Collected Works (Vol. I)

80 JEPHTHAH PROPHET. Thy spear shall turn against thyself, alas! But welcome, death, thou looked-for spouse of mine! Thy kiss is pleasant as the shaded well That looks through palm leaves to the quiet sky. [ Dies. JEPHTHAH. Thou didst no evil in the slaying him, For God is a consuming fire ; high zeal Against idolatry lacks not reward. And now the sun is up: for Israel, march! JARED. Good luck be with your spears; and home- coming Gladden victorious eyes ere set of sun. [Axeunt JEPHTHAH azd Soldiers. Enter ELEAZAR, AHINOAM, Chorus of Elders. CHORUS. The sun is past meridian. No sound Of trampling hoofs assails the unquiet wind, Nor trembles in the pillared echo-places, And windy corridors of pathless snow. But let us wait, expecting victory. No fugitive returns, nor messenger: They have not shocked together, or perchance The grim fight rolls its sickening tide along fTomeward or southward, undecided yet ; Or victory made certain but an hour Lends no such wings to jaded horses as May bear a jaded rider to our gates. Wait only, friends, and calm our troubled mind, Nor stir the languid sails of our desire With breath of expectation or despair. Rather give place to those untroubled thoughts That sit like stars immobile in the sky To fathom all the desolate winds of ocean, And draw their secrets from the hidden mines Whose gold and. silver are but wisdom, seeking Rather things incorruptible above ‘han sordid hopes and fears. friends, Where in the sun’s eye rolls a speck of cloud Lesser than the ephemeral gnat may make Riding for sport upon a little whirl Of moving breezes, so it glows and rolls, Caught in the furnace of the sun, opaque To eyes that seek its depth, but -penetrable By those long filaments of light beyond. See, the spot darkens, and a horseman spurs A flagging steed with bloody flanks, and waves A cloudy sword to heaven—I am sure He brings us eagle-wingéd victory, And tiding of no battle lost for Israel. Yes, he grows great before the sun, and stands Now in his stirrups, and shouts loud, and waves . A blade triumphant. Now the weary horse Stumbles with thundering strides along the last Furlong, and greets us with a joyous neigh As if he understood the victory. But look you, Enter Second Messenger. SECOND MESSENGER. Rejoice, O Israel, for this day hath seen Utter destruction overtake, and death Ride furious over, trampled necks of men Desperate in vain; hath seen red hell gape wide To swallow up the heathen. Victory Swells the red-gleaming torrent of pursuit, And Israel shakes her lazy flanks at last A lion famished, and is greedy of death. CHORUS. O joyful day! And where is Jephthah now? MESSENGER. Faint with the heat of a hard battle fought, But following hard after with the horse. For from Aroer even unto Minnith IIe smote them with a slaughter most un- heard, And twenty cities saw from trembling walls