not as yet of the decree of the King. Now a certain man called Siphah, to whom the edict was known, chancing to pass that way, espied the open door and was astonished, and crept craftily therein, and seeing no man, made haste to go unto the King, and said, 'Thy servant, O King, hath discovered the entrance to the tower, and attained unto the garden on its summit, the fruit whereof he hath brought as a token to thee.' And the King was glad, and rose from off his throne, and embraced him, giving praises to God, and promised him his daughter in marriage. But in those same days did Shallum love Shelomith, and his soul was dried up within him because of her; and she loved him also, for he was wise in council, a hero for courage and fair to look upon: nevertheless, because the damsel feared her father, she endured the company of Siphah, though he was a man of naught, and she despised him in her heart." It is at this stage of matters that the business of the Drama begins. We have first Shimei, the friend of Shallum, pressing him to reveal to the privileged ear of friendship, whether grief or sickness is the cause of his late dejection. "Shimei. Should it be grief, thou knowest as well as I In answer to this appeal, Shallum freely confesses that he pines for love of the King's daughter, Shelomith, whom he had first seen out hunting with her father surrounded by attendant princes. Lost in memory of the day when he first descried her amid the brilliant ranks of the courtly train-he exclaims "Shallum. O friend! when I recall the blissful hour In which, pierced by the lightning of her eyes, And pleased, surrender'd-Love's delighted captive- O fair and bright Gazelle! In Beauty's crown Shimei compassionately seeks to sooth the complaints of the desponding lover by promises of facilitating for him an interview with his beloved; enforcing, however, the necessity of absolute secrecy by the mention of an ancient but still subsisting law of the kingdom, dooming Shelomith, should she, as the betrothed of another, lend an ear to Shallum, to be burned alive. Shocked by this appalling communication, the stranger prince inquires whether this cruel, and surely obsolete, law has ever been acted on; and on being told that within the memory of his still youthful friend, no less than ten maidens have paid the forfeit of their lives to its severity-thus gives vent to his feelings of despondence:"Well! I must then be dumb, and to the grave, Bereft of speech as hope, descend-ere word Of mine, my soul's belov'd! bring ill to thee! Yet shall the mountain echoes I have taught Thy name so oft, remind me of my woes, My sighs be wafted to thee in the wail Of autumn boughs-and the quick-flitting wing The action in the second part becomes more complicated; a certain damsel, named Aijah, (of whom, however, little is heard afterwards) being represented as attached to Siphah by whom she is slighted for the King's daughter. Another maiden called Adah, the supposed friend but subsequent cruel betrayer of Shelomith, is meantime implored by the faithful Shimei to bring about a private interview between the princess and Shallum, in compliance with which we find her, in the third scene, employing all her influence as a favourite companion to wring from the modest and virtuous Shelomith the confession of her love for Shallum, and her consent to see him. The dialogue is in itself less poetical than many other portions of the Drama, and need not on that account be given. Its chief features are the unreserved acknowledgment of the unhappy princess of her contempt and dislike for the unworthy bridegroom, to whom fate rather than choice has assigned her; though the utmost eloquence of her artful friend (a secret rival with Shallum) fails to elicit, except very indirectly, her partiality for him; and her consent to the interview is only obtained by means of a rash promise to grant Adah any boon she may think fit to demand. It is arranged to take place during the following day's hunting; the reluctance of the discreet and virtuous (though deeply attached) Shelomith being only removed by fears for her own life giving way to apprehensions lest grief and despair should put a period to that of her lover. Shallum meantime awaits her decision in a retreat amid the mountains, the description of which, as contrasted with the perils and turmoil of courts, is quoted by the German translator as one of the finest passages in the poem. The imagery might possibly seem trite in the mouth of an ordinary European poet, but as a specimen of modern Hebrew sentiment and philosophy, it will have much of the zest of novelty, and the piquancy of contrast. It is this latter characteristic, indeed-the singular assemblage of Eastern wildness of fable, and patriarchal simplicity in the narrative portions of it, with the refinement and delicacy of absolutely European sentiment in its poetical passages that lends to this literary anomaly its unique and peculiar interest. Jaques himself, in "Arden," was not more "gentlemanlike," as well as "melancholy," than the muses amid the mountains of Kedem. "Shallum. Ye everlasting hills! beneath whose shade Loves still alone to dwell-how dear to me To doff the burden of unwelcome greatness, For there lurks suffering in its bitterest forms, Are not these verdant, flow'r-enamell'd meads Yet free to every dweller in the land, Who, 'neath the fig's deep shade, from mid-day heat, Lord of himself-from thought of evil free! What, to such liberty, are stores of gold, Or pomp, or kingdoms, judgement seats, or thrones ? To lock the owner's souls in, while their bodies Worse than the serf's forced labour ! since the load O, bright and happy is the shepherd's lot! And when morn dawns, he springs like a young eagle This soliloquy is interrupted by the entrance of the faithful Shimei to announce, that the wished-for interview has been arranged by Adah, and will then take place; an annunciation quickly followed up by the arrival of Shelomith herself. Shallum would fly to meet her, but is advised by his friend to await the coming of Adah, whose presence on the occasion had been expressly stipulated for by the timid princess; though already resolved, it would appear, to turn to her destruction the fatal interview. The false confidant avoids fulfilling her promise. The lover meantime naturally remonstrates and advances; but on the scared fair one fleeing at his approach, resortssomewhat superfluously, we cannot help thinking-to menaces of suicide. He exclaims "O whither would'st thou flee? Dost fear? Oh, no! Shall trembling lead me. No! since thou thus shunn'st, Myself and sorrows to the distant main. Shelo. Rash man! What would'st thou ? Shimei, fly and stay him! [He is arrested and brought back. If thou'd'st have me Live, Shallum! I entreat thee. Than die ten thousand deaths by thy unkindness. Shelo. 'Tis I who feel half dead with fear already! Into the depths of yonder foaming flood? Shall. Dost ask, fair creature? Ah! ill-fated Shallum, Shelo. Were't not the hero and the wise man's part No more to follow one thou canst not gain? What would'st thou of me? Shall. One word before I die. Shelo. Just to hear me speak That boon I've granted; But only that thou mightst forswear all thoughts Of death. Shall. Alas! that word was but a drop To the vast ocean labouring in my bosom! Shelo. Well, well! I'll hear-say on, but let thy speech Be brief! And, mark me, when 'tis ended Shall. Beloved of my soul! where lives the man Whose tears have swell'd so long their streams, and woke Shelo. Methinks thou hast said all thou could'st desire. |