So profound was the slumber1 of the weary girl that she heard not the sound of opening the door, nor a step on the marble floor, and lay unconscious of the yearning2, anxious, mournful gaze that was fixed3 upon her she slept.
"Lovely, most lovely--fairer even than her mother!" murmured Pollux, as he stood beside the couch of Zarah, upon whose slumbering5 form softly fell the light from a silver lamp. "Even so beautiful and so pure lay my Naomi, when the angel of death had in mercy called her soul away, and bereft6 me of a gift of which I was so unworthy."
What bitter memories of early years passed through the renegade's soul as he spoke7! Happy days, when there was no shame on the brow, no gnawing8 worm in the conscience--when he had feared the face of no man, and had dared to lift his eyes towards heaven, and his heart to One who dwelt there! Blessed days, never, never to come again!
"Hark! she speaks in her sleep. What says she?"
Pollux bent9 down his head to listen, and caught the faint murmur4, "My poor, poor father!"
The groan10 which burst from the apostate11's lips awoke the sleeper12. Zarah started into a sitting posture13, and, with a gesture of alarm, threw back the long tresses which had partly fallen over her face.
"Fear not, poor child; I would not harm you," said Pollux, in a gentle, soothing14 tone, which restored Zarah's confidence at once.
"Oh no! I will not fear you!" she cried, recognizing her protector; "it was you--the God of Jacob requite16 you for it!--it was you who saved me to-day."
"And will do so again," said Pollux, as he seated himself at Zarah's side; "but I cannot save you in spite of yourself. You must let yourself be guided by me."
"What would you have me do?" asked Zarah.
"Bend to the force of circumstances, humour the mighty17 king, give an outward obedience18 to his will. I have pledged myself that you should do so. There is nothing so dreadful, after all," continued the courtier, forcing a smile, "in bowing the knee as others do, or in burning a few grains of incense19. It is but a little matter."
"A little matter!" repeated Zarah, opening wide her eyes in innocent surprise; "is it a little matter for me to throw away my soul, and break the heart of Hadassah?"
Pollux winced20 on hearing the name, but quickly recovering himself, observed, "The heart of no woman would be thus broken. She would feel a pang21 less keen at your falling away for a time, than that which would wring22 her soul should you die by the executioner's hand."
"You have never seen Hadassah; you do not know her!" exclaimed Zarah with spirit; "she has told me herself that she would rather lose seven children by death than one by apostasy23 from God!"
Pollux bit his nether24 lip till the blood came. When he resumed speaking, his voice sounded hoarse25 and strange.
"If you care not for your own danger, maiden26, think of my peril27; my head is staked upon your submission28," he said.
Zarah looked distressed29 and perplexed30 for a moment, then her fair face brightened again. "Even cruel Antiochus," she replied, "would never slay31 one of his nobles because he failed in persuading a Hebrew girl to violate conscience. You are not--cannot be in peril through me."
"I am, whether you believe it or not," said the courtier. "But methinks, when speaking to a girl like yourself in the morning of life, with so much that might make existence delightful"--Pollux glanced at the luxurious32 decorations of the apartment--"one might be supposed to need small power of persuasion33 to convince her that music, dance, and feasting are better than torture; life than death; nature's sunshine and earth's love than a nameless grave. The king is munificent34 to those who oppose not his will; his hand is bounteous35 and open. Listen to me, fair maiden. Antiochus has promised, if you yield to his commands, to give you in marriage; it shall be my care that his choice for you shall fall upon one gentle and noble, one who will not deal harshly with you if you choose to follow your own religion, but who will accord to you in the privacy of your home all the freedom of worship which you could desire." Pollux paused, turning over in his mind who would be the noble most likely to fulfil these conditions; and thinking aloud, he uttered the words, "such a one as Lycidas the Athenian."
How the heart of Zarah bounded at the name! The temptation was fearfully strong. She beheld37 life and Lycidas on the one hand; on the other the cold steel and the glowing flame, and those black fearful ministers of death, the remembrance of whom made her shudder38.
Pollux, skilful39 in the courtier's art of reading the thoughts of men, saw symptoms of yielding in the face of his prisoner, and pushed his advantage. He had appealed to Zarah's instincts, now he attempted to dazzle and pervert40 her reason. With subtle sophistry41 he brought forward arguments with which his mind was but too familiar. Pollux spoke of necessity, that artful plea of the tempter, who would try to make the Deity42 Himself answerable for the sin of His creatures, as having placed them under circumstances where such sin could not be avoided; as if strength of temptation were excuse sufficient for yielding to the temptation! Then the courtier spoke of the difference between spiritual worship, the assent43 of the soul to a lofty creed44, and the mere45 outward posture of the body. The latter might bow down in the house of Rimmon, Pollux argued, while the spirit retained its allegiance to the only true God. Nay46, the tempter quoted Scripture47 (as the devil himself can quote it) to show that what God demands is the heart, and that therefore He cares little for the homage48 of the knee. The courtier tried to involve the artless girl in the meshes49 of his false philosophy, but a woman's simple faith and love burst through them all.
"Leave me--leave me!" cried Zarah passionately50, at the first pause made by Pollux; "it is sinful, cruel, to tempt36 me thus! You would have tried to persuade the three children in Babylon to bow down to the image of gold! I cannot argue, I cannot reason with one so learned as you are, but I know that it is written in God's Law, Thou shalt not bow down nor worship, and that is enough for me."
"But you never can endure the agonies which await you if you madly hold out in your obstinate52 resistance!" cried Pollux.
"I know that I have no strength of my own; I know that I am a trembling, feeble, cowardly girl, weak as water!" exclaimed Zarah, bursting into tears; "but God--my God--once made a firm wall of water, and He who sends the trial will send the strength to endure it!"
"Zarah, you will drive me to madness!" exclaimed Pollux, alarmed at the constancy shown by so timid and fragile a being; "nay, turn not away, I will be heard! I command you to yield obedience to the king, and I have a right to command; Zarah, he who speaks to you is--your father!"
Had not instinct suggested that before, had there not been something in the voice, the face of the courtier of Epiphanes which had reminded Zarah of Hadassah, and had strangely drawn53 the maiden's heart towards him? Up sprang Abner's daughter with a cry, her arms were around his neck, her head was pillowed on his bosom54, his vest was wet with her tears; she sobbed55 forth56, "My father! my father!" forgetting for the moment everything else in the delight of having found the lost one at last, and of being locked in the embrace of a parent.
And Pollux, for a brief space, could think of nothing but the fact that his child was clasped in his arms. He drew her close to his heart, then held her back that he might gaze upon her face, and press kiss after kiss on the lips of her whom he called his darling, his pride, his beautiful child! But when the first burst of natural emotion was over, Pollux made his daughter sit close beside him, and with his arm round her slight form, resumed the conversation which had been interrupted by his revealing the intimate relationship in which they stood to each other.
"You see, my child," said the courtier, "that you may now yield with an easy conscience. A parent's commands are law to a Hebrew maiden; if there be any sin in what you do, it lies upon me alone."
"And think you that I would bring sin upon your head?" said Zarah. "Oh no, that would be to wrong a parent indeed!"
"I have such a burden of my own to carry," observed Pollux, bitterly, "that I shall scarcely be sensible of so small an addition to its weight. Zarah, it is clearly your duty to submit, for my safety is involved in your submission. If you refuse to obey Antiochus, you seal the doom57 of your father."
In anguish58 Zarah clasped her throbbing59 temples with both her hands; even the path of duty itself seemed dark and uncertain before her. Then a thought, sudden and bright, as if it were an inspiration, came into the young girl's mind.
"Oh no, I will save my father!" she exclaimed; "save him from worse than death! Let us fly together at once," she continued; "no, not together, I would cumber60 your flight; but make your escape, O my father, from this wicked court, this barbarous king, this life which, to a son of Hadassah, must be misery61 and bondage62 indeed! Oh, fly, fly; be safe, be free; be again what you were once! it is not too late! it is not too late!" There was intense delight to Zarah in the new-born hope that she might draw her wretched parent from this den15 of infamy63, this pit of destruction.
Pollux was startled by the sudden suggestion. "Whither could I fly?" asked the renegade gloomily.
"To Judas Maccabeus, our hero," cried Zarah; "his camp is the rallying-place for all fugitives64 from oppression."
"Maccabeus!" exclaimed Pollux; "he would loathe--would spurn65 an apostate!"
"Oh no, he would never spurn the father of Zarah," cried the maiden, for once realizing and exulting66 in the secret power which she exercised over the leader of the Hebrews; "Judas would welcome you, his brave companions would welcome, coming as you would come to redeem67 the past by devoting your sword to your country! God would receive you; and Hadassah," continued Zarah, her enthusiasm kindling68 into rapture69 as she went on, "Hadassah, in her joy, her ecstasy70, would forget all her grief--the thought of her long-lost son being with Maccabeus would enable her almost to rejoice at her Zarah being--with God."
"Impossible, impossible," muttered Pollux, rising from his seat as if to depart; but Zarah detected indecision in his tone. She threw herself at his feet, she clasped his knees, she pleaded with passionate51 fervour, for she deemed that a parent's life and soul were at stake.
"Oh, father, if you would but consent to leave for ever this horrible, horrible place, to return to your people, your mother, your God, I feel as if I could die happy, so happy; we should then meet again in a brighter world, all, all re-united, and for ever!"
It was as the voice of his guardian71 angel--as if his once fondly-loved wife had been suffered to visit Abner in mortal form, to counsel, warn, entreat72; to tell him that there yet might be mercy for him if he would but turn and repent73! There was a terrific struggle in the renegade's mind. He could not at once decide on taking so bold and sudden a leap as that to which he was urged, though conscious of the peril as well as misery of his present position at the court. As the deer, driven by wolves to the precipice's brink74, hesitates on making the plunge75 down--though it give him the only chance of escape from the ravening76 jaws77 of his fierce pursuers--so hesitated the wretched Pollux.
He would have felt no indecision had he known that, at the very time when Zarah was pleading in tears at his feet, Antiochus was signing, in the presence of the exulting Lysimachus, a warrant for the execution of Pollux on the morrow. His rival had succeeded in working his ruin; the only door of safety yet open to the apostate was that towards which his child, with fervent78 entreaties79, was trying to draw him; shortly--little dreamed Pollux how shortly--that door of safety would be closed. Unable to form a sudden resolution, to come to a prompt decision, seeing difficulties and dangers on every side, fearing to remain where he was, yet afraid to fly, Pollux wasted the precious time yet given him, he let the golden moments escape. In a state of strong excitement, he at length quitted his daughter's presence, to seek that solitude80 in which his perturbed81 mind might become sufficiently82 calm to form a judgment83 which must be as the pivot84 upon which his whole future life would turn. Pollux left Zarah still on her knees, nor did she rise when he had torn himself from her clinging arms and left the apartment. When the daughter could no longer plead with, she pleaded for, her father--she implored85 that grace and wisdom might be given to him at this momentous86 crisis. There was no more sleep for Zarah on that eventful night.
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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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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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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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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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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apostate
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| n.背叛者，变节者 | |
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sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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requite
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| v.报酬，报答 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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apostasy
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| n.背教，脱党 | |
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nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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munificent
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| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
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bounteous
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| adj.丰富的 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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pervert
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| n.堕落者，反常者；vt.误用，滥用；使人堕落，使入邪路 | |
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sophistry
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| n.诡辩 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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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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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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cumber
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| v.拖累，妨碍；n.妨害；拖累 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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spurn
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| v.拒绝，摈弃；n.轻视的拒绝；踢开 | |
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exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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ravening
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| a.贪婪而饥饿的 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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83
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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84
pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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85
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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