 | Dramas, Discourses, and other Pieces |  |
SCENE I.
The inner apartment of David's sepulchre, filled with treasure: a sarcophagus of Egyptian porphyry standing in the centre. Enter Absalom, Hadad, and Balaam-Haddon, as from another chamber of the tomb. Balaam-Haddon carries a lamp, and a silver vessel for the burning of perfume.B. Hadd.
Behold, my lord, the last and richest! Here,
Nothing but gold of Ophir, pearls, and gems
Of priceless value. How they catch the lamp beams,
And sparkle as I wave it, like the stars
Upon a fitful night of clouds. And lo!
The marble in whose womb he means to sleep.
Ab.
It strikes me dumb—what heaps, what mountain piles!
The pillage of the world were scarce enough
To sum the riches we have gazed upon.
Had.
But whence can he have drawn them? there 's the question.
He has pulled down, indeed, some barbarous thrones,
Made Syria tributary, and brought home
Rich spoil; but in the chambers of this rock
Josephus, speaking of the burial of David, observes:“He had great and immense wealth buried with him, the vastness of which may be easily conjectured at by what I shall now say; for, a thousand and three hundred years afterwards, Hyrcanus the High Priest, when he was besieged by Antiochus that was called the Pious, the son of Demetrius, and was desirous of giving him money to get him to raise the siege, and draw off his army; and having no other method of compassing the money, opened one room of David's sepulchre, and took out three thousand talents, and gave part of that sum to Antiochus, and by this means caused the siege to be raised, as we have informed the reader elsewhere. Nay, after him, and that many years, Herod the King opened another room, and took away a great deal of money; and yet neither of them came at the coffins of the Kings themselves.”—
Antiq. of the Jews, b. 7, ch. 15.The riches left by David, according to the common computation, exceeded eight hundred millions sterling.
Are treasures which the empires of the earth,
United, cannot equal. Whence they come
I'm bent to know. His flocks, and herds, and tilth,
Vineyards, and olive-grounds, and all he draws
Of yearly revenue from all the tribes,
141
Shrink to an alms.
Ab.
I know not what to think.
The Mage must answer.
Had.
Balaam-Haddon, speak.
B. Hadd.
If there be power in incantations, spells,
Or potency in stars, or strongest magic,
Or compounds such as these, some one shall answer.
(Places the vessel on the further part of the sarcophagus, heaps drugs upon it, and kindles them by the lamp.)
Stand by me here, my lords:—observe, but speak not.
(A thick smoke rises, which envelopes the remoter part of the tomb: Absalom and Hadad stand with their eyes intently fixed upon it: Balaam-Haddon mutters an incantation, casting, from time to time, perfumes upon the flame. A form becomes dimly visible amidst the smoke; its eyes and countenance sparkling. Absalom continues silently gazing. Balaam-Haddon turns to him.)
Address your questions briefly; when the smoke
Decays, it vanishes.
Ab.
What—who—art thou?
Spirit.
The Genius of the Throne.
Ab.
Servest thou the King?
Spirit.
I serve the Throne, and him who sits thereon.
Ab.
Implying thou mightst serve his son?
Spirit.
If he
Were chief in Jewry.
Ab.
Canst thou make him so?
142
No, nor oppose: I have no present power
Upon the blood of David.
Had.
Prince, mark that!
Ab.
Canst thou foresee?—Know'st thou the past?
Spirit.
Dim shadows of the future lie before me,
Like forms in twilight: all things past I know.
Ab.
Then answer, I adjure thee; for to this
Wert thou evoked.—Is Solomon elect
To David's throne?—Has he received the unction?
Spirit.
The kingly oil hath flowed upon his locks.
Had.
Change not, my lord.—What boots a horn of oil
Against that sword, that military arm,
Thy power in Israel?
Ab.
And now I care not—Heaven or Hell to aid,
I'll prove the issue.—Spirit, art thou bound
By ties indissoluble to the King?
Spirit.
I serve the Throne, till thrice three times revolve.
Ab.
Three times—
B. Hadd.
So Spirits reckon; he will not reveal.—
Who bound thee?
Spirit.
Jesse's son.
B. Hadd.
Serv'st thou in love?
Spirit.
No; for he hath not kept his covenant.
Ab.
But shall the son of Bathsheba be King?
Spirit.
He may be, or may not.
Ab.
How know'st thou that?
Spirit.
I read it in thy horoscope.
Ab.
Know'st thou
My destiny?
143
I know what may be.
Ab.
Speak,—
Reveal,—I do beseech thee, mighty Power,
How I may hold my lawful birthright.
B. Hadd.
Speak.
Spirit.
What said the Chaldee, whom thou saw'st at Geshur?
Ab.
Ha!
Spirit.
What answer brought he from the palace tower
Of Talmai, on the night of Pentecost?
Ab.
The holy Gods!
Spirit.
A hostile Planet, near allied to thee,
Threatens eclipse and blood; o'ercome but that,
And length of days, and glory shall be thine.
That powerful Star is Solomon's, and rides
Hard by the ascendant.
Ab.
But hath not yet attained it?
Spirit.
It enters on the seventh of Tisri.
Ab.
Gods!
Had.
So near?
Ab.
Direct me. How can I o'ercome?
Spirit.
Possess the crown ere Tisri.
Ab.
Shall I, then,
Be fortunate?
Spirit.
Beyond thy father, or the happiest mortal.
Ab.
And thou wilt serve me?
Spirit.
As I now do him.
B. Hadd.
Reveal the nature of thy services.
Spirit.
I give him strength, enlarge his heart, protect
His life, extend his realm, diffuse his glory,
And rifle, at his bidding, earth, and sea.
144
Thou brought'st these treasures then?
Spirit.
My servants did.
Ab.
Stay—tell me—shall I see thee—
Spirit.
When thou sitt'st
Upon thy father's throne.
(The smoke disperses, the image fades and disappears.)
Ab.
By Astaroth!
My faith extended not to this:—the words,
The self-same syllables, ne'er breathed to mortal,—
In which a potent Chaldee summed my fate.
Had.
Nothing escapes them.
Ab.
Hence, Hadad, hence my fears,
My cares, my policy, my flattering arts
To win the people, and strike root so deep
That none could pluck me.—Ever in my ears
Rung the presaging voice;—and years of toil
Yield but this hairbreadth. How, in half a moon,
Could I have built my name to that great height,
Needful to front my father's power? how sought
The dangerous elements? how organized them?—
Now, like Manoah's son, my hidden strength
Can shake the kingdom when my trumpet sounds.
Had.
(to Balaam-Haddon.)
What seest thou?—what transports thee?—
(To Absalom.)
Mark!—mark him!
B. Hadd.
Far off—far off—
Enthroned upon a pedestal so high
That East and West behold it—nations kneel
To kiss its base—the symbol in its hand
145
Bears to the sky a diadem so bright
That suns look pale;—its arm gigantic crests
Heaven, like the zodiac, and o'erawes the world!—
Mountains unhoard their treasures, ocean breaks
Obedient at its footstool; every tongue
And people shout, “Hosanna to the Son
Of David!”
Had.
(starting.)
Ha!
Ab.
He faints.
Had.
The wonted trance—
Thus lay the son of Beor on Mount Pisgah,
By Balak's altars.—Powers Demonian, mark,
Record! (Aside and agitated.)
Ab.
But heard you how he spake?
Had.
He spake
The Spirit's bidding, Prince. Observed you not
The supernatural brightness of his eye,
The majesty that swelled his form, his voice
How godlike? Into him the Shadow passed,
Foretold, and left him.
Ab.
Darest thou hope for me
An empire so magnificent?
Had.
My lord, my lord, thou deem'st this little realm
Much, and aspir'st, as to the top of glory,
To rule these Tribes, and curb the neighbour Kings;
But seest not, for thou hast not roamed the world,
Kingdoms on kingdoms opening to thy view,
In prospect dazzling as the vales of Heaven;
Thrones ancient as the Flood, where mighty Kings
Rule, toward the rising sun, o'er plains where gold,
146
Abound like olives on the hills of Judah,
Or palms by Jericho, where spicy Isles
Perfume the seas, and coral rocks and pearl
Glitter along the shore. There thou mayst win
Thy conquering way, there plant thy throne, and wield
The universal sceptre.
Ab.
Is thy tongue
Endued with witchcraft?
Had.
None thou need'st, to stand
The World's acknowledged master. Hadst thou not
The Spirit's promise, in these caves behold
A talisman, and in thy father's veterans
Unshrinking agents to thy boldest wish.
He from the sheep-cote to the sceptre rose;
Thou, with that sceptre, grasped in manhood's prime,
Mayst subjugate mankind. But such designs
Require immediate action, cannot linger
An old man's ebbing sands: that were to lose
Irreparable time, which, seized, extends
Thy empire past the pillars of Sesostris.
Ab.
Come, these are fond conceits that make one giddy.
The place, or hour, or that unearthly form,
Whose thrilling accents vibrate in my ears,
Or thy wild visions, or these heaps of gold,
Disorder me. My brain seems all on fire,
Yet a sepulchral coldness numbs my heart.
Let 's leave this treasure-house of death. I'll pause,
This night, upon it. If to-morrow dawn
Upon my unchanged purpose, thou must speed
To Geshur, and, perhaps, Damascus.
147
Look,
The Mage recovers; let us lead him hence.
(Exeunt.)
| Dramas, Discourses, and other Pieces | |