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I will now proceed to relate to your majesty the
interesting circumstances connected with my visit to the
venerable Seer of Israel. While the armor-bearer of
the Hebrew prince was in the palace, the people, in great
numbers, gathered about us and hailed with glad voices
of loud acclamation their king's son, whom many recognizing
had pointed out to all others.

What with his distinguished presence among them,
and the curiosity excited by my Assyrian guard of young
nobles in their cuirasses of gold, silver saddle bows, and
rich scarlet cloth-housings, and, above all, their beautiful
Persian horses, the scene around me was exciting and novel.

“Long live our prince!” cried one.

“May he soon be our king!” said another, boldly.

“Nay, this is treason, my friends!” exclaimed Jonathan,
looking round sternly and rebuking them with flashing
eyes, “you speak like traitors to your king who use such
language. You mean well, but I cannot hear it!” he
added, more gently, as he perceived that they were
abashed and humbled.

At this moment the gate of the court opened, and the

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prince's armor-bearer, Heleph, reappeared, accompanied
by the steward of the palace, an aged man attired in a
loose gray robe, and with snow-white hair and a flowing
beard. He approached Jonathan with courtesy, and
said, at the same time saluting me in a marked manner:

“The prophet, my master, desires me to conduct you,
my lords, to his presence.”

We followed him into the court-yard, which was enclosed
by corridors, and with a fountain in its centre,
while tall palms grew from the midst of the court, the
broad tops of which effectually shaded its pavement from
the sun. The columns were crumbling with age, and
covered with moss or half concealed by neglected vines.
The house had for three hundred years been the abode
of the Judges; and when Samuel gave up his authority
from the weight of years and infirmities, after he had
passed threescore and ten, he still retained it as his
abode, but resigned two others belonging to the Judges,
at Gilgal and Mizpeh, to the king. Here had dwelt for
a time Samson, the mighty destroyer of the Philistines;
here Deborah, and here nearly all the stern, old warriors
and famous Judges of the land.

Crossing the paved inner court, and ascending a flight
of stone stairs, the steward preceded us along a gallery
to a spacious chamber that was placed immediately over
the gateway through which we had entered. The door
was ajar. The steward knocked softly, and a voice
within bade us enter. We obeyed, and stood in the presence
of the man of God!

I beheld before me, seated by the window which threw
its light upon a table beneath it covered with parchments,
a man of august and venerable aspect. Large and

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majestic in person, stooping a little with great age, he presented
the ideal of the father of gods as I have often
conceived his appearance in imagination. He was elevated
a little above the floor upon a sort of carved throne,
or chair of state, of ancient workmanship, once the tribunal
of the old Judges, robed in a rich garment of
woolen, dyed a dark crimson, over which was the ephod
or sacred mantle of the Hebrews. About his waist was
a girdle of linen, and he wore a full white tunic, fringed,
and similar to what I have seen upon the chief of the
Levites! Upon his head was a small blue cap, worn to
supply the loss of his snow-white hair, a few thin locks
of which curled down about his neck like shining threads
of silver. His majestic face was one on which heaven
had impressed the seal of the highest expression of humanity.
Upon his lofty forehead authority sat enthroned
as upon her native seat. His awful eye-brows, stiff and
black as night, not a single hair turned gray thereon,
hung like a crag above his imperious eyes, lending to
them a depth and power inconceivably grand and impressive!
Their fire was not dimmed, nor their piercing
regards dulled by his great age; but rather his soul
seemed to be concentrated in their light with star-like
brightness. His high, arched nose indicated a strong
and resolute character, firm and bold; while the proud and
commanding air of his closed mouth bore testimony to a
life of rule and absolute power over men, leaving its record
there as if chiseled in marble.

Withal, I fancied I could discover a certain elevated,
chastened, and divine expression on his features, caught
from frequent communion as the oracle of his people,
face to face with his God! Time, while it had softened,

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had not wholly removed from his noble features a certain
sternness and awful severity which sufficiently betrayed
the former absolute dictator, powerful Judge, haughty
prophet, and imperious priest. He looked, perhaps, like
all he had been, only tempered by the veil of repose,
with which Old Age ever invests her children.

At his feet, seated upon cushions before low tables,
were two scribes in blue cassocks and white linen robes
which came down to the sandal. They were engaged, as
we entered, with pens of reed in taking down from his lips
words dictated by him to them. Now the two youths were
suspending their labor and were gazing upon us; for our
entrance had interrupted the prophet in his work. I saw
freshly written “Shopeteim,” or “Judges,” at the head
of one of the parchments before them. All around the
room, which I subsequently learned had once been the hall
of Judgment, were many seats arranged, and tablets on
stands placed before them; but they were all unoccupied.
There was no sort of ornament on the walls, no decoration
of any kind; on the contrary, an air of desolation
and decay reigned over all. The very palace itself
seemed to sympathize in the decadence, in the person of
their present aged and reverend occupant, of the long
and brilliant succession of warrior-Judges!

The Seer, upon beholding the son of Saul enter, smiled
with that benignity which so becomes old age, and extending
his hand to him, said,

“Welcome, Jonathan, my son! I am too infirm to
rise—”

“Not to me, holy father, not to a youth like me,” interrupted
the prince, kneeling reverently and kissing
the hand of the Seer with the profoundest respect and

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affection. “I rejoice you are so well, and that our God
has so long spared your excellency to us!”

“But my days,” he answered gently, “will soon come
to a close, my child! But God will take care of his
people Israel, and accomplish the work for which he has
raised them up and made them a great nation.”

“I would, my lord, that the king and thyself were
friends. My father truly grieves at the past! It is
breaking his great heart! He mourns until his mind is
fearfully dark, and his words and acts strange. Entreat
the Lord our God for him, O father!”

“Nay,” answered the Seer, his brows bending sternly,
and a light of displeasure kindling in the deeper darkness
beneath them. “He must bear the judgment of
God as all men must who transgress his laws. I am
grieved to hear of thy father's sad condition. I have no
power to help him, my son! The will of God will be
done on earth, and no man can hinder the work of His
hand or oppose the decrees of His word gone forth.
None shall let or hinder Him! Thou, my child, art innocent,
and I know good and pious at heart. But it is the
unchangeable law of sin that the innocent offspring shall
suffer for the guilt of their fathers.”

“I bow in submission to the law of my God,” answered
Jonathan humbly, his voice tremulous and low, still
kneeling before the Seer.

“Thou hast forgotten, my son, the stranger who came
in with thee!” said Isamel, regarding me with fixed observation.

“Pardon me, my venerable father, I thought only of
my unhappy parent;” he said, rising. “This is the
most noble Arbaces, a Prince of the court of Assyria,

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and cousin to its great King Belus, who is on his way as
an ambassador to the court of Pharaoh; but, passing
through Judea, seeks your presence to make known to
you the respect his monarch entertains for your excellency,
and to ask of you from him certain questions.”

I advanced, as Jonathan thus formally presented me,
and bent my knee before the august and awful Seer,
whose looks and manner deeply impressed me, saying,

“May your mighty God, who reveals himself in glorious
majesty, bless and honor your highness above all
wise men on earth, and preserve you in peace and health
many years to come! I consider myself happy, venerable
Seer, to have the honor of seeing, face to face, the
mighty prophet of the Hebrews, whose fame has long
since reached the court of Nineveh. Permit me to present
the congratulations of my king, and his kind wishes
for the prosperity and glory of your nation.”

“I thank thee and thy great king, young prince, and
in return wish him health and peace, and the wisdom of
the knowledge of the true God, who is Jehovah, King of
kings, and Lord of the whole earth, and Maker of all
men, whose aged servant I am permitted to be.” Then
regarding me attentively, he inquired, “How long hast
thou been in this land?”

“It is not quite one month, your highness, since I left
the banks of the Tigris,” I replied, rising from my knee.
“I have been nearly half that time in your beautiful and
abundant land, every step in which I have been interested.”

“I trust you will find your visit in Judea agreeable,”
he courteously answered.

The venerable Seer then invited me to sojourn with

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him a few days, saying, pleasantly, he could not give me
princely entertainment, but that if I would fare as he
did and the school of the prophets under his roof, I
should be a welcome guest.

After some further interesting conversation with the
august Hebrew, whose presence more and more impressed
me with awe and respect, the steward conducted me to
a chamber along the corridor. As I proceeded thither,
I perceived in a second or interior court, which also contained
a garden, several youths and young men in dark
tunics and caps, variously engaged. Some were walking
up and down the terrace reading from leaves of parchment,
others conversing, others engaged in exercise; and
three or four in copying with a stylus, beneath a tamarind
tree.

“Who are these, and what is their pursuit?” I asked
of the steward, having left the prince conversing still
about the king his father, and the menacing invasion of
the Philistines.

“This is the `School of the Prophets,' my lord,” answered
the old man. “Has not the fame thereof reached
thy land?”

To avoid making a reply, which might wound the kind
old servitor's national pride, I inquired the number of
the young men.

“Seventy, your highness. That is the sacred number,
neither more nor less. When one leaves, another
enters. This school was founded forty years ago by
Samuel, (in that the sons of Eli proved so evil,) that the
prophets of the people might be piously instructed in
their holy duties.”

After I had found my chamber, and seen and talked

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with Ninus my armor-bearer, who informed me that my
body-guard were well cared for, I walked along the corridor
to observe the young candidates for the high office of
prophets of God. They all seemed to be happy, and by
their appearance to come from among the best families
of the land; though here and there was one with less refinement
than his companions, and evidently from a more
rustic district. There was one youth of singular grace
and beauty of person, who was reading by the fountain,
and wholly absorbed in what he studied, whose appearance
greatly pleased me.

While I was observing him, a trumpet sounded a few
brisk notes, and all the young men left their pursuits, and
crossing the court entered a door beneath the portico
and disappeared. The handsome young student, not
hearing the signal at first, was the last to go in. Prince
Jonathan at this moment stood by my side. He had
just left the presence of the Seer. His face wore a
profound aspect of sadness that was very touching.
But seeing my look of sympathy, he gently smiled and
said,

“Do not let my sorrows render you sad, my lord. I
had hoped that I could appeal successfully for a blessing
on my father, and prosperity to his arms in the war!
But it is the will of Jehovah that he shall not prosper!
What am I to oppose God? I do not blame at all the
holy prophet. He has but uttered what God commanded.
He sincerely mourns for my father, and pities
him, even while he is firm in his purpose to see him no
more! But we will not speak on this subject. How
grand the prospect from this terrace! I perceive you
were admiring it. From yonder height of Mount

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Ephraim you can see, in certain conditions of the atmosphere,
the Great Middle Sea, beyond the illimitable horizon of
which all is a mystery and marvel to mankind!”

“This prospect is varied and beautiful,” I answered;
“but my attention was fixed upon the court below, which
a moment since was filled with young men, who have just
entered beneath the portico by that palm tree.”

“You have seen the disciples of the prophet,” he said,
“This is the School of Seers for the nation! It is a
high privilege to be admitted into it. Here they are
taught by seven of the wisest Rabbiis of the nation, each
gifted with the spirit of prophecy, knowledge of the law,
and of all religious duties and holy rites; and they also
know the mystery of communing with God, the highest
privilege of man! This school is supported by the gifts
of the people. The youths have now gone in to their
noon-day meal. The place is free to all. Will you accompany
me?”

I gladly accepted his companionship; and, descending
the terrace into the garden, he first pointed out to me the
rooms occupied by the young men. They were perfectly
plain, with a lion or leopard's skin laid upon the
tiled floor for a bed, a bench, and pitcher for water, and
an iron lamp: this was all their furniture. Entering the
hall I saw the whole company standing around a long,
narrow table, upon which were set earthen vessels of
bread, cups of water, and lentils, with dried fruit in
abundance. This was their frugal fare, but they partook
of it with evident satisfaction. At the head of the table
was another one much shorter, by which also stood the
seven noble-looking Teachers of the School of Prophets.
I looked for the young man whose fine appearance had

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so struck me when in the court, but could not discover
him. After they had ended their humble meal, a signal
was given and one of the Rabbiis commenced to chant.
The young men responded all in one voice till the roof
rung again. The second Rabbi recited a part, and the
seventy youths answered antiphonally as before; and
thus seven verses were nobly hymned to their God in
fine manly voices, and with the most wonderful melody.

They now, at another signal, formed in line and marched
at a slow movement along the hall, mounted a broad
flight of stairs and entered a large upper apartment
around which they arranged themselves in attitudes of
reverence. At the upper end, upon a platform covered
with blue cloth, the seven prophet-teachers took their
seats. Then a door opened and the venerable Seer came
in from his chamber. All rose, crossing their hands
upon their breasts, and bowed with affectionate respect.
He took his seat just above the seven sub-prophets, and
opening a roll of parchment which he held, he proceeded
to read from it, to his attentive audience, a treatise upon
the moral obligations of all men to love one another as
children of the same common Father. He closed with
enforcing the virtues of purity, truth, temperance, and
industry, and reminding them of the omnipresence of
their God, who judged men by their hearts.

When he had concluded this beautiful essay, seven
young men came forward and took their stand by a sort
of choir-desk, where stood a harp and several smaller
musical instruments, such as the sackbut, psaltery,
trumpet, cornet, and ten stringed lute.

The young man who had so attracted my attention I
now saw leave one of the seats where he had been out

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of view, and go to the harp, over which he ran his fingers
as a prelude to one of the most sublime and torching
pieces I ever listened to. The prince no sooner fastened
his eyes upon him than, with an exclamation of surprise
and pleasure, he made a half spring forward as if to address
him! but this impulse he instantly checked, saying,

“It is the young shepherd of Bethlehem!”

He stood up and eagerly regarded him with the most
friendly interest, like one who suddenly discovers a very
dear friend. I could not ask him any questions, I was
so rapt with the performance of this beautiful youth upon
the harp, and with the rich and harmonious tones of his
voice; for he played but a few passages before he began
to sing a hymn addressed to his God!

How breathless all listened to the magnificent anthem!
How noble and graceful his attitude! how grandly he
strikes the harp strings! How calm and holy his countenance!
How full of adoration his aspect! What a

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light of devotion burns, like altar fires, in his upturned
eyes!

When he had ended, the other players played upon
their instruments their parts; and then the seventy
pupils chanted sublimely theirs; and the Seer, raising his
hands solemnly to heaven, spoke a sublime recitative to
his God; when all, harp, cymbals, trumpet, and voices,
united in one mighty swell of praise.

I was overpowered by my sensations! My heart was
dissolved within me already by the sweet melody of the
youthful harper. Tears came into my eyes! Harmony
of sounds had never before impressed me so and moved
my soul!

The Seer now spread out his hands and blessed them;
and shortly afterwards the students retired, not in procession,
but leisurely, conversing with each other and
their teachers. Several approached the Prince Jonathan,
and with great demonstrations of affectionate respect
saluted him.

“Who,” I asked him, “is the youth who played so
wonderfully upon the harp?”

“I am now going to embrace him!” he answered.
“Will you come with me, my lord Arbaces? See, he
advances!”

“David!”

“My friend and prince!”

These mutual exclamations were followed by a warm
meeting between the harpist and the son of King Saul;
the last speaking with ardent and delighted feeling, the
former with modest diffidence, yet with evident strong
attachment to his prince.

“How long hast thou been in the School of the

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Prophets?” asked the king's son, releasing him from his
embrace. “I believed thou wert still at Bethlehem!”

“I have been here but a few weeks, noble prince,”
answered the humble youth, with looks full of friendship,
if not of love, for this amiable and warm-hearted young
man of high rank. “The holy prophet, Samuel, sent
for me to come hither to study, and I have obeyed him.
I estimate deeply this privilege of knowing books, and
being versed in the wisdom of this far-famed seat of
sacred learning.”

“I rejoice at it, my dear David! Here you should be!
You know, as well as do I, your high destiny, God-elected!
It becomes you to be here to prepare yourself therefor!”

This was said in a tone that was unconsciously sad.
The youth pressed his hand, and without a word, (for
both their hearts seemed full from the presence of a common
thought,) they walked away together hand clasped
in hand! I followed them with deep interest with my
eyes, and a desire to learn more of the noble and beautiful
boy, for scarcely was he twenty years of age, who
seemed to be so loved by the kind prince.

The Hall of Praise and of Prayer was now deserted by
all, save the Seer, towards whom I advanced, as he
seemed to await me.

“Come with me into my chamber, my lord of Nineveh,”
he said, with an air of venerable courtesy. “Since
the prince and the youthful shepherd, David, are gone
away together, you will be left alone for a time. I will
now give thee audience, and hear thee in behalf of the
request made by your prince.”

I passed an hour with the man of God. The awe I
at first experienced in his presence was not lessened,

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while a profound feeling of filial affection became mingled
with it. He won my heart while he continued to
command its deepest and most reverential homage. I
will, when I return to Nineveh, your majesty, reveal to
you his answer to your inquiries. We spoke of the Hebrew
king. This led to an allusion by me, not without
hesitation lest I should be venturing on forbidden ground,
to his malady. He said, gravely:—

“You will find Saul, O prince, an unhappy monarch!
The spirit of God has departed from him for his impiety
and disobedience. He is a man to be pitied. His sceptre
will soon be taken from him, and be given to him
whom God has anointed.”

Here the Seer paused, and turning to the table took
up a parchment-roll closely written. As he saw me look
with curiosity at several other scrolls, and glance at those
upon the desks where the two scribes had been writing,
he said:—

“I perceive you possess a mind which takes pleasure
in investigation. These parchments contain in progress
the history of the three hundred and ninety years of the
rule of the Judges from Joshua to myself, the last of
the Judges of Israel! In the roll upon the shelf above
the table is the book of Joshua, written by himself
up to within a few days of his death, and completed
by me. The five large scrolls with purple covers, in the
niche by the window, comprise the Five Books written by
our great law-giver, Moses. They are our sacred Records,
and the seal of God to them bears testimony to
their truth as the voice and word of Jehovah! That
small scroll in a silver case is a history written by the
young man who performed upon the harp with such skill.

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It is called the “Story of Ruth,” who was the mother
of his grandfather! It was written by him in his nineteenth
year at Bethlehem, at my request, in order to
preserve the genealogy of his family. It is a poem of
great beauty, for the youth is, by nature as well as by
divine inspiration, a true poet!”

“I am already interested in the young harpist, my
lord,” I answered, “and, with your permission, I will read
his book.”

The Seer kindly gave me the permission. There entered
at this moment one of the seven prophets or teachers
of the school, whom I had noticed while in the “Hall
of Praise,” from the remarkable intelligence of his face,
and a certain air of independence and courage by no
means unbefitting one who was to be a censor of evil
men, as all prophets must be. He acknowledged my
presence with a slight but respectful bow, and was going
to the shelves for a book when the Seer said to him,

“Nathan, my son, place in the hands of the Prince of
Assyria the Book of Ruth: and if you have time transcribe
a copy for him. He desires to know all he can
of our polity, religion, and literature, during his short
sojourn in our land! As you are familiar with these
subjects, I desire you to attend him for a time, and afford
the prince whatever information he may require.”

I thanked the venerable prophet for this favor; and
the young teacher, after giving me the book, said with a
pleasant smile, “It will gratify me to be of service to
your highness.”

The Seer then retired to an inner closet or oratory,
where he was accustomed to pray, and closing the door
left us in the Judgment hall. I passed two hours

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examining the manuscripts therein, some of which were richly
illuminated with brilliantly colored headings to the chapters.
The polite teacher then led me along the terrace
to a room, which contained copies of nearly all the books
ever written in the known world: Egyptian, Assyrian,
Phœnician, Indic, Arabian, Babylonian, and parchments
from the land of Tarshish, in the farthest cast, and from
the Isles of Grecia in the farthest west, which, in his life
of nearly ninety years, the learned Seer had gathered
by means of merchants and travelers, often offering to
chiefs of caravans large sums in gold for books from
strange countries!

“And is there in your seminary of the prophets any
one so learned as to be able to read these parchments in
their own languages?” I asked, holding in my hand a
massive volume bound between rolled-out plates of silver,
and written in beautiful but strange characters.

“No one but the prophet our president,” he answered;
“He has the knowledge of all the tongues within them!
That book you hold in your hand is an Arabic book,
treating upon the stars, from the land of Idumea, the
chief city of which is wonderfully cut out of the side of
a mountain. You perceive, graven upon the silver cover,
a picture of that city!”

From this “Chamber of Wisdom,” as it is called, we
walked along the corridor, as he intended to show me
the view of the Great Sea westward, which I had expressed
a curiosity to behold. We passed a column in
crossing the garden which seemed to be a monument to
the dead. Seeing me observe it and admire its carved
plinth, and the symmetry of its form, he said,

“That is the only remaining pillar of a great temple

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to the dragon god Bel, which once stood where this old
palace of the Judges is placed. It was destroyed by our
fathers, all but this column, which Joshua commanded
to be left as a memorial of the gigantic architecture of
the powerful nation of idol worshipers he had conquered.
It is now still more famous as the tomb of the mighty
Samson, once a Judge and prophet in Israel, as well as
a warrior!”

“I have already, to-day, read,” I answered, “in the
parchments of the Seer, a narrative of this Hebrew hero,
who perished, I believe, about seventy or eighty years
ago by pulling down a vast theatre upon the heads of his
enemies, destroying them all with himself!”

“Yes! He was the strongest, though not the largest
of all men, and nobly died avenging himself upon the
foes who had put his eyes out in sport. His body was
subsequently recovered from the ruins, and buried by
the side of this column, which has now become his monument.
When he was a Judge of the people, he dwelt
here two years of the time; and one morning, after a
slight shock of an earthquake during the preceding
night, he saw that this column leaned over so that it
threatened each moment to fall and crush beneath it
that wing of the palace. In the presence of the Seventy
Elders, his council, and the governor of the city, and
many others, he came down, and placing his hand against
it, with one effort of his mighty strength, he restored it
to its level, upright as you behold it now! When,
therefore, he perished between the columns of the house
of the Philistines, it was deemed fitting that he should
rest here; and now it is called no longer `Dagon's Pillar,
' but the `Pillar of Samson.”'

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We now passed a series of rooms which the young
prophet informed me were the apartments of the women
of the families of the former Judges. “There,” he said,
pointing to a spacious room now tenantless and ruinous,
“the courageous prophetess Deborah had her lodgings.
In that door she stood when she made known to the Hebrew
Judge and general, Barak, God's command for him
to attack the barbaric Canaanites, who held a portion of
our nation in bondage. When he refused to go for fear
of their great army, she indignantly cried,”

“Wilt thou have me to go with you?”

“Is not God with thee?” he answered. “Come with
my army and I will meet Sisera and all his hosts; but
if thou remainest behind, I will not stir horse or foot
from mount Tabor where my army lies.” The prophetess
put her ephod upon her shoulders, and taking only
her sacred wand, marched forth with him. Sisera, a
brave and experienced, though youthful general, was
defeated and losing his chariot in the battle, fled on foot,
and was taken and slain by a woman called Jael, to whose
tent he came for shelter.

“I have also read that narration,” I answered, “in
the writings of your Seer.”

“You will then recollect that she cut off his head with
her own hand. It was sent hither to the prophetess
Deborah, and laid by the messenger upon this stone by the
door; but she humanely commanded it to be sent back
and buried with his body, which, at her request, Barak
had conveyed to his mother who, from her lattice, was
waiting his return as a conqueror, when she beheld approaching
his headless body brought back upon a bier
of boughs.”

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“When did this heroine live?” I asked of the intelligent
and interesting young prophet.

“About two hundred and fifty years ago. Here is an
apartment,” he continued, “which is invested with pleasing
yet most painfully touching associations. About
one hundred years since, there was a noble and brave
general, whose name was Jeptha. He had a fair daughter,
called Phigenia. Her beauty and gentle character
made her universally beloved. Her warlike father idolized
her, while she returned his fond affection with all
the tendor ardor of a daughter's love. It was a pleasing
sight to see them both together, and witness his prideful
regard as he gazed upon her lovely face, and met the
soft eyes of filial trust and confidence with which she
looked up to him. When he came from the wars she
would be the first to descry, from the tower of his castle,
his tall form and waving crest; and the first, when he
entered the gate of the city where he dwelt, to welcome
him with cries of joy and gratitude at his safe return;
while he would bend over from the saddle and lift her
slender form to his mailed bosom, and kiss her cheeks
with tear-sparkling eyes and words of parental love.
When he reached the palace, she would, with her delicate
fingers, untie the fastenings of his brazen helmet, arrange
his gray locks, and attend to his comfort in the thousand
ways known only to pure and unselfish filial love.

“At length the King of Ammon, who reigned on the
east of Jordan, invaded the land. Jeptha was called
upon by the people to become their leader in the war,
and they invested him with authority as a prince and a
Judge over them: the highest office in the nation. His
daughter was at this time sojourning in Mizpeh at his

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house with her friends. But when he became Judge of
Israel, he forthwith sent her to Ramah with his sister to
make ready this palace, as he intended after the war to
dwell here. For eighteen years, the Philistines had oppressed
our nation and conquered us in every battle, so
that we were in a measure subject to them, and for that
period had no Judge in Israel. The election of so distinguished
a soldier as Jeptha caused great joy; and all
the people sent offerings to Ramah, and also to Gibeah to
repair the houses of the Judges which had been suffered
to fall into desolation.

“The people of Ramah rejoiced that their Judge was
about to make his habitation among them, and gave their
money freely to restore it; and his fair daughter had
soon the palace ready for the reception of her father
when he should return from the field.

“In the meanwhile Jeptha, on the east of Jordan, had
been making preparations to give battle to his adversaries.
On the eve of attacking them, he stood before his
captains, and raising his right hand to God made a
solemn vow, which he sealed by the oath of God, that if
the Lord would give him victory over the army of
Ammon and deliver their adversaries into his hand, on
his return to Mizpeh, whatever came forth out of the
gate of the city to meet him, he would offer it as a burnt-offering
unto the Lord his God! Little did the warlike
father suspect who would meet him. Phigenia, his daughter,
having got this palace all in readiness, and anxious
to hear news from her father, and obtaining none after
three days' suspense, said she would go as far as Mizpeh,
as she could sooner there get tidings from the
land of Ammon whether there had been a battle and her

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father were safe. So she returned with her maidens and
friends to Mizpeh. Hardly had she entered within the
walls of that city, ere a messenger came into the town,
running and saying that a great battle had been fought,
and Jeptha victorious! The next day, from the battlements,
the conqueror, with a small war-worn retinue
attending him, was discerned galloping across the valley
towards the gates. The whole city went out to hail
their deliverer; and as they drew near him, falling back
a little, they let Phigenia advance first to meet him, at
the head of a company of the maidens of Mizpeh with
timbrels and dances.

“When he looked up and saw her, he uttered a great
cry of agony, and leaping off his horse to the ground,
rent his mantle, and covering his face, refused to embrace
her, saying,

“`Alas, my daughter! alas! How camest thou hither
to meet me and to break my heart?' And she said,
(while all stood amazed at his grief,)

“`What grieveth thee, O my father? Art thou not
covered with glory? Has not God blessed thy sword
with victory? I have come forth to meet thee, like a
loving and fond daughter, to hail thee conqueror of
Ammon, when thou hidest thy face and turnest from
me in sorrow! Art thou wounded, O my father, and in
pain?'

“`Wherefore should I not hide my face and weep?'
he answered, gazing upon her with a haggard visage.
`Listen, my child! I vowed a vow to God before the
battle that, if he would deliver Ammon into my hand, I
would sacrifice as a burnt offering to Him, the first object
that met me on my return home! Lo! Thou art

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come, alas, alas, to make thyself the victim! Would
God I had fallen on the field by the sword of Ammon, or
lost the battle with infamy, ere my eyes beheld thee
here! But I have sworn to God thy death, and thou
must die!'

“Then all the people with the maidens lifted up their
voices and wept sore at these dread words; but the
lovely Phigenia, with a firm voice though with a marble
face, said,

“`My father, if thou hast sworn, thou canst not forswear
thine oath! Do with me according to thy vow! Hath
not the Lord given thee victory over thine enemies, thus
accepting thine oath? And wilt thou withhold the sacrifice,
or shall I the victim? No, my noble father! I am
ready to die—to have purchased thereby this victory of
my country and the glory of thine arms!'

“`Ah, dearly purchased by thy sweet death, my child!'
he answered, falling upon her neck and holding her
lovely and slender form long in silence against his
mailed heart. At length he stood up and said, with
husky words,

“`Thou shalt not die! Heaven will spare my child!'

“`Then what price wilt thou pay back to God, O my
father, for the victory? I am no longer thine, but consecrated
by thy vow to heaven! Better I should meet
my death on the altar of fire than thou shouldst be false
to thine oath on the field of victory.'

“`Yes—there is no hope—none—no—alas! thou must
be slain!' he said sorrowfully. Then suddenly added
firmly,

“`Prepare thyself for the sacrifice, my daughter!'

“`Not now—oh, not here, my father!' she thrillingly

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cried as he drew his sword and made a sign to her to
kneel! `Thine oath named not the hour! I will not
shrink—oh no, I will not shrink from the death! But
spare me two months, O my father, to prepare myself
for the altar of sacrifice!'

“Gladly the poor father caught at this respite and
bade her go, and with her maidens make ready to be
offered up, at the end of that time, a burnt-offering to
God!”

Here the youthful prophet Nathan paused. I had
listened with the deepest and most painful interest to his
narrative.

“Was this beautiful virgin sacrificed by her father?” I
asked.

“Alas, yes!” he answered sadly. “She at once came
hither to stay until the expiration of the two months,
during which time she lodged here in this place with her
friends; save that every day she would go into the groves
of the hills, which you behold near the city, where a holy
prophetess dwelt, and lament in touching songs her fate,
to be doomed to die so young! for life was naturally
dear to her. She also prayed much there, and sought to
consecrate herself with the aid of the prophetess by
prayer and fasting for the sacrifice. At length the day
came for the fulfillment of the dreadful vow made by her
father! He had passed the intervening time in his house
at Mizpeh clothed in sackcloth, and spoke to no man
for nearly three-score days. Then came he hither and
in the little vale which you behold from this angle of the
wall he erected an altar with his own hands. In this room
before you the hapless virgin was attired for the sacrifice
in robes of pure white, wearing on her head a crown

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of white roses. She went firmly forth at the hour of
evening sacrifice, descending with her train of weeping
maidens through the gate of the court below, and so across
the hill which you now see covered with olive-trees, and
thence entered into the vale. By the altar stood the
dark and stern father, his drawn sword in his hand!
He appeared like a marble statue rather than a living
man. Thousands looked on in religious awe from the
walls and hillsides.

“The sweet victim, embracing her young friends, released
herself from their clinging arms, and approaching
her father, would have knelt before him for his blessing;
but he forbade her with a gesture, and said, `Let me
kneel and ask thy forgiveness, O dear lamb, for my rash
vow, and for the deed my hand must do in its fulfillment
this day!'

“He knelt down before her, all the while keeping his
eyes turned away that he might not look on her face,
and she placed gently and lovingly her folded hands
upon his head, and said,

“`I have nothing to forgive my father! I die for my
country's victory, and for thy honor before God and the
people of Israel! Now, farewell!'

“For a moment she rested in his arms, then kissed his
forehead, and gently disengaging herself, with a firm
step ascended the altar. He rose and followed her—tottered
to her side like a man overcome of wine—and as she
kneeled in an attitude of prayer upon the wood laid for
the burnt-offering, he sheathed his glittering sword in her
snow-white bosom; then kindling the fagots with his
torch, he fell to the earth insensible, and lay there as one
dead.”

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[figure description] Page 139.[end figure description]

“It is a sad, sad tale,” I said, perceiving that the
prophet was silent. “Did the father live?”

“He never smiled again! He lived a few melancholy
years, weary of existence, and unfit for war or rule, and
died the sixth year after his fatal victory, at Gilead, where
he was buried, for he never entered this house of Naioth
in Ramah after her death. His head reposes upon an
urn containing the ashes of his lovely victim!”

I thanked my intelligent guide for this touching narrative,
and surveyed with renewed and tender interest the
room consecrated by the last presence on earth of the
hapless, yet amiable, courageous, and pious Phigenia.

We then continued our way out of the city to the hill-tower,
from the lofty top of which I beheld for the first
time the mighty Sea of the West. My emotions deprived
me of speech! I could only gaze with wonder and awe!
How shall I describe the spectacle, to give your majesty
an idea of its sublimity and illimitable grandeur! It appeared
to my eye as if I could see off the earth into
boundless space; for the sea and sky were both of the
same azure tint, and the meeting line of water and air
was not perceptible. There was in fact no visible horizon!
The far distant strand of Palestina, full twelve
leagues west of us, but more by the roads, seemed the
jagged edge of the world! I never experienced before
such ideas of vastness and remoteness. The atmosphere
was pure as crystal. As the sun declined, the narrow
belt of sea became silvered with its light, and looked like
a brilliant river without a farther shore flowing around
the verge of the world! Your majesty must pardon a
little enthusiasm in one who beholds, such a sight, for the
first time!

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My guide, whose grace of manners, gentleness of
speech, and intelligent conversation, attracted me more
and more towards him, and who seemed to have a profound
acquaintance with his country's history, and to
know how to instruct without ostentation, now directed
my attention to the surrounding scenes. In one direction
he pointed to where Joppa lay, a famous seaport,
but not in sight; gave me the names of the mountains
which we stood upon, those all about us, and indicated
with his hand the direction of Hebron, south. The
valley of the Jordan, the dark mountains of Nebo beyond,
and, also, the Sea of Sodoma lay to the east.

On our return from the summit, we crossed the little
valley of the sacrifice of Phigenia, called the “the Vale
of the Oath.” It was a gloomy spot, overhung with rocks
on one side, and deserted even by flocks and herds; and
since that day, one hundred years ago, no man has tilled
or sown thereon! I stopped near a pile of stones, half
buried and covered with wild vines and moss. It was
the remains of the altar of Jeptha! left as a lasting monument
of his rash vow! On our walk we had just passed
a beautiful garden, when we came to a large mausoleum
all in ruins, and apparently of great age. Perceiving
that I regarded it with interest, the prophet said,

“This is called the tomb of Joshua! But there is
another sepulchre in the rocky sides of the mount of
Bethel, which is also claimed by the Benjaminites as his
burial-place. There is no doubt that this was erected
as a sepulchre for one of the ancient Canaanitish kings,
and his coffin removed by the conquerors; doubtless the
body of Joshua was placed here! At least tradition,
which is history to us, gives its testimony to this effect.”

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While I was meditating upon the spot, and recalling the
glorious career of the Hebrew conqueror, and the ingratitude
of his nation in permitting his sepulchre to perish,
or to be in doubt as to the place of his burial, the Hebrew
prince and the young harpist of the School of the
Prophets appeared walking in the path, side by side. The
prince at once joined me, excusing himself for neglecting
me. I replied, I had been in good hands, and had derived
much information from my companion.

“In that case,” said the prince, smiling, “I will not take
any blame to myself. My lord Arbaces, this is my friend
David of Bethlehem, of the School of the Prophets!”

The youth, who had just asked of Nathan some question,
met my salutation with modest frankness, blushing like a
maiden; evidence of a right and noble disposition, and of an
ingenuous nature uncorrupted by the world. I could not
but regard with admiration his extraordinary beauty, of
which I have before spoken! He seemed a superior being,
especially when I recalled his wonderful performance on
the harp, and his voice so rich with melody and pathos.
Here a fourth person joined us, a young man in the dress
of the School. His name was Asaph, and he brought a
message to the prince from the Seer. We all went towards
the palace together, when I parted with the intelligent
prophet, expressing warmly my obligations to his
courtesy, for he had given me full four hours of his time.
The handsome Bethlehemite also left us at the foot of the
terrace, the prince taking his hand, on separating, with the
affectionate manner of a twin-brother.

It was my privilege to occupy the same apartment
with the royal prince. When I seated myself to recover
from the fatigue of my walk, I related to him what I

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had seen and heard. We discussed the conduct of Jael
in slaying Sisera: the prince giving it as his opinion that
“she was justifiable as he was an enemy of God; as in
permitting him to go in safety she would have been condemned
as an enemy to her people: she had no alternative
but to do as she did.” On the contrary, I contended,
your majesty, that the rights of hospitality are
always sacred; and the enemy who seeks protection
under its shield cannot be harmed by the host without
crime.

Of the fatal vow of Jeptha we also spoke. I said that
“a rash vow is a great wrong; but if it involve a greater
wrong, the least of the evils should be chosen. He had
better have been perjured, than for his oath's sake commit
a crime which has no parallel.

“Your God, my noble prince,” I added, “would
rather have forgiven the vow than received the unnatural
sacrifice.”

“As Jeptha alone was guilty,” said the prince, “he alone
should have been the sufferer. He ought to have sacrificed
himself rather than the innocent Phigenia! Suicide
is a crime, and so is murder! He could have chosen
between the two! But she has left to the world a noble
and touching memory, and a sublime example of filial
obedience and piety. Her sacrifice has made her immortal.”

After two days passed as guest of the venerable Seer,
at whose feet I also sat with his School of youthful prophets
to listen to the words of wisdom that fell from his
lips, I at length bade him farewell and received, kneeling,
his blessing. He desired me to convey to your majesty
his remembrances, and to ask you to read a copy

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of the sacred books of his people which he has presented
to me for your acceptance. He says your reign will be
happy and prosperous if you continue just and virtuous,
but that sins and oppression in kings (evils happily unknown
in your majesty's rule) are more severely punished
by the God of the heaven and earth than the transgressions
of other men! That “kings are vicegerents of
the supreme King on high, and should rule with equity
and judgment.” He showed me how all the wars in
which his nation have been involved were actual scourges
of their God sent upon them for national transgressions.

Having taken a kind leave, at the foot of the stairs, of
my intelligent friend Nathan, who promises to become a
leading man among his countrymen, young David came
forward to me and grasping my hand said, in a manly
way and with graceful dignity:

“I am sorry, my lord prince, you have come to find
our country troubled by the hordes of the Philistines,
whose presence will perhaps prevent you from going, at
present, farther south than Solima or Hebron. News
are come within an hour that they even menace this
place.”

The prince had already heard the tidings, and ridden
to the gate to learn their origin. There I found him
not long returned from a visit of filial duty to his mother
at Bethel, surrounded by the captains and officers of the
garrison. I learned that an army of four thousand men
was within ten leagues of Ramah, having already occupied
several towns on their route. The prince promptly sent a
force of eight hundred men to defend a pass in the mountains
of Ephraim, made some valuable suggestions to the
general who commanded in those parts, and at length,

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rode forward with me on the way to Hebron, his own
and my body-guard escorting us.

On our way we passed the rocky heights of Solima
with a bold castle crowning the southern eminence, still
held by a pagan garrison of Jebusites; the place having
withstood since the days of Joshua the assaults of the
Hebrews. There it towered in strength and pride, an
inaccessible fortress of the ancient masters of the land
in the very heart of the kingdom. Your majesty may
suppose that I gazed upward towards its frowning battlements
with deep interest, from the narrow valley
which it overhangs and through which we traveled.
Upon my expressing my surprise to the prince that so
small a castle should have held out for more than four
hundred years, he said that it was formerly the citadel
of the chief city of the land, Solima, once the capital of
the kingdom of a wise and virtuous Syrian prince, Melchisedek,
and that Joshua conquered the city itself, but
left the citadel to be subseuently and at leisure reduced;
but other places demanding his attention, it remained
unattacked up to the time of his death; and since then,
though often assailed, it has never been conquered. The
garrison is however peaceful, and seldom molests our
people.

The same day we passed across a portion of the plain
of Mamre before Hebron, where the three great Kings,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, lay buried in the cave of
Machpelah; which interesting spot I have visited since I
arrived here. In it also reposes the embalmed body of
the eminent and virtuous Prince Joseph, once governor
of Egypt, who, at his dying, commanded the Hebrews to
bring it with them from the land of the Pharaohs and

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here bury it; thus singularly prophesying not only their
departure from Egypt, but their conquest of this land.

In the plain of Mamre I found encamped my caravan,
and retinue of Assyrian soldiers. The next morning I
entered the city, and was conducted by the Hebrew
prince into the presence of King Saul.

p614-157

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