Page 51 - The Prophet-statesman a Drama of Daniel

CHAPTER XI

THE KING EXPLAINS

“Forgive me,” whispered Nebuchadnezzar into the ear of Rhea as he gathered her

into a warm embrace. “I have acted strangely and neglected you shamefully in these
last days, have I not, darling?”
“Yes, my royal spouse,” she replied as she drew back a little and gazed with tear-
filled eyes into his face. “I have been in misery, not knowing the cause of your attitude

toward me, nor wherein I have offended you.”
“You offended me not at all, Rhea, I was deeply absorbed in the matter of the
forgotten dream. So engrossed was I with it, yes, obsessed with a desire to recover it,
that I acted boorishly toward you, the light of my eyes, the joy of my heart, and caused

myself to be hated and execrated by the whole city of Babylon.”
“What do you mean by that, my lord?”
“Just this, that in my mad sense of frustration in having had the impressive vision
of my bed snatched from me, I summoned all the wise men of Babylon and demanded

of them that they should recover for me the dream and make known unto me the
interpretation on pain of death.”
“On pain of death to whom? ” Rhea inquired with eyes wide and startled.
“To all the Magi of Babylon―everyone of them was to be killed. I had started to

call only the magicians, astrologers and necromancers, but blundered by calling as well
the scholars and scientists. They pled with me the unreasonableness of the demand, but
in my rage, I ordered them all to be killed.”

The gentle Rhea recoiled from him speechless with terror.

The mighty monarch of Babylon dropped to his knees and embraced the feet of his
wife. Shaking with emotion he besought her: “Hate me not, gentle Rhea, my morning

star, my meridian sun, whom I love better than life, nor regard me as a cruel monster,
as I could scarce blame you, if you did! It was my moment of madness, I regretted and
deplored it the moment the threat was out of my mouth, but for reasons of pride and

selfishness, I could not retreat.”
“But what….what is the present status of this affair? Of course none could
reproduce your dream…Will you still persist in such an outrageous determination?”
These questions came from Rhea in broken sentences and bated breath.
“It is all resolved now, my love, have no further fear.” Rhea had sunk upon her divan,

her breath coming in short gasps. The king arose from his knees, and clasping both her
hands in his, he sat by her side.