298 THE CHALDEE MANUSCRIPT. 10 And the other said, I will teach the children of thy people to know and discern betwixt right and wrong, the good and the evil, and in all things that relate to learning, and knowledge, and understanding. 11 And they proffered unto him a Book; and they said unto him, Take thou this, and give us a piece of money, that we may eat and drink that our souls may live. 12 And we will put words into the Book that shall astonish the children of thy people; and it shall be a light unto thy feet, and a lamp unto thy path; it shall also bring bread to thy household, and a portion to thy maidens. 13 And the man hearkened to their 10. The Lamb. 11. They propose to edit a magazine for Mr Blackwood. 13. Who closes with their offer, and their as they retire. voice, and he took the Book and gave crutches clatter with joy them a piece of money, and they went away rejoicing in heart. And I heard a great noise, as if it had been the noise of many chariots, and of horsemen horsing upon their horses. 14 But after many days they put no words into the Book; and the man was astonied and waxed wroth, and he said unto them, What is this that you have done unto me, and how shall I answer those to whom I am engaged? And they said, What is this unto us? see thou to that. 15 And the man wist not what for to do; and he called together the friends of his youth, and all those whose heart was as his heart, and he entreated them, and they put words into the Book, and it went forth abroad, and all the world wondered after the Book, and after the two beasts that had put such amazing words into the Book. 14. They belie their promise, and turn out to be a couple of incapables. 15. Mr Blackwood, therefore, gets assistance from more competent friends. THE CHALDEE MANUSCRIPT. 16 Now, in those days there lived also a man who was crafty in counsel, and cunning in all manner of working: 17 And I beheld the man, and he was comely and well-favoured, and he had a notable horn in his forehead wherewith he ruled the nations. 18 And I saw the horn, that it had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and it magnified itself even to the Prince of the Host, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it grew and prospered. 19 And when this man saw the Book, and beheld the things that were in the Book, he was troubled in spirit, and much cast down. 20 And he said unto himself, Why stand I idle here, and why do I not bestir myself? Lo! this Book shall become a devouring sword in the hand of mine adversary, and with it will he root up or loosen the horn that is in my forehead, and the hope of my gains shall perish from the face of the earth. 21 And he hated the Book, and the two beasts that had put words into the Book, for he judged according to the reports of men; nevertheless, the man was crafty in counsel, and more cunning than his fellows. 22 And he said unto the two beasts, Come ye and put your trust under the shadow of my wings, and we will destroy the man whose name is as ebony, and his Book. 23 And I will tear it in pieces, and cast it out like dung upon the face of the earth. 24 And we will tread him down as the dust of the streets, and trample him 299 300 THE CHALDEE MANUSCRIPT. under our feet; and we will break him to pieces, and grind him to powder, and cast him into the brook Kedron. 25. And to become the 25 And I will make of you a great name; and I will place you next to the editors of his magazine. horn that is in my forehead, and it shall be a shelter to you in the day of great adversity; and it shall defend you from the horn of the unicorn, and from the might of the Bulls of Bashan. 26 And you shall be watchers and a guard unto it from the emmet and the spider, and the toad after his kind. 27 And from the mole that walketh in darkness, and from the blow-fly after his kind, and the canker-worm after his kind, and the maggot after his kind. 28 And by these means you shall wax very great, for the things that are low shall be exalted. 29 And the two beasts gave ear unto him; and they came over unto him, and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 30 But when the tidings of these things came to the man who was clothed in plain apparel, he was sore dismayed, and his countenance fell. 31 And it repented him that he had taken the Book, or sent it forth abroad: and he said, I have been sore deceived and betrayed; but I will of myself yield up the Book, and burn it with fire, and give its ashes to the winds of heaven. 32 But certain that were there present said unto him, Why art thou dismayed? and why is thy countenance fallen? Go to now; gird up thy loins like a man, and call unto thee thy friends, and the men of thine household, and thou shalt behold and see 29. They hearken to his voice. 30. Blackwood is, at first, disheartened. 32. His friends cheer him up. THE CHALDEE MANUSCRIPT. that they that are for thee are more and mightier than those that be against thee. 33 And when the man whose name was as ebony, and whose number was the number of a maiden, when the days of the years of her virginity have expired, heard this saying, he turned about; 34 And he took from under his girdle a gem of curious workmanship of silver, made by the hand of a cunning artificer, and overlaid within with pure gold; and he took from thence something in colour like unto the dust of the earth, or the ashes that remain of a furnace, and he snuffed it up like the east wind, and returned the gem again into its place. 35 Whereupon he opened his mouth, and he said unto them, As thou hast spoken, so shall it be done. 36 Woe unto all them that take part with the man who is crafty in counsel, and with the two beasts! 37 For I will arise and increase my strength, and come upon them like the locust of the desert, to abolish and overwhelm, and to destroy, and to pass over. 38 So he called together the wise men of the city, both from the Old City and from the city which is on this side of the valley, even the New City, which looketh towards the north; and the wise men came. 39 And, lo! there stood before him an aged man, whose hair was white as snow, and in whose hand there was a mirror, wherein passed to and fro the images of the ancient days. 301 34. He takes a pinch of snuff. 35. And rallies. 38. He calls together his friends. 39. Henry Mackenzie, author of The Mirror, The Man of Feeling, &c. 302 THE CHALDEE MANUSCRIPT. 40 And he said, Behold, I am stricken in years, mine eyes are dim. What will ye that I do unto you? Seek ye them that are young. 41 And all the young men that were there lifted up their voice and said, We have sat at thy feet all the days of the years which we have lived upon the earth; and that which we know is thine, and our learning is thine; and as thou sayest, even so will we do. 42 And he said unto them, Do ye what is meet in this thing, and let not our friend be discomfited, neither let the man which is crafty rejoice, nor the two beasts. 43 And when he had said this, he arose and went away; and all the young men arose up, and humbled themselves before him when he went away. 44 Then spake the man clothed in plain apparel to the great magician who dwelleth in the old fastness, hard by the river Jordan, which is by the Border. And the magician opened his mouth, and said, Lo! my heart wisheth thy good, and let the thing prosper .which is in thy hands to do it. 45 But thou seest that my hands are full of working, and my labour is great. For, lo! I have to feed all the people of my land, and none knoweth whence his food cometh; but each man openeth his mouth, and my hand filleth it with pleasant things. 46 Moreover, thine adversary also is of my familiars. 47 The land is before thee: draw thou up thy hosts for the battle in the place of Princes, over against thine adversary, which hath his station near the |