Masham

“ The queen replied, "That it was not she who was changed, but the duchess," and added, "I believe I have begged Masham a hundred times to tell you of her marriage, but she would not."
This confession convinced the angry duchess that she had been a subject of discussion, and she became more indignant [463] than ever to think that so humble a person as her cousin Abigail should presume to speak with her majesty about so high and mighty a creature as herself. She determined to give the young woman a sound rating, but changed her mind, and wrote her an angry, undignified letter instead. ”

“ His letter was sent from Meldest, in South Germany, and he said: "The wisest thing is to have to do with as few people as possible. If you are sure Mrs. Masham speaks of business to the queen, I should think you might, with some caution, tell her of it, which would do good, for she certainly must be grateful, and will mind what you say."
The duchess did not heed this advice of her clear-headed husband, but kept herself up to a pitch of excitement at what she called the barbarity, ingratitude, and wickedness of the queen. ”

“ Wynyard had once quoted to his friend, “Needs must when the devil drives!” Now at times he could readily believe that the old gentleman himself was holding the steering-wheel!
Sometimes, as they tore through villages, they left a track of whirling feathers—the remains of a flock of geese or poultry; and Masham boasted, to his chauffeur’s disgust, that once, between Pau and Biarritz, he and his machine had been the death of five dogs. On more than one occasion, when his excitement was frenzied, and he undoubtedly saw red, Wynyard had endeavoured to wrest the steering-wheel from his employer. ”

“ We rode in the great park and the forest about a dozen miles, and the duchess and I had much conversation; we got home by two, and Mr. Masham, his lady, Arbuthnot and I dined with Mrs. Hill. Arbuthnot made us all melancholy, by some symptoms of bloody ur—e: he expects a cruel fit of the stone in twelve hours; he says he is never mistaken, and he appears like a man that is to be racked to morrow. I cannot but hope it will not be so bad; he is a perfectly honest man, and one I have much obligation to. ”

“ Unable either to satisfy the tories or to keep a door open towards the whigs, Oxford had already in June offered his resignation to the queen, but she had declined it. Early in July, however, Swift was told that his patron's fall was near, and on the 27th Oxford himself announced it as impending for the following day. On the 29th Lady Masham, who, according to Swift's correspondent Ford, had never been in higher credit with the queen, confirmed the news of the downfall of the partner and director of her old intrigues. ”

“ But to what extent Queen Anne showed an interest at this time in her brother's future it is impossible to determine. In the so-called ‘Minutes of the Negotiations’ of Mesnager (210–326) a long and circumstantial account is given of his endeavours, with the aid of a person ‘near the queen’ (Lady Masham) , to obtain the insertion in the treaty of peace of a secret clause which should relieve King Louis from the obligation of keeping his promise to recognise the succession of the House of Hanover beyond the lifetime of Queen Anne. ”

“ Masha, pale and trembling, approached Ivan Kouzmitch, knelt down before him, and bowed herself to the earth. The old commandant made the sign of the cross over her three times; he then raised and kissed her, saying, in an altered voice:
"Be happy, Masha. Pray to God. He will not abandon thee. If thou should'st find a good man, may God bless your attachment. Live together as thy mother and I have lived. ”

“ At times Masha's countenance will express suffering, will seem morose, her brows will contract at the nose, the corners of the mouth will descend; the entire face will age ten years and grow sombre—evidently my own face is thus at times. Now and then I frighten her with my gaze. You know how strange and somewhat awesome is the gaze of every deeply thoughtful man. Seeing me thus the eyes of Masha will open wide, the pupils will grow darker, and, approaching me noiselessly, with uplifted hand, she will do something friendy and unexpected—smooth my hair or arrange my dress. ”

“ Masha nodded her head gravely.
“That was what Marusa said, and how did the Njania punish her? Has she a child to call hers? And look at poor Julina. She defied the Njania also, and has had children showered on her faster than she can breathe. Her isba is like a beehive. Anna Evauovna can give you a draught that will cure any sickness if she will, and oh! what fortunes she can tell, Grusha! And what do we here in the village that she does not know of at once?”
“Who teaches her and who tells her? Answer me that, Masha. Oh, you may well cross yourself! ”

“ Quoth the Shaykh, “O my son, come up into the shop, lest thou perish.” So Badr Basim went up into the shop and sat down; whereupon the old man set before him somewhat of food, saying, “O my son, enter the inner shop; glory be to Him who hath preserved thee from yonder she-Sathanas!” King Badr Basim was sore affrighted at the grocer’s words; but he ate his fill and washed his hands; then glanced at his host and said to him, “O my lord, what is the meaning of these words? Verily thou hast made me fearful of this city and its folk.” ”

“ Hardly had she made an end of her words, when the bird trembled once and became a man; and the King saw before him a handsome youth, than whom on earth’s face was none goodlier. But when King Badr Basim found himself thus restored to his own form he cried, “There is no god but the God and Mohammed is the Apostle of God! Glory be to the Creator of all creatures and Provider of their provision, and Ordainer of their life-terms preordained!” ”

“ And she importuned him, till he exclaimed, “I will not sell her save for a thousand dinars,” saying in himself, “Whence should this old woman get a thousand gold pieces?” Thereupon she brought out from her girdle a purse containing a thousand ducats, which when King Badr Basim saw, he said, “O my mother, I did but jest with thee; I cannot sell her.” But the old man looked at him and said, “O my son, in this city none may lie, for whoso lieth they put to death.” So King Badr Basim lighted down from the mule.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. ”

“ Even the idols of the vanquished shared the fate of their people: the king tore them from the sanctuaries which had hitherto sheltered them, and took them as prisoners in his train to form a court of captive gods about his patron divinity. Shamash, the great judge of heaven, inspired him with justice, and the prosperity which his good administration obtained for the people was less the work of the sovereign than that of the immortals. ”

“ I am ready to swear that Masha—or, as her father called her, Mashya—was a real beauty, but I don’t know how to prove it. It sometimes happens that clouds are huddled together in disorder on the horizon, and the sun hiding behind them colors them and the sky with tints of every possible shade—crimson, orange, gold, lilac, muddy pink; one cloud is like a monk, another like a fish, a third like a Turk in a turban. ”

“ Off with you from the throne, wretched, impotent thought!
What am I then, gentlemen experts—insane or not?
Masha, charming woman, you know something that I do not know. Tell me, of whom shall I seek help?
I know your answer, Masha. No, I don't mean that. You are a good and gracious woman, Masha, but you know neither physics nor chemistry. Not once have you been to the theatre, and, busily bent upon your daily tasks, you do not so much as suspect that the object upon which you live twirls. It twirls, Masha, it twirls, and we twirl with it. ”

“ He is supposed to throw open the gates of the morning and raise his head over the horizon, lighting up the heaven and earth with his beams. The knowledge of justice and injustice and the virtue of righteousness were attributed to him, and he was regarded as a judge between good and evil, for as the light of the sun penetrates everywhere, and nothing can be hidden from its beams, it is not strange that it should stand as the symbol for justice. Shamash appears at the head of the inscription which bears the laws of Khammurabi, and here he stands as the symbol for justice. ”

“ Sir William Jones gives the tradition of the Persians as to the earliest ages. He says: "Moshan assures us that in the opinion of the best informed Persians the first monarch of Iran, and of the whole earth, was Mashab-Ad; that he received from the Creator, and promulgated among men a sacred book, in a heavenly language, to which the Mussulman author gives the Arabic title of 'Desatir,' or 'Regulations.' Mashab-Ad was, in the opinion of the ancient Persians, the person left at the end of the last great cycle, and consequently the father of the present world. ”

“ Why, we understand each other... and so....'
Masha did not speak.
'Come, stop that!... that's all nonsense! it's nothing but...' Lutchkov stretched out his hand to her.
Masha recollected Kister, his 'take care of yourself,' and, sinking with terror, in a rather shrill voice screamed, 'Taniusha!'
From behind a nutbush emerged the round face of her maid.... Avdey was completely disconcerted. Reassured by the presence of her hand-maiden, Masha did not stir. But the bully was shaking all over with rage; his eyes were half closed; he clenched his fists and laughed nervously. ”

“ Thou wouldest be strong enough of heart to enter upon a combat, to judge by thy appearance; tell me, then, how thou hast obtained this existence among the gods to which thou hast aspired?” Shamashnapishtim yields to his wish, if only to show him how abnormal his own case was, and indicate the merits which had marked him out for a destiny superior to that of the common herd of humanity. He describes the deluge to him, and relates how he was able to escape from it by the favour of Ea, and how by that of Bel he was made while living a member of the army of the gods. ”

“ The cult of Shamash in Assyria dates from at least 1340 B.C., when Pudilu built a temple to this god in the city of Asshur. He entitled Shamash 'The Protecting Deity,' which name is to be understood as that of the god of justice, whose fiat is unchangeable, and in this manner Shamash differed somewhat from the Babylonian idea concerning him. In the southern kingdom he was certainly regarded as a just god, but not as the god of justice—a very different thing. It is interesting as well as edifying to watch the process of evolution of a god of justice. ”

“ My feeling for her is not a fleeting passion, but a deep and genuine emotion, in which friendship is mingled with love. Her bright, gentle disposition is in perfect harmony with my tastes. She is well-educated, clever, plays the piano splendidly.... If you could only see her! I enclose her portrait sketched by me. I need hardly say she is a hundred times better-looking than her portrait. Masha loves you already, like a daughter, and is eagerly looking forward to seeing you. I mean to retire, to settle in the country, and to go in for farming. ”

“ Shâh-Ismael had defeated Shaibâni in full force at Meru; the Usbek-raider was dead, smothered in a band of escaping Mongols.
"I must go," muttered the young King hoarsely; "I must go. Samarkand is mine by right."
So, with hardly more than an hour's preparation he was off, though it was the dead of winter, across the snows to join forces with his cousin of Badakhshân.
The fighting fever was on him once more. He could not, he did not even try, to resist it. And Mahâm let him go; she was too wise to attempt to chain her wild hawk. ”

“ Whereas Shamash is viewed as the 'judge of mankind,' Marduk becomes the god who restores the dead to life, though he shares this power with Shamash, Gula, Nebo, and Nergal. But after all, even in the religious texts, his more prominent rôle is that of a ruler,—a magnified king. He protects the weak, releases the imprisoned, and makes great the small. He controls by his powerful hand the mountains and rivers and fountains. He is the counsellor who guides the decrees, even of the great gods, Anu and Bel. ”

“ To enable him to exercise legitimate authority, he must have celebrated the rites and “taken the hands of Bel,” but it was a question whether this obligation could be fulfilled if Bel remained a prisoner in the neighbouring capital. Assur-bani-pal believed for a moment that this difficulty could be obviated, and consulted Shamash on this delicate question: “Shamash-shumukîn, the son of Esarhaddon, the King of Assyria, can he in this year take the hands of Bel, the mighty lord Marduk, in this very city, and then go to Babylon with the favour of Bel! ”

“ Masha wrapped herself in a shawl, put on a warm cloak, and with a box in her hand, passed out on to the back staircase. The maid carried two bundles after her. They descended into the garden. The snowstorm raged; a strong wind blew against them, as if trying to stop the young culprit. With difficulty they reached the end of the garden. In the road a sledge awaited them.
The horses, from cold, would not stand still. Vladimir's coachman was walking to and fro in front of them, trying to quiet them. ”

“ She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King’s wife said to the King, “Verily, this is no bird but a man like thyself: he is King Badr Basim son of King Shahriman and his mother is Julnar the Sea-born,” quoth the King, “And how came he in this shape?”; and quoth she, “Princess Jauharah, daughter of King Al-Samandal, hath enchanted him:” and told him all that had passed with King Badr Basim from first to last. ”