University of Virginia Library

SCENE V.

The court of the Tabernacle on Mount Zion, lighted by a fire upon the altar of burnt-offerings: the interior of the sanctum partially visible through the smoke of the incense burning there: Zadok and Abiathar standing by the altar.
Abi.
The night frowns darkly, and may burst in storm
Before our sons o'ertake the King. How, then,
Cross ruffled Jordan with the helpless household?

Zad.
Look not to me for cheering. Am not I
Dark as thyself?

Abi.
But thou didst charge the youths
So straitly to pass o'er.

Zad.
So Hushai bade.

Enter Tamar, attended by two ancient Jews.
Tam.
O, holy Priests! O, blessed Tabernacle!
Zadok,—Abiathar,—will ye protect me?

Zad.
(supporting her.)
Protect thee, Princess!—thou art with sure friends.
Whence comest thou?

Tam.
I know not—O! I know not.

Jew.
We rescued her from villains.

Zad.
Merciful!
What measure hath this dreadful day of wrath!

Jew.
We met her in a dark and lonely place,
West of Damascus' gate, dragged by two ruffians,
Her mouth close bound. Perceiving us approach,
They snatched the caul and circlet from her head,
Tore from her arms and neck the costly gems,
And plunged into the darkness.

Zad.
Blest be He
Whose mercy guided you!—How cam'st thou thus
Exposed?—Know ye? (to the Jews.)


Jew.
Hearing the Ark returned,
She bent her steps this way, to seek of you
Intelligence and comfort. In the dusk
And crowded streets, losing her sole attendant,
And borne amidst the tumult, she was seized
By those same wretches, her pretended guides.

Zad.
Ye 've saved the Princess Tamar. Let me know
Your worthy names.

Jew.
Barak and Mahlon, kinsmen,
Of Omri's house.

Zad.
The deed shall be rewarded,
If righteousness return. But leave the maid,—
We watch before the altar,—safer here,
In presence of the Lord, than with an host.

Tam.
Yes, leave me, leave me, friends.

Jew.
Farewell! may prayers
And sacrifice avert the threatened judgments.

(Exeunt Jews.)
Tam.
O, tell me, where is David?—I beheld him
Barefoot and weeping—Or was that a dream?—
Yourselves—the Levites—weeping round the Ark?

Zad.
Ah! that it were a dream!

Tam.
What hath befallen us?—
O, answer, ere I grow quite wild.

Zad.
David is driven forth.

Tam.
Where? where?

Abi.
We know not.

Zad.
Nor where, nor how: it fell upon our heads
Like sudden thunder.

Tam.
Were I but with him!—
Ye know not where he went?—O, doth he live?—
Have they not murdered him?—
(The Priests whisper together.)
—Enough! he is not!—

Zad.
Hearken, Princess,
For we may trust thee. David lives. He fled
Toward Jordan, promising to wait for tidings
In a concerted place—

Tam.
But will he scape?

Zad.
If he pass o'er to-night; and both our sons
Are sped to warn him.

Tam.
Did ye urge?—implore him?

Abi.
We counselled him, and he is wise of heart.

Zad.
Calm your perturbed spirits now: repose
Upon the Lord. His promises sustain
Our fainting hopes: His sacred presence dwells
Still in the Sanctuary, and forbids
Despair. Yes, when the Ark resumed its place,
The Glory settled 'twixt the Cherubim
With undiminished lustre.

Tam.
Then, there's hope—
But O!—my guilty father!— (Weeps bitterly.)


Zad.
Despair not: join with us in supplications.

Tam.
Why did they spare me! O, that I had died
When death was near!

Zad.
Disparage not thy rescuer;
Jehovah hears thee.—Kneel for his offences,
For Israel's, whose portentous sins may tempt
A retribution terrible and final.
Enter the Sanctuary, and uplift
Thy sorrowing heart, more prevalent than incense.

(They lead her into the Tabernacle.)