THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ^ »^ >? ^ ^^^ ^ <> THOMAS A BECKET, §t]ltx |Voems. BY PATRICK SCOTT. LONDON : LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. 1853. LONDON : R. CLAY, PKIMEK, BREAD STREET HILL. TO JOHN HUGHES, ESQ. AUTHOR OF "PROVENCE AND THE RHONE,"* I^ljc foUotoing |Jofin, COMMENCED AT HIS SUGGESTION AND COMPLETED WITH HIS APPROVAL, IS DEDICATED BY HIS OBLIGED FRIEND, THE AUTHOR. * Vide Introduction to " Quentin Durwaid," p. liv. Edit. ISSG. ^.r4> "Zi^'. -)«-C J CONTENTS. PAGE Thomas a Becket 1 Lady Audrey Leigh . 133 IVA . 148 Isis Trifoemis . 165 Mrs. J. E. R — d — e's Dream . . 175 To Augusta ... V . 183 The New Land . 186 The Pursuit of Happiness . 189 The Grande Chartreuse . 193 Chant of the Free Rifles . 195 A Lesson for Youth . 197 Shades of Life . 199 To Egypt . 201 Corolla Persica — Sadi .... . 205 Sayib .... . 207 Khakanee , . 208 Hafiz . . . . . 209 Khusroo . . . . . 211 HiSAM . 212 MUHMOOD . 213 Hafiz .... , 214 f Irumits 5 §ctlict. Ursffjts fu^xtstnttln. Henry II. Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. William of Pavia, Cardinal of St. Peter's. Otho, Cardinal of St. Nicolas. Roger, Archbishop of York. Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London. JoscELiN, Bishop of Salisbury. Henry, Bishop of Winchester. Peter op Nismes, Friend of William of Pavia. John op Salisbury, Secretary to Becket. The Dean op Boulogne. Ranulp de Broc , a Norman Baron. William de Tracy. -\ Richard B rito. [ Knights, attendant on Henry. Reginald Fitzurse. C Hugh de Moreville.J Lords, &c. Ditto. Father op Agnes. Richard Blois, a Norman. Cuthbert, a Military Retainer of Ranulf de Broc. Tungstan, attendant of Becket. Monks, Crowd, 8(c. Agnes. Matilda. THOMAS A BECKET. Scene I. — Road to Canterbury. Timgstan and Cuthhert. TUNGSTAN. 'Tis a long way to Canterbury. CUTHBERT. Tnie! So we have felt it — yet your master, Tungstan, Found a short cut to the archbishopric ! But, courage, comrade ; lo ! the rising towers Of the old cathedral mock the wayfarer With a false show of neai-ness. 2 THOMAS A BECKET. TUNGSTAN. So appear The heights of Heav'u to those who deem they have them In fetch of a quick walk. CUTHBERT. Which saw suits best, — Or priest, or soldier ? The hard labourer In battle's field sweats to discomfiture Of limb or life, that saintly stay-at-homes May stretch their easy length, mouthing the fruits Of their weU-guarded acres, and absolve The crimes of such world-wanderers as myself, Who sin to make their comfort ! TUNGSTAN. Worthy friend ! Doth that man stay at home, but now returning From seven long years of mortal banishment 1 CUTHBERT. But he supports a system which itself Supports a hundred idlers in the s\m. For one who digs i' the vineyard — 'tis the same. THOMAS A BECKET. TUNGSTAN. Cuthbert ! thou know'st I ne'er was bless'd at school With wit of words, or a contentious tongue ; Yet have I more — CUTHBERT. In what 1 TUNGSTAN. A heart to love One who is worthy of it all — tvho more Than the Lord Becket, tell me, the good Primate Of this religious land 1 CUTHBERT. Henry the King ! The royal head of this most warhke land ! TUNGSTAN. Who had an arm more strongly nerved than Becket 1 Who had a heart more firmly set than Becket, In the bewildering din which soldiers love And call it glory ? CUTHBERT. True ; it ivas so, Tungstau. More shame for him, that doffing coat of steel With the priest's garb he donn'd another temper. THOMAS A BECKET. Why doth he thwart the King ? why throw the Church Like a vast shadow o'er the path which Henry Would disinherit of the ancient rubbish That blocks the light 1 TUNGSTAN. Speak plainly — what's the light You hint at 1 CUTHBERT. Hint at ! truly it would spend A summer's day, to read the muster-roll Of all the wrongs in State or Church, which Henry Hath warr'd with to the life : take this alone As a similitude of other things And of another kind, which now we see — That two weak travellers, like you and me, Can thi-ead these winding roads, nor fear such risk As at each brake and turn would have sprung out Upon our forceful path, in the good times Of custom'd lawlessness. TUNGSTAN. That man does more Who clears the way to an immortal home, With heav'n-directed hand ! THOMAS A BECKET. CUTHBERT. Who clears the way- Must tread the path himself — who knows he knows it ? Here, our sure senses can at least discern The benefit we wot of. Say besides, Who is't that would defend the land he loves With her own children's arms, and oust the herd Of fierce ( ' > * Brabangons, ready for all work That bids the best for blood ? TUNGSTAN. And was not Becket The first who started this ? CUTHBEET. More shame, I say, To leave the good cause now ! Once side by side He fought with royal Henry 'gainst the oppressor ; But now he quits the field, or frowns defiance From his contemptuous height, while Henry stoops To untie the vassal's limbs. TUNGSTAN. The lowest serf Who takes on him new duties, and performs The Church's ministrations, from that hour * See Notes at the end of this Poem. b THOMAS A BECKET. Casts off the heavy slough of his old life, And breathes in liberty, and walks in pow'r. 'Tis this which makes our English hearts twine round The pillar of the Church — that Church which still. Like a good mother, 'bout her meanest son Throws her strong arms, from which secure he gazes With glance to glance upon the castled Norman. CUTHBEBT. Nay ; you've become a minstrel since your schoolhood. Good Tungstan ! But bethink thee, wer't not better To rase the castle, that its dangerous owner May lack the possibility of Pow'r, When Pow'r is wrong, and let the vassal out Free in himself and his own right to run No risk of changing chains ? The serf, you say, Turn'd into priest is free ; all should be free : Now, 'twere a pretty world, gramercy, Tungstan, If all in it were priests ! Bah ! let me ask, What makes the robber Arab scour the desert. But that there crawls some peaceful traveller there 1 Priests prey not on their kind. TUNGSTAN. The Primate preys On nothing but himself — how greatly that ! THOMAS A BECKET. / On his own thoughts by day ; his rest i' the night : Ay, on the flesh on which the holy scourge Venges the spirit's quarrel. CUTHBERT. More fool he With such a form to shrine a woman's worship ! TUNGSTAN. He's pure — has made a covenant with his eyes, And every day does penance — CUTHBERT. — As Archbishop For sins of the unsainted Chancellor ! (2) TUNGSTAN. 'Tis false \—his sins ! Hadst thou as few to reckon Thou hadst one foot in Heav'n ! CUTHBERT. Wotdd he had both ! Far better there, than on the soil of England ! Why comes he here, to teach men's minds to wrestle In hatred ? Brother gives the fall to brother — And wherefore "?— to be crown'd or curs'd at Rome ! Methinks such weeds as these are not the flow'rs 8 THOMAS A BECKET. Which the good man should plant on earth, and gather To scent his clothes in Heav'n ! TUNGSTAN. His foes press on him — It is their fault, I say : he seeks the honour Of God, and of his order. CUTHBERT. Doubtless, Tungstan, They are the same. Most pious juggler ! TUNGSTAN. What ? Seven years of abstinent absence ! juggler he ! His enemies are mine. [He walks apart, and sits down, with his head leaning on his hand. CUTHBERT. Poor Tungstan ! he is faithful : where's the wonder 1 They say this man of God hath such a tongue 'Twould oil the rustiest temper till it work'd Right smoothly to the key of policy. [Looking kindly at Tungstan. True to his colours, that's a merit ! — fool, If so, he is an honest one ; his heart Does duty for his head. I love his face, THOMAS A BECKET. 9 With all its dear affectionate ugliness. Come, Tungstan ! Well not quarrel : let the King And Primate have their bout — your hand, man, come, The Church sha'n't part old friends. TUNGSTAN. Nay — promise first — Think better of my master ! CUTHBERT. I will try it For your sake, Tungstan : there, shake hands ; and now I'm off to Saltwood. TUNGSTAN. I to Canterbury, To make all ready for the pray'd-for coming Of my dear lord, who for these tedious years Hath lack'd my wonted service. I commend you To the good Virgin ! CUTHBERT. And I you, kind Tungstan, To any saint you choose. 10 THOMAS A BECKET. Scene IL— Chapter House of St. PauVs. The Bishops of London, Winchester, (^) and Salisbury. The Arxhbishop of York. LONDON. We must forestall, by countercharge to Rome, The threaten'd danger, and that quickly ; time Presses our steps against this man, WINCHESTER. Methinks This man is an Archbishop, good my Lord, And may have right likewise to claim from us Some steps in his behalf. LONDON. From us, my Lord ? WINCHESTER. What hath he battled for, but Mother Church ; To lift her rank ; to gift with deeper root Her world-o'erspreading rights ? Hath he not borne The wrath of kings, the pangs of banishment, Serving high Heav'n, whose lowly ministers Are we ; and must he stand alone, to fight THOMAS A BECKET. 11 The cause of friends, without one friendly arm To point a weapon, or to raise a shield For God or him ! LONDON. Indeed, this Becket — why- Call him Ai'chbishop 1 His authority, The way he wields it, doth not fit the time. And quarrels with men's tempers — we renounce it ! — Truly this Becket fights with weapons forg'd Of violent earth : his stubbornness of pride Is tougher than a hauberk, and his haste (Rebounding from a weak submissiveness) (*) Gleams like the axe of some blind warrior, Hewing both friend and foe, WINCHESTER. His stubbornness Is the firm will that holds the tortured sense, Rigid in faith to the Priest's vow of office. Though Fy'ince turn executioner. LONDON. 'Twas Becket (When Becket was a Chancellor) who tax'd The Church for his lord's battles. 12 THOMAS A BBCKET. SALISBURY. Ay ! 'twas Becket, When Becket was Archbishop, who consented To the King's customs, (^) which he flies at now As if the Devil had penn'd them. LONDON. He will swamp Our order in the rash conflicting sea, Which his ambition stirs. The cause of truth, As of our office, asks for gentler means Whose seeming weakness works out strongest ends ; Bending to see more clearly how to rise. And letting go, to grasp more certainly When the hold is not felt. WINCHESTER. These remedies Smell of the earth, and work for it. Heaven's cause Is not akin to that, which the shrewd world Hangs over in its thrifty counting-house. Of mere material loss or gain, admitting The balance be cast up, and winning items Put to its credit. The expedient tongue That lisps "Yea, yea," when it should shout out "Never," Does so far soil the vii'gin purity THOMAS A BECKET. 13 Of what it serves, as leaves the delicate thing Dishonour'd in its spirit, and scarce worth Or contest, or defence. YORK. Dost know the King 1 Doth he not hate this Becket with a hate Bred of sour'd love, and a remember'd sense Of benefits forgot 1 Where's thy allegiance ? The Heav'n we serve plants Henry on the throne. And ranges us for subjects, — subjects are — WINCHESTER. Such, and not slaves. But much I fear this subject Is one on which I shall not rule your judgments. One word then as the sum. It seems most strange That we should frown upon oui- own Apostle, And disavow his tongue ; — should let our soldier Stand i' the gap, then hang upon the arm That strikes for us. Methinks, my Lord of London, My ear infbrms me that thy pleasant church Invites our presence. 14 THOMAS A BECKET. Scene III. — Interior of the Church. Parties as before. Monks, due. chanting. '* Like the precious ointment shed Upon Aaron's holy head, Beard and sweeping garments dy'd In the sanctifying tide ; " Like the dews of Hermon falling Back to life dead Nature calling, So should brethren live, and so Streams of Love in fraorance flow." ""o Enter a muffled figure, who gives the Bishop of London a letter, and flies. LONDON (reading). What's this 1 " The humble Priest of Canterbury Unto " — What have we 1 " Roger — York — Arch- bishop — In name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, And of our Lady, ever bless'd and Virgin, And by the merits of the Angelic host, Cursed be — " Ah ! what are ye looking at ? On with the chanting ! [CJhant, " So let brethren dwell, and so — " THOMAS A BECKET. 15 That lyiug music ! stop it ! — love with him ! Suspended ! Where's the wretch who brought this missive ? What think ye, heads of Israel ? WINCHESTER. Think, my Lord 1 We'd answer better, if we knew what shakes Thy holy calm. LONDON. May't please your Grace of York, Thou art put out, quench'd, buried, swept away From off the soil; cast in a corner-heap, That passers-by shall turn their face away, And hold their nostrils, lest the smallest sense Be tainted by a thing so foul ! YORK. I ! what ? LONDON, I say, thou'i-t doubly curs'd — that thou must live To look on thy own death — that things of earth Shrink from thee, and the gi-avc-pit shuts its jaws Against the excommunicated man. 16 THOMAS A BECKET. YOEK. Me ! Who hath dared—? LONDON. Thy brother ! he who seeks The good of his own order — the good Becket ! Our Church's champion ! SALISBURY. And thyself, my Lord? LONDON. He hath suspended. Closer in, my Lords. What! do ye think we can conceal this matter? Why did ye stop the chanting? WINCHESTER. 'Tis too late ; The eyes of all are slanted here ; they scan The trouble of our motions. Thoughts of evil Are in their generation wondrous quick To reach conclusions. LONDON. Holy Winchester ! What thinkest thou of thy Archbishop now ? WINCHESTER. 'Tis rashly done. THOMAS A BECKET. 17 LONDON. Rash ! by tlae Lord I serve, If this rash Primate seeks for martyrdom, And a new cross will make another saint, I'll help him with a nail. My Lord of York, When thy stunn'd sense hath gotten life again, Thou must to Henry. Becket treads us down To lowest earth ; we'll see the better there To trip him where he stands ! Scene IV. — Sea-shore of Wissant (Coast of France J. Becket. Edward Grim. becket. Who sides with us ? The very elements Make war on Becket. The contemptuous wind Puffs out its cheeks in rude opposing breath, On tlie lost shepherd who would seek his flock. Am I the Lord's anointed? GRIM. Holy Father ! Second to none, if not to him who sits As Peter's self. c 18 THOMAS A BECKET. BECKET. And cannot I command These rebel waves to carry me to England 1 GRIM. Wouldst thou 'twere giv'n to thee, this mighty power? BECKET. No, not to man; and least of men to me, The weakest of my brethren. Where were then (Had I authority o'er Nature's forms) The exact return of seasonable things To their appointment ? — the unforced conclusion To the unobtrusive means 1 — that calm clear order Which the hot hand of passion never shakes, Nor jealousy can foul ? GRIM. Yet, Holy Father, Much hast thou struggled with the angry workings Of a more difficult sea ; a storm-tost bark, Beaten from Kome to France, from France to England; While they whose kindred duties pledged their hands To aid thee at the helm, or curb'd by fear^ Or urged by baser hope of gain, withhold The cunning of their ofl&ce — yet, how long 1 THOMAS A BECKET. 19 BECKET. What if I thought that I alone was left To fight the fight of Heaven? What, if I said, " I have been very jealous for my God, And if I fall on the contending soil, Who then will raise the war-cry? " Impious fool ! Hath the Lord God of Hosts such need of help That he must list a soldier like myself ? Can He not summon myriads of arm'd pow'rs To shake the stone-ribb'd earth who ne'er have served Beneath the flag of Baal ? Fool— ay, fool ! What can the mote that dances in the beam (Seen only then) or hasten or inhibit The chariot of the sun 1 GRIM. The sun is single ; The earth hath lesser stars than him, and these Have paled before thee— ay, and yet shall blink, Confronted with the master-light that clothes Thy pei'son and thy office. BECKET. Faithful friend ! This may not be — the sun is setting, Grim. Seek out another leader ; — soon shall I 20 THOMAS A BECKET. Be none to thee, or any man. Alas ! What have I been to thee — to all who loved me 1 (''^ My life is hke a garment, once of price, But patch'd with colours, whose complexion shocks The sense of harmony. Heaven's minister — Rejected of the earth. Primate of England — An exile from its dwellings. Clothed with power, As Legate of the Vatican, to hurl Its fires before the hopeless sinner's feet, And open there an isolating gulf His kindred dare not pass, while God's own face Ts muffled to his desperate vision ! — I, Gifted like this, when my aid stands in service Of some weak sitter on a throne of earth, Am fed and fairly spoken, as an arm To work some state macliinery. This done, I too am done with, and the prince who rules O'er mortal bodies, when his end is earn'd, Can spurn at him who sequestrates a soul ! Yet this is my deserving. I have trod The fold of Christ, with foot that rather sought To mount o'er men, than to draw near to God. When, on the battle-ground of Crown and Church, Some little inch was fought for, I opposed THOMAS A BECKET. 21 The proud reluctance of an earthly will, And phrased it, " zeal for Heav'n ! " — and I rxm punish'd. 'Tis well — yet not much longer ; I can see One who will end all struggles, and remove This burden from my spirit. GRIM, Who is that ? BECKET. Death ! GRIM. Death, my gracious Lord ! Why fear'st thou this 1 BECKET {starting). What saidst thou 1 Fear I Insulting priest ! — nay, nay, I err — thou didst not mean it. [Sj^eaJcing in a low tone. Friend, behold Yon gloomy sea, whose wild waves seem at war With the black sky. {The?/ cannot hurt each other — That is the privilege of reasoning man.) It hath a sour look ; yet what, think'st thou, care The hearts that sleep beneatli it, in the calm Of its deep chambers? So, the sounding shocks 22 THOMAS A BECKET. Of the world's conflict reach not to the gi-ave. How often memory's stern recording pen Blots from life's page the poetry of hope ! My mother dreamt — (my mother came from Moab — My sire of Israel '^^ — 'twas a double line. I noted it — 'twas folly — but 'tis past) — She dreamt one morning that she saw my nurse Try wdth full hands to spread the coverlet Above my infant limbs ; it was too large To unfold it in the room ; she took it out Into the pleasance : still it stretch'd and stretch'd. Beyond the boundaries ; and fold gi'ew on fold, Till the great cloth might wrap a kingdom. I Had faith in dreams — the di'eams have fled, and soon 'Twill be an easy task for weakest hands To spread another covering than that O'er all that's left of Becket. [Muses, and then with animation. Ha ! not so. I'll have a greater burial in the minds Of coming Europe. From far land to laud, From top to top of each cathedral tow'r, I'll hang my name and fame up, as a curtain To hide the sun from kings ! — Whom have we here ? THOMAS A BECKET. 23 Enter Dean of Boulogne. 'Tis «o^ the pilot ! would it were — oh! would Thy voice cried " Fair for Eugland ! " DEAN. 'Tis not fair ; Not now, nor ever will be, so I fear, While the Second Henry reigns. My reverend Lord, I am no pilot ; or at least am one To steer thee frovi that shore : 'tis rough with danger, BECKET. There is no peril where there's love ; the coast Will spread its arms to its returning child. DEAN. Not so its other children. It is lined With men who watch for thee, but not from love. Hatred hath shaped its plans, which only wait Thy coming, to be handled. BECKET. 'Tis in vain. Seven years the flock awaits its shepherd ; none Shall stay me now. Have T not bent enough 1 Fools ! did they think I could not rise ? Will Heav'n, That holds its servant's garments from the hand 24 THOMAS A BECKET. Of rotting Time, that keeps his sandals fresh Beneath the tread of exile, let his spirit Be wasted by oppression 1 DEAN. Holy Sir ! I am the Priest of the poor Church of Boulogne. My lord the Count hath sent me to restrain This perilous voyage, that the needy earth Lose not so gxeat a saint. BECKET. 'Twill have a greater, If what thou fear'st be ratified. GRIM. My Lord ! If not for thine, yet for the sake — BECKET. Enough ! Time dies in talking. Think ye not I know All ye would urge ? —the excellent good reasons For wise delay — a cause in danger calling For caution to — Great Heav'n ! I'm sick of caution ; I'm sick to death. Nought stays me but the arm Of Him who strove with Israel. Hear me, sirs : Who am 1 1 England's Primate I Where am I ? THOMAS A BECKET. 25 Whose is my livery, that a tinsel Prince, Whom the hour raises or casts down, shall say " Thus, and no further shalt thou go " — to me, hose breath can blight the hearts and hopes of all, Who sleep hard-couch'd in some uneasy nook, Or curtain'd round with crimson ! Shall it be That coming men shall read th' historic sneer, How Becket shook when Henry threaten'd him 1 'Twould stir the dry bones in my gi'ave ! Good Fathei', Thanks to thy master. We are bound for England. I have had letters from our Lord the Pope. Thei'e's lightning in them ; shall / fear, or he, When those chain'd curses, fork'd with fire, are loos'd. And hurl'd at the prelatial head of York ? Come, sirs, away ! We wait no weather now. No wind blows contrary to a gi'eat resolve. Where's John of Salisbury ] 26 THOMAS A BECKET. Scene V. — Normandy. Banquet-room of Palace. Henry II., Lords, Reginald Fitzurse, Richard Brito and Hugh de Moreville. henry. Brave knights, we've sung and feasted — I do hope That my most loyal subjects there in England Are merry as ourselves. How went that catch You troll' d, my Lord ? FIRST LORD. " I am the wine-cup ; I, at least, Am royal and holy, as prince and priest, For, to kiss my lips, alike bend down The head tliat's shaven, or wears a crown ! " HENRY. Tnie, that the prince and priest have drunk together At the same board. I fear me now a cup That could embosom the broad seas that part These shores from England, were not large enough For one ambitious draught. Brave sirs again ! We have been merry. Heav'n demands the thanks We'll pay by gladdening others. Where's the woman Who came to us for justice 1 Call her here. THOMAS A BECKET. 27 BRITO. What ! now, Sire 1 HENRY. Wherefore not 1 BRITO. I merely thought — The place — the time — HENRY. And what are they to me 1 I have an ear at all times for my subjects, And I suppose can use it in this place As well as any other. Call her in. [Exit Lord. Enter William of Pavla. WILLIAM. May't please your Highness I as I enter'd here There stood a man wnthout, who earnestly Craves audience for his daughter and himself. HENRY. Doth not the daughter crave it too 1 Admit them. Enter Agnes and Father. Your names 1 What want ye 1 FATHER. May it please yoiu' Grace, 28 THOMAS A BBCKET. The cause that first gave bii'th unto my wants Should veil my name. I fear disgrace hath stol'n The honour of my house ; and, 'stead of show'ring Blessings of Heav'n from his commission'd palm, That a priest's hand hath filch'd it. HENRY. Not quite clear. Speak out, man ! FATHER. Sire ! my daughter Agnes here Hath been betroth'd to one of thy own suite — William de Tracy ; and she now refuses. Nor deigns a reason why, to consummate Her faith in wedlock. HENRY. Lady ! is this so 1 AGNES. It is, my Lord. HENRY. And thou hast ceased to love William de Tracy 1 AGNES. Not SO, please your Grace. Love 's in my heart, but conscience checks the feeling THOMAS A BECKET. 29 From blossoming to fruit. — What can I say '? HENBY. Act ! Wilt thon marry ? Silence gives denial ! Wilt not thon favour me, thy lord and king, Whose eye, in scanning the broad general weal, Must pry in private corners, with one reason, A few short whisper'd words, of what it is Hath led thy conscience to mislead thy love ? AGNES. Great Monarch ! bid me die, to guarantee The smallest hair upon thy royal brow From the assault of the rebellious wind. And willingly I'd place my head in pawn ; But, for my own poor life, oh ! urge me not To pay the price of a ne'er-dying shame ! HENRY. 'Tis from concealment that suspicion draws Its largest funds of shame. Then speak ! this silence Says that an cnexxiy hath garrison'd The heart, by right De Tracy's. AGNES. Not the heart ! HENRY. Well i all at least that makes a heart worth having. 30 THOMAS A BECKET. FATHER, My Lord ! I will not spare what force can do — HENRY. Nay, friend, thou'rt wrong. Thou knowest not thy child So well as I do. 'Tis thy creed, mayhap. That the resolved spirit is but found In a man's breast, and girded round with mail. Thou'rt wrong ! Behind the azure of those eyes There lies the colour of another temper, That would permit the rudest tool to break The blue-vein'd marble of her dainty limbs. But not a fragment there would find a tongue ! No, no ; her lip's confession must be drawn By other charming. [He takes the Father apart. Thou dost know the Priest, His name, that is, whose hidden pow'r hath work'd This graceless miracle ? That name's not — Becket ? FATHER. I know him ; 'tis not Becket : yet the Primate Hath dragg'd the culprit (so we understand. By letters sent fi-om France) to punishment Within the pale of his authority THOMAS A BECKET. 31 From reach of Civil Law — as is his wont — And much I fear — HENRY. Of course ; enough of this ! As is his wont ! By Heav'n, we'll di-ag him forth ! Authority ! That pale is high indeed, In English land, the hand of England's King Can't overreach. What 1 'Tis enough, I say ; , I'll hear no more. Admit the other woman. [Exeunt Agnes and Father ; and after them William of Pavia. Enter Matilda. Thy name 1 MATILDA. Matilda Rohan. HENRY. 'Tis a good one. {Aside.) She's had good looks, nor lost them yet. I fancy She's justice on her side. {Aloud.) Lady, thy wish'? MATILDA. Unto whom speak I ? HENRY. Know'st thou not a King, When thou dost sec him 1 32 THOMAS A BECKET. MATILDA. No ! I know but one, See but one face — 'tis therefore I have sought Unto my lord the King, that by his pow'r He'll chase it from me. HENRY, What is that ? MATILDA. The face That will not let me rest when I am wearv, That will not let me pray as I was wont, But when I think for good, it comes in front, And with the pow'r of its deep eyes — ! say, My Lord, what think'st thou is the fairest colour For a man's eyes ? And then, I would not care If they shone kindly, or in auger even ; The life in them might light a life in me ! But they've a dark still look ; and on the lips There is a constant curl — that — ! my Lord, 'Tis hard to bear ! Do hearts grow really cold, Or is't a minstrel's phrase % They say that thine Was ever kind to woman. Grant me right. HENRY. Would that I could ! THOMAS A BECKET. 33 MATILDA. A.nd art thou not a king 1 Why should I be tormented ? That cold face ! I gather'd up the sunbeams one hot day, And cast them at it ; but it grew not warm. And once I ran to where the rainbow rested Upon the earth, and fiU'd my hand with colour, And spread it o'er that haughty countenance ; But the hues gather'd to its lips, and made Their sneer more temble. HENRY. Poor thing ! thy mind Is touch'd — MATILDA. But touch'd, my lord the King ! but touch'd. Would it were crush'd ; destruction would be peace. Oh ! I have sat and sat, and tried if thought Could kill out reason — but it woiJd not die. Dragging its sore life like a bruised worm. I am half mad in some things, so they say. But not in this ; for when I lift my eyes, I see — but no, I will not do it now. ! HENRY. Who hath done this 1 Whose is that face thou talk'st of? 34 THOMAS A BECKET. MATILDA. I'll whisper thee his name ; and thou shalt see What I do — thou canst see it too. Alas ! There was another — had I heard hut him ! He snatch'd me from the peril j set my feet In a safe place ; and with mild words of pow'r. So warn'd and warm'd my spirit, that it felt Half holy as his own. Alas ! he went, And then it froze to earth. HENRY. His name, good Lady? MATILDA. His name was — yet men say that thou, my Lord, Dost love him not — his name was — pardon me, Thomas a Becket ! HENRY. Thomas Becket ! \Wal1cs aside, then returns. Lady! He is a priest ; thy lover was not one. MATILDA. He is not. HENRY. Nay — I knew it : else that monk THOMAS A BECK.ET. 35 Had sided with his order. {Speaking loiv.) Virtue takes Its colour from the men who practise it, And fair repute makes fair opinion. Strange ! Bad actions done by good men do partake More of their goodness, than the men are soil'd By their own evil deeds. The light that's cast On an immaculate cathedral shines All whitely pure, while the same beam's a shadow Reflected from a throne ! (Alotcd.) Yet in this instance He did right well ; and I could love him. MATILDA. Love him, My Lord ! Oh, love him ! — who is worthier To fill a monarch's heart 1 HENRY. His head would fill A monarch's crown, if so it chanced that England Could bear two masters. I, indeed, would hold Him equal to myself, whom in days past More than that self T prized. Oh! Becket, Becket ! Couldst thou but let me love thee ! That proud temper Won't turn aside to see where stands a king Sueing to be a friend ! 36 THOMAS A BECKET, [Enter hastily Archbishop of York, followed hj William of Pavia. What do'st thou here, My lord of York 1 YORK. Nor York, nor England's self Can coexist with Canterbury. Sire ! He rides the land as if it were a palfrey To carry him to Rome. From place to place Shouts of arm'd men proclaim his pride, and threaten With their strain'd voice destruction on each head That's higher than his own ! HENRY. Whom meanest thou ? YORK. Thomas a Becket ! That man again ! HENRY, By the eyes of God ! YORK. Again and ever. Sire ; When will that breath be bated, which hath dared To excommunicate myself for crowning Thy son, the King ? THOMAS A BECKET. 37 HENRY. I'll hear no more. " YORK, My Lord ; There is no pleasure now but Becket's will — There is no Church in England now but Becket ; There is no King — HENRY. Peace, I tell thee, peace ! Dost think to choke me with that name 1 By heav'n ! It were not sacrilege to tear thy tongue out, Croaking that cursed strain ! — still only Becket — Becket ! Where's Henry ? — those base knights ! Fve fed them Till their fat gratitude can't rise from table To rid their monarch of a beggar- monk His bounty set on horseback ! [He u'alks about and returns, during which, exeunt Moreville, Fitzurse, and Brito. That coward rabble ! I slaved to make them free. I might have clench'd Their collars tighter. Had I done it, then — Are ye too traitors 1 Speak ! ■ 38 THOMAS A BECKET. YORK. My Lord ! HENRY. Thou liest I I am not thine, uor any man's ! [ Walls ahotU angrily ; returns, and sees Matilda. Poor thing ! I'm madder than thyself. Thou too dost know What 'tis to trust. There — let me look on thee ; So — so ; I'm calmer. Now, my good lord of York, here is a man Who kicks at laws and lawgivers ; who curses Kings when they block his path, and strives to nail The ears of England to the doors of Rome-. How can this breeder of a pestilence Retain the fatal pow'r and place bestow'd In a repented moment 1 YORK. Good my Lord \ The holy oil, though pour'd on graceless limbs. Still smells of its original Heav'n. Behold ! An earnest here of the divinity That dwells in us, and in our faith, and claims For all who share that sanctifying service. THOMAS A BECKET. 39 Though faithless found, what worldly men would call Unreasoning reverence. To lose this would be A waste of Deity. ' HENRY. Be it so — give me Something that is less holy — I will have it ! Said not that Papal agent to myself (^' That he'd absolve the names which I submitted, From Becket's censure ? Said he not besides, These foreign thunders should be hurl'd no more At English head, without my royal knowledge 1 YORK. He did, Sire. HENRY. And this more than regal Rome Spreads its divine original, thou wouldst say, Over its earthly deeds — they need a covering ! Yet 'tis a strange ambition that pretends The indefeasible sanctity of a lie ! Ha ! by — but come ; we will consult on this Ere my wrath rises. [Looking around.) But, I see them not ! Fitzurse, and Moreville 1 40 THOMAS A BECKET. FIRST LORD. Sire ! they've left, and ta'eu Richard de Brito with tliem. MATILDA {starting forward). Who ? he here ! And gone — to England ! take me there ! My brain Is painted with the future. Oh ! my heart ! [Throwing up her arms. Archbishop ! it will reach thee ! Lord Archbishop, Beware the knife ! [She faints. HENRY. What meaneth this 1 FIRST LORD. Your Grace ! She is insensible. HENRY. Away ; and summon De Castro to her aid. Then seek those knights, And tell them, when I wish them quit my presence That I myself can speak. The world shall find, Henry Plantagenet is yet a king. THOMAS A BECKET. 41 Scene VI. — Room, in Normandy. Agnes, William of Favia. WILLIAM. Lady, I sent to see thee. Much I fear "'7 That mischief is determiu'd on the head Of England's welfare. Such indeed he stands Before the eyes of all who look beyond The vale of life, to the high mountain-tops That sun themselves in Heaven ; of such art thou ! AGNES. Ml/ eyes, my Lord, are oftener wcigh'd down To the cold earth, by a dispiriting sense Of my own sins. WILLIAM. They are forgiven thee ! Look up in peace, my child. Thou know'st a Becket, That lamp of the true faith 1 AGNES. All know a Becket. The mind is dark indeed, on which hath stream'd No ray from that intelligence. 42 ■ THOMAS A BECKET. WILLIAM. No doubt. 'Twere pity such a form (you know his person ?) — Setting aside the Church's greater loss In such a loss as him — should be defaced By the rude carving of the assassin's knife ! How well the frame of such a presence shrines His many-tinted mind ! 'Twould grieve thee, doubtless, Were such a noble piece of nature marr'd. And thou wouldst save it 1 AGNES. Certainly, my Lord ; I'd save the man from harm, as I would save A fellow -being ; but I'd strain my life To keep such night from our religious land, As would fall down upon all eyes and hearts When sets the sun of Becket ! WILLIAM (aside). Is it so 1 A broad-cast feeling, not allied to love 1 {Aloud.) Thou'rt right, my daughter. 'Tis a fitting temper To work with, unto good. I said the Primate Stands in much danger from some certain knights THOMAS A BECKET. 43 Who quitted, with an ill-betokening haste King Henry's side. Thy lover is not of them. We'll keep him here. Now I would know of thee The shape and bent of his peculiar mind. Firm ? jealous 1 resolute 1 giv'n to revenge 1 Of course he's valiant : 'tis a common virtue, At least in knighthood. AGNES. Thou dost mean De Tracy ? He's brave as Hemy : fitly primed to catch Each spark of insult, 'till the man grows fire. WILLIAM. And with a steadfast and strong head to knit The plannings of a purpose 1 AGNES. Yes, my Lord. But wherefore ask me 1 WILLIAM. We must know the risk To find the obvious guard. A man like him Must be held back from this conspiracy By such restraints as chafe his soid the least. — I do not wonder that thy face, my child, 44 THOMAS A BECKET. Could draw a Priest's devotion from the skies, And fix it there ! AGNES. My Lord ! WILLIAM. 'Twas natural — Though not to be forgiven ! yet had I Been ever led from the straight line of right By light from woman's eyes, 'twere such as looks From thine, my daughter ! AGNES. If I've sinn'd, it rests Between my God, and — WILLIAM. Him who hath confess'd thee ! I told thee thou'rt forgiven. Dost thou think There is a weight so heavy, which the hands Of them who wield God's mercy or His wrath Can't lift from off thy conscience 1 Now, suppose That / should bend upon that blooming face A look of earthly love, and haply read An answer there not heralded by frowns ; Deem'st thou, fair casuist, that the man who stands At the right hand of Peter's delegate, THOMAS A BECKET. 45 Could find no spiritual chemistry To blanch the reddest stain 1 AGNES. Lord Cardinal ! What doth this quick ungracious language mean From sacred lips 1 I would not think that thou Art angling with thy pious art in hopes That my light taste may rise up to the surface At the first bait which Pleasure throws for it ! Such I am not ! WILLIAM, No, lady ! (Nor is this The time for such things.) I but cast these hints Before the mirror of thy soul to see How they would look reflected thence. I feel Thou canst be trusted. Virtue never fails To hold regard, though beauty loses love Ere 'tis well caught. Remain here for awhile. I'll pen a line which thou slialt take to England. 'Twill sei-ve the Church — would it were ever served By such a messenger ! . [Exit. AGNES. Stay here awhile ! For what? I doubt that holy Cardinal. 46 THOMAS A BECKET. I'll seek my father — ^yet my father's arms Yield no kind refuge. Serve the Church indeed ! If I had served it less — woman ! woman ! Poor thing of wasting contrast ; weak as water, Or nerved with iron ; pure as angel, black As very fiend ; toy, mistress, tool, and queen, Deceiver and deceived. There are none by : I will display my sin's complexion here To my own soul, and the absolving spirit That fills the living air ! Misled, I listen'd To words that — hark ! there is an armed tread — I must away. Enter William de Tracy. Thou here ! What brings De Tracy- TEACY. Unto a place where Agnes is ! But what Brings Agnes, where she scarce could hope to meet De Tracy at this holy Cardinal's 1 AGNES. If he be holy, I at least am not, And therefore should we meet. I seek the Church From love of it, and hatred of myself. THOMAS A BECKET. 47 TRACY. The love I've heard of. Agnes ! would my ears Were disencumber'd of that heavy tale By thy denying tongue ! Oh, Agnes^ listen, If yet thou lov'st me ! Thou didst find me first A man of war, and such as warriors are, Heart-harden'd to without, like shirt of steel That answers not when foemen knock for entry. What made me feel 1 Thy love ! That cleft my breast In gaping fissures, that the dews of heaven Might make then- dwelling in that barren ground ! Think, Agnes, that the wounds of such a spirit Have rugged lips for closing — Dost thou love me ? AGNES. William ! I do. TRACY. Then tell me in one word. That it is false, the tale thy father brings, And in one action give me heart and hand ! AGNES. Oh ! William, not to thee ! Oh, never, never ! I will not wrong thee with a gift the which Thou, the proud Baron, might — might — 48 THOMAS A BECKET TRACY This is torture ! Tell me, what hast thou done. I have a right, My Agnes ! AGNES. Oh ! alas, not that ! — Stay — stay, De Tracy, My temper's quick as thine. Think not I'm happy. Ah ! I have sat, and woke ; and thought of thee With smiles and tears ; the smiles — how faint and few ! "Were for the past ; and the deep drowning tears, For the long bitter future. 'Tis enough, If punishment can cleanse a sinful mind. To have foregone all sense of joy, which guilt Could hope, or virtue gain. Oh ! spare me more. TRACY. Agnes ! I'll have it. AGNES. What? TRACY. The name of him Who hath wrong'd me, and rased thy happiness. AGNES. I breathe no name — I never talk'd of wrong. THOMAS A BECKET. 49 TRACY. But I do ! I will have it. Wherefore hide This secret in thy breast, and baulk revenge 1 AGNES. Revenge, De Tracy ! TRACY. What thou wilt ! Revenge, Or justice — 'tis no matter. Speak ! — AGNES. De Tracy! There is a hidden pow'r that even holds The tongue of woman : there are sealed thoughts That open but to Heav'n. Thou dost believe In God, and in his visible ministry ? ^ TRACY. Too often visible ; too often seen In such a motley clothing, as would shame The merest soldier who e'er swore by day Or pass'd his nights in — AGNES. Tracy ! Thou'rt a man TRACY. Ay ! and a fierce one, that would batter down E 50 THOMAS A BECKET. The topmost crowii from brow of Pope who dared To foul the thing he lo"ved. AGNES. Thou'rt hasty ! TRACY. Woman I Not hastier than thyself. Thy breathless love Must have a taste of the unwholesome fruit Ere the Law ripen'd it. Why didst thou cast Thy pearl before that sacred swine 1 — and now Thou wouldst conceal, defeat — May the fiend plague thee! Return unto thy mire ! — AGNES. Sir ! — But I leave thee I did not think to hear a soldier's tongue Make war upon a lady ! TRACY. Lady t AGNES. Yes! I am so. Doubtless, we must tell such things To those whose nature hath no kindred sense Which might make feeling knowledge. Sir ! a woman i THOMAS A BECKET. 51 Claims ever gentle treatment from the sex ? Who hold aU pow'r, but use it scurvily When they woiJd tread on one whom her own shame Casts down — great God ! how low — Farewell. [Exit. TRACT. Go! go! gods and devils ! would I had a man To cleave in twain. [^Stamjys about the roovi. Enter William of Pavia. WILLIAM. Here, lady !— What? De Tracy ! Alone ! And where is she for whom I writ This missive unto England ? TRACY. Would she were Where some kind fiend would pluck her foul-hued heart From her fair body. WILLIAM. What is this, Sir Knight 1 Thou dost not know her ! TRACY, Know her ? 1 1 No — no — 'Twere shame to know her. 52 THOMAS A BECKET. WILLIAM. Thou art vex'd, De Tracy. Somethiug^hath ruffled thee. TRACT. Mel Not the least! I'm cool as — may perdition seize — quite cool — Why should I not be cool 1 WILLIAM. I cannot say. Yet would I that the lady had not fled Ere she had ta'en my letter to the Primate ; For in her keeping, as she kindly said, It would not miss the mark. TRACY. What Primate? wherefore? WILLIAM. What Primate ? Oh ! k Becket. Some three knights Have left the king, who, much we fear, are bent To do his Lordship hurt. TRACY. They have! And she? WILLIAM. Of course would save him, for she loves the Archbishop. THOMAS A BECKET. 53 TRACY. Loves him 1 WILLIAM. Of course, again. Wlio doth not love That holy man 1 With what a presence too For woman's eye ! She only shares in this The general heart of all, that like a garment In warm affection girds his person roixnd. TRACY. Would that all Hell would gird it round with flames ! WILLIAM. Sir Knight ! TRACY. Sir Devil ! Well — I have it now- No time to lose. WILLIAM. Yet wait awhile! TRACY. I cannot. WILLIAM. But one short word of why I sent for thee. TRACY. Then quick, my Lord. 54 THOMAS A BECKET. Scene VII. — Near Canterbury Cathedral. Crowd, Ranulf de Broc,(^) Richard de Brito, Richard Blois with tlie Crowd. BRITO. What do these here ? Who are they % DE BROC. Patients, waiting Their medicine patiently. BRITO. And who the leech 1 DE BROC. Thomas, the Primate of all England, Legate Of Peter's cousin ; him, who doubtless fisheth In his way, sitting on a hiU to throw His net with fuller fling. BRITO. What meanest thou? That his high-priest (he'll soon be lower) deals In drugs and simples ? DE BROC, Not quite so — at least Not of the common sort ; the charms he uses Are the least anythings of vilest stuff, THOMAS A BECKET. 55 Which, when himself hath bless'd or handled, turn To veritable somethings, fondly hugg'd To the warm breast of faith. BRITO, And he permits This holy trafl&c ? DE BROC. Well — how far I know not. But Power's an epicure that will not question The many little items that compound The flavour which it loves. Behold ! where comes The Archbishop's servant. Draw near — we may catch Some stray intelligence. \_Enter Tungstan. CROWD. Here's Tungstan — Tungstan ! Welcome — and blessings on thy master ! TUNGSTAN. Thanks, Good countrymen ; and now for business. Which — Where is the man, John Sig^vulf, who has had An ulcer in his leg these twenty years 1 JOHN. Here, Master, here. 56 THOMAS A BECKET. TUNGSTAN. There, friend, 's a bit of rag That hath been wrapp'd about the sacred leg Of the Archbishop's self ; lay this upon Thy ulcer. Thou hast had it thirty years, I think thou saidst 1 'Twill heal it if there's virtue — R. BLOIS. In an Archbishop's vermin ! They, at least, Turn'd out of hair and sackcloth, will but change Their quarters for the better. TUNGSTAN. What, Sir, saidst thou? R. BLOIS. Oh ! nothing — nothing. Merely, that I wonder How such a holy man as the Lord Primate Hath any need of legs. TUNGSTAN. Next, I've a charm For evil spirits ; 'tis a phial fiU'd With water, which the Primate — R. BLOIS. Gracious Heav'n ! Hast thou then made these lights of Israel Like other men 1 THOMAS A BECKET. 57 TUNGSTAN. Bless'd — which the Primate bless'd ; I Why interrupt me*? R. BLOIS. I mistook yom* meaning. Pardon, good master Tungstan. CROWD. Heed him not. He is a graceless scoffer, known as such To all the country. TUNGSTAK. Where is Thomas 1 — he Who sees the spirits 1 THOMAS. Here, Sir ! TUNGSTAN. Now, friend Thomas, What was the last like 1 THOMAS. 'Twas a moony night ; I woke, and heard a hissing in my room, And at my bed-foot stood what seem'd a most Enormous goose, and on its head a large Green — 58 THOMAS A BECKET. R. BLOIS. Night-cap with a tassel ! THOMAS. No, Sir, 'twas A plume of feathers. R. BLOIS. Oh ! Now, hadn't you A mirror (>o) on the wall just opposite 1 THOMAS. I had ; and have it. B. BLOIS. Ah ! I see ; but then You don't wear plumes of feathers. Probably The goose was green, and not the feathers, Thomas ! And, doubtless, very large. TUNGSTAN. Some drops of this. Sprinkled about the room, will scare each devil Who ventures there from Hell, OLD MAN. I'm very old, Sir ; I cannot tell you why, but so it is. My sight and hearing are not half so good THOMAS A BECKET. 59 As forty years ago. If you've a cure For this, I'd thank you. TUNGSTAN. Well ; I quite forgot — I scarcely know if the Archbishop's pow'r Can reach so far. R. BLOIS. No harm in trying it. And if it fails — why, then I'll teU you ; — boil him In woman's milk ! I warrant you his flesh Will turn as soft as any sucking child's. We've many poor men here, Sir ; could you not Give each a shred of the Archbishop's purse When he was Chancellor ? TUNGSTAN. Your jokes are rude, friend ! My master's purse was open unto all Who had a want or wish. R. BLOIS. 'Tis tnie ; and greater Was the meek Chiu-chman's merit, who, discharging His private feeling when he serv'd the public. Practised that painful generosity Which spends from a friend's pocket^"' — better far 60 THOMAS A BECKET. Than these cheap scraps and rags of sanctity ! TUNGSTAN. Friends ! Are you pleas'd to hear these insults daub'd On om- rehgion ? CROWD. We'll not suffer it. Off with him ! TUNGSTAN. Patience for awhile, my friends ! Here is some earth on which the Primate's foot Hath left its holy print ; it will enrich The baiTcnest soil — and where is Gerald Ulph, Whose wife hath never bless'd him with a child 1 — Here, friend's, a text of Scripture : 'tis an order To multiply, and so forth : and 'tis written By Becket's self Bind it about her waist For a full month, and then — R. BLOIS. What, Sir ! a month 1 It seems a most unnecessary time. Why, there's good Father John ; I'll bet a mark Against a rosary — TUNGSTAN. What dirt is this THOMAS A BECKET. 61 To throw upon (zod's servants 1 Who is pure As the Archbishop ? If thou know'st another I Like Becket, point him out ! Who leaves by night The warm indentm-e of his curtain'd bed To lie o' the wintry floor 1 Who prays and fasts That angels weep to be outdone in Heaven 1 Who thinks that water is too rich a draught For holy palates, and with bitter taste And noisome smell of daily herbs, compounds His golden goblet 1 Who's the friend of England ? Who 'neath the roof of the poor cottager Bends low the saci'ed head that strikes against The lintel of a palace ? CROWD. Becket ! Becket ! FIRST MAN. He rules the Church ; and 'tis the Chiu-ch that rules The Lord who rules the vassal ! SECOND MAN, Saw ye not How his horse stumbled when he enter'd here 1 It was a Norman beast, that. Who rides better Than the Archbishop ? 62 THOMAS A BECKET. R. BLOIS. Or, who 're better ridden Than you yourselves 1 I know not if this Becket Be one of England's sons ; but this I know, That he's the son of woman : see ye not When private ends grasp public instruments 1 What matters it to you, if ye be serfs To a mail'd baron, or a man who wears A shirt of hair 1 The latter chain perhaps Is somewhat worse, in that the wily forger Takes care to numb the restive mind, which else Might strive to cast it off ! This Becket — CROWD. Stop! We'll make thee change thy note ! SECOND MAN. We'll teach his tongue To rail against the Primate ! DE BROC. Richard Brito ! Let's save this fellow from these brainless bears — They'll hug him tight else. Maybe he'll assist us. [Throwing of his cloak. Off with you, ye base curs of Saxon breed ! THOMAS A BECKET. 63 BRITO. Save your vile lives, if they be worth it — off ! [They drive away the crowd. DE BROC. Now, friend, for you. You kuow these latitudes ? — The quarters of the Archbishop, aud the rest Which join to the Cathedral 1 R. BLOIS, Yes, I do. DE BROC. Then come with us. We must seek out Fitzurse. Where's Tracy 1 He and Moreville should have reach'd Saltwood ere this. Scene VIII. — Normandy, Palace. Henry II., William of Pavia, Otho. HENRY. Two-pence in every pound, for one whole year," 2) Granted by England that her pious arms Be order'd well to rout the Infidel ! 'Tis a small proof of the gi'cat love we bear Our mother church. 64 THOMAS A BECKET. WILLIAM, No proof is needed, Sire. 'Tis known the King of England yields to none In reverent love for Rome ; and will submit His wishes unto hers. HENRY. Ay ! Is it so 1 What wants the holy father ? OTHO. Nothing more Than an unforced prolougment of the faith For which he's still your debtor. WILLIAM. That apostate, The unsaintly Prince of Germany, hath ceased To cloud the thoughts of Rome, which can be giv'n More freely to fair England ; and the weal Of her obedient sons. HENRY. Your Eminence Means, I presume, his grateful Holiness Has shaken off the long-encumbering weight Of Frederick Barbarossa ; and, no more Having the dangerous pretence of Victor' '^^ THOMAS A BECKET. 05 Before his sacred eyes, can now dispense With Henry, King of England ! OTHO. Not so, Sire ! Whenever did the memory of Rome Omit to write on her enduring page The name of every friend — HENRY. And every foe ! She recollects them, likewise ; and the friends Are press'd the closer to her prudent breast When her foes bluster near ! WILLIAM. An' please your Grace To call to mind with what maternal care The eyes of Rome o'erlook the broad domains Of Catholic England,(>^) guarding while it sleeps The spirits of all flesh that harbours there ! Nor there alone — within the stormy bounds Of that famed isle — but where these distant shores Obey thy ample sceptre. Brittany, Anjou, Tourraine, and others, nearly half As large a realm as that which owns the sway Of saintly Louis, craves the watchful love F QQ THOMAS A BECKET. Of Rome, and has it ! HENRY. Right, your Eminence ! ' Tis well to mind me that the fretful sea. Which will not always hear my call, divides My French inheritance from England ! This May rein my wrath in when it rides ahead ! Not much unlike, as if myself should plant Upon the quiet ground where Victor stood The threatening show of Pascal ! But enough— My business is that you uphold that rebel Against my sovereign power — that Lord Archbishop To lord it o'er his master. You absolved, In my own presence, and by word of mouth, The censures which he fulmin'd against York ; Yet, by the double dealing of the pen, Supplied an underhand authority To unsettle England, when it pleased the temper Of that belligerent priest. WILLIAM. Your Royal Highness Is wise enough to see (who's wiser than Henry of England 1) that the absolution PronouncVl by mouth, concei'n'd the past alone. THOMAS A BECKET. 67 The letters granted by the Pope, contain'd The future in their scope ; and which the wisdom Of the Lord Pi-imate might divulge or not, As England needed. HENRY. God's eyes ! Cardinal, Take my word for it, England shall be ruled By England's King — Who 's here 1 [Enter First Lord. FIRST LORD. May 't please your Grace ! The three good knights who left your royal presence With such unmannerly suddenness, men say, Have sail'd for England. HENRY. After ! drag them back ! I fear that Brito and Fitzurse. FIRST LORD. The lady, Matilda Rohan raves incessantly, Craving quick passage there ; and weeps and cries, " Beware, my Lord, the knife ! My Lord Archbishop ! Beware the knife !" HENRY. Take her along with thee, 68 THOMAS A BECKET. One of the three she knows. You have my order. Be quick, and do it. [Exit First Lord. By the light of Heav'n, Hath Henry none but traitors round his person ? Shall these, my own hired knaves, these common kestrils, Swoop at a falcon 1 'Tis a royal quaiTy, To be struck fairly — ha ! Lord Cardinals ! Rome, in her most considerate wisdom, thinks That she, the head, rules best when most misrule Pervades the members — 'tis a gentle mother To draw obedience from the childi'en's quarrels, Which her care lulls into a waking sleep ! This is your master's doing ! WILLIAM. Ours ? We 've one ; Our Father, who 's in heaven ! HENRY. And wondi'ously Ye honour the paternity ! — 'tis right ! Truly, the Pope's a servant to the servants Of — Tush ! hath England no more gold, my Lords, That ye 've no more devotion for its King ? Men, too, are mostly bribed to do what 's wrong ; THOJUS A BECKET. 69 Yet I must buy you to my ranks, to fight Against an upstart Priest, who would break down The step on which he mounted — who would stop, When he doth speak, the royal breath, which made The life which he misuses ! WILLIAM. He withholds His hand's consent to what his soul rejects. That is, when call'd by thee to ratify The laws of man, Heaven's zealous servant adds The words which save the honour of his God — HENRY. And of his order ! WILLIAM. What herein doth Becket To be call'd sinner 1 HENRY. Call him what ye like ! And add, when first he sigu'd those articles With his full voice, which we advised drew out As the ancestral safeguards of the realm. That the arch-traitor sent his heart to Rome, To witness his lip's lie at Clarendon ! 70 THOMAS A BECKET. WILLIAM. Those godless customs touch'd on holy ground, The Church's birth-land ; he who breathed consent To such a trespass, pass'd his pow'rs, and gave That which he could not give. HENEY. A subject owes Allegiance to — WILLIAM. His God before his King ! HENRY . His God ! WILLIAM. As speaking through the mortal lips Which He hath made his own ! HENRY. The will of Heav'n, Strain'd through such throats as thine. Lord Cardinal, Would pipe to a strange tune ! I gave this man All that he has — WILLIAM. Your Highness gave him land ; And liard cathecb-al walls ; and worldly coin : But the great spirit and the soul that make THOMAS A BECKET. 71 Infinity their field —the lofty faith, That stands on earth, yet lifts its head to Heav'n, And looks with shaded eyes into the secrets Of God's pavilion there — the priceless wealth Of blessing when and what he will (and, yea ! It shall be bless"d, and what he cnvses cursed, Or serf, or Csesar) — these thou gav'st not, Prince, And these thou canst not take ! HENRY. Intrigiiing Priest ! Think not to reckon 'mid the slaves of Ptome, Henry of England ! Oh ! wovild Heav'n but grant That I could cast into my people's eyes Light from my own, in yoiir authority They 'd see a most foul monster, fed by fools To fatten knaves ! And yet the time will come, When English hands, led on by reasoning heads, Shall tear the veil from off the face of Rome, And show the harlot's grin ! And then, my lords, The native honesty of English hearts Will loathe it, as I now ! WILLIAM. Yet present times, Empow'r his Holiness to interdict — 72 THOMAS A BECKET. HENRY (springing forward). God's eyes ! Lay England under interdict ! Shall T, who can raise ujj and dash to earth A castle fi'om its rocky roots — shall I — I — Henry — how I hate ye ! — shall I suffer Pope, prince, or living thing, to touch the name Of my dominions with his villanous breath ? Shall sandal, or arm'd heel, when I say nay, Indent the dust of England 1 — Come, we waste Our time with these men. Now, I hope in God I never more may see a Cardinal ! \_Exeunt Henry and attendants. OTHO. My Lord ! methinks you let your language run A dangerous length. His Holiness the Pope Hath need of Henry. The world's scales are held By Alexander, who, to trim the balance, Puts princes for the weights. WILLIAM. Beyond a doubt ! But I know Henry — we'll not lose him yet. Nor should Rome ever bend, but when she stoops To pick up some advantage : a knit brow. THOMAS A BECKET. 73 When there's no danger, will enhance the grace Of a few .smiles, whene'er occasion needs. [ Walks aside and returns. Canst thou not see that Becket's hours are number'd 1 'Twill not be long ere we shall gain a martyi', And this hot king a thorn, to rake his flesh In such a festering sort, 'twill take to heal it A costly outlay of humility ! OTHO. Those knights that left the presence of the king, Were three in number — what in nature ? WILLIAM. Bold, Not resolute ; fierce-hearted, but not firm. OTHO. Then will their purpose break like scatter'd foam Upon the rock of action ! WILLIAM. No ! a fom-th Has follow'd them, I hear, who'll guide the wave — Break when it will, 'twill make a shipwreck first. OTHO. Who's that ? 74 THOMAS A BECKET. WILLIAM. I know not — some men say, De Tracy. OTHO. Yet this Archbishop is a shining light, A tow'r of strength, like that of Lebanon, Which looks towards Damascus ! Such a life Will serve us — WILLIAM (speaking loiv). Less than such a death ! a Becket Is but a man, a wayward child of passion And idle whims ; with some rash notions too About his sacred office. Becket's self Is biit half Rome's, while Becket's memory Is hers, in whole ! OTHO. But then— a violent death ! To see, and suffer such a thing to be, Does seem, I think, to war with — WILLIAM. Well ? OTHO. The Scriptures! WILLIAM. The what, Lord Cardinal 1 THOMAS A BECKET. 75 Scene IX. — Canterhury. The Archhishoj) s Quarters, adjoining the Cathedral. Bechet, John of Salishury, Peter of Nismes. BECKET {to Pete?'). Lettei-s from William of Pavia, hast thou ? What says his Emiueuce 1 « PETER. He doth rejoice That England, which so long a time lay dead In sin and trespass, hath regain'd the heart Of all its spiritual life, whose healthy blood Will chafe the shores of each minutest vein In unison with — BECKET. Rome ; which doubtless sufFer'd The carcass of the land, these seven long years, To lie without its Head of Canterbury ; That when it rose, recall'd to second life. And by a second author, it might make The greater miracle ! What further. Sir, Is the good Cardinal pleased to say 1 76 THOMAS A BECKET. PETER. He dwells Upon your Lordship's single excellence — A glorious pillar of the Catholic Church, Based upon Truth, and springing up through Time, To hide its head with God ! To Him he prays, That it may please His wisdom to protect So dear a life, within whose mortal folds Lies wrappVl up a great cause ! BECKET. He's veiy kind. PETER. Vex'd by such thoughts as these, he would suggest That 'twere but wise to smooth the ruffled King. And, touching those broad lands which he hath wrench'd From Mother Church, to feed the sinewy Barons Who prop his throne up — if the claim were waived — 'Twould blunt the foi'e-set edge of danger. BECKET, Well ! What doth he write beside ? PETER. His Eminence THOMAS A BECKET. 77 Adds this advice, that, when the daring hand Of York's Archbishop, stretching to an act Which was thine own by ancient privilege, crown'd The younger King, it was a giievous wrong — But one to be forgiven, if thereby Your Lordship's foot might gain a surer hold On the revisited soil. BECKET. What further 1 PETER. Nothing, But earnest wishes for your Lordship's good. BECKET. Then bear my answer to Lord William. Tell him That I must think the world most fortunate That, when Tiberius Cjesar reign'd on earth. There were no Cardinals to fill the seat Of Pontius Pilate ; else had all mankind Mourn'd the lost good of the Redeeming Death. For, such the dangerous sense of justice lodged In the pure bosoms of that sacred conclave. They would have saved the sinless son of God, And crucified— Barabbas ! Fai-ewell, Sir. [^xit Peter. 78 THOMAS A BECKET. I've done with Cardinals ! Oh ! John, I'm sick. The Church's son oft beai's a losing heart When the head triumphs — triumphs over whom 1 — O'er fellow-labourer in a fallow field, Where each defeat (as fancied worth is shown In worthless colours) leaves one hand the less To work for the Lord's harvest. But with me — Is it all right with me 1 Sad mystery ! Too oft Heav'n's soldier finds the sword of God, Transmitted down to him through earthly hands, Rusted by earthly error ; dews of Time, Heat-drops of passion, or the soil of self, Defile its edge— and then his fallible arm Strikes blindly forth, and multiplies the wrong. Oh ! might I drink more pure, in purer realms, This Gospel wine, which, quaff'd by mortal lips From mortal vessels, hath a double taint From what the goblet and the mouth impart ! How think'st thou, ancient friend ? JOHN. What means my Lord 1 BECKET, To-morrow's sun must light thy steps to find Another Lord than Becket. His sure death THOMAS A BECKET. 79 Is settled by his foes ; and Becket's friends Should, with consenting joy, behold the crown Thus placed upon his life. JOHN. My gracious master — Die! thou? I must. BECKET, JOHN. But wouldst thou ? BECKET. John ! I would. JOHN. Yet live to serve the Church ! BECKET. My death may serve it. And my own fame too, if the time fits well. Who knows what wretched froth may yet arise From out this fretful sea 1 Wliat I have knit May be unravell'd to the scornful wind, By the irresolute shaking of the hand In some weak moment. JOHN. With thy place, thy pow'r. 80 THOMAS A BECKET. Thy matchless intellect, thy vigorous years, With these before and for thee, from the past Hope tm-ns, and, pointing to the future, asks, " What yet hath Becket done 1 " BECKET. This — I have stood Like a bare hill upon our coast, whose top Keeps up the light which dying suns shed there From hidden skies, the while its base repels The conspiration of tumultuous waves. Barren indeed of what men call delight Hath been my path since first I grasp'd the reins Of this high guidance, I may fall for good — I may not move for it, when they who stretch For the same goal beside me, clog the course With all the mire of their base natural earth. The great cause falters : it demands a victim, Whose death may fill its life with fresher blood. 'Twill be a seemly sacrifice for one Who hath maintain'd 'gainst foe, and fatal friend, Th' inheritance, which, pass'd through many hands, Hath rous'd the energies of many souls, The honour of his order ! THOMAS A BECKET. 81 JOHN. And of God 1 BECKET. I hope — but say T the man Becket knows not Th' ambition of his kind ? — No, no. The mind That wastes its thoughts in disentangling there The motives of each deed, must lose the pow'i* Which throws itself into the world of action With concentrated will. And is the master SerA'ed e'er the worse who gives his servant wages The other spends on his own pui'poses ? Still with no feign'd liumility I own My scantiness of duty — JOHN. Think of that ! What ? Can the vassal say "Tims far I go" Before his Lord, and with self-satisfied mind Close up th' account 1 BECKET, Death terminates the bond, I do not tear it with my own hand. JOHN. Nay ! But thou canst shun the fate that threatens. G 82 THOMAS A BEOKET. BBCKET. Never ! By the great Heav'n I've toil'd for. JOHN. Much thou hast Toil'd for a Church that lends an eager hand To drag thee up the steps of pow'r ; but looks With chilling aspect on the Christian struggle, When the soul wi-estles with itself, and strives By faith and truth to keep the spirit down, And fit the man to rise ! BECKET. Rome's policy Makes of the world, and all that therein is, A handle for its ends ; the minds of men ; Their various hearts ; their shifting vice and virtue ; All, all, are used by that great architect. And, shaped to purpose, do conspire to make One master-building. Why complain ? I ask. Do men withhold their reasoning lips from wine When the rich draught is cupp'd in base alloy ? Or must the appetite be slaked from gold 1 If Heav'n hold forth a blessing to the world. Should the world grasp it not, because the gift THOMAS A BECKET. 83 Be somewhat soil'd in indirect transmission, Touch'd by the intermediate palm of man 1 Work'd in Heav'n's hands, the ill of Rome becomes Attemper'd unto good, and lends itself To the upheaving of that glorious fabric Whose barrier-walls shut out the Pagan flood, And bleaker wilderness of unbelief ! Then, view our Church, the progeny of Time, Old and much-honour'd, whose vast dignity Will bhnd the eye that peers to find its specks. So, amid men, bad treads on good ; and yet The son of kings inherits majesty And claims subjection, though his personal life Be dash'd with error ; and it cannot be But that to large and noble families Is born a child or two, to magnify The honours of the stock. JOHN. He should not die. Whose life has work to do. Thy country claims, To purify its social elements. More of those thoughts which mark'd thy earlier years. Than what the labours of thy after-ofl&ce Had leisure for. 84 THOMAS A BECKET. BECKET. I understand thee, John ! If I have not bestow'd such wealth of mind As Heav'n hath lent, t' enrich my native land With general blessings, so that after-times Might gaze upon some stately charity, And cry, "■ This Becket founded ! " or might hug Some freedom to its breast, and say, " Thank Heav'n ! This do we owe to Becket," or might dwell With grateful fondness on the memory Of some defunct abuse, whose monster-death Came from the hand of Becket — I can feel That I have made a sacrifice of self. Of eveiy pow'r, or wish, or fear, or hope. To one great mission, unto which I knew My consecration — to maintain my watch Upon the Church's tow'i's, and save the honour Of a rewarding God ! JOHN. Who best is served By serving men, wherein the labourer's soul Advances its own nature : the great God Fights his own battles — THOMAS A BECKRT. S5 BECKET, With the arm of men. JOHN. Thy arm hath labour'd in the field which Time Hath hallow'd to thy effort ; thou mayst Hve : For shouldst thou fail, the consecrated work Bears merit in th' attempt, while — BECKET. No, my friend ! Sick, as I said, with sense of weakness, startled By crowds of imaged possibilities, I fear my futui-e frailty may undo What the past chance hath done. JOHN. I would have said, Thou dost not, in thy coux-se, run equal risk Of loss, nor losing earn'st an equal share Of the calm censure of the comine; world. As when a man outstrips his fellow-men In working for their weal, and leaves behind Their old ideas and halting knowledge, worsted, And therefore tumi'd to worse ; as doth his Grace Henry the King — 86 THOMAS A BECKET. BBCKET {quickly). The King ! why name the King 1 Heav'ns ! thou dost make me think of life, to hurl Defiance at his pride. Bat no — I hope To crush him in my death-fall ! JOHN. Pardon me ! I, even as thou knowst, have taken part With Becket against Henry ; now I'd side With Becket, 'gainst himself ! This should not be — To die — BECKET. With hatred on my lips — thou'rt right ! Yet 'tis the system that I hate, which makes The m.an its mouthpiece. JOHN. Poor self-cheating this ! Who hates his neighbour as a clod of earth ? I^ot as the living fountain, whence arise The waters whose rude current contradicts The course himself would steer 1 BECKET. Well, well — I know — I feel myself unfit to live. THOMAS A BECKET, 87 JOHN. And therefore Fitter to die 1 BECKET. Yes ! old, and faithful friend I To live, is to lie stretch'd upon the rack Of an uneasy mind ; to find men false, And Heav'n's arm slack to judgment. Highest things Will cloud the I'eason and the trust : belief Is thought, and thought too often doubt. To die, Is to seal up the good, and let the bad Be scatter'd into air. This sacrifice I seek not, nor avoid : yet would I make A willing offering, that my blood may temper The darkness of the past, while future suns Shall gild it into gold ! Thou dost remember The story of my mother 1 She was born Of a proud Saracen in Palestine, Who held my fiither captive ; yet she loved The Christian in his chains — she struck them off. And left her heart therein ! He went ; the land Of her nativity had lost its light When he was fled — she follow'd him ; her tongue Knew but two English words ; her loving zeal 88 THOMAS A BECKET. Spoke more thau language^ and with " London — London " On her poor Hps, she found her painful way To our great capital, and there her cry- Was chang'd to "Gilbert !" 'Twas enough ; Heav'n bore The simple word unto his ear, who took The dark-brow'd beauty to his home ! So I Yearn for another country. From the shore That saw my struggles into life, and since Hath seen the harder strife of reasoning years, I turn with earnest foot, and teach my lips Reiterate two only words of love, " God !" and the "Chiu:'ch !" — Come, there's a sound without. JOHN. Would Heav'n that thou couldst fear ! Scene X. — The same Ajmrtment. a Becket. Grim. GRIM. Three Knights without crave — rather, please your Lordship, Demand an instant audience. THOMAS A BECKET. 89 BECKET. Have they got Their weapons by their sides ? GEIM. They have. BECKET. Admit tliem ! \Exit Grim, and returns with Fitzurse, Be More- ville, and Brito. ('■'' They sit down, and remain silent. BECKET. Well, Sirs ! Youi* mission seems a silent one ! What want your valovirs with a man of peace, Poor sei*vant of the Church of Canterbury 1 Why speak ye not '? Or, are your thoughts too clumsy For words to be their clothier ? FITZURSE. I, for one. Had rather act than talk !. BECKET. Act then ! or go ! Ye waste my time thus. BRITO. In the name of Henry, The King of England — 90 THOMAS A BECKET. BECKET. m A poor preface that To a petition ! BRITO. We demand, if thou Who hast presumed to excommunicate Roger of York, wilt instantly absolve Him and the others, whom thy voice hath dared Suspend from office. BECKET. WeU, Sirs ! What if I Dare further, and refuse. MOREVILLE. Thou wilt incur The anger of the King. BECKET. Who chooses you As proxies of his wrath ! — Ye play your part But passing badly. I would fain feel angry. To compliment your mission and yourselves — 'Tis a rude thing, contempt, for knights like you ! Such valiant men ! but what — yes, yes, Fitzurse ! I see you've got a sword ! THOMAS A SECRET. 91 MOREVILLE. What is thy answer ? BECKET. Did I not give one 1 Talk'd ye not of Kings, And of commands, to me, to England's Primate, Who, in each matter that doth touch the Church, Within the gate of his obedient ears Admits but that whicli liath tlie pass of Rome. The King's commands ! Tlie King's commands to me In my dominion ! Ye are jesting, Sirs ! BRITO. His hands have made thee wliat thou art ! BECKET. His hands ! Made me ! Now, by the keys of Peter, Kniglit, You'll stir my temper ! — his bands ! — me ! — if so, Where did he find the draff and refuse which His fingers scraped up to form yon ? God made me ; He puts upon my head that sanctity Which, like the sunshine, dims the little lights Of crown or helmet. He doth keep my person Safe in the round of that authority Within whose ring of fire I stand, and laugh At knightly sword, or sceptre of a King ! 92 THOMAS A BECKET. Ay. He doth fill my voice, which, 'less ye bend For pity and for pardon, shall be hurl'd, Hot with the lightnings of indignant Rome, At you, and make j'ou — be it possible — More cursed than ye are ! FITZURSE. Thou foul-mouth'd Priest ! 'Twere right to strike thy tongue out where thou stand'st. We will not suffer — BECKET. If it's right — then do it ! I am alone, unarm'd ; ye're knights, have swords. And can at least employ their brutal edge On women and on children, and on men Who won't resist I Fitzurse ! De Moreville ! Brito ! Bold knights ! I do defy ye ! Draw your weapons ! 'Tis well — stand ; look me in the face — I front ye Each one ! Now — conscience in your eye, and right Be with your arm ! — strike ! — 'Tis so ! Half-paid .cut- throats ! Go back to Henry, and demand more hire Than he hath given ye as the price of blood ; Or, do ye deem that I ye threaten here ■ Am he who put unpriestly lance in rest. THOMAS A BECKET. 93 And broke the wond'ring cliivaliy of France 1 Think ye I'm he, who, when Toulouse was breach'd, Rush'd with such onset as had swept away By the mere wind of its distracted path A Brito or Fitzurse 1 Nay, gentle heroes, I am a harmless Priest ! I have cast off Protective mail, and cbopp'd th' offending sword : Take courage now, and touch me ! Fll not move A finger to your hurt, not swerve once inch To let the murder pass. Ho ! double traitors To Church and King, ye fear it ! Poor assassins-^ Off ! Get yom- armour — case with comforting mail The palpitations of yoiu' tender hearts — Return ! Reseek this dangerous service — strain Each nerve to the great deed : ye'll find me here Unarm'd, and — silent ! willing to accept. As a full penance for a life of sins. The degradation of a death from you ! ' \Tlie three Knights retire. They're gone — I must compose my sjjirit — ah I r would fall calmly. Never more these lips Must breathe a cm-se, or swell with wordy vvrath. GKIM. Tney will return ! 94 THOMAS A BECKET. BECKET. I told them to return. GRIM. They'll slay thee, Master ! BECKET. Possibly. GRIM. Then fly ! BECKET. Grim ! Dost thou know me 1 GRIM. Oh ! alas, too well. Thou wilt call down destruction on the land By welcoming thine own. BECKET. I tell thee. Grim, My fall is predetermin'd — I consent : But I will have it how I choose, and when. Yes ! I have shown these brainless mui'derers That their hired swords to my confronting will Lose opposition. I will share with Henry The pow'r of my own death. THOMAS A BECKET. 95 GRIM, Best show that pow'r By shunning — BECKET. What must come some time — perhaps Less fittingly. Not so. God and the Church ! God and the Church shall ring from every blow ; Each wound shall gape with the eternal words ; And every drop of blood become a stream To fertilize the soil which they define ! GRIM. Thou talkedst of thy early years, when thou Didst lead a carnal life — yet longer live But to redeem it more ! BECKET. I cast my sins Upon the altar of this sacrifice, And let the flaming compensation shine On the round earth, and mount to heav'n ! GRIM. The people Love thee — why baulk their love 1 BECKET. Yes ! I have loved them, 96 THOMAS A BECKET. And lived as one of them ; too much perchance For those beneath me, whose minds crouch'd to mine. The highest were my brethren. 'Tis too late. Can death erase the instrument which love Writes on the long-retaining heart 1 My friend ! 'Tis a mere vulgar and a painted fame That blooms but in the eye, nor leaves behind Some treasured scent of its remember'd good. Come, Grim ! Time passes by. Devotion blames These words that filch her dues. GKiM {aside). Oh ! were my words Like thine, thou might' st be urg'd — but 'tis in vain. Scene XI. — Same Aioartment. John of Salisbury. Grim. JOHN. I tell thee. Grim, 'tis useless — but, my friend. Try — 'twill relieve thy mind — our great Archbishop's Is yet more royal than the King's. His course Is like those ocean-monsters, whose straight path Is terrible with pow'r, the while their limbs Do lack the capability to tiu-n. THOMAS A BECKET. 97 GRIM. Shall I let in the woman 1 JOHN. An' thou wilt Let in a flood, 'twill bo the same. Our master Hath, too, his fortunate failing of resolve That listens to no charming, otherwise We fools might worship the unsainted saint Without the leave of Rome. Yet try it, Grim. The broken utterance of a mind unhinged. And the meek voice of its pathetic look. May cure a case which wisdom quite gives up. [Exit Grim, and returns with Matilda. MATILDA. My Lord Archbishop Becket ! Oh, my Lord ! Beware the knife ! Enter a Bechet. BECKET. Poor thing ! Thou here, Matilda ! What wantest thou 1 MATILDA. What only thou canst give. I have a message unto thee, my Lord ! Let's think — Who gave it mc 1 — it is no matter — H 98 THOMAS A BECKET. 1 tell thee thou must fly : list ! in thine ear, H^s come ! 'tis fearful ! is it not, my Lord % I am not haunted now by that stern face, It hath left me, but thou must see it there Glaring at thee with its blood-seeking eyes. He has no pity — hush ! he has no pity. BECKET. Could I do aught for thee before we part 1 But thy mind wanders. Go in peace, Matilda. MATILDA. In peace ! What peace % I do not rave. Oh ! think not I'm mad — 'tis true, too true — this circumstance, This fearful time, hath stretch'd my brain imtil Reason perforce streams in. They've plann'd thy death ! BECKET. I know it, Lady ; and among the plotters Is Richard Brito ! Lead her gently off, Grim, and be kind to her. MATILDA. I will not go, 'TiU thou hast sworn upon the cross of God That thou wilt save thyself ! I heard him say That he could love thee — 'tis the King I mean. THOMAS A BECKET. 99 Why should ye quaxTel 1 If the sun and moon Contend in heav'n, what do the lesser lights But hold an useless office 1 I have yielded Much up to love — for what 1 To please one other, His vanity, or his pride ; and then, will ye, The forest-monarchs, when the winds of heav'n Pour from all quarters their constraining breath, Not bend to lace your separated boughs, Whose mighty shade would over-arch the sea, And let two kingdoms lie in peace below 1 BECKET. My poor Cassandra ! If I understand thee. Tie two such tops together, soon the trees Would burst all bonds to stand erect once more, Or cast their leaves off in the struggle ! Lo ! Rather than yield what I am forced to urge By Him that's greater than us both, this King Enti-usts the secret mission of his love To three assassins ! 'Tis a close regard. And modest too in its expression ! MATILDA. No! Lord Primate — no ! Heav'n gives my weaker mi ml 100 THOMAS A BECKET. To show the faults of thine. He, sent them not. Not Henry — no ! They come — \Noise heard without. BECKET. 'Tis true ! Now go — This is no place for thee — go, Lady ! MATILDA. Never ! Think'st thou a woman fears to look upon The sword she cannot handle ? But thy life Is not thine own ; thy faith, thy country — BECKET. Call, The one, for stifFering unto death ; the other — But I've done talking. Would my hour were come ! MATILDA. Yet go, my Lord ! I hear him — reason not ! Fly, as thou hadst a mother, one who kept Unchanging watch beside the little life That she had charge of ! Could she see thee now. Those limbs she lov'd, within the horrid reach Of that raised knife ; if she could speak — THOMAS A BECKET, 101 BECKET. She'd say, That she at least had bred me to behave As ivill her husband's child ! MATILDA. Oh ! mau ; proud man ! Thou hast not loved — thou wouldst be soffcen'd else By tears, wouldst bend to sighs. Hadst thou a breast That ever beat for woman's, ever felt How sternest strength can feel a luxury In being conquer'd by a weaker will, Thou wouldst not stand with that relentless foot As if 'twere treading down the loving hearts That rise to lift thee hence ! BECKET. Nay, vex me not ! What the past has been, Lady, doth not matter ; And for the present — why, I cannot see it While the great future's far-extending folds Do mantle it from vision ! [^Noise of battering heard near. GRIM. Sir ! my Lord ! Fly ! Wc are all in danger. Thou dost bring 102 THOMAS A BECKET. This risk upon thy servants. BECKET. Worthy Grim ! Thou meanest well, I know thou dost not fear : And for the rest, these hunters only seek The stag that heads the herd. They '11 find him hei'e. JOHN. Hark ! good my Lord, the vespers have begun. They claim thy presence. BECKET. 'Tis enough ; we go Where duty calls— stay, gently there ! We'll move As is our wont ; nor will forego the least Of our accustom'd state. I '11 have my robes on. GEiM (aside to Matilda), ito, Lady ! rouse the people, if thou canst. It may not be too late. Scene XII. — Interiov of the Cathedral. Monks, d'c. HYMN. Lift, lift the veil of Time, And gaze upon the land where shine The glorious suns of Palestine. THOMAS A BECKET. 103 In wondrous beauty, humble yet sublime, The lowly Man, the awful Godliead stands And lays the spell of his creative hands On one who, kneeling there Drinks with hot ear the words that smite the trembling- air. " Eeceive all pow'r o'er all thy kind To save or slay, to loose or bind ; While built on thee, a living stone Which Heav'n hath chosen for its own, A mightier Babel to the skies, With ages for its steps, shall rise. And Hell assault with idle shock The base of the immortal Rock ! " Up springs that man, yet more than human now. As o'er the field of his illumin'd brow The future lies in shadows, while above fr:,; •, ' He looks with fear-discarding love. One foot is stamp'd upon the sod As pressing down a foe, and, stretcli'd through space. His fingers seem the path of Time to trace, Grasping the mystic keys, the signet-ring of God ! 104 THOMAS A BECKET. When shall the building be completed, Upon whose banners, white as Salmon's snow, Is wi-it the mark of its high calling — " Earth rais'd to Heav'u, and Hell defeated 1 " Eleven centuries have seen it grow And spread its base, and lift its head above, 'Mid earthly things and thrones around it falling- The visible shrine that holds the mystery of love ! Enter the temple — listen ! gaze around ! Hark ! what a soul of softly-solemn sound Broods in the air. It is the voice Of aged Time, Time old yet ever young. That bids the world its son rejoice, Hymning th' eternal melodies which, sung By angel-lips on Bethlehem's plain, Draw the sweet links of life in long-related chain ! Behold the lights that blaze ! Imaging living spirits — lamps of mind, In which let pious Fancy find The glory of those early rays When Heav'n to Earth descending came, And fill'd the herald-star with its new life of flame ! THOMAS A BEGKET. 105 They light the path of each progressive soiil ; Spread into sparkles, blending into one The many malie the whole — As splendours scatter'd wide conspire to form a Sun ! Build the fabric ; raise it hidi : All the things of earth do lie — Learning's haunt, or lover's bow'r, Crowded mart, or castled tow'r, Ivied cot, or regal halls, In the shadow of its walls. Bow dowai ! Bow down ! Child of the world ! We claim from thee No soulless worship of the knee. Bow down, bow down, With bended heart and mind, and own The glories of the unseen throne, The triple rule that gems the God-descended crown ! All without is Night and Sin ; All is Light and Life within. Every sea and every land Lies in Rome's gigantic hand. 106 THOMAS A BECKET. Every hope of man is there ; Seed for joy, and seal for pray'r. Kings coerce with iron sway Subjects not more frail than they — Hers, the empire of the breast, Oldest, strongest, purest, best ! Rise, Monarch ! lay thy subject-sceptre here At tliy great mother's feet. Sheathe the vain sword, and drop the braggart spear, Warrior of earth ! for what avail Material point, and coarse man-forged mail Against the arms of Heav'n, with which Heav'n's sons compete ? What this mighty spell which, spoken. Makes the heart of life lie broken, Blood be cold, and suns grow dark, If ye ask, we answer — ^hark ! Let the bell toll The knell above a buried soul ! Put out the lights to mark a life that 's fled, A body ribb'd around a spirit that is dead ! (i^^ THOMAS A BECKET, 107 Approach ! Approach (it is the accepted hour) The presence of this awful pow'r ! Peasant or Prince, approach, and take thy choice, Salvation in its arms, or Hell from out its voice ! Enter cb Beclcet, John of Salishuri/, Grim,, Monies, dec. in confusion. BECKET. Gently ! What means this tumult 1 Deem ye this The palace of a Prince ? We are Ms servants Whose mind, as seen in Nature and her works, Is ever solemn, as it's ever sure ! [Increasing noise of battering heard. A Becket ascends the steps of the altar. GRIM. Oh ! is there yet hope, John of Salisbury ? What will persuade him ? JOHN. None, my friend ; and nothing ! Scarce would I do it, an' I could. Behold How like a god the glorious victim stands ! The bright yet calm intelligence within Shines through the thin skin on the outward face. Look on that high divinity of brow. Up which the thought that sways a world hath climb'd 108 THOMAS A BECKET. As to its topmost temple ! Meeting there, In wavy angle, two full feeling veins, Distended to their limits, give alone Their mortal indication — only one, One sacrifice like that ! BECKET. Ho ! quickly there. Unclose the gates. What ! think ye Heav'n hath need Of bars and bolts, when will'd, to fortify Its sentence of exclusion ? \Looking round and speaking low. But one instant — And what an instant ! thou glorious throne Of the incarnate Majesty of Love, For thee, and the mysterious sanctities Of which thou art the image and the shrine, A little while I've borne with life — for these I now would lay it down ! for unto me. Childless and motherless, thou hast been all things, — Thou, and thy worship, and thy faith ! Farewell ! May worthier— Nay, 'tis time ! Come back, my eyes ! 'Tis the last look that I shall give to thee, My beautiful temple ! {Aloud.) — Now, what fear ye, friends'? THOMAS A BECKET. 109 Is your profession one which suus itself lu the full blaze of unresisted day, But shrinks and shivers when the comfortless clouds Assault the horizon ? Do ye preach the Church Ruling the world, and with folse hearts crouch down Unto God's vilest creatures, men who use The forceful means which Nature gave to brutes 1 On with the service ! [WiUiam de Tracy, and the three other Knights, in comiilete armour, hurst in. TRACY. ' ' Where's the traitor Becket 1 [None speak. What ! are ye silent, cowards 1 Monks ! I say, Where's the Archbishop Becket 1 BECKET (desceyiding.) Here am I ! Scene XIII. — Outside the Cathedral. Matilda, Crowd, Eicliard Blots. CROWD, What says she ? Let us hear ! What saidst thou 1 110 THOMAS A BECKET. MATILDA. This ! I ask you, are ye English ? Will ye suffer Your own cathedral floor be made an altar On which to immolate yovir lives, your hopes, Your loves ! — then, are ye English*? are ye English 1 CROWD. What means the lady ? MATILDA. There ! the knife is in him, Finding its gory way ! Ah ! here I feel it ; I feel it in my side ! Alas ! CROWD. What knife 1 Whom are they slaying 1 MATILDA. Whom 1 The man of men ! The hope of eai-th ! The pride of Heav'n ! I tell yon, Ye 're not alive when he is dead — youi' souls Are night when his is set ! CROWD. Whol who? MATILDA. In that cathedral church— its lord and yours — THOMAS A BECKET. Ill They're murdering him — hark ! CROWD. Becket ! mm-der Becket ! The Lord Archbishop ! 'Tis not possible ! R. BLOIS. Ye 're right, friends ! 'Tis not possible. The Primate Could summon armed angels in whole troops, With a few hundred chariots, n^ore or less, To aid him, an' he will'd it. Do ye tliink That he who works such miracles on others, Plugs an old sore, or mends a broken bone With the cheap plaister of a word or two. Can't help himself 1 — that is, if so he will it. CROWD. Ay ! he speaks ti'uth. What harm can come to Becket ? He could command the earth to gape, could bid The whole cathedral fall upon his foes — MATILDA. Will ye not help him— will ye not ? R. BLOIS. — And lie As lightly on himself and his good monks As their own feather-beds ! 112 THOMAS A BECKET. MATILDA. A sign ! a sign ! Ha ! let the world be deaf ! The organ ceases — There stopiy'd the music of a soul ! Hark ! hark ! A nish of steps and voices bringing up The rear of a black action ! Doth there lie A cloud upon your eyes 1 Do your hearts beat ^ Feel them I — again ! CROWD, There's something here — we'll force The church's doors ! We'll help the Archbishop — ■ MATILDA. Go! The church's doors are open ! Enter — help him ! Worship him if ye will ! Convert his bones To amulets for cowards — and his blood, Hang it in bottles at your children's hearts That the weak stream which dribbles there may blush Into unfilial manhood ! CROWD. To the church ! The four Knights rush out, exclaiming, Death to all traitors ! For the king ! the king ! Long live King Henry ! [and exeunt. THOMAS A BECKET. 113 CEOWD. Have they done it, think ye ? Had we known this, we would — Enter Grim, holding up a bloody cloth with his left arm ; his right hanging hroken. GRIM. Down on your knees, With prayers and curses battling on your lips For the foul deed, and him who fell by it ! Behold the blood of Becket ! \The crowd kneel. MATILDA. Ha! ha! ha! I've got a pleasant tingling in my ears, And a low buzzino; like the sound of bees About my mother's garden. I was young — Was happy then. Let's see — the blood of Becket ! A common lot — but not a common man — I do not understand ! He was not old.(''' Death ! Becket ! a strange sound ! The blood of Becket ! I'll touch it — lo ! it does not bm-n my hand. The blood of Becket should be di'opp'd with fire As if the world were blazing— does it spai'e me Because I am a woman ? He indeed I 114 THOMAS A BEOKET. Was gentle unto women. Come, ye men, And touch this gory testament ! — ha ! ha ! I say, I've got a biizzing in my ears, As 'twere the voice of unborn multitudes Muttering the history of this bloody day ! CROWD {increasing). We will have vengeance ! Let us in, and arm Our hatred with the sight ! [Rush into the Cathedral. R. BLOis {looking at Matilda). This woman here Must to the King, and tell him of the deed ; He'll hear it from none else. Scene XIV. — The house of Agnes' father. Be Tracy, Agnes {jneeting). Agnes ! TRACY. AGNES. De Tracy ! TRACY. One word — one of pity ! THOMAS A BECKET. 115 AGNES. What hast thou done ? There's murder in thine eye ! TRACY. There should be ! for my hand hath dealt it. Agnes ! 'Twill haunt my heart ! One word — I risk my hfe To see thee ere I fly, — but one — forgiveness ! Heav'n will not, and man wiU not — but, oh ! Agnes, Pardon me thou ! AGNES. Say, WiUiam ! What is this ? TRACT. I struck him as he stood in calm defiance, Without a movement of eye, breath, or limb. I dash'd his brains out on the marble soil, Whence angel hands will gather them to witness At the last judgment ! When the deed was done, I felt as if the air around was fiU'd With the great soul of that poor mangled corpse ! Innumerable eyes stared into me, And forked tongues of everlasting fire Cried out, " Why didst thou this ?" AGNES. Whom hast thou slain 1 116 THOMAS A BECKET. TRACY. But wilt tliou pardon me 1 I've slain the man — 'Twas from mad love of thee — who stole thy heart. Oh ! I was hot with hate ! I've kill'd a Becket ! AGNES. A Becket ! God of mercy ! — thou art wrong. I ne'er spoke word to him, or he to me. I lov'd him as a Christian child should love Christ's mirror upon earth ! TRACY. Not love a Becket 1 I say he's dead — I slew him — murder'd him, Because that thou didst love him ! Oh ! my head ! The pain of hell-fire is already here ! Oh ! Agnes, tell me that thou lov'dst a Becket — Ah ! what a look is there ! Could Heav'n not save him? AGNES. May it save thee ! Thou'st done a fearful thing ! TRACY, Crush'd — spirit-crush'd ! I am a fearful thing, Which I myself can't look upon ; to others — To thee, what am I but a I must fly ! I have no claim on thee — I wroug'd thee — yet, Give me one gentle word, to go with me THOMAS A BECKET. 117 As my sole friend in life-long banishment. I can foresee the future — the far bed, dS) And the stretch'd limbs, from which Death, day by day Cuts butcher-like the unequal flesh, to leave A half-form'd skeleton ! Pity me, Agnes ! God ! for pity ! AGNES. May that God give mo As I give thee all pardon ! I will pray Whene'er I think of thee — when 1 ever ! ever ! " May'st thou find mercy ! " Mercy for De Tracy ! Mercy for Agnes ! Go, dear William, go ! [As he turns slowly away, she calls him hack. Stay, William : here's a trinket. 'Twill remind — But, is't not better to forget ? No matter — Take it. There may be brighter suns than England's, And comfort — ay ! love flow upon thy soul From other lips than mine. Now, go ! TRACY. No, Agnes ! Thou dost forget that I shall be ring'd round With a deep gulf that angels may not pass, Denied all hope in death, cast corpse-like forth To putrefy, yet feel and breathe ! Behold 118 THOMAS A BECKET. Witli what a point these holy arrows pierce Throiigh mail or purple, tipp'd by hate, or wing'd By cool-brow'd Justice ! 'Tis the lust of pow'r That lifts Rome's giant arm, to crush the good, Or add a pang to such a breast as mine ! AGNES (ccbstractedli/). It may be shared. It had escap'd my mind, The memory of that fierce anathema. Cm-s'd by the Church ! No hand, no look, no voice — Wretched ! alone ! — alone 1 What meaneth that ? Spoken by Rome, Hell lives within the word ! 'Twas a rash act ! yet done for love of me — Alone ! {with vehemence). 'Tis past ! I fly with thee, De Tracy. TKACY {firmly). My Agnes, never ! AGNES. Thine ! and yet thou wilt not ? Am I so deeply dyed — so passing foul, That that dark lot, the which thy fear compared With very rottenness, can yet be made More loathsome by my presence 1 Wretched Agnes ! Oh ! Tracy ! I was young ; and day by day. THOMAS A BECKBT. 119 The pressure of a sacred voice ; the show (How false, I know too late !) that heav'n is served By e'en the guilty lavishment of love On its uuwedded ministers, compell'd The suiierauce of a deed, but never touch'd The unlistening heart, which only beat for thee ! TRACT. Agues, refrain ! Oh ! let it not be said That the last act which I had pow'r to choose. But topp'd the gloomy mountain of my crimes With a more damning villany ! Thy presence ! That were a sun ! but I will choose the night. I dared the deed. I front the punishment In aU its desolation. It were worse Than the red blow which let the soul escape From the ciiish'd body, when the plague hath touch'd me, ' And o'er my Hmbs I throw the spotted robe, To seek for comfort — 'twere a devil's comfort — By folding her in its polluted skirt Who loves me, even now ! No, no, we part. Dear Agnes ! Ah ! my spirit's bruised indeed, That my hot lips do lack a righteous curse For that foul system, author of our woe, 120 THOMAS A BECKET. Which strides to heav'n by overpassing hell In damnable conceptions ! AGNES. my love ! Go, for the last time ! take my heart with thee — Take my last thought of earth ! I quit, this instant, My father's house for some conventual tomb. To bury e'en the memory of De Tracy ! Oh! go— [As he turns to depart, she exclaims, " William /" He looks at her without speaking, and rushes out of the room. She clasps her hands to her head, and exit. Scene XV. — Normandy Pcdace. Henry II., Lords, &c., William of Pavia. HENKY. 'Twas a fine flight, my Lords ! My favourite bird Did credit to his training ; let me add, To his race likewise. Noble deeds come well Of noble blood. Lord Cardinal, the Church, THMIAS A BECKET. 121 That frowns upon jour Eminence's presence At sports like these, doth rob you of much joy. 'Twere right to bribe and compensate a heart With some great bliss, that may not thrill to hear The falconer's whoop ! WILLIAM. Yom- Highness has been born A man of war, like David, raised to fight The battles of the Church ; and they who slay Their lions and Goliaths, turn to pleasures, When they have leisure, which to their vocation Bear consanguinity of nature. I Am a poor portion of a pow'r, whose office It is to build the tem2)le up in peace Without e'en sound of hammer — to save life, And not to slay it ! HENRY. Doubtless, Cardinal ! Rome knows her own work best, and wiU not miss The means to help it. {To first Loi^d.) Have ye heard from England ? Hath my commandment caught those truant knights That went from us ? 122 THOMAS A BECKET. FIRST LORD. Not yet, yoiir Grace ! I fear Our messenger will scarcely overtake Their hasty steps — HENRY. God's eyes ! my loving Lord ! Do they who brave my orders, make more speed Than they who bear them 1 FIRST LORD. Please your Highness, they Had some hours' start of — HENRY. Start, man! What of that? Mother of mercy ! doth the falcon start Together with the heron ? Ye base knaves. An' I had gone myself — What have we now 1 Enter Second Lord. SECOND LORD. May 't please your Grace ! a messenger from England, Saith that the father of the Lady Agnes, In quick belief that that same priest had hid His daughter from him, tax'd him with the theft. Words lash'd their thoughts to a red heat, on which The warlike churchman snatch'd a weapon by, And slew him, where he stood ! THOMAS A BECKET. 123 HENRY. Slew whom 1 SECOND LORD. The father. HENRY. Who slew him ? SECOND LORD. He, the priest. HENRY. Great Heav'n ! my brain Grows stunn'd and weary with these licensed devils. Now, will not Becket take this wretch in hand, And shut him up for a short year or two, In order that the comfortable culprit May meditate on murder, and come forth Wash'd by repentance to a clean-brow'd saint 1 Would the whole pack were — MATILDA (^without). Back ] / back ! I will not ! Who now is greater than Matilda Ilohan Array'd in such a mission 1 Give way ye ; And let me enter ! [Ente7'S, holding up the bloody cloth. 124 THOMAS A BECKET. Lo, where stands a King ! Henry of England ! Lord of Normandy ! Can sorrow reach Plantageuet and Anjou ? Ay ! here's a Httle thing will shake the breasts Of monarchs 'neath their purple ! Yet I said Thou didst not wish it ! Didst thou, mighty Prince ? This cloth is stain'd with — HENRY. Stop ! 'Tis blood ! Oh 1 when Will this day end % Tell me — yet say not that — There, in thine eyes I read it ! May thy lips Forswear the witness ! 'Tis not he that's dead — Becket ! Speak !— Becket? MATILDA. Murder'd ! HENRY. Oh ! my friend ! MATILDA. There spake the man : let the king die with Becket ! Behold ! it moves him : him the first of men, The hero who swept down baronial pow'r With the sharp wind of war, and smiled to see Red carnage feed upon her hundreds, making So many tyrants less — but not like him, THOMAS A BECKET. 125 Not one like him ! When he died, clouds rush'd in Before the eye of daylight : the earth shrank As 'twould escape from bearing such a deed ; The tears of angels fell on that gash'd corpse, Like the sad dew upon a battle-field Where armies rot misepulchred ; and Vice Rais'd its lean head, and leer'd i;pon the land, In foul expectance of a fresh embrace ! HENRY. Lord Cardinal ! Thou dost not speak. WILLIAM. Sir King ! The sound of such a thing should stun with hon-or All senses of all hearers. This black deed Thy myrmidons have done — HENET. Mine ! Cardinal 1 What robb'd the earth of that most blessed life ? What warp'd the fancies of that noble mind, Turning aside the thoughts that had enrich'd A kingdom witli their fulness 1 What but Rome ? With the false show of her all-grasping claims She misdirected such a soul as Becket's To lag behind itself, and vindicate 126 THOMAS A BECKET. The exaltation of her shrine of pow'r ! But, 'tis enough ; I'm calm : gone, gone for ever ! [Walks aside. FIRST LORD. His thoughts are with the past, when like two boys, In playful glee, the King and Chancellor Rode side by side ; and trick and laugh boil'd up From plenitude of spirit ! 'Tis a proof How much he loved him. WILLIAM. Even unto death ! Lady, thou saw'st the body ? MATILDA. Saw it 1 Ay ! I, and the angels, and the fiends, all saw it ; For think ye not Creation was disturb'd In every corner, and came trooping in To witness such a death t The devils laugh'd. And then I laugh'd ! — but why should I do that 1 I was not happy. Maybe I am mad. WILLIAM. And they who did it have escaped, no doubt. I need not ask their names. THOMAS A BECKET. 127 MATILDA. They have escaped. HENRY {returning). My Lords, break up this meeting. I would question My thoughts alone. This is a circumstance Of fearful moment, which will link the past With th' unsure features of the comino; ao-e, Like mark upon the mountain-top of Time, Whose base has sunk from sight. Have I a friend Worth such a foe ? He wrestled for his order, And I for mine. What is the end ? The Church Now sees its good in ranging side by side With vassal against lord ; in aftertimes Perchance 'twill court the men who stand upon The topmost round of life ; and next, the crown, Shorn of its rays of pow'r, become a symbol Of order. It is well. All private toil Conspires to raise the public edifice. And, last, will flow the people's love or duty From free-bred hearts, not forced out thence by weight Of favour or oppression. It will come — O Becket, Becket ! neither you nor I Do make up England ! — and yet luurder'd ! [Exit Henry and attendants. 128 THOMAS A BECKET, WILLIAM {looMng after him). Come What will, the present smiles on Eome ; the future May bring its handle with it. The live Becket Was not, Monarch, half the plague to thee, As shall be dead St. Thomas ! (i») i NOTES. Note (1). — Page 5. Brabanfons. A species of military banditti, who were veiy commonly bired as mercenaries by the princes of those times. Brabant was the chief nursery of this kind of troops, and gave its name to them, from whatever quarter they were derived. Note (2).— Page 7- A Becket was successively Archdeacon of Canterbury, Tutor to Henry's eldest son (holding at the time sundry collateral offices, such as the Governorship of the Tower of London, &c.), Chancellor of England, and Archbishop. Before his appointment to tlie Primacy, he had figured, with considerable success, in the characters of warrior, courtier, and sportsman. Note (3).— Page 10. Henry, Bisliop of Winchester, was a younger son of the Count of Blois, by Adela, daugliter of William the Conqueror ; and, consequently, brother to King Stephen. Note (4). — Page 11. A Becket, urged by the Norman Bisliops, and threatened by the King and Barons, had agreed to observe the " Constitutions of Clarendon," requiring time, however, to digest their meaning and pur])ort. lie does not appear, like the rest, to have affixed his seal to them. For making a concession to the above extent he was reproved by his cross-bearer, Edward 130 NOTES TO THOMAS A BECKBT. Grim. If we behold liira yielding in this one instance, on every subsequent occasion, during the protracted contest between the king and him, lie appears as firm and unbending — Quara si dura silex, aut stet marpesia cautes. Note (5).— Page 12. The King's Customs were the regulations established by Henry II. at the council of Clarendon ; and alleged by him to be founded on the " usages " of his grandfather, Henry I. Their chief object was to curtail the power of ecclesiastics, by bringing them, in criminal matters, under civil autliority ; and to prevent foreign interference in the kingdom, liy controlling the right of appeals to the Pope. Note (6).— Page 20. When A Becket first fled from England, all his kindred were banislicd by royal edict ; and his property, with that of his dependants, was con- fiscated. Note (7). — Page 22. By " Israel " he refers to his English father, who was a Christian — one of the true Israel of God; while his mother was originally a heathen, the daugliter of a Saracen Emir. Note (8).— Page 39. Richard Coeur de Lion appears to have been the first sovereign wlio made use of the royal "we" in grants aud charters. Henry II. in his charter to the City of Norwicli, anno 1182, writes, " Sciatis me conces- sisse," " quare volo^' &c. — Notes and Queries, vol. vi. p. 232. Note (9). — Page 54. The names of this, and other personages of the period, are spelt very differently by different writers. Note (10.)— Page 58. Polished metallic specula were used as mirrors in the early ages of the world. Thus in Job (xxxvii. 18) we find allusion made to the " sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking-glass ; " aud the laver (Exod. xxxviii. 8) was composed of the brass looking-glasses of the women. The first sheets of blown glass for looking-glasses and coach windows, were made in 167'j at Lambeth, by Venetian artisans, employed under the patronage of the NOTES TO THOMAS A BECKET. 131 Duke of Buckingham. — {Tire's Bid.) I have not succeeded iu ascertaining the price of a mirror in the time of Henry II.; but probably that belong- ing to Thomas was an heir-loom in the famDy. TVoTE (11).— Page 59. Henry compelled Becket to pay back several .'imall sums of money which had passed between tliem; and charged him with the liability of a further payment of 44,000 marks, to make good deficiencies in his accounts while Cliancellor. Apparently the King's object was not the money, but to effect the ruin of the Primate. Note (12).— Page G3. This tax was called " Saladin's Tax," and was levied for the delivery of the Holy Land. Henry had now become more anxious to show a zeal for religion, (even yielding occasionally to Papal interference,) while Becket adopted more violent measures to counteract the (generally) calmer plans which the King entertained for bringing ecclesiastics under control. Note (13).— Page 64. Victor IV. bad been recognised by Frederick Barbarossa, while Alexander HI. was supported by France and England. A new anti-pope appeared subsequently in the person of Pascal III. Note (14). — Page 65. Henry II. began to reign a.d. 1155. Wycliffe was not born till about A,D. 1324. A legal friend of mine, (John Darling, Esq.) to whom I am much indebted for the revision of the present work, suggests that I should not assume any reader to be unacquuiuted with the above facts. However, I only request the said reader to bear them carefully in mind in several passages of the Poem. Note (15).— Page 89. I have taken a slight historical liberty in making three only of " the Knights " present at the first interview with Becket. As the matter is recorded, it seems difficult to understand why the conspirators did not at once proceed to extremities, without waiting for a second opportunity. Note (16).— Page 106. Excommunication was pronounced or read by torch-light, after which the torches were extinguished, and the bells tolh'd. Hence the expression curse bv bell, book, and caudle." to" 132 NOTES TO THOMAS A BECKET. Note (17).— Page 113. A Becket was murdered in the 53d year of his age, on Tuesday 29th Dec. 1170. Note (18).— Page 117. Tradition saith to the above effect, viz.— that Be Tracy's flesh fell off from his bones in masses. Note (19).— Page 128. The estimation in which St. Thomas was held, may be judged of from the fact, that subsequently to his Canonization, the contributions at Canterbury in one year were — £ s. d. At the altar of Thomas a Becket 954 6 3 „ „ of the Virgux Mary 4 18 „ „ of Christ 000 Vide LijtiletoH's Henry II, fairs ^ukm f eiglr. " A FEW weeks ago, in clearing out the ruins of an old chapel at Nuneham Regis, in Warwickshire, we thought it necessary to trench the whole space We began to trench at the west end, and came on a great many bones and skeletons, from which the coffins had crumbled away As soon as the leaden top was rolled back, a most overpowering aromatic smell diffused itself all over the place On trenching towards the chancel we came on four leaden coffins laid side by side, with inscriptions on each. . . . We opened the coffin of Lady Audrey Leigh, and found her perfectly embalmed and in entire preservation, her flesh quite plump as if she were alive, her face very beautiful, her hands exceedingly small, and not wasted. She was dressed in fine linen trimmed all over with old point lace, and two rows of lace were laid flat across her forehead. She looked exactly as if she were lying asleep, and seemed not more than sixteen or seventeen years old ; her beauty was very great ; even her eye-lashes and eye-brows were quite perfect, and her eyes were closed ; no part of her face or figure was at all fallen in. The date on the coffin was 1640." — Notes and Queries, vol. vi. no. 156, p. 386. LADY AITDEEY LEIGH. They have lifted the lid From the mould'ring coifiu — and what was there 1 Noble and young and passing fair, White-robed she lay, and cushion'd amid Perfume and faded flow'rs, -which spread An odorous veil o'er the long-housed dead. Deeply we gazed : it was strange to see The brows of that living company Bent upon one who had not grown Older in twice a century flown ; Whose life had set while it still was morn, Long ere their fathers' sires were born. 136 LADY AUDREY LEIGH. Slightly her eyelash stirr'd to the breath Of the close-set faces stooping round ; And calm lay her features and cold, beneath Torch-light and hammer with flash and sound, And but for this you had deem'd her then A. sleeping child of those rugged men. Deeply we gazed ; and on and on, Musing, I look'd when the rest were gone. It seem'd as if Death had arrested there His pitiless touch from a form so fair, And had let her lie, with the delicate clasp Of her fingers, bent as in friendly gxasp ; While two white fillets of ancient lace Banded the brow of that beautiful face ! " Thou dead ! It cannot be ! " I cried, " Wake, lady ! wake ! and side by side. We will wander to see what change hath past O'er the sleepless world since thou saw'st it last." Merciful angels ! or hath my brain Tliought until vision is weak and vain ? Or doth the fluttering torch-light flash From a gather'd tear on that long eyelash 1 LADY AUDREY LEIGH, 137 And was it my own voice sounding nigh 1 Oh ! surely there must be life to sigh ! I turn'd for awhile, but when I gazed Once more, the head of the dead was raised. And my heart's blood shrank to its fount to see That young eye open, and look upon me ! She rose — she stood — then approach' d me near With silent motion, and took my hand — '^That touch of gentleness soothed my fear, Which grew to joy, as I seem'd to hear " A Pow'r which the grave may not withstand Hath raised me up from its quiet home, With thee through the sleepless world to roam." II. We stood within a stately hall ; From spreading glass and gilded wall The lamp-rays shot their myriad glances, As, circling, swept in busy dances The idlers of the ball. Tln-ough flowery arch and warm saloon. Floated melodious clouds of tune. Joy seem'd to reign where all went well, And bosoms heaved as footsteps fell ! 138 LADY AUDREY LEIGH. Alone we stood ; no foot, no voice Or ceased to move, or to rejoice : Nor rose one whisper to discuss " Why hath he brought the dead to us 1 " I turn'd to my companion — she Look'd up in quiet grief and said, " How happier are the uumoving dead ! This is no place for me. Let my heavy eyelids close ; Take me back to my repose." in. Again I took her, 'mid the things Of modern life, the dead To mingle with the living, where To waft the way-farer through air The Genius of Invention spread His vast and vapoury wings. From town to town, from mart to mart, Like Nature's lightning mock'd by art, We sped impetuous on — View'd mighty ports where ships unfurl'd Their sails, the envoys to a world From Commerce' golden throne ; LADY AUDREY LEIGH, 139 Or bustliug wealth bid ever rise Its growing temple to the skies. She shrank within herself — her look Was one of timid sorrow, cast In wishes for a trial past : Her body trembled, as the din Of the world, iron-throated, shook Her peaceful soul within ! " Let, let my eyelids close ; Take me back to my repose." IV. Again, we hasten'd where the air Was cleft by thousand voices crjdng. Above the cannons roaring there. Far o'er the groans of many dying — In shouts that made the distance ring, " The king ! the king ! Long live the king !" Erect the crowned victor stood. And on his star-emblazon'd breast The purple hid the tide of blood That bore him to that height ; It hid the long and lean unrest, That wore him, day and night. 140 LADY AUDREY LEIGH. Yet, 'twas a scene of pow'r to please ; The banner stretching to the breeze, The cry of joy, the rush of speed. Bright armour flashing to the sun The augury of a reign begun, The rivalry of man and steed, The champ, the neighing, and the shout ; While still, at every close. Like a check'd fountain bursting out. The brazen music rose. Her cheek alone was pale ; her heart was cold : O'er the large orbs their sable lashes drooping, Seem'd to betray how life within was stoojjing To find escape from matter's forceful hold. While o'er the marble lips there past a quiv'ring, From which the words came feebly, shorn and shiv'ring, " Let my heavy eyehds close ; Take me back to my repose ! " V. Above us rose a lofty dome O'er-topping many a learned tome, As if long-labouring art had wrought A very palace-hall for thought ! LADY AUDREY LEIGH. 141 Imaginations of all ages Breathed silently from countless pages, And gentle fancy, never dead, Her wings in graceful beauty spread. I gazed arormd with curious look. And saw where in a quiet nook. With furry robe and fuiTow'd brow, — 'Twas thus since he was young till now — An old man and alone. As willing here his world to find, Sat calmly like the king of mind. Upon his letter'd throne. No word my youthful partner spoke. But meekly shook her ch-ooping head ; While o'er her pallid features broke The language of a look, which said That wish for earthly wisdom stirs No motion in a soul hke hers ! We sat upon a quiet bank, alone By shaded waters ; and I asked her then. With something of a disappointed tone. 142 LADY AUDREY LEIGH. " Lady ! what are the joys thou rather choosest 1 What is that Hfe for which thou still refusest To mix, well-pleased, amid thy fellow-men?" For the first time her eye-ball's solemn show Grew warm with feeling, and her cheek was tinged By various hues, as if a rainbow fringed With its bright stripes a plain of A.rctic snow. " Oh ! there my life is sweet," she cried, " Far sweeter than my words can say, To wait, as might some sleeping bride. The dawn that brings a greater day. That life (if such to thee might seem The sense of an unworldly dream) Is, as the peace-pervaded soul Were rock'd in a voluptuous motion Upon the fondling depths of ocean, Still drawing nearer to the goal Of a dim shore, where Hope may hint A balmier air, a brighter tint ; But, clearly, through its shadows seen No feature meets the eye to break The film of bliss that floats between This present world, and when shall wake LADY AUDREY LEIGH. 143 The spirit, born uo more to die, And married into ecstasy ! " Sometimes I feel as I were rushing Upon a mighty danger, when There comes a mightier comfort gashing Through every pore of self, and then Anticipated victory eases The peril into pain that pleases. " At times I feel about to sink In gloomy water, down and down, Pull'd back by heavy hands, and think, ' There must be help — I shall not drown ! ' A cross of wood comes floating nigh, On which I mount, and as I go, Shake oif the baffled clutch below. And look well-pleased upon the sky ! " But, more than all, for more than all, I see a face bend down to mine — To say its Beauty is divine Were nothing ; and it then lets fall From its eternal eyes, a flood 144 LADY AUDREY LEIGH. Of love, SO sorrowful yet deep, That I spring up, as I would steep My soul therein ; and then comes blood From its crown'd brow — a thorny crown — Dropping, dropping, solemnly down. What feel I then as that red flow Streams on me 1 A strange heart and mind As I myself were all mankind. And man — but words are vain to show That awful joy ! Oh ! let me go, Renewing bliss that will but end In greater bliss — cruel friend ! Let my heavy eyelids close ; Take me back to my repose ! " VII. Once more, we stood beneath a lowly roof Where decent taste and pride strove hard to keep The dust and rags of poverty aloof. And tried to smile, but only turn'd to weep. On a rude chair there sat to write One, on whose form her widow's dress. Hung like the shadow of the night Upon her morning loveliness ; i LADY AUDREY LEIGH. 145 And by her side, fresh-open'd there, Upon the table's humble deal, A pleasant letter wi-itten fair. With coronetted seal. And as she wrote, she turn'd her head Where a young infant lay, With large mild eyes like quiet day, On the brown- quilted bed. It look'd not strong as mother's glance Should find it — Who can guess The cause 1 'Twas sickness — or perchance Its little food was less — And then it seem'd in pain, — altho' Its cry, if ever heard, was low. She wrote and look'd, and sigh'd and wrote, And trembling closed the blotted note ; And then she knelt, and raised on high The tearful beauty of her eye. And pray'd to have a better will. To choose the pure and purse-poor station — " Oh ! lead us not into temptation ! Deliver us from ill ! " L 146 LADY AUDREY LEIGH. VIIL The fair companion by my side Gazed deep and sobbingly, and cried, " Here will I stay ! Life here were worth A long retaste of bitter earth — To live for good, to lift a soul, To draw it nearer to that goal Where I — but wherefore didst thou speak ? " " I spoke not," I replied — her cheek Grew pale again ; and then — " I caught A whisper'd voice — 'twas thine, I thought; But ah ! it was my warning fate, ' Too late,' it cried, * it is too late ! Pray only that the thoughts may be In living hearts which burn in thee !' Oh ! may they ! may they ! Now again I die to earthly joy and pain. I feel as if my fleeting soul Were spreading strongly through the whole Of all created Life, and yet, There lurks a sense that can't forget Itself; a ray that mixes with the sun ; One ranging through the whole — the whole encircling one ! LADY AUDREY LETGH, 147 Oh ! Love ! great Love !" — then, as a child rejoices To visit home, she pass'd ; and the sad air Kiss'd from her lips those last sweet words, and bare " Oh ! Love ! great Love ! " around in myriads of small voices. IX. And next, I stood alone, as on my view Her words and figure faded oif together, And I but heard the voice of the rough weather, And saw the sky stretch out its solitary blue. And oft I wander by the drowsy brink Of melancholy streams, or through the wood Of slumbering forests ; and in sadness think Of that — more felt perchance than understood — That glorious vision ! and then I Sigh — is it sinful so to sigh ? That unto me were giv'n A better life, or other birth ; To wed with such a soul on earth, Oi- look on it in heav'n ! IVA. Eyes are heavy with sleep, Feet are weary of tripping, And hps have dived so deep. They even have ceased from sipping. Heigho ; *The bell doth go Drowsily, drowsily, to and fro ; For all have been merry in full to-night, In the very old town of Dronchensteit. In a very old town you may safely swear That very odd things will happen there, For strange events and ghosts are few Alike in city or room that's new. The lady of the place that day Had given her hand and heart away IVA. 149 To a stranger, who amidst them came With a handsome face, and an unknown name. He was good-looking-enough for the young, Rich beyond measui'e — it pleased the old ; Good matrons loved his flattering tongue, And fathers of fiimihes liked his gold. On what the heart loves the head will think. So, bent upon food, and earnest in drink. They all did honor that very long night To the lady Iva of Dronchensteit. II. Since time, or books at least, begun, Heroines are handsome, every one. Who'd take the trouble to pen a line, 'Bout crooked shapes and crabbed features Belonging to the best of creatures ? In mind and form alike divine All heroines are, and Iva's mine : But there's an attribute of woman Ere books were writ or minstrels sung, Most unheroically common — Both plain and pretty have a tongue ; 150 IVA. Since Adam first in Eden walk'd, Where men have married, wives have talk'd. And Iva in this gift was rich, This virtue, I should say, for well I call That fault a noble merit which Saved her from being quite angelical. Feel as you may, explain it as you can, A perfect woman would not do for man ! III. The lamp a shaded lustre shed In the large chamber, scarce disclosing The forms, upon the bridal bed. Of Iva and her lord reposing. They scarce had laid them down before Some rapid words the lady utter'd. Her silence now at least was more Than could be hoped, when she felt flutter'd, And threw her thoughts into an exclamation. Merely to ease the fulness of sensation. She spoke in question — not a word The bridegroom utter'd in reply, And not a single life-soimd stirr'd In that old chamber, broad and high, IVA. 151 Beside each solemn swaying tone That mark'd another moment gone. She moved not, listening for a sound, But all was motionless around — Then, held her breath with lips comprest, And heard the beating of her breast. " Oh ! speak, my husband ! " From without There came the last inebriate shout, That pledg'd the bridegroom and his bride ; It scarcely clove the massy wall, And like a voice beneath a pall. In muffled whisper died — And then, upon that bridal room, There lay the terror of the tomb. She bent her head aside to hear, No breathing rose upon her ear — And the hand placed in hers — Oh ! say, Why grew it colder as it lay 1 This could not last ; her brain would burst : With desperate will, to know the worst, She cast the arm aside, and sprung To draw the curtain'd folds that hung 152 iVA. In crimson mockery round that funeral bed, And the calm lamp-light kiss'd the featui-es of the dead. IV. The sun had climb'd the South, before They ventured to unclose the door — Then enter'd — not an answering sound — Onward they rush'd in fear, and found The bridegroom's corpse outstretch'd beside The corpse-like figvu-e of the bride. With speedy kindness they removed What once had been so near and loved, And in a far and stately room, With light enough to show the gloom, They laid the body out, before 'Twas hid in earth for evermore ; But to her always-welcoming eyes, As erst his living form would rise, So now 'twas memory's useless part To hold its image to her heai-t. '"to"- Yet felt she Time dies out with breath, And distance is destroyed by death ; ivA. 153 For though no footstep dared intrude Upon the solitude she sought, She sat as in the neighbourhood Of loving look, and voice, and thought As mortal life had flown, so fled The hours, but left a sense instead Of something still that was not dead. Poor Iva ! wretchedly that day In fears and fainting pass'd away. And when the evening shadows fell, She sank in troubled sleep awhile. But they who watch'd beside her well Could see her pallid features smile : She started, for she more than seem'd To see her husband as she dream'd. His look was solemn, and his tongue With slow and earnest accents i-ung. " I could not, when alive with thee Explain my being's destiny ; But 'tis decreed upon our race, When marriages therein take place. 154 IV A. Each wedded male — if eldest born — Shall rest from night to early morn, And if a certain word be spoken By her beside him, instantly The chain of life perforce is broken, And he a breathless corpse must lie Until the second night shaU give A second chance, and bid him live. Thus hope survives unto the third ; And if thereon that mystic word Shall not be breath'd, / live — if said, I rest with the unrising dead." And wildly Iva pray'd to be Inform'd of that one word, which she Would shun as 'twere her very grave — Sadly the phantom sigh'd, and gave A look that warn'd her to be wise ; Then vanish'd on her w^aking eyes. VI. The second night descends upon the heads Of the old burghers, lock'd in slumber fast ; That evening they went early to their beds To make up for the revels of the last. IV A. 155 And Iva in her lonely chamber stood. It was a fearful moment ; yesternight 'Twas there he lay, a thing of breath and blood, Her heart's own choice, and now — Oh ! were it light ! She thought upon her dream — might that be true ? 'Twas strange, 'twas foolish ; could the unworking brain, Or the stopp'd pulse, its wasted life renew ? Could the flame light itself? fond wish and vain ! Then m-ged by love, she stole away Where stretch'd in state the body lay, And pass'd with undisturbing tread The silent portal of the dead. With trembling heart and lip, as near She drew unto that gloomy bier, In death-like slumber strew'd around, Upon the pall-encumber'd ground, The careless watchers lay — Why care 1 Ay ! Iva, start — the body is not there ! None moved — why wake them ? it was strange That sleep of theirs so deep — 'twould seem To mate her thoughts, which scarce could range Beyond her own mysterious di'eam. 156 IVA. And with a wildei-'d sense of pain She sought the bridal room again. Entering, a doubtful glance she cast Upon that large and empty bed, And every moment as it pass'd Seem'd like a friend that fled. That ancient lamp was burning o'er Her head as dimly as before ; Without, no distant roar was heard, 'Twere music, would it now intrude Upon that room where nothing stirr'd Its settled solitude, Except the funeral clock whose chime Bewail'd the constant death of time. That bed ! how mount it 1 should she dare. What else might soon be lying there 1 With every thought her horror grew. And fancy wilder pictures drew Of what might be from what she knew. And standing thus with beating heart And wand'ring glance, with sudden start She heard the flickering lamp on high iVA. 157 Go out with a convulsive sigh, Like his who does uot wish to die — She had no power to call aloud, And the dark-vested night clos'd round her like i shroud. She totter'd to the bed, and there ■ Sank down in terror and despair. Upon her flash'd with double pow'r This solemn truth in that lone hour, — " There's more in death than meets the eye, There is a life that cannot die, But the stiff limbs, can they " — refrain, Iva ! 'twill craze thy youthful brain ! Yet still recurr'd that thought of fear, " He is not there — but comes he here V She listen'd for a sound — none came But the quick shuddering of her frame, And as for other sense, the sight Was blinded by the folds of night. More calm she grew, when on her brain That mystic vision rush'd again j Half speaking to herself she cried, '■ Oh ! wert tlwu resting by my side, 158 IVA. No traveller's feet e'er strove to shun The city of the plague, as I Would force my lips avoid that one, That fatal word that bade thee die. And can this chance survive for me ? Doth hope yet live my life to bless ? This dream, great Heav'n ! — Oh ! can it be ?" Then soft and deep, As infant's sleep, A voice beside her whisper'd, " Yes ! " Arrested by the sound, she lay. As fearing or to speak or think, Like one who palsied stands by day Upon a shelving mountain's brink ; And next, more welcome than at close Of desert noon the welling spring. Upon her quicken'd ear arose The breathings of a living thing — " My husband !" — but she stopp'd in dread Of that one word which, haply, said. Both life and hope would die again ; And then, as fearing to destroy The present charm, in measured note iVA. 159 She pour'd a low and thankful strain, Like little bird that tunes its thi'oat From necessary joy — She stops — why shrieks 1 — she bends her eager head To oatch the living breath — it comes not — he is dead. VII. Slow sinks the faltering night, As conscious of the destiny it bore j 'Tis the third throw of fate, — This done, the die of hope is cast no moi:e ; He's lost, or won to life and light, And she is blest or desolate ! And Iva in her chamber stood again — Not as at first ; great feelings can impart More beauty to the body j the round vein Of her high forehead show'd liow full the heart, And yet the vivid workings of the soul Had, thi-ough the mortal, mingled the divine, But leaving it still mortal, (as when shine Tlie lamp-rays tlirough an alabaster bowl,) Showing the pow'r of human will that could Sway in that delicate pulse the calm obedient blood. 160 iVA. With her own hand she quench'd the light o'er- head, Then sought with steady foot that mystic bed. Some time she lay in thought, and still, As firmly gathering up the will, Then stretch'd her right hand out — it fell Quickly upon a living form. She grasp'd a pulse — it beat — 'twas warm — Then she withdrew her arm, she knew that it was well. A hand was laid on her's — in vain ! It gave' no pressure back again. To her brow came the sighing of a breath Fanning the disarrangement of her hair ; She moved not — there was danger there, She spoke not — it was death. And a low voice — whose was it ? one alone Had such a music in its tone — Dropped on her ears, " Dear Iva, Iva" — nay ! * Like unimpassion'd marble there she lay, And the white-heaving breast show'd her not wholly clay. That voice again complainingly, though mild As ever martyr's pray'r who sunk and smiled i i IVA. 101 Upon his torturer, whisper'd by her side, " Iva ! you love me not ! " then sobbingly it died. To her pale brow, like river flood That bursts its boundary, rush'd the blood. Up on the bridal couch she sprung, And the lips, thrown apart, Show'd then how readily the tongue Would witness for the heart. The words stood trembling on the verge, But pass'd it not ! and in retreating surge The wave of high-urged feeling sought Its level, beaten down b}^ thought. VIII. Slowly paced the night away. Solemn, still, as starless skies ; And the lady Iva lay With press'd lips and open eyes, Till through the curtain'd folds a golden ray Broke in with visible voice and cried, " Exult, 'tis day!" Up the bridegroom, from the side Sprung of the tlirice-married bride, M 162 IVA. And let in the eager light On the black and baffled night ; Turning then in reverent mood He, the lord of Nature, stood, And, subdued by thoughts that felt Voiceless in their passion, knelt At the feet of her who late Had saved the life of love by conquering fate ! IX. Let heroes round their temples bind Wreaths grown from blood and tears, And in one day of slaughter find The long renown of years. The masters of a dear-bought name. Themselves the very slaves of fame ! Or, let the reasoning mind of man The distant realms of ether span. And bid insensate matter burn With fire from that Promethean urn ; On these we fix our wond'ring view, But plant the heart where first it grew, And turn to triumphs nobler far Than ever deck'd a Caesar's car ! IVA. Man walks the image of his God ; Yet not to mind is giv'n The pow'r to wing above the sod Whatever flies at Heav'n. With wise ambition wouldst thou share The laature of the Angels there, And rise the victor of thy life, Though men and devils swell the strife 'I Go, conquering and to conquer still, In armour of the heart and will — 'Tis not to know, but he the whole. Which makes the Godhead of the soul ! Hark to the merry voice of bells confessing 'Tis of no use to be wise to-ni2;ht ! And merrier still are the burghers pressing To the old hall of Droncheusteit ; They, 'mid their tongues and the wine- cups flowing, Felt (not as Iva had felt) time growing Grew in regard, and the moments going Left but a path fur the graceless light J 164: IVA. And from that time whenever there Short strife disturb'd a married pair, (For Hymen, too, like Cupid, trips Sometimes) from the male's ruder lips. These words in quaint proverbial song Uncourteously would fall ; " The way for a woman to speak no wrong, Is, never to speak at all ! " ISIS TRIFORMIS. BX^TTO^ev 7up apTt 6t' tauTTTpou i:v aiviyfxaTi. High, from the old poetic ground A thousand pillars rise around In stately beauty ; for I stand In that far-fam'd Egyptian land, And by the banks of Nile's creative tide Who, rising up in darkness, loves to spread The watery wealth of his o'er-teaming bed, To animate, to raise and bless The heart of this great wilderness, 'Neath the blue veil of Heav'u where suns beam gol- den-eyed. But now 'tis night, if such to me This soft and quiet hour may be. That droops its lids and holds its breath In memory of the day-god's death. 16G ISIS TEIFORMIS. The solemn harmony of Time Rings out a low and funeral chime, To fill the fane of Isis, where I gaze On each fair image of the goddess-queen, And, travelling on to what hath been, I grasp the vanishing skirt of long-departed days. Queen-goddess ! Isis 1 Threefold essence sprung Of yearning minds, and vision half-reveal'd ! High things, not fully known, not quite conceal'd. Have pour'd the language of each nation's tongue Since the world's primal youth. Fed by the vital air of an invisible truth ! If mystic be thy foith, where breathes the man Whose thoughtful worship dares to lift, Above this thick inferior night, His eye with dazzled glance and swift Heav'n's mightier energies to scan, Nor blinds his reason with celestial Light 1 Isis ! great Isis-Athor ! Love supreme ! Love infinite, ineffable ! descend, And fill my soul with an ecstatic dream Shutting out all but thee. Immortal friend ! ISIS TRIFORMIS, 1*J7 Unite thee with a mortal ! — come ! — 'tis done ! Away ! — but where to go 1 The wo Id and I are one ! ( i ) '■• All things seem made for me, and in me ; this Is more than pleasure. I am very Bliss ! Its essence and its end— a rapturous sense Of an ubiquitous Intelligence, That sees all matter, liking what it sees ; That feels all passion, loving what it feels ; And from the present gathers all degrees Of vital being, and which steals All that the gi-ave hath stolen — which can pierce The womb of the vast future, rife With many-fold delights of life ; And from all motion and all resi, Action or suffering, draw a joy more fierce A thousand-fold than the group'd fires that dwell In earth's volcanic palaces, to swell The multitudinous throbs of my eternal breast ! (2) Benignant Sj)irit ! who dost make All happiness ; a god and woman thou ! 'Twas wise in him whose fancy could draw out So great an excellence, to take * See Notes at the end of this Poem. 1G8 ISTS TRIFORMIS. The diadem of Love, nor doubt To fix it on a female brow ! Love feeds on all things ; therefore Love Should in a larger circle move, And compreliend all things. The mind subdues Existence to itself, with boundless views Embracing the sky's dome, and the earth's dust, Where creeps an insect, or a planet rolls. All thought, all senses, and all souls. All reverence, and all trust ! Knowledge takes all things in its grasp. And holds them forth for Love to clasp — When known to Love, Love makes all thino-s its own, For that which is unloved had better rest unknown ! Thus thou, great Isis-Neith ! dost give (3) Wisdom to men, that they may live Beyond their own immediate being, And into kin-creation seeing With their illimitable eyes, j\Iay love whate'er they see, for all who love are wise. ISIS TRIFORMTS. 169 Mild Qiieen-divinity I thou dost watcli o'er Thy mighty river's much-loved shore, And gather up the vapoury riches rising From its broad waters, and comprising The treasure in thy cloudy breast, dost hie. To where Nile's sacred fountains lie, And feedest there its circling life anew, Shedding a thousand rills from the dissolving dew ! Triply divine ! Isis-Neith-Athor ! greatest As Isis, for as such thou waitest On the tired spirit, when the gates of Death, The portals to a larger Birth, Shut out the body and its earth, But suffer to pass through the fine expiring breath. Great Wisdom ! greater Love ! alas ! What claim they but a tear or sigh, If, when away this mortal frame shall pass, They too must die 1 Come, gentle goddess ! in this ti'embling hour ; Come ! with thy deepest love, thy noblest pow'r. In thy great bosom fold N 170 ISIS TRIFORMIS. The panting soul, and waft it where, Breathing a more immortal air. Itself immortal, but not old — With freshen'd health, it shall endure, In Wisdom growing great, in Love both great and pure ! (■*) Shall not the mothei-'s arms be cast again Around her child, whose shorten'd life Was long enough for tears and pain ? — And thovi, rapt mourner ! Where is fled thy wife? How went thy heart, when thou didst lay her deep In that dug room of noisome earth 1 — Arise ! Stand in the future ! Cease, fond fool, to weep. Behold her ! clasp her ! kiss her living eyes ! What art thou now 1 The earth thy sorrow trod, Where is it 1 Is this joy 1 Say, art thou not a god ? Isis ! strong Monarch ! weeping wife — Weeping the death of thy mysterious lord ! (''> Where is Osiris fled 1 Say ! what is Life — ISIS TRIFORMIS. 171 What Death, if gods can die 1 Doth heav'n afford What earth denies *? — home for its first-born child ! Answer ! where thon, in sorrow mild, Nor ma'le by sorrow less divine, Pour'st thy eternal woe in Philse's woody shrine ! ("> Was he not slain by Evil ? Will he not Rise over Evil, conquering 1 But till then Thou, Goddess- Nature, dost lament for men, — Their sicken'd health, their unsufficing lot ! Till then, when he shall make all Life his own And into joy exalt Creation's deepest groan ! The moon is up, and with a tender kiss She greets the cheek of Isis, on the height Of her old temple-pillars — Whence is this 1 Sweet loving moon, whence gettest thou thy light ? Is it thine own 1 or is thy course but run In delegated splendour, which now beams, Making half-visible all things, as it streams Drawn from the nobler fount of a more distant sun ? 172 ISIS TRIFORMIS. Fair temple ! lone and sorrowfully fair ! I quit thee — hear my parting prayer, That I may le:irn these present thoughts to link With the dim future's woe or weal ; And live in faith, whene'er I think — In love, whene'er I feel ! NOTES. Note (1).— Page 167. " When the mind has conceived all it can of beauty, there remains still, ill the person of Isis, something beyond. It may be said to be the sum of all the thoughts of man inspired by love, from the Creation. Isis is whatever is, lias been, or sluill be, and it has been given to no created thint; entirely to comprehend her nature." — Isis, an Egyptian Pilgrimayc, My James Augustus St. John, vol. i. p. 8. Note (2).— Page 167. " 1 liave called the goddess of this temple [Denderah] Athor, the Aphrodite of the Greeks ; but iu the mystical theology of the Egyptians, tins divinity was only another form of las, who, contemplated in various lights, was the mother, nurse, preserver, and restorer of all things, iu con- junction with Phthah, Amnion, or Osiris." — Isis, vol. ii. p. 83. Note (3).— Page 168. " But there is a generation more subtle and refined than that which, in some of its accidents, comes under tlie cognisance of the senses. I mean, the operation by which, in the womb of intellect, ideas are engendered and multiplied, the one from another, iu au inlinite series. Over this process, by which the invisible world is peopled, the goddess Neith pre- sided, as Athor presided over whatever was connected with the jiroductiim of living material beings." — Isis, vol. ii. p. S-i. 174 XOTES TO ISIS TUIFORMIS. Note (4-).— Page 170. " Here the loved and lost were f'ouud again ; here the mother clasped to her arras the infant which had seemed to perish in her earthly erabrace ; here the husband was joined in eternal union with his beloved wife ; here children found again the parents whose eyes they had closed, and of whom they had thought they had taken leave for ever ; here the noble and the good received the reward of their piety and virtue ; and over this state of beatitude the goddess who brings joy out of sorrow, beauty out of de- formity, life out of death — Isis, in one word, reigned supreme. — Isis, vol. ii. p. So. Note (5).— Page 170. " Osiris was called the ' manifcster of good,' or the ' opener of truth,' and said to be ' full of goodness (grace) aud truth.' He appeared on eartii to benefit mankind ; and after having performed the duties he had come to fulfil, and fallen a sacrifiue to Typho, the evil principle (which was at length overcome hy his influence, after his leaving tiie world), he ' rose again to a new life,' and became the judge of mankind in a future state." — Maimers and Cusiums of the Ancient Etjyptians, by Sir J. Gardner Wilkin- son, second series, vol. i. p. 320. Note (6).— Page 171. " Nowhere in tlie valley does Isis appear so beautiful as in the sculp- tures of Phite. There, whatever way you turn, you behold her serene placid countenance ; sometimes smiling on you, sometimes fixed in grief on the remains of Osiris, found piecemeal, and reconstructed as it were by her Trom the depths, therefore, of our own pure religion, and without subjecting our civilization to the dominion of the past, we may slill cherish a poetical reverence for Isis; and without at all compre- hending the fabulous duality, extend some portion of the fceliug to him who sleeps in Phila;." — SL John's his, vol. ii. pp. 311, 313. i MES. J. E. R_D— E'S DEEAM. Published in Dublin Vniversity Magazine. 'TwAS very long aud very flat, The sermon that I heard ; And o'er the pew in which I sat Sleep hover' d, like a bird, With noiseless pinions floating there. Upon th' uncirculating air. Each ancient phrase upon my ear In its dull dropping fell less clear, And desk, book, preacher, one by one, Died like the light of setting sun ; And then, upon my puzzled view More broad and deep the pulpit grew, With seats ranged over seats, as fit For an orchestral band to sit. The church a church remain'd, although To vast and fluted height Its white-wash'd pillars from below Sprang upward on the sight ; 176 MRS. J. E. R — D e's dream. The fretted roof stretch'd, dignified By wider span, from side to side; The glass with ancient painting glow'd, And all things in their aspect show'd A huge cathedral, swelling round With holy gloom and solemn sound. But eye had scarcely time to range, Or ear to list, ere came a change. The grim-toned organ's serious theme Stopp'd short, and at its close Quick strains of music, as beseem Th' unsaintly polka, rose. And — profanation strange, alas ! — Burst forth a crescent row of gas. To light some hundred couples then — Bare-bosom'd girls and neckcloth'd men. Sporting, with self-reflected smiles. Their jjersons round through nave and aisles. Fingers gripp'd waists, and arms were spread, And woman's pleasure-heated head On manly breasts sank languishing. As round and round in rapid ring MRS. J. E. R — D e's dream. 177 In jumping joy they jigg'd or flew, With bob and bend, or whisk and wheel, Now forward, backward now — the new Terpsichores of toe and heel ! As here and there the dancers ran, Amid the crowd I saw a man — I mark'd him then, I see him now — With coiu-teous mien, and straight dark brow. Upon his features graven dwelt A history — not a tale to melt The heart with pity or with love. Or aught that gentler passions move ; But in his down-cast smile there gleam'd A conscious pow'r of ill, which seem'd As if the forming soul within Had taken centuries of sin To build up an ini(juity So great, so calm ; and then his eye ! It had a fearful pow'r to blight The flow'rs festoon'd around each light. As to each female he address'd His suit to dance, she rose 178 MRS. J. E. R D — e's dream. At once into his arms — not press'd, Nor yet as one who chose, But shudd'ring, as if Hope had flitted Back to the seat which she had quitted. Away, away, away they whirl'd. Like slinger's stone in circles hurl'd. So swiftly, it were hard to trace The woman in the man's embrace ; Like following things we see, which run Confused by motion into one. And when the breathless measure dropp'd Its long-sustained tone, I mark'd where both I thought had stopp'd- 'Twas wrong — he stood alone I The distant lights concentred there Beam'd on him in a hazy glare ; And from his form, as if the touch Of those strange limbs was all too much For its fair life, each nearer ray Slunk dark and hissingly away ! "When at the long aisle's further end. The lights, or distance, seemed to lend His look a terrifying hue ; I MRS. J. E. R — D — E's dream. 179 But still, wheue'er he nearer drew, He reassumecl, with fatal ease, The pow'r to force or art to please. Which won by their mysterious charms Another partner to his ai'ms, To tread awhile that dance of fear — One breathless whirl — then disappear. As the last victim, in that race For a strange pleasure, pass'd my chair, I almost shriek'd, as on her face I saw — oh, no ! — nojoi/ was there, But an unhoping sense of fate. Which horror held from being hate ! Quick flash'd across my mind. Should he — That man — wdiate'er he is — ask me ! Instantly then I saw him turn His head around — did the air burn ? I thought it scorch'd me — and then rush'd A flood of ice through every vein, And my whole heart and mind seem'd crush'd — A feeling too complete for pain. I dared not look — wlnit need for eye ? I knew that he was standing by, ISO MRS. J. E. R — D — e's dream. When every passion, every sense Of thought or being grew intense With life, then was translated whole To him, and left me scarce a soul ! I rose — but why ? I would have given, To be chain'd there, aught less than Heav'n. " Oh, spare me !" piteously I cried. " Spare ! Why that word 1 " a voice replied ; " 'Tis joy, for you I hope — for me I doubt not — yet your choice is free !" Free ! when his breath was on my face, And, grasp'd in an unseen embrace. Each limb moved shudd'ring forward ! Worse Than all, there was the smiling curse Of that calm look, do what I will, Through my shut eyes fix'd on me still ! Up sprung the tune ! It seem'd to mingle The shrieks of death-beds in its jingle. 'Tis time ! — "Yet pray, thou lost one !" Pray ! In such a presence ! Fool ! away ! — But strangely then his bending form Grew fainter on my eye; And his voice seem'd, hke passing storm, MRS. J. E. R D e's dream. 181 Confusedly to die. A friendly mist spread o'er the spot, And as I look'd, I saw him not, But, in his place, the preacher there In the tall pulpit ! Where, oh, ! where Hath joy been known like what I knew, Reclining in that easy pew 1 " Thank Heav'n, 'tis past ! " I faintly sigh'd, And some one seated near me, cried, In feeling tone, " Yes, madam, yes ! A tedious sermon, I confess ! " 182 MRS. J. E. R — D e's dream. NOTE. The following curious extract is taken from " Notes and Queries," vol. vii. No. 172, p. 152: — ANTIQUITY OF THE POLKA.— A NOTE FOR THE LADIES. The description of the Lavolta in Sir John Davies's poem on dancing, The Orchestra, (1506,) sliows that it must liave closely resembled the dance which we fondly boast of, as one of the great inventions of the 19th century. It runs as follows . — " Yet is there one, the most delightful kind, A lofty jumping, or a leaping round, Where arm in arm two dancers are entwined, And whirl themselves, with strict embraceraents bound ; And still their feet an anapaest do sound ; An anapaest is aU their music's song, Whose first two feet are short, and third is long." The " Anapaest " is conclusive ; it points exactly to the peculiar nature of the Polka, tlie pause on the third step. Moreover, it appears, that as 1 1 ere is no especial figure for the Polka, so there was none for the Lavolta ; for it is classed among those dances " Wherein that dancer greatest praise has won, Which, with best order, can all order shun ; For everywhere he wantonly must range. And turn and wind with unexpected change." TO AUGUSTA. While gazing on thy simple face, Young scion of a cherish'd tree, I fondly strive that map to trace Which life will spread for thee. Little thy joyous spirit knows How barren seems the prospect there. Where grow round Pleasure's every rose The many weeds of Care ! The world to thee, fair child, is new. And from thy heart thy cheek is glad ; No sickness yet hath blanch'd its hue, — No knowledge made thee sad; 184 TO AUGUSTA. Thus Natm-e pours her warmest blush, And smiles on insects of the spring, Ere winter comes, uufear'd, to brush The freshness from their wing. And so thy spirit's bloom shall fade When thou shalt light on rougher days ; When blighted hope, and faith betray 'd, Shall meet, and chill thy gaze. Friend then by friend shall be undone, (Who grasps his hand shall blast his fame,) And woman's heart, by falsehood won. Break in the truth of shame ! And thou shalt see affection spurn' d, And honour warp'd, and talents sold, By those who call'd on Christ, and turn'c. To worship pow'r, or gold. Sin still shall lift its hydra head, Maintain'd by force, or work'd by plan, As if a moral plague had spread O'er the broad soul of man ! TO AUGUSTA. 185 Young ! happy ! innocent ! though thou Must walk amid this world of pain ; Though youth shall fly thy wrinkled brow Yet virtue may remain. Then wheresoe'er thy lot be tried, Whatever sorrows wring that breast, Thy mother's footsteps be thy guide, — Give up to God the rest ! THE NEW LAND. When Pleasure decks her evening bowV As bright as Beauty's glance, And pours upon the midnight hour The music of the dance, Alone, amid the festal band With heavy hearts we stray, For our thoughts are in our father-land While we are far away ! And silv'ry voices there shall make Their notes of gladness swell. And skilful hands in mirth awake The spirit of the shell. Our harps, that once so sweetly rung In pleasant days of yore, Now lie with silent chords unstrung Upon a foreign shore. THE NEW LAND. 187 Though clearer skies may shine above, And rarer flow'rs below, The flow'rs and skies we used to love For us no longer glow. The ties that bound us then, at first From earliest childhood grew, And now that those old links are burst, Our hearts are breaking too ! At home, each spot of humble green With charms too fresh to cloy, Was cherish'd deeply as the scene « Of some recurring joy. The simple bliss we tasted there Allow'd no better change. For here, though nature's face is fair, To us that face is strange. Yet on our hearts, so sad of late, Shall pleasure dawn again ; We'll turn to those who share our fate. Our exile and its pain. 188 THE NEW LAND. To sorrow's keenest pangs relief The balm of friendship brings ; Love's ties no change can loose, and grief But closer draws the strings. A mother's arms, a sister's kiss, A father's smile invite — We'll drown in what we feel of bliss The memory of delight. And as with brighten'd looks we gaze On each accustom'd face, We'll find the home of other days Revived in their embrace ! THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. To ^v Wouldst thou thy easy helj) refuse To save that thoughtless thing, And snatch fi-om fire the thousand hues That streak its slender wing 1 'Tis thus the man of worldly will Leaves God's appointed way, And blinds the eye of Reason still With Sin's delusive ray. Thy hand a lesser good hath done, Now seek a nobler aim — And teach a human soul to shun A more enduring flame. 198 A LESSON FOR YOUTH. Heav'n's grace shall thank thy high endeavours Grace, longer than life's span, And wider than the gulf that severs The insect from the man. SHADES OF LIFE. Why comes he not, the brave and young, Where many crowd to meet him 1 Why comes he not, when hearts are strung With wonted joy to greet him ? His vessel waits its master's tread, But now from us he parted — He '11 come when the waters yield their dead, The young, and the valiant-hearted ! How died he 1 as he plunged to save Some drowning wretch before him 1 Ah ! no — his pinnace met the wave, And the gloomy sea went o'er him ! There sank he in our helpless view, Not 'mid the tempest's rattle, Nor heading on his gallant crew In the stormy ranks of battle. 200 SHADES OF LIFE. And long thy maiden grief shall be — Hope's disappointed daughter ! For him who sleeps, how far from thee ! Beneath th' inglorious water ! TO EGYPT. How was thy throne exalted, hoary land ! But now, its steps are memories ! Still thou art Warm with the beatings of a younger heart. Between the goals of Time I see thee stand, Flush'd from set suns, and pointing with thy hand To dawning day, when the old curse shall be Lifted from off" thy spirit, and on thee Shall rest thy first-born aspect of command. 'Tis not enough for thee to lie reclined By that blue stream, in faded robe that shrouds The skeleton of Pow'r, 'neath purple skies — Thou, who didst erst build up thy solemn mind To such high faith, that round its top the clouds Floated, dim shadows of a creed more wise. * Written for '• Isis," l.y J. A. St. Jolin. C 00 1 hi fcrnta. I HAVE elsewhere remarked that some writers imagine the Persian love-songs to contain an esoteric religious meaning. The reader can judge for himself. In making the translations, I have endeavoured to transfuse the (often extravagant) spirit of Persian poetry, rather than to give a literal version. SADI. Star of my being! thou whose ray till now hath brightly shone O'er all the weary waste of Life, to guide and cheer me on, Oh ! tell me why those once kind eyes now smile on me no more, And throw a shadow o'er my path it never knew before. Sultana of my heart ! fair shrine at which my soul bow'd down, Why are those brows, once arch'd in love, now bent into a frown 1 The alter'd mien, the averted glance, the cloud upon that brow, Alas ! too plainly tell that I am loved no longer now. 206 SADI. Thou lov'st me not ! thou lov'st me not ! and yet I cannot fly The spell of light that flashes in thine unrelenting eye, And though despair has chill'd my thought, and mad- ness sear'd my brain, Still, on the tide of passion rolls through every burning vein. But when my life and woes shall cease, my shade shall cross thy course To touch, if aught have pow'r to touch, thy spirit with remorse, And ask thee, if the heart which play'd one note of love and died, Should thus have been so coldly cast with broken chords aside ! SAY IB. Thy thoughts be open as the morn, From other's secrets live apart ; The curious spirit is a thorn To tear thy heart ! Receive no favours, for the tree, Bow'd by its fruit, miist lose in height. Thou, standing like the cypress, be Pui'e and upright. Why vex thyself with good and ill 1 These are the fogs of Earth — the soul Should, like the sun in ether, still Above them roll. What is the world to thee'? The rout Of struggling fools may weep or rave — A Icing in thine own house, without Thou art a slave ! 208 KHAKANEE. What more to thee can fortune bring 1 What more chance give thee of dehght 1 Adorn thy bow'r at home, and sing The songs I write. KHAKANEE. Maid of the jasmine breast ! whose cheek Is purpled by the tuhp's streak, Whose tresses stain in jetty flow The silv'ry-rising neck below — Tell me, stone-hearted girl, for whom Thy charms reveal their fatal bloom. Thou walkest forth — a warrior thou — For Love sits arm'd upon thy brow. Thou spreadst a never-failing snare, Thy net of black-descending hair. Ah ! whose the heart that all in vain Will strive to rend that slender chain ? HAFIZ. 209 As when in youthful radiance bright The Moon first bows her arch of light, So, brighter orbs than hers above Young Beauty bends the bow of love. Alas ! for him, whose breast shall be A mark for woman's archery. From the full cup of chaste desire My veins have drunk delicious fire — My heart was link'd to thee of old ; What time can make its fervour cold I I am the slave that digs the mine — The wealth of untouch'd Beauty thine! HAFIZ. Joseph will come to Canaan's land again, , Each house of woe outlive its time of pain, And hearts rebloom like roses after rain. Then grieve no more ! 210 HAFIZ. E'eu shall this feeble breast resume its pow'r, As nightingales, when past the blinding show'r, Reseek the presence of their red-lipp'd flow'r : Then grieve no more ! The world goes round, and changes as it goes. And o'er the broad earth if a deluge flows, Should Noah hold the helm, fear not — repose, And grieve no more ! 1 and my state, my rival and his love, Are known to God; and He alone can move The things of earth, who shakes the skies above, — So grieve no more ! TJien weep not, Hafiz ! in thy prison-room ; No grief exhales between thee and the tomb A scent so foul which Pray'r can not perfume — Oh ! weep no more ! KHUSROO. Son of Islam I?— No— no — I these shadowy creeds forego. Tell me not of Saints above, I'm the Infidel of Love ! And the leech comes day by day — Witless man of drugs, away ! 'Tis my heart that wounded lies, Heal it with her pitying eyes. Love hath sown his pangs like seeds In my breast that beats and bleeds; Wouldst thou give its culture scope ? "Wet it with the dews of Hope ! Worship idols, do 1 1 Yes, — I that glorious crime confess ; I'd forsake it could I see Aught in Heav'n so fair as she ! H I S A M. Nestled in flow'rs I saw two serpents sleeping, In sable folds their dangerous length was laid — Alas ! alas ! it was the dark locks creeping O'er thy fair bosom, soul-seducing maid ! The dimple of thy cheek is more destroying Than the deep pit down which young Yustif "' fell, For, twice a hundred eyes such sight enjoying. Would leave a hundred hearts within that well ! What dress for thee 1 What garment brightly flowing Should clothe thy form 1 Despoil a tulip-bed — Make of its flow'rs thy vesture — full and glowing, And with its buds encrown thy radiant head. When lovers' strains, convincingly complaining, (^an touch the heart, or pow'r be theirs, or gold, Hope rests with them ; but what for mes remaining, Poor and unpitied, tongue and bosom cold 1 * JoseiJh. MUHMOOD. 213 Yet from my words flows truth, though uninspiring ; Who doubts thy charms would on Judeea's sod Have scorn'd the wonders which the world admiring Saw Isaa do, the Christians' martyr-God ! To me and to my heart alone How oft for thee we sigh is known ; How oft we sob and sigh for thee, Is known but to my heart and me ! Lady, learn wliat I endure, Ere knowledge come, too late to cure ! MUHMOOD. Like grain the mole upon thy neck, Like nets are spread thy tresses there ; A silly bird that flew to peck The seed, was taken in the snare. Say, should it break its chain, or be Content with that captivity ? H A F I Z. What woe is this 1 What strife is here Which 'neath the moon I see ? For help, a blow ; for smiles, a tear ; The world's perplexity ! By brother, brother is undone, And father frowns upon his son ! I see by coarse pack-saddle vext The Arab charger pass, While graced with golden collar next Stalks by the princely ass. Fools quaft red goblets, but the wise Feed only on their tears and sighs. I give thee counsel — poor in pelf — Soon heard, soon understood ; Do justice only to thyself, To others only good. Do this — it is the doing which Will fill thy soul and make thee rich. Price 5s. "LELIO," AND OTHER POEMS. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " Abounds with philosophic thought and poetic imagery."— John BnU. "'Lelio,' the principal poem of this volume, exhibits considerable poetic spirit, and great, though untamed power." — Spectator. " There is much lofty and genuine poetry in the volume .... His descriptions of beauty are certainly among the finest things in a volume of poetry which we look upon as one of the most remarkable of the time in power and promise." — Chambers's Edinburgh Journal. " His volume entitles him to be ranked among the worthiest candi- dates for the Valhalla of England, when that institution is erected." — Eliza Cook's Journal. " Mr. Scott is a poet of a very high order." — Indian News. " Mr. Scott's poetry .... is infinitely beyond the common order of contemporary writing." — Sharpe's London Magazine. " The principal poem in this volume is a work of extraordinary merit, whether we regard its moral purpose, or the manner in which it is executed .... The volume lies clearly out of the common order " — Bentletj's Miscellany. " Of this school of poets, the latest, the most healthy and comprehen- sible is Mr. Scott, the author of ' Lelio,' a poem full to overflowing of the tenderest teaching, possessing much grace and power, and favourably distinguished from many of its class by a pure morality, and an enlight- ened but undoubting Christianity." — Dublin. University Magazine. " He is for ever darting forth into the infinite space of the metaphysics of the soul, with no ordinary vigour and stretch of pinion .... He is a great master, equal to any in modem times we have ever read, of the musical and rhythmical capacities of language." — English Revieir. " His verses are pregnant with thought, with recondite allusion, with delicate suggestions .... Generally there is a distinctiveness of purpose, and a wealth of imagery, which lend to the compositions a peculiar charm." — Eclectic Review. " His muse soars into the heaven of invention, and his philosophy explores the depths of metaphysics. . . . We take our leave of Mr. Scott, impressed with the highest admiration for his genius, and indulging the confident hope that his is yet destined to be a great name in our literature." — Edinburgh IVitness. CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. ALSO, Lately published, price 5s. 6d. cloth gilt, "LOVE IN THE MOON." WITH REMARKS ON THAT LUMINARY. ' consentaneum est esse in luna viventes creaturas.' Kej-ler. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " The present poem is graceful, polished, and original. ... It bespeaks a mind full of fancy and poetical resources." — Siiniltii/ Times. "His" [Mr. Scott's] "is no common mind; he enthrones philosophy in verse, and embalms astronomy in song. Soaring into the region of lofty imager}', he is a writer of undoubted power. . . . The prose remarks on the moon are admirable." — Dundee, Perth, and Cupar Advertiser. " A work in which scientific observation is combined with great poetic feeling, and considerable power." — Notes and Queries. 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