"NOURHALMA."
His first emotion on making this new mental rediscovery was, as it had
been before in the King's audience-hall, one of absolute TERROR, ...
feverish, mad terror which for a few moments possessed him so utterly
that, turning away, he buried his aching head among the cushion where
he reclined, in order to hide from his companion's eyes any outward
sign that might betray his desperate misery. Clenching his hands
convulsively, he silently, and with all his strength, combated the
awful horror of himself that grew up spectrally within him,--the
dreadful, distracting uncertainty of his own identity that again
confused his brain and paralyzed his reason.
At last, he thought wildly, at last he knew the meaning of Hell! ...
the frightful spiritual torment of a baffled intelligence set adrift
among the wrecks and shadows of things that had formerly been its pride
and glory! What was any physical suffering compared to such a frenzy of
mind-agony? Nothing! ... less than nothing! This was the everlasting
thirst and fire spoken of so vaguely by prophets and preachers,--the
thirst and fire of the Soul's unquenchable longing to unravel the
dismal tangle of its own bygone deeds, . . the striving forever in vain
to steadfastly establish the wavering mystery of its own existence!
"O God! ... God!--what hast Thou made of me!" he groaned inwardly, as
he endeavored to calm the tempest of his unutterable despair,--"Who am
I? ... Who WAS I in that far Past which, like the pale spirit of a
murdered friend, haunts me so indistinctly yet so threateningly! Surely
the gift of Poesy was mine! ... surely I too could weave the harmony of
words and thoughts into a sweet and fitting music, . . how comes it
then that all Sah-luma's work is but the reflex of my own? O woeful,
strange, and bitter enigma! ... when shall it be unraveled?
'Nourhalma!' 'Twas the name of what I deemed my masterpiece! ... O
silly masterpiece, if it prove thus easy of imitation! ... Yet stay..
let me be patient! ... titles are often copied unconsciously by
different authors in different lands, . . and it may chance that
Sah-luma's poem is after all his own,--not mine. Not mine, as were the
ballads and the love-ode he chanted to the King last night! ... O
Destiny! ... inscrutable, pitiless Destiny! ... rescue my tortured soul
from chaos! ... declare unto me who,--WHO is the plagiarist and thief
of Song.. MYSELF or SAH-LUMA?"
The more he perplexed his mind with such questions, the deeper grew the
darkness of the inexplicable dilemma, to which a fresh obscurity was
now added in his suddenly distinct and distressful remembrance of the
"Pass of Dariel." Where was this place, he wondered wearily?--When had
he seen it? whom had he met there?--and how had he come to Al-Kyris
from thence? No answer could his vexed brain shape to these demands, .
. he recollected the "Pass of Dariel" just as he recollected the "Field
of Ardath"--without the least idea as to what connection existed
between them and his own personal adventures. Presently controlling
himself, he raised his head and ventured to look up,--Sah-luma stood
beside him, his fine face expressive of an amiable solicitude.
"Was the sunshine too strong, my friend, that thou didst thus bury
thine eyes in thy pillow?" he inquired ... "Pardon my discourteous lack
of consideration for thy comfort! ... I love the sun myself so well
that methinks I could meet his burning rays at full noon-day and yet
take pleasure in the warmth of such a golden smile! But thou perchance
art unaccustomed to the light of Eastern lands,--wherefore thy brows
must not be permitted to ache on, uncared for. See!--I have lowered the
awnings, . . they give a pleasant shade,--and in very truth, the heat
to-day is greater far than ordinary; one would think the gods had
kindled some new fire in heaven!"
And as he spoke he took up a long palm-leaf fan and waved it to and fro
with an exquisitely graceful movement of wrist and arm, while Theos
gazing at him in mute admiration, forgot his own griefs for the time in
the subtle, strange, and absorbing spell exercised upon him by his
host's irresistible influence. Just then, too, Sah-luma appeared
handsomer than ever in the half-subdued tints of radiance that
flickered through the lowered pale-blue silken awnings: the effect of
the room thus shadowed was as of a soft azure mountain mist lit
sideways by the sun,--a mist through which the white-garmented,
symmetrical figure of the Laureate stood forth in curiously brilliant
outlines, as though every curve of supple shoulder and proud throat was
traced with a pencil of pure light. Scarcely a breath of air made its
way through the wide-open casements--the gentle dashing noise of the
fountains in the court alone disturbed the deep, warm stillness of the
morning, or the occasional sweeping rustle of peacocks' plumes as these
stately birds strutted majestically up and down, up and down, on the
marble terrace outside.
Soothed by the luxurious peace of his surroundings, the delirium of
Theos's bewildering affliction gradually abated,--his tempest-tossed
mind regained to a certain extent its equilibrium,--and falling into
easy converse with his fascinating companion, he was soon himself
again,--that is, as much himself as his peculiar condition permitted
him to be. Yet he was not altogether free from a certain eager and
decidedly painful suspense with regard to the "Nourhalma" problem,--and
he was conscious of what he in his own opinion considered an absurd and
unnecessary degree of excitement, when the door of the apartment
presently opened to admit Zabastes, who entered, carrying several
sheets of papyrus and other material for writing.
The old Critic's countenance was expressively glum and ironical,--he,
however, was compelled, like all the other paid servants of the
household, to make a low and respectful obeisance as soon as he found
himself in Sah-luma's presence,--an act of homage which, he performed
awkwardly, and with evident ill-will. His master nodded condescendingly
in response to his reluctant salute, and signed to him to take his
place at a richly carved writing-table adorned with the climbing
figures of winged cupids exquisitely wrought in ivory. He obeyed,
shuffling thither uneasily, and sniffing the rose-fragrant air as he
went like an ill-conditioned cur scenting a foe,--and seating himself
in a high-backed chair, he arranged his garments fussily about him,
rolled up his long embroidered sleeves to the elbow, and spread his
writing implements all over the desk in front of him with much
mock-solemn ostentation. Then, rubbing his lean hands together, he gave
a stealthy glance of covert derision round at Sah-luma and Theos,--a
glance which Theos saw and in his heart resented, but which Sah-luma,
absorbed in his own reflections, apparently failed to notice.
"All is in readiness, my lord!" he announced in his disagreeable
croaking tones,--"Here are the clean and harmless slips of river-reed
waiting to be soiled and spotted with my lord's indelible
thoughts,--here also are the innocent quills of the white heron, as yet
unstained by colored writing-fluid whether black, red, gold, silver, or
purple! Mark you, most illustrious bard, the touching helplessness and
purity of these meek servants of a scribbler's fancy! ... Blank papyrus
and empty quills! Bethink you seriously whether it were not better to
leave them thus unblemished, the simple products of unfaulty Nature,
than use them to indite the wondrous things of my lord's imagination,
whereof, all wondrous though they seem, no man shall ever be the wiser!"
And he chuckled, stroking his stubbly gray beard the while with a
blandly suggestive, yet malign look directed at Sah-luma, who met it
with a slight, cold smile of faintly amused contempt.
"Peace, fool!" he said,--"That barbarous tongue of thine is like the
imperfect clapper of a broken bell that strikes forth harsh and
undesired sounds suggesting nothing! Thy present duty is to hear, and
not to speak,--therefore listen discerningly and write with exactitude,
so shall thy poor blank scrolls of reed grow rich with gems, . . gems
of high poesy that the whole world shall hoard and cherish miser-like
when the poet who created their bright splendor is no more!"
He sighed--a short, troubled sigh,--and stood for a moment silent in an
attitude of pensive thought. Theos watched him yearningly,--waiting in
almost breathless suspense till he should dictate aloud the first line
of his poem. Zabastes meanwhile settled himself more comfortably in his
chair, and taking up one of the long quills with which he was provided,
dipped it in a reddish-purple liquid which at once stained its point to
a deep roseate hue, so that when the light flickered upon it from time
to time, it appeared as though it were tipped with fire. How intense
the heat was, thought Theos!--as with one hand he pushed his clustering
hair from his brow, not without noticing that his action was imitated
almost at once by Sah-luma, who also seemed to feel the oppressiveness
of the atmosphere. And what a blaze of blue pervaded the room! ...
delicate ethereal blue as of shimmering lakes and summer skies melted
together into one luminous radiance, ... radiance that, while filmy,
was yet perfectly transparent, and in which the Laureate's classic form
appeared to be gloriously enveloped like that of some new descended god!
Theos rubbed his eyes to cure them of their dazzled ache, . . what a
marvellous scene it was to look upon, he mused! ... would he,--could he
ever forget it? Ah no!--never, never! not till his dying day would he
be able to obliterate it from his memory,--and who could tell whether
even after death he might not still recall it! Just then Sah-luma
raised his hand by way of signal to Zabastes, . . his face became
earnest, pathetic, even grand in the fervent concentration of his
thoughts, ... he was about to begin his dictation, ... now ... now! ...
and Theos leaned forward nervously, his heart beating with apprehensive
expectation ... Hush! ... the delicious, suave melody of his friend's
voice penetrated the silence like the sweet harmonic of a harp-string..
"Write--" said he slowly.. "write first the title of my poem thus:
'Nourhalma: A Love-Legend of the Past.'"
There was a pause, during which the pen of Zabastes traveled quickly
over the papyrus for a moment, then stopped. Theos, almost suffocated
with anxiety, could hardly maintain even the appearance of
calmness,--the title proclaimed, with its second appendage, was
precisely the same as that of his own work--but this did not now affect
him so much. What he waited for with such painfully strained attention
was the first line of the poem. If it was his line he knew it
already!--it ran thus:
"A central sorrow dwells in perfect joy!--"
Scarcely had he repeated this to himself inwardly, than Sah-luma, with
majestic grace and sweetness of utterance, dictated aloud:
"A central sorrow dwells in perfect joy!"
"Ah GOD!"
The sharp cry, half fierce, half despairing, broke from Theos's
quivering lips in spite of all the efforts he made to control his
agitation, and the Laureate turned toward him with a surprised and
somewhat irritated movement that plainly evinced annoyance at the
interruption.
"Pardon, Sah-luma!" he murmured hastily. "'Twas a slight pang at the
heart troubled me,--a mere nothing!--I take shame to myself to have
cried out for such a pin's prick! Speak on!--thy first line is as soft
as honey dew,--as suggestive as the light of dawn on sleeping flowers!"
And, leaning dizzily back on his couch, he closed his eyes to shut in
the hot and bitter tears that welled up rebelliously and threatened to
fall, notwithstanding his endeavor to restrain them. His head throbbed
and burned as though a chaplet of fiery thorns encircled it, instead of
the once desired crown of Fame he had so fondly dreamed of winning!
Fame? ... Alas! that bright, delusive vision had fled forever,--there
were no glory-laurels left growing for him in the fields of poetic art
and aspiration,--Sah-luma, the fortunate Sah-luma, had gathered and
possessed them all! Taking everything into serious consideration, he
came at last to the deeply mortifying conclusion that it must be
himself who was the plagiarist,--the unconscious imitator of Sah-luma's
ideas and methods, . . and the worst of it was that his imitation was
so terribly EXACT!
Oh, how heartily he despised himself for his poor and pitiful lack of
originality! Down to the very depths of humiliation he sternly abased
his complaining, struggling, wounded, and sorely resentful spirit, . .
he then and there became the merciless executioner of his own claims to
literary honor,--and deliberately crushing all his past ambition,
mutinous discontent and uncompliant desires with a strong master-hand
he lay quiet...as patiently unmoved as is a dead man to the wrongs
inflicted on his memory...and forced himself to listen resignedly to
every glowing line of his, . . no, not his, but Sah-luma's poem, . .
the lovely, gracious, delicate, entrancing poem he remembered so well!
And by and by, as each mellifluous stanza sounded softly on his ears, a
strangely solemn tranquillity swept over him,--a most soothing halcyon
calm, as though some passing angel's hand had touched his brow in
benediction.
He looked at Sah-luma, not enviously now but all admiringly,--it seemed
to him that he had never heard a sweeter, tenderer music than the story
of "Nourhalma" as recited by his friend. And so to that friend he
silently awarded his own wished-for glory, praise, and everlasting
fame!--that glory, praise, and fame which had formerly allured his
fancy as being the best of all the world could offer, but which he now
entirely and willingly relinquished in favor of this more deserving and
dear comrade, whose superior genius he submissively acknowledged!
There was a great quietness everywhere,--the rising and falling
inflections of Sah-luma's soft, rich voice rather, deepened than
disturbed the stillness,--the pen of Zabastes glided noiselessly over
the slips of papyrus,--and the small sounds of the outer air, such as
the monotonous hum of bees among the masses of lily-bloom that towered
in white clusters between the festooned awnings, the thirsty twitterimg
of birds hiding under the long palm leaves to shelter themselves from
the heat, and the incessant splash of the fountains, ... all seemed to
be, as it were, mere appendages to enhance the breathless hush of
nature. Presently Sah-luma paused,--and Zabastes, heaving a sigh of
relief, looked up from his writing, and laid down his pen.
'The work is finished, most illustrious?" he demanded, a curious smile
playing on his thin, satirical lips.
"Finished?" echoed Sah-luma disdainfully--"Nay,--'tis but the end of
the First Canto"
The scribe gave vent to a dismal groan.
"Ye gods!" he exclaimed--"Is there more to come of this bombastic
ranting and vile torturing of phrases unheard of and altogether
unnatural! O Sah-luma!--marvellous Sah-luma! twaddler Sah-luma! what a
brain box is thine! ... How full of dislocated word-puzzles and similes
gone mad! Now, as I live, expect no mercy from me this time!".. and he
shook his head threateningly,--"For if the public news sheet will serve
me as mine anvil, I will so pound thee in pieces with the sledge-hammer
of my criticism, that, by the Ship of the Sun! ... for once Al-Kyns
shall be moved to laughter at thee! Mark me, good tuner-up of tinkling
foolishness! ... I will so choose out and handle thy feeblest lines
that they shall seem but the doggerel of a street ballad monger! I will
give so bald an epitome of this sickly love-tale that it shall appeal
to all who read my commentary the veriest trash that ever poet penned!
... Moreover, I can most admirably misquote thee, and distort thy
meanings with such excellent bitter jesting, that thou thyself shall
scarcely recognize thine own production! By Nagaya's Shrine! what a
feast 'twill be for my delectation!"--and he rubbed his hands
gleefully--"With what a weight of withering analysis I can pulverize
this idol of 'Nourhalma' into the dust and ashes of a common sense
contempt!"
While Zabastes thus spoke, Sah-luma had helped himself, by way of
refreshment, to two ripe figs, in whose luscious crimson pulp his white
teeth met, with all the enjoying zest of a child's healthy appetite. He
now held up the rind and stalks of these devoured delicacies, and
smiled.
'Thus wilt thou swallow up my poem in thy glib clumsiness, Zabastes!"
he said lightly--"And thus wilt them hold up the most tasteless
portions of the whole for the judgment of the public! 'Tis the manner
of thy craft,--yet see!"--and with a dexterous movement of his arm he
threw the fruit-peel through the window far out into the garden
beyond--"There goes thy famous criticism!" and he laughed.. "And those
that taste the fruit itself at first hand will not soon forget its
flavor! Nevertheless I hope indeed that thou wilt strive to slaughter
me with thy blunt paper sword! I do most mirthfully relish the
one-sided combat, in which I stand in silence to receive thy blows,
myself unhurt and tranquil as a marble god whom ruffians rail upon! Do
I not pay thee to abuse me? ... here, thou crusty soul!--drink and be
content!"--And with a charming condescension he handed a full goblet of
wine to his cantankerous Critic, who accepted it ungraciously,
muttering in his beard the necessary words of thanks for his master's
consideration,--then, turning to Theos, the Laureate continued:
"And thou, my friend, what dost thou think of 'Nourhalma' so far? Hath
it not a certain exquisite smoothness of rhythm like the ripple of a
woodland stream clear-winding through the reeds? ... and is there not a
tender witchery in the delineation of my maiden-heroine, so warmly
fair, so wildly passionate? Methinks she doth resemble some rich flower
of our tropic fields, blooming at sunset and dead at moonrise!"
Theos waited a moment before replying. Truth to tell, he was inwardly
overcome with shame to remember how wantonly he had copied the
description of this same Nourhalma! ... and plaintively he wondered how
he could have unconsciously committed so flagrant a theft! Summoning up
all his self-possession, however, he answered bravely.
"Thy work, Sah-luma, is worthy of thyself! ... need I say more? ...
Thou hast most aptly proved thy claim upon, the whole world's
gratitude, ... such lofty thoughts, . . such noble discourse upon
love,--such high philosophy, wherein the deepest, dearest dreams of
life are grandly pictured in enduring colors,--these things are gifts
to poor humanity whereby it MUST become enriched and proud! Thy name,
bright soul, shall be as a quenchless star on the dark brows of
melancholy Time, . . men gazing thereat shall wonder and adore,--and
even _I_, the least among thy friends, may also win from thee a share
of glory! For, simply to know thee,--to listen to thy heaven-inspired
utterance, might bring the most renownless student some reflex of thine
honor! Yes, thou art great, Sah-luma! ... great as the greatest of
earth's gifted sons of song!--and with all my heart I offer thee my
homage, and pride myself upon the splendor of thy fame!"
And as the eager, enthusiastic words came from his lips, he beheld
Sah-luma's beautiful countenance brighten more and more, till it
appeared mysteriously transfigured into a majestic Angel-face that for
one brief moment startled him by the divine tenderness of its
compassionate smile! This expression, however, was transitory,--it
passed, and the dark eyes of the Laureate gleamed with a merely serene
and affectionate complacency as he said:
"I thank thee for thy praise, good Theos!--thou art indeed the
friendliest of critics! Hadst thou THYSELF been the author of
'Nourhalma' thou couldst not have spoken with more ardent feeling! Were
Zabastes like thee, discerningly just and reasonable, he would be all
unfit for his vocation,--for 'tis an odd circumstance that praise in
the public news-sheet does a writer more harm than good, while
ill-conditioned and malicious abuse doth very materially increase and
strengthen his reputation. Yet, after all, there is a certain sense in
the argument,--for if much eulogy be penned by the cheap scribes, the
reading populace at once imagine these fellows have been bribed to give
their over-zealous approval, or that they are close friends and
banquet-comrades of the author whom they arduously uphold, . . whereas,
on the contrary, if they indulge in bitter invective, flippant gibing,
or clumsy satire, like my amiable Zabsastes here..." and he made an
airy gesture toward the silent yet evidently chafing Critic, .."(and,
mark you!-HE is not bribed, but merely paid fair wages to fulfil his
chosen and professed calling)--why, thereupon the multitude
exclaim--'What! this poet hath such enemies?--nay, then, how great a
genius he must be!"--and forthwith they clamor for his work, which, if
it speak not for itself, is then and only then to be deemed faulty, and
meriting oblivion. 'Tis the People's verdict which alone gives fame."
"And yet the people are often ignorant of what is noblest and best in
literature!" observed Theos musingly.
"Ignorant in some ways, yes!" agreed Sah-luma--"But in many others, no!
They may be ignorant as to WHY they admire a certain thing, yet they
admire it all the same, because their natural instinct leads them so to
do. And this is the special gift which endows the uncultured masses
with an occasional sweeping advantage over the cultured few,--the
superiority of their INSTINCT. As in cases of political revolution for
example,--while the finely educated orator is endeavoring by all the
force of artful rhetoric to prove that all is in order and as it should
be, the mob, moved by one tremendous impulse, discover for themselves
that everything is wrong, and moreover that nothing will come right,
unless they rise up and take authority, . . accordingly, down go the
thrones and the colleges, the palaces, the temples, and the
law-assemblies, all like so many toys before the resistless instinct of
the people, who revolt at injustice, and who feel and know when they
are injured, though they are not clever enough to explain WHERE their
injury lies. And so, as they cannot talk about it coherently, any more
than a lion struck by an arrow can give a learned dissertation on his
wound, they act, . . and the heat and fury of their action upheaves
dynasties! Again,--reverting to the question of taste and
literature,--the mob, untaught and untrained in the subtilties of art,
will applaud to the echo certain grand and convincing home-truths set
forth in the plays of the divine Hyspiros,--simply because they
instinctively FEEL them to be truths, no matter how far they themselves
may be from acting up to the standard of morality therein contained.
The more highly cultured will hear the same passages unmoved, because
they, in the excess of artificially gained wisdom, have deadened their
instincts so far, that while they listen to a truth pronounced, they
already consider how best they can confute it, and prove the same a
lie! Honest enthusiasm is impossible to the over-punctilious and
pedantic scholar,--but on the other hand, I would have it plainly
understood that a mere brief local popularity is not Fame, . . No! for
the author who wins the first never secures the last. What I mean is,
that a book or poem to be great, and keep its greatness hereafter, must
be judged worthy by the natural instinct of PEOPLES. Their decision, I
own, may be tardy,--their hesitation may be prolonged through a hundred
or more years,--but their acceptance, whether it be declared in the
author's life-time or ages after his death, must be considered final. I
would add, moreover, that this world-wide decision has never yet been,
and never will be, hastened by any amount of written criticism,--it is
the responsive beat of the enormous Pulse of Life that thrills through
all mankind, high and low, gentle and simple,--its great throbs are
slow and solemnly measured,--yet if once it answers to a Poet's touch,
that Poet's name is made glorious forever!"
He spoke with a rush of earnestness and eloquence that was both
persuasive and powerful, and he now stood silent and absorbed, his
dreamy eyes resting meditatively on the massive bust of the immortal
personage he called Hyspiros, which smiled out in serene, cold
whiteness from the velvet-shadowed shrine it occupied. Theos watched
him with fascinated and fraternal fondness, . . did ever man possess so
dulcet a voice, he thought? ... so grave and rich and marvellously
musical, yet thrilling with such heart-moving suggestions of mingled
pride and plaintiveness?
"Thou art a most alluring orator, Sah-luma!" he said
suddenly--"Methinks I could listen to thee all day and never tire!"
"I' faith, so could not I!" interposed Zabastes grimly. "For when a
bard begins to gabble goose-like platitudes which merely concern his
own vocation, the gods only know when he can be persuaded to stop! Nay,
'tis more irksome far than the recitation of his professional
jingle--for to that there must in time come a merciful fitting end,
but, as I live, if 'twas my custom to say prayers, I would pray to be
delivered from the accursed volubility of a versifier's tongue! And
perchance it will not be considered out of my line of duty if I venture
to remind my most illustrious and renowned MASTER--" this with a
withering sneer,--"that if he has any more remarkable nothings to
dictate concerning this particularly inane creation of his fancy
'Nourhalma,' 'twill be well that we should proceed therewith, for the
hours wax late and the sun veereth toward his House of Noon."
And he spread out fresh slips of papyrus and again prepared his long
quill.
Sah-luma smiled, as one who is tolerant of the whims of a hired
buffoon,--and, this time seating himself in his ebony chair, was about
to commence dictating his Second Canto when Theos, yielding to his
desire to speak aloud the idea that had just flashed across his brain
said abruptly:
"Has it ever seemed to thee, Sah-luma, as it now does to me, that there
is a strange resemblance between thy imaginative description of the
ideal 'Nourhalma,' and the actual charms and virtues of thy strayed
singing-maid Niphrata?"
Sah-luma looked up, thoroughly astonished, and laughed.
"No!--Verily I have not traced, nor can I trace the smallest vestige of
a similarity! Why, good Theos, there is none!--not the least in the
world,--for this heroine of mine, Nourhalma, loves in vain, and
sacrifices all, even her innocent and radiant life, for love, as thou
wilt hear in the second half of the poem,--moreover she loves one who
is utterly unworthy of her faithful tenderness. Now Niphrata is a child
of delicate caprice ... she loves ME,--me, her lord,--and methinks I am
not negligent or undeserving of her devotion! ... again, she has no
strength of spirit,--her timorous blood would freeze at the mere
thought of death,--she is more prone to play with flowers and sing for
pure delight of heart than perish for the sake of love! 'Tis an unequal
simile, my friend!--as well compare a fiery planet with a twinkling
dewdrop, as draw a parallel between the heroic ideal maid
'Nourhalma'--and my fluttering singing-bird, Niphrata!"
Theos sighed involuntarily,--but forcing a smile, let the subject drop
and held his peace, while Sah-luma, taking up the thread of his
poetical narrative, went on reciting. When the story began to ripen
toward its conclusion he grew more animated, ... rising, he paced the
room as he declaimed the splendid lines that now rolled gloriously one
upon another like deep-mouthed billows thundering on the shore,--his
gestures were all indicative of the fervor of his inward ecstasy,--his
eyes flashed,--his features glowed with that serene, proud light of
conscious power and triumph that rests on the calm, wide brows of the
sculptured Apollo,--and Theos, leaning one arm in a half-sitting
posture, contemplated him with a curious sensation of wistful eagerness
and passionate pain, such as might be felt by some forgotten artist
mysteriously permitted to come out of his grave and wander back to
earth, there to see his once-rejected pictures hung in places of honor
among the world's chief treasures.
A strange throb of melancholy satisfaction stirred his pulses as he
reflected that he might now, without any self-conceit, at least ADMIRE
the poem!--since he had decided that was no longer his, but another's,
he was free to bestow on it as much as he would of unstinting praise!
For it was very fine,--there could be no doubt of that, whatever
Zabastes might say to the contrary,--and it was not only fine, but
intensely, humanly pathetic, seeming to strike a chord of passion such
as had never before been sounded,--a chord to which the world would be
COMPELLED to listen,--yes,--COMPELLED! thought Theos exultingly,--as
Sah-luma drew nearer and nearer the close of his dictation ... The deep
quiet all around was so heavy as to be almost uncomfortable in its
oppressiveness,--it exercised a sort of strain upon the nerves ...
Hark! what was that? Through the hot and silent air swept a sullen
surging noise as of the angry shouting of a vast multitude,--then came
the fast and furious gallop of many horses,--and again that fierce,
resentful roar of indignation, swelling up as it seemed from thousands
of throats. Moved, all three at once, by the same instinctive desire to
know what was going on, Theos, Sah-luma, and Zabastes sprang from their
different places in the room, and hurried out on the marble terrace,
dashing aside the silken awnings as they went in order the better to
see the open glimpses of the city thoroughfares that lay below. Theos,
leaning far out over the western half of the balustrade, was able to
command a distant view of the great Square in which the huge white
granite Obelisk occupied so prominent a position, and, fixing his eyes
attentively on this spot, saw that it was filled to overflowing with a
dense mass of people, whose white-raimented forms, pressed together in
countless numbers, swayed restlessly to and fro like the rising waves
of a stormy sea.
Lifted above this troubled throng, one tall, dark figure was distinctly
outlined against the dazzling face of the Obelisk--a figure that
appeared to be standing on the back of the colossal Lion that lay
couchant beneath. And as Theos strained his sight to distinguish the
details of the scene more accurately, he suddenly beheld a glittering
regiment of mounted men in armor, charging straightly and with cruelly
determined speed, right into the centre of the crowd, apparently
regardless of all havoc to life and limb that might ensue.
Involuntarily he uttered an exclamation of horror at what seemed to him
so wanton and brutal an act, when just then Sah-luma caught him eagerly
by the arm,--Sah-luma, whose soft, oval countenance was brilliant with
excitement, and in whose eyes gleamed a mingled expression of mirth and
ferocity.
"Come, come, my friend!" he said hastily--"Yonder is a sight worth
seeing! 'Tis the mad Khosrul who is thus entrenched and fortified by
the mob,--as I live, that sweeping gallop of His Majesty's Royal Guards
is magnificent! They will seize the Prophet this time without fail!
Aye, if they slay a thousand of the populace in the performance of
their duty! Come!--let us hasten to the scene of action--'twill be a
struggle I would not miss for all the world!"
He sprang down the steps of the loggia, accompanied by Theos, who was
equally excited,--when all at once Zabastes, thrusting out his head
through a screen of vine-leaves, cried after them:
"Sah-luma!--Most illustrious! What of the poem? It is not finished!"
"No matter!" returned Sah-luma--"'Twill be finished hereafter!"
And he hastened on, Theos treading close in his footsteps and thinking
as he went of the new enigma thus proposed to puzzle afresh the weary
workings of his mind. HIS poem of Nourhalma--or rather the poem he had
fancied was his--had been entirely completed down to the last line; now
Sah-luma's was left "TO BE FINISHED HEREAFTER."
Strange that he should find a pale glimmering of consolation in
this!--a feeble hope that perhaps after all, at some future time, he
might be able to produce a few, a very few lines of noble verse that
should be deemed purely original! ... enough perchance, to endow him
with a faint, far halo of diminished glory such as plodding students
occasionally win, by following humbly yet ardently ... even as he now
followed Sah-luma ... in the paths of excellence marked out by greater
men!