Alroy

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The plain was covered with the corpses of men and horses, arms and
standards, and prostrate tents. Returning from the pursuit of the Sultan
of Roum, Alroy ordered the trumpets to sound to arms, and, covered
with gore and dust, dismounted from his charger, and stood before the
pavilion of Malek, leaning on his bloody scimitar, and surrounded by his
victorious generals.

'Ah, Jabaster!' said the conqueror, giving his hand to the pontiff,
''twas well your troops had such a leader. No one but you could have
rallied them.

You must drill your lads a little before they again meet the Cappadocian
cavalry. Brave Scherirah, we shall not forget our charge. Asriel, tell
the guard, from me, that the victory of the Tigris was owing to their
scimitars. Ithamar, what are our freshest troops?'

'The legion of Aderbijan, sire.'

'How strong can they muster?'

'It counts twelve thousand men: we might collect two-thirds.'

'Valiant Ithamar, take the Aderbijans and a division of the guards, push
on towards Bagdad, and summon the city. If his Sultanship of Roum offer
battle, take up a position, and he shall quickly have his desire. For
the present, after these hasty marches and sharp fighting, the troops
must rest. I think he will not tarry. Summon the city, and say that if
any resistance be offered, I will make it as desolate as old Babylon.
Treat with no armed force. Where is the soldier that saved me a cracked
skull; his name Benaiah?'

'I wait your bidding, sire.'

'You're a captain. Join the division of Ithamar, and win fresh laurels
ere we meet again. Gentle Asriel, let your brother know our fortune.'

'Sire, several Tartars have already been despatched to Hamadan.'

''Tis well. Send another with these tablets to the Lady Miriam. Despatch
the pavilion of Malek as a trophy for the town. Elnebar, Goliath of
the Hebrews, you bore our sacred standard like a hero! How fares the
prophetess? I saw her charging in our ranks, waving a sabre with her
snowy arm, her long, dark hair streaming like a storm, from which her
eyes flashed lightning.'

'The king bleeds,' said Jabaster.

'Slightly. It will do me service. I am somewhat feverish. A kingdom
for a draught of water! And now for our wounded friends. Asriel, do you
marshal the camp. It is the Sabbath eve.[62] Time presses.'

The dead were plundered, and thrown into the river, the encampment of
the Hebrews completed. Alroy, with his principal officers, visited the
wounded, and praised the valiant. The bustle which always succeeds a
victory was increased in the present instance by the anxiety of the army
to observe with grateful strictness the impending Sabbath.

When the sun set, the Sabbath was to commence. The undulating horizon
rendered it difficult to ascertain the precise moment of the setting.
The crimson orb sunk behind the purple mountains, the sky was flushed
with a rich and rosy glow. Then might be perceived the zealots, proud in
their Talmudical lore, holding a skein of white silk in their hands,
and announcing the approach of the Sabbath by their observation of
its shifting tints. While the skein was yet golden, the forge of the
armourer still sounded, the fire of the cook still blazed, still the
cavalry led their steeds to the river, and still the busy footmen braced
up their tents and hammered at their palisades. The skein of silk became
rosy, the armourer worked with renewed energy, the cook puffed with
increased zeal, the horsemen scampered from the river, the footmen cast
an anxious glance at the fading twilight.

The skein of silk became blue; a dim, dull, sepulchral, leaden tinge
fell over its purity. The hum of gnats arose, the bat flew in circling
whirls over the tents, horns sounded from all quarters, the sun had set,
the Sabbath had commenced. 'The forge was mute, the fire extinguished,
the prance of horses and the bustle of men in a moment ceased. A deep, a
sudden, an all-pervading stillness dropped over that mighty host. It
was night; the sacred lamp of the Sabbath sparkled in every tent of the
camp, which vied in silence and in brilliancy with the mute and glowing
heavens.

Morn came; the warriors assembled around the altar and the sacrifice.
The high priest and his attendant Levites proclaimed the unity and the
omnipotence of the God of Israel, and the sympathetic responses of his
conquering and chosen people reechoed over the plain. They retired
again to their tents, to listen to the expounding of the law; even
the distance of a Sabbath walk was not to exceed that space which
lies between Jerusalem and the Mourft of Olives. This was the distance
between the temple and the tabernacle; it had been nicely measured, and
every Hebrew who ventured forth from the camp this day might be observed
counting the steps of a Sabbath-day's journey. At length the sun again
set, and on a sudden fires blazed, voices sounded, men stirred, in
the same enchanted and instantaneous manner that had characterised the
stillness of the preceding eve. Shouts of laughter, bursts of music,
announced the festivity of the coming night; supplies poured in from all
the neighbouring villages, and soon the pious conquerors commemorated
their late triumph in a round of banqueting.

On the morrow, a Tatar arrived from Ithamar, informing Alroy that the
Sultan of Roum had retreated into Syria, that Bagdad was undefended, but
that he had acceded to the request of the inhabitants that a deputation
should wait upon Alroy before the troops entered the city, and had
granted a safe conduct for their passage.

On the morrow, messengers announced the approach of the deputation. All
the troops were under arms. Alroy directed that the suppliants should
be conducted through the whole camp before they arrived at the royal
pavilion, on each side of which the Sacred Guard was mustered in array.
The curtains of his tent withdrawn displayed the conqueror himself,
seated on a sumptuous divan. On his right hand stood Jabaster in his
priestly robes, on his left Scherirah. Behind him, the giant Elnebar
supported the sacred sceptre. A crowd of chieftains was ranged on each
side of the pavilion.

Cymbals sounded, muffled kettle-drums, and the faint flourish of
trumpets; the commencement of the procession might be detected in the
long perspective of the tented avenue. First came a company of beauteous
youths, walking two by two, and strewing flowers; then a band of
musicians in flowing robes of cloth of gold, plaintively sounding their
silver trumpets. After these followed slaves of all climes, bearing
a tribute of the most rare and costly productions of their countries:
Negroes with tusks and teeth of the elephant, plumes of ostrich
feathers, and caskets of gold dust; Syrians with rich armour; Persians
with vases of atar-gul, and Indians with panniers of pearls of Ormuz,
and soft shawls of Cachemire. Encircled by his children, each of whom
held alternately a white or fawn-coloured gazelle, an Arab clothed in
his blue bornouz, led by a thick cord of crimson silk a tall and tawny
giraffe. Fifty stout men succeeded two by two, carrying in company a
silver shield laden with gold coin, or chased goblets studded with gems.

The clash of cymbals announced the presence of the robes of honour,[63]
culled from the wardrobe of the commander of the Faithful; the silk of
Aleppo and the brocade of Damascus, lined with the furs of the sable
and the ermine, down from the breast of the swan, and the skins of white
foxes.

After these followed two grey dromedaries, with furniture of silver, and
many caparisoned horses, each led by a groom in rich attire. The last
of these was a snow-white steed, upon whose front was the likeness of a
ruby star, a courser of the sacred stud of Solomon, and crossed only by
the descendants of the Prophet.

The muffled kettle-drums heralded the company of black eunuchs, with
their scarlet vests and ivory battle-axes. They surrounded and shrouded
from the vulgar gaze fourteen beautiful Circassian girls, whose
brilliant visages and perfect forms were otherwise concealed by their
long veils and ample drapery.

The gorgeous procession, as they approached the conqueror, bowed humbly
to Alroy, and formed in order on each side of the broad avenue. The
deputation appeared; twelve of the principal citizens of Bagdad, with
folded arms, and downcast eyes, and disordered raiment. Meekly and
mutely each touched the earth with his hand, and kissed it in token of
submission, and then, moving aside, made way for the chief envoy and
orator of the company, Honain!

Humbly, but gracefully, the physician of the caliph bowed before the
conqueror of the East. His appearance and demeanour afforded a contrast
to the aspect of his brother envoys; not less calm or contented his
countenance, not less sumptuous or studied his attire, than when he
first rescued Alroy in the bazaar of Bagdad from the grip of the false
Abdallah.

He spoke, and every sound was hushed before the music of his voice.

'Conqueror of the world, that destiny with which it is in vain to
struggle has placed our lives and fortunes in your power. Your slaves
offer for your approbation specimens of their riches; not as tribute,
for all is yours; but to show you the products of security and peace,
and to induce you to believe that mercy may be a policy as profitable
to the conqueror as to the conquered; that it may be better to preserve
than to destroy; and wiser to enjoy than to extirpate.

'Fate ordained that we should be born the slaves of the caliph; that
same fate has delivered his sceptre into your hands. We offer you the
same devotion that we yielded to him, and we entreat the same protection
which he granted to us.

'Whatever may be your decision, we must bow to your decree with the
humility that recognises superior force. Yet we are not without hope.
We cannot forget that it is our good fortune not to be addressing
a barbarous chieftain, unable to sympathise with the claims of
civilisation, the creations of art, and the finer impulses of humanity.
We acknowledge your irresistible power, but we dare to hope everything
from a prince whose genius all acknowledge and admire, who has spared
some portion of his youth from the cares of government and the pursuits
of arms to the ennobling claims of learning, whose morality has been
moulded by a pure and sublime faith, and who draws his lineage from a
sacred and celebrated race, the unrivalled antiquity of which even the
Prophet acknowledges.'

He ceased: a buzz of approbation sounded throughout the pavilion, which
was hushed instantly as the lips of the conqueror moved.

'Noble emir,' replied Alroy, 'return to Bagdad, and tell your
fellow-subjects that the King of Israel grants protection to their
persons, and security to their property.'

'And for their faith?' enquired the envoy, in a lower voice.

'Toleration,' replied Alroy, turning to Jabaster.

'Until further regulations,' added the high priest.

'Emir,' said Alroy, 'the person of the caliph will be respected.'

'May it please your highness,' replied Honain, 'the Sultan of Roum has
retired with our late ruler.'

'And his harem?'

'And his harem.'

'It was needless. We war not with women.'

'Men, as well as women, must acknowledge the gracious mercy of your
highness.'

'Benomi,' said Alroy, addressing himself to a young officer of the
guard, 'command the guard of honour that will attend this noble emir on
his return. We soldiers deal only in iron, sir, and cannot vie with the
magnificence of Bagdad, yet wear this dagger for the donor's sake:' and
Alroy held out to Honain a poniard flaming with gems.

The Envoy of Bagdad advanced, took the dagger, pressed it to his lips,
and placed it in his vest.[64]

'Scherirah,' continued Alroy, 'this noble emir is your charge. See
that a choice pavilion of the host be for his use, and that his train
complain not of the rough customs of our camp.'

'May it please your highness,' replied Honain, 'I have fulfilled my
office, and, with your gracious permission, would at once return. I have
business only less urgent than the present, because it concerns myself.'

'As you will, noble emir. Benomi, to your post. Farewell, sir.'

The deputation advanced, bowed, and retired. Alroy turned to Jabaster.

'No common person that, Jabaster?'

'A very gracious Turk, sire.'

'Think you he is a Turk?'

'By his dress.'

'It may be so. Asriel, break up the camp. We'll march at once to
Bagdad.'

The chiefs dispersed to make the necessary arrangements for the march.
The news that the army was immediately to advance to Bagdad soon
circulated throughout the camp, and excited the most lively enthusiasm.
Every hand was at work, striking the tents, preparing the arms and
horses. Alroy retired to his pavilion. The curtains were drawn. He was
alone, and plunged in profound meditation.

'Alroy!' a voice sounded.

He started, and looked up. Before him stood Esther the prophetess.

'Esther! is it thou?'

'Alroy! enter not into Babylon.'

'Indeed.'

'As I live, the Lord hath spoken it. Enter not into Babylon.'

'Not enjoy my fairest conquest, maiden?'

'Enter not into Babylon.'

'What affrights thee?'

'Enter not into Babylon.'

'I shall surely change the fortunes of my life without a cause.'

'The Lord hath spoken. Is not that a cause?'

'I am the Lord's anointed. His warning has not reached me.'

'Now it reaches thee. Doth the king despise the prophetess of the Lord?
It is the sin of Ahab.'

'Despise thee! Despise the mouth that is the herald of my victories!
'Twere rank blasphemy. Prophesy triumph, Esther, and Alroy will never
doubt thy inspiration.'

'He doubts it now. I see he doubts it now. O my king, I say again, enter
not into Babylon.'

'Beauteous maiden, those eyes flash lightning. Who can behold their wild
and liquid glance, and doubt that Esther is inspired! Be calm, sweet
girl, some dream disturbs thy fancy.'

'Alroy, Alroy, enter not into Babylon!'

'I have no fear, I bear a charmed life.'

'Ah me! he will not listen.' All is lost!'

'All is gained, my beautiful.'

'I would we were upon the Holy Mount, and gazing on the stars of sacred
Zion.'

'Esther,' said Alroy, advancing, and gently taking her hand, 'the
capital of the East will soon unfold its marvels to thy sight. Prepare
thyself for wonders. Girl, we are no longer in the desert. Forget thy
fitful fancies. Come, choose a husband from my generals, child, and I
will give a kingdom for thy dower. I would gladly see a crown upon that
imperial brow. It well deserves one.'

The prophetess turned her dark eyes full upon Alroy. What passed in her
mind was neither evident nor expressed. She gazed intently upon the calm
and inscrutable countenance of the conqueror, then flung away his hand,
and rushed out of the pavilion.

CHAPTER VIII.

_Bagdad and the Princess_

THE waving of banners, the flourish of trumpets, the neighing of steeds,
and the glitter of spears! On the distant horizon they gleam like the
morning, when the gloom of the night shivers bright into day. Hark!
the tramp of the foemen, like the tide of the ocean, flows onward and
onward, and conquers the shore. From the brow of the mountain, like the
rush of a river, the column defiling melts into the plain.

Warriors of Judah! holy men that battle for the Lord! The land wherein
your fathers wept, and touched their plaintive psalteries; the haughty
city where your sires bewailed their cold and distant hearths; your
steeds are prancing on its plain, and you shall fill its palaces.
Warriors of Judah! holy men that battle for the Lord!

March, onward march, ye valiant tribes, the hour has come, the hour has
come! All the promises of ages, all the signs of sacred sages, meet in
this ravishing hour. Where is now the oppressor's chariot, where your
tyrant's purple robe? The horse and the rider are both overthrown, the
horse and the rider are both overthrown!

Rise, Rachel, from thy wilderness, arise, and weep no more. No more thy
lonely palm-tree's shade need shroud thy secret sorrowing. The Lord
hath heard the widow's sigh, the Lord hath stilled the widow's tear. Be
comforted, be comforted, thy children live again!

Yes! yes! upon the bounding plain fleet Asriel glances like a star, and
stout Scherirah shakes his spear by stern Jabaster's scimitar. And He is
there, the chosen one, hymned by prophetic harps, whose life is like the
morning dew on Zion's holy hill: the chosen one, the chosen one, that
leads his race to victory; warriors of Judah! holy men that battle for
the Lord!

They come, they come, they come!

The ramparts of the city were crowded with the inhabitants, the river
sparkled with ten thousand boats, the bazaars were shut, the streets
lined with the populace, and the terrace of every house covered with
spectators. In the morning, Ithamar had entered with his division and
garrisoned the city. And now the vanguard of the Hebrew army, after
having been long distinguished in the distance, approached the walls. A
large body of cavalry dashed forward at full speed from the main
force. Upon a milk-white charger, and followed by a glittering train of
warriors, amid the shouts of the vast multitude, Alroy galloped up to
the gates.

He was received by Ithamar and the members of the deputation, but Honain
was not there. Accompanied by his staff and a strong detachment of the
Sacred Guard, Alroy was conducted through the principal thoroughfares
of the city, until he arrived at the chief entrance of the serail,
or palace, of the caliph. The vast portal conducted him into a large
quadrangular court, where he dismounted, and where he was welcomed by
the captain of the eunuch guard. Accompanied by his principal generals
and his immediate attendants, Alroy was then ushered through a suite of
apartments which reminded him of his visit with Honain, until he arrived
at the grand council-chamber of the caliphs.

The conqueror threw himself upon the gorgeous divan of the commander of
the Faithful.

'An easy seat after a long march,' said Alroy, as he touched with his
lips the coffee, which the chief of the eunuchs presented to him in a
cup of transparent pink porcelain, studded with pearls.[65] 'Itha-mar,
now for your report. What is the temper of the city? Where is his
Sultanship of Roum?'

'The city, sire, is calm, and I believe content. The sultan and the
caliph are still hovering on the borders of the province.'

'So I supposed. Scherirah will settle that. Let the troops be encamped
without the walls, the garrison, ten thousand strong, must be changed
monthly. Ithamar, you are governor of the city: Asriel commands the
forces. Worthy Jabaster, draw up a report of the civil affairs of
the capital. Your quarters are the College of the Dervishes. Brave
Scherirah, I cannot afford you a long rest. In three days you must have
crossed the river with your division. It will be quick work. I foresee
that they will not fight. Meet me all here in council by to-morrow's
noon. Farewell.'

The chieftains retired, the high priest lingered.

'Were it not an intrusion, sire, I would fain entreat a moment's
audience.'

'My own Jabaster, you have but to speak.'

'Sire, I would speak of Abidan, as valiant a warrior as any in the
host. It grieves me much, that by some fatality, his services seem ever
overlooked.'

'Abidan! I know him well, a valiant man, but a dreamer, a dreamer.'

'A dreamer, sire! Believe me, a true son of Israel, and one whose faith
is deep.'

'Good Jabaster, we are all true sons of Israel. Yet let me have
men about me who see no visions in a mid-day sun. We must beware of
dreamers.'

'Dreams are the oracles of God.'

'When God sends them. Very true, Jabaster. But this Abidan and the
company with whom he consorts are filled with high-flown notions,
caught from old traditions, which, if acted on, would render government
impracticable; in a word, they are dangerous men.'

'The very flower of Israel! Some one has poisoned your sacred ear
against them.'

'No one, worthy Jabaster. I have no counsellor except yourself. They may
be the flower of Israel, but they are not the fruit. Good warriors, bad
subjects: excellent means, by which we may accomplish greater ends.
I'll have no dreamers in authority. I must have practical men about
me, practical men. See how Abner, Asriel, Ithamar, Medad, see how these
conform to what surrounds them, yet invincible captains, invincible
captains. But then they are practical men, Jabaster; they have eyes
and use them. They know the difference of times and seasons. But this
Abidan, he has no other thought but the rebuilding of the temple: a
narrow-souled bigot, who would sacrifice the essence to the form. The
rising temple soon would fall again with such constructors. Why, sir,
what think you, this same Abidan preached in the camp against my entry
into what the quaint fanatic chooses to call "Babylon," because he had
seen what he calls a vision.'

'There was a time your Majesty thought not so ill of visions.'

'Am I Abidan, sir? Are other men to mould their conduct or their
thoughts by me? In this world I stand alone, a being of a different
order from yourselves, incomprehensible even to you. Let this matter
cease. I'll hear no more and have heard too much. To-morrow at council.'

The high priest withdrew in silence.

'He is gone; at length I am alone. I cannot bear the presence of these
men, except in action. Their words, even their looks, disturb the still
creation of my brooding thought. I am once more alone, and loneliness
hath been the cradle of my empire. Now I do feel inspired. There needs
no mummery now to work a marvel.

'The sceptre of Solomon! It may be so. What then? Here's now the sceptre
of Alroy. What's that without his mind? The legend said that none should
free our people but he who bore the sceptre of great Solomon. The legend
knew that none could gain that sceptre, but with a mind to whose supreme
volition the fortunes of the world would bow like fate. I gained it; I
confronted the spectre monarchs in their sepulchre; and the same hand
that grasped their shadowy rule hath seized the diadem of the mighty
caliphs by the broad rushing of their imperial river.

'The world is mine: and shall I yield the prize, the universal and
heroic prize, to realise the dull tradition of some dreaming priest,
and consecrate a legend? He conquered Asia, and he built the temple. Are
these my annals? Shall this quick blaze of empire sink to a glimmering
and a twilight sway over some petty province, the decent patriarch of a
pastoral horde? Is the Lord of Hosts so slight a God, that we must place
a barrier to His sovereignty, and fix the boundaries of Omnipotence
between the Jordan and the Lebanon? It is not thus written; and were it
so, I'll pit my inspiration against the prescience of my ancestors.
I also am a prophet, and Bagdad shall be my Zion. The daughter of
the Voice! Well, I am clearly summoned. I am the Lord's servant, not
Jabaster's. Let me make His worship universal as His power; and where's
the priest shall dare impugn my faith, because His altars smoke on other
hills than those of Judah?

'I must see Honain. That man has a great mind. He alone can comprehend
my purpose. Universal empire must not be founded on sectarian prejudices
and exclusive rights. Jabaster would massacre the Moslemin like Amalek;
the Moslemin, the vast majority, and most valuable portion, of my
subjects. He would depopulate my empire, that it might not be said that
Ishmael shared the heritage of Israel. Fanatic! I'll send him to conquer
Judah. We must conciliate. Something must be done to bind the conquered
to our conquering fortunes. That bold Sultan of Roum: I wish Abner had
opposed him. To run off with the harem! I have half a mind to place
myself at the head of the pursuing force, and---- Passion and policy
alike combine: and yet Honain is the man; I might send him on a mission.
Could we make terms? I detest treaties. My fancy flies from all other
topics. I must see him. Could I but tell him all I think! This door,
whither leads it? Hah! methinks I do remember yon glittering gallery!
No one in attendance. The discipline of our palace is somewhat lax.
My warriors are no courtiers. What an admirable marshal of the palace
Honain would make! Silence everywhere. So! 'tis well. These saloons I
have clearly passed through before. Could I but reach the private portal
by the river side, unseen or undetected! 'Tis not impossible. Here are
many dresses. I will disguise myself. Trusty scimitar, thou hast done
thy duty, rest awhile. 'Tis lucky I am beardless. I shall make a capital
eunuch. So! a handsome robe. One dagger for a pinch, slippers powdered
with pearls,66 a caftan of cloth of gold, a Cachemire girdle, and a
pelisse of sables. One glance at the mirror. Good! I begin to look like
the conqueror of the world!'

It was twilight: a small and solitary boat, with a single rower, glided
along the Tigris, and stopped at the archway of a house that descended
into the river. It stopped, the boatman withdrew the curtains, and his
single passenger disembarked, and ascended the stairs of the archway.

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