Alroy
B >>
Benjamin Disraeli >> Alroy
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 | 13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20
'Who knocks?' enquired Jabaster.
'A friend to Israel.'
'Abidan, by his voice. Art thou alone?'
'The prophetess is with me; only she.'
'A moment. I'll open the gate. Draw the boat within the arch.'
Jabaster descended from the gallery, and in a few moments returned with
two visitors: the youthful prophetess Esther, and her companion, a
man short in stature, but with a powerful and well-knit frame. His
countenance was melancholy, and, with harshness in the lower part, not
without a degree of pensive beauty in the broad clear brow and sunken
eyes, unusual in Oriental visages.
'A rough night,' said Jabaster.
'To those who fear it,' replied Abidan. 'The sun has brought so little
joy to me, I care not for the storm.'
'What news?'
'Woe! woe! woe!'
'Thy usual note, my sister. Will the day never come when we may change
it?'
'Woe! woe! woe! unutterable woe!'
'Abidan, how fares it?'
'Very well.'
'Indeed!'
'As it may turn out.'
'You are brief.'
'Bitter.'
'Have you been to court, that you have learnt to be so wary in your
words, my friend?'
'I know not what may happen. In time we may all become courtiers, though
I fear, Jabaster, we have done too much to be rewarded. I gave him my
blood, and you something more, and now we are at Bagdad. 'Tis a
fine city. I wish to Heaven the shower of Sodom would rain upon its
terraces.'
'I know thou hast something terrible to tell. I know it by that gloomy
brow of thine, that lowers like the tempest. Speak out, man, I can bear
the worst, for which I am prepared.'
'Take it, then. Alroy has proclaimed himself Caliph. Abner is made
Sultan of Persia; Asriel, Ithamar, Medad, and the chief captains,
Vizirs, Honain their chief. Four Moslem nobles are sworn into the
council. The Princess goes to mosque in state next Friday; 'tis said thy
pupil doth accompany her.'
'I'll not believe it! By the God of Sinai, I'll not believe it! Were
my own eye the accursed witness of the deed, I'd not believe it. Go to
mosque! They play with thee, my good Abidan, they play with thee.'
'As it may be. Tis a rumour, but rumours herald deeds. The rest of my
intelligence is true. I had it from my kinsman, stout Zalmunna. He left
the banquet.'
'Shall I go to him? Methinks one single word, To mosque! only a rumour
and a false one. I'll never believe it; no, no, no, never, never! Is he
not the Lord's anointed? The ineffable curse upon this daughter ot the
Moabite! No marvel that it thunders! By heavens, I'll go and beard him
in his orgies!'
'You know your power better than Abidan. You bearded him before his
marriage, yet----'
'He married. Tis true. Honain, their chief. And I kept his ring! Honain
is my brother. Have I ne'er a dagger to cut the bond of brotherhood?'
'We have all daggers, Jabaster, if we knew but how to use them.'
''Tis strange, we met after twenty years of severance. You were not
in the chamber, Abidan. 'Twas at council. We met after twenty years of
severance. He is my brother. 'Tis strange, I say: I felt that man shrink
from my embrace.'
'Honain is a philosopher, and believes in sympathy. 'Twould appear there
was none between you. His system, then, absolves you from all ties.'
'You are sure the rest of the intelligence is true? I'll not believe the
mosque, the rest is bad enough.'
'Zalmunna left the banquet. Hassan Subah's brother sat above him.'
'Subah's brother! 'Tis all over, then. Is he of the council?'
'Ay, and others.'
'Where now is Israel?'
'She should be in her tents.'
'Woe! woe! unutterable woe!' exclaimed the prophetess, who, standing
motionless at the back of the chamber, seemed inattentive to their
conversation.
Jabaster paced the gallery with agitated steps. Suddenly he stopped,
and, walking up to Abidan, seized his arm, and looked him sternly in
the face. 'I know thy thoughts, Abidan,' exclaimed the priest; 'but it
cannot be. I have dismissed, henceforth and for ever I have dismissed
all feeling from my mind; now I have no brother, no friend, no pupil,
and, I fear, no Saviour. Israel is all in all to me. I have no other
life. 'Tis not compunction, then, that stays my arm. My heart's as hard
as thine.'
'Why stays it then?'
'Because with him we fall. He is the last of all his sacred line. There
is no other hand to grasp our sceptre.'
'_Our_ sceptre! what sceptre?'
'The sceptre of our kings.'
'Kings!'
'Ay, why dost thou look so dark?'
'How looked the prophet when the stiff-necked populace forsooth must
have a king! Did he smile? Did he shout, and clap his hands, and cry,
God save his Majesty! O, Jabaster! honoured, rare Jabaster! thou second
Samuel of our lightheaded people! there was a time when Israel had no
king except their God. Were we viler then? Did kings conquer Canaan? Who
was Moses, who was Aaron, who was mighty Joshua? Was the sword of Gideon
a kingly sword? Did the locks of Samson shade royal temples? Would a
king have kept his awful covenant like solemn Jephtha? Royal words
are light as air, when, to maintain them, you injure any other than a
subject.
'Kings! why, what's a king? Why should one man break the equal sanctity
of our chosen race? Is their blood purer than our own? We are all the
seed of Abraham. Who was Saul, and who was David? I never heard that
they were a different breed from our fathers. Grant them devout, which
they were not; and brave and wise, which other men were; have their
posterity a patent for all virtues? No, Jabaster! thou ne'er didst err,
but when thou placedst a crown upon this haughty stripling. What he did,
a thousand might have done. 'Twas thy mind inspired the deed. And now he
is a king; and now Jabaster, the very soul of Israel, who should be our
Judge and leader, Jabaster trembles in disgrace, while our unhallowed
Sanhedrim is filled with Ammonites!'
'Abidan, thou hast touched me to the quick; thou hast stirred up
thoughts that ever and anon, like strong and fatal vapours, have risen
from the dark abyss of thought, and I have quelled them.'
'Let them rise, I say; let them drown the beams of that all-scorching
sun we suffer under, that drinks all vegetation up, and makes us
languish with a dull exhaustion!'
'Joy! joy! unutterable joy!'
'Hark! the prophetess has changed her note; and yet she hears us not.
The spirit of the Lord is truly with her. Come, Jabaster, I see thy
heart is opening to thy people's sufferings; thy people, my Jabaster,
for art not thou our Judge? At least, thou shalt be.'
'Can we call back the Theocracy? Is't possible?'
'But say the word, and it is done, Jabaster. Nay, stare not. Dost thou
think there are no true hearts in Israel? Dost thou suppose thy children
have beheld, without a thought, the foul insults poured on thee; thee,
their priest, their adored high priest, one who recalls the best days
of the past, the days of their great Judges? But one word, one single
movement of that mitred head, and---- But I speak unto a mind that feels
more than I can express. Be silent, tongue, thou art a babbling
counsellor. Jabaster's patriot soul needs not the idle schooling of a
child. If he be silent, 'tis that his wisdom deems that the hour is not
ripe, but when her leader speaks, Israel will not be slack.'
'The Moslemin in council! We know what must come next. Our national
existence is in its last agony. Methinks the time is very ripe, Abidan.'
'Why, so we think, great sir; and say the word, and twenty thousand
spears will guard the Ark. I'll answer for my men. Stout Scherirah looks
grimly on the Moabites. A word from thee, and the whole Syrian army will
join our banner, the Lion of Judah, that shall be our flag. The tyrant
and his satraps, let them die, and then the rest must join us. We'll
proclaim the covenant, and, leaving Babylon to a bloody fate, march on
to Zion!'
'Zion, his youthful dream, Zion!'
'You muse!'
'King or no king, he is the Lord's anointed. Shall this hand, that
poured the oil on his hallowed head, wash out the balmy signet with his
blood? Must I slay him? Shall this kid be seethed even in its mother's
milk?'
'His voice is low, and yet his face is troubled. How now, sir?'
'What art thou? Ah! Abidan, trusty, stanch Abidan! You see, Abidan, I
was thinking, my good Abidan, all this may be the frenzy of a revel.
Tomorrow's dawn may summon cooler counsels. The tattle of the table, it
is sacred. Let us forget it; let us pass it over. The Lord may turn his
heart. Who knows, who knows, Abidan!'
'Noble sir, a moment since your mind was like your faith, firm and
resolved, and now----'
'School me not, school me not, good Abidan. There is that within my mind
you cannot fathom; some secret sorrows which are all my own. Leave
me, good friend, leave me awhile. When Israel calls me I shall not be
wanting. Be sure of that, Abidan, be sure of that. Nay, do not go; the
night is very rough, and the fair prophetess should not again stem the
swelling river. I'll to my closet, and will soon return.'
Jabaster quitted the gallery, and entered a small apartment. Several
large volumes, unclasped and open, were lying on various parts of the
divan. Before them stood his brazen cabalistic table. He closed
the chamber with a cautious air. He advanced into the centre of the
apartment. He lifted up his hands to heaven, and clasped them with an
expression almost of agony.
'Is it come to this?' he muttered in a tone of deep oppression. 'Is it
come to this? What is't I have heard? what done? Down, tempting devil,
down! O life! O glory! O my country, my chosen people, and my sacred
creed! why do we live, why act? Why have we feeling for aught that's
famous, or for aught that's holy? Let me die! let, let me die! The
torture of existence is too great.'
He flung himself upon the couch; he buried his awful countenance in his
robes. His mighty heart was convulsed with passion. There did he lie,
that great and solemn man, prostrate and woe-begone.
'The noisy banquet lingers in my ear; I love to be alone.'
'With me?'
'Thou art myself; I have no other life.'
'Sweet bird! It is now a caliph.'
'I am what thou wiliest, soul of my sweet existence! Pomp and dominion,
fame and victory, seem now but flawed and dimly-shaded gems compared
with thy bright smile!'
'My plaintive nightingale, shall we hunt to-day?'
'Alas! my rose, I would rather lie upon this lazy couch, and gaze upon
thy beauty!'
'Or sail upon the cool and azure lake, in some bright barque, like to a
sea-nymph's shell, and followed by the swans?'
'There is no lake so blue as thy deep eye; there is no swan so white as
thy round arm!'
'Or shall we launch our falcons in the air, and bring the golden
pheasant to our feet?'
'I am the golden pheasant at thy feet; why wouldst thou richer prey?'
'Rememberest thou thy earliest visit to this dear kiosk, my gentle mute?
There thou stoodst with folded arms and looks demure as day, and ever
and anon with those dark eyes stealing a glance which made my cheek
quite pale. Methinks I see thee even yet, shy bird. Dost know, I was so
foolish when it quitted me, dost know I cried?'
'Ah, no! thou didst not cry?'
'Indeed, I think I did.'
'Tell me again, my own Schirene, indeed didst cry?'
'Indeed I did, my soul!'
'I would those tears were in some crystal vase, I'd give a province for
the costly urn.'
She threw her arms around his neck and covered his face with kisses.
Sunset sounded from the minarets. They arose and wandered together in
the surrounding paradise. The sky was tinted with a pale violet flush,
a single star floating by the side of the white moon, that beamed with a
dim lustre, soft and shapely as a pearl.
'Beautiful!' exclaimed the pensive Schirene, as she gazed upon the star.
'O, my Alroy, why cannot we ever live alone, and ever in a paradise?'
'I am wearied of empire,' replied Alroy with a smile, 'let us fly!'
'Is there no island, with all that can make life charming, and yet
impervious to man? How little do we require! Ah! if these gardens,
instead of being surrounded by hateful Bagdad, were only encompassed by
some beautiful ocean!'
'My heart, we live in a paradise, and are seldom disturbed, thanks to
Honain!'
'But the very consciousness that there are any other persons existing
besides ourselves is to me painful. Every one who even thinks of you
seems to rob me of a part of your being. Besides, I am weary of pomp and
palaces. I should like to live in a sparry grot, and sleep upon a couch
of sweet leaves!'
This interesting discussion was disturbed by a dwarf, who, in addition
to being very small and very ugly, was dumb. He bowed before the
Princess; and then had recourse to a great deal of pantomimic action, by
which she discovered that it was dinnertime. No other person could
have ventured to disturb the royal pair, but this little being was a
privileged favourite.
So Alroy and Schirene entered the serail. An immense cresset-lamp, fed
with perfumed oil, threw a soft light round the sumptuous chamber. At
the end stood a row of eunuchs in scarlet dresses, and each holding a
tall silver staff. The Caliph and the Sultana threw themselves upon
a couch covered with a hundred cushions; on one side stood a group
consisting of the captain of the guard and other officers of the
household, on the other, of beautiful female slaves magnificently
attired.
The line of domestics at the end of the apartment opened, and a body of
slaves advanced, carrying trays of ivory and gold, and ebony and silver,
covered with the choicest dainties, curiously prepared. These were
in turn offered to the Caliph and the Sultana by their surrounding
attendants. The Princess accepted a spoon made of a single pearl,
the long, thin golden handle of which was studded with rubies, and
condescended to partake of some saffron soup, of which she was fond.
Afterwards she regaled herself with the breast of a cygnet, stuffed
with almonds, and stewed with violets and cream. Having now a little
satisfied her appetite, and wishing to show a mark of her favour to a
particular individual, she ordered the captain of the guard instantly
to send him the whole of the next course[74] with her compliments. Her
attention was then engaged with a dish of those delicate ortolans that
feed upon the vine-leaves of Schiraz, and with which the Governor of
Nishapur took especial care that she should be well provided. Tearing
the delicate birds to pieces with her still more delicate fingers, she
insisted upon feeding Alroy, who of course yielded to her solicitations.
In the meantime, they refreshed themselves with their favourite sherbet
of pomegranates, and the golden wine of Mount Lebanon.[76] The Caliph,
who could eat no more ortolans, although fed by such delicate fingers,
was at length obliged to call for 'rice,' which was synonymous to
commanding the banquet to disappear. The attendants now brought to each
basins of gold, and ewers of rock crystal filled with rose water, with
towels of that rare Egyptian linen which can be made only of the cotton
that grows upon the banks of the Nile. While they amused themselves with
eating sugar-plums, and drinking coffee flavoured with cinnamon, the
female slaves danced before them in the most graceful attitudes to the
melody of invisible musicians.
'My enchanting Schirene,' said the Caliph, 'I have dined, thanks to your
attention, very well. These slaves of yours dance admirably, and are
exceedingly beautiful. Your music, too, is beyond all praise; but, for
my own part, I would rather be quite alone, and listening to one of your
songs.'
'I have written a new one to-day. You shall hear it.' So saying, she
clapped her little white hands, and all the attendants immediately
withdrew.
'The stars are stealing forth, and so will I. Sorry sight! to view
Jabaster, with a stealthy step, skulk like a thing dishonoured! Oh! may
the purpose consecrate the deed! the die is cast.'
So saying, the High Priest, muffled up in his robe, emerged from his
palace into the busy streets. It is at night that the vitality of
Oriental life is most impressive. The narrow winding streets, crowded
with a population breathing the now sufferable air, the illuminated
coffee-houses, the groups of gay yet sober revellers, the music, and the
dancing, and the animated recitals of the poet and the story-teller, all
combine to invest the starry hours with a beguiling and even fascinating
character of enjoyment and adventure.
It was the night after the visit of Abidan and the prophetess. Jabaster
had agreed to meet Abidan in the square of the great mosque two hours
after sunset, and thither he now repaired.
'I am somewhat before my time,' he said, as he entered the great square,
over which the rising moon threw a full flood of light. A few dark
shadows of human beings alone moved in the distance. The world was in
the streets and coffee-houses. 'I am somewhat before my time,' said
Jabaster. 'Conspirators are watchful. I am anxious for the meeting, and
yet I dread it. Since he broke this business, I have never slept. My
mind is a chaos. I will not think. If 'tis to be done, let it be done at
once. I am more tempted to sheathe this dagger in Jabaster's breast than
in Alroy's. If life or empire were the paltry stake, I would end a life
that now can bring no joy, and yield authority that hath no charm; but
Israel, Israel, thou for whom I have endured so much, let me forget
Jabaster had a mother!
'But for this thought that links me with my God, and leads my temper to
a higher state, how vain and sad, how wearisome and void, were this said
world they think of! But for this thought, I could sit down and die.
Yea! my great heart could crack, worn out, worn out; my mighty passions,
with their fierce but flickering flame, sink down and die; and the
strong brain that ever hath urged my course, and pricked me onward with
perpetual thought, desert the rudder it so long hath held, like some
baffled pilot in blank discomfiture, in the far centre of an unknown
sea.
'Study and toil, anxiety and sorrow, mighty action, perchance Time, and
disappointment, which is worse than all, have done their work, and not
in vain. I am no longer the same Jabaster that gazed upon the stars of
Caucasus. Methinks even they look dimmer than of yore. The glory of my
life is fading. My leaves are sear, tinged, but not tainted. I am still
the same in one respect; I have not left my God, in deed or thought. Ah!
who art thou?'
'A friend to Israel.'
'I am glad that Israel hath a friend. Noble Abi-dan, I have well
considered all that hath passed between us. Sooth to say, you touched
upon a string I've played before, but kept it for my loneliness; a
jarring tune, indeed a jarring tune, but so it is, and being so, let me
at once unto your friends, Abi-dan.'
'Noble Jabaster, thou art what I deemed thee.'
'Abidan, they say the consciousness of doing justly is the best basis of
a happy mind.'
'Even so.'
'And thou believest it?'
'Without doubt.'
'We are doing very justly?'
''Tis a weak word for such a holy purpose.'
'I am most wretched!'
The High Priest and his companion entered the house of Abidan. Jabaster
addressed the already assembled guests.
'Brave Scherirah, it joys me to find thee here. In Israel's cause when
was Scherirah wanting? Stout Zalmunna, we have not seen enough of each
other: the blame is mine. Gentle prophetess, thy blessing!
'Good friends, why we meet here is known to all. Little did we dream of
such a meeting when we crossed the Tigris. But that is nothing. We come
to act, and not to argue. Our great minds, they are resolved: our solemn
purpose requires no demonstration. If there be one among us who would
have Israel a slave to Ishmael, who would lose all we have prayed
for, all we have fought for, all we have won, and all for which we
are prepared to die, if there be one among us who would have the Ark
polluted, and Jehovah's altar stained with a Gentile sacrifice, if there
be one among us who does not sigh for Zion, who would not yield his
breath to build the Temple and gain the heritage his fathers lost,
why, let him go! There is none such among us: then stay, and free your
country!'
'We are prepared, great Jabaster; we are prepared, all, all!'
'I know it; you are like myself. Necessity hath taught decision. Now for
our plans. Speak, Zalmunna.'
'Noble Jabaster, I see much difficulty. Alroy no longer quits his
palace. Our entrance unwatched is, you well know, impossible. What say
you, Scherirah?'
'I doubt not of my men, but war against Alroy is, to say nought of
danger, of doubtful issue.'
'I am prepared to die, but not to fail,' said Abidan. 'We must be
certain. Open war I fear. The mass of the army will side with their
leaders, and they are with the tyrant. Let us do the deed, and they must
join us.'
'Is it impossible to gain his presence to some sacrifice in honour of
some by-gone victory; what think ye?'
'I doubt much, Jabaster. At this moment he little wishes to sanction our
national ceremonies with his royal person. The woman assuredly will
stay him. And, even if he come, success is difficult, and therefore
doubtful.'
'Noble warriors, list to a woman's voice,' exclaimed the prophetess,
coming forward. ''Tis weak, but with such instruments, even the
aspirations of a child, the Lord will commune with his chosen people.
There is a secret way by which I can gain the gardens of the palace.
To-morrow night, just as the moon is in her midnight bower, behold the
accursed pile shall blaze. Let Abidan's troops be all prepared, and at
the moment when the flames first ascend, march to the Seraglio gate as
if with aid. The affrighted guard will offer no opposition. While
the troops secure the portals, you yourselves, Zalmunna, Abidan, and
Jabaster, rush to the royal chamber and do the deed. In the meantime,
let brave Scherirah, with his whole division, surround the palace, as if
unconscious of the mighty work. Then come you forward, show, if it need,
with tears, the fated body to the soldiery, and announce the Theocracy.'
'It is the Lord who speaks,' said Abidan, who was doubtless prepared for
the proposition. 'He has delivered them into our hands.'
'A bold plan,' said Jabaster, musing, 'and yet I like it. 'Tis quick,
and that is something. I think 'tis sure.'
'It cannot fail,' exclaimed Zalmunna, 'for if the flame ascend not,
still we are but where we were.'
'I am for it,' said Scherirah.
'Well, then,' said Jabaster, 'so let it be. Tomorrow's eve will see us
here again prepared. Good night.'
'Good night, holy Priest. How seem the stars, Jabaster?'
'Very troubled; so have they been some days. What they portend I know
not.'
'Health to Israel.'
'Let us hope so. Good night, sweet friends.'
'Good night, holy Jabaster. Thou art our cornerstone.'
'Israel hath no other hope but in Jabaster.'
'My Lord,' said Abidan, 'remain, I pray, one moment.'
'What is't? I fain would go.'
'Alroy must die, my Lord, but dost thou think a single death will seal
the covenant?'
'The woman?'
'Ay! the woman! I was not thinking of the woman. Asriel, Ithamar,
Medad?'
'Valiant soldiers! doubt not we shall find them useful instruments. I
do not fear such loose companions. They follow their leaders, like other
things born to obey. Having no head themselves, they must follow us who
have.'
'I think so too. There is no other man who might be dangerous?'
Zalmunna and Scherirah cast their eyes upon the ground. There was a dead
silence, broken by the prophetess.
'A judgment hath gone forth against Honain!' 'Nay! he is Lord Jabaster's
brother,' said Abidan.
'It is enough to save a more inveterate foe to Israel, if such there
be.'
'I have no brother, Sir. The man you speak of I will not slay, since
there are others who may do that deed. And so again, good night.'
It was the dead of night, a single lamp burned in the chamber, which
opened into an arched gallery that descended by a flight of steps into
the gardens of the Serail.
A female figure ascended the flight with slow and cautious steps. She
paused on the gallery, she looked around, one foot was in the chamber.
She entered. She entered a chamber of small dimensions, but richly
adorned. In the farthest corner was a couch of ivory, hung with a gauzy
curtain of silver tissue, which, without impeding respiration, protected
the slumberer from the fell insects of an Oriental night. Leaning
against an ottoman was a large brazen shield of ancient fashion, and
near it some helmets and curious weapons.
'An irresistible impulse hath carried me into this chamber!' exclaimed
the prophetess. 'The light haunted me like a spectre; and wheresoever I
moved, it seemed to summon me.
'A couch and a slumberer!'
She approached the object, she softly withdrew the curtain. Pale and
panting, she rushed back, yet with a light step. She beheld Alroy!
For a moment she leant against the wall, overpowered by her emotions.
Again she advanced, and gazed on her unconscious victim.
'Can the guilty sleep like the innocent? Who would deem this gentle
slumberer had betrayed the highest trust that ever Heaven vouchsafed to
favoured man? He looks not like a tyrant and a traitor: calm his brow,
and mild his placid breath! His long dark hair, dark as the raven's
wing, hath broken from its fillet, and courses, like a wild and stormy
night, over his pale and moon-lit brow. His cheek is delicate, and yet
repose hath brought a flush; and on his lip there seems some word of
love, that will not quit it. It is the same Alroy that blessed our
vision when, like the fresh and glittering star of morn, he rose up in
the desert, and bringing joy to others, brought to me only----
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 | 13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20