Israel in Egypt A Poem. By Edwin Atherstone |
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 | Israel in Egypt |  |
“I will not send!” with harsh voice Pharaoh cried,
“To be again the mock of those accurs'd.
Whether they will, or no, the morrow's sun
Alike will see its death. Then, as ye can,
Endure, if end it ye will not, in blood
Of those who sent it. And now get ye hence:
Ye know my will; and, though till night ye pray,
Vain were it as of clouds to ask for gold.
Haste to the vaults beneath the palace floor;
Or to the catacombs: to that dark night
Plague will not follow you: and the cool air
Will ease your burning. Answer not, but go;
For more I will not hear.”
“To be again the mock of those accurs'd.
Whether they will, or no, the morrow's sun
Alike will see its death. Then, as ye can,
Endure, if end it ye will not, in blood
Of those who sent it. And now get ye hence:
Ye know my will; and, though till night ye pray,
Vain were it as of clouds to ask for gold.
Haste to the vaults beneath the palace floor;
Or to the catacombs: to that dark night
Plague will not follow you: and the cool air
Will ease your burning. Answer not, but go;
For more I will not hear.”
So to his bed
Pharaoh returned, and found his queen in tears,
Because of that loved son, whom entrance thus
His father had refused. “Set Israel free,
I pray thee Pharaoh,” cried she piteously;
“Thou hast no right to hold them. Oft and oft
Have I not said, evil will come of it,
If them we hold in slavery, who for us,
With their own blood and life, deliverance wrought.
I pray thee let them go.”
Pharaoh returned, and found his queen in tears,
Because of that loved son, whom entrance thus
His father had refused. “Set Israel free,
I pray thee Pharaoh,” cried she piteously;
“Thou hast no right to hold them. Oft and oft
Have I not said, evil will come of it,
If them we hold in slavery, who for us,
With their own blood and life, deliverance wrought.
I pray thee let them go.”
With gentle words,
And fond embraces, her he sought to soothe;
Predicting for the morrow sure release
From that affliction; for all time to come,
Security from evil, by the death
Of those accurs'd magicians. Long she sobbed;
But ceased at last,—grief by great terror crushed:
For louder yet, and louder rose the cries
Within the palace, and from all around;
As though throughout the city every voice
Sent up its yell: and, mingled with that din,
Came the still waxing roar of the fierce plague;
Millions by tens of millions multiplied;
For vengeance clamoring, and athirst for blood.
In silence then she lay, and Pharaoh too,
Quaking with fear. Speechless, long time they lay.
And fond embraces, her he sought to soothe;
Predicting for the morrow sure release
From that affliction; for all time to come,
Security from evil, by the death
Of those accurs'd magicians. Long she sobbed;
But ceased at last,—grief by great terror crushed:
For louder yet, and louder rose the cries
Within the palace, and from all around;
As though throughout the city every voice
Sent up its yell: and, mingled with that din,
Came the still waxing roar of the fierce plague;
225
For vengeance clamoring, and athirst for blood.
In silence then she lay, and Pharaoh too,
Quaking with fear. Speechless, long time they lay.
| Israel in Egypt | |