Is theirs! With what a queenly power, their love
Can rule the fountain of a new-born mind.
Warn them to wake at early dawn and sow
Nearly a score of years passed away, each having wrought5 its changes, and Rizpah de Griffin is dwelling6 quietly with her three children at Bozrah. She is companionless though not a widow. Care has left its stern impress on her every feature; the roses have gone from her cheeks and the snows that tarry, baffling all springs, are on her head. But time that has worn has also ripened7. Rizpah has become a self-possessed8, stately matron; her form is erect9, her eye as bright as ever. Bozrah has not changed; the city sits in its sullen10, fixed11 gloom, seemingly unconscious of the ravages12 that time works elsewhere. But there have been changes and changes among the people since first the woman of Gerash arrived there. Many former inhabitants have wandered away; some to be swallowed up by the tides of peoples of other climes; some have gone to judgment13. But new comers have taken the places of those[246] that had departed and speeded the swift enough forgetting of the absent ones, Rizpah was in high honor, for although she lived in seclusion14, mixing very little with any of the people about her, all respected her. Hers was a well-ordered house; Druses, Turks and Hebrews joined in affirming this. She ruled her children firmly and they obeyed her implicitly15, for they loved her loyally. We meet her now amid active preparation for the observance of the approaching Jewish Sabbath. With her are two boys, twins, born in London, as like each other as could be, and Miriamne. The latter is in the full possession of her roses, and in the enjoyment16 of that splendor17 of personal charm seemingly belonging to all the maidens18 of Abrahamic descent under “the covenant19 of the stars and the sand.” For are not Israel’s women not only plenteous and bright and lofty like the stars, and her men numberless, rugged21 and restless as the surf-washed sands on every shore? Does not this race, in all history, continually attest22 the persistence23 and pre-eminence of all good to those who walk under the Divine covenants24?
Miriamne not only is seen to possess a gracefulness25 like unto that of the palm, nature’s pattern of beauty in the East, but she has such robustness26 of form as might be expected in one born of such a Hebrew mother and such a Saxon father. In her temper, poetic27, emotional, oriental, like her mother; in feature and mind more like her father; she was a better, more evenly balanced result than either. It often so happens; the child by some natural selection or some mercifulness, inheriting a character, the resultant of the union of two sets of parental28 forces, yet finer than either apart. The scientific man in such cases will say, herein we behold29, in a[247] new being, physical and spiritual forces in action, the latter gaining the advantage; a prophesy30 without mystery that at last the fittest only shall survive. The theologian, on the other hand, will see Providence31 electing the best and preparing choice characteristics for superior works to be done.
At a call of the mother, the children gathered about her, and the group was charming; a picture full of expression and contrasts. The matron cast a look of yearning32 affection upon her offsprings, and the emotion possessed her until the hard face-lines faded into a sweet smile. Just then she would have been a satisfactory model for an artist painting Madonna. “Thank God, children, the emblem33 of rest and of hope in ages to come is at hand. I have joyed to-day, in full preparation that this next Sabbath may be piously34 and earnestly celebrated35 with all the religious exactness of our people.” Then, patting the boys on their heads with playful tenderness, she continued: “Run away now up to the synagogue-ruin on the hill. Don’t forget your duty in play, lads; be true little Israelites! When ye see the sun go down back of Gilead’s mountains, give us warning of the Sabbath’s beginning. Now mind, keep your eyes toward Jerusalem.”
The lads sped away, and Rizpah following them with her eyes prayed in heart: “God bless them, and though in this place of desolation, make them little Samuels in faith and service.” A little after her face glowed with triumphant36 joy, for there came back to her ears the boys’ voices, mingling37 in sacred song. It was the psalm38 of the “Captives’ Return” that they sang. The declining sun began to throw its last rays through the open windows of the huge stone home, flooding the[248] black basalt walls and pavement with golden tints39. Slowly the mother’s eyes wandered from the scene without to objects within, until they rested on a huge painting that covered nearly half the opposite wall. One glance and her whole being seemed transformed. In an instant her reverential and weary attitude was changed to one of excited attention. She grew pale, her body swayed with a waving motion, suggestive of the panther creeping toward a victim. Then her form became rigid41 like one preparing for some great muscular effort, or endeavoring to suppress some inner tempest. Her face, made habitually42 calm by the schoolings of adversity, became a theater for expression of the changing emotion within; the mouth-lines putting on a firmness almost hideous43; her eyes glittered like a serpent’s in the act of charming; contrasting with the forehead that shone like a silver shield. She was as one under a spell or in a trance; but for a few moments only. There came a light footfall; then a quick, half frightened, piteous cry and Miriamne stood beside her.
“Oh, mother, don’t! mother, mother; thou dost terrify me!” The young woman stopped half way between the open door and her parent. Now she was passing through a great transition. She had seen all that was happening, often before; had often run away from the spectacle to hide it from herself. Now she was trying to nerve herself to penetrate44 the mystery in the hope of preventing its painfulness. She was at the turning point, where a girl changes to the woman within the circle of parental influences.
But so complete was the absorption of the one gazing upon the spectacle upon the wall, at first the cry was unheeded. In a sort of sudden, trembling desperation[249] the young woman quickly bounded between her mother and the picture. Then, as if realizing the unfilial imprudence of the act, but still unwilling45 to recede46 from efforts to break the spell that bound her parent, she fell upon her knees before the seeming devotee and burst into tears. The mother started up a little as one awakening47 from a dream; then said, with perfect control of voice and manner; “Marah, what ails49 thee? Art ill? Are the Bedouin coming?”
“No, no,” replied the other; “the picture; the picture!”
“What is it child?”
“I do not know. I only know that your strange, wild gaze upon its hideous group terrifies me! For years I’ve learned to feel a mingled50 disgust and fright in the presence of the woman in that presentment. When I came in, your face looked like hers. You did not seem to be my own tender mother, but an angry virago51. Oh, why do you shadow all our Sabbath eves, by this mysterious, cruel staring and moaning before this imagery of death? You’ve made me to dread52 the approaching Holy Day, promise of all delight to our people, as the advent53 of all pain to us.”
“Marah, this is wickedness in thee. Thou shouldst learn to wrap thy soul about with the joys thou knowest, and leave all this that thou dost not understand, most likely terrible to thee chiefly because thou dost not understand it, to go its way.”
“I’ve tried and tried for months to reason thus; but how little comfort to be saying over and over, ‘it’s all right,’ ‘it’s nothing,’ to a fear that stops the very beatings of the heart. Oh, that I could fly from this land of desolations. Its loneliness and shadows keep[250] coming and coming around me until I dread, lest they enter my very being and become part of me. I’ve leaned hitherto alone on my mother’s greater strength for rest. If I come to fear her, I’ll lose my reason!”
“Marah,” said the mother, with enforced calmness, “thou art feverish54 to-day; thou hast wrought too much. Now retire and say this pillow Psalm; ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, abideth under the shadow of the Almighty57.’ Thou’lt be peaceful in the morning; as are those ever who abide55 under the shadow of the King.”
But only the more passionately60 the daughter clung to her mother, and again she renewed her plaint: “Ah, mother, I haven’t strength to take these promises! Oh, forgive me, I can not help it; I feel as if something awful were impending62; something coming between us! A curse is on this land. Is it any way over the De Griffins? Tell me, I beseech63 you, what is that painted thing? Sometimes I run out of the room when alone, as if those men hanging there were still alive, in death’s agony. I’ve dreamed sometimes that they came down in bodily form charging you and me with murdering them; and when I go out at evening, I imagine that the Ismaelitish woman in the foreground is flitting about my path, while in every thicket64 I hear the flapping wings of her carrion65 birds. Oh, mother! let us tear down that sole defilement66 of our own little, only home, and give it to the pilgrim Rabbi, now in Bozrah, that he may burn it with exorcising rites67.”
By George Becker.
RIZPAH DEFENDING THE DEAD BODIES OF HER RELATIONS.
“I? I do not know what I think, beyond this, that[251] I’m overcome, terrified, made miserable69, and you, under some spell for a time, cease to be my mother.”
“Oh, tell me all about this hateful thing! Why it so moves you. You said long ago you would when I was able to bear it. I am no longer a child. Mother, you say you read me like an open book, now look into my heart and see that it is bursting with fright and worry! You say you know woman’s nature; if so, you know that I can suffer when I understand, but shall go mad in the suspense71 of constant fear of some threatening ill unseen.” Thus speaking and clinging to her mother, with a twining, almost desperate embrace, such as among women implies unerringly that a supreme73 moment and demand has fallen upon the questioner, she burst forth74 in tearless sobs75. The mother’s face was a study and told of a succession of weighty thoughts; parental authority brooked76; infringed77; new surprised realization78 that the daughter was no longer a child, but a wise, earnest woman. Then there was a degree of fearfulness springing from deep love. The elder woman perceived the crisis, and knew full well that in such times denials to a woman meant a dead heart, or worse. Then her manner softened79, and drawing her child to her bosom80 with an embrace passionate61 in fervor81, she tenderly, soothingly82 spoke83 to her:
“My most dearly beloved Marah! dismiss all thy fears at once and forever. They are needless. Rest, now and always, as thou never canst elsewhere, in all the world, upon this heart of mine. Rest thou in thy present young womanhood, as calmly, as trustingly, as thou didst in baby-hood. That heart guarded thee[252] more tenderly than its own life then, through storms within and without that nearly broke it. In part thou dost know this; remembering what it has been in loyalty84 to God and thyself, canst thou pain it by one distrusting thought now?”
“Oh, mother, I know, I know; I do not mean to doubt you, and I remember, with a gratitude85 beyond all my poor power of speech, your toiling86, patient, constant, loving care for me and my brothers. I never can forget that you are a Hebrew indeed, proud to emulate87 the noble mothers of our nation in its olden, golden days; but after all I must think. I think, sometimes, with anguish88, that that awful picture may some way come between us!”
“Why, Marah, impossible! thou art my other self; a fairer copy; as I was at thy age.” Then Rizpah spoke in unusual, confiding89 tenderness: “We mothers have our vanities and take a secret pride in wearing our daughters on our hearts as precious jewels. When nature gratifies that pride by giving us daughters in form, features and mind, mirrors or glad reminders90 of ourselves, as we were in the days of young beauty, romancings and hopes, we hug these in our souls in a way thou canst never realise until thou hast been such a mother. Change? I change toward thee? Ah, girl, not being a mother, thou canst not begin to fathom91 the ocean-depth, the heaven-height, the eternity92-like unchanging endurance of a woman’s love, once it has been quickened into the channels of maternal93 affection. Thou art a woman to all the world, but not so to me. I love thee now as I loved thee when thou wert a babe. To me thou wilt94 always be a little, lovely, needy95 creature—an angel touching96 the fountains of[253] my inmost nature. All earthly friendships change; lover’s love, at first fierce, generally dies as the tides of years roll over it; but, mother-love, in all loving, is the exception. Believe this as thou dost believe the tenets of our faith and thou’ll find thy troubling thoughts fleeing away like mists of Hermon, before the conquering banners of the morning.” There followed a prolonged embrace and a mutual97 kiss; impassioned, affectionate; an action expressing volumes to one skilled in interpreting the signs, all unvoiced and unwritten, yet, by some constant intuition, known to all womankind as the language of the finest, sincerest loving. That moment these two women passed onward98, upward together to a higher, lighter99, stronger relationship than they had enjoyed before. They entered the temple where daughter and mother begin the feast of the new revelation; when to the love of parent and child is added that of real companionship. That is a sunny, fruity hour, when a girl is received as a woman by a woman; that woman her mother.
The two sat embracing and happy for a long time; but the old pain suddenly revived—Miriamne’s eyes chancing to stray to the picture. She shuddered100, then looked pleadingly into her parent’s eyes. The mother, quickly interpreting the look, tenderly replied: “Sometime.”
“No, oh, no; tell me, mother, all, now! Who, and what are those hanging forms: the horror-frighted, bludgeon-armed woman; the birds of black, hovering101 over the crosses? Oh! my mother, you trust me; now tell me all or tear that down! You know it’s not lawful102 for us Jews to have any image of things in Hades.”
The last words moved the mother more than all else[254] that Miriamne had hitherto spoken. Heresy103, she abominated104; and the chief aim of her life had been to make her children true Israelites by precept105 and example. To her thinking, Israel alone was right; all others were heathen, to whom was reserved perdition. To an apostate106, in her belief, there came a final judgment of misery107, beggaring all attempt at description. A little while she hesitated, and then came to quick resolve to tell her daughter all. She arose, walked rapidly back and forth over the stone floor of the abode108, and, then stopping before the daughter, said: “Thy wish shall be granted. In love of thee, for lo, these many years I’ve hidden from thee one miserable and dark chapter of our family history. I have drank the bitter waters alone. But too much I love thee to bear the piteous appeal of thy lips, or the look of doubt that sometimes flits in thy questioning eyes. Canst thou bear knowledge that is full of bitterness?”
“Yea, mother,” said Miriamne, “there is no bitterness in reality like that our imaginations conjure109 up, when fed by mysteries that hang on pictures of such hideous mien——”
“Thou dost force me to the explanation, but, daughter blame me not, if, like Saul of old, who fainted at the sight he compelled Endor’s witch to reveal, thou art given now some knowledge that kills thy sunshine.”
“I’m the daughter of Rizpah and Sir Charleroy. Did they either of them ever fear?”
“Ah! but I have been the very mother of sorrows, ever since thy birth, child. God knows it; and it were best to leave it all to Him alone.”
“But, mother, I’d gladly share your sorrows. Sorrow shared is ever lightened by the sharing. Let us[255] bear the corpse110 between us, and in this lonely life we shall be made more than ever companions, through a common grief.”
“So be it then. Thou shalt know all.”
And Rizpah, going to a seldom-used iron-bound chest, drew therefrom a parchment roll; handing the same to her daughter, she said: “Read. It’s part of Father Harrimai’s ‘Kethubim.’” The place opened to the story of the famine in David’s time, which endured three years, because of wrongs done to the Gibeonites by the children of Israel. As Miriamne read onward, Rizpah from time to time gave explanations:
“Dost perceive, daughter, that Jehovah, though not revengeful, is a God of recompenses?”
“He was the friend of the Gibeonites though they were not of his chosen people; because they had no other friend, I think,” said Miriamne.
“Yes, and He held all Israel responsible for what they were willing to let their blood-thirsty Saul perform. As he had been, so had been the people; they were guilty, and God needed to punish them. How just! Oh! God is sure to press men to a conclusion. Read what David said to the stranger Gibeonites;” Miriamne continued:
“And he said, what ye shall say, that will I do for you.
“And they answered the king, the man that consumed us, and that devised against us;
“Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah.
“And the king said, I will give them.
“But the king spared Mephiboseth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul.
[256]
“But the king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephiboseth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel.
“And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the beginning of barley111 harvest.”
Miriamne paused; then addressed her parent:
“Mother, I’d not be an heretic, and yet I can not see the justice of hanging the sons for the father’s sins?”
“Perhaps they were parties to the murder; perhaps publicly, or in heart, defended it. At any rate, from the beginning it has been so. Thou and thy brothers are living here fatherless on account of him that begat you——”
“It pains thee. Thou must go on now, though thou shouldst fall fainting, as Saul at Endor. Read.”
The daughter complied, and with quickly revived interest, for she came to the name “Rizpah” the second time, but before she had not noticed it in reading.
“And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
“And it was told David what Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
“And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan, his son, from the men of[257] Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan.
“And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
“And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the sepulcher113 of Kish, his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated114 for the land.”
When the last clause was finished, Miriamne cast a glance at the huge painting on the wall.
“I understand in part; that is Rizpah and her crucified children?”
“It is well, daughter. Behold her; this is motherhood of strongest type! Humanity is no where perfect, but of all the erring72 ones of life, I most believe in those, who, among many perversions115 of judgment and blemishes116 of character, have some one or more of lofty virtues117. Methinks a soul may be drenched118 by many sins, and yet, if within its very core it carry sincerely and sacred as its life some noble, dominating passion, like the holy love of parent for a child, that soul will ever have thereby119 a gate open to the Holy Spirit, a handle for the grasp of saving angels, and, while life lasts, an ever-flying signal lifted toward heaven. Such prayer unspoken is a beseeching120, not vainly for the interceding121 love of Him that weighs the spirits.”
“But, mother, you’re not such a tigress? Not like that woman?”
“How proud I’d be to be indeed all she was. The exact interpretation122 of ‘Rizpah’ is a ‘living coal,’ but her name interpreted by her life is better called the[258] ‘flaming beacon123.’ We mutually lament124 the dispersion of our people! Dost thou remember how last Sabbath thou wepst while thou didst read to me the words of the blessed Isaiah foretelling125 the long-delayed but Divinely-promised regathering of all our tribes?”
“Daughter, God’s beacons are chiefly noble spirits, such as Moses of the Exode, Samson, the giant, David, Nehemiah and Cyrus. The world has not yet interpreted Rizpah, the ‘burning coal,’ the beacon fire. Once I was frail128, timorous129, wavering, but devotion to that character has transformed me. When the world’s mothers look to her pattern, there will be a new order of motherhood; then look for heroic men and an heroic age!”
“But was not Rizpah a Hivite, a descendant of Ham, and so of those forever under God’s curse?”
“My child, ancestry130 is not always the test of worth. The consequences of sin may pass down from sire to son, but never so as to bar the way to hope, nor dam up the stream of ever-pitying mercy of heaven. Rizpah had some true Jewish blood within her heart, and in the long run God’s providence doth work to make the better part, of admixed good and ill, dominate. Besides all this, the lovely Ruth, thou dost emulate so well, was foreign to our people. So, too, was Rahab; and our Rabbis tell us she was in the royal line of David, from which at last the Messiah shall arise. Those women, with Rizpah, were beacons to the world! While mankind revere40 true love, constancy, loyalty and faith, those names will be remembered.”
“But, mother, Rizpah was the concubine of Saul,[259] and as I think of how you oft denounce the harems of our neighboring Bedawin, my very soul blushes at hearing you admire this woman so.”
“Ah, daughter, methinks she was more sinned against than sinning. Recall the unequal struggle: Rizpah, a foreigner, of a nation subdued131 by kingly Saul; he a man, strong of mind, a king, hedged with a sort of divinity that in the minds of the simple ever hedges kings about; making their words and deeds seem always right and just. If women made the laws and customs there never would have been known on earth unclean polygamy, but ever instead thereof the union only, in holy wedlock132, of two lives, mutually consecrated133, serviceful and constant. Under wrong teaching and tyranny, a woman may do that which purer societies condemn134, and yet retain a conscience white and clean before God.
“Within that book of Samuel, which I hold, it is recorded that Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, who for a time reigned135 in a rebellious136 confederacy, a horseman’s day’s journey from here, at Mahanaim, charged Rizpah once with an act of impurity137.
“The record makes no mention of Rizpah’s reply. Like thousands of women before and since her time, she was defenseless against slander138. Men, the stronger, may malign139 without evidence, and often it doth outweigh140, to ears ripe to feast upon the carrion of a scandal, the indignant denial of outraged141 purity, accompanied even with evidences which make the thought of crime upon the part of the one belied142, seemingly an impossibility. But leave all that; I appeal in behalf of my revered143 Rizpah to her wondrous144 loyalty as a mother. Tell me not that this sublimely145 heroic woman, who patiently[260] watched the corpses146 of her sons and other kin59 from April, through all the lonely nights and through all those burning days, until October rains wept them to their burial, ever did an act that could let loose upon them living or dead the hounds of scandal! They may have suffered death as malefactors, in God’s sight, but still her mother-love clung to them. She who kept those long vigils, lest beast or bird of prey147 should harm or mar48 or pollute the bodies precious to her if to no one else, I am assured, beyond all cavil148, never did aught that could have stung their brows or embittered149 their hearts! Such motherly devotion as hers doth fully150 purify a woman. He who planned society, with its sacred foundations resting so largely on the integrity of its child-bearers, has planted in the bosom of woman this all-possessing love of her offspring, as her safeguard. It’s her wall of fire by day and by night, and verily more restraining to her than any law of man, command of God, or fear of hell!”
“And are loving mothers never unchaste?”
“The Jews hated swine and the monster deities151 of Chaldeans, because both destroyed their young, and our holy Talmudists declare that Mary of the Christians152, not being as pure as the Nazarene’s followers153 affirm, is doomed154 to bide56 even in lowest Hades with the bar of hell’s gate through her ear. No, I, as a Jewish woman, believe that one of my sex being a mother and impure155 is neither loving, nor a woman!”
“How I revere the noble sentiments of Rizpah of Bozrah!”
“I am in part reconciled to her, but yet I wish, in[261] frightened agony often, that you would renounce157 this historic Rizpah; lioness-like in her devotion to her offspring, but full of murderous fury toward any that crossed her love. Our holy book must have sweeter, nobler ideals for our inspiration.”
“I judge this Hebrew heroine mother by her influence upon me, and that has been for good. The hypocrite or romancer may call the passer-by to prayer and have no more soul in it than the Moslem158 trumpet159. Only those who have some God-like saintliness of character, can win effectually, unceasingly. There is mighty58 power in the unspoken sermons of such a life. I cherish Rizpah, whose touch of moral power, coming where and when I was weak to callowness, girded me with purpose for wavering and thews of steel for rosy160 softness. I was once like thee, a fragile flower, but the example of that patient woman’s heroism161, ever before me, has fitted me to meet my awful trials and worthily162 inhabit this giant-built house. Thou dost remember, Miriamne, at last Passover time they wish, as thou didst read to me of Jacob, that even now a ladder with communicating angels might be set up from earth to heaven?”
“Ah, that would be a feast; angels in burning bushes, or by fountains as in Hagar’s time! I often worship in the thicket and pray for heaven’s messengers from Paradise to fan the flames of our devotion, as Gabriel did the orisons of Daniel. But I’d be afraid to meet an angel like your Rizpah.”
“Not so with me, Marah. Indeed, I often think of Rizpah and Jacob together. Thou rememberest how, not far away, at Mahanaim, Jacob of old met a host of angels? They came to cheer him in an hour of sad[262] depression, the saddest kind indeed; for in that hour he remembered amid his repentings that he was soon to face the brother whom long years before he had wronged. Well, when Rizpah, by the death of Saul, was released from that domineering madman-king, she made her home at Mahanaim, the place near which Jacob counseled with the angels. Methinks she there also communed with the spirits that do excel in strength. She may have been weak before, but in that angel school she outgrew163 her master. Ay, my child, it is marvelous how a woman rises under the impulses of a noble love, holy companionship and plenty of sorrow. Many a male brute164 has flattered himself he was crushing into fawning165 servitude by his imperious, selfish will, his weaker child-burdened mate, only some day to find the victim asserting her individuality with power unearthly. The partridge skulks166, terrified amid lowly grasses from the hunter, little by little gathering126 courage for her pinions167, then she suddenly departs to return no more, meanwhile luring168 the hunter from her treasures.”
“That is, an abused wife should run away?”
“I can’t but remember the woman’s rough strength.”
“To me the all-controlling love of Rizpah for her children condones170 her former errings, her Philistine171 ancestry, her craggedness. I believe she soars with the angels now, and to Israel she must be a pattern until some more saintly and finer woman arises to take the leadership of woman.”
“Will such an one appear, mother?”
“God’s dial is a circle, with a sweep like eternity.[263] He knows no hurry; yet, though never weary, is never belated. We are not waiting for him, but He is for us. When man is ready to take up his pilgrim march to the highlands of a living, all light, all beautiful, there’ll be beacons and beacons from the valleys to the hills.”
Just then the lamp by which they had been sitting, for some time having only flickered172, was suddenly quenched173, and there was a sound of the fluttering of wings in the room. Miriamne screamed and clung to her mother, her thoughts on the vultures of the picture.
“’Twas only a bat, daughter!”
“Oh, this ghostly place!” the young woman cried.
“Ghosts and bats are very harmless; would men were like them!” bitterly spoke Rizpah.
“Yes, wrongs do put out the light of human joy, but only for a little while; look out to the firmament174, my clinging other self, as I do, for comfort by times. See, the stars are immovable; all bright and in seemingly everlasting175 calm. Never forget in any long trial, or sudden terror, that when our human-made lights expire we are to turn our eyes toward heaven. In truth, God Himself often quenches176 our lights to make us look up to His.” The mother, approaching the stone casement177, and looking out on the sky, continued: “The heavens are full of beacons and lamps. They shall light us to bed as His truth lights those who will to serene178, long rest. Good night, my child.”
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tares
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| 荑；稂莠；稗 | |
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toil
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sickles
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garner
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wrought
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dwelling
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ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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possessed
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sullen
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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12
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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13
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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14
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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15
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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16
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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17
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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18
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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19
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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20
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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21
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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22
attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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23
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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24
covenants
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| n.（有法律约束的）协议( covenant的名词复数 )；盟约；公约；（向慈善事业、信托基金会等定期捐款的）契约书 | |
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25
gracefulness
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26
robustness
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| 坚固性，健壮性；鲁棒性 | |
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27
poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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28
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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29
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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30
prophesy
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| v.预言；预示 | |
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31
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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32
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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33
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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34
piously
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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35
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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36
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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37
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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38
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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39
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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40
revere
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| vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏 | |
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41
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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42
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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43
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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44
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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45
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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46
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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47
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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48
mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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49
ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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50
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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51
virago
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| n.悍妇 | |
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52
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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53
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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54
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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55
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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56
bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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57
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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58
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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59
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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60
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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61
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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62
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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63
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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64
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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65
carrion
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| n.腐肉 | |
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66
defilement
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| n.弄脏，污辱，污秽 | |
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67
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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68
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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69
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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70
profanes
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| n.不敬（神）的( profane的名词复数 )；渎神的；亵渎的；世俗的v.不敬( profane的第三人称单数 )；亵渎，玷污 | |
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71
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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72
erring
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| 做错事的，错误的 | |
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73
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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74
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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75
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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76
brooked
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| 容忍，忍受（brook的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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77
infringed
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| v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等） | |
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78
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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79
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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80
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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81
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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82
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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83
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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84
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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85
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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86
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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87
emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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88
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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89
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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90
reminders
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| n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信 | |
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91
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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92
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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93
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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94
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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95
needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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96
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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97
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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98
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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99
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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100
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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101
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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102
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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103
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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104
abominated
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| v.憎恶，厌恶，不喜欢( abominate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105
precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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106
apostate
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| n.背叛者，变节者 | |
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107
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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108
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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109
conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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110
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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111
barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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112
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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113
sepulcher
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| n.坟墓 | |
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114
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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115
perversions
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| n.歪曲( perversion的名词复数 )；变坏；变态心理 | |
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116
blemishes
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| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
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117
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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118
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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119
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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120
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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121
interceding
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| v.斡旋，调解( intercede的现在分词 )；说情 | |
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122
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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123
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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124
lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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125
foretelling
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的现在分词 ) | |
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126
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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127
beacons
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| 灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台 | |
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128
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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129
timorous
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| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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130
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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131
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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132
wedlock
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| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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133
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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134
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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135
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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136
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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137
impurity
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| n.不洁，不纯，杂质 | |
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138
slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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139
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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140
outweigh
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| vt.比...更重，...更重要 | |
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141
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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142
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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143
revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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145
sublimely
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| 高尚地，卓越地 | |
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146
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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147
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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148
cavil
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| v.挑毛病，吹毛求疵 | |
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149
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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151
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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152
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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153
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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154
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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155
impure
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| adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的 | |
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156
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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157
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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158
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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159
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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160
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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161
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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162
worthily
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| 重要地，可敬地，正当地 | |
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163
outgrew
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去式 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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164
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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165
fawning
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| adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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166
skulks
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的第三人称单数 ) | |
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167
pinions
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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168
luring
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式） | |
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169
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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170
condones
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| v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的第三人称单数 ) | |
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171
philistine
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| n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的 | |
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172
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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173
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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174
firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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175
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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176
quenches
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| 解（渴）( quench的第三人称单数 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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177
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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178
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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