 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
 | Chapter V Complete Poems of Frances E. W. Harper |  |
On the next day Pharaoh called a council
Of his mighty men, and before them laid
The message of the brethren: then Amorphel,
Keeper of the palace and nearest lord
Unto the king, arose, and bending low
Before the throne, prayed leave to speak a word.
Amorphel was a crafty, treacherous man,
With oily lips well versed in flattery
And curtly speech, a supple reed ready
To bend before his royal master's lightest
Breath—Pharaoh's willing tool. He said
“Gracious king, thou has been too lenient
With these slaves; light as their burdens are, they
Fret and chafe beneath them. They are idle
And the blood runs riot in their veins. Now
If thou would'st have those people dwell in peace,
Increase, I pray thee, their tasks and add unto
Their burdens; if they faint beneath their added
Tasks, they will have less time to plot sedition
And revolt.”
Of his mighty men, and before them laid
The message of the brethren: then Amorphel,
Keeper of the palace and nearest lord
Unto the king, arose, and bending low
Before the throne, prayed leave to speak a word.
Amorphel was a crafty, treacherous man,
With oily lips well versed in flattery
And curtly speech, a supple reed ready
To bend before his royal master's lightest
Breath—Pharaoh's willing tool. He said
“Gracious king, thou has been too lenient
With these slaves; light as their burdens are, they
Fret and chafe beneath them. They are idle
And the blood runs riot in their veins. Now
If thou would'st have those people dwell in peace,
Increase, I pray thee, their tasks and add unto
Their burdens; if they faint beneath their added
Tasks, they will have less time to plot sedition
And revolt.”
| Chapter V Complete Poems of Frances E. W. Harper | |