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| “BRING forth the Jew!” Ben Hassim said, “the caitiff of his creed, | |
| Who has reviled our holy faith, and triumphed in the deed; | |
| Blaspheming great Mahomet’s name—by Allah! he shall die; | |
| Upon his own accursed head the blasphemy shall lie. | |
| Woe unto thee, thou Jewish dog! if thou fail to clear the guilt | 5 |
| That is preferred against thee—deny it, if thou wilt! | |
| But decided proof of innocence must in clearest light be shown | |
| Or, by Medina’s holy shrine, the flame shall have her own. | |
| How say you, son of Israel, to the charge that’s now preferr’d? | |
| By Mecca! ’tis the gravest that was ever told or heard; | 10 |
| Be cautious, then, and have a mind you add not lie to lie, | |
| If truth is not found uppermost the bowstring’s strength we’ll try.” | |
| |
| “I am not guilty of the charge—’tis foul and falsely made; | |
| ’Tis jealousy and malice in dreadful form convey’d— | |
| Convey’d to suit the purpose of those who bring me here; | 15 |
| They’re fellow-merchants with myself—we’ve traded many a year. | |
| I never even thought the words, the blasphemy, you name, | |
| I swear by Heaven I’m innocent! I’ll ever swear the same; | |
| It is against our holy creed, which teaches us to love | |
| Each and all our fellow men—’tis true, as God’s above!— | 20 |
| And not revile, or lightly speak, whate’er their creed may be; | |
| As this is taught, so have I learnt—the guilt is not with me.” | |
| |
| “Upon the Koran’s holy book the solemn truth is seal’d, | |
| The accusation’s verified—your guilt is now reveal’d. | |
| Thy star has set, thy doom is fix’d; before the setting sun | 25 |
| Shall light the tops of yonder hills, know that thy course is run; | |
| For death awaits, with greedy hand, so great a gain as thou, | |
| And what avails thy holy soul in such a time as now? | |
| That boasted zeal that warms your youth, that burns within your breast, | |
| Mayhap we’ll try; your courage, too, shall also feel the test. | 30 |
| A Mufti waits, in solemn guise, say, wilt thou join his band, | |
| And with him swell the numbers that overrun the land, | |
| Who believe in our holy Prophet—Mahomet, blest be he? | |
| Wilt thou a Mussulman become? If so, thou shalt be free. | |
| You’ll not, and say, you’d rather die—by my faith, indeed you’re true; | 35 |
| First hear the roar and see the blaze—you know not what you do.” | |
* * * * * The faggots flame in fiery wreath; behold a funeral pyre; | |
| Before its glowing embers fierce shall blanch, shall wane, expire— | |
| A sacrifice of human blood, of human flesh and bone, | |
| Must drop and crackle in that blaze—’tis there no mercy’s shown. | 40 |
| Yet there he stands a martyr, unerring, true to God, | |
| So earnest in his dire resolve—so firm he pac’d the sod; | |
| Undaunted by the quiv’ring thought of the death that did await— | |
| A death of bitter agony, of pain and anguish great. | |
| With arms across his stricken breast, and eyes serenely set, | 45 |
| Calm was his gaze, so full of hope that speaking eye of jet; | |
| Upon that brow all dignified, sat piety resigned— | |
| A piety all hallow’d, with hope and trust combin’d. | |
| His was the hope, the vital hope, the hope that never dies, | |
| The light that even torture with its deadliest throes defies; | 50 |
| The solemn, grand, and heavenly thought, of devotion—constant, true, | |
| That had mark’d his young and pious life, now gave him life anew; | |
| And through the bitter vale of tears, the vale that leads to death, | |
| The unity of Israel’s God he prais’d with sacred breath; | |
| “O Lord! receive my soul,” he cried; “I am resign’d to die; | 55 |
| Blest be Thy name, the terror’s past, the horror I defy. | |
| The devouring flames may crackle, and sere the thews of youth, | |
| But mine it is the triumph—I die for faith and truth.” | |
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