 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
PART II.
‘All hail to Rome! She lords it o'er the world
From Ganges' flood to Atlas' snowy crown:
Heavenward from cape and coast her praise is hurled:
She lifts the nations up and casts them down:
Like some great mountain city-thronged she stands
Her shade far cast eclipsing seas and lands.
From Ganges' flood to Atlas' snowy crown:
Heavenward from cape and coast her praise is hurled:
She lifts the nations up and casts them down:
Like some great mountain city-thronged she stands
Her shade far cast eclipsing seas and lands.
‘She flings that shade across the tracts of Time
Not less than o'er the unmeasured fields of space;
Processional the Empires paced sublime;
Her heralds these; they walked before her face:
Assyrian, Persian, Grecian—what were they?
Poor matin streaks, yet preludes of the day!
Not less than o'er the unmeasured fields of space;
Processional the Empires paced sublime;
Her heralds these; they walked before her face:
Assyrian, Persian, Grecian—what were they?
Poor matin streaks, yet preludes of the day!
‘The Pyramids that vault Egyptian kings
When near her legions drew bowed low their heads;
Indus and Oxus from their mountain springs
Whispered, “She cometh.” Dried-up river-beds
From Dacian plains to British cried aghast,
“This way but now the Roman eagles passed!”
When near her legions drew bowed low their heads;
Indus and Oxus from their mountain springs
Whispered, “She cometh.” Dried-up river-beds
From Dacian plains to British cried aghast,
“This way but now the Roman eagles passed!”
‘She fells the forest, and the valley spans
With arch o'er arch; the mountain-crests she carves
With roads, till Nature's portents yield to Man's:
Wolf-like the race that mocks her bleeds or starves;
Alike they lived their lives, they had their day:
Her laws abide; men hear them and obey.
With arch o'er arch; the mountain-crests she carves
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Wolf-like the race that mocks her bleeds or starves;
Alike they lived their lives, they had their day:
Her laws abide; men hear them and obey.
‘All hail to Rome! Her mighty heart serene
Houses at will all nations and their gods
Content to know herself of all the Queen.
Who spake that word: “The old Religion nods?”
Ah fools! at times, but gathering heat, the levin
Sleeps in Jove's hand. Yet Jove reigns on in heaven.’
Houses at will all nations and their gods
Content to know herself of all the Queen.
Who spake that word: “The old Religion nods?”
Ah fools! at times, but gathering heat, the levin
Sleeps in Jove's hand. Yet Jove reigns on in heaven.’
Such was the song that from beyond that wall
Girdling the palace pleasaunce swelled what time
Zoe awoke, till then sleep's lovely thrall,
And marked the splendours of the dewy prime
Brightening the arras nymphs beyond her bed;
Upright she sat, and propped a listening head.
Girdling the palace pleasaunce swelled what time
Zoe awoke, till then sleep's lovely thrall,
And marked the splendours of the dewy prime
Brightening the arras nymphs beyond her bed;
Upright she sat, and propped a listening head.
She listened as the choral echo rang
Lessening from stem to stem, from stone to stone;
Then rose, and, tossing wide the casement, sang
In briefer note a challenge of her own:
‘Ye prized the old Faith—dying or dead condole it—
That Faith was Greek, my masters! Rome but stole it!’
Lessening from stem to stem, from stone to stone;
Then rose, and, tossing wide the casement, sang
In briefer note a challenge of her own:
‘Ye prized the old Faith—dying or dead condole it—
That Faith was Greek, my masters! Rome but stole it!’
That faith was hers in childhood; threads thereof
Still gleamed 'mid all those golden tissues woven
Which decked her fancy's world of thought and love;
Her conscience clung to Truths revealed, heartproven:
Her fancy struck no root into the true,
A rock-flower fed on ether and on dew.
Still gleamed 'mid all those golden tissues woven
Which decked her fancy's world of thought and love;
Her conscience clung to Truths revealed, heartproven:
Her fancy struck no root into the true,
A rock-flower fed on ether and on dew.
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She had a pagan nurse and Christian mother:
That mother taught her girl the Christian Creed;
She learned it, she believed: yet scarce could smother
Memories first hers of heathen race and breed
Which, claiming to be legend only, won
Perchance more credence as exacting none.
That mother taught her girl the Christian Creed;
She learned it, she believed: yet scarce could smother
Memories first hers of heathen race and breed
Which, claiming to be legend only, won
Perchance more credence as exacting none.
When girt by pagans, she their rites derided:
The Christian Faith, that only, she revered;
Yet oft at Christian hearths with sceptics sided:
Sacred Religion less she loved than feared,
Still muttering sadly; ‘Easy 'tis, I wean,
To dread the Unknown, but hard to love the Unseen.’
The Christian Faith, that only, she revered;
Yet oft at Christian hearths with sceptics sided:
Sacred Religion less she loved than feared,
Still muttering sadly; ‘Easy 'tis, I wean,
To dread the Unknown, but hard to love the Unseen.’
Stronger she was in intellect than spirit;
In intellect's self less strong than keen and swift:
Immeasurable in beauty, interest, merit
To her was Nature's sphere; but hers no gift
To roam through boundless empires of the Soul:
She craved the definite path—not distant goal.
In intellect's self less strong than keen and swift:
Immeasurable in beauty, interest, merit
To her was Nature's sphere; but hers no gift
To roam through boundless empires of the Soul:
She craved the definite path—not distant goal.
Seldom the girl's unlovelier moods looked forth
When first she housed in that Euphemian home
So rich in loftiest reverence, lowliest worth:
There the great ways of Apostolic Rome
Confronted her, and steadied and upraised:
A part of heaven she saw where'er she gazed.
When first she housed in that Euphemian home
So rich in loftiest reverence, lowliest worth:
There the great ways of Apostolic Rome
Confronted her, and steadied and upraised:
A part of heaven she saw where'er she gazed.
And deeplier yet her better spirit was moved
When, by Aglae led, she trod those spots
Where bled the martyrs. Oft, torch-lit, they roved
Those dusky ways like sea-wrought caves and grots
Rome's subterranean city of the tombs,
This hour her noblest boast—the Catacombs.
When, by Aglae led, she trod those spots
Where bled the martyrs. Oft, torch-lit, they roved
Those dusky ways like sea-wrought caves and grots
Rome's subterranean city of the tombs,
This hour her noblest boast—the Catacombs.
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The soundless floors with blood-stains still were red:
Still lay the martyr in sepulchral cell
The ensanguined vial close beside his head,
‘In pacé’ at his feet. Ineffable
That peace around: the pictured walls confessed
Its source divine in symbols ever blessed.
Still lay the martyr in sepulchral cell
The ensanguined vial close beside his head,
‘In pacé’ at his feet. Ineffable
That peace around: the pictured walls confessed
Its source divine in symbols ever blessed.
Here the ‘Good Shepherd’ on His shoulder bare
The sheep long lost. The all-wondrous Eucharist
Was emblemed near. Close-bound in grave-clothes, there
Lazarus stood still, fixed by the eye of Christ:
Below his gourd the Prophet bowed his head,
Prophet unweeting of the Three-days-Dead.
The sheep long lost. The all-wondrous Eucharist
Was emblemed near. Close-bound in grave-clothes, there
Lazarus stood still, fixed by the eye of Christ:
Below his gourd the Prophet bowed his head,
Prophet unweeting of the Three-days-Dead.
Among the Roman martyrs two there were
Whom most the Greek in wonder venerated,
Cecilia and her spouse, that wedded pair
Who lived their short, glad life like Spirits mated
And hand in hand passed to the Crucified:
‘Oh, how unlike Aspasia!’—Zoe cried.
Whom most the Greek in wonder venerated,
Cecilia and her spouse, that wedded pair
Who lived their short, glad life like Spirits mated
And hand in hand passed to the Crucified:
‘Oh, how unlike Aspasia!’—Zoe cried.
One morn, from these returned, Aglae spake;
‘Husband, bestow this maiden on thy son!
She loves our martyrs: that high love will make
Their marriage blest and holy!’ It was done:
By parents at that time were bridals made
In Rome. Alexis heard them and obeyed.
‘Husband, bestow this maiden on thy son!
She loves our martyrs: that high love will make
Their marriage blest and holy!’ It was done:
By parents at that time were bridals made
In Rome. Alexis heard them and obeyed.
Zoe at first felt angry: thus she mused:
‘Unsued, and scarce consulted, to be wed!’
She mused again; this marriage, wisely used,
May lift once more my country's fallen head:
That was my dream since childhood: till I die
That stands my purpose: now the means are nigh.’
‘Unsued, and scarce consulted, to be wed!’
She mused again; this marriage, wisely used,
May lift once more my country's fallen head:
That was my dream since childhood: till I die
That stands my purpose: now the means are nigh.’
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Such was the leaning of her deeper nature;
To some she seemed a Muse: to sterner eyes
A Siren to be dreaded: but the creature
Beneath her sallies gay and bright disguise
Was inly brave and serious, strong and proud;
A child of Greece, to that sad mother vowed.
To some she seemed a Muse: to sterner eyes
A Siren to be dreaded: but the creature
Beneath her sallies gay and bright disguise
Was inly brave and serious, strong and proud;
A child of Greece, to that sad mother vowed.
Betrothed they were what time the earlier snows
Whitening Soracte's scalp were caked with frost:
The marriage was postponed till April's close,
Then later till the Feast of Pentecost.
Meantime they met not oft. The youth had still
High tasks—he loved all duties—to fulfil.
Whitening Soracte's scalp were caked with frost:
The marriage was postponed till April's close,
Then later till the Feast of Pentecost.
Meantime they met not oft. The youth had still
High tasks—he loved all duties—to fulfil.
Zoe thenceforth was welcomed more and more
In all the Roman houses of old fame,
Welcomed by pagans most: they set great store
Upon her thoughtful wit and Attic name,
And learned with help from her to read with ease
The songs of Sappho and Simonides.
In all the Roman houses of old fame,
Welcomed by pagans most: they set great store
Upon her thoughtful wit and Attic name,
And learned with help from her to read with ease
The songs of Sappho and Simonides.
Among them ranged a dame right eloquent
On all the classic myths of ancient days:
In each she found unrecognized intent
Occult, and oft her jetty brows would raise
Much wondering how a child of Academe
Could slight Greek wisdom for a Hebrew dream.
On all the classic myths of ancient days:
In each she found unrecognized intent
Occult, and oft her jetty brows would raise
Much wondering how a child of Academe
Could slight Greek wisdom for a Hebrew dream.
With her the Athenian strove that perilous season,
Most confident belike when certain least.
A perilous staff, for such, is boastful reason;
On that whene'er she leaned her doubts increased;
The Catacombs propped best a faith unstable:
She said, ‘Those dear ones died not for a fable.’
Most confident belike when certain least.
A perilous staff, for such, is boastful reason;
On that whene'er she leaned her doubts increased;
The Catacombs propped best a faith unstable:
She said, ‘Those dear ones died not for a fable.’
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A help beside 'gainst unbelieving sin
Illumed her pathway. 'Twas the heaven-lit face
Of him, her destined husband. None therein
Might gaze ungladdened by a healing grace;
Round him he breathed Faith's sweet yet strengthening clime,
Like sea-winds sent o'er hills of rock and thyme.
Illumed her pathway. 'Twas the heaven-lit face
Of him, her destined husband. None therein
Might gaze ungladdened by a healing grace;
Round him he breathed Faith's sweet yet strengthening clime,
Like sea-winds sent o'er hills of rock and thyme.
He spake: the Grecian girl with instinct keen
Felt oft he told of things to him well known,
And for an hour through God's high worlds unseen
Advanced as one who sees. But when alone
Faith lacked what Love Divine alone could lend her:
Her nature, was impassioned, yet not tender.
Felt oft he told of things to him well known,
And for an hour through God's high worlds unseen
Advanced as one who sees. But when alone
Faith lacked what Love Divine alone could lend her:
Her nature, was impassioned, yet not tender.
Her mental powers were wide and far of gaze;
Ardent her heart, but yet to earth confined:
Her sympathies trod firm on solid ways
But cast no heavenward pinions on the wind,
Felt not the gravitation from above:
The depths they knew, but not the heights of love.
Ardent her heart, but yet to earth confined:
Her sympathies trod firm on solid ways
But cast no heavenward pinions on the wind,
Felt not the gravitation from above:
The depths they knew, but not the heights of love.
Large powers of human love in her had dwelt
Unknown, long checked like tarns on hillside stayed
By bars of virgin ice not quick to melt:
In vain her country's sons their court had paid:
She spurned them: Greece lay bound, a spoil, a jest;
They in her degradation acquiesced!
Unknown, long checked like tarns on hillside stayed
By bars of virgin ice not quick to melt:
In vain her country's sons their court had paid:
She spurned them: Greece lay bound, a spoil, a jest;
They in her degradation acquiesced!
Her Roman suitors she had spurned yet more
Save one: she saw in each her country's foe:
That one, strange nurseling of a mystic lore,
Was brave as wise, and just to high and low:
The ice had burst: the torrent took its way:
‘How slowly comes,’ she thought, ‘this marriageday!’
Save one: she saw in each her country's foe:
That one, strange nurseling of a mystic lore,
Was brave as wise, and just to high and low:
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‘How slowly comes,’ she thought, ‘this marriageday!’
She loved Alexis well: he loved her better;
Better, not more. She loved with all her heart;
He with a portion, for he brooked no fetter
That bound his spirit to earth. To her a part
He gave in his large being—not the whole;
'Tis thus they love whose love is of the soul.
Better, not more. She loved with all her heart;
He with a portion, for he brooked no fetter
That bound his spirit to earth. To her a part
He gave in his large being—not the whole;
'Tis thus they love whose love is of the soul.
Ofttimes when most she loved she scorned to show it,
Deeming her love repaid by his but half:
Ofttimes she wept; but, fearing he should know it,
Drank down her tears, or praised with petulant laugh
What least he loved; or curtsied in her spleen
Passing the fane, still thronged, of Beauty's Queen.
Deeming her love repaid by his but half:
Ofttimes she wept; but, fearing he should know it,
Drank down her tears, or praised with petulant laugh
What least he loved; or curtsied in her spleen
Passing the fane, still thronged, of Beauty's Queen.
Sometimes, approaching Constantine's huge piles
That lifted o'er vast courts their shadowing span
As o'er dusk waters frown Egean isles,
St. Paul's, the Lateran, or the Vatican,
She seemed to see them not; but stooped and raised
A violet from the grass, and kissed and praised.
That lifted o'er vast courts their shadowing span
As o'er dusk waters frown Egean isles,
St. Paul's, the Lateran, or the Vatican,
She seemed to see them not; but stooped and raised
A violet from the grass, and kissed and praised.
He judged her not, yet mused in boding thought:
‘This marriage—will it help yon orphan maid?’
The answer followed plain: ‘I never sought
The tie. My parents willed it: I obeyed:
If they have erred, ere long a hand more high
Will point my way. Till then no choice have I.’
‘This marriage—will it help yon orphan maid?’
The answer followed plain: ‘I never sought
The tie. My parents willed it: I obeyed:
If they have erred, ere long a hand more high
Will point my way. Till then no choice have I.’
More seldom still they met: but when they met
Airs as from heaven played on her spirit's chords;
And seldom if he spake, with eyes tear-wet
She sighed; ‘A man is he of deeds not words!’
Poor child! She guessed not 'twas her wayward will
Slighting the themes he loved that held him silent still.
Airs as from heaven played on her spirit's chords;
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She sighed; ‘A man is he of deeds not words!’
Poor child! She guessed not 'twas her wayward will
Slighting the themes he loved that held him silent still.
She knew him not; his parents but in part:
They wist not this, that, though to seats divine
Great Love at times can lift the earthly heart,
On hearts enskied as oft it works decline.
Their course was well-nigh run, their heaven nigh gained;
One sole temptation—and its cure—remained.
They wist not this, that, though to seats divine
Great Love at times can lift the earthly heart,
On hearts enskied as oft it works decline.
Their course was well-nigh run, their heaven nigh gained;
One sole temptation—and its cure—remained.
The marriage morn had come. At faith's high call
Ere sunrise yet the dewy groves had dried
The youth was praying in a chapel small
That stood retired by Tiber's streaming tide;
Though dull the morn, the boats with flags were gay:
A pagan Feast they kept—Rome's natal day.
Ere sunrise yet the dewy groves had dried
The youth was praying in a chapel small
That stood retired by Tiber's streaming tide;
Though dull the morn, the boats with flags were gay:
A pagan Feast they kept—Rome's natal day.
Returning from that church, the youth observed
That 'mid these boats white-winged, and by the bank
A bark lay moored where Tiber seaward curved;
It bore no flag; its sails were black and dank—
A stern sea-stranger seemed it, sad, alone;
A raven 'mid bright birds of dulcet tone.
That 'mid these boats white-winged, and by the bank
A bark lay moored where Tiber seaward curved;
It bore no flag; its sails were black and dank—
A stern sea-stranger seemed it, sad, alone;
A raven 'mid bright birds of dulcet tone.
Down from that sable bark there moved a man
With sunburnt brow, worn cheek, and mournful eyes:
He to the youth made way, and straight began:
‘A sailor I, and live by merchandise:
I seek Laodicea: from her shore
Edessa we shall reach in three days more.
With sunburnt brow, worn cheek, and mournful eyes:
He to the youth made way, and straight began:
‘A sailor I, and live by merchandise:
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Edessa we shall reach in three days more.
‘There, in her church who bore the Lord of all
Abides for aye that “Venerable Face”
Which, like those shadows Apostolical
That healed the sick, fill all that land with grace.
Thou know'st not of that mystery. Give ear!
Elect are they who hold that picture dear.
Abides for aye that “Venerable Face”
Which, like those shadows Apostolical
That healed the sick, fill all that land with grace.
Thou know'st not of that mystery. Give ear!
Elect are they who hold that picture dear.
‘When Christ, Who died for Man, by slow degrees
Bearing His Cross ascended Calvary,
O'er-spent at last He sank upon His knees:
Then of the Holy Women clustering nigh
One forward stept. Above that Face, bedewed
With blood, she pressed her veil, and weeping stood.
Bearing His Cross ascended Calvary,
O'er-spent at last He sank upon His knees:
Then of the Holy Women clustering nigh
One forward stept. Above that Face, bedewed
With blood, she pressed her veil, and weeping stood.
‘Since then abides upon that Veil all-blest
Edessa's Boast, that imaged Face Divine
Thereon that hour by miracle impressed:
Some see it not. Who see it never pine
Thenceforth for earthly goods. True merchant he
Who all things sells for one. This night embark with me!’
Edessa's Boast, that imaged Face Divine
Thereon that hour by miracle impressed:
Some see it not. Who see it never pine
Thenceforth for earthly goods. True merchant he
Who all things sells for one. This night embark with me!’
‘This is my wedding-day,’ the youth replied:
Then round them closed sea-farers loud of cheer
And severed was that Stranger from his side:
Through all their din thenceforth he seemed to hear
Sad memory's iteration wearisome,
‘Wedded am I: therefore I cannot come.’
Then round them closed sea-farers loud of cheer
And severed was that Stranger from his side:
Through all their din thenceforth he seemed to hear
Sad memory's iteration wearisome,
‘Wedded am I: therefore I cannot come.’
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Entering his ancient home in troubled thought
Once more he heard, ‘He who great wealth hath won
Let that man live as pilgrims who have naught;
The wedded man as he who wife hath none’—
Words heard at Mass the morning of that Feast
Whereon his bride had landed from the East.
Once more he heard, ‘He who great wealth hath won
Let that man live as pilgrims who have naught;
The wedded man as he who wife hath none’—
Words heard at Mass the morning of that Feast
Whereon his bride had landed from the East.
He raised his eyes: changed was his Father's house:
Euphemian thus had sworn: ‘For one day more
Return old times! The poor man's glad carouse;
The harps and dances of our Rome of yore.
Rome reverenced marriage once: this marriage long
Shall boast its place in Roman tale and song.’
Euphemian thus had sworn: ‘For one day more
Return old times! The poor man's glad carouse;
The harps and dances of our Rome of yore.
Rome reverenced marriage once: this marriage long
Shall boast its place in Roman tale and song.’
Where was it now, that rust which long had covered
The mail of Consuls famed in days that were?
Banners as old as Cannæ swung and hovered
Shifting with gusts of laughter-shaken air;
And on the walls hung faded tapestries old
The Pagan mostly dimmed by moth and mould.
The mail of Consuls famed in days that were?
Banners as old as Cannæ swung and hovered
Shifting with gusts of laughter-shaken air;
And on the walls hung faded tapestries old
The Pagan mostly dimmed by moth and mould.
Here shone the Huntress Maid the crescent gleam
Brightening her brow: that Radiance disarrayed
Whitened with imaged shape the forest stream:
There Galatea with sea-monsters played;
The self-same breeze that landward o'er the rocks
Waved the dark pine blew back her refluent locks.
Brightening her brow: that Radiance disarrayed
Whitened with imaged shape the forest stream:
There Galatea with sea-monsters played;
The self-same breeze that landward o'er the rocks
Waved the dark pine blew back her refluent locks.
Not far stood Pallas wrought in stone. That eye
Levelled beneath strong brows and helmèd crest
Though stern looked forth in wisdom clear and high:
The Gorgon Mask lay moveless on a breast
That ne'er had heaved with love or shook with fear;
High up her hand sustained that steadying spear.
Levelled beneath strong brows and helmèd crest
Though stern looked forth in wisdom clear and high:
The Gorgon Mask lay moveless on a breast
That ne'er had heaved with love or shook with fear;
High up her hand sustained that steadying spear.
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The Christian Art was tenderest. There that Boy
Blessed Sebastian, pierced by arrows, stood
In maid-like and immaculate beauty. Joy
Illumed his front, though dying, unsubdued:
And well those lifted eyes discerned in heaven
That Face Divine His Martyr hailed—Saint Stephen.
Blessed Sebastian, pierced by arrows, stood
In maid-like and immaculate beauty. Joy
Illumed his front, though dying, unsubdued:
And well those lifted eyes discerned in heaven
That Face Divine His Martyr hailed—Saint Stephen.
Tables there were of sandal-wood carved quaintly
By fingers lean of cedar-shaded Ind,
Embossed with emblems, shapes grotesque yet saintly;
And gods Egyptian, taloned, winged or finned;
And ivory cabinets with ebon barred,
Musk-scented, pale with pearl, and opal-starred.
By fingers lean of cedar-shaded Ind,
Embossed with emblems, shapes grotesque yet saintly;
And gods Egyptian, taloned, winged or finned;
And ivory cabinets with ebon barred,
Musk-scented, pale with pearl, and opal-starred.
Here glittered caskets, gifts of Afric kings;
Gold goblets, pledge from satraps of the East;
Huge incense-burning lamps on demon wings
Suspense, for rites of funeral or feast;
And shells for music strung and bows for war,
Fantastic toys, tribute from regions far.
Gold goblets, pledge from satraps of the East;
Huge incense-burning lamps on demon wings
Suspense, for rites of funeral or feast;
And shells for music strung and bows for war,
Fantastic toys, tribute from regions far.
Mosaic pavements glistened, deftly studded
With Sphinx, or Zodiac-Beast, or Hieroglyph,
As oft with Lotos blossom. Leaned, new-budded
The April Almond from his shaggy cliff,
Or rained red flakes on Ocean's blameless daughters
Oaring their placid way o'er purple waters.
With Sphinx, or Zodiac-Beast, or Hieroglyph,
As oft with Lotos blossom. Leaned, new-budded
The April Almond from his shaggy cliff,
Or rained red flakes on Ocean's blameless daughters
Oaring their placid way o'er purple waters.
The nuptial rite was brief, the banquet long
For many a grey-haired noble told his tale
And many a youthful minstrel sang his song;
Some marked a trembling in the bride's white veil,
But on her long-lashed lids there hung no tear;
Flushed was her cheek; her voice was firm and clear.
For many a grey-haired noble told his tale
And many a youthful minstrel sang his song;
Some marked a trembling in the bride's white veil,
But on her long-lashed lids there hung no tear;
Flushed was her cheek; her voice was firm and clear.
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Within a tent upon that bowery level
Whose tallest palm-grove crowned Mount Aventine,
Hour after hour rang out that ardent revel,
While flashed above it many a starry sign;
Untired that Bride danced on; beneath the shade
The night-bird sang to listening youth and maid.
Whose tallest palm-grove crowned Mount Aventine,
Hour after hour rang out that ardent revel,
While flashed above it many a starry sign;
Untired that Bride danced on; beneath the shade
The night-bird sang to listening youth and maid.
Alexis moved amid the throng, heart-sore,
Yet welcoming friend or guest. Pastimes like these
His eyes had never looked upon before;
Now seeing, he misliked them. Ill at ease,
One voice he heard 'mid all that buzz and hum;
‘I have a Wife; therefore I cannot come.’
Yet welcoming friend or guest. Pastimes like these
His eyes had never looked upon before;
Now seeing, he misliked them. Ill at ease,
One voice he heard 'mid all that buzz and hum;
‘I have a Wife; therefore I cannot come.’
Far down, where Tiber caught the white moonshine,
He heard, though faint, that hymn at morning sung,
More near, then first, those verses Fescennine
Trolled by boy pagans as their nuts they flung:
He sought the house, passed to its farthest room,
Lit by one lamp that scarcely pierced the gloom.
He heard, though faint, that hymn at morning sung,
More near, then first, those verses Fescennine
Trolled by boy pagans as their nuts they flung:
He sought the house, passed to its farthest room,
Lit by one lamp that scarcely pierced the gloom.
Within that room was one sole occupant;
He stood beneath that lamp; its downward shade
Clasped the slight form, and on him seemed to plant
A dusky cowl. Sudden with heart dismayed
The youth that morning's stranger saw, and nigh
The Saviour on His Cross, and Calvary.
He stood beneath that lamp; its downward shade
Clasped the slight form, and on him seemed to plant
A dusky cowl. Sudden with heart dismayed
The youth that morning's stranger saw, and nigh
The Saviour on His Cross, and Calvary.
That Saviour looked on him and spake. In heart
That Bridegroom heard: ‘Edessa—meet Me there;
There bide with Me alone; and thence depart
When I that sow, homeward My sheaves shall bear.
Those three thou lov'dst so well in days of old
Shall then be thine—and Mine—in love tenfold.’
That Bridegroom heard: ‘Edessa—meet Me there;
There bide with Me alone; and thence depart
When I that sow, homeward My sheaves shall bear.
Those three thou lov'dst so well in days of old
Shall then be thine—and Mine—in love tenfold.’
133
The Vision faded; lightest steps he heard,
And wreathed with rose the Bride before him stood
Warm from the dance, and blithesome as a bird.
He spake: ‘Fear naught! What God decrees is good.’
Within her hand he placed a ring, and said:
‘Farewell! Wear this till many years are fled.
And wreathed with rose the Bride before him stood
Warm from the dance, and blithesome as a bird.
He spake: ‘Fear naught! What God decrees is good.’
Within her hand he placed a ring, and said:
‘Farewell! Wear this till many years are fled.
‘Farewell! Live on in Faith and Innocence:
Farewell! God calls me to a far-off land;
But He will lead me back Who bids me hence,
And draw us near; and yet between us stand.
Farewell, poor child!’ He passed into the night
And soon was hidden wholly from her sight.
Farewell! God calls me to a far-off land;
But He will lead me back Who bids me hence,
And draw us near; and yet between us stand.
Farewell, poor child!’ He passed into the night
And soon was hidden wholly from her sight.
When the next morn had changed dark skies to grey
They found her with wide eyes and lips apart
Standing, a statue wreathed, in white array;
One wedded hand was pressed against her heart;
One clasped a ring. ‘Tis time to sleep,’ she said;
‘Lay the poor Bride—'tis late—upon her bed.’
They found her with wide eyes and lips apart
Standing, a statue wreathed, in white array;
One wedded hand was pressed against her heart;
One clasped a ring. ‘Tis time to sleep,’ she said;
‘Lay the poor Bride—'tis late—upon her bed.’
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