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Pantika: or, Traditions of the most ancient times
Pantika or Traditions of the most ancient times Author:William Howitt Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE SOOTHSAYER OF NO. " Alas! master!" cried Zeeb, the servant of the prophet Harosheth, coming hastily before the holy man, as he sate on the stone seat by t... more »he door of his house in Ziklag of Simeon, in the first dawn of a spring morning,—" Alas ! master ! the mule is gone ! Some son of Belial has dared in the night to lead away from his stall the favourite beast of a seer!" The prophet was sitting in a posture of calm contemplation, such as the time and the scene before him might well be supposed to inspire in a person of his sacred character. The sun had not yet climbed above the horizon, and fields, and woods and waters lay before him, softly veiled in that fine haze which hovers over the vernal landscape at early dawn; and the blue hills in the distance, above which the eastern sky was brightening withthat pure, cheering, opal transparency that precedes the sun, wore an aspect of profound repose, that communicates itself to every fitting spectator. All around him breathed of dewy freshness; and you would have looked with inward satisfaction on the old man, feeling sure that he was offering up his orisons to the Author of so blessed a creation. But whatever were Harosheth's meditations, they were abruptly broken by this news; and turning upon Zeeb a countenance of overwhelming wrath, he cried,—" Dog of untimely dreams ! is it thus thou sleepest and sufferest the cream-coloured mule- beast, the king's gift, the prophet's delight, the grace of Ziklag to be stolen ? Away ! such an animal cannot be long concealed.—Away ! and see my face no more till thou comest with the male !" Zeeb drew back, and disappeared with the fleet- uess of one that runs for his life. If his hope of finding the mule with the facility the prophet seemed to promise, was not so strong as the words of...« less