout the nation that high type of excellence
which had been his early ambition.
310 ATLA.
His gentleness, combined in such an unusual
manner with integrity and firmness, fitted him to
become the founder of one of the most magnificent
empires of antiquity, of which the Toltec and Aztec
were but the lingering shadows. The remains of
its civilisation, as displayed in its colossal archi-
tecture and its stupendous public works, are the
astonishment and admiration of travellers to this
very day.
But the awful experience through which he
passed, and the heavy burden of [care imposed
upon him at such an early age, produced in
King Zemar a grave and somewhat melancholy
character.
The dignified ruler, in his official life, was never
seen to smile; but when he retired to the inner
garden of his palace, and, reclining under the
shadowy palms, listened to the voice of his beloved
Astera, and watched the gambols of his beautiful
children, his features would brighten with more
than youthful radiance, and the dark clouds of care
and memory would flee away.
During the lives of these illustrious monarchs^
and for many subsequent ages, the interchange of
THE NEW ATLANTIS. 311
friendship and commerce was continued, for the
successors of Herekla went westward for their
wives, and the fair-haired daughters of Atla were
the welcome queens of New Atlantis.
THE END.
CHABLES DICKElfS AND EVAWS, CBYSTA.L PALACE PBBSS.
12, YOKE STEEET,
CO VENT GARDEN, LONDON,
October, 1886.
WARD AND DOWNEY'S
List of
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( 4 )
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(( 5 )
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( 6 )
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( 8 )
PRESS OPINIONS ON RECENT
PUBLICATIONS.
The Letters of George Sand. Edited and
with a Biography of George Sand. By K. L. de Beaufort.
With six portraits of George Sand at various periods of her
life. 3 vols., Demy 8vo., cloth. 86s.
" Charming, entertaining, interesting, instructive." — World.
" They are fuller of frank self-revelation than the autobiography . . .
They abound in interesting notices of public affairs . . . Their intrinsic
interest, great as it is, is subordinated to the fascination exercised over us by
the individuality of the gifted writer . . . The letters of what we may call
the early period are full of domestic interest." — The Times,
"The most important of recent contributions to biography T^he
Letters were written to all sorts of people, and they discuss all sorts of questions.
That they are extremely interesting it is scarcely necessary to say." — Graphic.
"It is this second George Sand — good, kindly, unselfish, brave, devoted to
duty, and, for all her genius, unaffectedly modest — it is this George Sand we
can best study in her correspondence. And this points to what is, I think, the
main interest and charm of her collected letters." — Academy.
" Their intrinsic interest, the large additions that they make to the know-
ledge of their author's character, the varied scenes and the numerous attractive
personalities that they bring before us, can neither escape the notice, nor
disappoint the expectation, of any competent reader. M. Ledos de Beaufort
has, in some respects, improved the conditions in which the work comes before
such a reader. We had occasion to comment on the very insufficient annotation
of the French edition. This, M. Ledos de Beaufort has largely and usefully
increased. He has also been well advised in illustrating his volumes (which are
handsomely printed) with six portraits, ranging from the early, and in every
sense romantic, sketch of Delacroix to Nardar's photograph, taken when George
Sand was an old woman The translation itself is, if not exactly a
masterpiece, for the most part quite fluent and readable as well as exact. The
biographical sketch preceding it is rather more exotic in style than the text, and
leans decidedly more to the side of enthusiasm than to that of criticism ; but it
contains a convenient statement of facts. Altogether the book may be very
well recommended to English readers." — Athenceum.
" Turning from novels to one of the greatest of novelists, ' though, perhaps,
a little not so much read as she used to be,' we encounter the • Letters of
George Sand,' translated by M. Raphael de Beaufort, and published, not in a
cheap shape as in France, but in three handsome and rather hea^y volumes.
The English edition has the advantage of being illustrated with most interesting
portraits of Madame Dudevant The correspondence is an in-
( 9 )
THE LETTEBS OF GEORGE SAND— con tinned.
dispensable commentary on her Memoirs Any reader who has once
felt the fascination of this wonderful woman, so astonishing a mixture of genius,
goodness, nobility, meanness, kindness, self-deception, passion, and coolness ;
this Napoleon in petticoats, and with fiction, not fact, for her battle-field, will
find it hard to leave off reading her letters. They are excellently readable
in the English translation, which is equipped with a brief biography and notes."
— Daily News.
" Of wide interest. The volumes'contain letters to About, Louis Blanc, Victor
Hugo, Lamartine, and others ; and they give the reader personal glimpses of
the aspirations and fears, the struggles, and the lights and shades of one of the
most remarkable women of our times, and of one of the most brilliant writers
of the century." — St. James's Gazette.
" George Sand played a prominent part in the revolutionary storm that more
than once raged over France during her lifetime, 1804-1876. Often her
utterances in the reviews and newspapers were veiled. It was to her friends
she formulated her ideals and poured forth her longings. The record in her
'Letters ' reads like the romance of a new Arcadia. Sometimes, it is true, the
writer's vigour exceeds her discretion ; but then she gives utterance to a
thousand and one brilliant ideas that go a long way towards compensating for
any of these pensees de guerre A word in conclusion for the
translator. M. Ledos de Beaufort has accomplished his somewhat long, yet
we would suppose not uninteresting, task deftly. We have not the origin al
Memoirs before us to consult, but the translator has rendered the ' Letters ' into
plain and simple language which adds yet another temptation to incline
readers to take in hand a very readable and a very remarkable work." — Pictorial
World.
" No memoirs of George Sand can be complete without her autobiography,
as laid out in correspondence to accompany them. * The Letters of George
Sand,' translated as well as edited by Raphael Ledos de Beaufort, and recently
published by Messrs. Ward and Downey in three substantial volumes, are all
her admirers or disciples can desire. This bulky collection of epistles from the
most piquant pen of its age, though it will stand in English bookshelves by the
side of the many excellent sketches of the authoress's life we have already had,
is in itself a record of her career, saturated furthermore with her individuality,
lightened by her incisive style, and illuminated by her pleasant Gallic wit and
shrewdly sarcastic periods. George Sand must ever be her own best historian,
but here in these letters there is more interest than that of mere personal
narrative or exposition of the fancies and foibles of this distinguished
novelist For those whose curiosity makes them desire to recognise
the great writer's individuality the half-dozen portraits in these volumes,
representing her as painted by Delacroix's and other faithful brushes,
will be full of interest. A more useful collection of letters than this
excellently translated and published series has not been issued for some time." —
Daily Telegraph.
" We do not hesitate to give a cordial welcome to these volumes with which
M. de Beaufort has enriched our literature through the medium of a good
English translation. . . . The work is the most important one of the kind
that has appeared in France since the publication of the correspondence of
Madame de Remusat. Indeed, the letters of George Sand must be assigned a
( io )
THE LETTEKS OF GEOEGE SAND— continued.
higher place, as the writings of a great and many-sided genius, a never-resting
worker, and a public character de premiere ligne." — Bookseller.
"The most interesting and valuable of recent contributions' to literary
history. The writer of these letters was one of the the most remarkable
women and the greatest novelists of any time. Nor is it only as an author of
genius that she claims attention ; it is safe to say that her own life is a romance
more thrilling and varied than any of her novels, many of which, indeed, are but
episodes in her experience." — Literary World.
Gladstone's House of Commons. By
T. P. O'Connor, M.P. Demy 8vo, cloth. 12s 6d.
"Recalls vividly the eventful scenes of the late memorable Parliament. So
the historian of the future such volumes will be invaluable." — Graphic.
" Readers will find in these pages a most interesting resume of the principal
parliamentary episodes of the last five years He is always clear
and concise, and has described with graphic force many exciting scenes in the
House." — Morning Post.
" The book is eminently honest and thoroughly readable. Some of the
descriptions are vivid enough to carry a sparkle even in these days. One great
virtue the book has, it has absolutely no smack of the midnight oil, every line
is evidently a genuine sketch, done on the spot, with the charm of freedom
which all sketches possess. It is not a book to read carefully through, though,
indeed, I myself confess to devouring it at meals, but a book to pick up at odd
moments. Wherever you open it, you may be sure to find a good anecdote, a
clever sketch, or a sound piece of political criticism." — St. Stephen's Review.
11 Mr. O'Connor has always a lively, and often a brilliant, pen, and his sketches
of men and scenes in the House, frequently dashed off in great haste as they must
have been to catch a morning paper on the other side of the Irish Channel,
constitute an admirable and vivid picture of times about which we can never know
too much Will take its place at once among the indispensable
works of Parliamentary reference." — Pall Mall Gazette.
" He gives a most vivid picture of the bickerings and heart-burnings at St.
Stephen's under Mr. Gladstone's recent dictatorship. In his estimates of men
Mr. O'Connor is often, we think, hasty ; he is fairly generous, and not
unfrequently he employs a satiric pen ; his one endeavour is apparently to be
amusing, and in this he admirably succeeds The story through-
out reads like a piece of American humour. It might have been penned by
Artemus Ward ; so grotesquely funny are some of its incidents, that it cannot
fail to afford as much entertainment as that writer's P( j cp-show, or Mark Twain's
New Pilgrim'' s Progress. Get the book and read it. It is impossible to dissect its
bon mots, they are so many and so admirably fitted into the irrevelant matter
that it is impossible to give specimens of them without losing their piquancy." —
Pictorial World.
( 11 )
GLADSTONE'S HOUSE OF COMMONS— continued.
M Its appearance is peculiarly timely just now, when the importance of the
Irish question is for the first time beginning to be seriously recognised by the
bulk of Englishmen. We have had records and accounts of the late Parliament
before, done from the point of view of the purely English observer. Here,
however, we have a volume in which the progress of events is presented by an
Irishman from an Irish point of view, and presented with remarkable ability
and really brilliant descriptive power. Those Englishmen who are most
opposed to Mr. O'Connor in political opinions will find much to learn and much
to interest them in these pages. And to those who are really anxious to obtain
a better appreciation of what the Irish question is, a study of i Gladstone's
House of Commons ' is indispensable." — Truth.
" An eminently readable, instructive and pleasant work, and a history of the
Parliament 1880-1884 ; as lively and interesting as a novel." — Nation.
" Keen, vivid and highly epigrammatical papers which here form so
fascinating a record of the five years of Mr. Gladstone's adminstration. The
scenes which he describes will rise as vividly before the imagination as if the
readers themselves had taken part in each and all of them : a picture gallery
glowing with life; bright with humour, and keen with critical appreciation." —
Freeman's Journal.
" Bright and graphic in style, as fair as could reasonably be anticipated, and
undeniably accurate in its facts, Mr. T. P. O'Connor's interesting and valuable
volume, * Gladstone's House of Commons,' is a book that no student of con-
temporary politics should be without as amusing as it is replete
with sterling information." — Society.
*' A captivating little history. Superb as are Mr. O'Connor's gifts of oratory
they are eclipsed by his wondrous facility, rapidity, versatility, and luxuriance
as a Press-writer. Descriptive writing in these pages reaches perhaps the
height of its magic power of painting indelibly on the memory scenes of which
dry verbatim reports can give no more true idea than can be had of the flavour
of champagne by reading a wine list." — United Ireland.
" His book has a political value, apart from the excellence of its style and
the accuracy of its descriptions." — Western Morning News.
" A bright picture, drawn with a masterly pen." — Judy.
" Sparkling, and admirably lively."— Berliner Tageblatt.
Bohertson Of Brighton : With some Notices
of his Times and his Contemporaries. By the Rev.
F. Arnold. Post 8vo., cloth. 9s.
" He has evidently studied Kobertson's writings with care, and sees the
weakness as well as the strength of a remarkable man, who had many weaknesses
as well as much strength. The result is a book of no little interest, compiled
with much skill and judgment The view which the writer gives of
(. 12 )
ROBERTSON, OF BRIGHTON— continued.
Robertson, is, at the same time, in all probability, more true than that of Mr.
Brooke, and he judges him from a safer and a truer standpoint than that most
erratic theologian The autobiographical sketches which the writer
has brought together from Robertson's own works, are well chosen ; but more
interest attaches to the reminiscences of the gifted preacher which Mr. Arnold
has himself gathered during his stay at Brighton Mr. Arnold's volume
is one which may be safely recommended to the attention of all those who wish
to form a conception of the position which ' Robertson, of Brighton ' held among
our English clergy, and his present biographer has done well in recognizing the
errors as well as the merits of a man who was, however much we may differ
from him in many respects, a remarkable man." — John Bull.
" All admirers of the Rev. F. W. Robertson will welcome the Rev. F. Arnold's
4 Robertson, of Brighton ' as throwing fresh light on his character and surround-
ings Mr. Arnold brings into this work an interesting description
of Brighton as it was a generation ago ; also some account of Robertson's
contemporaries, devoting a whole chapter to that of his friendship for and
influence over Lady Byron." — Leeds Mercury.
"It is impossible not to be interested in ■ Robertson, of Brighton ; with
some Notices of his Times and Contemporaries,' by the Rev. Frederick Arnold.
Notwithstanding Mr. Stopford Brooke's admirable biography there was still room
for a supplement like this, full of small facts and probable conjectures, the out-
come of much genuine research and devotion. Mr. Arnold has been fortunate
in meeting several of Robertson's personal friends, and from these he has
; gleaned many slight but characteristic anecdotes. He is able also to explain the
financial position of Trinity Chapel while Robertson held the incumbency." —
Guardian.
" Surely it ought to be interesting to read the history of such a man
His biographer has been able to show us what he was in all his varied moods.
We are truly thankful for this entertaining and instructive contribution to our
biographical literature." — Christian Commonwealth.
u With loving, sedulous ardour he analyses Mr. Robertson's Sermons, pointing
out numerous passages in which the personal element is strikingly present
The main source, however, to which the author is indebted, is the reminiscences
ot Robertson he has himself gathered from persons in and about Brighton, who
knew and admired him, and some of whom enjoyed his personal friendship.
The charm of the book is in these reminiscences. A vast number of facts which
escaped the knowledge of Brooke, unfolding views of Robertson's character and
genius hitherto unknown to the public, are, as it were, here snatched from the
oblivion to which they were fast rushing, and added to the literary heritage of
mankind. For the diligence with which Mr. Arnold has collected these facts,
and the skill with which he has used them, we are largely his debtors. The
admirers of Robertson will find this book much more fascinating than his Life,
and that it gives them a much larger and richer conception of the man ; and
whether they agree or differ with the author in his criticisms of Robertson's
theological teaching, they will thank him for the delight, and stimulus, and
enlargement of view, his book has afforded them."— -Primitive Methodist
Magazine.
" The style is sensible ; clear, some of the criticisms and fair strictures on
( 13 )
ROBERTSON, OF BRIGHTON— continued.
Robertson's views and expressions of them are intelligent, and the work is at
once sympathetic and just." — Scotsman.
" We are glad to testify that Mr. Arnold has given us something which none
who chersh a reverent admiration for the great Brighton prophet will receive
without gratitude. Mr. Arnold has evidently been gathering notes, impressions,
and recollections of Robertson for some considerable time. He lived in
Brighton for nearly seven vears, and made the acquaintance of many persons
who knew Mr. Robertson. He has made a very felicitous use of much of the
material thus collected, and certainly we get much additional information
concerning a good and great man of whom the world will not tire of hearing or
of reading for many a long year to come The author has taken a very
great deal of pains by way of seeking for any kind of light which could increase
his knowledge of the man concerning whom he writes. His acquaintance with
Brighton, Oxford, and Cheltenham has been sufficient to enable him to write
with much personal interest about three of the places in which Robertsor
exercised his ministry; and he visited Winchester for the purpose of completing
an acquaintance with all the spheres in which that wonderful young man ful-
filled his vocation. Of every place there is something interesting to tell ; and
Mr. Arnold is sympathetic with both the places and the preacher We
Dave been much interested in the perusal of a volume which, from first to last,
does not include one dull page." — Literary World.
" There was more than one reason why a new Life of Robertson should be
written to supplement the ' masterly work ' of Mr. Stopford Brooke, as Mr.
Arnold calls it ; and this book is a good and useful one. Its interest, however,
lies quite as much in the notices of Robertson's contemporaries as in the study
of the principal figure. The biographer admires his hero, but without blindness
• to his faults of intellect, some of which nearly approach to moral defects." —
St. James's Gazette.
" Mr. Arnold's chief object has been to bring out the individuality of the
man, rather than to dwell on the characteristics of the preacher. His book is
full of anecdotes and reminiscences, and will be appreciated not only by the
enthusiastic admirers of Robertson, but by the general reader, who may take
our word that it is not dull." — London Figaro.
"Robertson's personal memory may in the nature of things, become dim
and distant — the preacher, the thinker, cannot die. His influence may be said
to have been world-wide. On those who were brought under is personal
influence the impression he made was never effaced. A writer in ' Scribner '
records that once travelling in the South of France he met a wild, revolutionary,
unbelieving surgeon, on his way to join the army in Mexico, and knowing that
the writer was a clergyman, hej asked if he knew aught of Robertson ; he had
read his sermons, and they had powerfully affected him, Next day the writer
met Augustin Cochin, a devout Catholic, who asked for particulars about ' an
extraordinary preacher — one Frederick Robertson.' All schools quoted him,
all creeds felt in him a magnet of spiritual attraction." — Cheltenham Chronicle.
( 14 )
An Iron-Bound City ; or, Five Months
OF PERIL AND PKIVATION. By John Augustus
O'Shea, author of " Leaves from the Life of a Special
Correspondent." 2 vols., crown 8vo., cloth. 21s.
Punch says :
A story of peril, adventure, privation,
Is told, in two vols., to your great delectation,
With shrewd common sense and uncommon sensation !
Here's the painful account of Parisians defeated :
And Paris besieged is most " specially" treated :
Like a trusty Tapleyan, bright, hopeful, and witty,
O'Shea tells the tale of " An Iron-bound City."
"A most entertaining book." — World,
" A continuation of the well-known * Leaves from the Life of a Special
Correspondent.' It tells in the same vein, with equal humour, the story of the
sixteenth investment the gay French capital has stood in ancient and modern
times, with the long story of privation, misrule, and bloodshed marking its
course. The outlines of this painful history of folly most of us know. It
has formed themes for editions de luxe and cheap issues until there can hardly
be any one within the three kingdoms unfamiliar with its main features. Mr.
O'Shea supplies colour and incident, filling up the framework of history from
his own abundant store of anecdote and amiable humour. His pictures of the
effects wrought by modern shell-fire are startling in their vividness
The book deserves a large measure of praise ; it is even more absorbing than
its predecessors." — Daily Telegraph.
" "We can listen with unjaded interest to the oft-told tale of the fall of Paris
when it is told by so genial and sunny-minded an historian. .... We have
not attempted any chronological or elaborate analysis of Mr. 0' Shea's book ;
but we hope that our very cursory notice of it may induce many persons to
read it for themselves, and from its pages to refresh their memories of the most
momentous and interesting siege of modern times." — Saturday' Review.
'"An Iron-bound City ' is peculiarly interesting. Mr. O'Shea has the
pen of a ready writer, and it would be strange indeed if, with the
wealth of amusing, grim, and striking incident which accompanied the
siege of Paris, he had failed to produce an exceptionally interesting work.
As a matter of fact, ■ An Iron-bound City ' is as brimful of exciting and
engrossing matter as the most sensational romance, while at the same
time it is rich in the momentous and important facts that go to make up
history. And the author is equally at home whether gossiping of the straits
and shifts which lent a grimly comical side to the situation, or dealing in
vigorous, graphic language with the sterner features of the siege. It would be
difficult to imagine a more vivid picture of a beleaguered city than that painted
by Mr. 0' Shea's practised pen, and I commend the work to you most heartily,
sure that you will endorse my high opinion of it. It is given to few to enjoy
such curious experiences as Mr. O'Shea, and to fewer still to describe them with
such unaffected eloquence, and the public owe him a distinct debt for so
interesting and valuable a contribution to contemporary history." — Society.
( 15 )
AN IEON-BOUND CITY— continued.
" We are loath to quit a work which is more fascinating than any novel, and
yet bears internal evidence in every page of a rigid adherence to truth, without
letting the reader into the secret that it is not always sad or stern." — Universe*
" John Augustus O'Shea is not an ordinary mortal, and his style is so
peculiarly his own that the reader soon forgets the past in the engrossing interest
with which he turns over the pages of the volume before us. . . . While our
friend, the impressionable, hot-headed but kind-hearted O'Shea was starving
in Paris, the writer of this review was living on the fat of the land within the
German lines. . . . We have not found a dull page in the book." — Admiralty
and Horseguards Gazette.
" There has been a great deal said and written in England lately about the
best hundred books for men to read. We might shorten the matter by recom-
mending one which that versatile • Special Correspondent ' has just produced as
worth at least any fifty that could be named. No man ever sat down, pen in hand,
to give point to the superiority of truth in point of strangeness over fiction, who
could do it more agreeably and racily. His mind and his note-book are a perfect
store-house of odd facts and historical reminiscences. The chronicles show no
bias. They neither extenuate the faults of the French nor set down aught in
malice against the Teutons." — United Ireland.
" Two highly interesting volumes. . . . He not only treats of the dry facts
of the siege, but his account is interspersed with numerous interesting anecdotes
and episodes extracted from his diary. His style of writing throughout is light
and pleasant, and his descriptions of the sortie of the 19th November and of
starving Paris at the end of the siege are particularly vivid and thrilling." —
Vanity Fair.
" Will be eagerly seized upon by those who revelled in Mr. O' Shea's last
book. . . . Every page is interesting. Mr. O'Shea succeeds in giving life to
the driest details of military manoeuvres." — St. Stephen's Review.
" Despite the grim casualities which his subject compels him to depict, the
writing is in the author's usual style, one that is exceedingly pleasant, cheerful,
and readable." — Court Journal.
Leaves from the Life of a Special Corres-
PONDENT. By John Augustus O'Shea. Two vols.,
crown 8vo., with a Portrait of the Author. 21s.
"A choice medley of jovial, witty, hair-brained, fascinating anecdotes about
the great historical and social events of the past decade, and the distin-
guished and notorious men Mr. O'Shea has met in that time." — Aberdeen
Journal.
" Mr. O'Shea has shown himself a workman needing not to be ashamed.
The stories of some of the earlier events of the Franco-Prussian War, and
of the imprisonment in besieged Paris, are thoroughly well told." — Academy.
( 16 )
LEAVES FEOM THE LIFE OF A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT— continued.
" Eminently readable. . . . There is hardly a dull page in it. . . . His
generosity and good temper are inexhaustible." — Athenceum.
" The graphic and powerful writing is by no means the only feature of
the work; for the anecdotes are good, and there is a prevailing feeling of
the writer being in bright, cheerful spirits (which are imparted to his readers),
while, above all, there is a kindly word for everyone." — Court Journal.
M Personal, audaciously but not offensively personal, Mr. O'Shea is never
tiresome ; nor is there a particle of gall in his gossiping recollections." — Daily
Telegraph.
" Glowing with a rich, broad, and boisterous humour, which those who
are familiar with Mr. O'Shea's style always expect and never fail to find." —
Freeman's Journal.
" We cordially recommend these lively and entertaining volumes to readers
of all tastes." — Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News.
" The fund of amusing anecdote and personal reminiscences with which this
work abounds embraces a crowd of individuals and a series of events amply
sufficient to ensure the success of any number of ' Leaves ' when discoursed of
in the peculiarly entertaining style of the author." — Morning Advertiser.
" The freshest and pleasantest collection of desultory reminiscences. . . .
Every page has its anecdote, like a sip of champagne." — Catholic World.
Punch says :
11 Oh bright and lively is O'Shea — that is, this John Augustus is —
His book as bright and lively as the author, who may trust us, is ;
He discourseth of Napoleon, tobacco, and philology ;
Of Paris and of pugilists, Lord Wolseley and zoology ;
Of Gambetta and of Calcraft, of cookery and quackery ;
Of Sinnett and balloonacy, of Sala and of Thackeray !
With ' special ' journeys to and fro, direct, delayed, and roundabout :
For here and there and everywhere this Special loves to bound about !
With most things he is conversant, from monkey unto mineral —
And talks on warlike matters like a modern Meejor-Gineral !"
11 It may at once be said these reminiscences of a Special Correspondent's
career afford extremely easy and amusing reading ; that there are not many
dull pages in them; and that not unseldom there are descriptive strokes
and sketches of men and events that are worthy of permanent preservation." —
Scotsman.
" Redolent of stories throughout, told with such a cheery spirit, in so genial
a manner, that even those they sometimes hit hard cannot, when they
read, refrain from laughing, for Mr. O'Shea is a modern Democritus; and yet
there runs a vein of sadness, as if, like Figaro, he made haste to laugh
lest he should have to weep." — Society.
( 17 )
LEAVES FEOM THE LIFE OF A SPECIAL COKKESPONDENT— continued.
" The great charm of his pages is the entire absence of dulness and
the evidence they afford of a delicate sense of humour, considerable powers
of observation, a store of apposite and racy anecdote, and a keen enjoyment of
life." — Standard,
" One of the liveliest and best books of its kind that I have read. Mr.
O'Shea seems in his day to have been everywhere under the sun, and to have
seen everything and everybody of importance." — Western Morning News.
" Delightful reading. ... A most enjoyable book. ... It is kinder
to readers to leave them to find out the good things for themselves. They will
find material for amusement and instruction on every page ; and if the lesson
is sometimes in its way as melancholy as the moral of Firmin Maillard's ' Les
Derniers Bohemes,' it is conveyed after a fashion that recalls the light-hearted
gaiety of Paul de Kock's • Damoselle du Cinquieme ' and the varied pathos and
humour of Henri Murger." — Whitehall Review.
" Mr. O'Shea is vivacious and amusing. . . . His first volume is the most
interesting, with his sprightly recollections of Bohemian Paris. . . . Mr.
O'Shea kept some strange company in those days — English, French, Irish, of all
nationalities — and has some entertaining things to tell about most of them." —
World,
Boyalty Bestored; 01% London Tinder
CHAELES II. By J. Fitzgerald Molloy, Author of
" Court Life Below Stairs ; or, London under the Georges,"
&c. Two vols., large crown 8vo., with an Original Etching
of Charles II., and eleven other portraits. 25s.
" Mr. Molloy brings to his task a general admiration for his hero, to whose
faults, although he cannot deny them altogether, he is as blind as regard for
established facts will let him be. . . . Before leaving Mr. Molloy's book we
may say that he tells his story well, and that his style is fluent and agreeable.
— Times.
" The most important historical work yet achieved by its author
It has remained for a picturesque historian to achieve such a work in its entirety
and to tell a tale as it has never before been told." — Daily Telegraph.
" A series of pictures carefully drawn, well composed, and correct in all
details. Mr. Molloy writes pleasantly, and his book is thoroughly enter-
taining. ■ ' — Graphic .
"Presents us for the first time with a complete description of the social
habits of the period." — Globe.
" We are quite prepared to recognise in it the brisk and fluent style, the
ease of narration, and other qualities of like nature, which, as was pointed out
in this journal, characterized his former books." — Athenaeum.
( 18 )
BOYALTY EESTOEED— continued.
" Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy extenuates in nothing the heartless viciousness of
Charles's life, and the cold and even contempt of his pitiless dealing with the
long series of scandals of which history and art have perpetuated the memory,
points the moral of the story, without moralising, as sharply as can be desired.
At the same time, he is not tender to the preceding time, and he marshals some
stern facts against the notion that morals were at any high standard under the
Lord Protector. He does not like Cromwell, and he has found a congenial task
in the picturing of his death-bed. But it needs no retrospective partisanship
to make the last scene of Oliver's great life an awful one ; the recorded facts do
that sufficiently. There are three 'natural' deaths in English history on
which, we suppose, the least imaginative of readers must have sometimes dwelt in
fancy, — those of Edward ILL, Elizabeth, and Cromwell. The sordid forsaken-
ness of the first, the ghastly grimness of the second, the spiritual strife of the
third, impress them on the memory. Briefly, but forcibly, Mr. Molloy depicts
the great man's death, the hurried burial, the tricked-out, Spanish-costumed,
purple-cloaked, crowned effigy, the throng to the show, the public weariness of
it, the pelting of the escutcheon above the gate of Somerset House with mud,
after the immemorial manner of mobs, and the costly mock-funeral at
"Westminster Abbey It is hard for us, in these unpicturesque and
unenthusiastic times, to imagine London en fete; but picturing to ourselves the
comparatively little London to which Charles returned in triumph, we may get,
with the assistance of Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy's spirited and pictorial sketch,
some notion of the aspect of the capital when royalty was restored. The story
of Charles's marriage, of the prodigious dowry — about which there were so
many subsequent difficulties, and with regard to which tbe King behaved with
such ungentlemanlike meanness that it is pleasant to know he did not get one
half of the money — of the young Queen's innocence of the ways of his world,
her wrongs, her sufferings, her brief resistance, her long, lamentable acquiescence,
her unfailing love, is well told in this book. Whenever, in its pages, we catch
sight of Catherine, it is a relief from the vile company that crowds them, the
shameless women and the contemptible men on whom ' the fountain of honour '
lavished distinctions, which ought from thenceforth to have lost all meaning
and attraction for honest folk. The author has studied his subjects with care
and industry ; he reproduces them either singly or in groups, with vivid and
stirring effect ; the comedy and the tragedy of the Court-life move side by side
in his chapters A chapter on the Plague is admirable, — impressive
without any fine writing ; the description of the Fire is better still. To Mr.
Molloy's narrative of the Titus Oates episode striking merit must be accorded ;
also to the closing chapter of the work with its picture of the hard death of
King Charles." — Spectator.
" Mr. J. Fitzgerald Molloy makes a remarkable advance beyond his preceding
works in style and literary method. His book, which is the best, may very
well be the last on the subject. . . . The shrewdness, the cynicism, and
the profound egotism of the Merry Monarch are dexterously conveyed in this
picture of him, and the book is variously and vividly interesting." — World.
" The author of • Eoyalty Kestored ' has never offered the public so graphic,
so fascinating, so charming an example of faded lives revivified, and dimmed
scenes revitalized by the magic of the picturesque historic sense." — Boston '
Literary World.
( 19 )
EOYALTY EESTORED— continued.
" He has told his tale with skill and clearness, and his work is sufficient to
put the facts before a reader who may require the information, or may not before
have examined that portion of his country's history. The period is not one
that most people would care to turn to frequently without some special purpose,
for it is on the whole the most discreditable in the annals of England. To any
who seek to turn over this sickly page of the national story, Mr. Molloy gives it
in sufficiently connected form." — Queen.
" Mr. Molloy has not confined himself to an account of the King and his
courtiers. He has given us a study of London during his reign, taken, as far as
possible, from rare and invariably authentic sources." — Glasgow Evening News
"In his delineation of Charles, Mr. Molloy is very successful. . . . He
avoids vivid colouring; yet rouses our interest and sympathy with a skilful
hand." — St. James's Gazette.
"Will be greedily devoured as a palatable dish by such as have an appetite
for the intrigues and follies of Courts, as well as by those who just sufficiently
love English History to study it in a free-and-easy, desultory fashion.'' — Modern
Society.
The Unpopular King : The Life and
TIMES OF KICHARD III. By Alfred 0. Legge,
F.C.H.S. Two vols., demy 8vo., with an Etched Portrait
of Richard III., and Fifteen other Illustrations. 30s.
" The labour you have bestowed on this portion of English history is a proof
of your sincerity, of your love of truth. I have not much faith in the accuracy
of what we term history, and am prepared to believe that much that we learn
under that name is not greatly better than fiction. You have had access to
much new matter, and your labour may have the effect of displacing some of the
old legends in which we have been taught to believe." — John Bright.
M The romance of Eichard's life is still one of the most fascinating of English
historical episodes, and in Mr. Legge's book the story loses none of its charms.
We are carried forward from event to event, from place to place, with a vigour
which enhances greatly the pleasure of reading These two goodly
volumes, with excellent illustrations, abound in matters of deep interest." — The
Antiquary.
" It is impossible to read it without enlarging to a great extent one's knowledge
of an important period. Indeed, it is scarcely too much to say that every student
of the latter Plantagenet period must refer to these pages." — Illustrated London
News.
( 20 )
THE UNPOPULAK KING— continued.
" The most important of recent contributions to the history of England, and
one of the most curiously fascinating of historical narrative." — Manchester
Examiner.
" These two volumes represent an enormous amount of laborious and
conscientious research into the known histories of Eichard III., and Mr. Legge
has unearthed a document hitherto, we believe, unpublished, among the papers
in possession of the Duke of Devonshire. As we have said, a great deal of
valuable labour has been bestowed on the preparation of this book, and such
labour is never bestowed in vain Those who read the book, and they are likely
to be many, will possess themselves of a large collection of information about
England in the times of Kichard III., whether tbey agree with Mr. Legge's
opinion and accept his conclusions or not." — Manchester Courier.
" Mr. Legge is entitled to the credit of bringing forward much that is new
and that tells in favour of Eichard. His task is accomplished with much care.
The book is a welcome contribution to the study of an epoch and character
which will form subjects of lasting controversy." — Notes and Queries.
" Mr. Legge has given us a very interesting book. He writes with vigour
and spirit, sometimes almost with eloquence." — John Bull.
" If Mr. Alfred Legge fails to convince the English people — or those who
have the good fortune to peruse his very able work — that Eichard the Third
has been shamefully traduced, it is certain that no one else need ever attempt
the task of vindicating the reputation of 4 The Unpopular King.' ....
A most valuable contribution to contemporary literature." — Figaro.
" A thoughtful, clever, and highly interesting study of one of the most com-
plex and curious characters in the history of our country, and a graphic picture
of the period in which he lived, The work is an interesting and valuable con-
tribution to historical literature." — Society.
"These volumes give a graphic picture of England at the close of the
fifteenth century, and Mr. Legge's style is a remarkably good style — fluent,
correct, incisive, and graceful. He deserves great credit for the pains he has
taken to clear up many an ' historic doubt.' " — Topical Times.
"It is impossible to read the story he tells with so much power and dis-
crimination without coming to the conclusion that, after all, the ' Unpopular
King ' exhibited traces of virtue rare in his age and not too common in our
own. The work is interesting throughout, and is a welcome and valuable
addition to the literature of a period in which so much was done for weal and
woe in England." — Leeds Mercury.
" His frequent references to official documents, patents, and such like, among
the Harleian MSS., bear out his account of his researches among imprinted
materials ; and he has moreover had the advantage of consulting a contemporary
MS. of great interest in the library at Hard wick Hall, to which no former writer
has referred." — Saturday Review.
( 21 )
Japanese Life, Love, and Legend :
A VISIT TO THE EMPIEE OF THE KISING SUN.
(From the French of Maurice Dubard.) By William Conn.
Crown 8vo., cloth. 7s. 6d.
" How charmingly irrepressible is the bold boulevardier ! How impossible he
finds it anywhere to escape his own sequacious personality ! Wherever he goes,
1 Ilium in Italiam portans,' he carries with him Paris in his own bosom. He
discovers in Tahiti a kind of enlarged and glorified Chateau des Fleurs ;
he sees in Yokohama a Japanese variant on the Champs Elysees and the
Bois de Boulogne. . . . M. Dubard goes over once more the familiar
ground of all recent far-Eastern travellers, and succeeds in conveying
very prettily to the reader's mind the now stereotyped picture of an idyllic,
impossible, Utopian Japan. He takes us behind the scenes of family life ;
shows us afresh the pleasant but, alas ! incredible unanimity of the Japanese
household. Nobody would by any possibility call it dull ; and if it lacks
strict historical and scientific precision it makes up for all that by Marcel
and O-Hana. . . . Mr. Conn's English reads somewhat more like our native
language than that of 99 per cent among the awesome herd of translators from
the French. If we mistake not, indeed, he has freely edited rather than
merely translated his author ; and this is at least many times better than the
common and slovenly modern habit of simply transliterating him." — Pall Mall
Gazette,
" * Japanese Life, Love, and Legend ' has certainly a flavour of Cha-
teaubriand about it, and reminds us forcibly of B§ne or of Atala. Mr. Conn has
done well to place M. Dubard's book before the public in an English dress.
Our countrymen as a rule are incapable of that sympathetic observation of the
inner life of Orientals which we find here." — Graphic.
"The volume is thoroughly interesting : and the author is evidently at
home in those scenes of Japanese middle-class life which he delights to portray.
Possibly the colors are a trifle brighter than those of nature, even in the land of
the rising sun ; for the author enjoyed himself exceedingly, and the gay-hearted
Gaul knows nothing of faint praise." — St. James's Gazette.
" Japan is the fashion ; and the very captivating volume * Japanese Life,
Love, and Legend ' will add a great deal to the stock of information upon
the subject within the reach of those who sit at home at ease. Many
authors have written of Japan, its arts, and its history ; but in this book we
have a light-hearted traveller, who knows the vie intime of the people, giving his
impressions and experiences in the spirit of a candid historian. He writes
of the domestic life of the Japanese, their manners and customs. He is
learned in all their ways, from making silk to making love. He visits their
families, their theatres, (and goes behind the scenes), their factories, and their
temples. Nothing is sacred to him, and he delivers himself without restraint
of all he has heard and seen in the Empire of the Kising Sun. He is a
rare gossip." — Life,
" The idea of weaving a love story into an ordinary book of travel is ingenious
and telling. . . . The writer has seen much that every traveller in Japan tells
of ; much, too, that other travellers have doubtless seen, but from motives of
( 22 )
JAPANESE LIFE, LOVE, AND LEGEND— continued.
delicacy have left untold. There are, however, no striking adventures or
passages of unusual power to make the name of the book. Some interesting
Japanese legends are woven into the narrative, which may fairly hope to take a
high place among the lighter travel-books of the season." — Yorkshire Post.
" The narrative portion is bright and attractive, and the ending of the love
story is natural and pathetic. The description of places and persons gives
the reader a vivid account of the manners and customs and beauties of the
country. The legends which are introduced are told in an interesting style, and
are well worth reading for their own sake. The book thoroughly deserves
success. We may add that though the work is a translation, it is done so
effectively that few would imagine it to be a French book in an English dress,
the binding is tasteful and in harmony with the subject." — Sheffield Daily
Telegraph.
" The author is to be congratulated on giving the public so charming
an account of the various pha&es of Japanese life, love, and legend. It is a
treat to be able to take up a book and find the interest in it so well sus-
tained from beginning to end. The description of the daily life of the
Japanese in all its details is rxcellently portrayed, and the love story of
O-Hana is full of charm. The book contains a vivid description of the
various places visited, with the different legends connected therewith, and
the manners and customs of the people. We have no hesitation in re-
commending it to our readers as one of the best published of its kind." —
Admiralty and Horse Guards Gazette.
Victor Hugo : His Life and Work.
By G. Barnett Smith. Author of "Poets and Novelists,"
" Shelley : a Critical Biography,' ' &c. With an engraved
portrait of Victor Hugo. Crown 8vo., cloth. 6s.
11 Excellent. Mr. Smith tells the story of a brilliant but chequered career in
his easy manner and with sympathetic discrimination."— Times.
" The only book which relates the full story of Hugo's life. He has pro-
duced a book that was very much wanted, and the volume is one which no
English student of Victor Hugo can afford to overlook." — North British Mail.
" A swift and incisive review that is at once entertaining, instructive and
popular. ' ' — Lloyd's.
" The book is unique. Notwithstanding the multitude of criticisms which
have appeared in our own and other languages upon Hugo's work, this is the
only volume which relates the full story of his life. We have pleasure in
recommending Mr. Barnett Smith's volume as the fullest and in every way
most satisfactory on its subject that has yet appeared in England." — The.
Christian Leader.
"( 23 )
VICTOR HUGO: HIS LIFE AND WORK— continued.
11 It is clear and succinct, and contains nearly everything it is requisite for
the average English reader to know about the illustrious Frenchman. As a
record of his literary and dramatic work it is remarkable for well-ordered com-
pleteness, while the account of Hugo in exile is free from the common errors
which have disfigured the narratives of the majority of those who have dealt
with the subject." — Topical Times.
" Well deserves to be read; we are told all that is needful to know about
him." — Tablet.
" The volume under notice is not a hurried and superficial biography.
. . . This well written account of his life." — Morning Post.
An Apology for the Life of the Right
HON. W. E. GLADSTONE ; OK, THE NEW
POLITICS. Crown 8vo., cloth. 7s 6d.
" One of the most comprehensive and powerful indictments against Mr.
Gladstone that has ever been issued." — England.
" This great man's shortcomings are mercilessly analysed and justly
ridiculed in a clever and amusing volume that has reached a second edition.
* An Apology for the Life of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone ; or the New
Politics.' It is one of the most really funny books we have met with for a long
time, but for all that its purpose is a serious ow<?." — John Bull.
" This is a cruel piece of work. The writer's accuracy is quite unim-
peachable, and he has collected his facts with such industry, and marshalled
them with such skill, that the book would have been crushing if Mr. Gladstone
had any reputation to lose." — Vanity Fair.
" A clever, if merciless, account of the life of the ex-Premier, judged from
a Conservative point of view, with a rather scathing commentary on his sayings
and doings from the year of his birth, compiled by the journalist who wrote
'Letters to my Son, Herbert' To Conservatives this volume will be a perfect
mine of information." — Publishers' Circular.
" Partly biographical and partly satirical, this is a very clever production."
— Edinburgh Courant.
11 The author of the book pursues Mr. Gladstone pitilessly throughout his
political career, every event of which he causes either to adorn a tale or to point
a moral. The book distorts nothing and conceals nothing." — Bristol Times and
Mirror.
( 24 )
Bussia Under the Tzars. By Stepniak,
Author of " Underground Russia." Translated by William
Westall. Third Edition, crown 8vo., cloth. 6s.
11 Excessively interesting "We would bear the most cordial
testimony to the excellence of Stepniak's work."— Times.
" His vivid and absorbing book should be read and pondered by everyone
who appreciates the blessings of liberty." — Daily Telegraph.
" He exposes the hideous police system, he tells us the secrets of the House
of Preventive Detection, of the central prisons, and the Troubetzkoi Eavelin,
and gives us graphic sketches of exile life on the shores of the White Sea and in
the bagnios of Siberia For all who would form an adequate idea of
the present condition of Russia, gauge its capacity for war, or attempt to
forecast its future, Stepniak's work is indispensable." — Spectator.
" A remarkable work, and it appears at a most opportune moment. . . .
The state of things in Russian prisons, so far as political prisoners are
concerned, as revealed by Stepniak, is hideous, if it be true. If it be untrue
the Russian Government ought, for its own honour's sake, to refute his state-
ments What he describes is terrible." — Athenceum.
" Thrilling pictures of the terrors of prison life Tourgenieff
and Stepniak, indeed, illustrate one another. Naturally the novelist tells
nothing of the worst side, the life in a Yakout hut for instance (fancy the
flower of a nation being brutalized by treatment of that kind) ; the riot
produced in a Siberian prison that the governor may account for several escapes,
due to gross negligence, by saying that 'the rules were too easy;' the hunger
strikes — prisoners starving themselves to death; the coarse tyranny with its
petty tortures. ... It is, of course, as interesting as a novel. We fear its
thrilling details are true as well as interesting." — Graphic.
" A striking book, which appears opportunely at a time when Europe is
occupied in watching the beginning of another stage of her development.
Stepniak writes with a vigour and passion which must command attention." —
Melbourne Argus.
Court Life Below Stairs : or, London
UNDER THE FOUR GEORGES. By J. Fitzgerald
Molloy. Author of " Royalty Restored.' ' 2 vols, crown
8vo., cloth. ]2s.
u Mr. Molloy's style is crisp, and carries the reader along ; his portraits of
the famous men and women of the time are etched with care, and his narrative
rises to intensity and dramatic impressiveness as he follows the latter days of
Queen Caroline." — British Quarterly Review.
" Mr. Molloy's style is bright and fluent, picturesque and animated, and he
teUs his stories with unquestionable skill and vivacity." — Athenceum,
( 25 )
COURT LIFE BELOW ST AIB.S— continued.
" The narrative is fluent and amusing, and is far more instructive than nine-
tenths of the novels published nowadays." — St. James's Gazette.
" Mr. Molloy's narrative is concise, and exhibits a wide acquaintance with
the men and manners of the age. The anecdotes of the famous men of fashion,
wits, fools, or knaves introduced are amusing, and several not generally known
enliven the pages." — Morning Post.
" Well written, full of facts bearing on every subject under consideration, and
abounding with anecdotes of gay and witty debauchees." — Daily Telegraph.
" What Pepys has done for the Stuarts, Mr. Molloy has done for their
Hanoverian successors. This result of his arduous investigations is one of the
most interesting works which has ever come under our notice. It is impossible
to open the books at any part without feeling an overpowering desire to continue
the perusal." — Newcastle Chronicle.
Songs from the Novelists ; from
ELIZABETH TO VICTORIA. Edited, and with intro-
duction and notes, by W. Davenport Adams. Printed in
brown ink on Dutch hand-made paper. Bound in illuminated
parchment, rough edges, gilt top. Fcap 4to. 12s. 6d.
" A volume of exceptional interest Marvellously comprehensive,
and, to a great extent, breaks up new ground The interest of the
volume is inexhaustible." — Globe.
" A handsome volume for the drawing-room table. A splendid book, useful
and ornamental. .... The publishers as well as the Editor have dis-
played perfect taste in the production of the work." — Life.
" It has been a happy thought, and so far as our recollection allows us to
suppose, it is an original one, to collect the lyrics interspersed in English, prose
fiction. The dainty volume is the painstaking compilation of Mr. W. Davenport
Adams." — Daily Telegraph.
" A happy idea occurred to Mr. Davenport Adams when he determined to collect
from the pages of English novels, dating from Elizabeth to Victoria, a series of
representative songs. The result of his labours is a volume containing over one
hundred and twenty poetic gems, many of which are of such beauty and worth
that one can hardly forbear the question - Why has it not been done before ?
Probably no- one has hitherto credited our English novelists with the possession
of sufficient poetic genius, and if, in some standard work of fiction, an odd verse
or so should find its way into the author's accustomed prose, it has not met
with much attention or respect on the part of the reader To most
people this publication will come as a revelation." — Morning Post.
( 26 )
Philosophy in The Kitchen: General
HINTS ON FOODS AND DRINKS. By the Author
of " The Reminiscences of an Old Bohemian," &c. Crown
8vo., cloth. 3s. 6d.
11 The most recommendable book on cookery that has been published
in England for many long days." — Saturday Review.
" The recipes in the Old Bohemian's ' Philosophy in the Kitchen \ makes
one's mouth water." — Graphic.
"The Old Bohemian is & cordon bleu among cooks, and a capital raconteur.
His chapter on salads alone is worth the price of the book." — Lady.
" A racy, chatty, and instructive book." — Scotsman.
" A remarkable book, cleverly written, full of thought and brimming
over with original suggestions." — British Confectioner.
" Excellent recipes, some of which are absolutely new." — Figaro.
" Will quickly take its place among the culinary standards of Brillat-Savarin,
Kettner, Fin-Bee, Tegetmeier, and the no less able, but more desultory, George
Augustus Sala." — Practical Confectioner.
" An amusing cookery-book, probably the only one in the language.
To housekeepers who are not above taking valuable hints as to the preparation
of food, to those who look upon eating and drinking as the chief ends of
life, and to all and sundry who like useful information none the less because it
is lightened with genial gossip and spiced with sparkling anecdote, ' Philosophy
in the Kitchen ' is a book we can recommend." — Spectator.
" Sets forth the conclusion with regard to meat and drink of one who
has had many opportunities, and has used them wisely and well. He is a prophet
to whom the dyspetic may listen on occasion with pleasure, and of whom the
haughtiest plain cook may learn certain virtues of practice. His remarks on the
distillation of coffee are such as should be read in every kitchen." — Athenceum.
1 ■ Full of useful and sensible advice to cooks and their accomplices ; and receipt
after receipt, blended with anecdotes new and old, take this volume out of the
usual run of cookery-books." — Chemist and Druggist.
Folk and Fairy Tales. By Mrs, Burton
Harrison. With Twenty-four original whole page Illustra-
tions by Walter Crane. In pictorial cloth case specially
designed by Walter Crane. Gilt edges. 7s. 6d.
M Messrs. Ward and Downey have, in ■ Folk and Fairy Tales,' by Mrs.
Burton Harrison, earned the gratitude of the youngsters, for the fairy stories
are all good, well- written, and excellently illustrated."— Vanity Fair.
( 27 )
FOLK AND FAIRY TALES— continued.
" Mr. Crane's prettiest pictures. . . The stories are well told and enter-
taining." — Saturday Review.
" Regi is Mrs. Burton Harrison's hero, a lonely little boy in a big house, sur-
rounded by any number of servants, a not too kind governess, and a papa who is too
busy in his business to find time to pet Regi. In fact, in the house everything
seems to be out sympathy with child-nature. But it is not so. The items of bric-a-
brac that lie about the drawing-room are moved to speech ; some eighteen
pieces each tell a story, befitting its caste and country. In this way a ' Russian
Tea-Urn' relates in anew form the story of ' Vasilissa, the Wise,' the ' Three
Silver Feathers,' aversion of an old Welsh Romance; the 'Arabian Pipe,' a
resetting from the ' Arabian Nights ;' the ' Norwegian Wedding Crown,' a story
from the Norse ; and so on throughout the book. But Mrs. Burton Harrison's
resettings of these twice-told tales are entertaining ; she has the gift of telling a
gtory so that it will catch a child's ear, and that in my opinion, is among
writers a rare accomplishment. It should commend the book not only to every
nursery and schoolroom but to all such as delight in reminiscences of their age
of pinafores. The four-and-twenty pictures from Mr. Walter Crane's pen that
illustrate the stories should not be passed over without a word of praise. Mr.
Walter Crane is a mannerist, but his mannerisms are invariably refined and
artistic. In the illustrations to Mrs. Harrison's book he has given play to his
fancy, and the result is excellent. The pictures are above, in no small degree,
the ordinary type of book illustrations. Mr. Walter Crane has produced
nothing to equal them since he published his delightful ' Grimm,' in 1882." —
Pictorial World.
"Hans Andersen, of course, is the master of this kind of story telling, and
we cannot read any book of this sort without thinking of him ; but Mrs. Burton
Harrison is a very apt and skilful disciple, and there are not a few of these —
they number some twenty altogether — which are well worthy of the magician
himself. Mr. Walter Crane seconds the author's pen most excellently with his
pencil. ' ' — Spec tator.
" Fortunate is the author whose book is illustrated by Mr. Walter Crane.
The matter it contains will at any rate be well recommended by the pictures
which accompany it. « Folk and Fairy Tales ' by Mrs. Burton Harrison possess
this advantage, but it must also be said that they could very well stand alone
on their own merits. Mrs. Harrison has collected a number of fairy tales of
different countries, and has told them in a simple and attractive style. They
lie out of the beaten highways of fairy tales, and will be new to most readers ;
but they have the genuine ring of folklore about them. It will probably strike
even ardent admirers of Mr. Crane that the absence of colour has enabled him
to give freer scope to his imagination, and that the bright coloured picture
books by which he is so well known may tend by their readiness of effect to
hinder the exercise of the finer qualities of his art. These are abundantly
manifested in the beautiful drawings scattered through the volume." —
Manchester Guardian.
44 It is many a long day since we have seen such a capital collection of stories
for little people as Mrs. Burton Harrison's ' Folk and Fairy Tales,' a new
( 28 )
FOLK AND FAIBY TALES— continued.
budget from Fairyland just published by Messrs. Ward and Downey. The book
is illustrated with no end of pretty pictures by Mr. Walter Crane." — Lady.
" ■ Folk and Fairy Tales ' are welcomed with delight, and serve to restore
that lightness of heart which should never be absent from the young. The idea
of making the various objects in the room tell their tales to a little boy is not,
perhaps, quite original, if indeed such a thing as originality exists after so many
centuries ; but it is well carried out, and the pictures by Mr. Walter Crane are
drawn in a fanciful style, well suited to the text, and characteristic of the
artist." — Morning Post.
" Both young and old lovers of fairy tales owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs.
Burton Harrison for the publication of this delightful volume. It consists of
the tales which were told to a companionless little boy by the very cosmopolitan
contents of his father's drawing-room. It kept up the writer of this notice
much later than his usual bedtime. The book is tastefully bound, and the
paper and printing is all that can be desired, while of the illustrations we need
only say that they are by Walter Crane. This is one of the most charming gift
books we have seen this season." — Sheffield Daily Telegraph.
" This is really a splendid book for children, containing some twenty
captivating stories of just the right length, with an ample number of excellent
illustrations . ' ' — London Figaro."
" The tales are exactly such as children love, and are told in a simple and
attractive manner. The book is handsomely bound and tastefully printed. The
design on the cover is very quaint and pretty." — Bayswater Chronicle.
" Who doesn't revel in fairy tales ? They seem to charm us almost from
the cradle to the grave. No sooner does the mind arrive at the stage of
comprehension and the tongue can lisp a few words, the request is foremost,
* Tell me a story !' In middle age it is much the same, although under another
form, and age loves to hear again the stories it heard in childhood. A delightful
collection has been formed by Mrs. Burton Harrison The idea is pretty. A
little boy in New York dreams that he is in the drawing-room when, to his
surprise, all the ornaments and curios scattered around are suddenly endowed
with powers of speech, and, after an amusing squabble among themselves, they
proceed to tell him strange tales of all countries. Thus ' Folk and Fairy Tales '
proves to be a most delightful gathering of legendary and fairy lore." — Lady's
Pictorial.
" The book is profusely illustrated with good woodcuts from drawings by
Walter Crane, and taking it all in all, it ought to be a welcome Christmas gift
to the young ones for whom it has been published." — Freeman's Journal.
" The scheme of the author, whose ' Old-fashioned Fairy Tales,' of last year
we have not forgotten, is the one familiar to all readers of Hans Andersen, of
making a number of inanimate objects tell the story of their former life or of
their own country to a child. In this case, the objects are not the worn-out
playthings of a Scandinavian cottage, but the bric-a-brac of * a spacious house in
upper Fifth Avenue.' Mr. Walter Crane has evidently taken great pains over
the illustrations, which reach a uniformly high standard." — Academy.
( 29 )
MR. B. L. FARJEON'S RECENT NOVELS.
In a Silver Sea. Second Edition. 3 vols.
Crown 8vo. 31s. 6d.
44 Those who commence it will become more and more interested, be unable
to put it down until they've finished the third volume, and then will breathe
again, and be inclined to wonder h )w on earth it was they have been so spell-
bound. For it is a quaint, weird, thrilling, mysterious, nightmarish work, like
a screen of fantastic scraps put together with some sort of mysterious purpose,
rivetting attention, and exciting curiosity. Occasionally the jerky dialogue
recalls Victor Hugo's style, especially in ' L'Homme qui Hit.' ' In a Silver Sea '
may be classed with ' Treasure Island,' ' In a Glass Darkly,' ' Uncle Silas,'
* King Solomon's Mines.' . . . The creepiest creepers have been Mr. Le
Fanu's. But Mr. Farjeon has run him very near, and thrown in a touch of
Hugoesque dialogue into the bargain." — Punch,
The Sacred Nugget. Fourth Edition. Crown
8vo. 6s.
" The story is so interesting as to force one to turn over over the pages with
something like real excitement.' , — Athenceum.
Great Porter Square : A Mystery. Fifth
Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s.
"A masterpiece of realistic fiction." — Morning Post.
" One of the cleverest and most fascinating stories of the day." — Society.
The House of White Shadoivs. Third
Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s.
" A genuine bit of romance powerfully told." — The World.
" An ably- written, interesting, even engrossing t&le."— Saturday Review.
Grif: a Story of Australian Life. Picture
boards. 2s.
" One of the best stories he has produced, and full of high dramatic interest."
Scotsman,
( 30 )
MR. F. C. PHILIPS' RECENT WORKS OF FICTION,
A Lucky Young Woman, s vols. Crown
8vo. 31s. 6d.
11 The author of * As in a Looking-Glass ' has followed up his success with
another novel well adapted to hit the fancy of the modern novel reader. ■ A
Lucky Young Woman ' is written in an easy, flowing style .... Mr. Philips'
racy though somewhat egotistical humour just suits the jaded palate of the
day."— Times.
44 There is something of the style of Henry Kingsley ahout this novel — a com-
parison by which we mean a great compliment, for Henry Kingsley, when he
was in the humour, had a certain art of carrying the reader with him that few
novelists have surpassed." — Pall Mall Gazette.
" The characters are crisply sketched, the touch is true and bold ;
The story's fresh and full of go, and capitally told." — Punch.
" It is impossible to praise Mr. Philips' style too highly ; it is brilliant, full
of colour, yet crisp and concise. He does not affect ordinary humour, but his
wit is incisive The tale runs smoothly from first chapter to last, and the
interest is kept up to the end. 4 A Lucky Young Woman ' is in short a brilliant
novel of the very best kind. It places the author in the first rank of English
novelists." — St. Stephen's Review.
44 We can bestow unstinted praise on the unflagging spirit and genuine humour
with which Mr. Philips tells his story." — Athenceum.
As in a Looking-GlaSS. With a Frontispiece
by Gordon Browne. Fourth edition. Crown 8vo. 6s.
41 Clever beyond any common standard of cleverness." — Daily Telegraph,
44 Remarkably clever, full of sustained interest." — World.
44 There are ingenuity and originality in the conception of the book, and
power in its working out." — Scotsman.
44 A powerful tragedy, a portfolio of character sketches, and a diorama of
society scenes. Its characters are all real and living personages." — Globe.
44 It will be praised here, censured there, and read everywhere ; for it is
unconventional and original, and in every sense a most attractive and remark-
able novel." — Life.
44 It shows abundant cleverness, much knowledge of some curious phases of
life, and a real insight into certain portions of that mysterious organ, the
female heart." — St. James's Gazette.
44 Mr. Philips' story is a work of art, and, being much superior to the rough
sketches of an average novelist, it dis-charges the true function of every work
of art by representing things as they actually are, and teaching the observer to
discriminate between appearances andrealities." — Saturday Review.
Social Vicissitudes. Crown 8vo, 6s.
44 The smartest and most amusing set of sketches that has appeared since
Mrs. Linton lashed the Young Woman of the Period." — St. Stephen's Review.,
( 81 )
Snow-hound at Eagle's. By Bret Harte.
Crown 8vo. Cloth. 2s. 6d.
" * Snow-bound at Eagle's ' is in a somewhat gayer vein than most of Mr.
Bret Harte's longer stories. The scene is, as usual, laid in the far "West, and
the effect of the story consists in the contrast between the wild life and the
civilization which lie so close together, and the setting of it shows another fresh
bit of vigorously sketched landscape The characters are struck off
with the author's invariable precision, and the story is told with his own
inimitable terseness and careful avoidance of any reflections or descriptions
which do not make directly for the end he has in view. It is one of his
brightest and most readable stories." — Athenceum.
" In the character of Ned Falkner, Bret Harte has created the sort of man
who is best described as ■ an archangel a little damaged,' which was Lamb's
description of Coleridge Force of circumstances turns Ned for the
nonce into a species of highwayman, and in that novel capacity he, with his
bosom friend George Lee, is ' snow-bound at Eagle's ' in the company of some
of the most fascinating women Bret Harte has yet created. The whole action
of the story takes place in about a fortnight, and the author skilfully shows how
much may happen in that brief space to make or mar a life." — Whitehall
Review*
" Bret Harte's hand has clearly not forgot its cunning, and in ■ Snow-bound
at Eagle's ' we have something in the old style of ' The Luck of Roaring Camp.'
. . . . Well and vividly told ; and at some points the interest is intense.
It is Bret Harte all through, and often Bret Harte at his best." — Aberdeen
Journal.
" A strongly sensational sketch of the characters of a couple of * road
agents,' as highwaymen are called in the Far West. The author, in his
customary manner, and with all his old charm of style, points his moral that
there is some good in the worst of men, which developes itself under favourable
influences, and the manner in which the chance association with three good
women softens and ennobles the character of these two unprincipled men is
dealt with in a tonching yet humorous fashion that is perfectly irresistible.
As in all the author's works the people and places are refreshingly unconven-
tional, and I have seldom read a book of his that I like more, although others
have more deeply touched me. You will agree with me that 4 Snow-bound at
Eagle's ' is certainly a book to read more than once." — Society.
lt A delightful little novel The sketches of frontier life have all
the old power." — St. James's Gazette.
" The story and the situations are entirely original The
dialogue serves to bring out the individuality of each character, a rare excellence.
The plot is natural, and the situations striking and suggestive. The word-
painting is a triumph of simplicity and literary instinct By all
lovers of literature, as well as by all readers of fiction, ' Snow-bound at
Eagle's ■ will be enjoyed as containing some of its distinguished author's best
and most characteristic work." — Pictorial World,
( 32 )
NEW SERIES OF SHILLING NOVELS.
♦
Lady Valworitis Diamonds. By the Author
" A Mental Struggle."
A Prince of Darkness. By Florence
Warden. Author of " The House on the Marsh," &c.
11 A spirited melodrama, written with unflagging buoyancy, and overflowing
with exciting occurrences." — St. James's Gazette.
Molka. (Popular Edition of " Christmas Angel")
By B. L. Farjeon.
" A gem of truthful, powerful, poetic writing, and the striking originality of
conception and idea, which distinguishes it throughout, marks it as a work
apart." — Morning Advertiser.
Oliver's Bride. A Modern Story. By Mrs.
Oliphant. Tenth thousand.
" A perfect gem." — Vanity Fair.
" A powerful story, told in elegant English Full of dramatic
power." — Saturday Review.
The Dark House ; a Knot Unravelled.
By George Manville Fenn. New and Enlarged Edition.
Fifteenth thousand.
11 An inscrutable and bewildering mystery." — Pall Mall Gazette.
A Deadly Errand. By Max Hillary. Author
of " Once for All," &c.
11 Not the sort of book people should read just before going to bed, because
when once taken up it is impossible to put it down until it is finished." —
Whitehall Review.
Eve at the Wheel. A Story of Three Hundred
Virgins. By George Manville Fenn. Tenth thousand.
" The story is unusually original, both in plot and treatment."— M anches ter
Guardian.
" A delightfully fresh and readable story."— Glasgow Herald.
Eaten Up. By " Eoston."
"A curiously engrossing story."— Society.
" This spirited story. . . It is a novelette after the manner of the famous
series which were written by Harriet Martineau, that is to say it has been
written with a purpose, and it is remarkably well done."— Topical Times.