--it is a ram from the thickets of Engedi, and as
rugged as the valley of jehosaphat!
rugged as the valley of jehosaphat!
Poe - 5
"
"No more," responded Abel-Phittim---"no more shall we feast upon the fat
of the land-no longer shall our beards be odorous with frankincense--our
loins girded up with fine linen from the Temple. "
"Racal" swore Ben-Levi, "Racal do they mean to defraud us of the
purchase money? or, Holy Moses! are they weighing the shekels of the
tabernacle? "
"They have given the signal at last! " cried the Pharisee-----"they
have given the signal at last! pull away, Abel-Phittim! --and thou,
Buzi-Ben-Levi, pull away! --for verily the Philistines have either still
hold upon the basket, or the Lord hath softened their hearts to place
therein a beast of good weight! " And the Gizbarim pulled away, while
their burden swung heavily upward through the still increasing mist.
"Booshoh he! "--as, at the conclusion of an hour, some object at the
extremity of the rope became indistinctly visible--"Booshoh he! " was the
exclamation which burst from the lips of Ben-Levi.
*****
"Booshoh he! --for shame!
--it is a ram from the thickets of Engedi, and as
rugged as the valley of jehosaphat! "
"It is a firstling of the flock," said Abel-Phittim, "I know him by the
bleating of his lips, and the innocent folding of his limbs. His eyes
are more beautiful than the jewels of the Pectoral, and his flesh is
like the honey of Hebron. "
"It is a fatted calf from the pastures of Bashan," said the Pharisee,
"the heathen have dealt wonderfully with us----let us raise up
our voices in a psalm--let us give thanks on the shawm and on the
psaltery-on the harp and on the huggab-on the cythern and on the
sackbut! "
It was not until the basket had arrived within a few feet of the
Gizbarim that a low grunt betrayed to their perception a hog of no
common size.
"Now El Emanu! " slowly and with upturned eyes ejaculated the trio, as,
letting go their hold, the emancipated porker tumbled headlong among the
Philistines, "El Emanu! -God be with us--it is _the unutterable flesh! "_
THE SPHINX
DURING the dread reign of the Cholera in New York, I had accepted the
invitation of a relative to spend a fortnight with him in the retirement
of his _cottage ornee_ on the banks of the Hudson. We had here around
us all the ordinary means of summer amusement; and what with rambling
in the woods, sketching, boating, fishing, bathing, music, and books,
we should have passed the time pleasantly enough, but for the fearful
intelligence which reached us every morning from the populous city.
Not a day elapsed which did not bring us news of the decease of some
acquaintance. Then as the fatality increased, we learned to expect daily
the loss of some friend. At length we trembled at the approach of every
messenger. The very air from the South seemed to us redolent with death.
That palsying thought, indeed, took entire possession of my soul. I
could neither speak, think, nor dream of any thing else.
"No more," responded Abel-Phittim---"no more shall we feast upon the fat
of the land-no longer shall our beards be odorous with frankincense--our
loins girded up with fine linen from the Temple. "
"Racal" swore Ben-Levi, "Racal do they mean to defraud us of the
purchase money? or, Holy Moses! are they weighing the shekels of the
tabernacle? "
"They have given the signal at last! " cried the Pharisee-----"they
have given the signal at last! pull away, Abel-Phittim! --and thou,
Buzi-Ben-Levi, pull away! --for verily the Philistines have either still
hold upon the basket, or the Lord hath softened their hearts to place
therein a beast of good weight! " And the Gizbarim pulled away, while
their burden swung heavily upward through the still increasing mist.
"Booshoh he! "--as, at the conclusion of an hour, some object at the
extremity of the rope became indistinctly visible--"Booshoh he! " was the
exclamation which burst from the lips of Ben-Levi.
*****
"Booshoh he! --for shame!
--it is a ram from the thickets of Engedi, and as
rugged as the valley of jehosaphat! "
"It is a firstling of the flock," said Abel-Phittim, "I know him by the
bleating of his lips, and the innocent folding of his limbs. His eyes
are more beautiful than the jewels of the Pectoral, and his flesh is
like the honey of Hebron. "
"It is a fatted calf from the pastures of Bashan," said the Pharisee,
"the heathen have dealt wonderfully with us----let us raise up
our voices in a psalm--let us give thanks on the shawm and on the
psaltery-on the harp and on the huggab-on the cythern and on the
sackbut! "
It was not until the basket had arrived within a few feet of the
Gizbarim that a low grunt betrayed to their perception a hog of no
common size.
"Now El Emanu! " slowly and with upturned eyes ejaculated the trio, as,
letting go their hold, the emancipated porker tumbled headlong among the
Philistines, "El Emanu! -God be with us--it is _the unutterable flesh! "_
THE SPHINX
DURING the dread reign of the Cholera in New York, I had accepted the
invitation of a relative to spend a fortnight with him in the retirement
of his _cottage ornee_ on the banks of the Hudson. We had here around
us all the ordinary means of summer amusement; and what with rambling
in the woods, sketching, boating, fishing, bathing, music, and books,
we should have passed the time pleasantly enough, but for the fearful
intelligence which reached us every morning from the populous city.
Not a day elapsed which did not bring us news of the decease of some
acquaintance. Then as the fatality increased, we learned to expect daily
the loss of some friend. At length we trembled at the approach of every
messenger. The very air from the South seemed to us redolent with death.
That palsying thought, indeed, took entire possession of my soul. I
could neither speak, think, nor dream of any thing else.
