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I EARTH DEITIES PSYCHE Copyright hy Falk EARTH DEITIES AND OTHER RHYTHMIC MASQUES BY BLISS CARMAN AND MARY PERRY KING NEW YORK MITCHELL KENNERLEY 1914 ^7^ El o Copy rig/it 1(^14 by Mitchell Kennerley 44961 C p^nr'iN. tr^ \pO '^^'^ \ The dramatic rights for acting and reading of Earth Deities and Other Masques, together with its music, pan- tomime and dances, may be had of the authors. J«N -5 1925 TO MRS. A. M. MOSHER rriTH AFFECTION DEEP AND WIDE CONTENTS Dance Diurnal Earth Deities Children of the Year Pas de Trois FAOn I SI 71 m 1 THE DANCE DIURNAL. PERSONS IN THE DANCE A Sibyl, who chants the Prologue. Voices off Scene. Night. Day. Shine, son of Day. Shadow, daughter of Night. A small wild valley among majestic hills. r>m purple shadows break in wooded crests, ^Vhere lonely peaks support the arch of sky - An amphitheatre canopied with stars. Above the waiting valley's lilied floor Just clear of the invading oak and pine The low outcropping of a granite ledge Breaks through the soil knee-high and ringed ^th fern, A rocky islet in the waving grass. I i 1 EARTH DF.rriFS ''! I 1 To this still outpost in the vahlcruess, Shv:.moving, rapt in thought, a Sibyl comes, ^"d halts to stand at gaze across the scene ~- Vetled in the purple gray of forest houghs, f ''''''''' fi(f"''' f^'ll <^nd grave, and dim Save for . \e glotang eyes as dark as earth And voice reverberant as a haunted reed. There in prophetic v.sion of the dusk, She who has pondered on the scroll of life And looked upon the hour-glass of the years Running away its glittering living sands That shall not cease while sun and stars endure Foresees the gladdening of the dawn and chants, Accompanied by voices of the Dusk, The prologue of the Dance of Night' and Day. iheir chorus rises through the changing Light And Night, in purplish blue zdth star, of gold Is dimly seen to cross the glade and wait Beside the exit to the fFest, while Day Enters with tranquil power in gleaming gray Night turns. They meet and dance, cross and recrc rs, mth hythmic interchange of come and go, As vague as the procedure of a dream. w' THE DANCE DIURNAL Then enters from the East in sunlit gold Immortal Shine. And Shadozv from the side Of vanishing Night emerges suddenly And runs to meet him in her lilac robe. These youthful shapes of joy and tenderness, ff^tth all the ecstasy of kindling life, Dance the bright dance of Noon, while Day looks on, A putient sentinel among the trees. As Day moves Westward, in the lessening light Shine wearies and his ardent dancing flags Surrendering in a last caress. In the East Night reappears; and straightway tarrying Day ^M Shine and Shadow with returning Night Tread the soft dance of twilight and of dew. rhen tn the final tableau of the dusk, Shine turns away to thread the Wesiern wood And where Day with remembering eyes look's back. Eastward moves Night with Shadow on her breast. Then rising with a rapt and lonely chant, The Sibyl slowly passes from the scene. ' »• EARTFI DEITIES The Sibyi ( Doun left front uhilc action goes on up stage. ) (Night moves slowly across stage.) Here blue-robed and sovereign Night, Sandalled with mysterious might, Shrouded in her star-sown veil, Passes where the moon grows pale, Going slowly down the west On her immemorial quest. (Day enters and approaches Night.) Then upon the Road of Years Day unheralded appears, Confident master of the way, Strong, inscrutable, and gray, With the light of Paradise In his undefeated eyes. Witching Night in her retreat Tarries on reluctant feet. ^! Tin: D.wn: niirRXAL Tenderly, for by these two Heaven and earth arc made anew. (They dance.) No*: an atom but must sway To the rhythm of Night and Day. {Davin lights appear and change) New-born colors wake and stir, Light and sheer as gossamer, Over meadow, stream, and grove, Lilac, lavender, and mauve. Flushing crimsons flood and change O'er the summits range on range, As with magic to and fro The diurnal dancers go, Moving in a slow pavane Older than the breed of man. {Light grows to a golden glow centring where Shine enters) Then below the paling stars Time lets down the glowing bars I EARTH DEITIES From the portal of the East, And a thousand spears released Usher In the Son of Day. On his shining princely way. (Enter Shine.) Ouick to meet him from the West. Steahng from her mother' breast, (Enter Shadow.) Shadow in smoke-pale attire Flutters 'neath his cloak of fire. (Night slowly exits.) O departing Night and kind. Fhou must ever leave behind Lovely Shadow here to play With the radiant child of Day I (Day remains cclmlv cm r/v.«^ And what dancers are these two. ^hme and Shadow, gold and blue I He is straighter than a reed- She is light ..s thistle seed. THE DANCE DIURNAL Where he m. ves on peak or hollow, Unreluctant she will follow. All along the river's hem Golden ripples dance with them, While they lead the racing hours Down the aisles o( nodding flowers. Through the forest glad and green Lightly lilts their baladine. He is reckless in his pride, As she dances by his side. Ah, but he must fail at length, In his glory and his strength, Like the passing race of men While she grows but greater then, Bending all her beauty o'er him In the twilight to adore him ! {Re-enter l^lGHT) Now the star of evening burns And the grave-eyed Night returns, 8 EARTH DEITIES To rejoin departing Day; Shine and Shadow still delay; And they tread the saraband Of the twilight hand in hand, {Dance of four.) Weaving figures in the dusk Redolent of rose and musk. But across the Western hill Shine must pass, a wanderer still, {Exit Shine) Where Day in a little while Follows with unwearying smile, {Exit Day) As soft Shadow sinks from sight On the dreamful heart of Night. (Night and Shadow begin their ex>it together as slowly as possible) So I too must take my way Down the road of Night and Day, THE DANCE DIURNAL With the music in my ears Of the dancing of the spheres. The Sibyl makes her exit, leaving Night and Shadow still moving slowly on their course. Curtain t.. i ' i EARTH DEITIES EARTH DEITIES PERSONS IN THE MASQUE A Student Vertumnus Iris Syrinx Fauna Psyche Beroe Ceres Bacchante Pomona Daphne An open place at the foot of a wooded hill on a spring morning. The trees are in their young green. The wild cherry is in blossom. At the back of the glade, just clear of the circling wood, is a large square granite bowl- der, curiously shaped like an ancient altar, and restinn upon an outcropping ledge which forms 13 )': 1' i I ^ EARTH DEITIES a rude step around its base It h A u l ^ wanderwg „ude„, enters """' •"'^'-Prelhg ,heir motion. The lines of Syrinx and Ceres n,n. /. ,7"" ^^-""^ ^ "■"" »".• *. .«„^ or poll hsea .otces j.,st off scene. PoLj!,Z maybe su„g partly by herself and partly b, danang chorus of harvesters, ujjl r THE STUDENT Thr,' T; ^' *' «^"" '"" -"*-ng road That leads fron, the town to the gods' !bod'_ Totl,e ancient shadowy place apart, Where spnng i, born in the woodland's heart, EARTH DEITIES And oyer and over the ages through The spirit of joy is made anew. world of glory and toil and gleam. Made out of passion and dust and dream I On the gladsome quest by my student vow, 1 am come to this threshold of beauty now, Where Nature sits with inscrutable eyes Guarding her temple of mysteries. Who knows but the magical master key, As Plotinus taught, may be ecstasy, And led by the sheer elation of love And the intuitions we cannot prove,— We may pass in a moment fleet and fine into the realm of the divine I In such a grove when the world was young Great hymns to the god of the wood were sung. And worshippers in procession came With garlands and pipes to praise his name. Before ever the world grew sad and cold, When beauty its eloquent story told 15 Jl^ ;. .11 II' i n li'i '■ i-'i MMH^ita^iJiM •offRss^ ! V ! i i6 EARTH DEITIES In movement and rhythm and color and line, Where sense could interpret and heart ditine The hidden purpose, the ceaseless power. Enhancing the fair world hour by hour. Is it so idle to believe That unfearing rapture may perceive, Where the wonder rests on river and tree, The form and features of deity? To the doubt-free soul even now and here What radiant presence might appear. Living and warm, in ^he very guise It wore in the glad young centuries I This old gray stone might almost be The altar of some divinity. Behold, I come with gifts in hand. As ancient usages demand. And wreathe the stone and lift the prayer That cV.^11 the suppliant's faith declare. O Spirits of Earth, will ye not draw near. If the gift be clean and the heart sincere? EARTH DEITIES 17 Come forth in loveliness and power And touch with elory the present hour I Vertumnus appears among the trees on the rising ground, above the aUar, and as he speaks descends and lays a hand upon a corner of the stone. At his approach The Student seeks to conceal himself behind a tree. Vertumnus Vertumnus am I, of the turning year. I wake in the valleys, and spring draws near. I sweep in the veils of purple rain Where the woodland pomps come back again. When the blackbird shows his scarlet wing, And all the watery marshes ring, I lift the chorus near and far Through violet eves to the yellow star. I am the ardor of light and sun. For me the sap and the well-springs run. I sweeten the honey for murmuring bees In the golden blooms of the willow trees. 1'/ >f| f! li ' M m . i AaiMi ^ \ i8 EARTH DEITIES [ » i I fill the mellow breast of earth With fire that brings all fruits to birth. The sweet wild cherry, the budding vine, And the seed in the garden ground are mine. Where'er through the woodland ways I tread, The answering wmdflower lifts its head; I look to the orchard boughs, and lo, They break into blossom white as snow. For all my earthlings are dear to me, And gay in their kinship with deity. He turns and disappears among the trees. The Student {reappearing) Ah, youth everlasting, pass not so From the world of shadows ! Let me know The secret of thy perennial power Bringing the ardors of life to flower! Here under heaven's tent of blue Teach me earth's sorceries one day through ! Here to the song of the morning stream, While leaves play softly and meadows dream. The south wiml signals rh,. -)„ i The dawn.|i,-h,s ,h '"^ »''.->.lo„-» change, range, "' " "'"" ^''""^» As though ,o usher upon the scene Of all th„ „,agic_,„ ,„y q^^^_^ Ho-v w I, I ^„„^ .__ ^^^ 1^^^^^,^ What thy „,oving loveliness means ,o say' STetfn'/r';"''''"^''' ''■-'''' -d flow se"se and feeling come and go. As ^he lift and swing of the moving sea Break into audible harmony. So every stir of thy beauty sings Unspoken and ineffable things. Iris A dweller among the hill-tops, A wanderer over the plain, i. : . • ' f ■■'' Jli li 'II 20 KARTII DEITIES I am the soul of color, I am the Iris of rain. Enchantress of water and fire, Where I pass in a radiant hour. The tree-tops mist into verdure. The meadows spring into flower. I am the iridescence Hid in the bowl of glass; The glamour of light and shadow, The glory of things that pass. I rim the far horizon With magic of melting hues; I spill on the painted desert My yellows and roses and blues. I am the shine and sparkle Where combers break and flee In beryl and jade and azure, — The glitter and gloom of the sea. I dance on the dazzling snow-drift, I flash in the quick sunshower, I am the halo of joyance, I am the jewel of power. IvARTII DFirrES 21 I reign o'er the fairy ice-storm, ^reside over winter's dream, To color his pallid splendor With magical fire and gleam. I burn in the heart of the opal, I melt in the sphere of the dew, I sleep on the lake's still mirior, I lurk in the icy blue. When the feet of the legions of thunder And the spears of the lightning have passed Through the echoing gates of the mountains, Shadowy, threatening, and vast, I rise undefeated behind them. As only the rapturous can. And spring for a signal of triumph My arch of the airy span. Liffhts uliicli have been phiyUig about Iris ditrbig this scene form a rainbozv as she dis- appears to the left. The Student So earth is held in expectant trance, — Enchanted by sheer radiance. f 1 if 22 EARTH DEITIES II : i f II M Hark! Hath the silence not a call? Out of the low wind's lift and fall, Wonder emerges in throb and tone With transport of meaning,— music's own. My heart is made like a cunning shell Where answering echoes wake and dwell, Interpreting the rhythm and cry Of every beauty passing by. O mystic life of this lovely morn, How is thy magic of music born? Syrinx is disclosed in a clump of reeds at the left, and The Student drops upon one knee before her. Syrinx I am Syrinx, soul of the reed. In me the music of earth is freed. The immortal cadence all men know Lurks at my lip; but a gr J must blow. Since first I was found and wooed by Pan, I have taught the rhythm of life to man. I'i wx,:l EARTH DEITIES J3 In the flush of dawn when the meadows gleam, 1 flute for joy to the wandering stream, Till the th.ushes open their golden throats -' o echo he thrill of my reedy notes. The grass-heads bend and the branches sway. And the traveller lingers beside the way, As I turn my lilt with the dying fall, And the field-lark answers my eerie call. When only the dry cicada sings. And the sultry locust claps his wings. In the languorous heat I drowse and swoon At the burning touch of the dreaming noon, Or swing with the sailing wind and sigh For the pageant of summer passing by. When the full moon rises frail and large And shadows steal from the wooded marge. In many a valley I answer the drone Of little rivers lost and lone, Till my head is bowed and I rock with them Under the Twilight's purple hem. I ii I i . \\ m 24 EARTH DEITIES I |f I I f f ^ 5 Where all tunes out of the ancient heart, Sorrow and longing and love, — are part Of the infinite music made fc- man By a breath of life and the Hute of Pan. Syrinx disappears through the woods to the left, piping, while The Student rises as if to follow her. The Student Immori-al music, turn not yet! With grateful tears my eyes are wet For that sheer loveliness of thine, The pure cool touch of the tone divine. {A wild rabbit crosses the scene.) Sec how the wild things haste to hear The call of rapture that knows no fear! O creatures with eyes as clear as dew, Is there a heart that cares for you. Beating somewhere within the wild With fostering love for a feckless child, — ii EARTH DEITIES 25 An all-kind mother, as men suppose, Ready with solace for all our woes? Fauna comes qui upon the scene from the left holding back a large zvhite zvolf hound. 1 HE Student approaches, extending a friendly hand to them. Fauna Men call me kind, because I know The needs of all who come and go. All living creatures of the earth, Sorry and glad, are mine from birth, '^o guard by night, to guide by day, -o cherish in their guileless play. I give them strength, and make them free In impulse and in symmetry. My life throbs with them, as the tide Throbs in the ocean's heaving side. Like wind we wander as we will. By watered plain or shadowy hill. IK - 'I! J I •* 11 I 1 l! ■i> - 11 ill 26 EARTH DEITIES ft t I I I I I I I II i From craggy peak to sounding coast Range Fr na and her teeming host. (She sets free the dog.) The timid doe, the startled hare, Flee or lie hidden in my care. When all the swampy barrens ring With the first chorus of the spring, It is my voice that sounds the note For every wild inflated thro.*t. When the first swallow skims the blue, It is my smile he answers to. The wild hawk wheeling ring on ring, Poised as I taught on tilted wing Above the perilous ravine, Mounts to his pinnacle unseen. The dragon-fly along the stream Moves like a shuttle through my dream. The lumbering bear that roves the wood Includes me in his solitude. EARTH DEITIES 27 The squirrel on the bending spray Leaps, and is gone my leafy way. My young fox clears the orchard wall As lightly as a thistle-ball. Through magic dusks on moonlit lawns I frolic with my dancing fauns. But first of all my tribes I place The man-cub with his laughing face. Like a young wood-god starry-eyed He moves before me in his pride. Subduer of the land and sea, He leads life's wondrous pageantry, Till I behold him pass from sight Through the mysterious door of night; And I who all his joys have known, Am left here by his altar stone. While sorrow with the long gray rain Settles upon the darkening plain, i ! ^1 i' j; lit i i '1 ■? ii 28 EARTH DFITIES \il u I! n If The Student stands xiith head bowed down, while Fauna quickly vanishes to the right. The Student Ah, what is man? What power ordains The unresting impulse in his veins, Which drives him on from hope to hope Through time's immeasurable scope? A spirit radiant as day. Illumining its house of clay, With an unquenchable desire That must forevermore aspire I The wind that lifts the dust of spring And makes the murmuring pines to sing, Blowing o'er every land and sea Is not more glad of being free. Psyche appears on the rising ground above the altar, slowly moving down. The Student speaks the lines that follozv. EARTH DEITIES 29 Psyche Tender as wind of summer That wanders among the flowers, Down worldly aisles with enchanted smiles She leads the mysterious hours. This is immortal Psyche, The winged soul of man, — Ardor unspent and innocent As when the world began. Out of the ancient silence Over the darkling earth. As streamers swim on the sunrise rim, She moves between sorrow and mirth. The impulss of things eternal, The transport hidden in clay. Like a dancing beam on a noonday stream, She signals along the way. Her feet are poised over peril. Her eyes are familiar with death. Her radiant wings are daring things. Frail as the beat of a breath. i I H t :i;i. 30 EARTH DEITIES ' !i I f I h Over the ocean of being, In her gay incredible flight, See her float and run in the gold of thi sun, Down to the gates of night. The storm may darken above her, The surges thunder below. But on through a rift where the gold lights drift, Still she will dancing go, Treasuring things forgotten, As dreams and destinies fade; Spirit of truth and ageless youth. She laughs and is not afraid. (She dances off to the left.) The Student Surely, far off on the morning's verge, I hear the great sea thunder and surge ! In a lull of the wind that wanders by I hear the haunting and eerie cry Of the wild white riders of the foam And the sound of their coursers trampling home. EARTH DEITIES 31 O dancing joy of the might of the sea, Wilt thou not for once take form for mc, And flash from the spray and the flying spume That rides on the slope of the beryl gloom, When the breaking billows hiss and roar, And the daring combers race for shore! Beroe springs upon the scene from the right. A solo voice and chorus of scene. Beroe Beroe, daughter of Ocean, Foam of the wave is she! On the crest of the racing billows Shoreward her white feet flee. Crowding, breaking, and tossing, Her cloud-white stallions run. While poised on their curving shoulders See her dance in the dazzling sun! Glad, glad to the open heaven. On the track of the coursing tides. To the sound of their trampied thunder With their flying manes she rides. t' li I'j I i i- \ i; 1 li^ 32 EARTH DEITIES The slope of the beach is before them, The hurrying legions behind, But her hands are light on the bridle, Her feet are soft as the wind. Up, up on the far-flung shingle To the edge of the dunes they go, To pause for a melting moment And swirl like a wraith of snow. Then back for the slow recover Their shattered charge recedes. And she passes the gates of sundown. On the necks of her plunging steeds. She dances off to the right. The Student O sea-soul, follow your restless tides, V/hile peace in the bosom of ear'^h abides I {He seats himself on a fallen tree.) From the pointed firs on the western hill Our earth-born farewells follow you still. EARTH DEITIES 33 Now the sun-warm wind from a harvest field Comes with the breath of the fragrant yield, Is it the sheen of glimmering feet That runs on the crests of the rippling wheat? Where is the fervour heroic born That guards the youth of the standing corn, And brings its trophies when all is o'er Without regret to the threshing floor? Ceres walks on from the left surrounded by a glory of sunlight. The Student slips to a kneelinij posture before her. Ceres I am the daughter of earth and sun; In the dusk I dream ; in the wind I run. I touch the fields with a greening fire. And the yellow harvest is my desire. When over hill comes the silver rain, I spring with joy of the springing grain. 34 EARTH DKHIF.S \fl The farmlands love mc, the acres know Promise and fragrance where I go. Over the furrows I wave my hand, And gladness walks through the plenteous land. Through all the valleys at golden morn My garments sweep with the rustling corn. The laughing meadows from hill to sea For a thousand years have been glad of me. And never came home a harvest load That passed not Ceres upon the road. When billows run in the surging rye, I race with their shadows against the sky, Lifting the song of the mother kind; And the scarlet poppies troop behind. Then when the far-spent rivers croon To the rising shield of the harvest moon, With all the p<.od well won from harm I come at last to the reaper's arm, EAKTII DF.ITlilS 35 I sink to the ground, my senses dim, And I give my life for a gift to him. She walks atcay to the r'lyht, leaving TuE Student mth buxicd head. The Student Lightly wc value the gifts of I<:arth, And the things that perish to gisc- !ifc worth! For every sheaf in the whcatficld lies Spent in magnanimous sacrifice. The great unsorrowing sun shines on; The young grass springs where the scythe has gone; The redolent air is sweet and bland. As the rivers sing through the quiet land. The vineyards slope to the sunburnt hill, And the clustered grapes hang full and still, Where soon the gatherers will appear To crown with rejoicing the yield of the year. 36 EARTH DEITIES Music is heard from the hill. The Student, listening and looking far off toward the hill, speaks the lines that follow. Bacchus I . . . Bacchus! . . . Bacchus I . . . Bacchus 1 Hark to the drums I Hark to the drums I The dance of the lord of the vintage comes. Out of the wood and down the hill The rioters follow with rapture shrill. Youth and maid In that mad parade Leap for joy in the flickering shade. The strongest reel, and the weak grow wan, And the maddest maenad leads them on. Her heart is bare. Her loosened hair Is a mist of gold on the violet air. Beauty aflame, she marches by, Child of the thyrsus borne on high. Her eyes a-shine. She is half divine EARTH DEITIES 37 With the rhythmic dance and the mystic wine ; While the grapes upheld in her gleaming hand Are an ensign of mirth to her reckless band. Living as fire No time can tire, Or a scarlet lily's unshamed desire, Her wine-hued mouth and ivory knees Flash in her sunlit ecstasies. Trembling clear As a joyous fear. The soft insidious flutes draw near; While madder, madder, madder comes The frensied throb of the choric drums. Thfe call of the crowd Is fond and loud. As she tosses before them wild and proud. " Faster, faster, faster," they cry. As the god with a ravishing smile goes by. Bacchus I . . Bacchus I Bacchus I Bacchus I 38 EARTH DEITIES Bacchante The Student moves up scene where a crowd of revellers rushing past bear him off, while Bacchante dances on scene, decorates the altar, and dances off to the right as the stu- dent returns. The Student Spirit of all the grape-hung South, With the kiss of the world on thy wilful mouth, Whose gladness moves in our veins like fire Unleashing the soul to her dear desire, Pass, wild dancer, but leave behind The pattern of joy for our feet to find I Thy sister spirit breathes her balm From Northern orchards mellow and calm. Where temperate airs make strong and good The life that rises in sap and blood. And spreads the bounty of her hand Over the tranquil autumn land. EARTH DEITIES 39 Pomona enters from the left. Pomona Now my festival is here, Harvest sun and hunter's chc I Pomona make my round Of each fruit-lit orchard ground, Bidding for my dance draw near Every fruit-stained harvester. A chorus of Harvesters enter, carrying fruits, pipes, and cymbals, dancing and singing. Where like lamps the apples han;. Gay with autumn's tinge and tang,^ Here the patterned maze we tread. Through the shade by color led. Ruddy tint, through every vein Carry the patrician strain. Till each cheek shall wear the sign Of its origin divine. !tli 40 EARTH DEITIES li Golden glow of molten sun Caught in globes the year has spun, Spread the glory of thy spell, That the land may love thee well I Darkening tent of royal blue With the pale stars peeping through, Shed new wisdom for the wise From your sky-brewed sorceries I Exeunt Harvesters. Pomona continues. Now the pipes and cymbals fade With the dancers down the glade. Still the loitering sun delays, And I linger by the ways, Dreaming, while the crickets sing. Of Vertumnus and the spring. She walks away to the left, where a large white moon is seen. The sun is going down to the right. EAP.Tfl DFJTIES 41 Thk Student Spirits of the dreamful earth, Celebrants at beauty's birth, Ministering to the sight Of the seekers of the light. Marshalling for the sun's eye His diurnal pageantry, — Visions, how ye still endure To inspire and allure I And upon the brink of night, Hark, what footsteps fleet and light, The summer woodland's fairest child, T: Mushing spirit of the wild! Daphne is seen running back and forth among the trees on the hill, and then on to the scene. The Student conceals himself as she approaches. Two following Nymphs appear at the forest's edge and speak. 4^ EARTH DEITIES 1^ Daphne Through the shadowy aisles she flees From the ardour of the sun; Straining throat and trembling knees Scarce can bear her farther on. Great Selene, kind and cold, Hide her in thy silver light Of enchantment, fold on fold, Lest she perish in affright! Mother of the frail in heart, To thy forest she is come. Let the tender branches part. And their twilight take her home. Let her wilding bed be made By a mossy beech-tree bole, Deep within its healing shade. Soon, come soon, that saving goal I Speak, oh, speak the holy ban. And thy spell about her shed! Faster reels the darkening span. Fiercer burns the nameless dread. EARTH DEITIES 43 Ah, thy breath begins to cool All her beauty with its balm ! Here beside a darkling pool, (Like thy beam within its calm,) She who Daphne was of yore, Changed by thy mysterious might, Now is Laurel evermore. Gleaming through the tranquil night. She goes off among the trees at the right, the Nymphs following her. The Student reap- pears, approaches the stone, botvs his head and bends his knee, and sinks upon the step, resting his head against the altar. fi The Student What riches out of Nature's day Ch-^er the dreamer on his way, Till his loving heart is bowed With the memories that crowd! And he bends a pilgrim knee, Thankful for felicity, 44 EARTH DEITIES h Hi! J While his care-freed senses bless The solace of the wilderness. Where the town's distractions pale, Dusk has drawn a silver veil, And the glamour of the moon Takes its convert in a swoon, — Carries him by drowsy streams To the borderland of dreams. He falls asleep. Vertumnus reappears from the left. Vertumnus From sunset hills to the sunrise sea, I am the lore and the ecstasy, The gladdening strength and the urge of things, Unaged by love of a thousand springs. The snow-white Foam and the silver Rain, The wilding Mother, the bending Grain, Laurel and Vine and river Reed, And the Soul of Man, are mine indeed. EARTH DEITIES 45 I touch them all with greening fire, And bring them at last to their hearts' desire. My triumph awaits the harvest moon, When the grain is ripe and the grass-heads swoon. Where slumberous poppies nod and burn, As summer comes to her drowsy turn. Then all the laboring earth has rest, And I sink to sleep on Pomona's breast. As Vertumnus alludes to each deity, she appears among the trees; Psyche on the hill above the altar; to the right from hack to front Ceres, Daphne, Bacchante and Beroe; and to the left Iris, Fauna, Syrinx, — leaving the front place for Vo\^^^^\ who enters before the last couplet. VerjUMNUS goes to meet her, and they all assume statuesque poses. The scene is gradually dark'^ned and the figures dis- appear. The Student ivakes and prepares to continue his journey. Dawn lights grow, while he is speaking, until one shaft falls upon the altar. 46 KARTfl DDirins I TiiL Student Where arc my dreams of beauty gone? This air, this wood, this very stone — The same, yet not the samel I see Them now as masks of deity. There is a friendliness of light About them new and infinite; And they will nevermore appear The alien common things they were. Another dayl The silent sun K'ndles the clod it falls upon With ecstasy, and li' renews Itself for its eternal use. And now for me henceforth, behold A world that is not as of old! In every face I shall descry Some glimpses of divinity. EARTH DEITFKS 47 The laundry girl with bare white throat And lyric step, and hair afloat, Is Beroc, who comes to bless The town with her fresh loveliness. The shabby model's perfect face Smiles on with Ceres' generous grace. One voice with its caressing tone Wild, soft, and sad, is Syrinx' own. Old Apple Mary at her stall Is not her dingy self at all. But great Pomona in disguise. And the old dame with earth-brown eyes Who tends the bird-shop, with its shelf Of injured ones, is Fauna's self. The grapes upon the fruiterer's stand Were tended by Bacchante's hand. O world of dusk where dreams are born. To grow to wisdom with the morn 1 M 48 EARTH DEITIES I t Our visions pass, but their truth remains. So man aspires and attains. . . . Back by the green and shadowy road To carry the news from the gods' abode! '^ '- . with me along the way, a spread thy glamour through town ^-day, That folk in the dreariest plight may see Some kind revelation of deity I CURTAIN t\ CHILDREN OF THE YEAR "1 i 11- CHILDREN OF THE YEAR PERSONS IN THE MASQUE Mother Earth The Twelve Months Their Twelve Escorts Time, a silent figure. Overture with bells and chimes in celebra- tion of the new year. The curtain rises on a wild place among the hills in starlight. A stronger white light cen- tres about a symbolistic figure of Mother Earth, who is seated xvith the Maiden Janu- ary in her embrace. Each Month in turn, as she is introduced, enters and holds the stage with characteristic motion, {pantomime, and dance,) to appropri- ate music, to which the lines are sung. She then takes her place on the stage near Earth and joins in the succeeding singing. Each Month radiates her ozvn peculiar light and atmosphere upon her scene. 51 52 EARTH DEITIES Mother Earth Here's young January, As fresh as a fairy, As wondering shy as a child that is lost. With bells on her sleigh. She has come a long way, And her kind-hearted nurse is old lady Frost. You are welcome, my dear! The music you h6ar. Is folk celebrating the day of your birth. Your sister months greet you, And hasten to meet you. As you stand at the knee of your fond Mother Earth. February Here's February coming Through the crystal-coated trees; Her cloak is fringed with icicles That clink about her knees; She is young and debonair. With snowdust in her hair, A-flashing by on silver skates Or on her winged skis. CHILDREN OF THE YEAR 53 Her roads are all unbroken, Her woods are in a trance, But there's mischief in her laughter. And daring in her glance. This saucy Miss of mine Has seen her Valentine, And they will lead the carnival With domino and dance. The drifts are in the meadow. The snow is on the hill. Along the waiting valleys The days are white and still. But a smile is on her lip. As the eaves begin to drip, For soon the Harlequin of Spring Will peep across her sill. March Now here comes blowsy March, With petticoats a-starch, A-hurrying to market through the mud, mud, mud. 54 EARTH DEITIES She bears a peck of dust, Wears a veil of icy crust, And all the sugar maples arc in bud, bud, bud. She travels with a gale That goes roaring in the sail, And sets the wires singing in the blow, blow, blow. The noons are almost warm, There is not a sign of storm. And then in half an hour comes the snow, snow, snow. You may hear the melting rain At midnight on the pane, Then down will go the mercury to freeze, freeze, freeze. And when up comes the sun To see what has been done, He finds a shower of diamonds on the trees, trees, trees. II' Ji I' I Then all about the town There are people falling down, CHILDREN OF THE YEAR m 55 Until the glary streets are turned to slush, slush, shush. When all the winds grow still Along the misty hill. You're sure to hear a bluebird through the hush, hush, hush. April Shining, shining April, With the merry mouth I When the sighing rain-wind Sets from the south, A light is on her brow, And a tear is on her cheek. While with sun and showers She plays at hide and seek. Shining, shining April, With the shadow eyes. Eager with compassion, Melting with surprise. Twilight soft about her, Violets on her breast. Welcomed at each open door As a radiant guest. m I'll 56 EARTH DEITIES Shining, shining April, With the woodland voice, Bidding all the rivers And the hills rejoice. Every living creature Wakens at her call, — Who is not in love with her Who comes with love for all? 1 May This is May coming now, With the blushing apple bough; And her swallows skim and circle Where the heavy oxen plow. When the hurdy-gurdies play. You may know that it is May With all her budding comrades A-trooping up this way. There's a sound of marching drums In the village when she comes, The lilacs break in blossom And every beehive hums. CHILDREN OF THE YEAR 57 She is willowy and blonde, She is whimsical and fond, And rules her willing subjects With a wilful fairy wand. Beneath a chilly sky There is fervor in her eye. Though she has a changeful temper. That will better bye-and-bye. When she dances with a lad. Her beauty drives him mad. And when she trips adown the street The old folks all are glad. June This is June, glory-eyed, Very gracious in her pride. And how fair I Through the scented dusk she goes. With a single yellow rose In her hair. And every garden ground. Where she makes her happy round ^1 '.'1 58 EARTH DEITIES \-\ Hour by hour, Is glad of her caress And her twilight hands that bless Every flower. She loiters by the stream, Where the idle rushes dream Time away. As she bends and turns her face, They imitate her grace, As they sway. When she hears her minstrel thrush Through the purple evening hush. Hearts unfold. As she drops her veil of dew, Romance is shining through. Still untold. m f July This is opulent July, And as she passes by, There is triumph in > t bearing And bewitchment in . -'r eye. CHILDREN OF THE YEAR 59 There is freedom in her style, And adventure in her smile; She travels with the roving bees O'er many a sunny mile. From the mountains to the shore, She has lovers by the score ; Every summer they are captured By her beauty as of yore. See her saunter down the be/ch. Just beyond the breakers' reach. With the figure of a sea-nymph And the color of a peach. See her standing on a ledge At a mountain's dizzy edge. Or following a river With the iris and the sedge. A month is like a day In the glamour of her sway. And every heart goes singing Down her green enchanted way. >t; -^ "i" ^-^ '^