Classic Poem

A youth hath enter'd the Sorcerer's door,
But he dares not lift his eye,
For his knees fail, and his flesh quakes,
And his heart beats audibly.

" Look up, young man! " the Sorcerer said;
" Lay open thy wishes to me!
Or art thou too modest to tell thy tale?
If so, I can tell it thee.

" Thy name is Eleimon;
Proterius's freedman thou art;
And on Cyra, thy Master's daughter,
Thou hast madly fix'd thy heart.

" But fearing (as thou well mayest fear!)
The high-born Maid to woo,
Thou hast tried what secret prayers, and vows,
And sacrifice might do.

" Thou hast prayed unto all Saints in Heaven,
And to Mary their vaunted Queen;
And little furtherance hast thou found
From them, or from her, I ween!

" And thou, I know, the Ancient Gods,
In hope forlorn, hast tried,
If haply Venus might obtain
The maiden for thy bride.

" On Jove and Phaebus thou hast call'd,
And on Astarte's name;
And on her, who still at Ephesus
Retains a faded fame.

" Thy voice to Baal hath been raised;
To Nile's old Deities;
And to all Gods of elder time,
Adored by men in every clime,
When they ruled earth, seas, and skies.

" Their Images are deaf!
Their Oracles are dumb!
And therefore thou, in thy despair,
To Abibas art come.

" Ay, because neither Saints nor Gods
Thy pleasure will fulfil,
Thou comest to me, Eleimon,
To ask if Satan will!

" I answer thee, Yes. But a faint heart
Can never accomplish its ends;
Put thy trust boldly in him, and be sure
He never forsakes his friends. "

While Eleimon listen'd
He shudder'd inwardly,
At the ugly voice of Abibas,
And the look in his wicked eye.

And he could then almost have given
His fatal purpose o'er;
But his Good Angel had left him
When he entered the Sorcerer's door.

So, in the strength of evil shame,
His mind the young man knit
Into a desperate resolve,
For his bad purpose fit.

" Let thy Master give me what I seek,
O Servant of Satan, " he said,
" As I ask firmly, and for his
Renounce all other aid!

" Time presses. Cyra is content
To bid the world farewell,
And pass her days, a virgin vow'd,
Among Emmelia's sisterhood,
The tenant of a cell.

" Thus hath her father will'd, that so
A life of rigor here below
May fit her for the skies,
And Heaven acceptably receive
His costliest sacrifice.

" The admiring people say of this
That Angels, or that Saints in bliss,
The holy thought inspire;
And she is call'd a blessed Maid,
And he a happy Sire.

" Through Cappadocia far and wide
The news hath found its way,
And crowds to Caesarea flock
To attend the solemn day.

" The robes are ready, rich with gold,
Even like a bridal dress,
Which at the altar she will wear
When self-devoted she stands there
In all her loveliness.

" And that coarse habit too, which she
Must then put on, is made,
Therein to be for life and death
Unchangeably array'd.

" This night, this precious night is ours,
Late, late, I come to you;
But all that must be dared, or done,
Prepared to dare and do. "

" Thou hast hesitated long! " said Abibas,
" And thou hast done amiss,
In praying to Him whom I name not,
That it never might come to this!

" But thou hast chosen thy part, and here thou art,

And thou shalt have thy desire;
And though at the eleventh hour
Thou hast come to serve our Prince of Power,
He will give thee in full thine hire.

" These Tablets take; " (he wrote as he spake;)
" My letters, which thou art to bear,
Wherein I shall commend thee
To the Prince of the Powers of the Air.

" Go from the North Gate out, and take
On a Pagan's tomb thy stand;
And, looking to the North, hold up
The Tablets in thy hand; —

" And call the Spirits of the Air,
That they my messenger may bear
To the place whither he would pass,
And there present him to their Prince
In the name of Abibas.

" The passage will be swift and safe;
No danger awaits thee beyond;
Thou wilt only have now to sign and seal,
And hereafter to pay the Bond. "