The Hero-King adoring nations own,
And Asia kneels at Alexander's throne.
With glories radiant as the noonday sun,
He sits aloft in ancient Babylon;

In Babylon the royal feast is spread,
In Babylon the Hero-King lies dead."

With feebler sway, from these great obsequies,
Four sceptred dynasties together rise :a
This, o'er their native Macedon bears sway,
And Greece's silver isles and shores obey;
This, rules o'er many a tempest-batter'd race,
From rich' Bithynia to the steeps of Thrace;
This, as o'er Carmel breathes the fragrant gale,
Gathers the spices of each Syrian vale;

This, sees the Nile his bounteous vests expand,
And clothe with plenty Afric's glowing sand.
'Mid the dim twilight of declining power,

They fill th' allotted space, and bide th' appointed hour.

a "The he goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken."-Ver. 8.

b Alexander died at Babylon, B. c. 323, immediately after the feast in honour of the obsequies of Hephaestion.

"For it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."-Ver. 8. "Four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power."Ver. 22.

a The four kingdoms may be assumed to be that of Cassander, in Macedon and Greece; of Lysimachus, in Thrace and Bithynia; of Seleucus, in Syria; and of Ptolemy, in Egypt.

"Nitentes Cyclades."-HOR. i. 14.

The plain of Broussa retains to this day its ancient fertility.

"Nilum totâ veste vocantem."-VIRG. Æn. viii. 711.

This may be said to conclude the first portion or half of the Prophecy; and thus far, the authenticity of the text being taken for granted, there is no room for ambiguity, doubt, or denial; the interpreting Angel says directly, "This is the king of Persia: this is the king of Greece;" and their real histories are accurately pourtrayed. For the solution of the remaining portion we are left to our own conjectures, and there has accordingly been a great variety of interpretation. By most of the older commentators, "The little horn," or " The king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences," was supposed to be Antiochus Epiphanes. By Bishop Newton, and Sir Isaac Newton-the one an high authority upon Prophecy, the other

The lab'ring centuries in long career
Weave their dark web of wonder and of fear;
The days of Rome's long glories wax and wane,
The vex'd earth moans beneath her guilty reign:i
E'en at that hour, in Mecca's rocky cell,
The Warrior-Prophet frames his wizard spell,
Cons the dark sentence and the mystic lore,
Then bids the nations tremble, and adore.1
O'er all the slumb'ring myriads burst afar
The flashes of the Moslem scymetar;
The turban'd hordes of Araby advance,

Urge the fleet barb, and hurl th' unerring lance.
'Mid Egypt's Temples," and o'er Barca's sands,"
Copt, Moor, and Goth, uplift submissive hands:
One Xeres' bank, and Andalusia's plain,

Cowers all the recreant chivalry of Spain:

"Wealth sits enthron'd 'mid Cordova's' high towers,
And Science dwells in soft Granada's bowers.

the highest of all human authorities in nearly every respect-the Roman Empire was understood to be signified. Mr. Faber, in his "Sacred Calendar of Prophecy," adopts the religion of Mahomet and the Saracen dominion. Mr. Elliot, in his "Hora Apocalyptica," prefers the Empire of the Ottoman Turks. It will be seen that I have selected Mr. Faber's interpretation, as it appears to me to proceed upon the most plausible system of dates, and to have generally the greatest marks of importance and propriety. I have naturally not attempted to put the figures of dates into rhyme.

"In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full."-Ver. 23.

j The cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca.-GIBBON, C. L.

k"A king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up."-Ver. 23.

The copy of the Koran was said to have been brought down to Mahomet by the Angel Gabriel.-GIBBON.

m"The little horn waxed exceeding great toward the south."-Ver. 9. "He shall destroy wonderfully."-Ver. 24.

n Amram occupied Egypt-the Coptic Christians submitted, A. D. 638.

• Abdallah subdued the sea coast of Barbary, a. D. 647.

P Tarik landed in Spain, A. D. 710. The Gothic Monarchy was overthrown at the battle of Xeres, A. D. 711.

"He shall prosper and practise."-Ver. 24.

Cordova contained 600 mosques, 900 baths, 200,000 houses.-GIBBON.

Nors less, where Eastern ethers brightly smile,
Tot the chill Oxus from the sultry Nile,
The dusky tribes receive the Prophet's law,
And to his Caliphs bend with prostrate awe.
Cashmere's green vales obey the stern command,
Bassora's" wharves, and marts of Samarcand,
And names to Greek and Roman arms unknown
Swell the proud pomp of Delhi's jewell'd throne."
Vain are the legions of Byzantium's Lord'
'Gainst the dread sweep of Caled's' gleaming sword :
Vain thy bright stores of luxury and toil,

a

Damascus, loveliest scene on mortal soil!b

Where perfum'd gales from Lebanon descend,
Ande Pharpar's streams with clear Abana blend.
Thou, too, fair Zion's consecrated hill,
Kedron's scant brook, and lone Siloam's rill,
Haunts of my Saviour, footsteps of my God,

Down to the dust by new Blasphemers trod!"

"And toward the east."-Ver. 9.

The successful leader (Omar) neither halted nor reposed till his foaming cavalry had tasted the waters of the Oxus.-GIBBON, C. LI.

" Bassora, on the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, was founded about A. D. 636.

▾ Paper is said to have been first manufactured in Samarcand.

In the year 1858, the reader will not need to be reminded of the Mogul dynasty of Delhi.

"And towards the pleasant land."-Ver. 9. (Always understood to be Palestine.)

"He shall destroy the mighty and the holy people."-Ver. 24.

The armies of the Emperor Heraclius were defeated by Caled at Aiznadin,

A. D. 633, and Yermuk, A. D. 636.

Caled was called the Sword of God.

a Damascus was taken, A. D. 634.

* Τῆς ̓Εώας ἀπάσης ὀφθαλμός. Epistles attributed to Julian.

с

"Are not Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the rivers

of Israel?"-2 Kings, v. 12.

d Jerusalem capitulated, A. D. 637.

"He magnified himself even to the prince of the host. . . and the place of his sanctuary was cast down."-Ver. 11.

"He shall stand up against the Prince of princes."-Ver. 25,

Where Bethlehem nursed Creation's lowly Lord,
Hark! the fierce shout, "The Koran or the Sword!"
In warlike pomp the haughty Emirs ride
By the still hamlets on Gennesareth's tide,
And craftys seers proclaim a heav'n of guilt,
Where the pure blood of Calvary was spilt.
Yet, ere the vision fades before my eyes,
See the regenerating dawn arise!

Before the radiance of the Gospel beam,h

Down, baffled Crescent! shrink, Euphrates' stream !i
Return, ye ransom'd, to your promised home!
Feet, that are beauteous on the mountain, come!
Foul bigotry, avaunt! fierce Discord, cease!

Earth, sea, and sky, be glad, before the Prince of Peace!

I confess that I perceive with surprise Mr. Buckle's very favourable estimate of the Mahomedan religion, especially as proceeding from one who generally professes himself so much averse to mere military prowess.

"Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper."-Ver. 25.

h" He shall be broken without hand."-Ver. 25.

i And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared."-Rev. xvi. 12.

THE LAST OF THE GREEKS;

OR,

THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE:

A Tragedy.
[1828.]

PREFACE.

It will easily be perceived that the following Play, if for no other reason than the uniform progress of the story towards an inevitable catastrophe, would be ill adapted to dramatic representation. I fear that the experiment which I have now ventured to make may only have the effect of teaching me, that it is not much better calculated to be read. I have, however, been willing to hope that the events which are now attracting so much of public attention in the East of Europe, though they did not suggest the undertaking, may confer upon it a portion of interest which it could not have commanded by any merit of its own.

It is hardly requisite to observe, that Miss Baillie has published a Tragedy upon the same subject. I should naturally shrink from entering into such formidable competition; but I believe that, except in so far as our common authorities have necessarily led us to allude to the same prominent events, we shall not be found to have clashed.

PROLOGUE.

WHILE in rapt mood the fancy loved to stray
O'er the bright realms of her peculiar sway,

And saw in mystic vision pass along

The buried forms of glory and of song,

The nymphs, the heroes, and the gods, whose love
Stooped from the sky to deify the grove;

What was the angry sound that dared invade

The solemn stillness of each haunted glade,

O'ercame the murmurs of Castalia's rill,

The leafy whispers of Dodona's hill,

And filled the shore, the islands, and the main,

From Eta's caverns to Messene's plain?

It was the clang of arms-the cry of strife

The shout of Freedom starting into life.