After Paradise or Legends of Exile With Other Poems: By Robert, Earl of Lytton (Owen Meredith) |
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V.
THE LEGEND OF FABLE. |
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 | After Paradise or Legends of Exile |  |
103
V. THE LEGEND OF FABLE.
105
With many a plume and tuft of brilliant dye,
And blushing berries twined in belt and tress,
Eve on her clothing had begun to try
What ornament could add to usefulness
From day to day. But, as the days went by,
The more she prized her borrow'd charms, the less
She loved their owners who, approving not
Those pilfer'd splendours, with resentful eye
Beheld them all. For out the secret got,
How from the bodies of the dead were torn
The garments Eve and Adam gloried in:
And to the beasts, who were as they were born,
It seem'd a scandal and a sort of sin
That their own wool and fur should thus be worn
By limbs not theirs. “Let each defend his skin!”
They said to one another.
And blushing berries twined in belt and tress,
Eve on her clothing had begun to try
What ornament could add to usefulness
From day to day. But, as the days went by,
The more she prized her borrow'd charms, the less
She loved their owners who, approving not
Those pilfer'd splendours, with resentful eye
Beheld them all. For out the secret got,
How from the bodies of the dead were torn
The garments Eve and Adam gloried in:
106
It seem'd a scandal and a sort of sin
That their own wool and fur should thus be worn
By limbs not theirs. “Let each defend his skin!”
They said to one another.
In those days
There was a little animal Eve yet
Loved passing well; for it had pleasant ways,
Was smooth, and soft, and sleek, and seem'd to set
A grateful store on her capricious praise.
Curl'd in her lap 'twould nestle without fear,
And let her stroke its back and bosom white,
Until to Eve this beast became so dear
That in its confidence she took delight.
But, when the Herd discover'd that her dress
Was stolen from their plunder'd kith and kin,
Eve's little favourite fear'd each fresh caress
Her hand bestow'd on it, and felt within
Its frighten'd heart a sharp mistrustfulness,
For “If she took a fancy to my skin?”
The creature mused. And ever from that date
Its thoughts and looks were all alert to find
Some means whereby it might escape the fate
Whose horrid prospect hover'd vague behind
Eve's fondling fingers. Once, when peering round,
Inquisitively careful to explore
All nooks and corners till such means were found,
It spied a heap of fish-bones on the floor.
Then, from Eve's lap down-sliding to the ground,
It roll'd itself among them o'er and o'er
Till it became a Porcupine. And “How
To guard my skin,” it chuckled, “nevermore
Need I henceforth take any pains, for now
My skin it is that will henceforth guard me!”
There was a little animal Eve yet
Loved passing well; for it had pleasant ways,
Was smooth, and soft, and sleek, and seem'd to set
A grateful store on her capricious praise.
Curl'd in her lap 'twould nestle without fear,
And let her stroke its back and bosom white,
Until to Eve this beast became so dear
That in its confidence she took delight.
But, when the Herd discover'd that her dress
Was stolen from their plunder'd kith and kin,
Eve's little favourite fear'd each fresh caress
Her hand bestow'd on it, and felt within
107
For “If she took a fancy to my skin?”
The creature mused. And ever from that date
Its thoughts and looks were all alert to find
Some means whereby it might escape the fate
Whose horrid prospect hover'd vague behind
Eve's fondling fingers. Once, when peering round,
Inquisitively careful to explore
All nooks and corners till such means were found,
It spied a heap of fish-bones on the floor.
Then, from Eve's lap down-sliding to the ground,
It roll'd itself among them o'er and o'er
Till it became a Porcupine. And “How
To guard my skin,” it chuckled, “nevermore
Need I henceforth take any pains, for now
My skin it is that will henceforth guard me!”
So in this unapproachable condition
Secure it lived: for its security
Was even the same as Man's was—Arm'd Suspicion.
108
Was even the same as Man's was—Arm'd Suspicion.
Suspicion everywhere! No peace could be
On earth henceforth. To war suspicion led.
Long ages is it since that war began,
And seas of blood have been on both sides shed,
Yet still it lasts. In servitude to Man
Some captived beasts survive. The Dog is one.
But, just because the Dog to Man is true,
From his approach his former comrades run,
Deeming him traitor to their cause. Some few
(The fiercest and the savagest alone)
An intermittent and unequal strife
Around their dens in desert lands pursue,
And they and Man are enemies for life.
Nor they and Man alone: for, confidence
Once gone, the beasts upon each other prey'd
Like beasts, without the plausible pretence
Of good intentions by Man's nature made
For his bad doings in the grim campaign
'Twixt him and them. This so revolted her,
That Justice from the world-wide battle-plain
Fled blushing. Pity's flight was tardier:
But, after lingering long in vain appeal
From heart to heart, she follow'd Justice too,
Where only bloodstains left behind reveal
The paths whereby she fled from mortal view.
On earth henceforth. To war suspicion led.
Long ages is it since that war began,
And seas of blood have been on both sides shed,
Yet still it lasts. In servitude to Man
Some captived beasts survive. The Dog is one.
But, just because the Dog to Man is true,
From his approach his former comrades run,
Deeming him traitor to their cause. Some few
(The fiercest and the savagest alone)
An intermittent and unequal strife
Around their dens in desert lands pursue,
And they and Man are enemies for life.
Nor they and Man alone: for, confidence
Once gone, the beasts upon each other prey'd
109
Of good intentions by Man's nature made
For his bad doings in the grim campaign
'Twixt him and them. This so revolted her,
That Justice from the world-wide battle-plain
Fled blushing. Pity's flight was tardier:
But, after lingering long in vain appeal
From heart to heart, she follow'd Justice too,
Where only bloodstains left behind reveal
The paths whereby she fled from mortal view.
And they, the gentle Beasts of Paradise
That were Man's once familiar intimates,
Far from the menace of his murderous eyes
Whither, O whither are they gone? The gates
Of Paradise are shut for ever, and there
No refuge for Man's victims, nor for him,
Remains on earth. But, from the bowers that were
With Eden lost, the pitying Seraphim
Sow'd in the waste one seed. A forest fair
Sprang from it—giant trees of lusty limb,
Long vaults of bloom and verdure never bare,
Where forms, half-bird half-blossom, flash and swim
From bough to bough, and, husht in windless air,
Soft shadows flutter from the whisperous wings
Of half-awaken'd dreams; while all things there
Seem slowly turning into other things,
As, down the bowery hollows to the brim
Of immemorial seas, melodious springs
From undiscoverable sources bear
Primeval secrets.
That were Man's once familiar intimates,
Far from the menace of his murderous eyes
Whither, O whither are they gone? The gates
Of Paradise are shut for ever, and there
No refuge for Man's victims, nor for him,
Remains on earth. But, from the bowers that were
110
Sow'd in the waste one seed. A forest fair
Sprang from it—giant trees of lusty limb,
Long vaults of bloom and verdure never bare,
Where forms, half-bird half-blossom, flash and swim
From bough to bough, and, husht in windless air,
Soft shadows flutter from the whisperous wings
Of half-awaken'd dreams; while all things there
Seem slowly turning into other things,
As, down the bowery hollows to the brim
Of immemorial seas, melodious springs
From undiscoverable sources bear
Primeval secrets.
Deep into the dim
But deathless shelter of that blest repair
Those gentle beasts departed, and became
Forthwith imperishably fabulous.
For History, that doth so loud proclaim
And with such curiosity discuss
Man's perishable life and course unstable,
Of them and theirs knows nothing, and the name
Of their unfading Forest Home is Fable.
But deathless shelter of that blest repair
Those gentle beasts departed, and became
Forthwith imperishably fabulous.
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And with such curiosity discuss
Man's perishable life and course unstable,
Of them and theirs knows nothing, and the name
Of their unfading Forest Home is Fable.
Far off, and ever farther off from us,
That Forest and the dwellers in it seem,
As far and farther on we travel fast,
And more and more like a remember'd dream
Becomes the glimmering wonder of the Past.
But, o'er a wingèd and four-footed folk
Whose unsophisticated nature yields
Spontaneous service to her even yoke,
There Justice reigns revered; there Pity shields
An else defenceless flock; and there do they
Their joint tribunal hold, where every cause
That in this human world hath gone astray,
And honest trial miss'd, by lovelier laws
Than ours is welcomed to impartial test,
All cases pleaded, be they what they may,
All rights establish'd, and all wrongs redress'd.
How far away it seems, how far away!
That Forest and the dwellers in it seem,
As far and farther on we travel fast,
And more and more like a remember'd dream
Becomes the glimmering wonder of the Past.
But, o'er a wingèd and four-footed folk
Whose unsophisticated nature yields
Spontaneous service to her even yoke,
There Justice reigns revered; there Pity shields
An else defenceless flock; and there do they
Their joint tribunal hold, where every cause
That in this human world hath gone astray,
112
Than ours is welcomed to impartial test,
All cases pleaded, be they what they may,
All rights establish'd, and all wrongs redress'd.
How far away it seems, how far away!
Yet one step only from the trodden track
That to its daily pilgrims, every one,
Appears to be the very zodiac
The universe itself is travelling on,
Let any man but turn aside, and lo!
Around whatever path he chance to pace
With steps unconscious of the way they go
Far-reaching Fable's million-branch'd embrace
Doth its unfathomable influence throw.
That to its daily pilgrims, every one,
Appears to be the very zodiac
The universe itself is travelling on,
Let any man but turn aside, and lo!
Around whatever path he chance to pace
With steps unconscious of the way they go
Far-reaching Fable's million-branch'd embrace
Doth its unfathomable influence throw.
To him who tells these tales such chance befell
Once on a time: and in that Forest old
('Tho' how he enter'd it he cannot tell)
With one whose face he may no more behold
Or there or here, he was beguiled to dwell
Full many a month. But few of his own kind,
Among the folk who there safe dwelling have,
To greet him or to guide him did he find.
Of these, the wisest was a Phrygian slave,
The holiest Assisi's tender Saint.
Phœdrus upon the borders of the land
Sat listening; and to him came echoes faint
From voices far within. His careful hand
On tablets smooth deliberately wrote
In unimpulsive verse, correctly plann'd,
All that thus reach'd him from a source remote.
But there, without restraint, from place to place
And led by none, tho' follow'd by a band
Of Loves and Graces whose light steps kept pace
With his inimitably varied lay,
Free-footed went the witty Fabulist
Of social France. And there our English Gay,
Methodically playful, neither miss'd
Nor much advanced his unadventurous way.
Once on a time: and in that Forest old
113
With one whose face he may no more behold
Or there or here, he was beguiled to dwell
Full many a month. But few of his own kind,
Among the folk who there safe dwelling have,
To greet him or to guide him did he find.
Of these, the wisest was a Phrygian slave,
The holiest Assisi's tender Saint.
Phœdrus upon the borders of the land
Sat listening; and to him came echoes faint
From voices far within. His careful hand
On tablets smooth deliberately wrote
In unimpulsive verse, correctly plann'd,
All that thus reach'd him from a source remote.
But there, without restraint, from place to place
And led by none, tho' follow'd by a band
Of Loves and Graces whose light steps kept pace
With his inimitably varied lay,
114
Of social France. And there our English Gay,
Methodically playful, neither miss'd
Nor much advanced his unadventurous way.
Howbeit along that dim and vast domain
From the discourse of any one of these
Scant guidance did its last explorer gain.
There were so many more instructors! Trees,
Rocks, rivers, rainbows, clouds, dews, wind, and rain,
No less than birds and beasts, that live at ease
An unmolested life by hill and plain
Throughout its vocal realms (where all that is
Is all alive) have tongues, and talk as well
As men or books; nor do they take amiss
The questions ask'd them, nor refuse to tell
Their secrets to the souls that, lingering there,
Have learn'd their language.
From the discourse of any one of these
Scant guidance did its last explorer gain.
There were so many more instructors! Trees,
Rocks, rivers, rainbows, clouds, dews, wind, and rain,
No less than birds and beasts, that live at ease
An unmolested life by hill and plain
Throughout its vocal realms (where all that is
Is all alive) have tongues, and talk as well
As men or books; nor do they take amiss
The questions ask'd them, nor refuse to tell
Their secrets to the souls that, lingering there,
Have learn'd their language.
115
What this listener heard,
There lingering long, he may not here declare.
But many a tale to him by beast and bird
In Fable Land imparted (if time spare
The life of any purpose long deferr'd,
Or to postponed occasion, when 'tis won,
Recall an errant will's disbanded powers)
Fain would he tell beneath the lingering sun
Of months unborn, that hide midsummer hours
Whose golden gossamers have not yet spun
Their shining clues to still-unblossom'd bowers.
There lingering long, he may not here declare.
But many a tale to him by beast and bird
In Fable Land imparted (if time spare
The life of any purpose long deferr'd,
Or to postponed occasion, when 'tis won,
Recall an errant will's disbanded powers)
Fain would he tell beneath the lingering sun
Of months unborn, that hide midsummer hours
Whose golden gossamers have not yet spun
Their shining clues to still-unblossom'd bowers.
| After Paradise or Legends of Exile | |