 | Number Twenty |  |
161
A NEW YEAR'S VISION.
I.
Far on the outside edge of things,
Within a measurable distance
Of those Nineteen Concentric Rings
That gird the Realm of Non-existence,
Within a measurable distance
Of those Nineteen Concentric Rings
That gird the Realm of Non-existence,
A traveller in that region sees
A sort of Purgatorial Limbo,
Where sits, each New Year's Day, at ease,
A cynic Spirit, arms a-kimbo,
A sort of Purgatorial Limbo,
Where sits, each New Year's Day, at ease,
A cynic Spirit, arms a-kimbo,
With many thousand spirit-clerks,
Who enter in their shadowy ledgers,
Each with appropriate remarks,
The vows of many million pledgers.
Who enter in their shadowy ledgers,
Each with appropriate remarks,
The vows of many million pledgers.
The books are kept till twelve at night,
Then closed to further contributions,
And on the backs these words they write,
“New Year,” and “Virtuous Resolutions.”
Then closed to further contributions,
And on the backs these words they write,
“New Year,” and “Virtuous Resolutions.”
They wrap them in a piece of sky,
And seal them up for safe deposit,
And for a twelvemonth let them lie
Locked in the Transcendental Closet.
And seal them up for safe deposit,
And for a twelvemonth let them lie
Locked in the Transcendental Closet.
162
II.
I'm told that on the thirty-first
Of every following December,
To hear those books' contents rehearsed
Is—well, is something to remember.
Of every following December,
To hear those books' contents rehearsed
Is—well, is something to remember.
The Chief recites the righteous deeds
That each man's virtuous New Year's will meant;
The clerk who made the entry reads
Statistics of the vow's fulfilment.
That each man's virtuous New Year's will meant;
The clerk who made the entry reads
Statistics of the vow's fulfilment.
'Tis said—I do not vouch it true;
It may be a malicious sally—
That on comparison, the two
Do not invariably tally.
It may be a malicious sally—
That on comparison, the two
Do not invariably tally.
Their difference causes, 'tis believed,
A shock to optimistic notions,
And its discovery is received
With quite a mixture of emotions.
A shock to optimistic notions,
And its discovery is received
With quite a mixture of emotions.
Some spirits weep, while others muse
Like surgeons o'er experience clinic.
The Registrar's acquired the views
Of an incorrigible cynic.
Like surgeons o'er experience clinic.
The Registrar's acquired the views
Of an incorrigible cynic.
And 'tis from that contempt unchecked
For all mankind, which he alleges,
That he permits me to inspect
The year's new batch of New Year's pledges.
For all mankind, which he alleges,
That he permits me to inspect
The year's new batch of New Year's pledges.
163
III.
Ay! here they are, a long array,
Close written, pages upon pages,
With countless signatures to-day
Of either sex, and all the ages.
Close written, pages upon pages,
With countless signatures to-day
Of either sex, and all the ages.
The sick, the well, the sage, the dunce,
Of every rank and every calling;
The sinner who has stumbled once,
The sinner who is always falling.
Of every rank and every calling;
The sinner who has stumbled once,
The sinner who is always falling.
The gay, the grave, the dull, the bright,
The wild, the mild, the weak, the able,
The statesman on the Speaker's right,
The statesman from across the table.
The wild, the mild, the weak, the able,
The statesman on the Speaker's right,
The statesman from across the table.
The lawyers, doctors, and divines,
The will-be wise, and would-be witty;
The man who “does a bit in mines”;
The man who's “something in the City.”
The will-be wise, and would-be witty;
The man who “does a bit in mines”;
The man who's “something in the City.”
The money-lender and the heirs,
The callow youths with expectations,
The beggars and the millionaries,
The wealthy aunts, and poor relations.
The callow youths with expectations,
The beggars and the millionaries,
The wealthy aunts, and poor relations.
Jockeys, and journalists, and cooks,
And drunkards, and excessive smokers,
Tipsters and pigeons, touts and rooks,
Play-actors, painters, bankers, brokers.
And drunkards, and excessive smokers,
Tipsters and pigeons, touts and rooks,
Play-actors, painters, bankers, brokers.
164
IV.
And then their resolutions! Well!
You couldn't, had you seen, forget them.
These votaries vowing to expel
The sin that chiefly doth beset them.
You couldn't, had you seen, forget them.
These votaries vowing to expel
The sin that chiefly doth beset them.
Conceive the “party man” self-bound
To steer a course of moral beauty,
And grow, before the year comes round,
A backbone, and a sense of duty!
To steer a course of moral beauty,
And grow, before the year comes round,
A backbone, and a sense of duty!
The Irish patriot pledged to curb
The tongue that runs a thought too gaily,
And “do with” one expressive verb
And three “descriptive” epithets daily!
The tongue that runs a thought too gaily,
And “do with” one expressive verb
And three “descriptive” epithets daily!
The preacher eloquent, self-shorn
To quarter-of-an-hourly sermons!
The scientific person, sworn
To own his borrowings from the Germans!
To quarter-of-an-hourly sermons!
The scientific person, sworn
To own his borrowings from the Germans!
The high financier, self-confined
To undertakings safe as churches!
The smart promoter quite resigned
To “place” no shares he wouldn't purchase!
To undertakings safe as churches!
The smart promoter quite resigned
To “place” no shares he wouldn't purchase!
The bad, in short, to goodness vowed,
Irascibility to meekness,
To sweet humility the proud,
To strength and honour shame and weakness.
Irascibility to meekness,
To sweet humility the proud,
To strength and honour shame and weakness.
165
V.
So, as I close the book, I say,
“All earnestly though men assert you,
O moral promises-to-pay,
And I.O.U.'s from Man to Virtue,
“All earnestly though men assert you,
O moral promises-to-pay,
And I.O.U.'s from Man to Virtue,
“I fear that when the day comes round
(That thirty-first of next December),
The audit will again be found
To be—well, something to remember.
(That thirty-first of next December),
The audit will again be found
To be—well, something to remember.
“Yet though, one knows, fulfilment's scope
Can hardly equal your dimensions,
It still would be but kind to hope
That most of you, O Good Intentions,
Can hardly equal your dimensions,
It still would be but kind to hope
That most of you, O Good Intentions,
“Throughout the year your ground may hold,
All pressure of temptation braving,
And relatively few be sold
By contract, for infernal paving.”
All pressure of temptation braving,
And relatively few be sold
By contract, for infernal paving.”
| Number Twenty | |