University of Virginia Library

SCENE IV.

—A week later. Sundown. The tents of Afrael and Noema.
NOEMA
(sol.)
Yonder they come; my comely Afrael,
And little Irad ambling at his side,
Linked hand in hand. How kindly doth he lean
His ear to childlike prattle, even as when,
Whilst yet a Spirit, by my earthly voice
He let himself be captured! Oh, but 'tis
A gentle soul, dissembling half its strength,
'Neath the smooth garb of prompt urbanity,
Like to that awful force in nature hid,
Which only shows itself in fruits and flowers!
How strangely, too, Irad seems drawn to him,
Quitting him never. Why, I almost think
The boy as lief would be with him as me,
And loves him even more, were't possible.
For we are one, and who loves him loves both.
Yet were it strange to feel such preference?
When men have gentleness as well as strength,
They are both men and women, and it haps
They answer either purpose. Oh! how fair,
How beautiful he is! ay, fairer e'en
Than when he shimmered, dazzling, on my gaze,
And was but scent and sunshine! How I love him
And he seems happy in this lower lot,
Which he still vows not less nor lower is,
But higher, better, and more spiritual.
Oh! had he not been happy! What a thought!
It almost blotted out the wholesome sun,
Swift as it passed me. Had I worked the spell
Which flesh endows me with, to drag him down,
A free, a happy, lofty, wingëd Spirit,
Into the mire of darksome slavery,
And disillusion's dungeon! Think of it!
Demons of Hell, and Seraphim of Heaven,
Have no such power as women; and the weal
Of this poor Earth hangs on its exercise!

[Irad, leaving Afrael, and outstripping him, comes running to his mother.
IRAD.
See, mother, what a lovely nest I have,
With all its little brood; not fledged as yet,
But daintily feathered almost to their beaks,
And snugly cuddled up within their crib!
I almost wish I were a bird myself;
They look so cosy.

NOEMA.
What a pretty sight!

IRAD.
Yes, but when first we looked at them, they made
Such a commotion! opened yellow nibs,
Fluttered and tumbled 'gainst each other so,
And cheeped, and gaped, and almost asked for food.
I thought they would have spoken! But we poured
Crushed, moistened millet down their hungry crops,
And they are happy now, and lie quite close,
And have forgot their mother.

NOEMA.
Where is she?

IRAD.
Ah! is it not sad? A cruel, greedy snake
Hath made them orphans; otherwise we had
Not ta'en them from their home. For Afrael says
We must be kind to bird, and beast, and tree,
Even as to man!

NOEMA.
Observe him, then, my child!
For, as I love to hear him moralise,
All these unto ourselves are kin and bound
By common veins of sadness and of mirth,
Pain, pleasure, struggle, passive sufferance,
Infirmity, and death! and what they lend
To human services, emotion, thought,
And speculation which maintains us lords
Of them and all things, our affections should
With a compassionate mindfulness repay.
Stamp that on memory, Irad!

IRAD.
So I will.
Even the serpent with its shifty eyes
He lets writhe on unhurt; and when I urge
That it hath been the source of all our woe,
He answers that its woe is worse than ours,
And will not hear the name of enmity!
Things that, of old, at hint of human step,
Started, and straight into the thicket fled,
Come at the sound of his inviting voice,
Sniff at his heels and nibble from his palm,
Or rub against his knees their charmëd ears.
O mother! he is native kindliness,
And all harsh growths are foreign to his heart.

NOEMA.
Be like him then, my child, and take thy hues
And shape from his example!

IRAD.
Now I must go
And seek a leafy eastward-facing nook,
Which I can reach and pry in, for these mites,
And feed them every morning, noon, and eve,
Until, as Afrael says, they feel their wings,
And fly from us to freedom!

NOEMA.
Go, then, child!

[Irad runs off, and as Afrael approaches. Noema goes to meet him. They embrace.