The Portland Sketch Book Part 13

With me!

Yea, my brother--even with thee.

And wherefore shouldst thou pray with me? and wherefore should I pray?

Wherefore! Have I not heard thee, purified by that old peculiar faith, charge even thy Creator, the Ancient of Days, the Lord G.o.d of Heaven and Earth, _Jehovah!_ with diverting thy pearls from their appointed path!

True, and therefore why should I pray? Of what avail these prayers with the _unchangeable_ G.o.d? Can aught that we do, or fail to do, disturb the everlasting tranquillity of our Creator--change his purpose--or in any way move to pleasure or displeasure the Lord G.o.d of Heaven and Earth?

With him before whom all things are alike, with whom there is neither great nor small--what he hath determined to do, that will he not do?

whether we importune him or not with prayer? Go to, my poor brother! go to! will not the Judge of all the Earth do right? and if he will not--how are we to help ourselves?

Unhappy man! Though he _were_ unchangeable; and though supplications were of no avail, why should the children of men, the creatures of his bounty withhold their _thanksgiving_?

That would I never withhold, for that I could offer up any where--at all times and under all circ.u.mstances, without dishonoring him, our CREATOR and our Father, or his image, and without contradicting our ancient faith. But why wrestle in prayer with him, for that which, if it be proper for us, we shall be sure to have, as we have the dew and the sunshine, the seed-time and the harvest.--The very hairs of our head, are they not numbered? Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before G.o.d!

Yea my brother! But what saith the same scripture? Ye are of more value than many sparrows.

True--true--I had forgotten a part of my lesson.

Believest thou, O my brother, _canst_ thou believe then, that in His eyes, all the cherubim and seraphim are equal and alike? that He is, of a truth, no respecter of persons among the Hierarchy of heaven?

But wherefore pray to Him that knoweth all our wants, before they are uttered or felt? to Him that feedeth the young raven--laying his hand reverentially upon the Great Book before him, and lifting his forehead to the sky, as if he could see through it.

_Wherefore?_ Because we have been urged to pray--entreated to pray--commanded to pray. Because every thing desirable hath been promised to prayer.

Not in the Hebrew scriptures, however it may be with the Greek. To thanksgiving and submission, there may be vouchsafed a continual to favor; but to importunity, as urged upon you in your scripture, my poor brother, _nothing_.

Lo! the headsman touches the foot of the scaffold! Wilt thou not pray with me, oh Adonijah! my brother and my prince!

No! my brother that _was_--no! The Lion of Judah hath not yet learned to lick the uplifted hand of mortal man. Get thee behind me Zorobabel, _my brother_! Go thy way, and leave me to my trust in the G.o.d of our fathers. Why should I pray with thee--with thee! an apostate from the sepulchre of kings and prophets--I that never have prayed but with the princes, and the Judges and the High-Priest of our people? Get thee gone, my brother! It is not for such as I to tempt the Lord of Hosts, or to persuade the Ancient of Days. Do not thou tempt me.

Stay, brother--stay! Did not Jacob wrestle in prayer with the angel of the Lord, all the night long?

With the angel of the Lord?--yea--But never with the Lord himself, as thou wouldst have me. And saying this, he gathered up his robe and shook it, and turned away from his brother sorrowing.

Man! thou art beside thyself--much learning hath made thee mad--cried his brother, reaching forth his arms to Adonijah. The whole Hebrew scriptures are against thee--what are they all but a Book of prayer and supplication? Prophets and Bards and Kings and Judges, yea, even the High Priesthood, are against thee! Why shouldst thou pray, thou unconquerable Hebrew?--why!--that thy proud heart may be made human--that thy understanding may be enlightened--that thou mayst be made to know and believe that there is another and a better Scripture.

Pray to thy Father, which is in Heaven, as thou wouldst that thy children should pray to thee, even for that which thou hast already determined to grant them--oh, pray to Him! that He may see the disposition of thy heart, as thou wouldst see theirs. What though thou art mindful of their wants, and well acquainted with their hearts and purposes, and always ready to gratify them, is it not a condition with thee--even with _thee_, Adonijah, that they should acknowledge their dependence upon thee, and their utter helplessness of themselves? And why should it not be so with our Heavenly Father? with Him whose angels are about thee and above thee, a perpetual atmosphere of warmth and light. Ha! the mult.i.tude are breaking up!--they are coming this way! I hear the tramp of hors.e.m.e.n--a moment more and we are apart forever. A flash!--The Philistines are upon thee, O my brother!

That brother looked up and smiled.

Wilt thou not pray with me?

No--once for all--no! Never with a converted Jew--never with a christian!--never with thee, thou but half a christian!

Farewell then!--farewell forever.

Another flash! attended with a loud burst of thunder among the hills.

Nay, let us part in peace, my brother, although I cannot pray with thee, I can for thee! The G.o.d of our Fathers! of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, have thee in his holy keeping!

The stranger threw up his arms in a transport of joy. The unconverted, the _unconvertable_ Jew had prayed for him with the temper of a christian; and straightway he fell upon his knees and called upon the G.o.d of the Hebrews, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to spare the Jew and change his heart.

The huge gate swung open. The drawbridge fell--a fierce angry light broke forth suddenly from underneath the scaffold--a black banner floated all at once from the battlements over the pa.s.sage-way--a troop of hors.e.m.e.n, with flashing spears and iron helmets, wheeled slowly into the court-yard, and drew up in dead silence along the outer barrier. The headsman appeared. A signal was made from a far window, and lo! the coronet and the robe, with all the glittering insignia of departed power and extinguished glory, were torn away, and trampled under foot by the hoofs of the mult.i.tude. A white smoke rolled forth from below, and when it cleared away, the Jew appeared standing bareheaded between two gigantic mutes, one of whom bore a naked cimetar, while the other stood watching his countenance. It continued unaltered--unalterable--nor would he vouchsafe the slightest token of submission or terror, though the flames roared, and the white smoke rolled thitherward like the white sea-fog before a coming storm; but haughtily, steadfastly, and with a majestic mildness which awed the very soldiery more than all the pomp they were accustomed to, he pointed to the mult.i.tude, lowering about him with a tempestuous blackness--to the pyre with its covering of blood-red cloth dripping with recent moisture--to the flames roaring far below among the dry f.a.ggots, and signified a wish to proceed.

Once more shouted a voice from the barrier--My brother! oh my brother!

wilt thou not be prevailed upon, if not for thine own sake, for the sake of thy beloved wife and thy youngest born--about to perish with thee--even with thee, my brother, in their marvellous beauty and most abundant strength.

Away!--and let me die in peace!

Another step thou unconquerable man! But another step--thou apostate Jew!--and thou art in the world of spirits! Wilt thou not say? _canst_ thou not, with lowliness and fervor, Our Father which art in Heaven! thy will and not mine be done!

Yea, brother--if that will comfort thee in thy desolation. Yea! Yea!

with all the h.o.a.rded and concentrated fervor of a long life accustomed to no other language, even while I took upon me the outer garb of a christian--Yea!--and saying this, he fell upon his knees, and cried out with a loud voice, while a triumphant brightness overspread his uplifted countenance with a visible exaltation, Our Father and our Judge! I do not pray to thee as the G.o.d of the christians did, that this cup may be spared to me; for I have put my whole hope and trust in thee, and am satisfied with whatsoever I may receive at thy hands! But I would bless thee, I would praise thee, I would magnify thy great name, oh G.o.d of my Fathers, for all that I have enjoyed or suffered, for all that I have had or wanted in this life; yea, for all the afflictions and sorrows and terrors that have beset my path, and that of my beloved wife and my dear children--children of the tribe of Judah and of the house of Jacob!--Yea, for the overthrow of all my proud hopes and prouder wishes, when I forsook thee and almost abjured the faith of my Fathers for dominion sake. Forgive my apostate brother, I beseech thee, O Lord! as thou hast forgiven me: and bless the heritage of thy people, and encourage them as the followers of the new faith are encouraged by their Jesus of Nazareth, to forgive their enemies, even though their enemies take the shape of a beloved friend or brother--to betray them--giving up their birth-right, like Esau for a mess of pottage.

A great commotion appeared on the house-tops, extending itself slowly far and wide.

Nevertheless, continued the Jew--nevertheless! oh Father and Judge, G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! thy will and not mine be done!

The mult.i.tude began to surge this way and that, with exceeding violence.

A cry of indignation arose from every side. A tumult followed--a general rush--the house-tops were suddenly deserted--the sea sh.o.r.e--and some began shouting, Away with him! away with him! and others, Let the blaspheming Jew perish without hope! and others, Crucify him! crucify him!

But in the midst of the uproar, one clear solitary cry was heard afar off, repeating a prayer to the G.o.d of the Hebrews--another cloud of white smoke rolled over the battlements--the flames appeared half way up the sky--a trumpet sounded underneath the very scaffold--the ancient war-cry of the Jews, _To your tents, O Israel!_ rung far and wide along the outer barrier--up sprang a mult.i.tude of small white banners, like affrighted birds, from the midst of the people--and the next moment, before they had recovered from their unspeakable consternation, the heavy hors.e.m.e.n charged upon them in a body, the great ship swung round with all her voices thundering together, and swept their pathway as with a whirlwind of fire, while they hurried hither and thither, crying To arms! to arms! The Jews! the Jews! and pointing toward the bridge, only to find the bridge itself destroyed and the opposite sh.o.r.e in possession of that other converted Jew--the stranger!--all in glittering steel arrayed, and carrying a banner on which the Lion of Judah was ramping in a field of carnage!

And when the Jew Adonijah, now more a Jew than ever, and more fully satisfied than ever, with the sublime, and awful, and unchangeable faith of his old Hebrew Fathers, came fully to himself, and the tumult was all over, he found three out of his four children of the house of Jacob, standing near him in their robes of state--another, and a stranger, harnessed for the war, his black eyes yet gleaming with the half-extinguished fire of battle, standing at the door of the chamber.

And why wouldst thou not pray for us, father? said one of the two that were standing by the bed-side.

Because ye were sick unto death; and I held it sinful to ask for that which had been refused to King David himself--I, that had forsaken the Lord G.o.d of my fathers--How could I hope that he would not forsake me!

But the christian prayed for us, Father, and the prayers of the christian were heard!

With what face could they, _being christians_, pray for the children of men that put their Savior to death? How could they, _being christians_, forget their scripture, which saith--_suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven!_

And as he spoke, the great doors were thrown open, and the armed man flung down his helmet, and walked forward with a solemn and haughty step leading a beautiful woman captive, and a young child.

A shriek!--a tumult!--and straightway all were kneeling together! And not one of that family of Jacob--that remnant of the tribe of Judah--not one was missing. They were determined to live and die in their old august unchangeable faith, even as all their progenitors had lived and died--enduring all things--suffering all things--trials and sorrows and temptations--age after age--and never betraying their faith, never!

But the unconquerable Jew acknowledged to himself, and to his brother, even there, as they fell upon his neck and wept, the _possibility_ of prayer being heard, the _possibility_ that the unchangeable G.o.d might be reached by supplication--and the _possibility_ that even a philosopher and a Jew might be mistaken.

But----

A WAR-SONG OF THE REVOLUTION.

By John Neal.