ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Production Note
Project Unica
Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign 2015


















PALMYRA
BY MRS. BAILEY.
Author of“ The Months“ Musce Sacrce “ The Sinless Human Nature of Christ “ Reflections, Doctrinal, Practical, and Devotional, upon the Litany of the Church of England.” 8fC. Sf-c. fyc.
“ How are the Mighty fallen, and the Weapons of War perished.’’
2 Sam. i. 27.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY C. J. G. AND F. RIVINGTON,
st. Paul's churchyard, and Waterloo place, pall mall ;
AND TO BE HAD OP MESSRS. SEELEY, FLEET STREET; HATCHARD, PICCADILLY ; NISBET, BERNERS STREET ; ALSO OP G. W. FULCHER, SUDBURY; W. OLIPHANT, OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH ; W. CURRY, JUN. & CO. AND R. M. TIMS, DUBLIN ; G. PHILIPS, AND W. M’COMB, BELFAST.
1833.
ADVERTISEMENT.
Should any Profits arise from the Sale of this Work, they will he devoted entirely to Charitable Purposes.THE ARGUMENT.


Address to Palmyra—her former glory, contrasted with her present ruinous state.—Zenobia,—her beauty, learning, courage, and military talents,—engages Aurelian’s troops— first at Antioch, then at Emesa (a town of Syria near the river Orontes,)—is overcome—retreats to Palmyra—is besieged by the Romans and obliged to leave the city— overtaken near the river Euphrates—brought into the presence of the Emperor—to shield herself betrays her friends. —Aurelian’s triumph—Zenobia and Tetricus the most prominent objects.—Apostrophe to Aurelian.—Palmyra ravaged by the Romans—by the Turks.—Magnificent sepulchres.— Reflections upon the vanity of human glory.—Transtoriy nature of all worldly kingdoms.—Kingdom of the Messiah glorious and unchanging.PALMYRA.
Renowned Palmyra ! once the seat of kings, Whose fallen greatness sad remembrance brings; Are these thy stately towers, thy buildings vast, Whose crumbling splendour speaks thy glory past? Where now thy goodly fanes—thy regal dome ? Once the rich lure of proud imperial Rome ?
How art thou sunk, Arabia’s mighty queen,
Fall’n from thy height as if thou ne’er had been! Thy broken shafts, and columns peering high,
Speak but the loss of ancient majesty;
Thy batter’d walls, and ruins stretching wide, Declare the nothingness of human pride:
The angry Sun looks down, with scornful ray,
On glory lost, and grandeur in decay !
10
6
Mute Silence reigns supreme, the busy sound Of Population’s voice, is hush’d around;
The valiant warrior’s tread is heard no more,
The pride and pomp of Luxury are o’er;
tv- ■;
Beauty’s gay smile no more allures the eye,
Nor Pleasure charms in robes of Tyrian die:	20
’Tis stillness all, save when the viewless air Sighs thro’ thy broken walls in plaintive dumb despair. As when some noble ship, whose gallant prow,
Full long hath stemm’d the furious waves below, Becomes a shatter’d wreck, amid the main,
Nor ever steers her prosp’rous course again;
So oriental queen, thy ruins stand,
A shatter’d wreck amid a sea of sand!	a
So hath Time’s ocean broke thy power away—
So sunk thy people’s pride, in impotent decay! 30 Art thou that Tadmor, fair Zcnobia’s boast,
Who once defied proud Rome’s imperious host?
That ancient Tadmor, built by Salem’s king,
Now shadow’d by Oblivion’s ebon wing ?
Thou once wert lordly Asia’s splendid mart,	a
The seat of commerce and the dome of art;7
The wand’ring merchant bent his way thro’ thee, O’er Persia’s gulph to India’s burning sea:
Then the rich olive shed her fragrance round,
And victor-palm-trees grac’d the fruitful ground; 40 Then cooling founts, and pure translucent streams, Temper’d the languor of the solar beams.	a
My Muse, forget not that enchanted hour When fam’d Zenobia sway’d the rod of power,— Zenobia, bright in science, wit, and arms,
Shone in th’ unrivall’d might of female charms;
In learning great—in virtue greater far,
She seem’d like ancient Tadmor’s evening star;
And was it only seem’d? Palmyra say,
Or did she sad portend thy parting day ?	50
Alas too true portent, for soon thy light Sank in the shades of everlasting night.
E’en from her early years, this noble dame Sliew’d the fair pattern of her after-fame;
Like early twilight, when, with dewy gleam,
Aurora smiling brings the rosie beam.
Arachne’s shining looms the fair despis’d,	b
Works different far from these by her were priz’d :Her virgin-hand across the desert bare,
To guide th’ unbroken courser, oft would dare; GO Oft would she track wild monsters to their dens,
O’er craggy mountains, and thro’ woody glens : Beside her royal spouse, with glitt’ring spear,
Would chase the tawny lion and the bear;
Within the fulgent camp she lov’d to dwell,
And fearless heard the warrior’s wildest yell;
Her voice harmonious—her footstep light,
Swift as a sun-beam, as a sun-beam bright,
Like lightning’s glance, her dark, undaunted eye Flash’d with the native charms of majesty!	70
The widow’d warrior queen, witli noble pride,
Th’ encroaching arrogance of Rome defied, Aurelian’s vet’ran troops advanc’d to meet,
Far from her mighty empire’s regal seat;	c
Thou Antioch saws’t her steel-clad warriors bright, Break like a sea on Rome’s superior might;
Till driven back, as from a rocky shore,
The furious billows fled with deaf’ning roar;
Thou too Orontes, with thy stormy wave,
Wert made of mingled foes, the common grave; SO9
Where then was Parthia?—'where was Persia’s power? d Have all forsaken in that trying hour ?
Ill-fated queen, and must thy forces yield,
And leave proud Rome the mistress of the field ? They must—they have—Zenobia takes her flight,
And hides in fam’d Palmyra’s tow’ring height: Aurelian’s troops beneath the scorching ray,
O’er burning sands now urge their rapid way, Harass’d by Arab robbers’ arrowy showers,	e
Press onward to Palmyra’s marble towers.	90
Alas! for Tadmor, tho’ she long withstood The cruel soldier thirsting for her blood,
At length o’ercome by still increasing foes,
Which, like a gathering storm, around her rose,
She sank forsaken, ’reft of all resource,
Beneath proud Rome’s conglomerated force.
So oft the sandy column’s towering height Falls o’er the trav’ller with resistless might,
Th’ affrighted pilgrims ’mid the desert wide,
Sink overwhelm’d beneath the crumbling title!	100
Is that the far-fam’d oriental queen,	f
Panting, exhausted, near Euphrates’ seen?10
Alas! alas! behold she sorrowing stands,
A captive queen amid the Roman bands:
Oh false Zenobia, couldst thou then betray	g
Those who had shar’d with thee the stormy day? Couldst thou betray Longinus, Grecia’s boast,
To glut the fury of a savage host ?
Oh false Zenobia! this thy lasting shame,
Blasts all the glory of thy former fame!—	110
The Latian eagle, pouncing on his prey,
Hath borne her in his talons far away—
There see she stands beside Aurelian’s car,	h
The beauteous trophy of a cruel war.
Adorn’d with all the majesty of state,
Drooping beneath her jewels sparkling weight,
Like a fair flower bow’d down with dew she seems, A fragrant lily, in the morning beams!
The haughty conq’ror, thro’ imperial Rome,	k
Moves slowly onward to the regal dome;	120
Exalted to ambition’s tow’ring height,
Looks scornful down upon inferior might:
See flexile Asia moves in glitt’ring pride,
And swarthy Afric spreads her trophies wide;The quiver’d Bactrian treads the crowded way,
While China’s spoils declare Aurelian’s sway;
August ambassadors from ev’ry clime
’Mid shouts triumphant swell the pomp sublime,
Soft balmy gales the captives’ moanings fill,
And martial clangour echoes from each hill;	13(f
There bright Zenobia, Syria’s mighty queen,
Here Tetricus, in purple robes is seen;
No more the wond’ring crowd, with eager eyes,
i
Behold the less’ning pomp, with wild surprise,
Fix’d is the gen’ral eye of all around,
On that fair female form, in golden fetters bound;
So fades the glory of each less’ning star,
When evening Cynthia mounts her silver car!
Say, mighty Prince, can this a triumph be,
To trample on expiring royalty?	140
Can such ephemeral glory fill thy mind,
Glory, which leaves no lasting trace behind ?
Can such short joy as this each wish controul,
And fill the longings of a deathless soul ?
Alas, Aurelian, soon thy dying hour	i
Will shew the mighty impotence of power;12
The traitor’s hand already bares the dart,
Destin’d, O Prince, to pierce thy lofty heart!
Lo haughty Tadmor, drunk with native blood, k Falls prostrate, crush’d beneath the tyrant’s rod, 150 Apollo’s fane, whose turrets pierce the sky,
Sinks from the stroke of ruthless Tyranny;
Now nought is seen within that spacious court,
Save mud-wall’d cots, the peasant’s dull resort:
Yet worse, far worse, was Turkish-bigot-zeal,	l
Than universal Rome’s unconquer’d steel;
The breathing marble, and the sculptur’d stone,
Alas, by tasteless Fury are o’erthrown;
Medina’s prophet hath those forms defac’d,
With nicest art, by Grecian chisel trac’d:	160
Yet still remains the dark, unfathom’d tomb,
Where myriads sleep, in unenlighten’d gloom;
Here those who once with ever restless feet,
Pass’d thoughtless thro’ Palmyra’s crowded street, The great—the rich—the beautiful—the brave,
In mingled dust now share one gen’ral grave;
’Tis stillness all above, and all beneath,
The dark abode of undistinguish’d Death !—13
So o’er a shrouded world at length must fall,
With overwhelming sweep, Time’s universal pall! 170 Palmyra is no more !—her ruins vast—
Lifeless, in mould’ring splendour, stand aghast!
Oh vain parade of Grandeur, Pomp, and Power, Beauteous, but transient, as a summer flower!
Oh Pleasure’s gay bewitching smile, how vain,
« Unreal as stars, reflected in the main ! ”
Aspiring Rome, no more with sov’reign pride, Extends her vast domains on ev’ry side,
The helpless prey of Vandal Fury made,
How is her pristine grace in ashes laid!	180
Palmyra sees her conq’ror bite the ground,
In iron fetters, by barbarians bound:
Imperial Rome, the mistress of the world,—
How is the tyrant from her summit hurl’d;
She who beheld proud Carthage at her feet,
Who cast Palmyra from her regal seat,
How is the tyrant humbled to the dust;
How must she own the retribution just.
Ambition boast not,—tho’ this moment rais’d,
To glory’s height, by earth-born minions prais’d ; 19014
Perhaps, this moment, some more haughty foe Draws near to lay thy glitt’ring honors low :
This Marius felt when once, in sullen scorn,	m
He musing sat, ’mid Byrsa’s walls forlorn,
When, from insulting Rome, the dread command, Bade him depart from fair Elisa’s land;
“ Go tell the Praetor this,” he sternly said,
“ That Marius, now the sport of fortune made,
“ Sits on the broken strength of Tyrian towers ;
“ And let him trust no more his vaunted powers.” 200 Alas how vain the pride and pomp of kings,
How vain the joy that worldly conquest brings,
The vanquish’d and the victors, all must cease, Engulph’d in dark eternity’s abyss!
There stood great Balbec, ’mid whose ruins wide Still lurks the shade of ancient mould’ring pride; Here solitary Tadmor lifts her head,
Her haughty sons now number’d with the dead. Behold how golden Babylonia vain,	n
Hath melted into Persia’s silver reign,	210
And Persia humbled in one little hour,
A suppliant yields to Macedonia’s power;15
While Grecia’s brazen might hath pass’d away,
Crumbled to dust beneath Rome’s iron sway—
So will the tide of nations rise and fall,
Till one eternity engulplis them all !
But tho’ all temp’ral powers will sink to dust,
Secure remains the kingdom of the just;
That precious living stone, cut without hands,
Like an eternal mountain, firmly stands!	220
And lo fair Salem shall again be built,
Tho’ crush’d beneath accumulated guilt;
And once again shall Sion joyful rise,
And lift her tow’ring forehead to the skies,
For God hath promised, and his word is sure,
That Israel’s seed for ever shall endure;
When worldly pomp and power no more are found, God’s everlasting day shall shine around;
At that great sight, the Sun, with pale amaze,
Shall lose his glory in those brighter rays; 230 The silver Moon, abash’d, shall hide her face;
The Stars to immaterial beams give place:
Oh glorious hour, when God’s eternal Light,
Shall drive all Error to the shades of night!16
When Satan raging, shall attempt in vain To burst the eternal adamantine chain;
When Sin no more her snaky crest shall rear,
Nor grisly Death in human spoils appear;
When o’er each kingdom of this nether world The cross’s blood-red flag shall be unfurl’d, 240
And ev’ry kingdom shall united own
Sli?
ONE GOD-ONE EVERLASTING KING ALONE.
•Mwiii :•><	.	■	.
os w* ■■ ■
ft
, r jf
... W
a Amid the barren deserts of Arabia, a few cultivated spots rise like islands out of the sandy ocean. Even the name of Tadmor, or Palmyra, by its signification in the Syriac, as well as the Latin language, denoted the multitude of Palm trees which afforded shade and verdure to that temperate region. The air was pure, and the soil, watered by some invaluable springs, was capable of producing fruits as well as corn. A place possessed of such singular advantages, and situated at a convenient distance between the Gulf of Persia, and the Mediterranean, was soon frequented by the caravans which conveyed to the nations of Europe a considerable part of the rich commodities of India.
Gibbon’s Rom. Hist. Vol. 2, 39.
b Tasso’s description of Clorinda is very like Gibbon’s account of Zenobia.—
Ger. Lib. Canto 2nd. Stan. 39, 40. Costei gl' ingegni femminili e gli usi Tutti sprezzò sin dall’ etate acerba;
Ai lavori di Aracne, all’ ago, ai fusi Inchinar non degnò la man superba;
Fuggì gli abiti molli e i lochi chiusi,
Chè ne' campi onestate anco si serba: Armò d’orgoglio il volto, e si compiacque Rigido farlo ; e pur rigido piacque.18
Tenera ancor con pargoletta destra Strinse e lento d’un corridore il morso ;
Trattò l’asta e la spada, ed in palestra Induro i membri, ed allenagli al corso;
Poscia o per via montana o per Silvestra L'orme segui di fier leone e d’orso ;
Segui le guerre; ed in esse, e fra le selve,
Fera agli uomini parve, uomo alle belve.
c “The fate of the East was decided in two great battles ; so similar in almost every circumstance, that we can scarcely distinguish them from each other, except by observing that the first was fought near Antioch, and the second near Emesa. In both, the queen of Palmyra animated the armies by her presence.”
Gibbon.—Voi. 2, 38.
d “ After the defeat of Emesa, Zenobia found it impossible to collect a third army. As far as the frontier of Egypt, the nations subject to her empire had joined the standard of the conqueror, who detached Probus, the bravest of his generals, to possess himself of the Egyptian provinces.—Palmyra was the last resource of the widow of Odenathus. She retired within the walls of her capital and made every preparation for a vigorous resistance.”
Ibid. 38.
e “In his march over the sandy desert, between Emesa and Palmyra, the emperor Aurelian was perpetually harassed by the Arabs; nor could he always defend his army, and especially his baggage, from those flying troops of active and daring robbers, who watched the moment of surprize, and eluded the slow pursuit of the legions.”
Ibid. 40.19
f The queen of Palmyra resisted the arms of Aurelian for a considerable time with undaunted courage, but was at length overcome and obliged to fly, and to leave the city to the victorious Romans.—“ She mounted the fleetest of her dromedaries” says Gibbon, “ and had already reached the banks of the Euphrates, when she was overtaken by the pursuit of Aurelian’s light horse, seized, and brought back a captive to tbe feet of the emperor. Her capital soon after surrendered, and was treated with unexpected lenity.”
Ibid. 42.
g “The courage of Zenobia deserted her in the hour of trial; she trembled at the angry clamours of the soldiers, who called aloud for her immediate execution, and igno-miniously purchased life by the sacrifice of her fame, and her friends. It was to their counsels, which governed the weakness of her sex, that she imputed the guilt of her obstinate resistance; it was on their heads that she directed the vengeance of the cruel Aurelian. The fame of Longinus, who was included among the numerous, and perhaps innocent victims of her fear, will survive that of the queen who betrayed, or the tyrant who condemned him.”
Ibid. 43.
h Gibbon thus describes Aurelian’s proud and magnificent triumph.—“The pomp was opened by twenty elephants, four royal tigers, and above two hundred of the most curious animals from every climate of the North, the East, and the South. They were followed by sixteen hundred gladiators, devoted to the cruel amusement of the amphitheatre. The wealth of Asia, the arms and ensigns of so many conquered nations, and the magnificent plate and wardrobe of the Syrian queen, were disposed in exact symmetry or artful disorder. The ambassadors of the most remote parts of the earth, of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, Bactriana, India, and China, all remarkable by their20
rich or singular dresses, displayed the fame and power of the Roman emperor, who exposed likewise to the public view, the presents that he had received, and particularly a great number of crowns of gold, the offerings of grateful cities. The victories of Aurelian were attested by the long train of captives who reluctantly attended his triumph—Goths, Vandals, Alemmanni, Franks, Gauls, Syrians, and Egyptians. Each people was distinguished by its peculiar inscription, and the title of Amazons was bestowed on ten martial heroines of the Gothic nation, who had been taken in arms. But every eye disregarding the crowd of captives, was fixed on the emperor Tetricus, and the queen of the East. The former, as well as his son, whom he had created Augustus, was dressed in Gallic trousers, a saffron tunic, and a robe of purple. The beauteous figure of Zenobia was confined by fetters of gold; a slave supported the gold chain which encircled her neck, and she almost fainted under the intolerable weight of jewels. She preceded on foot the magnificent chariot in which she once hoped to enter the gates of Rome. It was followed by two other chariots still more sumptuous, of Odenathus and of the Persian monarch. The triumphal car of Aurelian (it had formerly been used by a Gothic king) was drawn on this memorable occasion, either by four stags, or by four elephants. The most illustrious of the senate, the people, and the army, closed the solemn procession.”
Ibid. 46.
i “He (Aurelian) had threatened one of his secretaries who was accused of extortion, and it was known that he seldom threatened in vain. The last hope which remained for the criminal was to involve some of the principal officers of the army in his danger, or at least in his fears. Artfully counterfeiting his master’s hand, he shewed them, in a long and bloody list, their own names devoted to death. Without suspecting or examining the fraud, they21
resolved to secure their lives by the murder of the emperor. On his march between Byzantium and Heraclea, Aurelian was suddenly attacked by the conspirators, whose stations gave them a right to surround his person, and after a short resistance fell by the hand of Mucapor, a general whom he had always loved and trusted.”
Ibid. 57.
k “Returning from the conquest of the East, AuTelian had already crossed the straits which divide Europe from Asia, when he was provoked by the intelligence that the Palmyrenians had massacred the governor and garrison which he had left among them, and again erected the standard of revolt. Without a moments deliberation, he once more turned his face towards Syria. Antioch was alarmed by his rapid approach, and the helpless city of Palmyra felt the irresistible weight of his resentment. We have a letter of Aurelian himself, in which he acknowledges, that old men, women, children, and peasants, had been involved in that dreadful execution, which should have been confined to armed rebellion ; and although his principal concern seems directed to the re-establishment of a temple of the sun, he discovers some pity for the remnant of the Palmyrenians, to whom he grants the permission of rebuilding and inhabiting their city. But it is easier to destroy than to restore. The seat of commerce, of arts, and of Zenobia, gradually sank into an obscure town, a trifling fortress, and at length a miserable village. The present citizens of Palmyra, consisting of thirty or forty families, have erected their mud cottages within the spacious court of a magnificent temple.”
Ibid. 44.
I Alluding to the conquest of Arabia by the Turks; when, it seems, the disciples of Mahomet, in their zeal against idolatry, destroyed at Palmyra some of the finest remains of ancient statuary.22
m * Marius was just landed (at Carthage) with a few of his men, when an officer came up and thus addressed him: “Marius, the Praetor Sextilius forbids you to set foot in Africa. If you do not obey, he will support the senate’s decree, and treat you as a public enemy.” Marius upon hearing this, was struck dumb with grief and indignation. He uttered not a word for some time, but stood regarding the officer with a menacing aspect. At length the officer asked him “ what answer he should carry back to the governor ?” “Tell him” said the unfortunate man, with a deep sigh “ that thou hast seen the exiled Marius, sitting upon the ruins of Carthage /” Thus, in the happiest manner in the world, he proposed the fate of that city, and his own, as warnings to the Praetor.’
Plutarch.—Life of Marius.
n Daniel, chap, ii, ver. 32, &c. &c.
FINIS.
Hill, Printer, Ballingdon.