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Van Dyke, Henry, 1852-1933

"The Poems of Henry Van Dyke"

If you demand
A further cause than what I have declared,
I will unfold it fully to the King.
REZON: [Interposing hurriedly.]
No need of that! This duteous lady yields
To your caprice as she has ever done:
She stands a monument of loyalty
And woman's meekness.
NAAMAN:
Let her stand for that!
Adorn your temple with her piety!
But you in turn restore to me the treasure
You stole at midnight from my tent.
REZON:
What treasure! I have stolen none from you.
NAAMAN:
The very jewel of my soul,--Ruahmah!
My King, the captive maid of Israel,
To whom thou didst commit my broken life
With letters to Samaria,--my light,
My guide, my saviour in this pilgrimage,--
Dost thou remember?
BENHADAD:
I recall the maid,--
But dimly,--for my mind is old and weary,
She was a fearless maid, I trusted her
And gave thee to her charge. Where is she now?
NAAMAN:
This robber fell upon my camp by night,--
While I was with Elisha at the Jordan,--
Slaughtered my soldiers, carried off the maid,
And holds her somewhere in imprisonment.


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