In the lone recesses of a rocky cave reclined the youth Thavanan, lost
in gloomy meditation. The hues of care and study were indelibly stamped
upon his lofty forehead; and although the bent brow and the quivering
lip betokened a stern mental conflict, still courage and high daring
shone bright through the shroud of revenge which had settled over his
dark features. The white robe of Abyssinia lay uneasy on his shoulder;
and the blue silk cord which encircled his neck, the badge of
Christianity, nearly burst in twain as the swollen sinews started from
the throat, in this his hour of agony.
A fearful storm raged without. Thunder rolled in continued peals,
crumbling in pieces the sparry roof over-head, and the hot lightning
illumined every nook and corner of the retreat, whilst the waters of the
broad lake, now raised in wrath, came dashing and foaming to its very
mouth with all the violence of a winter sea. But the war of the
elements was unheeded by the sufferer, and ever and anon, starting from
his recumbent position, he paced in desperation the uneven floor of the
slippery cavern.
"Years have rolled away since that withering moment," he exclaimed; "but
the wound is yet green in the mind, and the feeling is still fresh as
when writhing under the searing iron of the tyrant. The star Medaboot
proclaims the hour of the requisite sacrifice. I acknowledge thy power,
great Genius of the Water. Warobal Mama, I call for thy aid."
Stripping the robe from his person, and tearing the bandage from his
sightless eye, he roused a sleeping goat from the corner of the cave. A
garland of yellow flowers was wreathed in fantastic folds among the long
sharp horns, and a white collar twined its mystic threads around the
throat. The animal had been a favourite of former days whilst browsing
on the green meadows of Shoa, and knowing the voice of its master, it
quietly followed his footsteps into the centre of the grotto.
The bright eyes were turned upwards in confiding innocence as it licked
the hand which had so often fed and caressed it; but all pity and
compassion were effaced in one fiery feeling of revenge. The words of
the dread spell to the spirit of the deep were poured forth on the
midnight blast; and the sharp knife gleaming for a moment in the air,
was plunged into the heart of the unresisting victim.
Shrieks filled the cavern, and unearthly echoes were flung back from
every side of the broken vault, whilst the life-stream gurgled on to
mingle with the waters of the lake; and as the last faint groan was
rendered from the expiring animal, the badge and symbol of Christianity
was dipped in the crimson tide which had flowed to the honour of the
genius and his satellites.
[The cord of blue silk styled "mateb," which in Abyssinia is worn around
the neck of the Christian to denote his faith, has usually a small
silver cross appended.]
A sulphur-coloured fowl was next subjected to the necessary preparations
for the sacrifice. One eye was deliberately scooped out amidst
blasphemy and execration, and the bright blue cord which had hitherto
graced the neck of the Christian, now gory with unhallowed blood, was
bound in a mysterious knot on this the second victim to the powers of
darkness. The holy cross was suspended to the desecrated thread; and
having raised the flickering embers with sweet woods and subtle
essences, Thavanan crushed the head of the fowl under his heel until the
brains flowed, and then dashed the body into the fire.
The flame shot aloft in one fierce spire of light, blazing like the
arrow of the infernal host, and, again, satiate with the pungent
offering, sank amid a stifling cloud of fetid smoke. Casting himself
upon the rocky floor in an attitude of prostration, the youth listened
in awe to the moans of the wind which had succeeded to the hurricane.
But his courage was firm as the foundations of Mamrat; and it was well
for him that his heart quailed not during that hour of perilous
endurance.
The effects of his diabolical incantation were soon manifest. Foul
spirits mowed and chattered in his ear, and the cold rushing of pinions
flapping lazily through the air wetted him with slimy spray. But
revenge and desperation had steeled his nerves; and after a period of
intense misery, which appeared without limit to the sufferer, the
melancholy sound of a drum came faintly booming over the face of the
waters--the welcome token that the hour of trial was past, and that the
sacrifice had been accepted. Waxing louder and louder, the pealing of
the music shook the rocks with its continuous reverberations. Unearthly
voices, ceasing to torment, faded altogether away; and the renegade,
casting one look on the ashes of things holy and once prized, stepped
forth from the mouth of the cavern.
Wild and fearful was the scene which met his gaze. The moon was for the
moment unobscured, but huge masses of pale cloud, like armed hosts, sped
fiercely across the skies, whilst thunder and lightning seemed to warn
the astounded beholder that spirits of another world were engaged in
their unholy revels.
Unruffled by the breeze, the great lake spread like a sheet of molten
silver at his feet; whilst every cliff and crag, revealed boldly to
view, was fearfully lit up by the reflected glare of an unearthly lurid
flame, which at short intervals spouted in jets from the centre of the
expanse, amid streams of wild melancholy music and the clash of the
magic drum.
Roused to daring deeds in this moment of frantic excitement, with one
short prayer to the spirit he had invoked, Thavanan plunged headlong
into the cold deep waters, which gurgled and bubbled over his descending
form; but baffled in his design to reach the glittering white sand--now
the only haven of his hope--he rose once more to the surface.
All was dark, dismal, and lonely. A thick fog covered the water, the
earth, and the sky, whilst the voice of his better angel alone came
moaning through the mist, bewailing the lost soul of a son of Adam.
Again and again he struggled to reach the glowing bed of the lake, but
mortal strength and energy were unavailing to pierce the fathomless
abyss. The clear searching element rushed unresisted into his mouth and
ears--the faintness of death spread over his exhausted limbs--and his
senseless form, tossed to and fro, became the sport of the heaving
billow.
But the sound of the spell had swept along the blast, and the savour of
the sacrifice had penetrated into the halls of magic. A long sinewy arm
raised the body high over the water. The drum again pealed through the
boundless space; the bright fire threw one last triumphant stream above
the surface, and a heavy plunge beneath the waves was succeeded by the
utter silence of solitude.
The soft tinkling sound of harps first stole upon the slumbers of the
neophyte. Bright, happy visions flitted over his awakening senses, and
the sweet melody of voices ushered him again into existence. Starting
from his trance, the bewildered Thavanan found ample scope for the
indulgence of his wonder and astonishment. Far as the eye could scan,
innumerable arcades stretched in endless vistas on every side, with
alternating domes of the purest pearl. Pillars of variously coloured
amber and crystal rose to sustain the glowing fabric, and cloths, such
as emperors alone can boast, strewed the floors in unbounded profusion.
In the centre of each gallery stood an altar of virgin silver, from
which a never-failing arrow of flame diffused a mellow light over the
glittering pillars of the hall. Around their more searching sister,
jets of sweet-scented water played high in the air; and dancing on the
apex of each fountain, a sparkling emerald, the ransom of a monarch,
gently regulated the rush of the stream, in token that the elements were
here held under control.
Superb paintings, illuminated in transparency, shed a dreamy languor
over the scene, and music lent her exhaustless charms to captivate the
sense. Sweet strains of triumph, ringing in full chorus among the lofty
domes, died gently away into the softness of repose; and at times the
low murmur of the waves fell pleasingly upon the ear, as the lake poured
forth her springs in homage to the master spirit, and imprinted the kiss
of obedience on the magic abode of Warobal Mama.
Colossal statues of Famine, War, and Pestilence, frowned from their
lofty pedestals in all the sternness of brass above the glories of this
rich and varied scene. Each giant arm grasped a knotted mace, whose
awful blow on the iron drum of misfortune was well known to the dismayed
inhabitants of the upper regions of earth as the sure harbinger of woe.
Arts and sciences had each their separate niche in the spacious
apartment; and favoured votaries were deeply engaged in scanning subtle
essences, or preparing potent spells. The hum of confused voices was
borne on the fragrant atmosphere, whilst at intervals strange emblems
and tokens were delivered by the elders to the attending pupils, who
each sprang aloft upon gaudy pinions to execute the behest of his
superior. But the smiling face of fair woman was wanting to complete
the scene; for love was unknown to the dread spirit of the lake.
In the immediate vicinity of the wondering mortal, an elevated throne
stood the most conspicuous object. Spiral steps of gold led to the
shrine of power. Precious stones sparkling in rich wreaths of enamel,
hung a brilliant balustrade in front--and forming the seat of high
honour and place, a white ivory shell rested amid the shining leaves of
the ever-flowering lotus. The sea-snake rose in glittering green folds
to receive in his soft embrace the recumbent occupant; and ministering
spirits of strange form, bearing harp and censer, were ranged in silence
around.
Thundering peals of music, and a sudden prostration, proclaimed the
presence of the genius of the place; and, amid the clash of lute and
timbrel, a cloud of incense floating high over head, disclosed a dwarf
crouching on the shell. His aspect was mild and beneficent, and a
flowing white beard entirely covered his minute person; but the essence
of ethereal intelligence shot from his piercing black eye, and a pale
fire played among his long yellow locks. Again the harps rung out the
silver notes of welcome, and a vocal chorus was wafted to the delighted
ear of the intruder:--
"Ask for riches, ask for wealth,
For kingdom, strength, or iron sway,
Paramount in lady's bower,
Revenge for wrongs, or length of day."
Borne forward by an irresistible impulse, Thavanan found himself among
the kneeling crowd in front of the throne, and a soft still voice
proceeded from the high place:--"Mortal, what would'st thou with us?
Answer without fear."
"Revenge," replied the petitioner, "revenge for injury unprovoked--a
house rifled and burnt, a fair sister carried to the lawless harem, and
the eyeball blasted for ever, of one who had heretofore looked upon the
great monarch of Shoa as a perfect Deity upon earth."
"Let the child of clay take the oath of allegiance, and be instructed to
obtain his wish," responded the being in whose tiny form was
concentrated such power and grandeur; and as the words proceeded from
his lips, the floor sank under the foot of the proselyte, and Thavanan
stood with an attending spirit in the centre of a gloomy grotto.
A blood-red cross, which flashed amid the darkness, revealed sights
horrible to behold, and conjured before the imagination thoughts upon
which it was then madness to dwell. But daring to the last, the
apostate, in presence of the symbol of Christianity, abjured all the
high hopes of Heaven. Revenge upon earth filled his soul for the
moment; and although the touch of that blessed sign struck through his
young heart like the sharp stab of the searing-iron, the fearful oath
was firmly and distinctly repeated.
Volume Two, Chapter XXXIV.