Spake the glad tidings of abiding peace And love to sinful man, and then rehearsed The deeds of her past life, that Vice had stained And deep conviction of a present Judge, She bowed before Him, and confessed Him, God! April 16, 1849. AZEL AND ZEMIRA. THAT time of spiritual deliverance foretold from the creation of the world by the holy and the inspired; - that hour when the sceptre should depart from Shiloh, and the idolatrous Gentiles be admitted to the same privileges as the chosen few-had arrived; and men marvelled whereunto this would grow. The world at large continued ignorant of the glory and the magnitude of the events with which this period was fraught;-Jerusalem and its concerns were little known, and less esteemed,- for its grandeur, at the moment in question, was to be seen by the mind, not by the eye. Therefore tumults and victories, disputes respecting dynasties, projects for the acquirement of riches or glory formed, as heretofore, the sole business of life, and employed, as they had ever done, the attention both of empires and individuals. It was not so in the Holy City. There, concerns of deeper import and diviner origin formed the main object of interest, from the High Priest of the Sanctuary to the debased and lowly leper, who was not reckoned among the people. There, as in other cities, might be heard the tumult of busy life, the sounds of merriment, of occupation, and of sorrow; there, as of old, its inhabitants ate and drank, bought and sold, married and were given in marriage; — the harp and the viol were still heard in the feasts, and the minstrel made lamentation over the dead. But other sounds were also heard in the streets of Jerusalem, other sights witnessed in its villages; and other crowds gathered in its environs, for purposes different from this world's tumult or traffic. ONE, that one, the subject, through every age of its history, of song and prophecy, walked upon its dust-mingled with its tribes-taught in its temples-ministered to the wants, and relieved the woes of its suppliants. Miracles and mysteries formed its every day events; and gracious truths, that its saints had scarcely conceived in vision, were addressed without reserve to every ear, and dropped like dew on thousands of weary hearts. That ONE, who spoke to the wretched, and their sorrows vanished at his word—who touched the sick, and disease became vigorous health-"who looked upon death, and there was life" was yet to be approached as a guide, and conversed with as a man talketh with his friends. Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with his disciples, his enemies, and his fame. The meek believed his words, and their joy was increased; the proud approached with subtle questions, and were sent empty away. The arrogant Pharisee, and the scoffing Sadducee, quailed before his frown; but the poor and the sorrowful looked to him and were comforted. Men of years and possessions arose, and left all that they had, when he said unto them Follow me; and women sat at his feet, and ministered of their substance. He passed away from earth, the scene of his mission; from Jerusalem, the place of his sojourn;-but not so his memory and his doctrine. Multitudes had followed him; and, of those multitudes, many cleaved to his precepts, and followed his footsteps, with the faith that overcometh-the love that is stronger than death. Far away from Jerusalem, in the palace of Cæsar, in the halls of the Greeks, were heard the strange tidings of a gospel, which made no difference between bond and free; which, in the sublime simplicity of its commands, stood opposed to the power, the prejudice, and the belief of the whole enlightened world! CHRISTIAN was a name of reproach—of tion; a name cast out on earth, but written in heaven. persecu Nevertheless, all who were called by this holy designation were not equally full of faith; and when times of persecution arose, many were offended, and went out from them, because they were not of them. And to many, the very Gospel of Life came not to bring peace, but a fire; it was to them a sword, piercing through their souls, a separating influence between friend and friend; setting the father against his son, and the daughter against her mother. Many a flower was crushed beneath the despotism of domestic power; many a young heart offered its choicest love a willing sacrifice on the altar of devotedness to God. Alas! many, too, made shipwreck of their faith, and to purchase prosperity surrendered their peace of mind. And some, vacillating and unsound in their profession, sank in the conflict between passion and principle; yoked themselves with unbelievers; and, if they lost not heaven, had their punishment upon earth. Zemira was the sole surviving child of Rabbi Ben Harim, and attained the age of womanhood about the time when the first persecution commenced in Jerusalem, against the sect that was everywhere spoken against. Her father had no longer a wife; and she was unto him as the ewe-lamb of the prophet. There was another, to whom she was even more; to Azel, her betrothed, she was as the light that guided his path- -as the air, whose breath was life. Does woman love less than man? If burning words and passionate vows come not from her lips, is the fire less vivid in her soul? What Zemira was to Azel, Azel was to Zemira; and the time approached when the nuptial feast was to be spread, and when the lonely dwelling of Ben Harim was to resound with the voice of mirth and minstrelsy. But before Zemira's affections had been thus engrossed by him who was to espouse her, she had listened- and listened with conviction, to the words of a disciple of the Christians, who was in Jerusalem amongst the chief supporters of their doctrines. Her heart had burned within her, when her mother's brother had reasoned with her concerning the new faith. Mattithiah trusted that a blessing had accompanied his instructions to his youthful niece; that in addition to the sacred raptures with which, as a Jewess, she read the law of Moses, and the songs of the Prophets, she had found HIM of whom Moses in that law, of whom the Prophets in those songs, testified and wrote. But Azel came from his father's dwelling in the hill country, and she then saw, for the first time, the man destined for her husband for, amongst the Jews, marriage contracts were chiefly made by the parents; and, prior to the present occasion, Azel had not visited Jerusalem; he had therefore seen the glories of the Mosaic Ritual, whilst he had only heard, through the medium of report, of the New Faith, and of its Founder. To the ear of youthful pride, and national prejudice, that report possessed no charms; - and he became one of its bitterest despisers; one, who deemed that he did God service by maligning that only name, whereby he could be saved. Though Zemira was convinced of the truth of Christianity-yet, after she had seen, and known, and loved Azel, it became doubtful whether she retained her convictions. They were choked by her affections—but only to shoot up again with stronger force. They faded from her soul, like stars, in the noon-blaze of passion, to shine brightly in the twilight of sorrow and disappointment. They loosed their hold on her conscience in the Spring of prosperity and joy; but her soul clung to them, when the breezes deepened into the storm. Now it was so, that even in the bright hours of happiness, when Azel sat beside her, wooing her with words due to the Infinite alone, when most she felt the joy of loving-the bliss of being loved, in all its fearful fulness; yes, even then, strange misgivings for the future, sad remembrances of the past, would wring her soul, and bring a cloud over her brow, and change her songs and smiles into sudden and mournful silence. |