University of Virginia Library

SCENE II.

The mirage dissolving reveals a grassy terrace looking upon an open space, in the midst of which rises Mount Moria.
Enter the Archangel Gabriel, conducting Adam and Eve.
GABRIEL.
Lo, where it stands; the sacred table-land
And Mount of Vision promised to your gaze!
Behold its fair foundations lifted high
Upon the summits of the holy hills;
Figure of her, whose sanctity begins
Where others terminate. Behold, behold,
The Mount of mounts: Heav'n's sacred vestibule,
Jerusalem's fair seat in future days,
Predestined habitation of the Lord,
Where He shall dwell for ages, and well-pleased
Incense and holy sacrifice receive;
Umbrageous now, and in the glory clad
Of late creation; but in after-times,
When o'er the world a roaring flood has swept,
Far different to appear! There shall ye see,
Upon its verdant heaven-embracing floor,
Your Child in glory immarcessible
Sitting enthroned beneath the mystic shade
Of Life's ambrosial Tree—Mother elect
Of Life and all who live: and there shall view,
Before her with exultant pæans throng,
Gather'd from all the onward centuries,
The Patriarchal train, of which already
As hitherward we came, ye saw the skirts
Winding along the valley's further side;
And heard its herald note of victory
Peal from a thousand trumpets with a blast
That shook the realms of chaos and of night.
And now, farewell: henceforth ye need me not,
O fountain-heads august of all mankind!
Sufficient of yourselves to find the way.

[He vanishes.
ADAM.
How sudden was his parting! such the gift
Of incorporeal natures. Fare thee well,
Bright Messenger of peace! and bear aloft
To other worlds the tale of Adam's fall,
To be their warning through the tracts of time.
Come, Eve, rejoice with me in this fair scene.
O contrast exquisite
With that interminable desert waste
Which late we trod! Ah, what an odorous waft
Of Paradisal perfume hither steals
From shrubs innumerous, whose circlet fair
Encompasses as with a flowery belt
The Mount of God. O balm ineffable,
At which mine eyes, that seem'd as adamant,
In blissful tears dissolve! Hail, sacred hill!
Hail, second Eden, fairer than the first!
Be quick, my best beloved; let us press on,
And mount without delay yon gracious stair
Of Heaven-ascending heights, lest with a breath
The vision melt before our yearning eyes,
And leave us doubly desolate.

EVE.
Bethink thee,
My Adam, with what face can we appear
In that most holy vestibule, disrobed
As here we stand, of our first innocence?
Such is the fear that in my bosom thrills.

ADAM.
And rightly, had we no sure confidence
Elsewhere obtain'd. But, O my timorous Eve,
These honourable vestments clothing us,
So delicately wrought in fairest form
And exquisite variety of tint,
Lovely adornments from the loving hand
Of God Himself—what else are they but tokens
Exterior of a new interior grace,
Infused within us through the priceless merits
Of Him who is to come? In this array'd,
Though of ourselves most wholly miserable,
We have no cause for shame. Why, then, delay
His counsel to fulfil who brought us hither?

EVE.
Adam thy will is mine. Too much already
Has disobedience cost us. Lead thou on;
My heart is burning with desire to see
The sacred Virgin to be born of me.

[Exeunt Adam and Eve.
A mirage as before, representing Rome as in the age of Augustus.
PRIESTS.
Ere yet primeval Chaos reign'd;
Ere matter yet had form obtain'd;
Far in the Empyrean height
A vacant Throne of purest light
Aloft o'er worlds angelic raised
In solitary glory blazed.

VIRGINS.
The Seraphs, from the topmost tier
That girdles Heav'n's eternal sphere,
With awe the distant wonder eyed,
And vainly to interpret tried;
No creature worthy could they see
To sit in such high majesty.

PRIESTS.
But not in vain th' Eternal Mind
Hath its eternal scheme design'd;
Now, therefore, in the midst of years
This Child immaculate appears,
Worthy alone of all to fill
That Throne so inaccessible!

VIRGINS.
Hail, Mary, purest Gem of earth!
Hail, child of grace before thy birth!
Whose path from grace to grace ascends,
And in supremest glory ends.
Hail, Daughter of th' Eternal King,
From whom the Life of life shall spring!

PRIESTS.
O, how for thee the Angels sigh,
Eager to waft thee to the sky!
Too long to them the days appear
That yet detain thee captive here;
Where, quench'd in mists of earth below,
Thy rays of glory dimly glow.

VIRGINS.
Ascend, ascend, Imperial Queen!
Forsake this limitary scene;
Forsake this lower darksome place
Which guilt and misery deface:
A higher world invites thee on
To splendour and dominion!

PRIESTS AND VIRGINS TOGETHER.
Ascend, ascend, Imperial Queen!
Ascend, and plead the cause of men!
Ascend, and reign upon the Throne
Predestinated thine alone!
Ascend, where none before have trod!
Ascend, the Mother of thy God!