31 1: w em c wi am

MY BR O T H E R

COPYRIGHT 'BY

W ILLARD PRACKER COMPANY1 889

There s a voice that wakes for meThoughts so mortal to my tongue ,That my heart but silen tlyBows, and leaves the song unsung.

There s a precept dropt from heavenTo my pillow , and t is mine

Not for spoken truth , but dearer ,All unspoken neath the line.

CONTENTS.

THE AMARANTH AND THE BERYL

MINABE L

THE TRUTH-GOD

UNTITLED LYRICS AND SONNETS

Z OROASTER

Gite tamaran th curb the

Another star swoons on the horizonA glory nevermore ! Oh W eep with me ;For if a brothers lovethy life hath known

,

Be thou a bead ofmy hearts rosaryO er which I bend and pray. Let us condole

,

Waking from death a tribute pure and free :One coeternal hymn. And thou , my soulA

G rief-nurtured orphan of fatal i tyArise and kiss this dust to heaven

,and toll

Thy silver psalmody, bidding it Godward roll.

Ah,Death now lives, and Joy in us i s dead ;

The leprous cross sweeps that marmoreal

brow,And Memory drooping bows her anguished

head

1 6 Tbe Amamntlz and tfze Beryl

Upon that bosom one with Nature now.O realmless Parent here thy son lays downThis stafi called Life

,

we know not why ,nor how,

Nor Whence it came, nor whether it be crownOr cross ; but here it l ies shattered ! and

thouPale Earth

,stil l kneeling in thy druid gown,

These precious vigi ls keep, l ight ing his dearrenown !

I II.His heart throbbed in th e bosom of a cloudThat rained sweet health o er Nature s

parched-

tongueYet to be man to man was he as proudAs to be hero for their weal. That youngAnd soldierly discretion loved the deedFor the deeds holy doing

,whether wrung

From bitterness or j oy. He found a creedIn the great heart

of man-a hymn unsung,

A scripture wordless,yet of speech indeed

Profound and godike both in triumph and inn eed.

IV.And he is ours to j oy beside no moreOh prostrate season when our Summer fled

That warrior wil l is beckoned to the shoreTo join the Truth-gods council of the dead.

An E legy

A star pavil ion o er his chariot falls,

The nightly galaxies before him led ;The

'

noisesome yokes of mortal travai l call sI n the dim wakes of Love long vanquished ,While Saturn-l ike on through these widowed

halls,

Sorrow plods forth, masking the Hours infuneral palls.

V.

All that was Beauty-born of earth or skies,

All goodness though the lowly and unsought,

All that wasfeeling to his thankful eyesHis gospel was for fashioning to thoughtThis fair God-qual ity, there moved in h imA power that rose to l ife that men be broughtTo honor truer truth ; and through the dim

E stangement of our mortal means, be taughtThe creed of charity ; then at the rimOf death he drank of life with godhood at the

brim .

Love writes with her own tears his epitaph

Upon the forehead of a l ifting fameToo holy not to prove of heaven halfTo pure not to give purity a nameMore true than

'

lang'

uage, which these z onesof toi l

Stil l as a watchword to their empires claim .

1 8 Tlze Amamnt/z and tile B eryl

From her bowed heart Affection pours the oilInto the censers l ips

,and with the flame

Of plumed suns t i s l it, and coil on coilThe smokes pray Godward up, up from this

seat of spoil.

A single meteor was at his sidePathing his course through heaven ! Aye,from the sun

Of druid Even to the early brideOf young Morns minister his race was runLike some grave seer ; and at h is touch of lightI n a melodious splendor there was won

From grief a gospel to this eremiteOf Love s large discourse. Lo ! OblivionBearded

,and by this ch ild who snatched from

NightHer sceptre

,and from Death a tribute pure

and bright.

The forest and the glen-nursed mountainstreams

Encircl ing this ambrosial couch of thoughtThe night-10m caverns , where the hermit

dreams,

The bastioned vales where solitude is soughtThese are the keeps unchallenged ofthe blade

,

The courts of e ld where sylvan gods havewrought

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20 Tlze Amaramlz and Me Bery l

This icy chain binding Love to her wrongIn this o er-earnest grief that seems to gnawDeep to the heart of heaven

,turning its strong

And staid magnificence to vigils of sweet song.

X I.Youth leers at Death

,smil ing the sceptic s

smile.That grave-calm following hard the tapersglow

Snuffed of the poisoned Wind,awes not awhile

These veins with red ambitions overflow.Starward ascendant still

,he moms to know

That time shall chill these passions t il l theygrow

All starved and stagnant with the wmtry years.Youth is all immortal ity ; for lo

_

!

These repetends of triumphs fedwi th tears ,Find death a merest name through which the

God appears.

XI I.Thus from the hemlock of the Spoilers reedOur loved one s fame distils a splendor. Aye

,

F rom out the night-shades'

of the past W herebleed

These memories, there rises a new dayOf godl ier argument through Which appearsThe proof of that which shall not pass away.

An E legy 2 !

Truth bless the hour that gathered manytearsFixing each drop a throbbing star ; and mayThat name grow hallowed with the memoried

yearsI n God , a man a fame greater thanking

s orseers.

Lo ! the clouds are rolled awayFrom the sepulchre of the skyI behold the light of dayOf the Day that shall not die.

Lo ! the stone is rolled awayFrom the sepulchre of my heartI behold the Light and say :Love ! l ive on ; my creed thou art.

2 2 l e Amaranl/z and tile B eryl

I I I .

I made my couch of yew-boughsBeside Apollo s water

And there spake I my love-vowsWith Truth

s all-sovereign daughterAnd as she bent those pale brows

,

I l istened what bethought her.

Oh in what golden vestureThose virgin dreams enwound me

What Fames made quickening gestureFrom eager nooks around meI murmured 1

,your guestm your

Child-hope I have found thee

And ah,my wish was golden

In promptings for mankindBrave words that should emboldenThe purpose of young mind

With man to man beholdenMore true

,brave and refined.

Then by that priestly glenwoodTruth scorned the dogged clan

Who stand where their dead siresKissing Obl ivionFor if to dare be man hoodWho dares not be a man

stood.

An E legy

IV.

I woke in the mid-glooms of night,

Medreamt my faith was deadMy soul s lost heaven had hung curseAbout my cursed head.

Fo r I had pondered long, long years,And wond ringly had weighedThe Why of l iving

,when I should

Have knelt me down and prayed.

The curse

of Cain hung there betwixtThe Past and the To-bePhilosophy was halt and dumb

,

Christ s tears thy wildered me.

And I saw Death a tongue that swungFrom heaven as in a bell

And when i t tolled a spirit rolledDown

,down the grip of hell.

And I saw Time : much like a snakeWith eyes wide ah

,so wide

And even while i t bl inked,one more

Sweet babe grew old and died.

And I saw Wisdom bowed austere,

And I saw Folly tooBut where the l ine betwixt them lay,Not e en the wisest knew.

23

24 Tlze Amaranth and tlze Beryl

And poets and philosophersWho read man s heart so wellBut what they knew and what they guessedWere wide as heaven from hell.

And I saw Hope ah , melting thingWith censers in her eyes ;But they soon died and proved that HopeWas Death in fair disguise.

And I saw youth with wonder-lookAnd sword poised full in air ;But ere it fel l and conquered hell,He stood a greybeard there.

And meekest saints and prophets ah,

Bold seekers for the true ;They pondered, prayed and hoped for truth,But truth not one soul knew.

And I saw V ice and InnocenceTwin-born

,twin-featured

,they ;

But which was Innocence and whichWas V ice

,not one dared say.

And young Endeavor dreaming dreamsMad dreams

,gods dreams for man

But where a godlike dream did end,

A godlike deed began.

An E legy z 5

I heard a voice awonderovoiceFrom heaven

,or up from hell ;

But whether twas voice of gods or fiends,

Not even a saint could tell.

Then honest Effort though with eyesOn heaven chained to the sodBut he rent twain the coward s chain

,

Struck,and became a god.

And I saw Friendship,with two hands

Outstretched so pleadinglyAnd while the right cried

,Hall

,sweet

friend !

The left hand said,

Good'

bye

And I saw Truth,and I saw False

There side by side they grewAnd yet men called the true the false

,

And swore the false the true.

And I saw all mankind cry out,Whence are we Whither -why 2Then with the hot words at their l ips,Lay sidelong down and die.

And I saw saints,and devils too

Men thought they knew them well ;And yet they cried the fiend to heaven,And cast the saint in hell.

26 Tfie Amaranl/z and Me B eryl

And I saw sages wide-browed too,

With pouch,and quill

,and staff

But their wild words of wisdom brokeInto a madman s laugh .

What knowst tho u then,

-man what

prov

st ?

Whom judgest thou I criedThere was but one who knew the truth

,

And him ye crucified.

Then I saw Faith ah,thing of peace

,

Of promise and repose ;And in her warm outstretched palmsI buriedmy dead woes.

Aye,buried them deep beyond my sight

These griefs with trust outshone ;Then I

. took up my soldiers staff

,

And cried,

On,coward , on !

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28 Tlze Amaran Mand Me Beryl

Death s reason this: that dead to men thouTill born and cradled in the grave ;Only the l istening God that gave

And takes again, can search the heart.

Only the God that gave and take s againCan understand thy l ife as thouChrist with a cross may mark thy brow

,

Which men shall swear'

the curse of Cain.

Death's reason this that could we truly knowOur brothers as we dare bel ieve

,

This bittern world would cease to grieve,

And Peace make homes where now l ives W oe

A72 E legy

Tel l me,Seeker for the true

,

Who first pierced the darkness through ?

Was it Faith,or Creed

,or Fact

Man to think or man to actW ho first thought these thoughts for you

,

Nature-lover,tell me

,who

Tell me,Rhapsodist of Light

,

Whither lead st thou through the night ?I s man s mission but to-day

,

Or with Truth coeval,say ?

Prophet is he for the right,

Or dumb Nature s parasite ?

Tell me,Speaker of t he Word

,

I s thy tongue a psalm or swordIs thy purpose one with Truth

,

Age to age,and youth to youth ?

Hast thou one dead spirit stirred,

Or shalt thou too die unheard ?

Tell me,Doer of the Deed

,

Do men fight for thee and bleedThat a laurel k iss thy brow

,

Or is peace thy watchword now ?Right or Might which lS thy needGod a truth

,or some mere creed ?

29

30 Tlee AmaremM and Me B eryl

Tell me, Son of battle lore,

Must we purchase Peace with warIs the coin of allmankindLove or hate the heart or mind ?

Art thou not a slave,and more

Coward though a conqueror ?

Tell me,God of the Unseen ,

What this creed called Life may meanWhither

,whence

,and why , this strange

Anomaly of Death and Change ?I s man god

,or th ing unclean ?

Soul inspired,or mere machine ?

Tell me,Soul of Beauty

,say

,

Must this pagean t pass away ?All this loveli ness we loveBut our own heart-madness prove

Say not so ! but better far,

A l l th ings for Love s purpose are.

A 72 E legy 3 I

Son of hymeneal Day !Thou perjurer of TimeUp

,up

,to thy mission

,

Thy indolence is crime.Why cringe and toy thy talents to the base

,

Dumb effigy of their dead thoughtWho are snail-tongued and hearted

, W hen

t istaughtThere face to face

With patriarchs and prophets is thy place ;Counciled at heart

With seers of sects and eras,at whose mace

These master-births of artLeap to the vault ing noon

,and in this prime

T is thine to rule alway ?

Son of the hero s D ay IThou temple built of-tearsHow wanes thy faith awayIn these unhallowed spheres

Of doubt and dareles paltroon-drugged sleepC all ed Custom ,

crushing down the

powerGod-given thee on that most signal hour

When thou wert born to deepAnd solemn heritage : bidden to weep

W ith weeping Love,

32 Tlle Amaran Mand Me Beryl

And joy with those who j oy. Ah, holy keepThis birthright from above

,

To serve thee beacon through the long,long

years,

West-waging manfully.

Son of ascendant Day !Knight of the Prophets sword

Take up thy staff and say,

Truth be my sovereign lord !

And as thy sires took empire by the strokeOf man not mammon

,do thou more

Conquer thyself then take to heart the loreOf states and kings whose yoke

Hath fallen to decay. Their rigorous cloakOf power and prime

Descend upon thee,and the gods invoke

This common weal,that Time

Cool not thy passion to see Truth restoredTo thinking man for aye.

Son of triumphant DayPress not thy couch this night ;

But where thy head would lay,There trim thy taper bright,

And make youngMorning blush so late is she.And there shall

'

kneel swift angel visitants

Thy couch about, and with rich utterance

An E legy 33

Pour moulten truth in thy dead ears ;And unto thee

Themaiden Triumphs shall espoused be,Keeping thee young in yearsThat shall in beauty grow.

Son of young Day !A wound on Nature bleeds till by thy free

Brave-bred authority

T is healed then mayst thou steal the l ightOf her dark eyes in turn,

Lighting thy lamp of search that shall outburnThe stars ; and by Nature honored so,Be thou her priest for aye !

34 Tice AmaramM and Me B eryl

V I I I .

Love ! I looked in thy two eyesLike twin visions hid in tears

Two lamps in a house of mourn ing,Two souls through the gulf of years ;But my spirit caught a reasonFrom this bitterness of thine

G rief is oft but the refinemen tOf Affection proved divine.

Love ! I looked in Nature s eyesThere meth inks were tear-drops tooPrisms for the better readingOf the mortal good and true.Lenses for enlarging purpose

,

Magnifying little deeds .To the proof that man s big heart-throbI s the reach whence God proceeds.

Love ! I looked e en in Death s eyesDreamst thou that no tears were there

Little suns of peace and promiseThat shall make the

,

morrow fair ?

Diamond beacons on the eyel ids

Of the great Undreamt beyondVigils to the Godward spiritThat hath broke this mortal bond.

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36 Tfie AmararzM and Me Beryl

Thelyre-strings of my youth vibrate once more,

Waking the dead Days prophet !While in one yielding tribute these fair

dreamsLike incense out of Tophet

,

Outreach my soul that in wild music seemsTo take up throne in heaven. Lo ! beforeThis snowy synod of the gods lode-star

E en at the thresho ld of this Court of LightAscend all kneel ingly

These warrior-fronted thoughts, discoursingmight

I n austere majesty,

Gathering truth by sowing truth. Far, far,From this bold, impious war of plumed pomps v ,

And sly crime-kissing thingsMaddened for power : far from the fool s de

l ightAnd Wiz ard s paradise,

This faith begot of Triumph , springs

To godlier emprise, l ike some sweet riteSome faith-admonishing sacrifice

Of Israel upborne ti ll i t transformsAl l that it touches to its element

Peace,cheer

,and warmest heart s-ease.

O thinker brave ! how from the storms

An E legy 37

Of treason false with green-sick fire and feudAnd this madman s disease

Called Fame, bred of a pauper

s policyMothered of fiends, and these

Dead repetends of base conventionalityCalled by its lover Living

,

-ah,how flees

The heart ofman from these atrocities,

With brided Nature swearing solitude !How doth the heart

Leap out with its self-faith, shrink ing apaceFrom the wan , hybrid face

Of scorn-criers and fools.

0 World ! thou artA gorgeous dwell ing place

Yet they that love thee for thy sake alone,

Lie as dead leaves in thy unsexed embrace,

Leaves l ight as airBy some sirocco of the shades upblownOut of the damned

,dry-hearted

,black

Unknown

38 Die AmaranM and Me B eryl

I met a seer upon the heath ;Said I

,

What may Death beHe snuffed the candle

,sank and hissed

That question back to me.

I met a saint in the dim kirkCelestial robed was he ;

And canst Maze say what Death is 10 !Death fell twixt him and me.

I k issed a ch ild on the sea-sandsThou tell me : then ? cried I

But as I spake, a hot wind roseAnd drank her young heart dry .

I asked of one whom men call foolA laugh lit up his eye ;

Thou tell me first why men were born,I

ll tell thee why they die.

I asked of one whom men call wiseBut ah

,he vied the fool ;

He answered with'

a question st il lThat put my heart to school.

39

I saw a babe fresh dawned of heavenAnd canst thou tell

'

me say ?

I t smiled and tried to speak,but 10 !

Sighed and so passed away.

Still,stil l I wandered through the wood

,

Praying the trees and flowers ;They part their lips to speak and thenThey wither with ' the hours.

Thou fool ! cried 1,

why task mankindThroned on th is funeeal pall ?

Life answers l ife with l ife,and Death

With death thus answers all.

40 Tlee Amaran M and Me Beryl

Speak,thou hermit star of heaven !

Must we mission through these yearsTil l God s loaf wi th age grows leaven

Bread so bitter-bought of tears ?

Tel l me , Sorceress of Morning '

Thou fair-imaged of my youthCome these years with yew adorningThis Child-seeker after truth

I was sexton of Gods churchyard,Tolling bells from heaven

.swung ;

Came a youth,and cried

,

Oh search hardF or my hopes that died so young !

Nay ; these many years, good master,Of these tombstone flocks around ,

I have been their praying pastor,

But thy hopes have here no mound.

Strange most unbel ieving wondrousSpake the youth of yew-reeds browedFirst Fame kissed, ah , then she shunned

us,

W e who wooed her, pale and proud.

An E legy 4 1

Then pressed through the itching even,

One a greybeard mariner ; Tell me ! cried the seer bereaven

,

Where hast laid my hopes that were ?

Sire,I know them not ! I uttered ;

They were dead long ere my timeThen his ashen l ips they mutteredWords h-alf scripture, half a crime.

Then came warriors, statesmen , prophets,Shrunken min ions of the past

Cowld ghosts up from the TophetsOf dead Circumstance amassed.

And they prayed the self-same query,

And the self-same answers kissed ;Then they turned and wept those wearyMartyred wrecks

,unknown

,unmissed.

Then took I my yoke upon me,

Swore Ambition s God anew ;And no sun of earth outshone meI n my faith to dare and do .

And to-day it is grown greaterFirmer than t was ere before ;

But who says twas spleen-eyed Fate, orTruth the amulet they wore

4 2 Tlze AmaranM and Me B ery l

They who came to me and wonderedOf their gods young-eyed and strange

,

And those rainbow fames that sunderedWith the thunder-curse of change !

Speak,thou hermit star of heaven

Must we mission through these yearsTill Gods loaf with age grows leavenBread so bitter-bought of tears ?

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A Tale 43

min ahel

A TALE .

Ah,friary vigil ofAl l-hallows eve

Now Memory masks with weirds her children pale

,

And fancies from the fert ile bosom heave,

Crouching them sly upon the eyelids frail.See ! brided Twilight i n her moon-warm veil

,

Hath crept down from the altars of the skyWith her druid knight in ebon coat ofmail

,

While the young Hours their tributes kneel

ingly

Hymn to the pant ing stars,mid wildest

melody.

46 M'

nabel

And stark yon towers cut twain the n aked sky,Like giant priests tossing the censer-moonNight-ghouls to their black eaves shrink

hidingly ,

While the saint s prayers on the dead silenceswoon.

Ah,Death ! find st thou in night thy fullestnoon

Wherein thy gods compound these hoodedspells

Pale Autumn with her lutes all out of tune,

Kisses the mound where the dead Summer

dwells,

And o er i t swings to heaven her requiemof bel ls.

The ancient halls i n melancholy brood,

Now people with their legends of the past,

The revel riot and wan widowhoodOf brided Beauty, of her race the last.Black armors bow as if some thinkings vastCrept serpently their voice less bosoms coldBeth inking how the trump of death hadmassed

A Tale 47

These warrior lords who strode these floorsof old

,

And to the drowsing hours their ancient talesretold.

Cornelias face wore a faint twilight frownA frown that cloaked a prayer ; but shespake non

Making but nervous stir as followed downHer brothers brow those aching volumeshot

From her love-orphaned eyes. Had sheforgot

That frai l one whom the mom had taenaway

That fair-souled innocent so God-begotInto the keeping of th is sainted dayThat maiden faith whom death and tombs

could not dismay.

Ah , full of sadness was Cornelias eye

,

Pensive in far-off wonder-dreams of awe ;And foamy-footed shadows paced them byThose throbbing l ids! fancies in whichsaw

48 M'

mzel

What owned not uttrance. Then soft didshe d raw

Her brothers side he who had knelt himnear

,

Pond

rous of thought,lab

ring of heart tothaw

This ice-bound problem of his love s youngyean

Nor felt his praying cheeks a Sisters holytear.

With intertwined arms the moveless twainListened in secret panic to the windFretted l ike infant motherless in pain

,

And mutual dread rose on the mutual mind.Only the heart could see :

'

reasonwas blindThe itching silence rousing to a dinThe simplest stir in these vast halls confinedAnd with the sense keen-sharpened fromwith in

,

They weighed the truth that was, and all that

might have been .

Oh sister mine, reed-Vo iced the brother

spake,

A Tale 49

How since the morn my rubied hope hathflown '

How hath the Christ exalted, but to makeThis heart grief-hardened

,kiss the charnel

stone !And now when most my prayers, auspiciousgrown

In the full faith of saints, l ifts up her weal,My Minabel is laid all, all aloneIn yonder churchyard nave and I shall feel

Her trothing kiss no more unto my meekappeal.

VIII.

Oh God not dead she is not dead,I say ;

I could not let them lay her in the groundAnd though I watched her through the long

,

long day,Nor saw one feature stir, nor heard a sound,I swore this night she sleep beneath nomound

I knew not why she must not that is allNot death no, no ;

t i s but a sleep profound ;

And not her brow in yonder chapel-hall,

But ah, my heart alone wears my love

s

funeral pall !

Though sweet Cornelias heart was wedgingwide

With love that half forgot her easeless woe,She murmured not ; but dreamt what holybride

M ight have been blest him whom she honored so

And how that great good heart was wont toflow

Its tideless love so pure and passionate,

Upon that breast now chilled as the young

snow,That would respond with troths immaculate,His pleading kiss no more-J-she , now a skychilds mate.

That bride so soon to be her brothers joy

That hero s constancy she cherished soOh Minabel l-how could the grave decoyThy young love thus to lay the bosom low

In the far valley churchyard where the snowSo soon shall thatch thy castle of the tomb,Making this yew-couch of mal ignant woeThy bride-bed on the even when thy groomWas all a-flame to wear the amaranth and

plume

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5 z [Minabel

XIII.

Art thou a prophet ? soft Cornelia moanedI n her wild-visioned -soul ; then closer drewHer brothers side, and with a wi l l disownedThese lovers Death who win whome

er they

woo.

Oh sainted Mother ! shield the dead and you,Sweet son of F aith thrice brother by thy

tears

God s will : not mine. Ah, thus the maidenthrew

A cloak upon her heart,melting broad years

Into one moments prayer prayer that but

heaven hears.

Cornelia shuddered : for that gallant armNever before had falterd at her side.Forgive me, sister ; cease thy swee t alarmThy love in mine and I in thine

,abide

,

Whatever heaven or fallen Fatesbetide.But

,gentlest one

,I saw most hideous things

When yonder smoking taper palely died,

Al l . angu ished shapes with wizard-paintedwings

Dancing a devi l-dance where yonder wanmoon flings

A Tale 53

That pale arena for half man , half beast.And I saw two two spider-eyed and cold,Holding o er prostrate from infernal feastAnd there there on the soft transparen tgold,Sported with some sweet th ing

,

the goodsaints hold

God-revereliced and hallowed over all.And as I watched them at their revels bold ,I shuddered for I thought what

'

mightbefall

Lo ! with an impious langh, they melted onthe wall !

Nay, marvel not my words, oh, sister sweet,Be not affright by these ill-fevered dreamsHa !God once more . oh, sister, I entreatHence from this place come

,let us bane

these themesThat so berate us. Come ; thou

l t drink ofstreams

Turned by thy blush of love to rubied wine.Come ; lead thou on how deft thy footstep seems

To crush the darkness ! Thus : thy hand i nmine

lius,gentlest one my pride, my solace all

d ivine !

54 M'

mzbel

XVII.

But think you that those honied W ords couldhide

Aught that embalmed that warrior arm in fearFrom sweet Cornel ias heart ? Nay ; ratherbel ied

What he would fain disguised from self -thetear

Of bleeding passion , by some wanton seerTo poison turned on the o er-wearied breast ;But on her heart, l ike some black mutineerOf hel l h is vision fell , while st ill oppressed,Grave omens darkened down that forehead

of unrest.

XVI I I.

There was a sigh , a forced smile, a k iss,A tender vow that stole from eye to eye,A hand-clasp of devotion all submissTo heaven

,and there they parted he

,to dry

His tears on stoic reason : she,to l ie

I n her sti l l chamber,and with l ids wedged

wide,G loat the mad revels of that familyOf fiends round one who there lay cru

cified,

Feasting their savage eyes a wild satiety.

A Tale 5 5

XIX.

Then softly,stole she to her chamber lone

Charging her maid swear silence at her sideNor ventured word, for all her spirit flownWithin one refuge there to brood and bide

,

Was far too sacred ever to confide.And an she drooped hei l ids feigning asleep

But soft her spirit with the one that d iedKept up communion till the midnight deep

,

And them ah, then from heaven her secretcould not keep.

A l l feather-sandaled thus the maiden creptFrom her pillow where had bowed norest,Gave one quick wonder at the couch whereslept

Her supple maid, then knelt she down andblest

That guardian God upon whose fragrantbreast

Her mate that was, was laid all sinlessly,And fast Affection s tear-tales manifestReasoned resolve into that anguished eye

,

And queries kissed to heaven : What meantthis word to die ?

56 [Minabel

XXI.

Then rose she as from some death-matingtrance

Trumped by a regent monitor of God ;And on that dun black stage of night diddance

To her lorn eyes those terror-kings that trodThe sunken depths beneath the sunken sod .But valiance sceptred on that liegeless hour,Slept at her torn hearts side and with a rodOf woman s wil l, ah, most propitious dower,Struck headlong to the shades these gloom

fiends that devour.

XXII.

The moon knelt afher feet awhile she drewThe sober mantle o er her reedy frameAnd only they that peopled darkness knewHow beautiful forth from her couch shecame.

And only they sweet elves half-flushed ofshame

Made haste to shield her from the eager air,

Vouchsafing grace to reassure her aimWhich seemed, in truth , faint-mothered ofdespair

,

Til l done, she trembling crept down , downthe great broad stair.

A Tale 5 7

XXIII.

Oh shield her,Saints ! aye

,shield her from

the nightWith its dread councils of the dark and deep.Poor

,sorrow-hearted

,willow-weeping Wight

Who could not from her friend the secret keep,

Even if Death that vesper-imaged sleepDared forth to wedge those sister loves apartBut on she pressed like fever-dreams thatcreep

Through the sick slumbers with such tortucus art

,

On to the churchyard kirk,there to lay bare

her heart.

XXIV.

The court was gained,and lo ! the open sky ;

Then felt she those child-fears forsaking fast,

And this communion which she held on high,

God-proven now by all the st ars that castTheir vestal-eyed vouchsafements from theirvast

And ancient eyes all goldenly her way,

Seeming to wed the present with the past,Shaming these heady dreams that would affraySo innocent a heart as scarce had learned to

pray.

58 M'

flabel

XXV.

The great clock shuddered in the hauntedtower

As if half fraid to trespass on the night ;But with her eves in heaven, this maiden

flowerBraved steadfastly her path all neutral bright

,

Pressing her fingers to her bosom white .The clock it ceased 10 ! l ike a dirge for one

Tak ing the convent vows of eremite,I t died and there our virgin champion

Entered the forest deeps grey-cowled l ike anun .

XXVI

Hush ! how from every ancient yawn and nook

Unearthly things came forth to greet thatface.

How l ingered they in every branch that shook

Death-rattles to the fiends with mad grimaceHow strode they forth . from every . hiding

placeWhere thing unholy would most l ikely be

,

Bearing cold maladies in their embrace

Damps of the tomb whence they were scarceset free

But she,ah chi ld of Faith, no thing of pain

saw she .

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60 [Minabel

XXIX.

A bat affrayed of the bowed strangers step,Upstirred the silence with distressful wing

,

Rousing the maiden heedless of the dead,

From her sti ll reverie and, stricken thing,With sudden halt and frame all shuddering,She found her by the lonely chapel doorThen for the first

,her task it seemed to wring

Too great a grief, and staggering to that floorOf crouching sods, she knelt one tremulous

moment more.

XXX.

Oh virgin Mother lwhat delirious oathCompels my reason to th is madman s quest ?What seek I here ? Oh by my brothers trothHis poor child-bride God knows hath foundher rest.

What whip of grief urges-this passive breastOn a fool s mission to the coflined deadOh pity, heaven , for her thus dispossessedOf faith . But hush ! hark ! what lowmoan of dread

Through yon dark chapel have into the mid. night bled

XXXL

O Christ ! thou pour

st compassion on thebl ind

,

A Tale 6 :

And weak,and palsied : bear me to my feet

Ha ! once again that voice.!

Sweet sai nts !unbind

This frensied heart and let me haste retreat .Help or I perish in this madcap heatMother !brother!. .ha!once again that cry ;How numb

~

my brain-my heart hath ceasedto beat

But -l ist hers,

t i s hers. Sweet saintson high

Shield me t i s hers God ! God -no,no

she shall not die.

XXXI I.

Then struggling o er these mounds ofancientdead

,

She hissed to heaven : I am a child no more !

And with her arms flung high above her head,

She plunged forward against the chapel doorI t yielded

,and she fell prone to the floor,

Her hand it touched a woman s icy feetShe shrank

,ah

,then she clasped them

,for

they woreThe si lken sandals of. that death-bride swee tW ho only yestermorn slept in herwinding sheet.

XXXI II.

A yawning moment, but i t bridged an age

Ere that sweet chi'

ldling faith rose from .her

swoon

6 2

Ten thousand madcap dreams made pilgrimage

Down on that crucial heart ; but soon, ah, soonShe snatched her spiri t back whence it washewn

Asunder,and with braving trust upraised.

O Christ !how cruelly the bloated moonThrough the wide door upon that phantom

gaz edDumd sate th beholding one with all her

senses craz ed.

XXXIII.

With eyes full wide she stared the figure tall

That spectral attitudeat her faint side,When lo ! a wreath from the wan breast did fallUpon her brow as if she too had died.Then starting back

,she threw her hands full

W ide,

Clasping the shape that bent before her face,Ah

,then sank back more strangely terrified

,

For that stil l form stood cold in her embraceCold as the ootha-pyx whence she had creptapace.

XXXV.

The silence twas the god-sire of the nightThe night

,of al l the peopleof the tomb

The stars with bleeding looks so leprous WhiteCrept sly into that solemn-rited room

A Tale 63

Crept with their twinkling beacons to illumeThose ravished altars priestless and aloneSave one dim candle laboring on the gloomA sad companion for a spirit flown

To vigil through the shades a Christ-child 7tothe throne.

XXXVI.Before the altar stood the widowed bierMounted by that black castle of the deadOne moment gon e

,by her who standeth here

Twas tenanted, aye, there she laid her headAnd there the trance that frose her bosom fled

,

And she awoke poor orphan elf of painAwoke

,O God to what a world of dread

Mayhap twere better had the wildered brainShattered

,and so sank back on easeful death

again .

XXXVI I.But nay twas other wil l than hers that roseAnd kissed to l ife that .spirits citadelFrom which

mayhap it never fled who knowsBut there that l idless silver-portaled shellStood mockingly

,as if an infidel

Of death and all its creeds that harrow manAnd torn shrouds strewn as at the brink of hell

,

Told how a being by some godly plan

W as snatched back into l ife from slumberslethean .

64'

[Minabel

XXXVI II.

Cornelia bowed and prayed for heaven to nurseSome val id purpose to her yielding aim

,

Solving this my st

ry , whether crown or curse,That ran dull poison through her feeble frame.Ah , then sweet answer to her faint prayer came,And trust renewed that heart betroubled so,And soft she rose, and with a secret shameFor this faint fear

,all

,all she seemed to know

And with a titan will struck back her rebel woe.

XXXIX.O Minabel ! all, al l I know it all,

She whispered but those l ips made no reply.And then Cornel ia threw her sable shawlAbout the form death seemed to beautifyBy its short sojourn in that angel

s eye,

Caressing the stiffhands that cleaved her side,

Entreating stil l this maiden mysteryTill through the open port the twain did gl ide

,

Two saint-l ike shapes on,on into the church

yard wide.

Then turned Cornel ia to her speechless charge

And as the moon laid bare that sculptured face,She looked, and lo the maiden

s eyes fulllarge

Gaz ed vacant as upon some far-off chase.

65

The brave girl trembled, yet to her embraceThe closer drew her Minabel

,and spake

Oh angel Mother plead for all the graceThy Christ endues h is lovers

,for my sake

And on and on thy trailed, leaving a stafrywake .

xLI .

The wood that held the churchyard in i tspalms

A treasure secret from the world profaneThey entered ; and the beggar-boughs askedalms

With outstretched hands a-cold and soft complain

,

Even of this benighted vestal twain,Sweet nuns on some dark Dead-Sea pilgrim

And the witched winds made moan as i f inpain

,

And druid stars in their sunk hermitagePeeped through the thatching leaves down on

th is maiden mage.

XLII.

Oh,weirdest of ye ancient sisterhoods

Who counted rosaries of dead men s skulls,Who raised strange altars in primeval woodsAnd plucked the vitals from the plump sea

~

gulls,

66 M'

mzbel

Thine were the spells this rack of Changeannuls

I

Ye sported with that hostage bowed by TinieBut here the lustre of.your glamour dulls,Though n ight was ne er so hideously subl ime

,

When tombstones pray to heaven as if l ivingwere crime.

XLIII.But on and on this maiden pioneerBearded the darkness with a sovereign tread

,

Nor glanced abroad lest over-moved of fear,

She swoon amort upon that sodden bedAnd there with one mavhap already dead,Her frail soul might diso trn its earthy shell,And al l the busy Mysteries that wedWan Midnight

,in their ce t emen ts come and

dwellEven by that sick soul , swinging their censerspell.

XLIV.The border gained

,the open sky once more

I n wonder-tribute bent sweet homage downAnd strength into that swooned heart didpoun

The jealous moon threw from her brow thecrown.

Then turned the maid to her in death-whitegown

,

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68 M'

mzel

Still l ike witched winds they swept

along thatgreat hall floor.

XLVII.

Ah , then with taper in her staid right hand ,She threw her left about herwonder-guest,Urging her as by an enchanters wandUp the broad stair as onward stil l they pressedOn to

'

the chamber where from strange unrestMid w i ld resolves a weird-won hour

l

ago

She crept ; and there as one of fiends pos

sessedShe prostrate fell upon the white couch low,W eeping yet wherefore oh

,ye braves of

woman s woe.

XLVII I.

Again she d ashed the tears that clung hercheek ,

And sprang back to that wordless beings sideWho gaz ed stil l vacantwith n o voice to speak

,

No ears to hear,no glow i n her eyes wide.

Aye, all of nature seemingly had diedWithin that breas t so marble-hued and cold,And st i ll

,the Wight obediently complied

With all her loved one s sweet enforcementtold

,

And as she stood,down-dropt her mantle fold

on fold .

A Tale 69

And there Cornelia robed her for the night ,Bearing those cerements all , all awayAnd in her pensive trim ethereal white ,She drew theweird one by the stiff hands

,

aye,

E en drew her to her humble knees to sayWith her that even prayer as oft of yore

And i n that gloom of midnight did she praySuch words as never swept her l ips before

,

While knel t the meek soul down beside her onthe floor.

Oh God ! what record made that prayer inheaven

What stars did reel with a celestial stirWhat angels drank its depth and hence weregiven

O er deeper feel ing power to minister.Thou potent-natured child-philosopher

,

Pouring out virtue from thy grief-wrungheart

Of thy sweet deeds God be the arbiterWhat thou hast spoke

,no mortal l ips impart

Thy words sh all live as heaven that made but

shields its art,

7o M

Mabel

Then soft they rose,and in her az ure bed

She laid her dear one with the first sweetsmile

That kissed her l ips since yestermorn had fledHer God-born peace into that long exileAnd then she, too, with thoughts sweetcheered erewhile

,

Crept in and nestled down by that cold frame,

Daring upon her heart to reconcileThese hooded mysteries which o er her came

,

And in that couch stil l warm,essayed her fears

to tame.

But aweless sleep sits not on the shut l ids

Though wooed by warriors if the heart sa-flame

And her the supple midnight hour forbidsTo nurse to slumber, and bold dreams defame

The peace of that shut bosom into shameAnd riot rankl ing mid these throbbings sad ;And then with hushed compulse did she exclaim

Death ! art thou come,or i s this poor wit

madSweet heaven why this galled union unto my

full cup add ?

A Tale 7 1

L111.

She lives ! she l ives ! an d then in tempest

doubt :

Nay,

t is a mad, mad dream , and I am reft.Good Saints !rail back this myth that hounds

me outWith devils craft taking my soul in theftAnd then as one with her staid reason cleft

,

She leaned her warm brow close her Minabel,Pressing her keen ear to that bosom s leftAnd listened nothing not one throb didswell

That stone-cold sepulchre where once a souldid dwell.

Then back upon her pillow all undone,

Cornel ia h id her face, clenching her teethAnd sweat hard sweat , from that chilledbrow did run

Adown her cheek bathing her hair beneath.Ah , then half swoon half slumber like awreath

Descended easefully upon that brain,

And the sick heart sunk i n a golden sheathOf rest and quiet, those sly things of painForsook their cruel sport and fled n ightward

again.

72 MMabel

God calm her now that weary-drowsed one,

Sweet-souled extremi st in,

all logic goodShe who knew not i f Death had here undoneHer brothers bride

,or she herself was wooed

Of that alms-asking Knight,and she nowstood

Upon the threshold of the!

castle ChristShe long had prayed with al l her womanhoodE en to be worthy of or if enticedInto some hell where love to hate l ies sac

rificed .

Peace unto her ! that anguish-swooned child,

That patient oracle of will divineAnd shield her

,ye who friend the night

.exiled '

And grant her refuge,thou pacific shrine

Soothest of homes where poppies intertwine.And Love attunes the world to second heaven

,

Make pilgrimage and easefully recl ine,

Bearing away this heart s u nholy leaven,

And slumber float a-down as on the sleepersseven.

73

I .

The Faith-child of the morning rose and filledThe-cup of all

the East with rubied wine.

The joyless riots of the night were stilled ,And all the cloud-nymphs of the dawn didtwine

The triumphs of young Day with spraysdivine

,

Kissing libations brimmed of diamond dewsPeace to the parted star !

Thy az ure sign,

Sweet Mother ! sees new-born in godliest huesAll laws of l ife and love that virgin Rapture

WOOS.

And he,the

castle

s youthful son and lordCornelias brother and her flushed heart

s

prideCame forth from couch where many a predal

hoard

.

74 M W LZ

Of dreams with baneful offspring did abide.Came forth with heart as dead as i t had diedThrice in the rheumy tomb-damps of thenight

Came forth to wander where his pale young

brideWith his own hand he laid so sinless white

In the broad chapel arms vouchsafed his touchand sight.

That sanctuary of the early godsThe forest

,l ike its priest the young knight

pressed,

As if he reared his temple from these sodsWhereon he knelt and poured his voicings

blest.And on

, with head bowed low upon his breast,He struggled through the music-weavingwood,

Nor joyed the mating bird above her nest

It mocked him ; and he drew in one black

hoodHis thoughts upon his heart

,therein to house

and brood.

IV.He n eared the holy kirk with quivering lipUp, up, my spirit brave !

he inly said,

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76 .M'

z

'

nael

Yon candle drowsing out its perj ured vow,

All,all he saw

,and on h is galled brow

The leaden logic bore down such a weight,

His mind and he parted he knew not how,But had he been a Titan s elder mate

,

Twould tasked him as a god to bear his risenstate.

Long,long he lay prone on the sapphired

dewsThe sun it came and sported on his cheek

,

And of those tears made rainbows of rich hues,

All promise-bearing to his spirit weak .The parted lips of heaven seemed to speak

,

And shadows played upon that cloiste redbreast

As t were a harp of Faith,and they with

meekSoft finger-tips rocked the mad world to rest,And God in al l things pure was triumph man

ifest.

VII I .

Ah,then with step l ight as the virgin dews

,

A breathless-form came through the wingedwood

With eagerest eyes and cheeks of amoroushues

-77

Oneof the'

Graces in Love s sisterhoodCame l ike a freshful fragrance of the good

,

Type of the Hand that touched to sight theblind

Came chapelward til l suddenly she stoodTearful beside

'

him-him her whole mankind,

Her whole hearts creed then knelt she lowWhere he recl ined.

So bent she down with lips all solace n ow,

Pressing his cheek to rouse him from thatdream

She knew was sweet , for wel l she read thatbrow

But be it;very heaven , no joy could seem

One half.

so beautifu l as her s,no theme

Of angels half so warm, so pure , so freeAnd softly

,swiftly in a panting stream

His thoughts flowed back unto her kissesthree :

He ope d his eyes, and lo a face all open glee.

O sister,sister prayed the orphan youth

,

!Thy smiles ! thy look of love speak , speak,what is t

Then gaz ing at the kirk as if the truthStill hung in mystery

,he muttering hi ssed

,

And cloaked his brow is if a charnel m istSwung in the breach and would not rend away.And then Cornelia clasped his hands andkissed

Those temples hot,and more than tongue

could say,

Drewfrom her breast a ring that mid thesweet folds lay.

XI.

At sight of that fair token did his eyesBewilder

,.and his cheek grow bloodless pale

And then love seemed to solve its own surpriseSeiz ing the rose

,with one disburdened wail

,

He took i t to h is l ips,and on her ve il

Fell weeping aye,the first and strangest

tearsThat drenched his yearning lids since womanfrai l

Made e en a child of h im and all swift fearsAnd griefs were triumphs now, swell ing mo

ments to years.

She took his hands as many a time before,

And rising drew them to her even sideThen bent these lovers homeward

,while each

woreTo each the truth of truths no art could hide.

A Tale 79

Aye, for the very fulness of its tide,Love choked and

'

could n o t force its tributesfree

And there they pressed the paths where'

shedid gu ide

But yesternight that maiden mysteryWho sank and rose again as Venus from the

sea.

X I II.On

,on they gl ided

,neither venturing word

,

But cheered of that divinest mutual cheer,

Mid omens sweet fresh from the throated bird,

And promise on the early Chanticleer.Oh Christ ! what mom for Youth some greatcareer

To swear mid-venture , and make bold forfame

To drive back Xerxes,or that mutineer

Of hel l with warrior heart that knows noshame

For God and honesty, i n some brave faith-fed

aim.

XIV.

Good brother yestern ight was Hallow-een

I promised on my heart to greet you well

E

en i n the thorny season of thy spleenTo prove abride would in thy household dwell.And now

,by all the stars the seers foretell

80 M'

nabel

I shall fulfi l the holy vow I made,

And thou shal t see despite the lone kirk knell,That saintly one that hath our prayer obeyed

Up, brave, my warrior knight this be thylove s crusade.

XV.He answered not but clenched his bloodless

hand,

Unsteady stepped and forward leaned hishead

The knotted veins did ou his brow expand,

As they through yester

s Dolorosa led.And sweet Cornel ia when her words were said

,

Pressed warm her rosary to her soft breast,

Praying may , not wi th words her very treadWas a most fervent orison expressed

,

All hope,fai th

,grat itude one rite of sain ts

thrice blest.

They passed the court ; the groom ah, wildered one

,

Shrank e

en as if a god swept holy byOr in her person fair 3. fragrant sunHad dropt to earth . On through the needle seye

The twain quick glided from the open sky,

Into the hall mosaic d rear and old,

A Tale 8 1

And softly scaled the stair that led so highI t seemed to heaven ; and with a passion boldOn

,on then halting, stood black mantledfold on fol-.d

XVII.

He dared not

more that Spartan-fatheredboy

Who would have ravaged headlong throughthe grave

To heard a foe but l ikea serpents toy,

He stood enchanted in that mazed nave.I n vain he scourged Oh dastard soul bebrave

Clenching his palm upon that beating sore.But on swept brave Cornelia ; and that slaveOf love u

'

plooked lo through her chamberdoor

She fled, and there alone the heavy cross hebore.

XAIII.

What thousand turmoils through his arrowy

brainDashed riot as he stood in dread amaze;G loating the mystery like coward Cain,Rocked on the wild delirium of his gaz eThen half recovering from his wonder-daz e,He struggled onward as a scarce-taught child

8 2 M

nael

His heart now cold with fear,now warm with

praise,

On toward that sanctuary where his heavensmiled

Halting amain full oft and his spent l imbs

reviled.

Then leaning half upon the ancient wall,

He crept l ike snai l on to that mammothdoor ;

Lo ! twas aj ar, and through it heard he allA voice that seemed his dead soul full restore

,

A voice that l ifted his faint-throbbing coreTo Eden

,and this faltering arm of woe

Into a manhood never felt before,That virtue by which did the gods o erthrowThe shades of Erebus

,bearding them back

below.

XX.

What moves thee so ? a whispering plainthe heard

,

How strange thy face , 0 sister, and so paleAh

,what mad hap hath rent thy weal

,sweet

bird,Prompting these my st

ries on thy eyelidsfrail ?

Oh surely have I not well slept . some veil

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84 M'

nael

Dry of their bloom oh,tell me

,sister

,now

When came I here howcame I ? tell mehow

For I remember I remember naught.Oh weep not so ; thus, o

er my bosom howGod ! what a change . . Speak speak ! hathill been wrought

My love thy brother ? Ha -Christ praised !t was a horror-thought.

XX I I I .

Then why thy ravished templeshead with dewAs with some secret bleeding

,sister sweet ?

Oh,answer not with tears and that strange hue

Changing upon thy cheeks from chil l to

heat .Oh

,I have slept a long, long sleep replete

With dreams so beautiful , so golden all,I half do wish me back in that strange seatThat border heaven in which I seemed tofall

W hy weep so, sister, say , what dares thyheart apall

XX IV.Have I e er done thee any evil thingOne word

,one look forgive me

, gentle dear.Thou knowst through all trial-fortunes Iwould Cl ing

A Tale 85

Thy holy side . .wh'

at sayst for joy thytear ?

For joy what joy ? Oh bending heaven

hear !What stirs this sp irit from its tempered range ?

I see,yet know not list , and stil l my ear

Mocks me Oh what mad world hath wrungthis change

Upon all holy things with .glamours deep andstrange

XXV.

Then sprang the n erved youth as one long deadRecovering the light , clasping his hands

Unto his grief-washed eyes and bowed ofhead

,

One moment stood as on the Dead Sea sandsBraving a dream . Ah

,then with heart half

man sHalf gods, invoking, wi th a backward tread,His arms he wrenched as if to break the bandsThat chained his soul, and raised them o

erhis head ,

Then leaped through tlt parted door and knelt

down by her bed.

XXV I .Down at her feet the stricken lover lay

,

A prostrate worshipper before that shrine,

86 M'

flabel

Weeping the tears that melted all awayThe frosts of death about those shrouds divine .

God treasure thee , and be his peace all thine.Thou earnest one whose love is proven so

,

And saints pour on thy faltering soul thewine

The Savror drank and buried mortal woe,

And,

hearer ! thy cup as well with that sameoverflow.

Tire TruM Gael 89

an wrath-fi nk

BOOK F IRST.

C/zorus qf Me Arts The

solitude ef Me

God. Tbe bz'

rM and fall of Me F irst-born ofSez

'

enee and TruM.

O Priest eterne of the all-templed SpaceThou genesis of the dumb IncreateTruth by celest ial act the l ifter-upOf the void-wombed paternity of heavenAnother Day hath swept i ts sacrificeLow at thy big approach

,and by such proof

Of sweet allegiance to our primal sire,

Sworn down the conquest gods on thy rightarm

,

With Earth and all you star-world intervalslVithin the reach of thy supremest touch,Feud al in suppl iance

,craving all their being

But in the shadow of thy sovereign hest.Another Day hath pilgrimed up the slantTwixt the divided stars, through forlornmoors

90 Tlze TruM-Goa

Shoreless as Erebus lamped by the fiends,

Republ ics sunless and unsexed realmsOf the unpeopled and ungirdled Free

,

O er crowned and battlemented keeps ofFaith

,

O er things called holy proffered to the dogsFor filial worship

,over mountain ous scisms

Propped priestless save by ignorance of thee ,And bawd-born sainthood virgin but to fall.

~O er crags of counter-hate and templed creedsPinn

acled in mist with j utty altar-place Shrunk from the scurved noon of man scontent,

Aye, thus Day greets thee sovereign till thetrump

Of Chaos and reversal void . Thus greets ;And from that profound Charter-court ofTime

,

Hath borne the sun with allhis incense fierce To lamp our homage worshipful to thee

,

Beseeching thec a morrow ! Hear our prayer,

O chiefest Unapproachable of eldThou maj or M ight of the Olympian

strong

Yea,hear their prayer

,and let Creation sti ll

Beard back ambitious Chaos,and be g lad

In .ail-her az ure seasons of emprlse i

So sang the Arts with multiplying thril lThese cloud-choired . minstrels of ascendant

state

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92 Tlze TruM God

To whim and machination ventured forthAs one who sought a healing sol itudeFrom his heart s huge turmoils, passing the

archWhere that omnipotence at stlr of mornEntered

,and snatching up the primordial

mace,

Bade virginLife to l ive, and Day to be.

Through stalwart nave and star-pavil ioned '

court,

Through peristyle of porphyry and fl intM isty of incen ce by the twilight guled

,

On through the chancel of more potent godsThan Pagan knew or Magi, where lay proneThese prophets whose large province t i s their

chargeTo batter back th presuming arms of hellThat tempt the wil ling

,fainting heart of man

With teasing scisms nectaredo

in disguise,

Called by that name which cries : There is noGod

,

There is no Light , no Truth, no Faith , no Hell.

On,on

,he pressed with trenchant ears damned

up,

Lest some importunate and questioning oneTear back the bonds that swathed his rankling

heart,

And cry him to the wound . On,on

,he strained

Tlze TruM God 93

Through fairest arcs majestic to the senseOn to the gates where in the dim beyondAll open-armed of greeting

,lay a wood

Necklaced of jasper walls and ove'

r-teemedOf all the sylvan boast of peerest dreamsI n osiered coves by god-arts husbandedLo as he raised his eyes the portals swung

,

And he passed on and sought his solitude.

The twilight still red-armored to the glooms,

Reluctant sheathed its passion ; but its spellStil l laid upon the opaque brow of duskI ts fever-huger as to halt i t back

,

As if repugnant Eve should know no starTo vigil out her season. Th coward sunWith flaming heels a-rack ran barefoot downThe slanting nave of the o ut-battled WestTo refuge ; and the lorn-eyed CharityShe of benignant birth

,with belted eyes

Like two bowled Saturns plucked from heavenand hung

From that warm frownless forehead orbedand bright

That quick libation to the God of loveWas not yet from her search through the pied

valesOf Georgia centaur-castled

,or the heights

Of Oregon for that God-virtual reedW herewith to soothe the babe which on this

hour

94 Tlze TruM God

Should kiss the zenith with all-sentient ey esFor there pitched high of sweet e

xpectancy ,

The courtly deities assembled were,

Clustered at large mid the wide port icosThat skirt the realm d chambers where that

hour

Scie nce her first-born into peerest wealShould nurture

,and this earth be rent W ith

gleeIn triumph to our blest del iverer

W hofrom this galled rack of CircumstanceThis purplind yoke of Custom , and these wi les

Of sophistry opprobrious to the true ,The pure

,regenerate and feelingful,

Should free a curst mankind.

AndAh

,freest

,fairest of the sovereign Arts

,

She born of Beauty,with great godly eyes

Looking redemption on the world as throughTwo wounds in th side of Christ, aye, there

stood she,

Heart all a-flame before the mammoth gates,

Tenting her'

eyes on the dim horiz on

For her late-coming king ;' but greeted not

,

She sighed as one whom Hope had stubbornedstill

,

And touched her forehead with a fever-stir,

Wonde ring. A nd now as by din t'

of' augury

Tlze YruM Gael 95

Pro pitious to the option of the gods,The whole compulsive universe was hushedIn sweet suspense bred of a lifting hope

,

W ith tongue sti ll i tching for applause, witheyes

Rapturous of images of him to come ;And Nature buried from all wry reproachIn the all-cared expectancy that madeThis Spring-tide

'

z one a double feast of love.

Deep-thoughted in his forest hermitage,Alien to all the pomps of his estateSeized of this Titan mutiny

,estranged

E en from his braz en-armored outer Self,

The Truth-god knelt him on his mantle spreadFor but one kind communion with his soulOne boastless sel f-confession . Lo ! there hn ngMid-realmed of th caving twil ight the wildweirds

That forced e en the inanimate to thinkAnd all the broad-browed universe seemed

hushedIn some sweet seeking, pouring faith-wise onThe dim pale phantasies of the staid godA dil igence d ivine. Pillowing there

H is heaven-transcending eyes,he poured aloft

The void god-oracled the full and richAll-golden eflluence of his taut soulW hich rose one St ill oblation , while the rent

96 T126 Tmill-God

Deep at the heart of heaven was dammed up

To list his solemn musings.

Ah,then down

This thrice-rent nave of l iegeless Chaos pouredMore palpable in all her sable arms

,

The ebon N ight,hooding the cloistered wood

This sk iey hermitage of seer-browed pines,And sycamore and monumental oakAs if so many silvan priests ordainedFor midnight ministration and deep deeds.

And still the couchant peer sat consecrateTo that space-cleavihg tran ce, nor made light

sti rUpon the milken element to pointUnto the ghouls his shelved hiding place.

And there came forth from orphaned realmsbeyond,

From widowed sovereignt ies and alien arcsBeyond the searching ken of even gods

,

From armored stars unborn toth eyes of men,

Planets where Truth Is curst and law unhousedBy anarch arms rebellious

'

to the gods,

And from republics of the human heartFond ministrations eager for the l ightThese came

,and many more unheralded

,

Swift palmers in the guise of phantasySink ing into his brain they of huge deedWrought on the mid

-arenas of the sun,

Tbe Trui/z God 97

Bold Thespians of star-staged theatresAudienced of th

applauding galaxies,

\

Ah , came they all , each of some tragic roleGod-membered

,knitfof brows and pitched of

pride.And came there too

,featured of

_

eldest weal,

The harbingers of palpitating TimeI n chronicled demesnes

,rebell ions falln

Parched into penitence by surfe it damnedThe legends of dispeopled moons

,and all

These muniments of az ure treasuryRoused from the topmost nave of subject

heaven,

The heritance of era unto eraAnd grey beard age to age ! These knelt their

scrollsFrom the blue archives of the truth of truths

The history of heaven from the birthOf headlong Time through all these epochs

l inkedThe lineage of each God-attribute,The ancestries of Change and Death and

Power,And all the martial Arms and Arts eterneWhich l ink the sway ofTruth in one wide z one.Aye

,these and many more

,with bleeding looks

Strained to the tent ion of their holy mood ,Their grave confessions knelt them as a child

Unto its reverend sponsor. -And there alone,

98 Th Tmflz God

The silent Truth-god bent, and Opened wideUnto each pilgrim prayer his tented earsStrained to the warm absorption of that spiritWhich finds i n feeling first philosophy,I n arts and cul ture that refine the soul

,

Man s first Messiah living and to be.

How long he lay embalmed of that swiftsiege

Of thoughts unutterable, but' wood-nymphs

knew,And they who chron icle the swart-ribbed HoursWhich came upon the night and Went againAs hastening froma task that loved them

not.

How long in the profoundest laboring outOf these

!

star-thoughted oracles that e erThe sylvan realm of Truth could travail forth

,

None now shall say ; but on that sunken eveThere was a hand of motherly monitionStaying all busy l ife in one meek hush

,

And not e en Love s low lulliby was heardTo p ress the teemed air. His spirit sankDeeper and deeper

to that al ien depth,

Estranged e'

en from' h is omnipresent self,Remote in that far phantasy from evenThe heavens that held him i n thei r cloistered

palms

Childwise on a mothers breast ; and in thatstrain

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100 Tlze Trul/z God

I n search of her grave lord,a matron : she

,

Crimsoned to th beetl ing brows with traitor

shameScience

,the mother on that-l iberal hour

Of Doubt presuming to recoi l on heaven,

He the exalted but to fal l the kingBut

'

to be slaved in turn o er-flattered knave ,With pompous pouch and lips all spendthrift

smiles,

Aye,Doubt bred of the breast that shouldhave teemed

A Faith-god on that solemn hour,-aye

,Doubt

With eyes l ike two small windows into hell,

Sun-forged to l ight the glory of h is lord,

Prophet of that high tenure. Forth came sheThe mother of that shrunk and mi lken godOut of her j aspar-chambered sol itude

,

Skirted by one m'

eek slave with wildered l imbsBurdened of that high treasure so unpriz ed .With bolting eyes swolln of dissentient tears

,

Did she this rampant sister-spouse of TruthPeer search ingly through every masked portAnd outskirt nave resist ing ; then took sheThe thread of her bowed masters wandering

,

Trail ing his giant footstep on and on,

Through gallery and inter-clasping aislThrough damask naves by dim torch rubied

faintOut into the dumb dusk of middle eve,

Tbe Tw ill-God to 1

And rapped uponthe gates. The W arder leaped.

As from a tomb-deep slumber at the sound ;And forth they swung those pond

rous sealsto

heaven,

And she passed on .

The forest as a roseSprungfrom Hesperides at shut of

'

eve

With petals half impen etrable, stood thereAnd on she plodded with but

-thankfulmoan

That the befriending darkness hid her cheekFrom the beholding search of si lent TruthBridging her thus much anguish. Then in

doubh

Upon the meek sods stood she halt a trice,

And when the echoes of her si lver treadWasted away like Hope too fragile born

,

She called upon the forest s sensuous earThe name of

'

Truth that solemn Region s

god'

And yet no answer came for be beyond,

Devoured of that all-penetrating reachOf reason super-logic of the gods

,

Heard never outward sound, and so dreamt on .But forward still she ventured, and once more

Lifted h er voice upon the mobile airTruth Maximus son of Johovah hailBut

'

uo ; that amorous wording swooned l ike

Day

1 02 The Trutfi God

On the ' black-armored Midnight, and shemoaned.

Then by some augured chance or will electShe trembled forth noting the riven pert,And obdurate of speech one moment moreStood l iegeless by her great lord

's side,and

bowed .

The fever at his temples felt she keenAs closer bent the reverent l i ps to pressThe brow out-heavened by that passion-dreamSurpassing Speech of een the elder gods

,

To trump him from his rhapsody. Ah,al l

Of that flood-tided motion of the seaBeneath his bi llowy bosom she

'

well knewReading that huge heart s oceanic swellAs t were an open scripture of the stars.Then nerved to the calm p i tch of her resolve,She pressed her hot lips to h is forehead moistW hisp

ring sweet salutations to his soul,Half-cloaking d own her own rebel l ious mood.There rent a shudder through t hat gi ant

frame,

A quick pulse that had stirred th coagulatemilks

Of all the sluggish systems of the gods.And then by brawn compulsion to the taskThe g reat god snatched his spirit back withinFrom that all-searchful reach

,rising with pain

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I 04 f ire Traik God

And touched her hand withhalf impetuous st irOf mutual love

,prying his query still.

But timorous by daunt of fear, she shrankStark of her valiance at the mooted edge,Speechless disarmed. Then he, the hi lted king,Perceiving her clenched to some rack of shame

,

Halt of inadequate tongue,spakeeager thus

Wherefore shrink st thou Oh S ister

s pouse the truth !And if opprobrious that the l istening day

Blush on thy secret, break it on the night

Confederate to thy purpose, and

t is well.

This sly enforcement worked its wil l,and by

These wedgihgwords struck to her sense again,That daughter of the mooting centuriesWaved back the mantle from her matron browAs if t were proved impoli tic to sealI ts open oracle from the lank shades

,

And by this new-taught chivalry,spake thus

Son of Jehovah ! come thy spouse and childGreeting .

What ! Faith he who shall bear to allmankind

The secret by which are the gods made worthy,

The heavens propped up, the heart of manelect

l e Truflz God 1 o5

The prestige of the pure,the wise

,the t rue

,

Sustained ? Oh,Faith-child ! i t i s wel l with

thee .

Then pressed he forth to seiz e this firstlingborn

Of Truth and Science in his eager armsBut ere avowed

,a quick restraining hand

Halted him at the breach,and he stood stil l,

Marvell ing.

Nay ; not yet, 0 Truth-god. Stay !

Thy son by some mischance of hell is provenUnfit to meet thy gaz e . Nay

,quest ion not ;

Beth ink thyself yet chi ldless as to him,

For ~be is not theworthy of his sire,Unmeet the fostering. Thus Science pleadsThat thou be not displeased but forthwith

swearThe sun-babes future to his mothers will

,

Relinquishing to her all exerciseOf discourse to the warrant of his

'

state

As she may deem most worthy. Pledge me

this !

So sank the perfumed poison to the shades,

Rewardless of his smile. With captious eyesBestirred to pry the painted secret more

,

That paragon of states apporached the slave

That stood beweathered of his boding awe,

1 06 Tim Truth-God

And clasped the babe, biddidg the torch , beben t

That he behold and bless. Then bowing low,He knelt before the child

,and eye to eye

Those gods beheld their own . Thus l iftingforth

The index of h is state,hemurmured low

W ith every reverent accent of esteem

First-born of Sc ience she my one soul sspouse

Of opulence God fostered , co-eterne '

Thus t o my heart I yoke thee : hence ordainedThe infan t Truth

,o er-honored of his sire !

But why , 0 Mother, dost thou tremble soHow now art goad of some irreverent moodToo passionate for re in Peace unto thee !ForTruth

~

s well pleased ofScience infant son,

G racing him fit to mate the AttributesAnd serve the one all-King. Unbind the babe

,

And let him prove the mutual of heaven .Unbind the young god, slave, and let me lookIf all h is l imbs be stubborned of the oak

,

And brow broad-virtued of the wills of heavenAs doth become a scion of the Law.W hat hast thou named him

,Mother?

Named .him named him ? Of his naturedamned

His godless, creedless, treasonable inbeing

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108 l e T

rrtfi-God

Godward ascendant through these mortalglooms

Aye,God forbid

Then Science with her frame

Bowed as a gnarled oak beneath the yokeOf shame unworthy

,fiend-en slaven shame

Fell to the great god s side,snatching the babe

Into the mazed air,and shrieked amain

Thou beetling issue of the Arm of LightCurt-witted interloper twixt this prideAnd the hen~ce, hence thou art athwartThe hecate un iverse a fateling cast.

Go ! pry thy refuge from the slaven Earth,And trespass the dumb Seas to quarter theeThou fo ster-child of the presuming ShadesHence ! thou mal-formed and ominous debauchOf a sky-mated mother

, seek thy sphere !

Then with a giant s task,she paced along

On till where heaven looks o er its j utty brimDown on the austere under-arc of earth 7Een at the barbless brink remorseless poisedHalting. Then ere the Fate-gods could forfend

,

She clenched her girdless sun-child by theloins

,

Gathering huge purpose to that milken will ,Hissing through the dumb are her flamingcurse

,

s e Tram-God 1 09

With one herculean plunge that bearded N ight,

She wrenched the rebel Doubt from her tornbreast

And flung him forth into the staggered calm,

Of speech more dreadful than a wind fromhell,

Out of her bosom far into the night

Which with all-seal ing yawn

d rank down themote

As t were a meteorite, -a wail a hissA speck that seemed to stick in th

painted void

And -nothing

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A cloak of j ewelled sea-reeds o er her neck,

And bending, p ressed her lips most l ingeringly

Upon that cheek yet soft wi th youthfulness,

And wept,yet wherefore

,not een herself knew.

He slept this young god of the Thundersteed

Like one of mighty deeds whose valors takeScarce heed of th maddest tribute of the godsTo do him honbr, so supreme are they.He slept

,and ah

,his dream like a devil s dream ,

Took shape presuming at the gates of heaven ;And him flung forth as rebel to the truth,Now flattered him his mother penitentWould clasp her star-child back into her realm

,

And crown .him goldenly his seat ofre ign,Doubt

,sovere ign and Messiah super-tru th

By which alone the heart of man . prevails.And a s

.he dreamt upon his coral couch

By Sceptia

s hand woven to tenderest touch,

H is bosom fevered,and his trenchant eyes

Spheried with rheum , those battlementedbrows

Fretted l ike mountain clouds that cap the Alp,To free young lightning Waspish for new war.

But when thegoddess watching at his sideRead those hard chronicles which stood disclosed

I n open scripture on that speak ing-face,

T/ze Tram-God a s

She shuddered as a mother for her chi ldNor dared an utterance though ful l at

'

heart,

So shrunk of passion is the ablest wor'dTo speak the rack of turmoi l on the soul.

Hope was a thing abandoned to the fiendsln that sea-hermitage of calm Despair

,

O er-re igning Hate and Sorrow ministersOf her the unbelieving for sun-sired FaithWas here but a harlot neutral

,and the Arts

And arms of all the soul doth cherish soAs moving godwise the great heart of man,Descended to the abject of a curse

,

A mockery,a shame . But one thing lived

And drank its breath of l ife from the Unknown,Serving

a prop to these dead temples,and

With swathing clouts wrapping the heart ofman

With aught forfending his self-bred despairAnd that was Sufferance. N0 faith was there ;Not so much trust in that eterne To-beWhich lifts forth from the deeps ofmortal moil,As dries one tear to vapor. Not so muchOf God as would e

en tempt a starving breastTo bear it to the warmth of the North StarFor solace. Aye, Death l ived not neither Life,Nor Hope

,nor promise

,nor the faith of saints ;

But stoic-bosomed Resignation boreAll there was semblance to a God of love.

1 1-4 Tne Trnt/z-Goa

Christ was a myth ; the creeds were all un

sexedDisjunctioned peacemeal with their gospel

members

Uncrucified , yet doomed to certain fallServing the champing-cud of scofling thingsThat cry to heaven that which the heart con

temns,Teasing to hel l that which the gods applaud.Such was the throne of Sceptia : the firstThe last of all mankind s philosophers.

Resuming thence her early attitude,

The mobile goddess shrank into the depthsAnd with a questioning sigh, a sign she madeTo the attendant sea-spri tes, and alone,With brow dissembled of i ts shaken poise

,

Watched long and keen with tenderest earnestness

For that young god s recoil ing spirit.

Yet,I t came not back from its impassioned trance

,

And she grew j ealous of his very dreams.The braz en N oon with moulten wing flung

downHer fiery mantle o er the captious wave ,Piercing it to the pil lars of the sea ;Down

,down athwart this mountain-bosomed

couch

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I I 6 Tlee Tmeta-God

This oracle God-hilted o f the sphereZ oned of the billows, undismayed by Time ,Or any sovereignty of griefless Ind,Or Occident of all unravished orbsI n her austere prerogative of gloom ;Brow like a pale-brown cloud that sits aloftSome haughty crag chin like a temple-baseWith hugest step Whereon a god might mountTo th portal-eyes ; with pallid l ids that fellUpon her still

,half-clenched eyes l ike cold

And dampen cerements that wrap the deadAnd parted l ips as i f theyawn beyondWherein sweet gu ile mothered its siren speech,Had proven many a hero s hell . Her hair,Curtaining with wreathing

'

gossamers of'

gold

Those shoulders marmorial as the flecklessnoon

,

Blush-misted of immortal youth and fairHung l ike a galaxy

of shooting starsPendant from heaven by the ir fiery tails ;While on her knees the trident stood commandAs if some sky-god snatched a meteorFrom out thecratered sun in sacrificeTo

so much empire,and with reverend grace

Had laid it there. Her signal robe of stateW as woven of pied and vermeil reeds whichonce

Were the Jove s l ightnings flung from heaven

down

1 1 7

To lash the rebel waves, and there werechanged

Into these phosphor threads she gathered upTo fash ion into garment. Thus sate sheAll-motionless as her pale-orbed domainA l ink twixt two wide-wedged eternities

,

A bride,but even so in widowhood

,

Crushing the pallid hues that came and wentLike l ight snows fallen on the hectic leafIn autumn-tide

,melting as rose the sun.

She bi t her l ip in anguish this bent seerOf thoughts that held speech an abhorrentthing

Of profanation to its heat aye,bit

The purple crescen t t ill i t shone blood-red,

And like a horned moon it seemed to pierceTh alarm-cloud that hung twixt that search

ing featureAnd him it gaz ed on with confessing eyes,W ho lay dream-pillowed at her very feetAs some tired palmer from the nadir seas.Ah me ! what silence full o f oracles

W as that. She loved him but that lovepoured out

Its feasting attribute through the one portBy which her nature ruled the sons of menShe loved him but to doubt him and where

love

I 1 8 Tne Trutic Goa'

Most reinless ravaged, there made doubt itshome

,

I ts province,hot-bed

,and its hel l. She rose ,

Ah,then drew back

,and bound her mock ing

lids,

List

n ing that galled breath with chaffed content.

The young god s spirit pilgrimed back againFrom that far reach of aery humors capped

,

Back from that dream-sired cynosure of heavenAnd took up calm abode on those warm eyes ;So slowly waking with an easeless quiverAbout that stubborn mouth

,and crossing

sweats

Upon that forehead ribbed of t itan zeal,He half arose and clenched those iron palms

,

Bearding most bold the unpropitious deepsWith thunderbol t on thunderbolt that lashedThe coward whiles into submission tame.Thus spake the Doubt-god

,and the riot fiends

At sport o er human frailty, gave ear

Ye Hours that rise into swart dynasties,

Each chief by birthright -ye of k ingliest baneThe sole compounders -I do pity yeOf such lame reason mothered

,and so sired

Of still-born weal,and triumph that the dogs

Of downfal l addle with their nightly spume !Oh bubble casu istry the purjured gods

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1 20 l e Tmeta-God

To put the stars in swaddling-rags to blurThe bloated sun and lash his craven neckDown through the farmost deeps of nadif nightAnd serve some star a men ial satel l ite ;To paint with glooms the festering face of

noon !

Dampen the heart ofman with sackcloths diptIn teasing hemlock ; strike from th

face ofTruth

That smi le benignant, his high prestige thieve,And with its capable grip

,rise forth and start

The whole red universe on a mad chaseBack to the primal hearthstone of al l t ime

,

And Anarch reign once more. Alas for me !What wonders passing all conceived of GodsOr men would come all-sovereignly to passI f but a Doubt ruled heaven .

So spake the moodOf th is young-harted mutineer given o erTo coun terplot against the matron willThat proved him traitor to the arm of Truth.Then gathering to his sense the far-off reachOf rhapsody

,he turned and there beheld

His sponsor at h is side and over-awedOne quickened moment by her burning 10 ,0kOutstretched his palm

,and spake

Sweet Mother mine !

Tbe Trut/z-Goa I 2 I

Since she yvho nursed me puny-proof to fateI had a dream

,which

,by the absolute

And paramount decrees,I am adj udged

Meet my great mothers audience. And nowBy all the oaths of the resolved gods,I would lay manifest most reverentlyMy fealty propitious to thy palms

,

Command the quickened depths of oceanquake

With all-devout humili ty,and pour

Their prayers to thunders adequate. Sweetfriend

If I have grown to weave about thy soulA castle of content of love-reeds thatched

,

I nvisible yet all-enduring,and

Within this sanctuary housed my heart,

T i s but to do thee honor, and regainFor thy fair sake the empire of my due.Aye

,though 1 go, my heart shall here abide

To do thee service at thy menial nodAnd beck and all my prostrate

,suppliant soul

Thus metamorphosed to holy censer,

Swing up to heaven the perfume of thy love.Dost thou believe ?

A moment s pause fell thereAnd the chilled season of her brooding passedWith those peer pleadings

,Sceptia dashed

aside

I 2 z Tne Trntlz God

The plumed haught of her dissembl ing state,And stood trumped at h is fee t. Lift ing thenA voice half venturing on that giants taskTo free immortal love through woman s l ipsWhen gods stand halt of language

,thus spake

she,

And all earth knelt re spect

Great son ofTruthAnd that resistless matron of the breachBetwixt the parted stars ! I greet thy wordsAh

, why need I dissemble why but yield,And turn my heart to things al l-tangibleUnto thy kissing trust O gentlest youthI bore thee from the billows where from heavenThy puny bulk was cast a fateling dice,To sink or swim

,so curse or honor God.

Yea,with a reason in th is madness mine

,

I caught thy mothers hostage unto hellEre it scarce sli

'

pped the verge ; and that wasthOUw

I nursed thee as my own . I bred thy bonesThe marrow of omnipotence I strungThy veins taut with a gods desire till each,Like harp-strings whereupon the passions

played,

Flung forth a siren music aye,I teemed

Thy young Ambitions on the predal wineOf that black grape that trelli ses the wal ls

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i 24

Proffered him a cup which shudderingly

Rattled upon hlS parted teeth , as thenWith one swift draught the flagon wineless fellWith fragilecrash upon the beryl floors.Then with a word that fell a thousand leaguesShort of the thought s ambition,he Spake soft,Dareless of l ifted eyes

Thou.

talk

st of love,And love that makes e en children of the gods,Makes e en a babe of me disarming soThis adamantine yoke that I am haltThieved even of my birth-right attributeBy which the blush of fevering gratitudeIs far out-tempered of its judgment calm.Speak not of love

, 0 guardian Goddess, nay ;The universe is schooled in thy love-ethics

,

And with the least of mortals, so am I .My heart

,far out its i ron element ,

Throbs thy warm creed of love,and all is

thine.But think how far dismembered from my stateThis prepless, hiltless arm estranged lies !Thulk think how craven base in me to sleepThe flabby slumber of the opium~dog,And see these taut ambitions suckle hope-sThe hounds of Custom make dear play

things ofWords cowardiz e th is will to cope with gods

1 25

Only the deed can prove it up to heaven .Thus let me wordless dream ; and when the

hourIs ripe

,then let a giants deed take up

The staff of th giants fallen dream,and do !

So spake the Doubt-god and the leagued volt.Of empire fell athwart that thunder-z one,Till all the deeps were hushed. Then without

onceRelinquishing the theme

,he ventured on

,

Thus half belying the resolved mood

Think ofmy birth and all it must redeemBefore the just expectancies of TimeWhich yet shall see th is curdling pap of

heavenCalled faith out-ridden to the scorns of hell

,

By just rebell i0n gai-ust thisscurvd state,

And Him who brought it forth and now wouldforce

Poor trodden-hearted mortal to redeemHis blunders ah

,think thou of all the task

Imposed upon this mind by naked handOf heaven s most indurate ! Oh tell me then

,

By all the principals that point the starsTo their empyreal freedoms, must I sleepThe orbits of so great a planet through,Abide my menial picket as

amoon

1 26 l e Trutn God

That steals light but to fl ing it as a curseDown on some darkling, ghashing mortals

earth,

And list their childish thanks ? Oh,say not so

But by the orb compound upon thy soulThe antidote for such a passion s bane

,

And let me free my mission

This spake heAs one who rose from some carnationed urnBrimmed of the sweats of Titans in their moilTo wedge a world to orbit then reclinedW i th naked shoulders on a sea-moss pillow,Breathing l ike Centaur from a season

s chase.

Meanwhile the deeps so stunned of the brawnthrob

Of th is o er-passioned speech,seemed gather

ing upTheir fragments in alarm ; while too, there roseFrom out the mouthed shells girting this

shrine,

A minstrelsy of timid ven turing,

Such as might traquilliz e too arduous stirUpon the heart of Sceptia . Then roseThat solemn presence from her coral throne

,

And glided sisterly his armored side,

Pressing her fingers to his hollow cheekIn yearning admonition . Then gave o erThat matron problem that had weighed her so ;

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1 28 Tbc Tram-God

And rib the universe with thy right arm,

Till suns turn all ies,and you grave star-seers

Stand shoulder to shoulder panoplied in warTo wrench a port atween the ribs of heavenAnd pry thee in . Yet shalt thou rule the

mainThou First

,thou Last

,thou All supremely

armedBy precedent

,by nature

,and by z eal

Upon my trustand love stil l shalt thou ruleYet shall a doubt rule heaven

So sank her words from that eruptive throatDown through the mindless orataries cavedI n the mid-oceans-bulks that know no sun.Then took she motherly in her warm palmsThe young gods fingers and with heart

revealed,

Pressed them unto her l ips devotionalTil l love grew numb with love reciprocate.Then knelt she

,-ah

,weird Priestess of the

seaBefore her new-found altar

,and laid bare

Her bosom like a sea of phosphor pearl,

Unravished yet of human touch,sinking

H