A Tale of Jerusalem

by Edgar Allan Poe

　　

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LET us hurry to the walls," said Abel-Phittim to Buzi-Ben-Levi and Simeonthe Pharisee, on the tenth day of the month Thammuz, in the year of theworld three thousand nine hundred and fortyone--let us hasten to theramparts adjoining the gate of Benjamin, which is in the city of David,and overlooking the camp of the uncircumcised; for it is the last hour ofthe fourth watch, being sunrise; and the idolaters, in fulfilment of thepromise of Pompey, should be awaiting us with the lambs for thesacrifices."Simeon, Abel-Phittim, and Duzi-Ben-Levi were the Gizbarim, orsub-collectors of the offering, in the holy city of Jerusalem."Verily," replied the Pharisee; "let us hasten: for this generosity in theheathen is unwonted; and fickle-mindedness has ever been an attribute ofthe worshippers of Baal.""'That they are fickle-minded and treacherous is as true as thePentateuch," said Buzi-Ben-Levi, "but that is only toward the people ofAdonai. When was it ever known that the Ammonites proved wanting to theirown interests? Methinks it is no great stretch of generosity to allow uslambs for the altar of the Lord, receiving in lieu thereof thirty silvershekels per head !""Thou forgettest, however, Ben-Levi," replied Abel-Phittim, "that theRoman Pompey, who is now impiously besieging the city of the Most High,has no assurity that we apply not the lambs thus purchased for the altar,to the sustenance of the body, rather than of the spirit.""Now, by the five corners of my beard!" shouted the Pharisee, who belongedto the sect called The Dashers (that little knot of saints whose manner ofdashing and lacerating the feet against the pavement was long a thornand a reproach to less zealous devotees-a stumbling-block to less giftedperambulators)--"by the five corners of that beard which, as a priest, Iam forbidden to shave !-have we lived to see the day when a blasphemingand idolatrous upstart of Rome shall accuse us of appropriating to theappetites of the flesh the most holy and consecrated elements? Have welived to see the day when---"'"Let us not question the motives of the Philistine," interruptedAbel-Phittim' "for to-day we profit for the first time by his avarice orby his generosity; but rather let us hurry to the ramparts, lest offeringsshould be wanting for that altar whose fire the rains of heaven can notextinguish, and whose pillars of smoke no tempest can turn aside."That part of the city to which our worthy Gizbarim now hastened, and whichbore the name of its architect, King David, was esteemed the most stronglyfortified district of Jerusalem; being situated upon the steep and loftyhill of Zion. Here, a broad, deep, circumvallatory trench, hewn from thesolid rock, was defended by a wall of great strength erected upon itsinner edge. This wall was adorned, at regular interspaces, by squaretowers of white marble; the lowest sixty, and the highest one hundred andtwenty cubits- in height. But, in the vicinity of the gate of Benjamin,the wall arose by no means from the margin of the fosse. On the contrary,between the level of the ditch and the basement of the rampart sprang up aperpendicular cliff of two hundred and fifty cubits, forming part of theprecipitous Mount Moriah. So that when Simeon and his associates arrivedon the summit of the tower called Adoni-Bezek-the loftiest of all theturrets around about Jerusalem, and the usual place of conference with thebesieging army-they looked down upon the camp of the enemy from aneminence excelling by many feet that of the Pyramid of Cheops, and, byseveral, that of the temple of Belus."Verily," sighed the Pharisee, as he peered dizzily over the precipice,"the uncircumcised are as the sands by the seashore-as the locusts in thewilderness! The valley of the King hath become the valley of Adommin.""And yet," added Ben-Levi, "thou canst not point me out a Philistine-no,not one-from Aleph to Tau-from the wilderness to the battlements---whoseemeth any bigger than the letter Jod!""Lower away the basket with the shekels of silver!" here shouted a Romansoldier in a hoarse, rough voice, which appeared to issue from the regionsof Pluto---"lower away the basket with the accursed coin which it hasbroken the jaw of a noble Roman to pronounce! Is it thus you evince yourgratitude to our master Pompeius, who, in his condescension, has thoughtfit to listen to your idolatrous importunities? The god Phoebus, who is atrue god, has been charioted for an hour-and were you not to be on theramparts by sunrise? Aedepol! do you think that we, the conquerors of theworld, have nothing better to do than stand waiting by the walls of everykennel, to traffic with the dogs of the earth? Lower away! I say--and seethat your trumpery be bright in color and just in weight!""El Elohim!" ejaculated the Pharisee, as the discordant tones of thecenturion rattled up the crags of the precipice, and fainted away againstthe temple -"El Elohimwhom doth the blasphemerinvoke? Thou, Buzi-BenLevi! who art read in the laws of the Gentiles, andhast sojourned among them who dabble with the Teraphim!--is it Nergal ofwhom the idolater speaketh?----or Ashimah?--or Nibhaz,--or Tartak? --orAdramalech?--or Anamalech?--or Succoth-Benith?---or Dagon?---orBelial?---or Baal-Perith? -or Baal-Peor?---or Baal-Zebub?""Verily it is neither-but beware how thou lettest the rope slip toorapidly through thy fingers; for should the wicker-work chance to hang onthe projection of Yonder crag, there will be a woful outpouring of theholy things of the sanctuary."By the assistance of some rudely constructed machinery, the heavily ladenbasket was now carefully lowered down among the multitude; and, from thegiddy pinnacle, the Romans were seen gathering confusedly round it; butowing to the vast height and the prevalence of a fog, no distinct view oftheir operations could be obtained.Half an hour had already elapsed."We shall be too late!" sighed the Pharisee, as at the expiration of thisperiod he looked over into the abyss-"we shall be too late! we shall beturned out of office by the Katholim.""No more," responded Abel-Phittim----"no more shall we feast upon the fatof the land-no longer shall our beards be odorous with frankincense--ourloins girded up with fine linen from the Temple.""Racal" swore Ben-Levi, "Racal do they mean to defraud us of the purchasemoney? or, Holy Moses ! are they weighing the shekels of the tabernacle ?""They have given the signal at last!" cried the Pharisee-----"they havegiven the signal at last!pull away, Abel-Phittim!-and thou, Buzi-Ben-Levi,pull away!-for verily the Philistines have either still hold upon thebasket, or the Lord hath softened their hearts to place therein a beast ofgood weight!" And the Gizbarim pulled away, while their burden swungheavily upward through the still increasing mist."Booshoh he!"-as, at the conclusion of an hour, some object at theextremity of the rope became indistinctly visible-"Booshoh he!" was theexclamation which burst from the lips of Ben-Levi.. . . . . . . . . ."Booshoh he!--for shame!-it is a ram from the thickets of Engedi, and asrugged as the valley of jehosaphat!""It is a firstling of the flock," said Abel-Phittim, "I know him by thebleating of his lips, and the innocent folding of his limbs. His eyes aremore beautiful than the jewels of the Pectoral, and his flesh is like thehoney of Hebron.""It is a fatted calf from the pastures of Bashan," said the Pharisee, "theheathen have dealt wonderfully with us ----let us raise up our voices in apsalm --let us give thanks on the shawm and on the psaltery-on the harpand on the huggab-on the cythern and on the sackbut!"It was not until the basket had arrived within a few feet of the Gizbarimthat a low grunt betrayed to their perception a hog of no common size."Now El Emanu!" slowly and with upturned eyes ejaculated the trio, as,letting go their hold, the emancipated porker tumbled headlong among thePhilistines, "El Emanu!-God be with us---it is the unutterable flesh!"

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