s: Thou art too young, too full of lusty health


s: To go through life, unloving and unloved;


s: To feel that thirst and hunger of the soul


s: We cannot still; that longing, that wild impulse,


s: And struggle after something we have not


s: And cannot have; the effort to be strong


s: And, like the Spartan boy, to smile, and smile,


s: While secret wounds do bleed beneath our cloaks


s: All this the dead feel not,--the dead alone!


s: Vict.  It cannot be too soon; for I am weary


s: Where strangers walk as friends, and friends as strangers;


s: Where whispers overheard betray false hearts;


s: And through the mazes of the crowd we chase


s: Some form of loveliness, that smiles, and beckons,


s: And cheats us with fair words, only to leave us


s: A mockery and a jest; maddened,--confused,--


s: Enjoy the merry shrove-tide of thy youth!


s: Take each fair mask for what it gives itself,


s: Vict.                         I confess,


s: That were the wiser part.  But Hope no longer


s: Much like a poor and shipwrecked mariner,


s: Who, struggling to climb up into the boat,


s: Has both his bruised and bleeding hands cut off,


s: The strength of thine own arm is thy salvation.


s: Above thy head, through rifted clouds, there shines


s: A glorious star.  Be patient.  Trust thy star!


s: (Sound of a village belt in the distance.)


s: Ringing the chimes from yonder village belfry!


s: A solemn sound, that echoes far and wide


s: And bids the laboring hind a-field, the shepherd,


s: Guarding his flock, the lonely muleteer,


s: And all the crowd in village streets, stand still,


s: And breathe a prayer unto the blessed Virgin!


s: Hyp.  Amen! amen!  Not half a league from hence


s: Vict.       This path will lead us to it,


s: Over the wheat-fields, where the shadows sail


s: Across the running sea, now green, now blue,


s: Whistles the quail.  Come, let us hasten on.


s: SCENE II. -- Public square in the village of Guadarrama.  The Ave


s: Pedro C.  Keep silence all!  I have an edict here


s: From our most gracious lord, the King of Spain,


s: Which I shall publish in the market-place.


s: (Enter the PADRE CURA at the door of his cottage.)


s: Good day! and, pray you, hear this edict read.


s: Padre C.  Good day, and God be with you!  Pray, what is it?


s: Pedro C. (reads).  "I hereby order and command,


s: Be banished from the realm, as vagabonds


s: And beggars; and if, after seventy days,


s: Any be found within our kingdom's bounds,


s: They shall receive a hundred lashes each;


s: The second time, shall have their ears cut off;


s: The third, be slaves for life to him who takes them,


s: Or burnt as heretics.  Signed, I, the King."


s: Vile miscreants and creatures unbaptized!


s: Pancho.  And if in seventy days you are not gone,


s: Padre C.  A righteous law!  A very righteous law!


s: (They seat themselves on a bench at the PADRE CURAS door.  Sound


s: of guitars heard at a distance, approaching during the dialogue


s: Now tell me, Padre Cura,--you know all things,


s: And hence are thieves and vagrants, Sir Alcalde,


s: And, look you, as Fray Jayme Bleda says,


s: There are a hundred marks to prove a Moor


s: Never baptize their children, nor keep Lent,


s: Nor see the inside of a church,--nor--nor--


s: Pedro C.  Good reasons, good, substantial reasons all!


s: They should be burnt, I see it plain enough,


s: Pedro C.  More vagrants!  By Saint Lazarus, more vagrants!


s: Hyp.  Good evening, gentlemen!  Is this Guadarrama?


s: Padre C.  Yes, Guadarrama, and good evening to you.


s: Hyp.  We seek the Padre Cura of the village;


s: And, judging from your dress and reverend mien,


s: Padre C.     I am.  Pray, what's your pleasure?


s: Hyp.  We are poor students, traveling in vacation.


s: (Touching the wooden spoon in his hat-band.


s: Padre C. (joyfully).  Ay, know it, and have worn it.


s: Front the first moment I beheld your face,


s: I said within myself, "This is the man!"


s: There is a certain something in your looks,


s: A certain scholar-like and studious something,--


s: You understand,--which cannot be mistaken;


s: Hyp.  As we approached, I said to my companion,


s: "That is the Padre Cura; mark my words!"


s: Meaning your Grace.  "The other man," said I,


s: Why, that was Pedro Crespo, the alcalde!


s: Hyp.  Indeed! you much astonish me!  His air


s: Who have their camp here in the neighborhood.


s: There's nothing so undignified as anger.


s: Hyp.  The Padre Cura will excuse our boldness,


s: To have such guests beneath my humble roof.


s: To speak with scholars; and Emollit mores,


s: Hyp.  Your Grace is right.  You are the better scholar.


s: Now what a dunce was I to think it Ovid!


s: SCENE III. -- A room in the PADRE CURA'S  house.  Enter the PADRE


s: Padre C.  So then, Senor, you come from Alcala.


s: I am glad to hear it.  It was there I studied.


s: Hyp.  And left behind an honored name, no doubt.


s: Hyp.  Descended from the Marquis Santillana?


s: Has brought me hither!  Yet once more!--once more!


s: Will shake his hoary head, and say, "Alas!


s: Padre C.  I did not think my name remembered there.


s: Hyp.  More than remembered; it is idolized.


s: Hyp.  A grave and sombre man, whose beetling brow


s: O'erhangs the rushing current of his speech


s: As rocks o'er rivers hang.  Have you forgotten?


s: Padre C.  Indeed, I have.  O, those were pleasant days,


s: Those college days!  I ne'er shall see the like!


s: I've turned my back on what was then before me;


s: And the bright faces of my young companions


s: Are wrinkled like my own, or are no more.


s: Padre C.  Fool that I am!  He was before your time.


s: Hyp.  I should not like to try my strength with you.


s: Padre C.  Well, well.  But I forget; you must be hungry.


s: Hyp.  You may be proud of such a niece as that.


s: Padre C.  This gentleman is hungry.  See thou to it.


s: Padre C.  And bring a bottle of my Val-de-Penas


s: Out of the cellar.  Stay; I'll go myself.


s: One word with you.  Bless me I what handsome eyes!


s: Hyp.  Yes, yes; I know they did.  Give me your hand.


s: I'll tell you what they said.  They said,--they said,


s: The shepherd boy that loved you was a clown,


s: And him you should not marry.  Was it not?


s: What a soft, little hand!  And then they said,


s: A cavalier from court, handsome, and tall


s: And rich, should come one day to marry you,


s: (Tries to kiss her.  She runs off.  Enter VICTORIAN, with a


s: His whole arm's length, drinking the blood-red wine.


s: That lying tongue deceive me!  Preciosa,


s: Hyp.  What news is this, that makes thy cheek turn pale,


s: The Count of Lara is a worthless villain!


s: He swore to be revenged; and set on foot


s: A plot to ruin her, which has succeeded.


s: She has been hissed and hooted from the stage,


s: Her reputation stained by slanderous lies


s: Too foul to speak of; and, once more a beggar,


s: She roams a wanderer over God's green earth


s: The Age of Gold, and make the shepherd swains


s: Desperate with love, like Gasper Gil's Diana.


s: How have I wronged that meek, confiding heart!


s: I will go seek for her; and with my tears


s: Delusion, madness, call it what thou wilt,


s: I will confess my weakness,--I still love her!


s: I thank thee!  She is found! is found again!


s: Hyp.  And have they with them a pale, beautiful girl,


s: He is half famished with this long day's journey.


s: Padre C.  Then, pray you, come this way.  The supper waits.


s: SCENE IV. -- A post-house on the road to Segovia, not far from


s: the village of Guadarrama.  Enter CHISPA, cracking a whip, and


s: Chispa.  Halloo!  Don Fulano!  Let us have horses, and quickly.


s: Alas, poor Chispa! what a dog's life dost thou lead!  I thought,


s: when I left my old master Victorian, the student, to serve my


s: For when the abbot plays cards, what can you expect of the


s: friars?  But, in running away from the thunder, I have run into


s: the lightning. Here I am in hot chase after my master and his


s: Chispa.  I should think not, for the hostler seems to be


s: asleep. Ho! within there!  Horses! horses! horses!  (He knocks at


s: Mosq.  Pray, have a little patience.  I'm not a musket.


s: Chispa.  Health and pistareens!  I'm glad to see you come on


s: Mosq.  You cannot have fresh horses; because there are none.


s: Chispa.  Cachiporra! Throw that bone to another dog.  Do I look


s: Chispa.  Yes; and going to Estramadura.  Get us horses.


s: Chispa.  Why, the latest news is, that I am going to set up a


s: coach, and I have already bought the whip.


s: Don C.  Enough of this folly.  Let us have horses.  (Gives


s: money to MOSQUITO.)  It is almost dark; and we are in haste.  But


s: Mosq.  Yes; and they are still in the neighborhood.


s: Mosq.  Across the fields yonder, in the woods near Guadarrama.


s: Chispa.  Are you not afraid of the evil eye?  Have you a stag's


s: Don C.  Fear not.  We will pass the night at the village.


s: Chispa.  And sleep like the Squires of Hernan Daza, nine under


s: Don C.  I hope we may find the Preciosa among them.


s: Chispa.  I hope we may; for we are giving ourselves trouble


s: enough on her account.  Don't you think so?  However, there is no


s: working at a forge.  Others playing cards by the firelight.


s: O how from their fury shall I flee, flee, flee?


s: Down with your John-Dorados, and let us make an end.


s: Cruz.  Come hither, Murcigalleros and Rastilleros; leave work,


s: leave play; listen to your orders for the night.  (Speaking to


s: the right.)  You will get you to the village, mark you, by the


s: Cruz. (to the left).  And you, by the pole with the hermit's


s: Cruz.  As soon as you see the planets are out, in with you, and


s: be busy with the ten commandments, under the sly, and Saint


s: Cruz.  Keep your lanterns open, and, if you see a goblin or a


s: papagayo, take to your trampers.  Vineyards and Dancing John is


s: (Exeunt severally.  CRUZADO walks up the stage, and disappears


s: Prec.  How strangely gleams through the gigantic trees


s: The red light of the forge!  Wild, beckoning shadows


s: Rising and bending with the flickering flame,


s: Then flitting into darkness!  So within me


s: Strange hopes and fears do beckon to each other,


s: My brightest hopes giving dark fears a being


s: As the light does the shadow.  Woe is me


s: How still it is about me, and how lonely!


s: Bart.  From the rough ridges of the wild Sierra,


s: From caverns in the rocks, from hunger, thirst,


s: And fever!  Like a wild wolf to the sheepfold.


s: The Count of Lara's blood is on thy hands!


s: The Count of Lara's curse is on thy soul!


s: Do not come near me!  Pray, begone from here


s: Thou art in danger!  They have set a price


s: Have seen no human face, save the rough swineherd's.


s: The wind and rain have been my sole companions.


s: I shouted to them from the rocks thy name,


s: Till I grew mad.  I could not stay from thee,


s: And I am here!  Betray me, if thou wilt.


s: I come for thee! for thee I thus brave death!


s: Fly with me o'er the borders of this realm!


s: Prec.  Speak of that no more.  I cannot.


s: When we were children! how we played together,


s: How we grew up together; how we plighted


s: Our hearts unto each other, even in childhood!


s: Fulfil thy promise, for the hour has come.


s: I'm hunted from the kingdom, like a wolf!


s: Not mine.  I never gave my heart to thee,


s: I will speak frankly.  I have never loved thee;


s: I cannot love thee.  This is not my fault,


s: Restless and violent.  What wouldst thou with me,


s: A feeble girl, who have not long to live,


s: Whose heart is broken?  Seek another wife,


s: Thy rash and headlong moods estrange her from thee.


s: Thou art unhappy in this hopeless passion,


s: I never sought thy love; never did aught


s: That hurries thee to crimes and deeds of blood,


s: I will be gentle.  Thou shalt teach me patience.


s: Prec.  Then take this farewell, and depart in peace.


s: Bart.         Then woe, eternal woe, upon thee!


s: Thou shalt not be another's.  Thou shalt die.


s: Prec.  All holy angels keep me in this hour!


s: Spirit of her who bore me, look upon me!


s: Mother of God, the glorified, protect me!


s: Christ and the saints, be merciful unto me!


s: Yet why should I fear death?  What is it to die?


s: To leave all disappointment, care, and sorrow,


s: To leave all falsehood, treachery, and unkindness,


s: Be of good cheer!  When thou shalt cease to beat,


s: Then shalt thou cease to suffer and complain!


s: Vict.  'T is she!  Behold, how beautiful she stands


s: Vict.  I pray thee, stand aside.  Leave me.


s: That voice! that voice from heaven!  O speak again!


s: I thank thee, Heaven, that thou hast heard my prayer,


s: And sent me this protector!  Now be strong,


s: Be strong, my heart!  I must dissemble here.


s: Fear not; come hither.  So; can you tell fortunes?


s: Prec.  Not in the dark.  Come nearer to the fire.


s: Give me your hand.  It is not crossed, I see.


s: Vict. (putting a piece of gold into her hand).  There is the


s: Prec.  There's a fair lady at the Court, who loves you,


s: And this same passionate humor in your blood


s: Has marred your fortune.  Yes; I see it now;


s: The line of life is crossed by many marks.


s: Shame! shame!  O you have wronged the maid who loved you!


s: For she I loved was then a maid no more.


s: Your hand is cold, like a deceiver's hand!


s: Make her your wife, for you have been abused;


s: And you shall mend your fortunes, mending hers.


s: Vict. (aside).  How like an angel's speaks the tongue of woman,


s: When pleading in another's cause her own!


s: Pray give it me. (Tries to take the ring.)


s: I'll give it back to you; or, if I keep it,


s: Will give you gold to buy you twenty such.


s: A whim, and nothing more.  I would fain keep it


s: I will not part with it, even when I die;


s: But bid my nurse fold my pale fingers thus,


s: That it may not fall from them.  'T is a token


s: Prec.  Yes; dead to me; and worse than dead.


s: He is estranged!  And yet I keep this ring.


s: I will rise with it from my grave hereafter,


s: Vict. (aside).  Be still, my swelling heart! one moment, still!


s: Why, 't is the folly of a love-sick girl.


s: Come, give it me, or I will say 't is mine,


s: Look in my face, and say if there is aught


s: I have not dared, I would not dare for thee!


s: Prec.  'T is thou! 't is thou!  Yes; yes; my heart's elected!


s: My dearest-dear Victorian! my soul's heaven!


s: Where hast thou been so long?  Why didst thou leave me?


s: Vict.  Ask me not now, my dearest Preciosa.


s: Vict.  Forgive me, sweet! for what I made thee suffer.


s: Think'st thou this heart could feel a moment's joy,


s: Indeed, since that sad hour I have not slept,


s: Dost thou forgive me?  Say, wilt thou forgive me?


s: Prec.  I have forgiven thee.  Ere those words of anger


s: Were in the book of Heaven writ down against thee,


s: That walks the earth, to have believed thee false.


s: Has worked me harm enough.  Hast thou not heard--


s: Vict.  I have heard all.  And yet speak on, speak on!


s: Let me but hear thy voice, and I am happy;


s: For every tone, like some sweet incantation,


s: Calls up the buried past to plead for me.


s: Hyp.  All gentle quarrels in the pastoral poets,


s: All passionate love scenes in the best romances,


s: All chaste embraces on the public stage,


s: All soft adventures, which the liberal stars


s: Have winked at, as the natural course of things,


s: Have been surpassed here by my friend, the student,


s: Prec.  Senor Hypolito!  I kiss your hand.


s: For, should you treat me as you did Victorian,


s: And send me back to marry maids forlorn,


s: My wedding day would last from now till Christmas.


s: (Enters booted, with a whip and lantern.


s: Why such a fearful din?  Hast thou been robbed?


s: Chispa.  Ay, robbed and murdered; and good evening to you,


s: Good news from Court; good news!  Beltran Cruzado,


s: The Count of the Cales, is not your father,


s: But your true father has returned to Spain


s: Been drinking at the tavern to your health,


s: As wells drink in November, when it rains.


s: Prec.  Is this a dream?  O, if it be a dream,


s: Let me sleep on, and do not wake me yet!


s: Repeat thy story!  Say I'm not deceived!


s: And this his friend, Hypolito!  Speak! speak!


s: Let me not wake and find it all a dream!


s: Vict.  It is a dream, sweet child! a waking dream,


s: Of that rare happiness, which even on earth


s: Heaven gives to those it loves.  Now art thou rich,


s: Prec. (giving him her hand).  I have still


s: Chispa (aside).  And I have two to take.


s: I've heard my grandmother say, that Heaven gives almonds


s: To those who have no teeth.  That's nuts to crack,


s: I've teeth to spare, but where shall I find almonds?


s: Your friend, Don Carlos, is now at the village


s: The proofs of what I tell you.  The old hag,


s: Who stole you in your childhood, has confessed;


s: And probably they'll hang her for the crime,


s: Vict.  No; let it be a day of general joy;


s: Fortune comes well to all, that comes not late.


s: The student's wandering life!  Sweet serenades,


s: Sung under ladies' windows in the night,


s: Written in books, but here surpassed by truth,


s: SCENE VI. -- A pass in the Guadarrama mountains.  Early morning.


s: A muleteer crosses the stage, sitting sideways on his mule and


s: lighting a paper cigar with flint and steel.


s: 'T is the break of day, and we must away,


s: We shall have to pass through the dewy grass,


s: (Disappears down the pass.  Enter a Monk.  A shepherd appears on


s: Monk.  Ave Maria, gratia plena.  Ola! good man!


s: Monk.  What is that yonder in the valley?


s: Monk.  Are there robbers in these mountains?


s: Monk.  Santa Maria!  Come with me to San Ildefonso, and thou


s: (They disappear.  A mounted Contrabandista passes, wrapped in his


s: (Song dies away.  Enter PRECIOSA, on horseback, attended by


s: VICTORIAN, HYPOLITO, DON CARLOS, and CHISPA, on foot, and armed.)


s: Vict.  This is the highest point.  Here let us rest.


s: Kneeling, like hooded friars, the misty mountains


s: Where yonder steeples flash like lifted halberds,


s: As if an army smote their brazen shields,


s: Prec.            And which way lies Segovia?


s: Vict.  The merest flaw that dents the horizon's edge.


s: Wherein, you may remember, poor Gil Blas


s: Hundreds of feet plumb down to the Eresma,


s: That, like a serpent through the valley creeping,


s: Prec.               O yes!  I see it now,


s: Yet rather with my heart than with mine eyes,


s: So faint it is.  And all my thoughts sail thither,


s: Freighted with prayers and hopes, and forward urged


s: The Eastern Tale, against the wind and tide


s: Great ships were drawn to the Magnetic Mountains,


s: And there were wrecked, and perished in the sea!


s: Vict.  O gentle spirit!  Thou didst bear unmoved


s: But the first ray of sunshine that falls on thee


s: Melts thee to tears!  O, let thy weary heart


s: Lean upon mine! and it shall faint no more,


s: Nor thirst, nor hunger; but be comforted


s: My father waits.  Methinks I see him there,


s: Now looking from the window, and now watching


s: Each sound of wheels or footfall in the street,


s: And saying, "Hark! she comes!"  O father! father!


s: (They descend the pass.  CHISPA remains behind.)


s: Chispa.  I have a father, too, but he is a dead one.  Alas and


s: alack-a-day.  Poor was I born, and poor do I remain.  I neither


s: win nor lose.  Thus I was, through the world, half the time on


s: foot, and the other half walking; and always as merry as a


s: thunder-storm in the night.  And so we plough along, as the fly


s: said to the ox.  Who knows what may happen?  Patience, and


s: shuffle the cards!  I am not yet so bald that you can see my


s: brains; and perhaps, after all, I shall some day go to Rome, and


s: (A pause.  Then enter BARTOLOME wildly, as if in pursuit, with a


s: Bart.  They passed this way!  I hear their horses' hoofs!


s: Yonder I see them!  Come, sweet caramillo,


s: Ha! ha!  Well whistled, my sweet caramillo!


s: Well whistled!--I have missed her!--O my God!


s: (The shot is returned.  BARTOLOME falls).


s: And wakes, and finds his slumberous eyes


s: In the market-place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown;


s: Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the


s: As the summer morn was breaking, on that lofty tower I stood,


s: Not a sound rose from the city at that early morning hour,


s: But I heard a heart of iron beating in the ancient tower.


s: Then most musical and solemn, bringing back the olden times,


s: With their strange, unearthly changes rang the melancholy chimes,


s: Visions of the days departed, shadowy phantoms filled my brain;


s: They who live in history only seemed to walk the earth again;


s: All the Foresters of Flanders,--mighty Baldwin Bras de Fer,


s: I beheld the pageants splendid that adorned those days of old;


s: Lombard and Venetian merchants with deep-laden argosies;


s: Ministers from twenty nations; more than royal pomp and ease.


s: I beheld proud Maximilian, kneeling humbly on the ground;


s: I beheld the gentle Mary, hunting with her hawk and hound;


s: I beheld the Flemish weavers, with Namur and Juliers bold,


s: Marching homeward from the bloody battle of the Spurs of Gold;


s: Saw the light at Minnewater, saw the White Hoods moving west,


s: Saw great Artevelde victorious scale the Golden Dragon's nest.


s: And again the whiskered Spaniard all the land with terror smote;


s: And again the wild alarum sounded from the tocsin's throat;


s: Till the bell of Ghent responded o'er lagoon and dike of sand,


s: "I am Roland!  I am Roland! there is victory in the land!"


s: Then the sound of drums aroused me.  The awakened city's roar


s: Hours had passed away like minutes; and, before I was aware,


s: Lo! the shadow of the belfry crossed the sun-illumined square.


s: This is the place.  Stand still, my steed,


s: Through which I walked to church with thee,


s: Through the closed blinds the golden sun


s: Turned o'er the hymn-book's fluttering leaves


s: Though thoughts, deep-rooted in my heart,


s: This is the Arsenal.  From floor to ceiling,


s: Like a huge organ, rise the burnished arms;


s: But front their silent pipes no anthem pealing


s: Startles the villages with strange alarms.


s: Ah! what a sound will rise, how wild and dreary,


s: When the death-angel touches those swift keys


s: I hear even now the infinite fierce chorus,


s: Which, through the ages that have gone before us,


s: On helm and harness rings the Saxon hammer,


s: Through Cimbric forest roars the Norseman's song,


s: O'er distant deserts sounds the Tartar gong.


s: I hear the Florentine, who from his palace


s: Wheels out his battle-bell with dreadful din,


s: Beat the wild war-drums made of serpent's skin;


s: The tumult of each sacked and burning village;


s: The shout that every prayer for mercy drowns;


s: The soldiers' revels in the midst of pillage;


s: The wail of famine in beleaguered towns;


s: The bursting shell, the gateway wrenched asunder,


s: The rattling musketry, the clashing blade;


s: Is it, O man, with such discordant noises,


s: With such accursed instruments as these,


s: Thou drownest Nature's sweet and kindly voices,


s: Were half the power, that fills the world with terror,


s: Were half the wealth, bestowed on camps and courts,


s: Given to redeem the human mind from error,


s: There were no need of arsenals or forts:


s: The warrior's name would be a name abhorred!


s: And every nation, that should lift again


s: Its hand against a brother, on its forehead


s: Would wear forevermore the curse of Cain!


s: Down the dark future, through long generations,


s: The echoing sounds grow fainter and then cease;


s: And like a bell, with solemn, sweet vibrations,


s: I hear once more the voice of Christ say, "Peace!"


s: Peace! and no longer from its brazen portals


s: The blast of War's great organ shakes the skies!


s: But beautiful as songs of the immortals,


s: In the valley of the Pegnitz, where across broad meadow-lands


s: Memories of the Middle Ages, when the emperors, rough and bold,


s: Had their dwelling in thy castle, time-defying, centuries old;


s: In the court-yard of the castle, bound with many an iron hand,


s: Stands the mighty linden planted by Queen Cunigunde's hand;


s: On the square the oriel window, where in old heroic days


s: Sat the poet Melchior singing Kaiser Maximilian's praise.


s: Everywhere I see around me rise the wondrous world of Art:


s: And above cathedral doorways saints and bishops carved in stone,


s: By a former age commissioned as apostles to our own.


s: In the church of sainted Sebald sleeps enshrined his holy dust,


s: In the church of sainted Lawrence stands a pix of sculpture rare,


s: Here, when Art was still religion, with a simple, reverent heart,


s: Hence in silence and in sorrow, toiling still with busy hand,


s: Like an emigrant he wandered, seeking for the Better Land.


s: Emigravit is the inscription on the tombstone where he lies;


s: Dead he is not, but departed,--for the artist never dies.


s: Fairer seems the ancient city, and the sunshine seems more fair,


s: From remote and sunless suburbs came they to the friendly guild,


s: As the weaver plied the shuttle, wove he too the mystic rhyme,


s: And the smith his iron measures hammered to the anvil's chime;


s: Here Hans Sachs, the cobbler-poet, laureate of the gentle craft,


s: But his house is now an ale-house, with a nicely sanded floor,


s: And a garland in the window, and his face above the door;


s: Painted by some humble artist, as in Adam Puschman's song,


s: And at night the swart mechanic comes to drown his cark and care,


s: Vanished is the ancient splendor, and before my dreamy eye


s: Wave these mingled shapes and figures, like a faded tapestry.


s: Thus, O Nuremberg, a wanderer from a region far away,


s: Gathering from the pavement's crevice, as a floweret of the soil,


s: Dans les moments de la vie ou la reflexion devient plus calme


s: et plus profonde, ou l'interet et l'avarice parlent moins haut


s: que la raison, dans les instants de chagrin domestique, de


s: maladie, et de peril de mort, les nobles se repentirent de


s: posseder des serfs, comme d'une chose peu agreable a Dieu, qui


s: avait cree tous les hommes a son image.--THIERRY, Conquete de


s: Bells, that from the neighboring kloster


s: Held, that night their Christmas wassail;


s: All those wronged and wretched creatures,


s: From the throat of the overflowing spout!


s: Like a leopard's tawny and spotted hide,


s: From birth to death, from death to birth,


s: From earth to heaven, from heaven to earth;


s: Dear child! how radiant on thy mother's knee,


s: With merry-making eyes and jocund smiles,


s: The Indian peasant, chasing the wild goat,


s: The buried treasures of the miser, Time.


s: Delight thee, nor the playthings on the floor,


s: That won thy little, beating heart before;


s: From the sombre background of memory start.


s: But what are these grave thoughts to thee?


s: The tracks of thy small carriage-wheels I trace;


s: Of wandering and nomadic tribes of ants.


s: What! tired already! with those suppliant looks,


s: And voice more beautiful than a poet's books,


s: Or murmuring sound of water as it flows.


s: Of leaves illuminate with autumnal hues,


s: And shining with the argent light of dews,


s: Shall for a season be our place of rest.


s: Beneath us, like an oriole's pendent nest,


s: From which the laughing birds have taken wing,


s: By thee abandoned, hangs thy vacant swing.


s: Dream-like the waters of the river gleam;


s: A sailless vessel drops adown the stream,


s: Thou driftest gently down the tides of sleep.


s: Rounds and completes the perfect sphere;


s: Where, chanting through his beard of snows,


s: That were to prove her strength, and try


s: And the current that came from the ocean


s: Gloomy and dark art thou, O chief of the mighty Omahas;


s: Gloomy and dark as the driving cloud, whose name thou hast taken!


s: Back, then, back to thy woods in the regions west of the Wabash!


s: There thou chasest the stately stag on the banks of the Elkhorn,


s: Or by the roar of the Running-Water, or where the Omaha


s: Calls thee, and leaps through the wild ravine like a brave of the


s: Who, unharmed, on his tusks once caught the bolts of the thunder,


s: Far more fatal to thee and thy race than the Crows and the Foxes,


s: Lo! the big thunder-canoe, that steadily breasts the Missouri's


s: That shall soothe this restless feeling,


s: And the night shall be filled with music


s: L'eternite est une pendule, dont le balancier dit et redit sans


s: cesse ces deux mots seulement dans le silence des tombeaux:


s: "Toujours! jamais!  Jamais! toujours!"--JACQUES BRIDAINE.


s: And seems to say, at each chamber-door,--


s: Through days of death and days of birth,


s: Of changeful time, unchanged it has stood,


s: There youths and maidens dreaming strayed;


s: Those hours the ancient timepiece told,--


s: The bride came forth on her wedding night;


s: And in the hush that followed the prayer,


s: The years slip from me and have not fulfilled


s: Not indolence, nor pleasure, nor the fret


s: Of restless passions chat would not be stilled,


s: But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,


s: Though, half way up the hill, I see the Past


s: Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,--


s: With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.--


s: The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.


s: Whose panes the sunken sun incarnadines,


s: Like a fair lady at her casement, shines


s: The evening star, the star of love and rest!


s: Of all her radiant garments, and reclines


s: Behind the sombre screen of yonder pines,


s: With slumber and soft dreams of love oppressed.


s: Dost thou retire unto thy rest at night,


s: And from thy darkened window fades the light.


s: Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain,


s: With banners, by great gales incessant fanned,


s: Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand,


s: Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne,


s: Outstretched with benedictions o'er the land,


s: Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!


s: Thy shield is the red harvest moon, suspended


s: So long beneath the heaven's o'er-hanging eaves;


s: Thy steps are by the farmer's prayers attended;


s: Like flames upon an altar shine the sheaves;


s: And, following thee, in thy ovation splendid,


s: Thine almoner, the wind, scatters the golden leaves!


s: Tuscan, that wanderest through the realms of gloom,


s: With thoughtful pace, and sad, majestic eyes,


s: Stern thoughts and awful from thy soul arise,


s: Thy sacred song is like the trump of doom;


s: What soft compassion glows, as in the skies


s: The tender stars their clouded lamps relume!


s: Methinks I see thee stand, with pallid cheeks,


s: As up the convent-walls, in golden streaks,


s: The ascending sunbeams mark the day's decrease;


s: And, as he asks what there the stranger seeks,


s: Thy voice along the cloister whispers, "Peace!"


s: Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.


s: Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean


s: Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?


s: Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers forever departed!


s: In the Acadian land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas,


s: Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand-Pre


s: Sea-fogs pitched their tents, and mists from the mighty Atlantic


s: Matrons and maidens sat in snow-white caps and in kirtles


s: Scarlet and blue and green, with distaffs spinning the golden


s: Flax for the gossiping looms, whose noisy shuttles within doors


s: Reverend walked he among them; and up rose matrons and maidens,


s: Hailing his slow approach with words of affectionate welcome.


s: Softly the Angelus sounded, and over the roofs of the village


s: Columns of pale blue smoke, like clouds of incense ascending,


s: Rose from a hundred hearths, the homes of peace and contentment.


s: Thus dwelt together in love these simple Acadian farmers,--


s: Dwelt in the love of God and of man.  Alike were they free from


s: Somewhat apart from the village, and nearer the Basin of Minas,


s: Benedict Bellefontaine, the wealthiest farmer of Grand-Pre,


s: Dwelt on his goodly acres: and with him, directing his household,


s: Hearty and hale was he, an oak that is covered with snow-flakes;


s: Flagons of home-brewed ale, ah! fair in sooth was the maiden,


s: But a celestial brightness--a more ethereal beauty--


s: Shone on her face and encircled her form, when, after confession,


s: Firmly builded with rafters of oak, the house of the farmer


s: Stood on the side of a hill commanding the sea; and a shady


s: Sycamore grew by the door, with a woodbine wreathing around it.


s: Rudely carved was the porch, with seats beneath; and a footpath


s: Led through an orchard wide, and disappeared in the meadow.


s: Under the sycamore-tree were hives overhung by a penthouse,


s: Such as the traveller sees in regions remote by the roadside,


s: Built o'er a box for the poor, or the blessed image of Mary.


s: Under the sheltering eaves, led up to the odorous corn-loft.


s: There too the dove-cot stood, with its meek and innocent inmates


s: Murmuring ever of love; while above in the variant breezes


s: Numberless noisy weathercocks rattled and sang of mutation.


s: Thus, at peace with God and the world, the farmer of Grand-Pre


s: Lived on his sunny farm, and Evangeline governed his household.


s: Many a youth, as he knelt in the church and opened his missal,


s: Fixed his eyes upon her as the saint of his deepest devotion;


s: Happy was he who might touch her hand or the hem of her garment!


s: Many a suitor came to her door, by the darkness befriended,


s: And, as he knocked and waited to hear the sound of her footsteps,


s: Bolder grew, and pressed her hand in the dance as he whispered


s: Hurried words of love, that seemed a part of the music.


s: But, among all who came, young Gabriel only was welcome;


s: Gabriel Lajeunesse, the son of Basil the blacksmith,


s: Who was a mighty man in the village, and honored of all men;


s: For, since the birth of time, throughout all ages and nations,


s: Has the craft of the smith been held in repute by the people.


s: Swiftly they hurried away to the forge of Basil the blacksmith.


s: There at the door they stood, with wondering eyes to behold him


s: Take in his leathern lap the hoof of the horse as a plaything,


s: Oft on autumnal eves, when without in the gathering darkness


s: And as its panting ceased, and the sparks expired in the ashes,


s: Merrily laughed, and said they were nuns going into the chapel.


s: Oft on sledges in winter, as swift as the swoop of the eagle,


s: Down the hillside hounding, they glided away o'er the meadow.


s: Thus passed a few swift years, and they no longer were children.


s: Harvests were gathered in; and wild with the winds of September


s: Wrestled the trees of the forest, as Jacob of old with the angel.


s: Bees, with prophetic instinct of want, had hoarded their honey


s: Till the hives overflowed; and the Indian bunters asserted


s: Cold would the winter be, for thick was the fur of the foxes.


s: Now recommenced the reign of rest and affection and stillness.


s: Waving his bushy tail, and urging forward the stragglers;


s: Regent of flocks was he when the shepherd slept; their protector,


s: Laden with briny hay, that filled the air with its odor.


s: Painted with brilliant dyes, and adorned with tassels of crimson,


s: Patiently stood the cows meanwhile, and yielded their udders


s: Unto the milkmaid's hand; whilst loud and in regular cadence


s: Into the sounding pails the foaming streamlets descended.


s: In-doors, warm by the wide-mouthed fireplace, idly the farmer


s: Nodding and mocking along the wall, with gestures fantastic,


s: Darted his own huge shadow, and vanished away into darkness.


s: Faces, clumsily carved in oak, on the back of his arm-chair


s: Such as at home, in the olden time, his fathers before him


s: Sang in their Norman orchards and bright Burgundian vineyards.


s: Close at her father's side was the gentle Evangeline seated,


s: Spinning flax for the loom, that stood in the corner behind her.


s: As in a church, when the chant of the choir at intervals ceases,


s: Close by the chimney-side, which is always empty without thee;


s: Take from the shelf overhead thy pipe and the box of tobacco;


s: Never so much thyself art thou as when through the curling


s: "Benedict Bellefontaine, thou hast ever thy jest and thy ballad!


s: Ever in cheerfullest mood art thou, when others are filled with


s: Gloomy forebodings of ill, and see only ruin before them.


s: On the morrow to meet in the church, where his Majesty's mandate


s: Will be proclaimed as law in the land.  Alas! in the mean time


s: Many surmises of evil alarm the hearts of the people."


s: Then made answer the farmer:--"Perhaps some friendlier purpose


s: Many already have fled to the forest, and lurk on its outskirts,


s: Waiting with anxious hearts the dubious fate of to-morrow.


s: Arms have been taken from us, and warlike weapons of all kinds;


s: Than our fathers in forts, besieged by the enemy's cannon.


s: Fear no evil, my friend, and to-night may no shadow of sorrow


s: Blushing Evangeline heard the words that her father had spoken,


s: And, as they died on his lips, the worthy notary entered.


s: Bent like a laboring oar, that toils in the surf of the ocean,


s: Bent, but not broken, by age was the form of the notary public;


s: Shocks of yellow hair, like the silken floss of the maize, hung


s: Father of twenty children was he, and more than a hundred


s: Ripe in wisdom was he, but patient, and simple, and childlike.


s: He was beloved by all, and most of all by the children;


s: For he told them tales of the Loup-garou in the forest,


s: And of the goblin that came in the night to water the horses,


s: And of the white Letiche, the ghost of a child who unchristened


s: Died, and was doomed to haunt unseen the chambers of children;


s: And how on Christmas eve the oxen talked in the stable,


s: And how the fever was cured by a spider shut up in a nutshell,


s: Then up rose from his seat by the fireside Basil the blacksmith,


s: "Gossip enough have I heard, in sooth, yet am never the wiser;


s: And what their errand may be I know not better than others.


s: Yet am I not of those who imagine some evil intention


s: Brings them here, for we are at peace; and why then molest us?"


s: "Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice


s: Triumphs; and well I remember a story, that often consoled me,


s: When as a captive I lay in the old French fort at Port Royal."


s: This was the old man's favorite tale, and he loved to repeat it


s: When his neighbors complained that any injustice was done them.


s: "Once in an ancient city, whose name I no longer remember,


s: Raised aloft on a column, a brazen statue of Justice


s: That a necklace of pearls was lost, and erelong a suspicion


s: Fell on an orphan girl who lived as maid in the household.


s: She, after form of trial condemned to die on the scaffold,


s: Patiently met her doom at the foot of the statue of Justice.


s: As to her Father in heaven her innocent spirit ascended,


s: Lo! o'er the city a tempest rose; and the bolts of the thunder


s: And in the hollow thereof was found the nest of a magpie,


s: Into whose clay-built walls the necklace of pearls was inwoven."


s: Then Evangeline lighted the brazen lamp on the table,


s: Filled, till it overflowed, the pewter tankard with home-brewed


s: Wrote with a steady hand the date and the age of the parties,


s: Naming the dower of the bride in flocks of sheep and in cattle.


s: Orderly all things proceeded, and duly and well were completed,


s: And the great seal of the law was set like a sun on the margin.


s: Then from his leathern pouch the farmer threw on the table


s: Three times the old man's fee in solid pieces of silver;


s: And the notary rising, and blessing the bride and the bridegroom,


s: Wiping the foam from his lip, he solemnly bowed and departed,


s: While in silence the others sat and mused by the fireside,


s: Till Evangeline brought the draught-board out of its corner.


s: Soon was the game begun.  In friendly contention the old men


s: Laughed at each lucky hit, or unsuccessful manoeuver,


s: Sat the lovers, and whispered together, beholding the moon rise


s: Over the pallid sea and the silvery mist of the meadows.


s: Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,


s: Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.


s: Thus was the evening passed.  Anon the bell from the belfry


s: Rang out the hour of nine, the village curfew, and straightway


s: Lingered long in Evangeline's heart, and filled it with gladness.


s: Soon with a soundless step the foot of Evangeline followed.


s: Up the staircase moved a luminous space in the darkness,


s: Lighted less by the lamp than the shining face of the maiden.


s: Silent she passed the hall, and entered the door of her chamber.


s: Linen and woollen stuffs, by the hand of Evangeline woven.


s: Naked snow-white feet on the gleaming floor of her chamber!


s: Little she dreamed that below, among the trees of the orchard,


s: And, as she gazed from the window, she saw serenely the moon pass


s: Pleasantly rose next morn the sun on the village of Grand-Pre.


s: Pleasantly gleamed in the soft, sweet air the Basin of Minas,


s: Many a glad good-morrow and jocund laugh from the young folk


s: Made the bright air brighter, as up from the numerous meadows,


s: Every house was an inn, where all were welcomed and feasted;


s: For with this simple people, who lived like brothers together,


s: All things were held in common, and what one had was another's.


s: Yet under Benedict's roof hospitality seemed more abundant:


s: For Evangeline stood among the guests of her father;


s: Under the open sky, in the odorous air of the orchard,


s: Stript of its golden fruit, was spread the feast of betrothal.


s: And anon with his wooden shoes beat time to the music.


s: Merrily, merrily whirled the wheels of the dizzying dances


s: Under the orchard-trees and down the path to the meadows;


s: Old folk and young together, and children mingled among them.


s: Fairest of all the maids was Evangeline, Benedict's daughter!


s: Noblest of all the youths was Gabriel, son of the blacksmith!


s: So passed the morning away.  And lo! with a summons sonorous


s: Painful the task is I do, which to you I know must be grievous.


s: Yet must I bow and obey, and deliver the will of our monarch;


s: Ever as faithful subjects, a happy and peaceable people!


s: Prisoners now I declare you; for such is his Majesty's pleasure!"


s: Suddenly gathers a storm, and the deadly sling of the hailstones


s: Louder and ever louder a wail of sorrow and anger,


s: And, by one impulse moved, they madly rushed to the door-way.


s: Vain was the hope of escape; and cries and fierce imprecations


s: In the midst of the strife and tumult of angry contention,


s: Lo! the door of the chancel opened, and Father Felician


s: Entered, with serious mien, and ascended the steps of the altar.


s: Raising his reverend hand, with a gesture he awed into silence


s: All that clamorous throng; and thus he spake to his people;


s: Deep were his tones and solemn; in accents measured and mournful


s: Not in word alone, but in deed, to love one another!


s: Lo! where the crucified Christ from his cross is gazing upon you!


s: Let us repeat it now, and say, 'O Father, forgive them!'"


s: Long at her father's door Evangeline stood, with her right hand


s: Threw the long shadows of trees o'er the broad ambrosial meadows.


s: And from the fields of her soul a fragrance celestial ascended,--


s: Cheering with looks and words the mournful hearts of the women,


s: As o'er the darkening fields with lingering steps they departed,


s: Meanwhile, amid the gloom, by the church Evangeline lingered.


s: All was silent within; and in vain at the door and the windows


s: Stood she, and listened and looked, till, overcome by emotion,


s: "Gabriel!" cried she aloud with tremulous voice; but no answer


s: In the dead of the night she heard the disconsolate rain fall


s: Loud on the withered leaves of the sycamore-tree by the window.


s: Four times the sun had risen and set; and now on the fifth day


s: Cheerily called the cock to the sleeping maids of the farm-house.


s: Came from the neighboring hamlets and farms the Acadian women,


s: All day long between the shore and the ships did the boats ply;


s: All day long the wains came laboring down from the village.


s: Late in the afternoon, when the sun was near to his setting,


s: Sang with tremulous lips a chant of the Catholic Missions:--


s: "Sacred heart of the Saviour!  O inexhaustible fountain!


s: Half-way down to the shore Evangeline waited in silence,


s: Not overcome with grief, but strong in the hour of affliction,--


s: Calmly and sadly she waited, until the procession approached her,


s: Team then filled her eyes, and, eagerly running to meet him,


s: Nothing, in truth, can harm us, whatever mischances may happen!"


s: Thus to the Gaspereau's mouth moved on that mournful procession.


s: There disorder prevailed, and the tumult and stir of embarking.


s: Busily plied the freighted boats; and in the confusion


s: So unto separate ships were Basil and Gabriel carried,


s: While in despair on the shore Evangeline stood with her father.


s: Fled away from the shore, and left the line of the sand-beach


s: All escape cut off by the sea, and the sentinels near them,


s: Lay encamped for the night the houseless Acadian farmers.


s: Back to its nethermost caves retreated the bellowing ocean,


s: Dragging adown the beach the rattling pebbles, and leaving


s: Inland and far up the shore the stranded boats of the sailors.


s: But on the shores meanwhile the evening fires had been kindled,


s: Raising his tearful eyes to the silent stars that above them


s: Suddenly rose from the south a light, as in autumn the blood-red


s: Moon climbs the crystal walls of heaven, and o'er the horizon


s: Titan-like stretches its hundred hands upon mountain and meadow,


s: Loud on a sudden the cocks began to crow in the farm-yards,


s: Thinking the day had dawned; and anon the lowing of cattle


s: Came on the evening breeze, by the barking of dogs interrupted.


s: Slowly the priest uplifted the lifeless head, and the maiden


s: Knelt at her father's side, and wailed aloud in her terror.


s: Then in a swoon she sank, and lay with her head on his bosom.


s: Through the long night she lay in deep, oblivious slumber;


s: Still the blaze of the burning village illumined the landscape,


s: Reddened the sky overhead, and gleamed on the faces around her,


s: And like the day of doom it seemed to her wavering senses.


s: Then a familiar voice she heard, as it said to the people,--


s: "Let us bury him here by the sea.  When a happier season


s: Brings us again to our homes from the unknown land of our exile,


s: Then shall his sacred dust be piously laid in the churchyard."


s: But without bell or book, they buried the farmer of Grand-Pre.


s: And as the voice of the priest repeated the service of sorrow,


s: Lo! with a mournful sound, like the voice of a vast congregation,


s: 'T was the returning tide, that afar from the waste of the ocean,


s: And with the ebb of the tide the ships sailed out of the harbor,


s: Many a weary year had passed since the burning of Grand-Pre,


s: When on the falling tide the freighted vessels departed,


s: Bearing a nation, with all its household gods, into exile.


s: Exile without an end, and without an example in story.


s: Far asunder, on separate coasts, the Acadians landed;


s: From the cold lakes of the North to sultry Southern savannas,--


s: Deep in their sands to bury the scattered bones of the mammoth.


s: Lowly and meek in spirit, and patiently suffering all things.


s: Fair was she and young; but, alas! before her extended,


s: Dreary and vast and silent, the desert of life, with its pathway


s: As the emigrant's way o'er the Western desert is marked by


s: Camp-fires long consumed, and bones that bleach in the sunshine.


s: Suddenly paused in the sky, and, fading, slowly descended


s: Into the east again, from whence it late had arisen.


s: Sometimes a rumor, a hearsay, an inarticulate whisper,


s: Came with its airy hand to point and beckon her forward.


s: "Gabriel Lajeunesse!" they said; "yes! we have seen him.


s: "Gabriel Lajeunesse!" said others; "O yes! we have seen him.


s: He is a Voyageur in the lowlands of Louisiana."


s: Who have hearts as tender and true, and spirits as loyal?


s: Here is Baptiste Leblanc, the notary's son, who has loved thee


s: Many a tedious year; come, give him thy hand and be happy!


s: Thou art too fair to be left to braid St. Catherine's tresses."


s: Then would Evangeline answer, serenely but sadly, "I cannot!


s: Thereupon the priest, her friend and father-confessor,


s: If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning


s: Still in her heart she heard the funeral dirge of the ocean,


s: Bleeding, barefooted, over the shards and thorns of existence.


s: Let me essay, O Muse! to follow the wanderer's footsteps;--


s: Not through each devious path, each changeful year of existence;


s: Here and there, in some open space, and at intervals only;


s: Happy, at length, if he find the spot where it reaches an outlet.


s: It was the month of May.  Far down the Beautiful River,


s: Past the Ohio shore and past the mouth of the Wabash,


s: Into the golden stream of the broad and swift Mississippi,


s: Floated a cumbrous boat, that was rowed by Acadian boatmen.


s: It was a band of exiles: a raft, as it were, from the shipwrecked


s: Bound by the bonds of a common belief and a common misfortune;


s: Men and women and children, who, guided by hope or by hearsay,


s: Sought for their kith and their kin among the few-acred farmers


s: On the Acadian coast, and the prairies of fair Opelousas.


s: With them Evangeline went, and her guide, the Father Felician.


s: Lay in the stream, and along the wimpling waves of their margin,


s: Shining with snow-white plumes, large flocks of pelicans waded.


s: Level the landscape grew, and along the shores of the river,


s: Shaded by china-trees, in the midst of luxuriant gardens,


s: They were approaching the region where reigns perpetual summer,


s: Where through the Golden Coast, and groves of orange and citron,


s: Sweeps with majestic curve the river away to the eastward.


s: Which, like a network of steel, extended in every direction.


s: Over their heads the towering and tenebrous boughs of the cypress


s: Waved like banners that hang on the walls of ancient cathedrals.


s: Deathlike the silence seemed, and unbroken, save by the herons


s: Home to their roasts in the cedar-trees returning at sunset,


s: Or by the owl, as he greeted the moon with demoniac laughter.


s: Lovely the moonlight was as it glanced and gleamed on the water,


s: As, at the tramp of a horse's hoof on the turf of the prairies,


s: Far in advance are closed the leaves of the shrinking mimosa,


s: So, at the hoof-beats of fate, with sad forebodings of evil,


s: And every stroke of the oar now brought him nearer and nearer.


s: Over the watery floor, and beneath the reverberant branches;


s: But not a voice replied; no answer came from the darkness;


s: Such as they sang of old on their own Acadian rivers,


s: Water-lilies in myriads rocked on the slight undulations


s: Made by the passing oars, and, resplendent in beauty, the lotus


s: Lifted her golden crown above the heads of the boatmen.


s: Faint was the air with the odorous breath of magnolia blossoms,


s: And with the heat of noon; and numberless sylvan islands,


s: Fragrant and thickly embowered with blossoming hedges of roses,


s: Near to whose shores they glided along, invited to slumber.


s: Soon by the fairest of these their weary oars were suspended.


s: Under the boughs of Wachita willows, that grew by the margin,


s: Over them vast and high extended the cope of a cedar.


s: On whose pendulous stairs the angels ascending, descending,


s: Filled was her heart with love, and the dawn of an opening heaven


s: Nearer, ever nearer, among the numberless islands,


s: Darted a light, swift boat, that sped away o'er the water,


s: Urged on its course by the sinewy arms of hunters and trappers.


s: Somewhat beyond his years on his face was legibly written.


s: Gabriel was it, who, weary with waiting, unhappy and restless,


s: Sought in the Western wilds oblivion of self and of sorrow.


s: Swiftly they glided along, close under the lee of the island,


s: But by the opposite bank, and behind a screen of palmettos,


s: Said with a sigh to the friendly priest, "O Father Felician!


s: Something says in my heart that near me Gabriel wanders.


s: Is it a foolish dream, an idle and vague superstition?


s: Or has an angel passed, and revealed the truth to my spirit?"


s: Then, with a blush, she added, "Alas for my credulous fancy!


s: Unto ears like thine such words as these have no meaning."


s: But made answer the reverend man, and he smiled as he answered,--


s: Bending above, and resting its dome on the walls of the forest.


s: They who dwell there have named it the Eden of Louisiana."


s: With these words of cheer they arose and continued their journey.


s: Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er the landscape;


s: Twinkling vapors arose; and sky and water and forest


s: Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together.


s: Touched by the magic spell, the sacred fountains of feeling


s: Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music,


s: Single notes were then heard, in sorrowful, low lamentation;


s: Till, having gathered them all, he flung them abroad in derision,


s: Saw the column of smoke that arose from a neighboring dwelling;--


s: Such as the Druids cut down with golden hatchets at Yule-tide,


s: Stood, secluded and still, the house of the herdsman.  A garden


s: Girded it round about with a belt of luxuriant blossoms,


s: Filling the air with fragrance.  The house itself was of timbers


s: Hewn from the cypress-tree, and carefully fitted together.


s: Large and low was the roof; and on slender columns supported,


s: Rose-wreathed, vine-encircled, a broad and spacious veranda,


s: Haunt of the humming-bird and the bee, extended around it.


s: At each end of the house, amid the flowers of the garden,


s: Stationed the dove-cots were, as love's perpetual symbol,


s: Scenes of endless wooing, and endless contentions of rivals.


s: Silence reigned o'er the place.  The line of shadow and sunshine


s: Into the evening air, a thin blue column of smoke rose.


s: In the rear of the house, from the garden gate, ran a pathway


s: Full in his track of light, like ships with shadowy canvas


s: Just where the woodlands met the flowery surf of the prairie,


s: Mounted upon his horse, with Spanish saddle and stirrups,


s: Sat a herdsman, arrayed in gaiters and doublet of deerskin.


s: Broad and brown was the face that from under the Spanish sombrero


s: Round about him were numberless herds of kine, that were grazing


s: Quietly in the meadows, and breathing the vapory freshness


s: That uprose from the river, and spread itself over the landscape.


s: Fully his broad, deep chest, he blew a blast, that resounded


s: Rose like flakes of foam on the adverse currents of ocean.


s: Rushed with extended arms and exclamations of wonder;


s: When they beheld his face, they recognized Basil the blacksmith.


s: Hearty his welcome was, as he led his guests to the garden.


s: There in an arbor of roses with endless question and answer


s: Broke the silence and said, "If you came by the Atchafalaya,


s: Tears came into her eyes, and she said, with a tremulous accent,


s: Foolish boy! he has left me alone with my herds and my horses.


s: Moody and restless grown, and tried and troubled, his spirit


s: Could no longer endure the calm of this quiet existence.


s: Thinking ever of thee, uncertain and sorrowful ever,


s: Ever silent, or speaking only of thee and his troubles,


s: He at length had become so tedious to men and to maidens,


s: Tedious even to me, that at length I bethought me, and sent him


s: Unto the town of Adayes to trade for mules with the Spaniards.


s: Thence he will follow the Indian trails to the Ozark Mountains,


s: Hunting for furs in the forests, on rivers trapping the beaver.


s: Therefore be of good cheer; we will follow the fugitive lover;


s: We will follow him fast, and bring him back to his prison."


s: Then glad voices were heard, and up from the banks of the river,


s: Borne aloft on his comrades' arms, came Michael the fiddler.


s: Long under Basil's roof had he lived like a god on Olympus,


s: Having no other care than dispensing music to mortals.


s: Far renowned was he for his silver locks and his fiddle.


s: "Long live Michael," they cried, "our brave Acadian minstrel!"


s: As they bore him aloft in triumphal procession; and straightway


s: Father Felician advanced with Evangeline, greeting the old man


s: Kindly and oft, and recalling the past, while Basil, enraptured,


s: Hailed with hilarious joy his old companions and gossips,


s: Laughing loud and long, and embracing mothers and daughters.


s: Much they marvelled to see the wealth of the cidevant blacksmith,


s: Entered the hall of the house, where already the supper of Basil


s: Waited his late return; and they rested and feasted together.


s: Over the joyous feast the sudden darkness descended.


s: All was silent without, and, illuming the landscape with silver,


s: Fair rose the dewy moon and the myriad stars; but within doors,


s: Here no stony ground provokes the wrath of the farmer.


s: So that the guests all started; and Father Felician, astounded,


s: Suddenly paused, with a pinch of snuff half-way to his nostrils.


s: For it is not like that of our cold Acadian climate,


s: Cured by wearing a spider hung round one's neck in a nutshell!"


s: It was the neighboring Creoles and small Acadian planters,


s: Who had been summoned all to the house of Basil the Herdsman.


s: Merry the meeting was of ancient comrades and neighbors:


s: Drawn by the gentle bond of a common country together.


s: But in the neighboring hall a strain of music, proceeding


s: From the accordant strings of Michael's melodious fiddle,


s: Broke up all further speech.  Away, like children delighted,


s: Dreamlike, with beaming eyes and the rush of fluttering garments.


s: While Evangeline stood like one entranced, for within her


s: Olden memories rose, and loud in the midst of the music


s: Heard she the sound of the sea, and an irrepressible sadness


s: Came o'er her heart, and unseen she stole forth into the garden.


s: Beautiful was the night.  Behind the black wall of the forest,


s: Tipping its summit with silver, arose the moon.  On the river


s: Gleaming and floating away in mingled and infinite numbers.


s: Over her head the stars, the thoughts of God in the heavens,


s: Shone on the eyes of man who had ceased to marvel and worship,


s: Save when a blazing comet was seen on the walls of that temple,


s: As if a hand had appeared and written upon them, "Upharsin."


s: And the soul of the maiden, between the stars and the fire-flies,


s: Art thou so near unto me, and yet I cannot behold thee?


s: Art thou so near unto me, and yet thy voice does not reach me?


s: Ah! how often thy feet have trod this path to the prairie!


s: Ah! how often thine eyes have looked on the woodlands around me!


s: Ah! how often beneath this oak, returning from labor,


s: Thou hast lain down to rest and to dream of me in thy slumbers!


s: When shall these eyes behold, these arms be folded about thee?"


s: Loud and sudden and near the note of a whippoorwill sounded


s: "Patience!" whispered the oaks from oracular caverns of darkness:


s: Bright rose the sun next day; and all the flowers of the garden


s: Not that day, nor the next, nor yet the day that succeeded,


s: Found they trace of his course, in lake or forest or river,


s: Nor, after many days, had they found him; but vague and uncertain


s: Gabriel left the village, and took the road of the prairies.


s: Far in the West there lies a desert land, where the mountains


s: Lift, through perpetual snows, their lofty and luminous summits.


s: Westward the Oregon flows and the Walleway and Owyhee.


s: Eastward, with devious course, among the Wind-river Mountains,


s: Through the Sweet-water Valley precipitate leaps the Nebraska;


s: And to the south, from Fontaine-qui-bout and the Spanish sierras,


s: Like the great chords of a harp, in loud and solemn vibrations.


s: Bright with luxuriant clusters of roses and purple amorphas.


s: Like the implacable soul of a chieftain slaughtered in battle,


s: By invisible stairs ascending and scaling the heavens.


s: Like the protecting hand of God inverted above them.


s: Into this wonderful land, at the base of the Ozark Mountains,


s: Gabriel far had entered, with hunters and trappers behind him.


s: Day after day, with their Indian guides, the maiden and Basil


s: Followed his flying steps, and thought each day to o'ertake him.


s: Once, as they sat by their evening fire, there silently entered


s: Into the little camp an Indian woman, whose features


s: Wore deep traces of sorrow, and patience as great as her sorrow.


s: She was a Shawnee woman returning home to her people,


s: From the far-off hunting-grounds of the cruel Camanches,


s: But when their meal was done, and Basil and all his companions,


s: Slowly, with soft, low voice, and the charm of her Indian accent,


s: Hapless heart like her own had loved and had been disappointed.


s: Moved to the depths of her soul by pity and woman's compassion,


s: Yet in her sorrow pleased that one who had suffered was near her,


s: Mute with wonder the Shawnee sat, and when she had ended


s: Still was mute; but at length, as if a mysterious horror


s: But, when the morning came, arose and passed from the wigwam,


s: Fading and melting away and dissolving into the sunshine,


s: And nevermore returned, nor was seen again by her people.


s: Silent with wonder and strange surprise, Evangeline listened


s: To the soft flow of her magical words, till the region around her


s: Lighting the little tent, and with a mysterious splendor


s: Swayed and sighed overhead in scarcely audible whispers.


s: As the cold, poisonous snake creeps into the nest of the swallow.


s: Seemed to float in the air of night; and she felt for a moment


s: That, like the Indian maid, she, too, was pursuing a phantom.


s: Early upon the morrow the march was resumed; and the Shawnee


s: "Let us go to the Mission, for there good tidings await us!"


s: And in a meadow green and broad, by the bank of a river,


s: Saw the tents of the Christians, the tents of the Jesuit Mission.


s: But when the service was done, and the benediction had fallen


s: And, with words of kindness, conducted them into his wigwam.


s: On this mat by my side, where now the maiden reposes,


s: Told me this same sad tale then arose and continued his journey!"


s: Then Evangeline said, and her voice was meek and submissive,


s: "Let me remain with thee, for my soul is sad and afflicted."


s: So seemed it wise and well unto all; and betimes on the morrow,


s: Slowly, slowly, slowly the days succeeded each other,--


s: Blushed at each blood-red ear, for that betokened a lover,


s: Here in the houseless wild, to direct the traveller's journey


s: Over the sea-like, pathless, limitless waste of the desert.


s: Such in the soul of man is faith.  The blossoms of passion,


s: Gay and luxuriant flowers, are brighter and fuller of fragrance,


s: But on the breath of the summer winds a rumor was wafted


s: Sweeter than song of bird, or hue or odor of blossom.


s: Far to the north and east, it said, in the Michigan forests,


s: Gabriel had his lodge by the banks of the Saginaw River,


s: When over weary ways, by long and perilous marches,


s: She had attained at length the depths of the Michigan forests,


s: Found she the hunter's lodge deserted and fallen to ruin!


s: Thus did the long sad years glide on, and in seasons and places


s: Divers and distant far was seen the wandering maiden;--


s: Now in the Tents of Grace of the meek Moravian Missions,


s: Now in the noisy camps and the battle-fields of the army,


s: Now in secluded hamlets, in towns and populous cities.


s: Like a phantom she came, and passed away unremembered.


s: Fair was she and young, when in hope began the long journey;


s: Faded was she and old, when in disappointment it ended.


s: Each succeeding year stole something away from her beauty,


s: Leaving behind it, broader and deeper, the gloom and the shadow.


s: As in the eastern sky the first faint streaks of the morning.


s: In that delightful land which is washed by the Delaware's waters,


s: Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream the city he founded.


s: There all the air is balm, and the peach is the emblem of beauty,


s: Finding among the children of Penn a home and a country.


s: There old Rene Leblanc had died; and when he departed,


s: Saw at his side only one of all his hundred descendants.


s: Something at least there was in the friendly streets of the city,


s: For it recalled the past, the old Acadian country,


s: Where all men were equal, and all were brothers and sisters.


s: So, when the fruitless search, the disappointed endeavor,


s: Ended, to recommence no more upon earth, uncomplaining,


s: Roll away, and afar we behold the landscape below us,


s: Sun-illumined, with shining rivers and cities and hamlets,


s: Clothed in the beauty of love and youth, as last she beheld him,


s: Only more beautiful made by his deathlike silence and absence.


s: Into her thoughts of him time entered not, for it was not.


s: Patience and abnegation of self, and devotion to others,


s: This was the lesson a life of trial and sorrow had taught her.


s: So was her love diffused, but, like to some odorous spices,


s: Suffered no waste nor loss, though filling the air with aroma.


s: Other hope had she none, nor wish in life, but to follow


s: Meekly, with reverent steps, the sacred feet of her Saviour.


s: Thus many years she lived as a Sister of Mercy; frequenting


s: Lonely and wretched roofs in the crowded lanes of the city,


s: Where distress and want concealed themselves from the sunlight,


s: Where disease and sorrow in garrets languished neglected.


s: High at some lonely window he saw the light of her taper.


s: Then it came to pass that a pestilence fell on the city,


s: Presaged by wondrous signs, and mostly by flocks of wild pigeons,


s: Spread to a brackish lake, the silver stream of existence.


s: Wealth had no power to bribe, nor beauty to charm, the oppressor;


s: Only, alas! the poor, who had neither friends nor attendants,


s: Crept away to die in the almshouse, home of the homeless.


s: Gleams of celestial light encircle her forehead with splendor,


s: Such as the artist paints o'er the brows of saints and apostles,


s: Or such as hangs by night o'er a city seen at a distance.


s: Unto their eyes it seemed the lamps of the city celestial,


s: Into whose shining gates erelong their spirits would enter.


s: Sweet on the summer air was the odor of flowers in the garden;


s: And she paused on her way to gather the fairest among them,


s: Moistening the feverish lip, and the aching brow, and in silence


s: Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it forever.


s: Many familiar forms had disappeared in the night time;


s: Vacant their places were, or filled already by strangers.


s: Suddenly, as if arrested by fear or a feeling of wonder,


s: Still she stood, with her colorless lips apart, while a shudder


s: Then there escaped from her lips a cry of such terrible anguish,


s: That the dying heard it, and started up from their pillows.


s: On the pallet before her was stretched the form of an old man.


s: Long, and thin, and gray were the locks that shaded his temples;


s: But, as he lay in the in morning light, his face for a moment


s: Seemed to assume once more the forms of its earlier manhood;


s: So are wont to be changed the faces of those who are dying.


s: Hot and red on his lips still burned the flush of the fever,


s: Motionless, senseless, dying, he lay, and his spirit exhausted


s: Then through those realms of shade, in multiplied reverberations,


s: Whispered a gentle voice, in accents tender and saint-like,


s: "Gabriel!  O my beloved!" and died away into silence.


s: Then he beheld, in a dream, once more the home of his childhood;


s: Green Acadian meadows, with sylvan rivers among them,


s: Tears came into his eyes; and as slowly he lifted his eyelids,


s: Vanished the vision away, but Evangeline knelt by his bedside.


s: Vainly he strove to whisper her name, for the accents unuttered


s: Kissed his dying lips, and laid his head on her bosom.


s: All was ended now, the hope, and the fear, and the sorrow,


s: All the aching of heart, the restless, unsatisfied longing,


s: All the dull, deep pain, and constant anguish of patience!


s: And, as she pressed once more the lifeless head to her bosom,


s: Meekly she bowed her own, and murmured, "Father, I thank thee!"


s: Still stands the forest primeval; but far away from its shadow,


s: Side by side, in their nameless graves, the lovers are sleeping.


s: Under the humble walls of the little Catholic churchyard,


s: In the heart of the city, they lie, unknown and unnoticed.


s: Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing beside them,


s: Only along the shore of the mournful and misty Atlantic


s: Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile


s: Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom.


s: In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom are still busy;


s: While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring ocean


s: As one who, walking in the twilight gloom,


s: Hears round about him voices as it darkens,


s: And seeing not the forms from which they come,


s: Pauses from time to time, and turns and hearkens;


s: So walking here in twilight, O my friends!


s: I hear your voices, softened by the distance,


s: And pause, and turn to listen, as each sends


s: His words of friendship, comfort, and assistance.


s: If any thought of mine, or sung or told,


s: Thanks for the sympathies that ye have shown!


s: Thanks for each kindly word, each silent token,


s: That teaches me, when seeming most alone,


s: Friends are around us, though no word be spoken.


s: Kind messages, that pass from land to land;


s: Kind letters, that betray the heart's deep history,


s: In which we feel the pressure of a hand,--


s: One touch of fire,--and all the rest is mystery!


s: Our household treasures take familiar places,


s: Spice from the printed leaves or pictured faces!


s: With eye of sense, your outward form and semblance;


s: But live forever young in my remembrance.


s: Never grow old, nor change, nor pass away!


s: Your gentle voices will flow on forever,


s: When life grows bare and tarnished with decay,


s: As through a leafless landscape flows a river.


s: Not chance of birth or place has made us friends,


s: Being oftentimes of different tongues and nations,


s: With the same hopes, and fears, and aspirations.


s: Therefore I hope to join your seaside walk,


s: Saddened, and mostly silent, with emotion;


s: The grand, majestic symphonies of ocean.


s: Therefore I hope, as no unwelcome guest,


s: At your warm fireside, when the lamps are lighted,


s: To have my place reserved among the rest,


s: Nor stand as one unsought and uninvited!


s: For his heart was in his work, and the heart


s: A vessel as goodly, and strong, and stanch,


s: The various ships that were built of yore,


s: And above them all, and strangest of all


s: Towered the Great Harry, crank and tall,


s: And eight round towers, like those that frown


s: And he said with a smile, "Our ship, I wis,


s: Broad in the beam, that the stress of the blast,


s: And scattered here and there, with these,


s: One thought, one word, can set in motion!


s: There's not a ship that sails the ocean,


s: Listened, to catch his slightest meaning.


s: The heir of his house, and his daughter's hand,


s: When he had built and launched from land


s: "Thus," said he, "will we build this ship!


s: With a look of joy and a thrill of pride,


s: And her cheek was glowing fresh and fair,


s: With the breath of morn and the soft sea air.


s: And soon throughout the ship-yard's bounds


s: The chance and change of a sailor's life,


s: That nothing can stay and nothing can bind,


s: With shadows of palms, and shining sands,


s: As he lies alone and asleep on the turf.


s: And the trembling maiden held her breath


s: At the tales of that awful, pitiless sea,


s: And whenever the old man paused, a gleam


s: From the bowl of his pipe would awhile illume


s: That the head of the maiden lay at rest,


s: And around it columns of smoke, up-wreathing.


s: Rose from the boiling, bubbling, seething


s: With the black tar, heated for the sheathing.


s: That, like a thought, should have control


s: And near it the anchor, whose giant hand


s: Would reach down and grapple with the land,


s: Hold the great ship against the bellowing blast!


s: But modelled from the Master's daughter!


s: 'T will be seen by the rays of the signal light,


s: Speeding along through the rain and the dark,


s: Those captive kings so straight and tall,


s: Of their native forests they should not see again.


s: Ah! when the wanderer, lonely, friendless,


s: Filling his heart with memories sweet and endless!


s: The great sun rises to behold the sight.


s: Her snow-white signals fluttering, blending,


s: And lift and drift, with terrible force,


s: The will from its moorings and its course.


s: And climb the crystal wall of the skies,


s: As if we could slide from its outer brink.


s: It is not the sea that sinks and shelves,


s: We shall sail securely, and safely reach


s: The Fortunate Isles, on whose shining beach


s: The sights we see, and the sounds we hear,


s: She starts,--she moves,--she seems to feel


s: Through wind and wave, right onward steer!


s: Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,


s: Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,


s: Trailed the gleam of his falchion brightly;


s: "Wouldst thou,"--so the helmsman answered,


s: Close, close it is pressed to the window,


s: As they beat at the heart of the mother,


s: And on its outer point, some miles away,


s: The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,


s: A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.


s: Even at this distance I can see the tides,


s: Upheaving, break unheard along its base,


s: A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides


s: In the white lip and tremor of the face.


s: And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,


s: Through the deep purple of the twilight air,


s: Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light


s: With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!


s: Not one alone; from each projecting cape


s: And perilous reef along the ocean's verge,


s: Holding its lantern o'er the restless surge.


s: Like the great giant Christopher it stands


s: Wading far out among the rocks and sands,


s: And the great ships sail outward and return,


s: Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells,


s: They wave their silent welcomes and farewells.


s: They come forth from the darkness, and their sails


s: Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze.


s: On his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink;


s: And when, returning from adventures wild,


s: He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink.


s: Year after year, through all the silent night


s: Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,


s: The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace;


s: It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp,


s: And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece.


s: The startled waves leap over it; the storm


s: Smites it with all the scourges of the rain,


s: Press the great shoulders of the hurricane.


s: The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din


s: Blinded and maddened by the light within,


s: Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.


s: A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock,


s: Still grasping in his hand the fire of Jove,


s: It does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock,


s: But hails the mariner with words of love.


s: "Sail on!" it says, "sail on, ye stately ships!


s: And with your floating bridge the ocean span;


s: Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse,


s: The strange, old-fashioned, silent town,


s: And all that fills the hearts of friends,


s: Their lives thenceforth have separate ends,


s: Had something strange, I could but mark;


s: And, as their splendor flashed and failed,


s: O flames that glowed!  O hearts that yearned!


s: The drift-wood fire without that burned,


s: The thoughts that burned and glowed within.


s: There is no flock, however watched and tended,


s: There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,


s: The air is full of farewells to the dying,


s: The heart of Rachel, for her children crying,


s: Let us be patient!  These severe afflictions


s: We see but dimly through the mists and vapors;


s: What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers


s: There is no Death!  What seems so is transition;


s: She is not dead,--the child of our affection,--


s: Where she no longer needs our poor protection,


s: In that great cloister's stillness and seclusion,


s: Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution,


s: Day after day we think what she is doing


s: Year after year, her tender steps pursuing,


s: Thus do we walk with her, and keep unbroken


s: Thinking that our remembrance, though unspoken,


s: Not as a child shall we again behold her;


s: But a fair maiden, in her Father's mansion,


s: And beautiful with all the soul's expansion


s: And though at times impetuous with emotion


s: The swelling heart heaves moaning like the ocean,


s: We will be patient, and assuage the feeling


s: A handful of red sand, from the hot clime


s: Within this glass becomes the spy of Time,


s: Perhaps the feet of Moses, burnt and bare,


s: Or Pharaoh's flashing wheels into the air


s: Whose pilgrimage of hope and love and faith


s: And singing slow their old Armenian psalms


s: These have passed over it, or may have passed!


s: Imprisoned by some curious hand at last,


s: And as I gaze, these narrow walls expand;


s: Stretches the desert with its shifting sand,


s: And borne aloft by the sustaining blast,


s: That, whenever they sat at their revels,


s: And the Yule-log cracked in the chimney,


s: And the flamelets flapped and flickered,


s: Shape the thought that stirs within thee!"


s: Piped the quails from shocks and sheaves,


s: O precious evenings! all too swiftly sped!


s: Of all the best thoughts of the greatest sages,


s: And giving tongues unto the silent dead!


s: How our hearts glowed and trembled as she read,


s: Interpreting by tones the wondrous pages


s: Of the great poet who foreruns the ages,


s: The magic book, whose Sibylline leaves have caught


s: The rarest essence of all human thought!


s: How must thy listening spirit now rejoice


s: That they might touch the hearts of men,


s: Through groves he wandered, and by streams,


s: "These are the three great chords of might,


s: Christ to the young man said: "Yet one thing more;


s: Sell all thou hast and give it to the poor,


s: Within this temple Christ again, unseen,


s: And his invisible hands to-day have been


s: Beside him at the marriage feast shall be,


s: To lay his head upon the Saviour's breast,


s: Should you ask me, whence these stories?


s: From the mountains, moors, and fen-lands


s: You could trace them through the valley,


s: There are longings, yearnings, strivings


s: Written with little skill of song-craft,


s: Who shall guide you and shall teach you,


s: Wash the blood-stains from your fingers,


s: Threw their cloaks and shirts of deer-skin,


s: Soiled and stained with streaks of crimson,


s: Clean and washed from all their war-paint;


s: Smoothed and formed it into Peace-Pipes,


s: Decked them with their brightest feathers,


s: But rushed headlong through the door-way,


s: Touched the rugged hills with smoothness,


s: Changed and covered o'er with whiteness,


s: Till the air seemed full of snow-flakes,


s: Warriors with their plumes and war-clubs,


s: "'T is the heaven of flowers you see there;


s: Learned their names and all their secrets,


s: Tipped with flint, and winged with feathers,


s: Coughed and chattered from the oak-tree,


s: For his thoughts were with the red deer;


s: Shoot them with such strength and swiftness,


s: Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings,


s: Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers;


s: Stretched his hand to pluck the bulrush,


s: Cleanse the earth from all that harms it,


s: From his brain the thought of vengeance,


s: Gleaming, glancing through the branches,


s: "Must our lives depend on these things?"


s: You shall gain what you have prayed for.


s: Fearing lest his strength should fail him,


s: Showed them where the maize was growing,


s: Changed the long, green leaves to yellow,


s: Stripped the withered husks from off them,


s: That the wood-birds ceased from singing,


s: Through the whirlpools chased the beaver,


s: Like two bows he formed and shaped them,


s: Sobbed through all its robes of darkness,


s: Smeared therewith each seam and fissure,


s: With his hands he scooped the sand-bars,


s: Sailed through all its bends and windings,


s: Sailed through all its deeps and shallows,


s: While his friend, the strong man, Kwasind,


s: Dragged the dead trees from its channel,


s: Through his gills he breathed the water,


s: Till their craws are full with feasting,


s: Till the waves washed through the rib-bones,


s: Screamed and hurtled through the heavens.


s: Smeared them well with oil, that swiftly


s: Leaped through tangled flags and rushes,


s: Stretched the faithful bow-string tighter,


s: "Come forth from your lodge, Pearl-Feather!


s: Streaked with crimson, blue, and yellow,


s: Winged with feathers, tipped with jasper,


s: Homeward through the weltering serpents,


s: Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight,


s: Of the past the old man's thoughts were,


s: Through their thoughts they heard a footstep,


s: Made of deer-skins dressed and whitened,


s: Though his pace he checked and slackened


s: All the travelling winds went with them,


s: Watched with sleepless eyes their slumber;


s: Brought the moonlight, starlight, firelight,


s: Though the warriors called him Faint-Heart,


s: White and soft, and fringed with ermine,


s: Fringed with hedgehog quills and ermine,


s: Thick with quills and beads embroidered.


s: Like great snowdrifts o'er the landscape,


s: Danced his Beggar's Dance to please them,


s: "Smiles the earth, and smile the waters,


s: Tall and straight and strong and handsome.


s: Soothed her with soft words of kindness,


s: Till they reached the lodge of feasting,


s: "'Taste the food that stands before you:


s: They shall shine like shells of scarlet,


s: And they hopped, and sang, and twittered,


s: Perked and fluttered all their feathers,


s: Swayed and rushed through airy currents,


s: Changed your sisters and their husbands;


s: Changed them thus because they mocked you


s: "Round and round they wheeled and darted,


s: Took their shape, but not their stature;


s: "Still their glittering lodge is seen there,


s: "There are great men, I have known such,


s: Stood the maize-fields, green and shining,


s: "You shall bless to-night the cornfields,


s: "Thus the fields shall be more fruitful,


s: "Hear him!" said they; "hear the Wise Man,


s: When they mocked him from the tree-tops.


s: Breathed his sighs o'er all the landscape,


s: Gleamed from bursting sheaths of verdure.


s: "'T is the Moon when leaves are falling;


s: From their seats beneath the pine-trees.


s: From their seats beneath the pine-trees!


s: Filled with little stars for night-time;


s: Still the voice of love would reach you!"


s: When the snow-flakes, whirling downward,


s: Armed with arrows, shod with snow-shoes,


s: And the wolves howled from the prairies,


s: Naught he questioned, naught he answered,


s: Beat their drums, and shook their rattles;


s: Come, ye white crows, come and hear him!


s: Where he passed, the branches moved not,


s: Danced the Beggar's Dance to please them.


s: Cracked the sky, but could not break it;


s: These were brass, on one side burnished,


s: Played till midnight, played till morning,


s: With his plumes and tufts of swan's down,


s: Hard his breath came through his nostrils,


s: Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered


s: Where knee-deep the trees were standing,


s: Streamed the sunshine through the crevice,


s: With their clubs they beat and bruised him,


s: And it fluttered, strove, and struggled,


s: Struggle with their thongs of deer-skin,


s: Now their broad black beaks they lifted,


s: Straightway to a brant they changed him,


s: Lest some strange mischance should happen,


s: That his hand was stretched to seize him,


s: Dance the dust and leaves in whirlwinds;


s: "There," they cry, "comes Pau-Puk-Keewis;


s: That could wound him, that could slay him,


s: There they stood, all armed and waiting,


s: "Kwasind!" cried they; "that is Kwasind!


s: Till the plains were strewn with whiteness,


s: Pounded maize, or dressed the deer-skin;


s: Climbed and crowded through the smoke-flue.


s: These are ghosts that come to haunt you,


s: Sought for bird or beast and found none,


s: And the streamlets laughed and glistened,


s: With those gloomy guests that watched her,


s: "'T is the night-wind in the pine-trees!"


s: "'T is the smoke, that waves and beckons!"


s: Seven long days and nights he sat there,


s: Red with blood of youth his cheeks were,


s: Then the old man's tongue was speechless


s: Where the fire had smoked and smouldered,


s: Mahng the loon, with clangorous pinions,


s: "Kaw!" they said, "we don't believe it!"


s: "Kaw!" they said, "what tales you tell us!"


s: "Kaw!" they said, "what lies you tell us!


s: Springs the White-man's Foot in blossom.


s: And the heart's right hand of friendship


s: Restless, struggling, toiling, striving,


s: Till the Black-Robe chief, the Pale-face,


s: Never the broad leaves of our cornfields


s: Mocked him, scourged him, crucified him;


s: From the cornfields shrill and ceaseless


s: Did not wake the guests, that slumbered.


s: Moved through all their depths of darkness,


s: This Indian Edda--if I may so call it--is founded on a tradition


s: prevalent among the North American Indians, of a personage of


s: miraculous birth, who was sent among them to clear their rivers,


s: forests, and fishing-grounds, and to teach them the arts of


s: He was known among different tribes by the several names of


s: Dush-kwo-ne'she or Kwo-ne'she, the dragon fly.


s: Gitche Gu'mee, The Big-Sea-Water, Lake Superior.


s: Gitche Man'ito, the Great Spirit, the Master of Life.


s: Hiawa'tha, the Wise Man, the Teacher, son of Mudjekeewis, the


s: WestWind and Wenonah, daughter of Nokomis.


s: Ia'goo, a great boaster and story-teller.


s: Inin'ewug, men, or pawns in the Game of the Bowl.


s: Keeway'din, the Northwest wind, the Home-wind.


s: Kwo-ne'she, or Dush-kwo-ne'she, the dragon-fly.


s: Megissog'won, the great Pearl-Feather, a magician, and the Manito


s: Minneha'ha, Laughing Water; wife of Hiawatha; a water-fall in a


s: stream running into the Mississippi between Fort Snelling and the


s: Minne-wa'wa, a pleasant sound, as of the wind in the trees.


s: Mudjekee'wis, the West-Wind; father of Hiawatha.


s: Mudway-aush'ka, sound of waves on a shore.


s: Na'gow Wudj'oo, the Sand Dunes of Lake Superior.


s: Noko'mis, a grandmother, mother of Wenonah.


s: Ozawa'beek, a round piece of brass or copper in the Game of the


s: Pau-Puk-Kee'wis, the handsome Yenadizze, the son of Storm Fool.


s: Pem'ican, meat of the deer or buffalo dried and pounded.


s: Puk-Wudj'ies, little wild men of the woods; pygmies.


s: Shesh'ebwug, ducks; pieces in the Game of the Bowl.


s: Wa'bun An'nung, the Star of the East, the Morning Star.


s: Weno'nah, Hiawatha's mother, daughter of Nokomis.


s: Yenadiz'ze, an idler and gambler; an Indian dandy.


s: This valley, now called Norman's Kill; is in Albany County, New


s: Condition of the North American Indians, Vol. II p. 160, gives an


s: "The Great Spirit at an ancient period here called the Indian


s: nations together, and, standing on the precipice of the red pipe-


s: This anecdote is from Heckewelder.  In his account of the Indian


s: Nations, he describes an Indian hunter as addressing a bear in


s: upbraiding him?"'--Transactions of the American Philosophical


s: Heckewelder, in a letter published in the Transactions of the


s: American Philosophical Society, Vol. IV. p. 260, speaks of this


s: tradition as prevalent among the Mohicans and Delawares.


s: "The history of this animal used to be a subject of conversation


s: "The scenery about Fort Snelling is rich in beauty.  The Falls of


s: A description of the Grand Sable, or great sand-dunes of Lake


s: The original of this song may be found in Littell's Living Age,


s: rubbed his eyes, thinking he was perhaps deceived; but without


s: effect, for the red hue continued.  At length he heard a strange


s: noise at a distance.  It first appeared like a human voice, but


s: distance out in the lake sat a most beautiful Red Swan, whose


s: plumage glittered in the sun, and who would now and then make the


s: remembered his brother's saying that in their deceased father's


s: The original of this song may be found in Oneota, p. 15.


s: The Indians hold the maize, or Indian corn, in great veneration.


s: Spirit.  The Odjibwa-Algonquins, who call it Mon-da-min, that is,


s: "It is well known that corn-planting and corn-gathering, at least


s: females and children, and a few superannuated old men.  It is not


s: that it is assumed by the females as a just equivalent, in their


s: view, for the onerous and continuous labor of the other sex, in


s: providing meats, and skins for clothing, by the chase, and in


s: defending their villages against their enemies, and keeping


s: corn to exercise her hospitality, or duly honor her husband's


s: hospitality, in the entertainment of the lodge guests."


s: creation, is found in an ancient custom, which was related to me,


s: "These cords," says Mr. Tanner "are made of the bark of the elm-


s: tree, by boiling and then immersing it in cold water. . . .  The


s: leader of a war party commonly carries several fastened about his


s: chief, to be tied, and the latter is responsible for his safe


s: keeping." -- Narrative of Captivity and Adventures, p. 412.


s: "The literal meaning of the term is, a mass, or crooked ear of


s: grain; but the ear of corn so called is a conventional type of a


s: made from the verb pim-o-sa, to walk.  Its literal meaning is, he


s: parallelism in expression to the preceding term." -- Oneota, p.


s: This Game of the Bowl is the principal game of hazard among the


s: Northern tribes of Indians.  Mr. Schoolcraft gives a particular


s: account of it in Oneota, p. 85.  "This game," he says, "is very


s: desperate stakes I have seen no examples, nor do I think the game


s: See also his history, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian


s: The reader will find a long description of the Pictured Rocks in


s: "It is from the latter circumstance that the name, by which these


s: "Our voyageurs had many legends to relate of the pranks of the


s: Menni-bojou in these caverns, and, in answer to our inquiries,


s: seemed disposed to fabricate stories, without end, of the


s: In this manner, and with such salutations, was Father Marquette


s: received by the Illinois.  See his Voyages et Decouvertes,


s: In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims,


s: To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,


s: Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather,


s: Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.


s: Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber,--


s: Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus,


s: Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.


s: Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion,


s: Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower.


s: Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe interrupting,


s: Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet


s: Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.


s: So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your inkhorn.


s: Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army,


s: Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his matchlock,


s: And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my soldiers!"


s: Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain continued:


s: "Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted


s: Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine.


s: "Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried Rose Standish;


s: She was the first to die of all who came in the Mayflower!


s: Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have sown there,


s: Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, and among them


s: Prominent three, distinguished alike for bulk and for binding;


s: Bariffe's Artillery Guide, and the Commentaries of Caesar,


s: Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge of London,


s: And, as if guarded by these, between them was standing the Bible.


s: Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous Roman,


s: Seated himself at the window, and opened the book, and in silence


s: Ready to sail on the morrow, or next day at latest, God willing!


s: Homeward bound with the tidings of all that terrible winter,


s: Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of Priscilla,


s: Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla!


s: Reading the marvellous words and achievements of Julius Caesar.


s: You are a writer, and I am a fighter, but here is a fellow


s: Who could both write and fight, and in both was equally skilful!"


s: Seven letters at once, at the same time writing his memoirs."


s: "Truly," continued the Captain, not heeding or hearing the other,


s: Better be first, he said, in a little Iberian village,


s: Than be second in Rome, and I think he was right when he said it.


s: Finally he was stabbed by his friend, the orator Brutus!


s: Now, do you know what he did on a certain occasion in Flanders,


s: Then to widen the ranks, and give more room for their weapons;


s: So he won the day, the battle of something-or-other.


s: That's what I always say; if you wish a thing to be well done,


s: You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others!"


s: All was silent again; the Captain continued his reading.


s: Till the treacherous pen, to which he confided the secret,


s: Sudden and loud as the sound of a soldier grounding his musket,


s: Straightway Alden replied, as he folded the last of his letters,


s: Pushing his papers aside, and giving respectful attention:


s: "Speak; for whenever you speak, I am always ready to listen,


s: Always ready to hear whatever pertains to Miles Standish."


s: This I have said before, and again and again I repeat it;


s: Every hour in the day, I think it, and feel it, and say it.


s: Since Rose Standish died, my life has been weary and dreary;


s: Sick at heart have I been, beyond the healing of friendship.


s: Oft in my lonely hours have I thought of the maiden Priscilla.


s: She is alone in the world; her father and mother and brother


s: Died in the winter together; I saw her going and coming,


s: Now to the grave of the dead, and now to the bed of the dying,


s: Patient, courageous, and strong, and said to myself, that if ever


s: Two have I seen and known; and the angel whose name is Priscilla


s: Holds in my desolate life the place which the other abandoned.


s: Go to the damsel Priscilla, the loveliest maiden of Plymouth,


s: Say that a blunt old Captain, a man not of words but of actions,


s: Offers his hand and his heart, the hand and heart of a soldier.


s: Not in these words, you know, but this in short is my meaning;


s: I am a maker of war, and not a maker of phrases.


s: You, who are bred as a scholar, can say it in elegant language,


s: Trying to mask his dismay by treating the subject with lightness,


s: "Such a message as that, I am sure I should mangle and mar it;


s: But with the air of a man whom nothing can turn from his purpose,


s: "Truly the maxim is good, and I do not mean to gainsay it;


s: But we must use it discreetly, and not waste powder for nothing.


s: Now, as I said before, I was never a maker of phrases.


s: I can march up to a fortress and summon the place to surrender,


s: But march up to a woman with such a proposal, I dare not.


s: I'm not afraid of bullets, nor shot from the mouth of a cannon,


s: But of a thundering "No!" point-blank from the mouth of a woman,


s: That I confess I'm afraid of, nor am I ashamed to confess it!


s: So you must grant my request, for you are an elegant scholar,


s: What you demand in that name, I have not the power to deny you!"


s: So the strong will prevailed, subduing and moulding the gentler,


s: Friendship prevailed over love, and Alden went on his errand.


s: So the strong will prevailed, and Alden went on his errand,


s: Peaceful, aerial cities of joy and affection and freedom.


s: All around him was calm, but within him commotion and conflict,


s: As in a foundering ship, with every roll of the vessel,


s: Washes the bitter sea, the merciless surge of the ocean!


s: "Must I relinquish it all," he cried with a wild lamentation,