Prophecy and lamentation; or, A voice from the East. An appeal to the women of England, on the regeneration of the East, and the elevation of their sex to the rights and dignities, of which they have been so long deprived by their Mahommedan masters

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PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION

A VOICE FROM THE EAST.

AN

APPEAL TO THE. WOMEN OF ENGLAND,

ON THE REGENERATION OF THE EAST, AND THE ELEVATION OF

THEIR SEX TO THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITIES, OF WHICH

THEY HAVE BEEN SO LONG DEPRIVED BY

THEIR MAHOMMEDAN MASTERS ;

BY

THE BABYLONIAN PRINCESS,

MARIA THERESA D'ASMAR,
DAUGHTER OF EMIR ABDALLAH D'ASMAR.

WRITTEN BY HERSELF, AND TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.

DEDICATED, BY SPECIAL PERMISSION, TO HER MAJESTY.

LONDON:

JOHN HATCH ARD AND SON, PUBLISHERS,

187, PICCADILLY.

1845.

LONDON :
HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS,

ST. martin's lane.

HQ

r

WMMion*

TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY

VICTORIA,

QUEEN OF ENGLAND AND THE INDIES,

ifC. 4-c. ^c.

The profound emotion that vibrates in my
heart, for the gracious protection afforded
me by your Majesty, it is much easier to
feel than to express.

Had any doubts existed in my mind as
to the success of the sacred task I have
undertaken, " The Emancipation of the
Women of the East," the sympathy of so

A 2

IV DEDICATION.

great a Queen would have dissipated
them.

In the glorious cause of Asia — my
beloved country ! — the voice of truth and
enthusiasm speaks thoughts that burn, and
sink into the soul !

Oh may the cry of liberty be heard
from Albion's shores, to rend the chains
that bind my father-land ! — where all the
jarring interests of contending states —
lawless ambition — the avarice of indivi-
duals— a false prophet, and a false faith,
have blasted the blossoms of domestic

joy.

Where the sword of despotism ever
thirsts for the blood of the innocent — and
where the name of " Christian" is a bye-
word and a reproach !

Oh — sacred land, once loveliest of all !
may Albion's Queen thy just rights restore.

DEDICATION. V

and pluck the Avild flowers from thy roofless
homes !

May the voice of the lone orphan of the
Emir, who is come from the ruined halls of
her fathers, now silent and deserted, sink
deep into the hearts of the women of the
West !

Let but Albion's Queen, and the fair
daughters of her sea-girt Isle be with me,
and the cry of hberty shall yet be heard to
arouse each noble impulse of the heart ; —
let tJieTYi come, with the sacred Are of true
religion, to give strength and virtue to the
freedom of the East, and despotism will
hide its hydra head. The daughters of the
harem will cease to weep, and the light of
gladness and joy will shine from soul to
soul !

Civilization, commerce, liberty, and
the arts, flow like a mighty ocean from

A 3

VI DEDICATION.

Great Britain to the shores of my native
country.

It was your Majesty's subjects who first
opened the port of Suez to the commerce of
the Indies — it is your Majesty's citizens
who daily pass Mount Lebanon; — wherever
we roam, the pilgrims of Albion are to be
met with, diffusing benefits aromid by their
example and industry !

Your Majesty's steamers were the first
to float o'er the Euphrates and Tigris —
proudly to brave the main from the borders
of the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Persia.
The flag of famed Britannia waves in
every breeze, and by her powerful sway
Asia shall be restored to liberty and happi-
ness, for the intrepid energy, undismayed
perseverance, holy enthusiasm, and moral
force of the British character, surmount
all difflculties !

DEDICATION. VU

The inspiring hope that your Majesty
has kindled in my heart, affords a sweet
consolation to my wounded spirit ; and
assures me, that the tree of life — of true
religion, and of freedom, will, under the
aid and wisdom of Divine Providence, be
planted by your Majesty in my country, —
that it will take root — flourish — and
shelter beneath its wide-spread branches
the lovely flowers of the East !

Ah ! how many millions of Asiatic
women are plunged in the depths of dark-
ness— shrouded in ignorance by the customs
of their comitry — bought and sold, as a
mere article of furniture ! Alas! what degra-
dation of the Almighty's fairest gifts ! — what
strange perversion of pure Nature's laws!

Knowledge can ne'er reach them, for
their dark rulers are jealous even of the
day which lights them.

VIU DEDICATION.

Come, then, ye highly favoured daugh-
ters of the West, and pluck the wreaths of
ignorance from their brows, and the thorns
of sorrow from their feet.

Let the voice of the Great Spirit of
British Freedom be heard in the Land, and
the fields of verdant hues, the groves, the
valleys, the hills, and rocks sublime will
echo the joyful sound.

Oh ! thou mighty Queen that reigneth
in glad palaces, ever surrounded by love and
joy, remember, oh, remember the wronged
women of the East — shut up within
their living tombs, the Harems ! hitherto
surrounded by an impenetrable barrier
raised by the united force of pride — vain
ignorance — and selfishness — the absolute
despotism of the master, over his slave !

The mind left fallow — and the soul
untaught, they suffer wrongs as deadly

DEDICATION. IX

as humanity can inflict — wrongs which
blight the mind, and wither the soul's
energies. Within their living tombs the
blessed light of Christianity ne'er pene-
trates— the sacred volume of the Gospel
never glads the heart, there all the divine
laws of equality — pure love — and mental
wisdom are cast into the devouring furnace
of despotic power.

X DEDICATION.

Albion, blest land of Liberty ! long
may the sacred fire of wedded love burn
brightly in thy palaces and cottages !
Where e'er that holy flame burns pure,
content and true affection dwell — it is the
cheering light that alike illumines the
splendid hall and humble cottage — it is the
bright meteor of heaven that sheds the
atmosphere of Paradise around where e'er
it beams.

Mysterious Providence ! that hath so
long permitted to my sisters so sad a fate !
Oh, let Albion's Queen and daughters be
the divine instruments in thy hands to raise
the fallen sisterhood of Asia.

Alone have I quitted the land of the
Patriarchs. — Alone, have I abandoned the

DEDICATION. XI

tombs of my martyred sires. — Alone have
I come to implore the protection of the
first Queen in the world — the Queen of
Liberty and Justice ! — the Queen of
England, in favour of a once noble and free
people !

In the blessed name of true Religion —
the Holy Religion of Christ — in the name
of Nature's dearest, tenderest sympathies,
— in the name of all that gives life a
charm, and age a hope, to ask, implore, to
urge your gracious Majesty to succour, and
befriend my sisters of the East.

The generous sympathy I have hitherto
received from your Majesty, assures me of
the future — and thus protected beneath
the shadow of Britannia's sceptre I fear no
evil. Gratitude now occupies my heart —
and the lone daughter of the Patriarchs
of Chaldea now joyfully and confidingly

XU DEDICATION.

resigns herself and noble cause at the feet
of the illustrious Queen of England, — who
has so graciously deigned to accept this
tribute of the gratitude, and high con-
sideration felt in the heart of her most
admiring and devoted Servant,

MARIA THERESA D'ASMAR,

DAUGHTER OF THE EMIR ABDALLAH.

PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

OR,

A VOICE FROM THE EAST,

Invocation.

God, the Almighty Sovereign of the universe !
who hath given me a heart to love Tliee — a
mind to contemplate and adore the wonders of
thy mighty creation, and the celestial glory of
thy majesty — all hail ! — My heart and mind are
all thine !

Glory to Thee — wisdom supreme and infinite !
that made light to spring from the bosom of dark-
ness ! that made the firmament, and the waves

B

2 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

of tlie ocean beneath, to reflect the stars on
high ! that made the night ! and suspended in
the blue vault of heaven the silvery moon, whose
pale and melancholy light softens the gloom of
darkness !

All hail ! Divine Creator of the universe !
that hath launched me into the eternity of life
with a ray of thine intelligence ! Divine Creator !
who for impenetrable and mysterious reasons,
hath permitted the monster of ignorance and
fanaticism to extinguish the light of the East —
my Country !

Hail glorious God ! thou who keepeth the
universe in harmony ; thou, who from the heaven
of heavens ordains that each celestial orb revolve
in glorious and magnificent order around thy
throne ; oh ! render tranquillity to my Country —
to the Land of the Patriarchs !

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 3

Fill up the measure of thy beneficence —
reunite her divided and unhappy people. Cast
down the sword of the homicide from out the
hands of her warriors ! Give peace to Asia !
Asia now barren, deserted, and weighed down
beneath the scourge of despotism. Give unto
her new life, and with that life, restore her an-
cient and once flourishing fertility ! And we.
Almighty Benefactor, we will aid thy bounteous
designs by cultivating peace and civilization. We
will not cease to observe and obey thy holy word,
and daily to offer up new tribute of gratitude and
praise ! — Hail ! hail ! all hail !

B 2

I have traversed the vast deserts, — I have
traversed the regions of Lebanon, — I have
passed the stormy and tumultuous seas, — I have
traversed Europe to call the women of the West
to succour their sisters of the East ; for at the
voice of the women of the West the spirit of
the ancient warriors of my country will revive,
as when resplendent with purple and fine gold —
yea ! and if need be, at their voice, the swords
and lances of the avengers of the Son of God,
will shine as the stars of heaven; will rise,
numerous as the white waves of the ocean which
roll on the far-stretched shores of the grand
Atlantic! The children of the destroying pro-
phet shall fall like the dead leaves in autumn, —
and, at the rising of the sun, their vanquished
leaders be no more !

Arise, then, women of Nineveh, — of Babylon
and Palmyra — yea, ye who added lustre to the
fame of Ninus, Odernath, and Niacon, hover

6 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

around the champions of our liberties, and
restore us the honour due to our injured sex !
Come ye shades of dejDarted greatness, reanimate
our fallen energies, to rebuild the ruined altars of
our fathers !

Compatriots ! abjure your errors, give the
true hand of amity to the fair daughters of
Albion, and God will be with you — will blot out
your iniquities from beneath his malediction !

Women of the East and of the West, the
oppressors will tremble at your approach, as
did Belshazzar in the presence of the Prophet
of Chaldea, and of the wise and learned men
of Babylon, when he saw the mysterious and
prophetic hand-writing on the walls of the
Hall of Festivity !

Yes ! there are still happy days in store for
my beloved Asia ! The venomous poison of the
serpent which stung her is well nigh exhausted.
Arise, then, my sisters, achieve the conquest
of our rights, broken and trampled down in our
vast and extensive portion of the world ! if an

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 7

arrow pierce our bosoms, glorious will be our
death, — for the Parthian who shall hurl the dart,
will do so in his flight !

'Tis ours — the privilege to guide the armies
of the powerful Christian who will upraise the
broken walls of our palaces, — rebuild our fire-
consumed cities, and wash out the life-blood
stains which flowed from the devoted hearts of
our young warriors, when the victorious intidel
mowed them down as the wild grass !

Barbarians ! they proclaimed to all the earth,
perpetual desolation unto Asia! as if our sacred
temples could be doomed by mortal, to be o'er-
grown by noxious plants and briars throughout
eternity? To be the dark retreat of serpents
and hyaenas? as if the hungry vulture, and low
eagle, should alone be seen to perch upon our
battlements, and hover o'er the summit of our
pyramids ?

No — no ! after the bloody mission of the
sword, that sword so long unsheathed, the holy

8 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

men of religion will come to unfetter the slaves
attached to the chariots of the conquerors.

Religion ! holy flame of heaven ! that giveth
true and steadfast principles of action — that
cometh with sweet healing on its wings, — inspir-
ing sentiments of peaceful harmony and love !
Yes! ^tis religion must regenerate those sweet
and lovely flowers of humanity, which then, like
the stars in the firmament of night, shall shed
a heavenly influence o'er the darkness of the
Harem.

The sacred word of Christ shall upraise the
sublime column of Truth in face of day, — to
enlighten, to guide, to save, — more glorious and
universal far, than the vast asylum of St. Benedict
for those suffering souls, who hope thereby to
be restored unto the realms of light !

In one century Mahomet overspread, subdued
— even fair Persia inaccessible to the Roman
Legions, — Palestine, — Egypt, — the Libyan
Desert, — Africa, and even a part of Europe.

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 9

Will not, then, the spirit of Christ, which sheddeth
the perfect principle of harmony and of order,
which animated and inspired the holy saints of
old to teach us the pure light of truth and hope
of immortality — yea, will not His unbounded
power reconquer, and make fair an empire which
succumbed to brutal force ?

Futile, indeed, were the vain efforts of the
combatants to retain possession of the Holy
City — alas ! no human power was able to
resist the fatal and overwhelming tide which
flowed against Judea !

But a new era, a new-born generation ap-
l)eareth in the land — illustrious — edifying — who
in the silent study of religion will raise new
and sublime monuments of sacred thought.

Eighteen centuries have passed — what hath
man done? henceforth, fair Christians, 'tis for us
to be the saviours of Asia — at this moment she
is encircled by a thousand Christian vessels —

10 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

ready to change her dying winding sheet for
the bright robe of righteousness, and to eclipse
for ever the dominion of the Saracens.

The first step is already made — the progress
of Christianity is silently gliding into the empire
of the Caliph, and it finds even now a Protector
seated on the very throne of Mahomet.

God of Heaven ! protect the unfortunate
daughter of the Patriarchs of Chaldea, in this
her holy crusade !

Oh ! give her but one atom of that sacred,
powerful persuasion which in former ages stag-
gered the unbeliever, — staggered even those, who
in the first ebullition of their frenzy caused the
downfall of Syria, and laid Palestine at the feet
of the conqueror !

Oh ! give her but a spark of that Divine
eloquence to agitate the soul, but not o'erthrow
it — to alarm, but not to wither! — to penetrate,
but not to lacerate ! Her mission is not to con-
demn, to lacerate, or to wither. No ! but to dive
into the hidden recesses of the heart, and to

OK, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 11

unroll the secret folds wherein the passions lie
concealed; to the end of obtaining new and
eternal life !

Father of Mercies ! Graciously direct my
energies to expose the evils and calamities which
have laid waste my unhappy country, — and ac-
cord me the power to make known the remedy
to heal and save her !

What country ever had so many disasters
to repair? so many wounds to heal? hatreds to
extinguish ? and divided interests to conciliate ?

What though the study of modern constitu-
tions may show us, that those who liberally occupy
themselves in morals, literature, and the sciences,
are for the most part excluded from the govern-
ment of public affairs, doth that prevent exalted
spirits from devoting their time, influence, and
wealth, to philosophy, religion, science, and to
the noble cause of ameliorating the condition of
their fellow creatures? No! and the words,
writings, and example of such men are produc-
tive of the most important and durable influence.

The fruit of study, the results of observation,

12 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

are they lost because woman hath no voice in
the tribune of her country? No ! doth she not
possess the power to concentrate all the divine
energies of the soul for the advancement and
happiness of mankind, by giving her support and
influence to the precious light of truth alone !

Revolutions ! Grand, gigantic ! whose re-
sistless sway hath changed the whole face of the
globe; to whom are we indebted for these
changes ? To woman ! to her unseen, often
unknown, but deep and certain influence. Let
woman, then, implore the light of heaven to
guide her silent bias !

Hath not the Almighty ruler of events,
ordained in his unerring wisdom, that the illus-
trious sceptre of great and powerful Britain,
with India, and her countless millions, — ^the
sceptres, too, of bright Hispania and of Lusi-
tania, — should at this eventful period of the
world bo centred in the hands of three young
Queens? O! like the radiant day-star of the
East, which guided the watchful shepherds to

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 13

Messiah's birth-place, may they iUumine the
benighted people of my unhappy country, by
rendering assistance to one of their own sex in
so glorious a cause !

14 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

The Almighty, in his heavenly munificence,
was pleased to create a world surpassing other
worlds, more lovely and superb than those re-
volving mid the vast infinity of space !

One chosen land therein he blessed beyond
all others! on which the heavenly treasures of
his grace he shed. O privileged ! O sacred
land ! wherein events the most miraculous took
place ; where men, the most illustrious, have
succeeded each other from age to age !

This favoured region, blessed land, is Asia !
— Asia, in which he who dispersed the bright
worlds in space, who groups the stars in heaven,
hath suspended his golden and eternal lamj) of
light !

The East ! fair country of fertility ! of innu-
merable souls ! phenomenon of greatness ! whence
the effulgent and immortal light of truth burst

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 15

forth to illumine and dispel the mists of igno-
rance which for so many ages had been coiling
round the fane of pure religion !

The birth place, too, of science ! arts ! of
literature! of commerce! and whence, I demand,
could this life-springing essence emanate? but
from this all creating region of vitality? where
the Supreme Intelligence hath everywhere en-
graven his magnificent and gorgeous emblems !

Where else will you find nature so active?
the waves of light so pure ? vegetation so luxu-
riant ? or colours so brilliant and gay ? Sublime
harmony of creation !

Oil my country ! never, perhaps, shall I see
thee more ! never repose my wearied head beneath
the tent paternal ! ne'er traverse more those re-
gions wild ! those vast and arid deserts ! bound-
less plains ! the grandeur of whose wide expanse
no pen can paint ! none ! 'tis in the rapt subli-
mity of thought which cometh o'er the immortal
soul, and lifts it up to heaven !

Renounce thee? No! though thrice twelve

16 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

years had rolled since last I saw thee ! Land
of my nativity !

Can I abandon the blessed hope of rescuing
Chaldea and Jerusalem? Can Memphis have
disapi^eared for ever ? proud Babylon ? incom-
parable Palmyra? and all those mighty cities?
which, alas, consumed each other by the strife for
power !

Ruins vast and holy ! I am indeed trans-
planted far beyond thy walls of desolation ! but
even here, reposed within the bosom of proud
Europe, surrounded by the alluring charms of
high refinement and politeness, can memory
forget the heavenly gifts Avliich the Creator in
his munificence bestowed u])on the children of
the Sun? Can memory forget those children's
woes?

But how, alas ! shall I, lone daughter of the
Desert, resist the mandate of omnipotent dis-
pleasure, which, like an avalanche, hath fallen on
the erring cities of my nation, and left them
desolate ?

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 17

I look around ; sublime and solitary ruins
alone remain of all those vast and splendid tem-
ples, noble palaces, and glorious works of art, no
longer recognisable ! but still the wonder, pride,
and admiration of the world !

Alas! when art or science now appears within
our smitten land, 'tis as the rose which blossoms
'mid the tombs !

I have contemplated those lovely palms which
still wave their lofty and majestic heads on the
mountains of fair Eden, but the daughters of
Tudor are no more ; the Sacred harmony of the
Prince of Song hath ceased to be heard in the
land.

Sweet poesy and the celestial harmony of past
ages have fled to the palace whence they came,
to heaven ! in vain your thirsty soul will ask, in
vain implore; the harps have ceased their melody!

All, all, alas! hath disappeared, and soon none
will remain to weep or rejoice in the valleys of
Syria !

18 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

My eyes are veiled by the mist of tears, for
the barbarians have covered the country of the
Lord with mourning, and the trembling light of
the lamp of Jerusalem will soon cease to illumine
the Christian of the Desert, unless some mighty
power stretch forth its hand to feed the source !

Ask for Jesus of Nazareth ? Alas ! no voice
replieth unto your voice, save that of the lone
echo 'mid the ruins of his Temples. Oh, my
sacred Country ! thou art indeed but as a tomb !

Thy glory — once encircled by the halo of
righteousness — hath fled far from thee. 'Tis the
thunder of Mahomed which now roars around
the hill of Sion, where kneeling may be seen the
false ministers of God ! The scattered Christians
can no longer meet to hear the Word within their
sacred precincts, for the Rock of Sinai is now in-
voked by the adorers of Baal !

The virgins of Salem can no longer sing or
weep at liberty; their brilliant tears suspended
'neath the silken lashes of their eyes, hang as the
glittering dew-drops on the petals of the lily !

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 19

But, courage, O lone daughter of the Desert !
if the harp of David is no more, the soul-in-
spiring spirit of his muse still lives — will live for
ever!

Then string your golden harps, fair daughters
of the East, and sing your plaintive strains in pre-
sence of the world !

Recount the frightful sufferings and calamities
of thy oppressed and wandering people, less
favoured than the wolves — deprived as they have
often been of a wild cave for shelter!

Awake, Great Women of the East, awake !
O, come forth from your tombs, Zenobia! Semi-
ramis ! Esther ! and Cleopatra ! Yea, all ye
noble and illustrious spirits of the past ; the time
hath come when Asia shall withdraw the veil that
hath hidden her face for ages; as the young daughter
of the East, when she enters into the Zezena of
the harem !

Arise, then, ye Niobes of the Desert ! ye have
sufficiently wept o'er the ruins of Asia, Assyria,

c2

20 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

and Mesopotamia ! The prophecies of Isaiah, the
son of Amos, are fulfilled. The desolation of
Babylon — the confusion of Egypt — of her ancient
Princes of Tyre — Jerusalem — and of Nineveh,
been accomplished !

Nothing more remaineth to destroy !

With difficulty the spot is now recognised,
where once arose those high, gigantic walls, stu-
pendous as the mountains ! — those proud unnum-
bered towers — those hundred gates of bronze !
— those lovely gardens, hanging in the air ! — fair
realms of Paradise ? Alas ! the destroying Angel
passed o'er, and all hath disappeared !

" But the joyful flourishing of Christ's king-
dom, it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even
with joy and gladness. The glory of Lebanon
shall be given unto it — the excellency of Carmel
and of Sharon : they shall see the glory of the
Lord, and the excellency of our God !"

" Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped ; and

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 21

the ransomed of the Lord shall return to Siou
with song and everlasting joy upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away."

The time of rejoicing is at hand, and Lebanon
prepares herself for trium])h !

The eyes of the infidel are opened to the light
of God, and their ears hear the truth of Christianity,
even within the walls of Constantinople !

The lone exiles shall return to their loved
country, singing the praises of the Lord, who
hath wrought the resurrection of the East.

Isaiah, in his prophecy, hath said : " I will set
the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they
shall fight every one against his brother, and
every one against his neighbours, city against city,
and kingdom against kingdom."

" And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the
midst thereof; and I will destroy the council
thereof; and the Egyptians will I give over into
the hands of a cruel Lord, and a fierce King shall
rule over them, saith the Lord-^the Lord of
Hosts.

" The waters shall fail from the sea, and the

22 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

rivers shall be wasted and dried up. And they
shall turn the river far away, and the brooks of
defence shall be emptied and dried up ; the reeds
and flags shall wither ;" and " Babylon, — the glory
of the kingdom — the beauty of Chaldea's excel-
lence— it shall be as Sodom and Gomorrah."

" It shall not be inhabited nor dwelt in from
generation to generation ; neither shall the Ara-
bian pitch his tent there, neither shall the shepherds
make their fold there. But wild beasts of the
desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be
full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell
therein."

The denunciations of the immortal Prophet
are accomphshed.

" And now it shall come to pass, that from
one moon to another, and from one Sabbath to
another, all flesh shall come to worship before
me, saith the Lord."

Egypt beneath the protecting sceptre of the
Pasha revives again.

Science and art now raise their drooping
heads, and the benign influence and sympathy

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 23

of their charms is felt throughout the land of
Mizraim, the son of Ham, and the grandson of
Noah.

The curse and scourge of war is broken — it
is fallen — and for ever — nor can it rise up more.

Fathers will no longer draw their swords
against their children, nor children against their
fathers.

Neighbours will no longer wage war against
their neighbours, for the whole nation feels the
genial influence of a rising empire.

Each day sees weakened the arbitrary rule of
despotism, which in former ages governed each
act of social order.

The profound wisdom of those mighty men,
who caused the erection of Alexandria and the
Catacombs, of Labyrinth, of Obelisk and Pyramid,
now eloquent in ruins ! will soon awaken in the
souls of their descendants, and the fair land of
the East shall laugh in the renovated fertility of
its natural luxuriance.

The Kine: — the herald of this resurrection, wide

24 PROPHECY ANJ) LAMENTATION,

spreads his sceptre, firm, just, protective over the
land where he hath broken the iron rule of des-
potism.

Instead of raising up this hideous giant which
hath so long oppressed and crushed my country,
the admiring world sees Ali Pasha open the por-
tals of his empire to admit the rush of vast intel-
ligence and knowledge which now o'erspreads the
globe ! Yes ! rapidly she plies her barks along
the Persian Gulf to India ; and the ancient names
of the oppressors of the East serve but to orna-
ment the prows of her huge steamers as they pass
along the Tigris, Nile, Euphrates, the seas of the
Levant, the bright and lovely Mediterranean,
unto the wide oceans of the world !

In half a century more, the caravans of pil-
grims will glide like the Sirocco o'er the gloomy
sea of sand from Jerusalem to Diabekir, from
Constantinople to the Gulf of Persia.

The chariots, urged along by the impetus of
fire, will traverse the Isthmus to the astonishing
eyes of the wondering population of the East; and
Asia, in a few years, will possess a communication
rapid as the fire of heaven, with Africa and
Europe.

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 25

The time is fast approaching when the religion
of the Lord — that holy, pure religion which pro-
claims the nobleness of science, inspires the
soul to dedicate its powers for the amelioration of
its fellows, and engenders peace, hope, love,
charity, and good will unto all men, will achieve
the emancipation of the ignorant !

Selfishness shall become ashamed, and industry
like a giant shall march onward with rapid strides
to the glorious future.

Woman shall take her place in social life —
concord shall reign in families — equity and justice
in governments — and the pure religion of Christ
Jesus shall conduct us to a glorious hereafter !

I know it hath been written that, " Edom
shall be a desolation;" that "Every one that
goeth by her shall be astonished."

That "Damascus shall wax feeble, anguish
and sorrow overtake her."

That "the city of price shall not be one of
joy — that her young men shall fall in her streets,
and all the men of war shall be cut off."

26 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

Concerning Kedar, too, and the kingdoms of
Harom, which Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon
shall smite ; thus saith the Lord, " Arise ye, go
up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the East."
The Idomites are indeed dispersed on every side ;
their women, old men, and their children are
destroyed !

Edom is no more ! the shadow of darkness
hath passed o'er the land, and not a vestige now
remains of all that once wa*S there !

Amid her vast and lonely plains of sand, — her
barren, sterile mountains, — the eye now roams in
melancholy sadness — no living object cheers the
sight, — for there is no life there !

Beneath a burning and devouring sun, — a
parched and sultry sky, — where no oasis glads
the eye, but all is arid, bare — no soft, refreshing
breeze from distant glades e'er wafts its cool,
reviving zephyrs, to invigorate the weary pilgrim
of the desert !

No grass — no flowers — skeletons — and bones
blanched 'neath the ardent rays of the hot sun,
and scattered o'er these regions of Death's empire
— alone tell of the past !

OB, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 27

Damascus, — perhaps the most ancient city of
the world, — and which could send twenty
thousand men to the assistance of Hadadezer,
the king of Zobah.

Damascus ! — thou that caused such vast dis-
quietude to Israel, — whom, but for the miraculous
interposition of the Almighty, thou wouldst have
conquered, — thou — thou thyself was vanquished
by the armies of Pileser, king of Assyria ! — and
thy kings ? — appeareth on the earth no more !

Damascus ! crushed, and feeble hath remained, .
according as the holy prophet hath foretold.

But the sacred fire of Christian intelligence
shall restore it — Damascus shall be made to float
o'er the gulf of desolation, as a sure bark on the
waves of a calm ocean !

When the Lord shall illumine the bright
torches of art and science in Assyria, civilization
and liberty will come, — flying on angels' wings, —
and the spirit of Christianity and love, encircled
by the halo of righteousness, shall replace the
demon of discord and of darkness !

Instead of the noise of war, and fearful cries

^8 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

of men hurling their fellow mortals to destruction
and to death, — the groans of warriors and of
victims sinking into the yawning grave ; — there
shall be heard the songs of joy and plenty, calling
the glad people to civilization and hapj)iness !

The descendants of the sons of Ishmael await
but the arrival of the children of the West, to
restore the riches of their ancient cities — to
establish brotherly love, and just equality in fair
Arabia, which for so many centuries hath been
separated from the rest of the world !

Arabia ! — thou who in former times so orlori-

o

ously and unaided sustained the conflict of dire
war, against the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and
Romans, when they poured their hordes of mer-
cenaries o'er the land of thy Arcadian bowers,
to rob thee of thy liberty and fame ! — how nobly
didst thou act ! — how faithfully thou hast pre-
served the purity and sincerity of thy manners.

Yes — from the most distant date of time —
when thy merchants sold their incense and their
perfumes in the port of Mirza, in the province of
Tamer, even until now !

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 29

Oh ! never forget the mighty power, the
wisdom and heroic valour, these people have
evinced.

Think — O ye, whose thousand superb vessels
come to the port of Suez — ye who send your
thundering cannon on the plains of Egypt — that
these Ishmaelites and Kaderini, Nabathians and
Hagarini, preceded you a thousand years ago —
before Mahomet and his Caliphs revolutionized
religion, politics, and despoiled our cities.

The Lord of Hosts hath spoken it — the East
shall be raised up — yea, soon shall rise high, as
the sacred Scriptures have foretold — those holy
writings ! whose sublime grandeur and simplicity
surpasseth the famed eloquence of Greece and
Rome.

Yes ! the East shall be raised up in all her
native majesty and beauty ! Soon as the new
light of heaven shall rise, its lustrous beams shall
sparkle as a thousand fires, and the glorious rays
its bright effulgence sheddeth, shall dazzle and
astonish, while it enlightens.

30 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

Nathan, whose prophetic spirit saw afar the
downfall of proud Nineveh, shall come again and
sing of victory and resurrection to a people so
long cursed for their sins !

And Jeremiah too, whose deep eloquence
wept o'er the misfortunes of his people, shall
come to chant the praises of the Lord who hath
redeemed the fallen.

How enviable the task, to restore the spirit
of the Orientals to its original brightness !

Once become the children of the Lord, and
the high intelligence of their nature will assert
her rights, and lead them to the path whence
they have strayed, — to the pure springs of
science, — to the native source of knowledge — for
it is well known that Asia in ancient times
dived deeper into nature's hidden mysteries than
even the learned men of Europe in these days.

Think not the superstitions of the East have
always been! — do not the learned doctors of the
West daily discover that what are termed "new
Sciences and Arts," are but Phenomena of Nature

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 31

that have existed from Antiquity, — were known
unto the learned men of old, — but have lain
dormant for a lapse of time, for faith among the
multitude was wanting ; — false creeds and errors
blended by degrees their subtle arts entwined
around the fount of pure, — of Nature's truths —
'till the fair Fane within was scarcely visible !

Darkness and light have each their reign of
power ! — in every land, day dawns — and night
succeeds, — but the pure flame of heaven burns
still unchanged !

'Tis man — frail man who wavers — he who
wanders — strays from the light of nature, and of
God!

Oh ! what were we, could man have quenched
the holy rays of light for ever ? But no ! — God's
punishments are chastened by his mercy — we
value not the glorious gift of light which burst
forth in the East, — did the Almighty quench it ?
dim it ? — No ! He but withdrew it to the
western shores — there to enlighten; — warm, —
engender faith — hope — love — charity and peace
— good-will and fellowship unto all the world !

32 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

Come then, fair sisters of the West, trim your
bright lamps from heaven's own holy source.
The light must be refined, — ethereal — pure, —
to lighten up the darkness of the East !

The voice of inspiration must return to Asia
from lips that know no guile, — the halo of
consistency and truth must shed their glory
round !

The Asiatics then will bend the knee before
the holy altars of their fathers — again become
the first men in the world ; — seas — mountains —
oceans — nothing shall divide the sacred bonds
of amity and love. Peace shall reign paramount,
and the only strife—be that of kindness !

The children of the Desert must be won,
their spirits yield not to constraint or force —
assuage their weary pilgrimage with draught from
the deep wells of truth and knowledge — and
what more speaking to the heart — sublime ? —
majestic ? — simple ? — than the grand truths con-
tained in Holy Writ? — Its mildness is adapted to
sympathise with, — to win their souls.

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 33

The purity of its moral accords with tlie
unsopliisticated simplicity of their habits, — and
the sublim^e elevation of its maxims will meet
a responding chord in the dignified minds of the
imconquered sons of the Desert. — Unconquered !
— Yes by man — yet will they bend to the pure
eloquence of Christian Truths.

That eloquence divine! — that moral power!
adapted for the happiness of man, both here and
hereafter. Yes, it shall reign triumphant !

Hushed be the strife of party, — the intrigues
of courts, — all popular excitements cease. Tliat
eloquence divine needs not your aid ! Ye work
by passion, — ye excite the frailties of man's nature
to obtain your ends, — but Christianity subdues
the rising waves of discord, softens the obdurate
heart, and leads it on to heaven !

Let but the Orientals feel the charm, and
they will quickly sacrifice each selfish interest on
the altar of their faith.

The name of " Mahomet," for a time, will

D

34 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

sound in the mosques of my country, but Christ
will reign in the hearts of her people.

Unfold to them the Holy Spirit of the Scrip-
tures,— sow but a grain of that high moral sense
which it inspires, and which is felt amid each
nation of your empire, — let it but take root in
the hearts of a few, and the sublime feeling will,
like the electricity of heaven, vibrate to the
million.

But seek not to arouse their passions — dive
not too deeply into mysteries — lest they fall back
upon their ancient magic, and mingle falsehood
with the light of truth !

But seek to show, by practical simplicity and
virtue, the harmonious laws of Christianity ; — and
all the divers faiths of Eastern creeds will fade,
as do the stars of night before the orb of day !

The Orientals are, by nature, predisposed to
melancholy, — at the same time they are bold and
daring.

Melancholy leads us to meditate on the past,

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 35

— it is the feeling of the Asiatics. A daring-
spirit, on the contrary, looks boldly forward, — it
seeks to raise man to his just position.

These sentiments, so varying in their nature,
are nevertheless most closely blended in the East-
ern character, — but 'tis the last must claim our
culture most.

It is for you, oh ! daughters of Europe, to
proclaim and teach the religion of Christ to your
suffering sisters of the East.

At your approach pride and ignorance shall
abase the head,— at your approach the harem
walls shall fall.

'Tis for you to show the riches of that mine
whose treasures are inexhaustible.

Who are more worthy? who more capable
than you, daughters of Albion ? You who have
been nourished from your tenderest infancy by
the sweet bread of mercy and of grace ! who from
your earliest childhood have been taught the very
parables which Christ himself made use of to
instruct his disciples.

D 2

36 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

Daughters of Albion ! you are full of tliat
poetic ardour ; sacred fire with which the holy
writings of the Word abound ! Yes, you will
save them, — they will hear and listen, will follow
in the noble and the virtuous path in which your
faith will lead them.

Then will you explain the grandeur of Om-
nipotence,— which disposeth all things ! which
regulates, — decrees, — and it is done !

Vain man, when Heaven wills it, thy direst
malice even shall be turned to mercy.

Then, too, will you show the just and liberal
governments of the AA'est, where intellect and
reason do combine, guided by moral discipline,
towards harmony.

Albion — fair Albion! break the bonds of
ignorance and slavery, forged by the sultans to
enchain our sex !

Our souls are strong — they have been tem-
pered in the furnace of adversity.

Our sacred rights invincible — eternal ! while

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 37

our ojDpressing rulers and their minions are weighed
down beneath the curse of God !

" They have not known the Lord."

The Almighty, who hath placed on high that
glorious orb of heaven, whose golden rays of light
descend on earth, more brilliant than the varied
hues of diamond or sapjihire, hath left the noble
task of emancipation unto those who feel the
sacred fire to act within their souls.

O, do not hesitate to undertake a mission so
sublime, — so productive in its fruits of happiness
and virtue.

We have before us millions of our fellow-
creatures living in vile slavery, who are objects of
trade and dishonour, who know not the sacred
word of Christ. Come, then, and proclaim the
equal rights of humanity in a country where man
takes for his companion — a slave ! In a country
where woman is esteemed for her beauty only !

Marriage, such as it exists in the East, is per-
haps the greatest, the most serious, the one grand

38 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

obstacle to the progressive amelioration of this
people.

The man who buys a woman is reduced to
think alone — she is his slave, his prisoner — what
sympathy between them ? None !

The voluntary principle — that charm which
sheds a magic o'er the simplest act of free affec-
tion— it exists not there. 'Tis an exotic of the
Western shores, and blooms not in the East.
Sweet plant of Paradise that survived the Fall !

Can legislation flourish where the laws are so
opposed to nature and to justice ? A social state
of government to flourish, must be based upon
the equitable rights of all !

When the iron reign of brutal force shall
cease — when the holy flag of Jesus is displayed —
those children of the Desert will cast off their
errors from them, as the lion of the forest shakes
the dew-drops from his mane !

The temple of the prophet of JNIeeca already
totters — it is rent on every side — and what is

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 39

more, each effort made to preserve its crumbling
structure, seems but to hasten the hour of its
downfall.

Read ye the signs of heaven, and obey the
call.

The Chinese have practised more subtlety in
their usages and customs towards women. They
have indeed accorded them the name of liberty
— but by the mutilation of their feet, compel
them to retirement — a mutilation, too, of volun-
tary infliction. O, frail, confiding woman! to
what arts and flattery art thou a victim ! with
what ingenious skill man blinds, and chains thee
too!

But the Oriental, alas I enjoys even less social
rights than any other woman. Her reasoning
powers having been left uncultivated for centu-
ries, she is, of course, of no use in improving and
advancing the social order of the community.

Having no idea of laws, liberty, or equality,
she can feel no just resentment at the injustice

40 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

and corruption to which she has so long been
subjected.

Knowledge and science can only flourish in
the soil of liberty and reciprocity, — and woman,
if she lose her mental powers, is soon despised, —
and degenerates to a mere machine !

Oh ! my fair sisters of the East, what spell
hath power to raise you from the degradation of
your wretchedness? Religion answers, Truth.
Quit, then, the paths of darkness and corruption,
and enter the bright realms of hope and peace !

Antiquity hath left us many a name exalted
by the greatness of the deeds done by its noble
owner, — names which have lived for centuries,
and will live for ages more, — while virtue can
appreciate — while the world exists, — but the
celestial brightness of Christianity will shine
throughout eternity !

Then arm yourselves with courage, and sing
unto the Lord,

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 41

For He will remember His mercy and truth,
and all the ends of the world shall see the salva-
tion of our God !

To the East, then ! Come, it is the will of
heaven.

42 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

I need not tell to you, fair sisters of the West,
that it was one from amongst us who first pro-
mulgated the words of the Lord amid the Franks
when they established themselves in Gaul.

It was a woman, too, who achieved the de-
struction of the power of the Mussulman in Spain
— it was a woman who, by her judgment and pre-
sence of mind, saved Peter the Great when sur-
rounded by an immense and formidable army on
the borders of the Pruth — it was a woman who,
in former times, humbled the pride of the Sub-
lime Porte, and who added to her empire the ter-
ritories of Georgia and Taurida; who advanced
the civilization of rude Russia by her wisdom, and
the renown of whose mighty name resounded
throughout the earth.

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 43

When woman fills not her appropriate place
in the social chain of life, it is because the brutal
force of despotism hath enslaved her ; — and man,
who thus hath outraged woman's rights, must
answer for it to his Maker.

My country ! Oh, fair Asia ; how art thou
fallen !

Thy rulers and thy soldiers devour all ! all is
destroyed and withered ! nor in the place of what
hath been uprooted, is there aught planted for
thy prosperity !

Man lives beneath the despotism which
menaces his head, and the spoliation of his home.
All is corruption around, and obscurity beyond —
his only hope glimmers in the West — a hope that
from that star of liberty may shine a bright
resplendent ray to dissipate the darkness of the
East!

The oi)pressed and i)er8ecuted Christian

44 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

fathers look upon their children but as vic-
tims surrounded by the destroyer, who cannot
escape the fatal rod ready to fall on their devoted
heads ; — and thus they cease to attach themselves
either to their rulers or their country. The East
hath been forsaken and cast off! All that was
righteous hath been destroyed !

But the moment, I repeat, is come, when the
Supreme Being, who looketh down from heaven
upon the unhappy and oppressed, will send a
soothing consolation to his followers !

The task may be difficult, but the mission is
grand and glorious; and what will not example
and enthusiastic zeal achieve?

Oh! if you hesitate, or doubt the power of
woman to accomplish deeds of magnitude, think
what the Orientals of your sex ham done !

Semiramis, Queen of Assyria, the wife of
Menas, General of the armies of King Ninus, be-
came the wife of her Sovereign, and followed him
at the head of his legions.

The King dead, Semiramis succeeded him,

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 45

instructing her son Ninus by example. Placing
herself at the head of her troops, this great
woman extended her conquests as far as Ethiopia
on the one side, and the Indies on the other.

Semiramis was Queen, at a time when the
empire of Assyria was in its full glory.

After having subdued Libya, Media, and
Egypt, where she carried on the war in person
against King Strabobatus, she returned, and built
a magnificent tomb to the memory of Ninus.

She converted the mountain of Bagestone into
statues; while beneath her vigorous sway hills
were lowered, and great roads made throughout
her empire. Semiramis compelled the Euphrates
to keep within its bounds ; and by immense and
stupendous dykes she arrested the frequent inun-
dations of that rapid and desolating torrent, which
so often overspread her country.

I know, that it is said, that this extraordinary
woman tarnished the glory of her fame; but I
am not one of those who can admit the charge.
How is it possible to suppose, that so much great-
ness, magnanimity, and nobleness of soul as
existed in the mind of this Queen, could be united

46 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

unto base and cruel passions ? Meanness could
surely not exist, in a soul capable of such glorious
conceptions and achievements ! What ! Semiramis
destroy the chosen sharers of lier confidence, and
then, upraise high monuments of glory to their
memory ? She, who had levelled mountains ?
stemmed the tide of desolating rivers? and to
the utility of her works, added embellishments to
gladden the eye, and refresh the mind ?

Alas ! all that is bright and glorious hatli
been slandered ! In all ages, and in every clime,
envy hath cast the venom of her malice around
the deeds of greatness !

Had Semiramis but lived in these our days,
would not the stupendous grandeur of her soul
have compassed arts and sciences from every
nation, and caused the mental riches of the world
to flow unto her empire — to fertilize — to flourish!

Will you then be contented to remain inferior
and in arrear of one who guided warriors to con-
quest and to victory, made peace and war with
nations at her will, and governed kingdoms with
discretion ! Ye, too, who have the light of
heaven to guide you !

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 47

Great was the life of Semiramis ! great her
works ; yet was she but endowed with the power
to build, subdue — to conquer — to create — the
power of conservation was not hers — nor hath it
been as yet bestowed on mortal ! — Weakness was
in their strength ! — Thus, all the greatness of an-
tiquity hath passed away ! and why ? It lived
beneath the deadening rule of despotism — that
Satuni who devoureth all his children !

48 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

Memory glides o'er the scenes of my youtli,
when alone, sitting on the broken columns of the
Temple of Belus. I felt the secret, silent voice of
wisdom, which inspired me with the ardent desire,
the burning thirst, to search for its waters, and to
drink of its fountains, that my soul might be
instructed, and expand like the bright flowers of
the East !

How many mysteries might I then have pene-
trated, and perhaps unravelled, had I but known
the value of these ruins ! Thought tried indeed,
but erringly, to withdraw the veil. I sighed for
knowledge, and the power to roam, forgetting at
the moment, that to sigh or wish, was treason
'gainst the oppressors of my country, whose vic-
tims are not permitted even to think !

Alas ! the sad remembrance ! it recalls the
days of my poor martyred father — brothers —
uncles. — Peace be to their honoured shades! —
their blessed remains'

Their lovely daughter will not see the land of
her nativity, and their holy tombs, until the

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 49

blessed day when she shall go there to display
aloft the crown of immortality, and to sing the
resurrection of the Lord !

Zenobia ! Queen of Palmyra, descendant of
the renowned Hassan, King of all the southern
part of JVIesopotamia — Zenobia, who governed
most of the Oriental Provinces of the Roman
Empire — from the death of Odenath to the day
of her captivity — when Palmyra was the capital
of the East, from the Euphrates to the borders of
the Mediterranean — from the Desert of Arabia
to the centre of Asia Minor, — Zenobia commands
the admiration of posterity through the interest
with which she invested her character in the eyes
of her contemporaries.

Aurelius when addressing the Senate of
Rome thus writes, — " Those who cast shame on
me for having conquered a woman, know not
that this woman is Zenobia ! — I have sat on the
ruins of her Palaces, have drank the waters of
the Aurelian fountain, where the Arabs of the
Wilderness still come to appease their burning

E

50 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

thirst; I have reposed beneath the shadow of
those high gigantic columns which rise in lofty
grandeur to the skies. — There have I listened to
the moaning winds sififhinof amid her now
deserted — ruined halls, — whose melancholy
sounds so mournfully bewail the time of her
past glory, — and I recalled to mind those golden
days when fair Zenobia was the Eastern Star;
and when her splendid city, now laid waste, was
crowded with rich inhabitants, who came from
all parts of the world, to gaze and to admire !

Where are they now? where all those works
of greatness? Engulfed within the dark abyss
of time !

Zenobia ! — O contemplate the greatness of
this woman ! — who, at the head of her armies
conquered nations, gave battle to the "invincible"
heroes of proud Rome, — who built Zenobia on
the borders of the Euphrates, the columns of
whose palaces were as high as that erected
to the Hero of Trafalgar, and which would
claim the homage of all Europe could they
but be transplanted unto Albion's shores, —
whose life was divided between combating the

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 61

enemies of her country, receiving lessons on
civilization, and governing a vast Empire between
the application of political sciences and those of
the fine Arts whereby to advance and beautify
the lovely Palmyra, so soon, alas, to be laid waste
and desolate by the wandering Arabs of the
Desert — the Roman Legions — the Persians —
Armenians — and the devastating Saracen !— Yes,
it shall be proclaimed, Zenobia triumphed — by
her wisdom, prudence, courage, and the greatness
of her genius. — Honour and Glory to this
Eastern woman ! beautiful and valorous ! re-
spected for dignity and virtue ! without a
parallel ! She had been perfect, had she been a
Christian !

I might recount of Esther too, the daughter
of Abehad. — Of those fair stars who governed the
Roman Empire, surrounded by a vicious and
corrupt Court, yet remained spotless! Of all
those glorious daughters of the East ! but why
enumerate the proofs of female heroism ?— If the
women of my country are now machines,- 'tis to
despotism that we owe the destruction of our
natural energies ! — for wluM-ovor woman is

E '1

52 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

placed high in the ladder of social life, there
doth she bloom and flourish ; — there do the pure
devoted feelings of the heart attach themselves ;
— there do the mental energies expand towards
perfection ! — for Nature hath given unto woman
organs the most delicate and refined, — and
imagination the most pure and brilliant, whereby
to organize, arrange, and harmonize the grand
whole.

'Tis true, man hath more strength, — more
power to enforce his purpose, — and let it but be
used in pure accordance with the Messiah's
doctrines, and the influence of woman will then
be felt and cherished as the best boon of Heaven.

Is not the greatest kingdom of the earth
the most flourishing, powerful, and liberal, — the
kingdom that hath broken the chains of slavery,
and will be the first to give liberty to commerce,
— is it not governed by a Christian queen ? — an
honour to her sex, and the bright crown she
wears ! — shadowing her people's rights beneath
the mantle of purity and truth, — whose vigorous

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 53

hand gives strength unto the weak, and who
never lifts her sword, but in a just and righteous
cause, — honoured, thrice honoured, and thrice
blessed, is the land that owns her sway!

54 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION,

Oh ! my beloved sisters of the East, how are
ye fallen ! how slavery hath dimmed the bright
gems of Heaven ! — but Albion's daughters from
the Western Isle will come to aid you, wrapt in
the glorious robe of Christianity.

The valleys of Sion shall again echo the
joyful sounds of the harp and tabor, and the
imprisoned daughters of the harem,

Like Albion's fair daughters, happy and free,
Shall chant again their holy melody !
Blithe as the birds that pour their morning lay,
Pure as the dew-drop sparkling on the spray.

The power of Mahomet is melting, and
passing away before the Sun of Righteousness !
— the children of the fertile plains of Asia,
numerous as the leaves of the forest when
summer is in its richest verdure, shall, at the
approach of the Christian Aurora, again crowd

OR, A VOICE FROM THE EAST. 55

unto the banks of Jordan — the gazelle shall
bound along the little hills of Judah.

The turf shall again become green, and
flowers shall cover the tombs of our fathers !

The day of desolation hath passed away !

The day of glory hath commenced !

The time marked out by the Omnipotent
for the holy mission is at length arrived !

Come, then, let us unite, and in the fields of
the East celebrate the triumph of the Lord !

Let us thank God for the privilege — and for
the liberty which he rendereth to his people !

Glory, joy, and happiness will crown the day,
when the banner of Christianity is unfurled !

The time approaches when the dew of resur-
rection shall wet the front of the Arab, Avho,
silently extended on the sand by the side of his
tent, shall arise, and come forth from the shadow
of darkness, and of error, — and like one who
hath burst his bonds, shall cry with a loud and
joyful voice, —

56 PROPHECY AND LAMENTATION.

" Oh Liberty, Virtue, and true Religion, ye are
come to glad the lone Arab of the Desert, and
he will become the child of God — yea, — of the
God of the Christians! — Glory — honour — and
praise — hallelujah on hallelujah, be unto the
Lord for ever and ever."

THE END.

London: harrisun and cx)., printers, st. martin's lane.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.

£FC'D LD-URI ^^_
e JUL 29 1971

JUL 151971

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«S APR 25192,

APR 2 9 1974

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