University of Virginia Library

A Demon's false Description of his Race of fallen Intelligences. A Scene from Hadad.—Hillhouse.

Tamar.
I SHUDDER,
Lest some dark Minister be near us now.

Hadad.
You wrong them. They are bright Intelligences,
Robbed of some native splendor, and cast down,
'Tis true, from heaven; but not deformed, and foul,
Revengeful, malice-working fiends, as fools
Suppose. They dwell, like princes, in the clouds;
Sun their bright pinions in the middle sky;
Or arch their palaces beneath the hills,
With stones inestimable studded so,
That sun or stars were useless there.

Tam.
Good heavens!

Had.
He bade me look on rugged Caucasus,
Crag piled on crag beyond the utmost ken,
Naked, and wild, as if creation's ruins
Were heaped in one immeasurable chain
Of barren mountains, beaten by the storms
Of everlasting winter. But within
Are glorious palaces, and domes of light,
Irradiate halls, and crystal colonnades,
Vaults set with gems, the purchase of a crown,
Blazing with lustre past the noon-tide beam,
Or, with a milder beauty, mimicking
The mystic signs of changeful Mazzaroth.

Tam.
Unheard of splendor!

Had.
There they dwell, and muse,
And wander; Beings beautiful, immortal,
Minds vast as heaven, capacious as the sky,
Whose thoughts connect past, present, and to come,
And glow with light intense, imperishable.
Thus, in the sparry chambers of the sea
And air-pavilions, rainbow tabernacles,
They study Nature's secrets, and enjoy
No poor dominion.

Tam.
Are they beautiful,
And powerful far beyond the human race?

Had.
Man's feeble heart cannot conceive it. When
The sage described them, fiery eloquence
Flowed from his lips, his bosom heaved, his eyes
Grew bright and mystical; moved by the theme,
Like one who feels a deity within.

Tam.
Wondrous!—What intercourse have they with men?

Had.
Sometimes they deign to intermix with man,
But oft with woman.

Tam.
Hah! with woman?

Had.
She
Attracts them with her gentler virtues, soft,
And beautiful, and heavenly, like themselves.
They have been known to love her with a passion
Stronger than human.

Tam.
That surpasses all
You yet have told me.

Had.
This the sage affirms;
And Moses, darkly.

Tam.
How do they appear?
How manifest their love?

Had.
Sometimes 'tis spiritual, signified
By beatific dreams, or more distinct
And glorious apparition.—They have stooped
To animate a human form, and love
Like mortals.

Tam.
Frightful to be so beloved!
Who could endure the horrid thought!—What makes
Thy cold hand tremble? or is't mine
That feels so deathy?

Had.
Dark imaginations haunt me
When I recall the dreadful interview.

Tam.
O, tell them not—I would not hear them.

Had.
But why contemn a Spirit's love? so high,
So glorious, if he haply deigned?—

Tam.
Forswear
My Maker! love a Demon!

Had.
No—O, no—
My thoughts but wandered—Oft, alas! they wander.

Tam.
Why dost thou speak so sadly now?—and lo!
Thine eyes are fixed again upon Arcturus.
Thus ever, when thy drooping spirits ebb,
Thou gazest on that star. Hath it the power
To cause or cure thy melancholy mood?—
[He appears lost in thought.]
Tell me, ascrib'st thou influence to the stars?

Had.
(starting.)
The stars! What know'st thou of the stars?

Tam.
I know that they were made to rule the night.

Had.
Like palace lamps! thou echoest well thy grandsire.
Woman! the stars are living, glorious,
Amazing, infinite!

Tam.
Speak not so wildly.—
I know them numberless, resplendent, set
As symbols of the countless, countless years
That make eternity.

Had.
Eternity!—
Oh! mighty, glorious, miserable thought!—
Had ye endured like those great sufferers,
Like them, seen ages, myriad ages roll;
Could ye but look into the void abyss
With eyes experienced, unobscured by torments,—
Then mightst thou name it, name it feelingly.

Tam.
What ails thee, Hadad?—Draw me not so close.

Had.
Tamar! I need thy love—more than thy love—

Tam.
Thy cheek is wet with tears—Nay, let us part—
'Tis late—I cannot, must not linger.—

[Breaks from him, and exit.]
Had.
Loved and abhorred!—Still, still accursed!—
[He paces, twice or thrice, up and down, with passionate gestures; then turns his face to the sky, and stands a moment in silence.]
—Oh! where,
In the illimitable space, in what
Profound of untried misery, when all
His worlds, his rolling orbs of light, that fill
With life and beauty yonder infinite,
Their radiant journey run, for ever set,
Where, where, in what abyss shall I be groaning?

[Exit.]