an insidious eulogy of Hadad upon the beautiful Syrian mythology, and an attempt to make her doubt the goodness of the Being whom she worshipped : "The garden of ABSALOM's house on Mount Zion, near the palace, overlooking the city. TAMAR sitting by a fountain. Tam. How aromatic evening grows! The flowers, This day's offences!-Ha! the wonted strain, Enter HADAD. Had. Does beauteous Tamar view, in this clear fount, Tam. Nay, Hadad, tell me whence Had. What sounds, dear Princess? Tam. Surely, thou knowest; and now I almost think Some spiritual creature waits on thee. Had. I heard no sounds, but such as evening sends Up from the city to these quiet shades ; A blended murmur sweetly harmonizing With flowing fountains, feathered minstrelsy, Tam. The sounds I mean, Floated like mournful music round my head, Had. When? Tam. Now, as thou camest. Had. "Tis but thy fancy, wrought Stood listening in the zenith; yea, have deemed Had. Were we in Syria, I might say The Naiad of the fount, or some sweet Nymph, The goddess of these shades, rejoiced in thee, And gave thee salutations; but I fear Judah would call me infidel to Moses. Tam. How like my fancy! When these strains precede Thy steps, as oft they do, I love to think Some gentle being who delights in us Is hovering near, and warns me of thy coming; Had. Youthful fantasy, Attuned to sadness, makes them seem so, lady. Tam. But how delicious are the pensive dreams Had. Delicious to behold the world at rest. Meek labour wipes his brow, and intermits The curse, to clasp the younglings of his cot; Herdsmen, and shepherds, fold their flocks—and hark! The jar of life is still; the city speaks In gentle murmurs; voices chime with lutes And nature, breathing dew and fragrance, yields A glimpse of happiness, which He, who formed Earth and the stars, had power to make eternal."-pp. 33-36. There is a very pretty and well imagined scene, in which Hadad endeavours to extract from the youthful Solomon the secret of his having received the royal unction to qualify him for being the successor of David on the throne of Israel,— and another of admirable splendor and pathos, in which the Syrian discloses his mysterious knowledge mysteriously obtained, of the nature and occupations of the spiritual beings shut out from heaven, who inhabit the air and the chambers of the earth. In the mean time, Hadad, in order to confirm Absalom in the design of seizing his father's crown, contrives a meeting between him and Balaam-Haddon, a Chaldean soothsayer, in the sepulchre, which David had built to receive his own remains, and had filled with treasures and spoils of nations. "Nothing but gold of Ophir, pearls, and gems Of priceless value. How they catch the lamp beams, Upon a fitful night of clouds. And lo! The marble in whose womb he means to sleep."-p. 81. Balaam-Haddon performs divers incantations; a phantom appears and announces himself as the Genius of the Throne of Israel, who had built up and maintained the greatness of David. Absalom inquires of him in what manner he might secure his lawful birthright. The spirit answers "A hostile planet, near allied to thee, Threatens eclipse and blood; o'ercome but that, And length of days, and glory shall be thine. The principal value of this scene lies in the incident which follows the disappearance of the Genius. Balaam-Haddon is seized with a prophetic ecstacy, in which he darkly predicts the future kingdom of the Messiah. The idea is happily taken from the sublime, but unwilling benediction pronounced by Balaam, the son of Beor, upon the tribes of Israel. As the inspiration passes off, the soothsayer falls into a trance, and the artful Hadad takes this opportunity to persuade Absalom that the prophecy, to which he has just listened, relates to the extent and glory of his own reign. Next, we have the meeting of the conspirators, which is given with great liveliness and spirit. The arrangements for the insurrection are made, and Absalom departs for Hebron, on the pretence of offering a sacrifice, but in reality to take the command of an army of rebels mustered there. In the last scene of the third act, Tamar, from the roof of her father's palace, hears the cry and rush of multitudes, and beholds the confusion of the city, when Absalom is proclaimed king in Jerusalem, and his father is compelled to seek safety in flight. She leaves the house of her father, and takes refuge in the tabernacle. The search made after her, at midnight, by Hadad and Absalom, gives the author an opportunity of setting before us a striking picture of the licentious and tumultuous riot and violence of a city, that had just changed masters. At last the place of her retreat is discovered; Hadad, attended by several of Absalom's guards, goes to the tabernacle, and while the guards enter to require that she attend her father, Hadad, watched at a distance by Maugrabin, one of his creatures, remains intently looking through the vail, when the following scene ensues : "Had. Lo! lo!-the bloody shrine of sacrifice,- As he prescribed. Of things hereafter. These must be symbols, types Maug. (muttering to himself.) Tempt him, if thou wilt- Break out upon thee-Yea, within the snuff Of that detested incense!-How the wreaths Begin to curl about him!-I'll not risk Had. Wherefore should I tremble?- How could I front the terrible array If yonder vail should part—One flash might end me!- Is mortal agony.-Leave her I will not In custody of those arch hypocrites [Re-enter Guards, with TAMAR.] Mean ye to stay eternity? First Guard. We stayed not. Had. Peace! Second Guard. (aside to his comrade.) And see, his breast is bloody."-pp. 148, 149. Absalom is restrained by the advice of Hushai, one of his counsellors, but friendly to the interests of David, from immediately pursuing the latter, by which means he has an opportunity of strengthening his ranks, and preparing for battle. The retreat of David with his followers is represented in a masterly manner, and with a great variety of interesting and affecting circumstances. On the morning, the two armies engage near the wood of Ephraim. Tamar, guarded by an escort of twenty horsemen, is placed by her father inahe charge of Hadad, to whom he had promised her in marriage. With the exception of one or two passages, which seem a little overwrought, the description of the battle is given with infinite spirit, and the reader is made acquainted with its particulars as they occur by a very ingenious and happy method. Hadad and Tamar take shelter in the tent of an Ishmaelite family, who had come to gather spices in the forest of Ephraim, and the Ishmaelites, as they drop in, one by one, with the bloody spoils of the combat, bring intelligence of its progress. At length the troops of Absalom are routed, and himself slain. Hadad contrives to disengage himself from the horsemen, and with Tamar, under the pretence of providing for her safety, penetrates farther into the solitary forest. In the last scene of the drama, the author seems to have put forth all his strength, and we recollect few passages of dramatic poetry, written since the time of Shakspeare, with which this part of the work will not bear an advantageous comparison. "A sequestered place in the wood, surrounded with thick dark trees: a fountain, near a cave: Enter HADAD and TAMAR. Tam. But why dismount here ?-night approaches, Hadad :— See, the slant sunbeams gild but the tall tree-tops, And evening sables all below. The wood Grows drear and dismal: let's escape from it. Had. But we must wait the guard.-Come, sit with me Beside this mossy fountain: All is still here :— I will not sit; we must not linger here. My father bade us haste: we disobey, And risk his anger.-Keep thy hands from me. Had. But whither shall we flv? Tam. Where he commanded. Had. To vassal Geshui!-Who can there protect us? Hear me, sweet Princess, bright star of my being, Fly, fly with me beyond this wretched scene Of civil strife, and never-ending discord, After vainly exhausting every argument which his ingenuity can supply, to persuade her to fly with him from the confines of Israel, and dwell with him in peace and happiness in a distant country, he addresses her with loftier and more thrilling rea sons. "Nay, hold! for thou must listen. And, if deaf To love, I can speak that will touch thy ear To fearful ecstacy. [TAMAR startled: he proceeds in an agitated manner.] -Confide in me, And turn thy back on this curs'd land for ever, And I'll convey thee to a Paradise, Where thou shalt reign the worshipped Queen of realms To which this Canaan is a darksome span. Beings shall serve thee brighter than thy dreams: The Elements shall stoop to thee; the Sea Disclose her wonders, and receive thy feet Into her pearly chambers; radiant clouds Shall be thy chariot; thou shalt roam the skies:- Ages, forgotten ages shall cast up Their hoarded treasures, ere the mighty flood Stood in her station:-Thou shalt know the Stars, Tam. I know not what I fear when I say, No. Confided to thee as a sacred trust Alas! and yet thy passion-troubled mien VOL. I. |