and the generations of men shall remember her no more! Oh ye kings, princes, and warriors!--Weep, weep for the doom of Al-Kyris!" and now his wild voice sank by degrees into a piteous plaintiveness--"Weep!--for never again on earth shall be found a fairer dwelling-place for the lovers of joy! ... never again shall be builded a grander city for the glory and wealth of a people! Al-Kyris! Al-Kyris! Thou that boastest of ancient days and long lineage! ... thou art become a forgotten heap of ruin! ... the sands of the desert shall cover thy temples and palaces, and none hereafter shall inquire concerning thee! None shall bemoan thee, . . none shall shed tears for the grievous manner of thy death, . . none shall know the names of thy mighty heroes and men of fame,--for thou shalt vanish utterly and be lost far out of memory even as though thou hadst never been!" Here he stopped abruptly and caught his breath hard,--his blazing eyes preternaturally large and brilliant fixed themselves steadfastly on the sculptured ivory shield that surmounted the back of the King's throne, and over his drawn and wrinkled features came an expression of such ghastly horror that instinctively every one present turned their looks in the same direction. Suddenly a shriek, piercing and terrible, broke from his lips,--a shriek that like a swiftly descending knife seemed to saw the air discordantly asunder. "See ... See!" he cried in fierce haste and eagerness ... "See how the crested head gleams! ... How the soft, shiny throat curves and glistens! ... how the lithe body twists and twines! ... Hence!--Hence, accursed Snake! ..thou poisoner of peace! ... thou quivering sting in the flesh!--thou destroyer of the strength of manhood! What hast thou to do with Zephoranim, that thou dost wind thy many coils about his heart? ... Lysia ... Lysia! ..." here the King started violently, his face flushing darkly red, "Thou delicate abomination! ... Thou tyrannous treachery.. what shall be done unto thee in the hour of darkness! Put off, put off the ornaments of gold and the jewels wherewith thou adornest thy beauty, and crown thyself with the crown of an endless affliction! ... for thou shalt be girdled round about with flame, and fire shall be thy garment! ... thy lips that have drunken sweet wine shall be steeped in bitterness!--vainly shalt thou make thyself fair and call aloud on thy legion of lovers, . . they shall be as dead men, deaf to thine entreaties, and none shall answer thee,--no, not one! None shall hide thee from shame or offer thee comfort,--in the midst of thy lascivious delights shalt thou suddenly perish! ... and my soul shall be avenged on thy sins, thou unvirgined Virgin!--thou Queen-Courtesan!"