INTRODUCTION, FOR the sacred energy which struck Of bless'd Isaiah :* when the Seraphim He spake as man or angels might have With sacred energy, to me belongs; In melody's sweet maze, and the clear streams Which to pure fancy's yet untasted springs vain. Of thy pure fancy, more than realiz'd! Or in the breast of Cæsar or thy own. ours! The pagan page how far more wise than Alarm'd we dread her penetrating beams; Why shun to make our duty our delight? Let pleasure be the motive, disallow All high incentives drawn from God's command; [profane, Where shall we trace, through all the page A livelier pleasure and a purer source Of innocent delight, than the fair book Of holy truth presents? for ardent youth, The sprightly narrative! for years mature, In Greece and Latium, sought by deathless The moral document, in sober robe Whose syren song enchants; and shall en-Of grave philosophy array'd: which all You I invoke not now, ye fabled Nine ! I not invoke you though you well were sought chant [bards, Through time's wide circling round, tho' And (blush, O Christians!) liv'd above their They would have bless'd the beam, and Had heard with admiration, had embrac'd Been multiplied on tomes, to draw the veil Strong imagery, bold figure, every charm Their wild mythology's fantastic maze. A faith so fitted to thy moral sense! mance Of high imagination, the bright dream Isaiah, chap. vi. trace The rescued remnant of a delug'd world? Heroic Samson 'midst a life of toil Can all the names the Roman page records, Orestes and the partner of his toils; Who, undebauched as yet by fashion's lore, tribes The Hebrew leader through the desert led? Such are the lorely themes which court the oft Her sacred dignity and high descent, Debases her fair origin; oft spreads Corruption's deadly bane, pollutes the heart • Iphigenia. Of innocence, and with unhallow'd hand taste, While its fell venom, with malignant pow'r, To all the health of virtue ! to infuse This subject is taken from the second chapter of the book of Exodus. PART I. JOCHEBED, MIRIAM. Joch. WHY was my pray'r accepted? why did heaven In anger hear me, when I ask'd a son? Ye dames of Egypt! ye triumphant mothers! You no imperial tyrant marks for ruin; You are not doom'd to see the babes you bore, [you! The babes you fondly nurture, bleed before You taste the transport of a mother's love, Without a mother's anguish! wretched Israel ! Can I forbear to mourn the different lot Of thy sad daughters!-Why did God's own hand Rescue his chosen race by Joseph's care? Joseph th' elected instrument of heaven, Decreed to save illustrious Abraham's sons, What time the famine rag'd in Canaan's land. [now! Israel, who then was spar'd, must perish Thou great mysterious Pow'r, who hast involv'd Thy wise decrees in darkness, to perplex The pride of human wisdom, to confound The daring scrutiny, and prove, the faith Of thy presuming creatures! hear me now: O vindicate thy honour, clear this doubt, Teach me to trace this maze of Providence: Why save the fathers, if the sons must perish? Mir. Ah me, my mother! whence these floods of grief! the rest; Joch. My son! my son! I cannot speak [ness! Ye who have sons can only know my fondYe who have lost them, or who fear to lose, Can only know my pangs! none else can guess them. A mother's sorrows cannot be conceiv'd But by a mother-would I were not one! Mir. With earnest pray'rs thou didst request this son, And heaven has granted him. Of human wretchedness; so weak is man, So ignorant and blind, that did not God' Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruin'd at our own request. Too well thou know'st, my child, the stern decree Of Egypt's cruel king, hard-hearted Pharaoh ; That every male, of Hebrew motherborn, Must die! Oh! do I live to tell it thee ! Must die a bloody death! My child, my son, My youngest born my darling must be slain! Mir. The helpless innocent! and must he die? [prayers, Joch. No: if a mother's tears, a mother's A mother's fond precautions can prevail, He shall not die. I have a thought, my Miriam, And sure the God of mercies who inspir'd, Will bless the secret purpose of my soul, To save his precious life. in God; Much in the Rock of Ages. Think, O think, Thy infant's life, and in thy house conceal'd him! Should Pharaoh know! Send thy right aiming thunderbolts-but For what I have, and not arraign thy wisdom For what I fear to lose. O, I will bless thee That Aaron will be spar'd; that my first born Lives safe and undisturbed! that he was giv'n me Before this impious persecution rag'd! May reach his precious life. Mir. But say what heav'n inspires to save Joch. Since the dear fatal morn which gave him birth, I have revolv'd in my distracted mind Each means to save his life and many a thought [oppos'd Which fondness prompted, prudence has As perilous and rash. With these poor hands I've fran'd a little ark of slender reeds; With pitch and slime I have secur'd the sides. In this frail cradle I intend to lay My little helpless infant, and expose him Upon the banks of Nile. Mir. 'fis full of danger. Joch. 'Tis danger to expose, and death to keep him. Mir. Yet, oh! reflect. Should the fierce The native and the tyrant of the Nile, Joch. Oh forbear! Spare my fond heart. Yet not the crocodile, Nor all the deadly monsters of the deep, To me are half so terrible as Pharaoh, That heathen king, that royal murderer! Mir. Should he escape, which yet I dare not hope, [him! The mother's fondness would betray the child. Farewell! God of my fathers, Oh, protect PART II. [waves Enter MIRIAM after having deposited the child. Each sea-born monster, yet the winds and He cannot 'scape. Joch. Know, God is every where; Not to one narrow, partial spot confin'd: No, not to chosen Israel: he extends Through all the vast infinitude of space : Mir. YES, I have laid him in his wat'ry bed, His wat'ry grave, I fear!-I tremble still; It was a cruel task-still I must weep! griefs! At his command the furious tempests rise-But ah, my mother! who shall sooth thy Yet sure, one little look may be indulg'd, And I may feast my fondness with his smiles, And snatch one last, last kiss.-No more my heart; [him. That rapture would be fatal-I should keep And gently lay him on the river's brink. Mir. Did those magicians, whom the sons of Egypt Consult and think all-potent, join their skill; Could not preserve it. Joch. Know this ark is charm'd With incantations Pharaoh ne'er employ'd; With spells, which impious Egypt never knew: With invocations to the living God, The flags and sea-weeds will awhile sustain Their precious load; but it must sink ere long! [leave thee; Sweet babe, farewell! Yet think not I will No, I will watch thee till the greedy waves Devour thy little bark: I'll sit me down, And sing to thee, sweet babe; thou can'st But 'twill amuse me, while I watch thy fate. not hear; [She sits down on a bank, and sings. Ye winds, the servants of the Lord, Ye waves, obedient to his word, spare the babe committed to your trust; And Israel shall confess the Lord is just! III. Though doom'd to find an early grave, This infant, Lord, thy power can save, And he, whose death's decreed by Pharaoh's hand, May rise a prophet to redeem the land. [She rises and looks out. What female form bends thitherward her steps? Of royal port she seems; perhaps some friend, Rais'd by the guardian care of bounteous Heaven, To taste the pleasant coolness of the breeze; Joch. Yet e'erthou go'st, observe me well: Perhaps to bathe in this translucent stream. When thou hast laid him in his wat'ry bed, Did not our holy law enjoin th' ablution O leave him not: but at a distance wait, Frequent and regular, it still were needful And mark what Heaven's high will deter-To mitigate the fervours of our clime. mines for him. Lay him among the flags on yonder beach, Just where the royal gardens meet the Nile. I dare not follow him, Suspicion's eye Melita, stay-the rest at distance wait. [They all go out, except one, The ancient Egyptians used to wash their bodies Would note my wild demeanor! Miriam,yes, four times every twenty-four hours. Prin. Re-enter MELita, Well, Melita ! Hast thou discover'd what the vessel is? Mel. Oh, princess, I have seen the strangest sight! Within the vessel lies a sleeping babe, Prin. Who knows but some unhappy He- Has thus expos'd her infant, to evade Mel. Should this be so, my princess knows the danger. Prin. No danger should deter from acts of mercy. Prin. How ill it does beseem Thy tender years and gentle womanhood, Yet human policy should make us kind, Lead on-and from the rushes we'll remove The feeble ark which cradles this poor babe. She bends to look upon the infant's face! Each chord of pity, waken'd every sense cess! How goodness heightens beauty! now she With fondness to her heart, she gives him now Wit tender caution to her damsel's arms : The virgin train retire and bear the child. Prin. Did ever innocence and infant beauty [quence? Sanction the sin I hate? forbid it, Mercy! |