cc c c < CCCC c< c c » ■cc c < cc c i C <: c <: CCCC ^ ' C: C C (Tc C C CCc ^c VC «L^ <1C -c i c cc cc C C C c cc ( ( C C cc C c -- c^ cc c c cc c ^C << c c cc c CL <-< «^- C- cc t . <^ ^<^^ C c cc - <^ (T C ^ c<< ^ cc ca, c c*- CC-^ V Cr . c? ^^ ^'^ ex.- c. ill CC cC tv CC CCC C C'. CC < (Xv . C"ccc CC ^^_ ■CX CCC C*>- c<' cc^ c 7 ^i^irj/iUCre^o,^ Tffor/ Coi'VKiGHT, 1894, iiv A. O. KAPLAN, Cincinnati. O. "Come! Phantoms, from the desert air." ^b® faeantation. ome! Phantoms, from the desert air, Come! Triton, from thy briny lair; Come! Gabriel, from the realm of bliss, x^ Come! Pluto, from thy dread abyss; Come, all ye vapory chiefs and kings, Whom love allures or treason brings From vast, unfathomed space. Appear! And to my pleading voice give ear. ii*^ ^T^ain would I sweep the sky's blue dome, I Or in the slums of Sheol roam; Fain would I track the ocean's floor. Or earth's dark mysteries explore; On land; on sea; in air's expanse, I yearn to dart like speeding lance; Or, in some fierce volcano's maw. Repose and mock stern Nature's law. "Then rose J to the 'u'elkiii J air." A Knmoor, ye gods to whom I pray, My spirit from its mold of clay; And vest me with some potent charm, That binds Time's wings and shackles harm; For thus untrammeled, I may wrest Grave secrets from the cosmic breast; Choose ye the course where'er it wend, I'll follow boldly to the end. fhe spectral conclave fast withdrew, A mist before my vision grew, And lo! my soul was free. Then rose I to the welkin fair. And soared upon the trackless air Of mute infinity. 1* " ir/ii'/r iiwiintaius stand 'with Iwary head." A Ifnd from that grand, empyreal height— Whose scope defies the eagle's flight I saw with quickened eye, The pendent world's vast continents, Where rule the forceful elements, Crowned by the astral sky. ' 'x-fWf'*' here mountains stand with hoary head. Like tombstones reared to centuries dead. By thoughtful nature's hand; And where the billowy, storm-lashed deep- That grave where fabled empires sleep- Rolls on from strand to strand. "H^ TA>here mighty cities teem with strife, r And mortal millions drift through life Into eternity. Where crystal streams, like throbbing veins, Traverse and bless the arid plains, Then rush into the sea. "/// bhiik, abysmal, stifling space. a IXffhile feasting on this gorgeous view, Some unseen power quickly drew Me down I knew not where. With spiral motion circling fast, I neared a dismal spot at last. The haunt of grim despair. Qj [eneath me yawned a craggy brink A monstrous gap— wherein with shrink And shudder 1 fell prone; Then came a headlong, breathless chase. In black, abysmal, stifling space. To depths ungauged, unknown. Jke Lucifer from Heaven hurled, Thro' countless leagues of void I whirled With ever-gathering stress; Until caloric blasts proclaimed. The presence of that bourne ill-famed, Whose port brooks no regress. ^c) "Tliough sleeped in dnad Tartanan flare." ^ paused beneath a pillared dome, Ji Where lambent flames in phalanx roam, And roar with wild refrain; As if at some Afreet's behest To ceaseless toil and turmoil pressed, Mid constant stoke and strain. ^hough steeped in dread Tartarean flare. And reft of Nature's balmy air, Yet was my mind serene; For calm I watched with earnest glance. The flames display in fitful dance. Their scintillating sheen. iVTo prisoned souls or demon crew, No imp or gnome of scarlet hue. No harpy, elf or sprite; No cloven fiends with spear-shaped prongs, No furies flaunting blaze-girt thongs, Arose before my sight. 'And cross the dread divide." Instead, there issued from the fire, A voice, which, fraught with chafing ire, Bade me a churlish hail. "No mortal man save thee" it roared, "E'er bearded red Gehenna's lord, Within this torrid vale." "liF' "t^hy didst thou quit thy native heath; Why seek the molten plains beneath; Who was thy guard, thy guide? What magic spell didst thou invoke. To rid thee of thy human yoke. And cross the dread divide?" ^^jgV Mystic Host," I answered bland, ^t "Ere I comply with thy demand, This favor 1 beseech: Disclose thy form, thy rank, thy name; That I may couch in proper frame My homage and my speech." "A rfj^a/ fortii stood then umrihd." lYlhe answer came in clarion strain: ^ '*From homage may'st thou well refrain. For wert thou not my peer, These angry, withering, tongues of flame, Had lapped thy blood and wrecked thy frame. Upon thine entrance here." <^^he boon thou ask'st me to bestow. Is thine— behold!" I glanced, and slow The scorching fangs made way. A regal form stood then unveiled. Like glowing stone with fire empaled. Its master, yet its prey. Well might strong Hercules have sighed, Or Vulcan longed with wistful pride. For such superb physique. In scarlet tunic loose arrayed. With form and features well displayed He posed and thus did speak: Ami art thou he," 1 asked eoneenied.' ^^Pale offspring of telluric dust, Who, thro' some charm upon thee thrust. Didst pierce yon mystic shell; Know that beneath this glowing span, ] Thy soul communes as man to man. With PYRUS, Prince of Hell!" \^nd art thou he," I asked concerned, m "Whom holy writ and men deep learned. Call Satan, tempter, de'il? Whom rumor vests with hoof and horn. With body warped and soul forsworn Beyond redemption's peal." liW yea, thy looks belie thy fame, ^ Yet may thy heart deserve that name On earth abhorred and feared; j I prithee, therefore, clear thy breast. Avow, or set for aye at rest. The mundane legends weird." fhen quoth the prince with hauqhty qrace; **The heart is mirrored in the face, So may'st thou (^lean the truth. If erring men misjudge my aims, And load me with revolting names, Theirs is the shame, forsooth." I ''fTs thou of earthlings art the first, j M Who through yon lurid arch hath burst. Thy mandate shall have sway. State bold thy mission or desire. And, by these quivering forks of fire, No force shall bar thy way." 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