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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 
 
 i m DEC i"^^ 
 
 «S APR 25192, 
 
 APR 2 9 1974 
 
 APR 
 
 QL 
 
 C 1^7 
 
 OftQN 
 iBWRL 
 
 OCT 2 3 1937 
 31'89 
 
 8ar«<j4j«i MAY 9198^ 
 
 MWd 
 
 Form L9-Series 444 
 
 m/ 
 
 to 
 
 iUN 7 1993 
 
 
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 UCSOUMIIH'. '■ 
 
 AA 000 983 154 6 
 
 1733 
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