Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Mariamne.
thou , for my sake , cast aside the prejudices of thy nation , of thy faith ?' he added , in a dee ]) , low tone , fearful lest the marble columns should echo his impiety . Hear me ! shrink not—stir not . I am no Israelite !" Had a thunderbolt fallen at the feet of his astonished listener , she could not have been transfixed with greater horror . Shrinking from his side , she fell upon her knees , veiling her brow to hide the intenseness of its
agony . " Listen , " fairest of earth , he continued ; " it is no wandering outcast of the desert who hath devoted to thee his love , but the son of regal Babylon , the second of his race . His powerful brother , who even now is wandering in the temple , loves him . His father hath many realms : a crown awaits thy royal brow . "
Encouraged by her motionless silence , he ventured to take her hand . She shuddered , and withdrew it from him as from the embrace of a serpent . Rising gracefully , and unveiling her tearless countenance , in which , however , strong traces of mental agitation and outraged feeling were visible , the maiden calmly replied , " Idolater , I have heard thee ; and if I punish not thy insolence to the daughter of the Hig h Priest of Israel , it is that contempt is stronger
than anger—farewell . " " Mariamne ! " he uttered , franticly , thou hast never loved me !" " Would I never had , " she replied mournfully ; " I then had escaped this shame and sin : but thy venom is harmless ; thou hast thyself , in revealing thy true character , performed the cure . " " Cold and insensible , " he muttered , " but I will not be baffled ; one dear revenge is in my power . "
Approaching her , he would have clasped her in his arms , but she perceiving his design , retreated to an adjacent column . "Advance one step , " she exclaimed , flushed with virtuous indignation , " and I yield thee to thy fate . One blow , " pointing to a silver gong suspended ivithin her reach , " and a thousand Levites fill the court . One word from these lips consigns thee to the doom of sacrilege . Begone ! and know Mariamne of Judea scorns , and pardons thee . " With a heart overwhelmed with gall and disappointmentEli rushed
, from her presence . For some time the excited girl remained in humble prayer to that Being who had given her strength to struggle ivith the weakness of her passions , and resist the seducer s art . " Eternal father I" she exclaimed , as a sudden thought rushed upon her brain ; " heathens are in the temple , and thy holy sanctuary unguarded . Must I then give him up
to death ? Be it , she added , choking with tears and agitation , " my atonement . " With desperate resolution she struck the gong : the summons brought a crowd of priests and her father to her presence . A few words revealed the real character of the strangers . "To the sanctuary , " said the High Priest , trembling with indignation : " Lord , let not this evil be accomplished . " Rashly the terrified Levites rushed to the gates which led to its awful precincts—they were fastened .
" To the galleries I" they exclaimed , " there we may behold them . " In pursuit of his'impious purpose , Aran had reached the portal which led to the Holy of Holies , and to prevent surprise , fastened after him the ponderous doors . His foot was upon the steps , at whose termination hung that mysterious veil which no human hand save the High
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Mariamne.
thou , for my sake , cast aside the prejudices of thy nation , of thy faith ?' he added , in a dee ]) , low tone , fearful lest the marble columns should echo his impiety . Hear me ! shrink not—stir not . I am no Israelite !" Had a thunderbolt fallen at the feet of his astonished listener , she could not have been transfixed with greater horror . Shrinking from his side , she fell upon her knees , veiling her brow to hide the intenseness of its
agony . " Listen , " fairest of earth , he continued ; " it is no wandering outcast of the desert who hath devoted to thee his love , but the son of regal Babylon , the second of his race . His powerful brother , who even now is wandering in the temple , loves him . His father hath many realms : a crown awaits thy royal brow . "
Encouraged by her motionless silence , he ventured to take her hand . She shuddered , and withdrew it from him as from the embrace of a serpent . Rising gracefully , and unveiling her tearless countenance , in which , however , strong traces of mental agitation and outraged feeling were visible , the maiden calmly replied , " Idolater , I have heard thee ; and if I punish not thy insolence to the daughter of the Hig h Priest of Israel , it is that contempt is stronger
than anger—farewell . " " Mariamne ! " he uttered , franticly , thou hast never loved me !" " Would I never had , " she replied mournfully ; " I then had escaped this shame and sin : but thy venom is harmless ; thou hast thyself , in revealing thy true character , performed the cure . " " Cold and insensible , " he muttered , " but I will not be baffled ; one dear revenge is in my power . "
Approaching her , he would have clasped her in his arms , but she perceiving his design , retreated to an adjacent column . "Advance one step , " she exclaimed , flushed with virtuous indignation , " and I yield thee to thy fate . One blow , " pointing to a silver gong suspended ivithin her reach , " and a thousand Levites fill the court . One word from these lips consigns thee to the doom of sacrilege . Begone ! and know Mariamne of Judea scorns , and pardons thee . " With a heart overwhelmed with gall and disappointmentEli rushed
, from her presence . For some time the excited girl remained in humble prayer to that Being who had given her strength to struggle ivith the weakness of her passions , and resist the seducer s art . " Eternal father I" she exclaimed , as a sudden thought rushed upon her brain ; " heathens are in the temple , and thy holy sanctuary unguarded . Must I then give him up
to death ? Be it , she added , choking with tears and agitation , " my atonement . " With desperate resolution she struck the gong : the summons brought a crowd of priests and her father to her presence . A few words revealed the real character of the strangers . "To the sanctuary , " said the High Priest , trembling with indignation : " Lord , let not this evil be accomplished . " Rashly the terrified Levites rushed to the gates which led to its awful precincts—they were fastened .
" To the galleries I" they exclaimed , " there we may behold them . " In pursuit of his'impious purpose , Aran had reached the portal which led to the Holy of Holies , and to prevent surprise , fastened after him the ponderous doors . His foot was upon the steps , at whose termination hung that mysterious veil which no human hand save the High