Classic Poem

So the sad king did penance, and the Lord,
Beholding it, thus to Elijah spake: —
" Seest thou how Ahab doth abase himself
Before me, and in sackloth sits, and fasts,
And meekly bears him, dwelling with remorse
On Naboth's murder? Now, behold, because
He grieves, and thinks with pity upon Naboth,
In his time will I not bring punishment,
But in his sons' days desolate his house."

So said the Lord; and Ahab's soul was healed
Of the dire wound received in Naboth's death:
And for three years there was no war between
Israel and its old enemy, the Syrian.
But, after that brief interval of peace,
Ahab bethought him how that Ramoth-Gilead
Belonged to Israel; though by Syria held;
And, so bethinking, to Jehoshaphat,
The King of Judah, guest and kinsman, spake:

" Brother, wilt thou go up with me to battle,
To Ramoth-Gilead, that was ours, and shall
Be Syria's no longer?"
And the King
Of Judah gave consent; but, first, desired
Thereon consult the Prophets of the Lord.
And Israel and Judah sat on thrones; —
Enrobed they sat hard by Samaria's gate,
And all the prophets prophesied before them.
The Lord, too, in that hour sat on his throne,
And all the host of heaven were standing by:
And round He looked on all his ministers,
Mute flames of fire, and asked them: — " Which of you
Will go from out our presence and persuade
Enquiring Ahab, so he may go up,
And fall at Ramoth-Gilead?"
And one spake
In this wise, and another spake in that;
Until a wilier spirit, offering, said: —
" I will persuade him!"

And the Lord said: " How?"
And he replied: " I will go forth, and be
A lying spirit in his prophets' mouths."
So he went forth, descending in their midst,
And all the prophets prophesied, and said,
" Advance on Ramoth-Gilead, for the Lord
Shall yield it unto thee."
And this pleased Ahab,
Who thereon thus Jehoshaphat addressed: —
" Brother, behold, I will disguise myself,
And so go down into the battle, dressed
But plainly; but do thou put on thy robes."

And once again Jehoshaphat consented,
And Ahab went disguised into the field.
But Syria had said unto his captains
Of chariots: — " Combat not with small nor great;
Fight only with the King of Israel."
So, when they saw Jehoshaphat, they cried,
" Here is the King of Israel!" and each
Charged on the royal chariot; the whole
With noise of gathering thunder at the wheels,
From the wide radius of the furious field,
Converging like a wedge, with seven-fold force,
Came towards him overwhelming; till he fled,
And, flying, cried in terror. Thereupon,
Pursuing him no further, they retired;
But, as they did so, far off in the field,
A certain bowman at a venture drew
His bow, and with a random arrow pierced
The recreant Ahab. Instantly he felt
His doom; and sinking in the chariot exclaimed: —
" Convey me from the battle: I am wounded!"
And, wrapped in horror, made the driver turn
The snorting steeds, and bear him swiftly forth
Unto the quiet borders of the fight.
There in his chariot, his dying bed,
He lay and watched the battle, watched the sun,
Each sink alike, as sank his fleeting soul,
While lapsed his senses towards forgetfulness; —
And still he swooned, as still the blood ran down
Into the filling chariot, till it grew
Ruddy as grew the sunset sky, that seemed
Gory, with streaks like blood, that wrapped themselves
Around about the forehead of the sun.
Thus while the sun went down, and seemed to quit
The world with wounds, did Ahab close his eyes
For ever. Darker and yet darker grew
The scene, and darker grew his soul, that then
Went down with Death to wander, and to meet
The ghost of Naboth, and the shades of priests
Whom Jezebel had murdered. But his corpse
They to Samaria brought, and buried there;
And washed the bloody chariot in the pool,
And therein washed his armor, while the dogs
Licked up the blood; for so had said the Lord
Who now began according to his word,
Delivered by Elijah's mouth, to judge
The wicked house of Ahab.
Thus he, dying,
Left Jezebel a widow, and her son,
Weak as his father, and as wicked, reigned.
Two years he reigned in Israel, and then
Prone from a window of the palace fell
This two-year king; and for his death she mourned;
Nor less she mourned because her second son,
Jehoram, in despite of her, removed
Baal's image, by his father, Ahab, reared: —
And sorrows on her came; and age, that is
A sorrow in itself unto the proud.
These came, and beauty went; and sad she saw
Departing half the terror of her charms;
As might an archer see his arrows grow
Blunt in the quiver; or the lion feel
His claws no longer terrible to rend, —
His dreadful jaws, that once were gates of death,
Depopulated of the crooked fangs.

Then followed many years of various fate;
Until at length Jehoram warred against
Hazael, to recover Ramoth-Gilead,
As formerly against the Syrian
His father, Ahab, had vindictive fought;
And, as his father, did the Syrians wound him, —
Not mortally, yet wounded sore; and sick
He was, — so sick, his nephew, Ahaziah,
The son of Athaliah, Ahab's sister,
And grandson of Jehoshaphat, went down,
Leaving the siege of Ramoth-Gilead,
To see him at Jezreel, whereto retired,
He waited to recover from his wounds.

And now the end of Ahab's house had come;
For to the army now Elisha sent
One of the children of the prophets, charged
To find, and secretly anoint as king,
Jehu, a captain of Jehoram's host: —
To tell him, likewise that, by him, should all
The house of Ahab perish; for the Lord
Had chosen him to smite the house of Ahab,
His master; that He might avenge the death
Of prophets, and all servants of the Lord,
Whom Jezebel had murdered. Thither went he;
And, there arrived, the captains of the host
Saw sitting, and amongst them dark-browed Jehu,
And did to him as had Elisha bidden.
Back then he fled; and Jehu told the captains
All. And they straight with pomp of trumpets' sound,
Proclaimed him king; who, letting none depart
From Ramoth-Gilead to convey the news,
Swept towards Jezreel. With him a band of men
Went onward urging to the royal town,
Where sick Jehoram lay: — soon saw its walls,
Approaching them behind a cloud of dust,
As might an enemy by night approach
The city that he meant at morn to storm.
So storming, on they drove, till from a tower
A watchman saw them coming: — saw, surprised,
The driving was like Jehu's, furious.
Then was the feeble and affrighted king
Borne from his bed into his chariot;
Into it lifted; and his kinsman, sound, —
His visitor and nephew, Ahaziah,
Of Judah King, made haste into his own;
And both rode out beyond the walls, to meet
The rumbling wheels of Jehu. As dark clouds,
Surcharged with lightning, caught midst adverse winds,
Approach each other with o'erhanging brows;
And, ere they meet and mingle, from the one
Outsprings the lightning, and, at once, as from
The other seems to come the thunder's boom, —
So did these meet each other, and, full quick
Demands Jehoram: — " Jehu, is it peace?"
And Jehu roared, " What peace, then, can there be,
While whoredoms of thy mother, Jezebel,
And her enormous witchcrafts are so many?"
And now Jehoram saw his peril, saw
The face of Jehu clad in frown; and turned
His reins; and, fleeing, cried out, " Treachery!"
Cried out too late; for Jehu, red with rage,
With all his strength his bow against him drew,
And with the arrow pierced him through the back,
The winged weapon leaving at his heart;
That down he sunk into the chariot,
And vanished from the view, as vanishes
A shadow from the wall.
So died the king.
And Jehu hade his captain, Bidkar, take
The corpse, and cast it into Naboth's field;
Saying: — " Dost thou not remember when we rode
Once with his father, Ahab, how the Lord
Laid on his seed this burden? Take him, then,
And throw him thither, as the Lord hath said."

There was he cast, and, meantime, Ahaziah
Fled like a hare. But Jehu followed him
And bellowed for his death: " Smite him," he cried;
" Smite him , too, in his chariot:" and he still
After the homewards-rushing fugitive
Swept like the blast. But still as swiftly fled
The scared Judean King, that Jehu's self,
All furious driver though he was, was fain
To leave to others Ahaziah's doom;
And at the going up of Gur they smote him,
And having reached Megiddo, there he died.

Yet Jehu's labor was but now begun, —
A labor great as that of Hercules
Who cleansed the Augean stable: Jehu's task
To cleanse the deep-stained throne of Israel,
With blood of prophets and of Naboth soiled: —
To cleanse the throne so fearfully defiled;
And wash to sweetness in the blood of sons,
The land the father's folly had made foul; —
Nor to restrict purgation, but to take
The clotted caldron of long-seething crimes,
And as a scullion to scour it clean
In the hot gore of bloody Jezebel.
She now of Jehu's coming having heard,
Betook herself unto her chamber, where,
Grown old and withered, she bepaints her face;
Upon her head puts sparkling coronel,
With bracelets bound her wrists, with pearls her hair
All richly twined.

Her toilet done, behold!
Down in the courtyard, loud with iron noise,
Stern Jehu enters with a troop of horse:
When, as upon the huntsman with his gun,
Atowards her climbing, might the mother eagle
Look from her eyrie built upon the crag,
She looked down from her window to the court,
Filled with ferocious men and trampling steeds,
And saw grim Jehu riding through the gate.
Soon as she saw the slayer of her son
Rage rose within her, and, forgetting all
The stately, cold composure of a Queen,
She scowling cried: —
" Out of my sight, fell hound!
Usurping dog, begone! By angry Baal,
Thou yet shalt feel a traitor's doom. Avaunt!
Rebellious wretch, King murderer, Avaunt!
Hast thou forgotten thee, to set thy foot,
Blood-steeped, to stain therewith these courts?
Here I
Alone have warrant. Thirsty bloodhound, hence!
And know me now; thou, whom I long have known,
And fear me too. I fear not thee, nor these;
Nor all the recreant bands that thou canst bring,
Deserting Ramoth-Gilead. Traitor, fly!
Begone, base regicide, thou horrid bowman,
Who drew thy shaft against thy king; who slew
My boy, my son; my darling. Thou hast slain
Him. Scorpion, thou hast stung him to his death.
Infernal dragon, to thyself take wings,
And to the uttermost of the wide world
Begone, and Baal blast thee! May his sun
Dry up thy blood! May fever parch thee! Ah,
I see another murder in thy look!
Thou king assassin, hast thou come to do
To me as thou hast done unto my son?
Do not too much, thou overweening man,
Nor dream to exterminate the house of Ahab.
Fool, when did treason thrive: Beware, beware;
Jehu, remember; say, Had Zimri peace
Who slew his master?"
Jehu nought returned;
But, looking upwards to the window, called: —
" Who there is on my side?" And as if day
Should call on night, two coal-black eunuchs came
Forth to the window; and again he cried: —
" Quick, seize and throw her down!" And slave-like prompt
They strove to seize her and to throw her down;
But failed, for lo! full far aback she springs,
Like the pressed panther, nimble as the squirrel,
Into the chamber, and there stood in shade,
Glaring with cat-like eyes. But glared not long;
For to the window back they dragged, and launched her
Sheer from the sill into the paved court,
Whereto, like wounded sea-fowl from its cliff,
She headlong with wild shriek of horror fell.
Some of her blood outspurted on the wall,
And some upon the horses; and the hoofs
Of Jehu's charger trod her under foot.
Then when the sated crowd had left the court,
Jehu went up into the banquet-room;
There ate and drank, till, warm with wine, he said: —
" Go down, and bury yon accursed woman;
She is the daughter of a king."
And down they went,
But nothing of her found, except the skull,
And feet, and palms; the rest of her devoured
By dogs; torn piecemeal; by them borne away,
And eaten in the portion of Jezreel, —
Even in Naboth's vineyard; nothing left,
That one might say: — " Lo! this was Jezebel."