One evening, towards the hour of sunset, Zarah sat alone at her wheel awaiting the return of Anna from the city, she was startled by the sound of a hand rapping hastily upon the panel of the door. The hand was assuredly not that of Anna, who, from precaution, had adopted a peculiar1 way of tapping to announce her return. As no visitor ever came to Zarah's dwelling2, it was no marvel3 that she felt alarm at the unexpected sound, especially as she was aware that she had neglected her usual precaution of barring the door during the absence of Anna. As Zarah hastily rose to repair her omission4, the door was opened from without, and Lycidas stood before her. The countenance5 of the Greek expressed anxiety and alarm.
"Lady, forgive the intrusion," said Lycidas, bending in lowly salutation before the startled girl; "but regard for your safety compels me to seek this interview. I was to-day in company with Lysimachus, the Syrian courtier--how we chanced to be together, or wherefore he mentioned to me what I am about to disclose, matters little, and I would be brief. Lysimachus told me that, from information which he had received--how, I know not--he had cause to suspect that the maiden6 who some half-year back had been sentenced by the king to death if she refused to apostatize from her faith, was living secluded8 in a dwelling amongst the hills to the east of the city. The Syrian declared that he was resolved to-morrow morn to explore thoroughly9 every spot which could possibly afford a place of concealment10 to the maiden--whom he intends to seize and send as a prisoner into Persia, to the merciless tyrant11 whom he serves."
Zarah turned very pale at the tidings, and leaned on her wheel for support.
"You must fly to-night, dearest lady," said Lycidas; "this dwelling is no longer a safe asylum12 for you."
"Whither can I fly, and how?" murmured the orphan13 girl. "I have no friend here except"--Zarah hesitated, and Lycidas completed the sentence.
"Except one to whom your lightest wish is a command; to whom every hair of your head is dearer than life!" exclaimed the Athenian.
"Speak not thus to me, Lycidas," said Zarah, in a tone of entreaty14; "you know too well the impassable barrier which divides us."
"Not impassable, Zarah," cried the Greek; "it has been thrown down, I have trampled15 over it, and it separates us no longer. Hear me, O daughter of Abraham! Much have I learned since last I stood on this threshold; deeply have I studied your Scriptures16; long have I secretly conversed17 with the wise and learned who could instruct me in your faith. I am now persuaded that there is no God but one God--He who revealed Himself to Abraham: I have renounced18 every heathen superstition19; I have in all things conformed to the law of Moses; I have been formally received as a proselyte into the Jewish Church; and am now, like Achor the Ammonite, in everything save name and birth, a Hebrew."
Zarah could not refrain from uttering an exclamation20 of delight. Her whole countenance suddenly lighted up with an expression of happiness, which was reflected on that of him who stood before her--for in that blissful moment Lycidas felt that he must be beloved.
"Oh, joy!" cried Zarah, clasping her hands. "Then have you also embraced the Holy Covenant21, and you are numbered amongst the children of Abraham! Then may I look upon you as a brother indeed!"
"Can you not look upon me as something more than a brother, Zarah?" exclaimed the Athenian. "Why should you not fly--since you needs must fly from this dangerous spot--under the protection, the loving, devoted22 care, of an affianced husband?"
Zarah flushed, trembled, covered her face with her hands, and sank, rather than seated herself, upon the divan23 from which she had risen on hearing the knock of the Greek. Lycidas ventured to seat himself beside the young maiden, take one of her unresisting hands and press it first to his heart, then to his lips--for he read consent in the silence of Zarah.
But the maiden had none of the calm tranquillity24 of happiness; she felt bewildered, doubtful of herself; again she covered her face and murmured, "Oh, that my mother were here to guide me!"
"Hadassah would not have spurned25 a proselyte whom the elders have received; she was too large-minded, too just," said Lycidas, disappointed and somewhat mortified26 at the doubts which evidently disturbed the mind of the maiden. "Listen to the plan which I have formed for your escape, my Zarah. I have already made arrangements with the trusty Joab. He will bring a horse-litter an hour after dark to bear you and your handmaid hence; I will accompany you as your armed and mounted attendant. We will direct our course to the coast. At Joppa we shall, I hope, find a vessel27, borne forward by whose white wings we shall soon reach my own beautiful and glorious land, where love, freedom, and happiness, shall await my fair Hebrew bride!"
For some moments Zarah made no reply; how tempting28 was the vista29 thus suddenly opened before her--radiant with rosy30 light, like those seen in the clouds at sunrise! Then Zarah uncovered her face, but without raising it, or venturing to look at Lycidas, she said, in a voice that trembled with emotion, "Hadassah, my mother, would have deemed it unseemly for a maiden thus to flee from her country to a land where her God is not known and worshipped, and under the protection of one who is none of her kindred."
"I thought that you had no kindred, Zarah," said Lycidas, with uneasiness; "that you had none left of your family whose guardianship31 you could seek."
"I have--or had--an aged32 relative, Rachel of Bethsura," replied Zarah, "who, if she be yet living, will assuredly receive me into her home. But my next of kin7 are the Asmonean brothers."
"The noblest family in the land!" exclaimed the Athenian. "If it be indeed impossible for you to escape with me into Greece--"
"Not impossible, but wrong," said Zarah, softly; "it would be disobeying what I know would have been the will of her whose wishes are more sacred to me now than ever."
"Then be mine in your own land," cried Lycidas, "where I may show that I merit to win you. Will the noble Judas and his brothers deem me unworthy to unite with one of their race if I devote my sword to the cause of which they are the champions--a cause as glorious as that for which my ancestor died at Marathon?"
Still the cloud of doubt did not pass from the fair brow of Zarah. There was a difficulty in her mind which she shrank from disclosing to Lycidas. At last she timidly said, her cheeks glowing crimson33 as she spoke34, "Shall I be candid35 with you, Lycidas? shall I tell all--as to a brother?"
"All, all," replied the Athenian, with painful misgiving36 at his heart.
"Beloved Hadassah is at rest, I can hear her dear voice no more, but--but I am not ignorant of what were her views and wishes," said Zarah. "I believe--indeed I know"--Zarah could hardly speak distinctly enough, in her confusion, for the strained ear of Lycidas to catch her words--"she had destined37 me for another; I am not quite certain whether I be not even betrothed38."
Lycidas could not refrain from a passionate39 outburst. "It was wicked--cruel--infamous," he cried, "to dispose of your hand without your consent!"
"Such words must never be applied40 to aught that she did," said Zarah. "The revered41 mother ever consulted the happiness as well as the honour of her child. She would never have urged upon me any marriage from which my heart revolted, but she let me know her wishes. And the very last day that we were together"--tears flowed fast from under Zarah's long drooping42 lashes43 as she went on--"on that fatal day, ere I left her to attend the Passover feast, Hadassah charged me, by the love that I bore to her, never to take any important step in life without at least consulting him in whom she felt assured that I should find my best earthly protector."
"And who may this chosen individual be?" asked Lycidas, almost fiercely; a pang44 of jealousy45 stirring in his breast as he demanded the name of his rival.
Zarah murmured, "Judas Maccabeus."
"Judas Maccabeus!" exclaimed the young Greek, starting to his feet, more alarmed at the sound of that name than had been the warriors46 of Nicanor, when hearing it suddenly at night in the death-shout. Lycidas, with all the enthusiastic admiration48 which noble deeds inspire in a poetic49 and generous nature like his, had regarded the career of the Hebrew hero. The history of Maccabeus was to the Greek an acted epic50; in character, in renown51, Judas, in his estimation, towered like a giant above all other men of his generation. Lycidas had met the chieftain but once; but in that one meeting had received impressions which made him idealize Maccabeus into a being more like the demi-gods of whom poets sang, whom worshippers adored, than one of the denizens52 of earth. He was in the eyes of the young enthusiast47, conqueror53, patriot54, and prince--a breathing embodiment of "the heroism55 of virtue56." The Greek had never thought of Maccabeus before as one subject to human passions, save love of country, and perhaps love of fame; or as one influenced by human affections, who might seek to win a woman's heart as well as to triumph over his foes57. The idea of having him for a rival struck the young Athenian with something like despair; it seemed more than presumption58 to enter the arena59 against such an opponent as this. Lycidas believed that, had Antiochus Epiphanes laid the crown of Syria at the feet of Zarah, she would have rejected the gift; but breathed there a maiden in Judaea who could do aught but accept with pride the proffered60 hand of her country's hero--of him who was to all other mortals as snow-capped Lebanon to a mole-hill?
Zarah felt that her disclosure had inspired more alarm in the mind of Lycidas than she had intended, or than was warranted by the true state of the relations between her and the Hebrew leader. She hastened to relieve the apprehensions61 of the Greek. "I reverence62 Maccabeus," said the maiden; "I would repose63 the greatest confidence alike in his wisdom and his honour; but, personally, Judas is no more to me than any of his brothers."
Lycidas drew a deep sigh of relief. Grateful for the encouragement which he drew from this avowal64, the Greek resumed his place by the side of Zarah. "What course will you then pursue towards Maccabeus?" he inquired.
"I must consult him, as Hadassah bade me consult him," said the maiden: "he must know all that most nearly concerns me; it seems to me as if he stood to me now in the place of a father."
The spirits of Lycidas rose at the word; again his heart was buoyant with hope.
"Our first object now, beloved one," said he, "must be to place your person in safety. As you will not seek refuge in Attica, we will bend our course southward--if such be your wish--and find out your aged relative at Bethsura. I would fain that she dwelt in any other direction; for Bethsura itself holds a Syrian garrison65, the army of Lysias is advancing, and southern Judaea is so infested66 by armed bands that travelling is scarcely safe. Have you no friends, no relatives, in Galilee, or on the sea-coast?"
Zarah shook her head. "I know not of one," she replied. "Rachel dwells not in Bethsura but near it, and in a spot so retired67 that the enemy is scarcely likely to find it out. If the country be infested by armed bands--they are the followers68 of Maccabeus, and from them we have nothing to dread69."
Though Lycidas was not a little disappointed at having to give up his first scheme--that of bearing off Zarah to the coast, and thence to Attica--he could not but respect her scruples70, and own that the course upon which she had decided71 was not only the most dutiful but the most wise. It was agreed therefore that Zarah, under the escort of Lycidas, should start at the hour which the Greek had first proposed; but that, instead of Joppa, her destination should be Bethsura--at which place, by travelling all night, she might hope to arrive before dawn.
While Zarah was concluding these arrangements with Lycidas, Anna returned from Jerusalem. The face of the faithful servant expressed anxiety; a warning dropped in her ear by a Hebrew acquaintance had rendered her uneasy on account of her mistress. "Beware! dogs are on the scent72 of the deer." Heartily73 glad was the handmaid to find that the Athenian lord had come to aid the escape of Zarah; his talents, his courage, the gold which he so lavishly74 spent, would, as she thought, clear away all difficulties attending their flight.
The Greek soon left the lady and her attendant to make needful preparations for a journey so sudden and unexpected as that which was before them.
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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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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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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secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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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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candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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39
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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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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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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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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46
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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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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epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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52
denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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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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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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lavishly
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| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
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