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PRIVATE LIBRARY OF 
 
 H. SCOF^IELD, 
 
/ 
 
THE 
 
 DRAMA OF EABTR 
 
 BY 
 
 JEROME KIDDER. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 PUBLISHED BY ADOLPHUS RANNEY, 
 
 195 BROADWAY. 
 
 1857. 
 
MAX! LIB 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, 
 
 BY JEROME KIDDER, 
 
 in the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the 
 Southern District of New York. 
 
 SAVAGE A MCREA, STEKEOTYPKK3, 
 13 Chamber* Street, N. Y. 
 
J 
 
 r*. 
 
 PROLEGOMENA. 
 
 I BOW respectfully, and offer this book to the public, 
 which, I hope, will discover a better reason for its 
 appearance than any involving the partial presumption 
 that it may have been determined by the ancient re 
 mark, that, " of making many books there is no end." 
 What I have written, I have written, for which, I 
 know not that there is any occasion consenting to 
 the propriety of my offering apology or excuse. 
 While it has been my object to show in what way 
 human depravity is the result of the violation of the 
 law of man s purest and highest being, it has been 
 my object also to show that the minds of many, while 
 considering human sufferings, often follow in a direc 
 tion that leads away from the greatest evils, to those 
 which, in comparison, are almost imaginary, and, 
 however evil, yet the result of causes which are too 
 little recognized. 
 
 478 
 
PROLEGOMENA. 
 
 I could have chosen a more pleasant theme; for it 
 is more agreeable to consider man s virtues rather 
 than his vices ; to reflect on good rather than evil 
 pleasure rather than pain happiness rather than 
 misery ; I would look on the pleasing phases of 
 society rather than the repulsive the sunny side of 
 life rather than that which is paUed with miserable 
 night: but, inasmuch as evils of the greatest magni 
 tude present themselves unlooked for, it may be well 
 for any one to attempt to direct public attention to 
 them, in order to effect, at least, their partial allevia 
 tion, whether in such attempt he should succeed or 
 fail. 
 
 I have chosen to give this composition the form of 
 a drama; yet it is not necessary for me to say that it 
 is not intended for the stage. The reader will per 
 ceive that the feature of this drama, at the beginning, 
 was suggested by portions of " Milton s Paradise 
 Lost;" and though the whole may present features 
 of fiction, yet it is intended to be founded on Divine 
 revelations, truths of history,and facts to which the 
 present generation is witness. 
 
 Placing this book before the American people, 
 I will be allowed to express the conviction that to 
 be a true American, a true Democrat, or a true Re 
 publican, is one ; and when the spirit of such one 
 
PROLEGOMENA. 5 
 
 prays, the chief burthen of that prayer, beyond what 
 regards the expansion and continual happiness of his 
 immortal being and the best welfare of his imme 
 diate friends, will be for his beloved country ; and 
 his country is not merely the town, nor the county, 
 nor the state, in which he was born ; nor the east, 
 nor the west, nor the north, nor the south but the 
 whole east, and west, and north, and south, of this in 
 dissoluble compact of states. Let peace and prosperity 
 attend its course, and its inhabitants be elevated 
 in humanity to which end, may it become free from 
 the curse of intemperance, which the proof of history 
 shows to be all-sufficient to bring any country down in 
 to ruin: let all its people be nourished into tho 
 highest and noblest life by the purity of virtue and 
 the crystal waters in which are mingled no miseries ; 
 no widow s nor orphan s tears ; no poisons for the body 
 and the soul. The sound that comes from the crystal 
 cascade,is not the lamentation of the bereaved ; it is 
 not the sighs of wretchedness and want ; it is not the 
 expression of delirious agonies ; it is not the wailing 
 of despair from immortal spirits ! It is the music of 
 joy of peace; it is the song of love which may 
 echo in the human heart, and be the accentuation 
 that accords with the word of life and the harmony 
 of heaven. 
 
SPIRIT OF TRUTH, if them hast power to move 
 The blinded world aright, now guide my hand ; 
 For by thy power I would essay to prove 
 The force which yet lies in the first command : 
 Though I would nothing now to earth reveal, 
 Yet I should dip my pen in liquid fire, 
 And write upon men s hearts that they may FEEL 
 The argument my being doth inspire 
 To move the ponderous theme at my desire. 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS, 
 
 > Apostate Angels. 
 
 CHRIST, the Savior. 
 
 URIEL, ^ 
 
 ITHURIEL, \ Holy Angels. 
 
 and others, J 
 
 LUCIFER, 
 
 BEELZEBUB, 
 
 DIABOLOS, 
 
 MAMMON, 
 
 TYPHON, 
 
 BACCHO, 
 
 IMP, 
 
 ADAM, 
 
 EVE, 
 
 CAIN, 
 
 ABEL, 
 
 NOAH, Builder of the Ark. 
 
 SHEM, 
 
 HAM, > Sons to NOAH. 
 
 JAPHETH, 
 
 First human pair. 
 Sons to ADAM and EVE. 
 
DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 HEROD, King of Judea. 
 
 COLUMBUS, a Mariner. 
 
 LEGREE, a Lawyer; afterward a Planter. 
 
 CELESTRA, Wife to LEGREE. 
 
 Child, Daughter to LEGREE and CELESTRA. 
 
 BRIDGET, Servant to CELESTRA. 
 
 CASST, 
 
 _ Slaves to LEGREE. 
 
 EMELINE, $ 
 
 ST. CLARE, a Planter. 
 
 Friend of ST. CLARE and LEGREE. 
 
 MALVERTON, formerly a Classmate with LEGREE. 
 
 IAGO, ) Characters represented in the Play of OTHEL- 
 
 CASSIO, LO, the Moor of Venice. 
 
 Pilot of a Flat-boat a Wliisky-Dealer. 
 
 STOKES, a Flat-boatman. 
 
 SMOLLICK, a regular Loafer. 
 
 UNCLE TOM, a Slave to LEGREE. 
 
 QUIMBO, Slave to LEGREE, and Slave -Over seer. 
 
 RUMBLOSSOM, an Insurgent. 
 
 A Valet, southern Gentlemen, northern Gentleman, 
 Woman, Marshal, Officers, Soldiers, Citizens, Boat 
 swain, Sailors, Distiller, Servant, Landlords, In 
 surrectionists, Whisky -Inspector, Land-Pirates, 
 Ticket-seller of the Notional TJieatre, fyc. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE I, 
 
 A dark Abyss. LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB discovered 
 in the Mists. 
 
 BEEL. It is so! Heaven is lost! Those realms 
 
 of light 
 
 Remain to those who, with victorious might, 
 Urged back rebellion 
 
 IrtJC- That had nigh usurped 
 
 Entire dominion. We have fled beyond 
 Heaven s domination 
 
 BEEL. Into deepest wo ! 
 
 Those blest retreats and those delightful vales, 
 Did echo with celestial melodies, 
 Till martial strains, athwart the harmony, 
 Broke the soft cadence, setting all astir; 
 And the result hath been our overthrow 
 Into this dark and horrible abvss, 
 
 1* 
 
10 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Beyond the tone of peace or other sound, 
 
 Except the wail of deepest agonies, 
 
 And raging of these fiery elements. 
 
 Is all for ever lost ? Must we abide 
 
 Our sad reverses in this punishment ? 
 
 Must we endure this torturous extreme ; 
 
 For Heaven s afflictive wrath pursues us here ? 
 
 Luc. Be it not ever thus : What if I charge 
 These fulminating lightnings too with wrath, 
 With which we may assail heaven s fast-barred gates, 
 And wage subversive violence beyond ? 
 And if we thus reverse the fate of war 
 And if we thus regain our native heaven 
 And if we thus dethrone heaven s ancient King 
 And if we thus 
 
 BEEL. these unhappy ifs, 
 
 Forebode reverses we might further feel, 
 And fill with dread the vast uncertainty. 
 When raged the warfare, all our gathered strength 
 In phalanx, an innumerable host, 
 Thy purpose seconded with fierce array, 
 And thou didst lead them all embattled, swift 
 On into combat ! Then all heaven shook 
 With hostile clamor as th opposing hosts 
 Of cherubim and seraphim arranged 
 Imposing on our front, contended hard 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 11 
 
 With might that dared defy Omnipotence ; 
 
 For we have learned, though we have learned too late, 
 
 He is Omnipotent who reigns in heaven. 
 
 Long time the even strife of battle raged, 
 
 Until the Son, with potent arm aloft, 
 
 Held forth a shield from which transcendent light 
 
 Flashed swift and fierce across the empyrean, 
 
 Breaking its awful volleys on our hosts, 
 
 Who fled amazed, confounded, and repulsed ; 
 
 And through heaven s walls that oped for us a way, 
 
 With tempests from his armory, pursued 
 
 Into this outer deep, where yet his wrath, 
 
 Lingering, abides, and now awakes these torments ! 
 
 Is it not vain to use our hostile arms 
 
 Against such armor, and wage open war 
 
 Gainst such a foe ? 
 
 Luc. It will behoove us rather, 
 
 To vex, as best we can, the powers of heaven, 
 But not assail where sure defeat awaits 
 With deeper vengeance on our vanquished hosts ; 
 Though we are vanquished, we are not subdued 
 No, an immortal hate lives in us still ; 
 And yet our foes shall feel its influence. 
 I know that God is the Omnipotent : 
 The throne whereon he sits, eternally 
 Belongs to him, and any power beside 
 
12 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 Need not dispute heaven s empire with its King, 
 Who, from the womb of Chaos, doth evoke 
 Innumerable worlds. Now wily thoughts 
 Inspire me. I will quickly venture forth 
 Into those vasty depths : what if he make 
 Of that consistence in which Chaos reigns, 
 A world where I shall be ? 
 
 BEEL. What wouldst thou do ? 
 
 Would purposed effort serve thy doing much ? 
 Its inward portion wouldst thou melt with fire, 
 And from its opening sides spout flaming horrors ? 
 And while the angels yet around the throne, 
 Sing hallelujahs loud to their Creator, 
 Wouldst thou wake howlings in that world, and shout 
 Such noises as would fright the empyrean 
 Or aught that would the least advantage us ? 
 
 Luc. If chance direct me so that world shall be 
 The one on which will dwell the habitants 
 Of whom much ancient rumor did foretell 
 Since out of heaven s gates we have been hurled 
 
 Into this dread abyss of punishment, 
 The tricks that I shall play upon the world 
 
 Will startle Heaven with astonishment. 
 
 BEEL. 0, will they so ? That would be some re 
 turn 
 For tjiese afflictions. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 13 
 
 Luc. It would be some return ! 
 
 It would be great return for these afflictions. 
 
 BEEL. This shall not always be our habitation, 
 Immured with God s immitigable wrath. 
 
 Luc. Though it be not, tis better here to wait 
 Awhile among these woes, than serve in heaven. 
 
 BEEL. For that there may be no alternative. 
 
 Luc. Beelzebub, thou hast attended me, 
 And learned thereby of my intended way 
 To Chaos depths, where I shall seek of chance, 
 Direction to that portion of her realm, 
 Which being touched by the creative Power 
 Shall change into a world whereon shall dwell 
 
 Embodied spirits Godlike images 
 
 Of whom prophetic rumor long ago 
 Was heard in heaven. Ere I thither go, 
 Eeceive my mandate ; keep the strictest watch 
 Along the confines of these angry floods, 
 Lest some escape, reluctant to abide 
 With us the issues of an adverse war ; 
 And thus escaped, pursue their wandering course 
 Through Chaos, till the scouts sent out from heaven, 
 Espy them, then with searching eye pursue 
 The darksome vastness wherein I shall lurk, 
 And there discovering me, turn swift their flight 
 Back to the empyrean, and acquaint 
 
14 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Th Avenger that he stretch his mighty arm, 
 And snatch us quickly out the frightened deep 
 ,0f dark consistence, then to deeper woes 
 In blackest hell, fling us precipitant. 
 My mandate is delivered, and beware. 
 
 BEEL. J Tis said : Thy mandate shall be my regard 
 But why strict watch ? Can any find a way 
 Out this abysm ? I doubt if thou thyself 
 Canst make thy strength of such avail ;for see 
 What walls of adamantine darkness bound 
 This place of torment : Dost thou think to pass 
 Through such, and find thy pathway safe beyond? 
 Luc. I do, and with these tangled lightnings, I 
 Will pass through the cleft darkness ; there is none 
 Of all these hosts that followed us beyond 
 Dominion of the Throne, superior 
 To thee, and therefore thou mayst reign as prince. 
 I shall return to this abode again, 
 When I have learned how to enlarge thy reign. 
 
 [ExiT LUCIFER, breaking- his way through 
 
 the darkness with lightnings. 
 BEEL. The prince of all 
 
 In this abode, 
 Where woes appal 
 The rebel brood, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 15 
 
 I can abide 
 Those torments sore, 
 And I will chide 
 No mpre. 
 
 DIABOLOS rises through the dark mists 
 
 DIAB. Tis wo s extreme to tread this angry lake, 
 
 Where fiery tempests ride the murky air, 
 And volleyed thunder s heavy movements break 
 
 On night extinguishing the ligntning s glare, 
 % While from these torments, hideous howlings wake 
 
 Within this concave echoes of despair ! 
 
 BEEL. Thinkst thou that this is the extreme of wo? 
 
 DIAB. What dost thou think ? To be for ever here 
 And suffer vengeance ? Say, canst thou endure 
 All this ? 
 
 BEEL. I can endure all this and more ; 
 What though th Avenger hurl upon our heads 
 All vaster torments, still I could endure 
 The fierce addition ; for there yet is hope 
 That there will come a respite from these woes. 
 
 DIAB. That such may be I can not comprehend. 
 Will hurling down destruction weary Him, 
 The Omnipotent, who drove us out of heaven, 
 And thus come slackened vengeance ? or thinkst thou 
 This punishment will tame us to submission 
 
16 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 So that his wrath be quiet ? Thou dost know 
 "We could not serve in heaven, and therefore comes 
 This dread infliction. 
 
 BEEL. If the will rebel 
 
 Against strict fate, it makes itself a hell : 
 To this endurance let the will accord 
 Until the future show how we may turn 
 Kegard upon the vexed Creation yet. 
 
 DIAB. Creation : Ay, I know thou meanest much ; 
 Yet caiTwe hinder the creative Power, 
 Or mar a portion of his work, thinkst thou ? 
 If so, when may it have accomplishment ? 
 
 BEEL. I can not tell thee now, though well I know 
 The future doth reserve advantages 
 For us, and these, unlocked for, when they come, 
 May startle heaven s triumphant warriors. 
 
 DIAB. The present we know well and can not 
 
 choose, 
 
 Although we rather would be ignorant 
 Of that we be, and of this sufferance, 
 Yet why, if shadows of the future come 
 To do thee service, didst thou take up arms 
 Against th Omnipotent, and not foresee 
 Thyself and all these legions hurled beyond 
 Heaven s confines, and beyond the bounds of light, 
 Into this utter darkness canst thou tell 
 
THE DRAMA OF EABTH. 17 
 
 So much about the past I fain would know ? 
 
 BEEL. The past is past, and subject to no change : 
 Therefore turn not reflections on the past, 
 But rather turn thy hopes upon the future 
 That may bring change to this unhappy durance 
 For to this end has Lucifer gone hence, 
 And me appointed prince in this abysm. 
 
 DIAB. He gone ? I had not thought it possible 
 That even the mightiest could make his way 
 Through these vast walls of adamantine night, 
 That do surround this depth of misery. 
 Then why may we not follow, and escape 
 These punishments ? 
 
 BEEL. Nay, I have charge to watch 
 
 That none from this dark prison shall escape, 
 Lest at imprudent time there should go forth 
 These legions to th* espy of scouts from heaven, 
 And thus bring on us vengeance multiplied. 
 
 DIAB. Does he thus first attempt the desert void, 
 And there to deviate through darkest space, 
 Or search the crude consistence whereof worlds 
 Innumerable are made, that he may hide 
 From the Almighty s vengeance he, the first 
 Who did insinuate among these hosts 
 Hapless rebellion does he now command 
 That none else flee beyond Heaven s wrath inflict, 
 
18 THE DKAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Lest numbers should betray to Heaven s watch, 
 Yet thinking there himself safe, where no eye 
 Of Heaven s vigilance can search him out 
 He that did lead us into direst conflict, 
 And overthrow into this dreadful deep ? 
 
 BEEL. Beyond these walls, but not from punishment, 
 Hath he escaped ; for yet Heaven s wrath inflicts 
 Enduring woes within him, and himself 
 Is ever his own hell, as we our own 
 Although we curse these fiery elements 
 That strive tempestuous. He now doth tread, 
 Afar beyond these Wjalls, the solitude 
 Of ancient Chaos, which creative Power 
 Molds into worlds, and in their circling ways 
 Sets periods continual of time. There Lucifer has gone. 
 What thinkst thou if his espionage search out, 
 Some part the universe, the mystery 
 Of the creation, and, by prudent wiles, 
 Vex the Creator sorely by pursuing 
 With vast destruction the ultimity 
 Of all his works ? 
 
 DIAB. I wish it may be done ; 
 
 For such revenge would lessen much our woes. 
 
 BEEL. And such may be our reasonable hope. 
 
 DIAB. A hope that will present us present cheer. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 19 
 
 IMP appears through the dark mist. 
 
 IMP. I wish I were in heaven again, gathering 
 Sweet dews, breathing the balms, and listening 
 To best music of harps, which I can not 
 Hear now in this dark place of torments ; but 
 In this most hot and smoky place I hear 
 Lamenting noise, which I help make ! I wish 
 I were in heaven again. 
 
 BEEL. If thou dost wish such wishes, thou mayst wish 
 Till thou shalt wish that wishing wishes thus 
 Could bring thy wish. I tell thee, wishing Imp, 
 If thou dost have such wishes in thy thoughts, 
 It will be better not to utter them. 
 
 IMP. More wishes thou hast uttered even now 
 Than I have. 
 
 BEEL. Tempt me not to do thee harm, 
 
 Or I will make thee wish thou couldst not speak. 
 
 IMP. Thou canst not do more harm to me than I 
 Feel now : I will get out of this bad place. 
 
 BEEL. Wilt thou ? ha ! wilt thou ? I tell thee, Imp, 
 That thou canst not ; and if thou shouldst attempt, 
 I will bind thee with lightnings, and cast thee down 
 Into the uttermost deep, and pile on thee 
 Mountains of melting adamant ! Aha ! 
 There thou shalt ever strive in vain to give 
 To discontent a partial utterance. 
 
20 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 IMP. Oh ! oh ! I will not try to get away, 
 And I will do whatever thou require. 
 
 BEEL. And wilt thou ever do what I require ? 
 
 IMP. Ever, Master, if it be in my power. 
 
 BEEL. Thou shalt ; and let thy disaffection ceaso 
 From audible expression ; so shalt thou, 
 With experiment, find what is best. 
 
 IMP. That I have done : what is there more that thou 
 Wilt have me do ? I ll do it quickliest. 
 
 BEEL. Thou mayst wander through these sulphurous 
 
 mists, 
 
 Which will affect thee with a change, and make 
 Obedience, result of willingness : 
 Naught further yet and yet the future may 
 Bring much to be accomplished by thy aid. 
 
 IMP. I go, Master I go my vay through fire, 
 And smoke, and noises ; for I must obey. [Exit IMP. 
 BEEL. Imp was the youngest of the warring host, 
 And hesitated whether he should join 
 Our forces in the conflict, when all heaven 
 Jarred heavy with the clash of armories 
 And lingered last of all who thence were driven ; 
 And palest fear attended his dire way. 
 
 DIAB. Although so young, and slow in choice, yet wise 
 Perhaps as we, who, choosing quickly, chose 
 The cause that brought upon us all this ill. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 21 
 
 BEEL. Tis done beyond all hope or thought of 
 
 change, 
 
 Except such change as gratifies revenge ; 
 Therefore our business will be yet to do 
 What comes in range of our vindictive power. 
 Is not ambition now half satisfied ? 
 "We know our strength ; before, we knew it not : 
 And what if knowledge be so dearly bought ? 
 "Tis better thus by far than not to know. 
 Here will we wander through these wrathful fires, 
 Contriving mischief until Lucifer 
 Shall make return from his adventure far ; 
 Then may we know how we can bring our hate 
 To bear effective gainst creative Might ! [Exeunt. 
 
22 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 EDEN. Enter LUCIFER. 
 
 LUCIFER. This world from chaos rolled, at His com 
 mand 
 
 Who rules in the creation as in heaven, 
 Where I could never reign ; yet in this world 
 I will set up my everlasting kingdom, 
 If it avail me aught that I reign here. 
 These beasts of many kinds, fowls of the air, 
 And finny tribes that move among the floods, 
 Which the Creator made to suit his pleasure, 
 Are not of my regard save to destroy : 
 Should I destroy them it would suit my pleasure, 
 If there be none of higher order here, 
 On whom to wreak revenge for all our woes : 
 But what is he who walks the earth erect, 
 Whose brow is throned reason, and his bearing 
 So like an angel rather like a God ! 
 Creation s ultimate the counterpart 
 Of the creative Prototype ! The beasts 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 23 
 
 Around him fawn and do him reverence, 
 
 And there submissively await him lord. 
 
 He seems the object of Heaven s chief regard, 
 
 And hence he is the object of my hate. 
 
 I further see he is accompanied 
 
 By one, his like, yet of a softer mold. 
 
 To them alone, upon this world is given, 
 
 Thought s interchange by speech. Are they not Gods ? 
 
 Who have such bearing, and whose images 
 
 Show such an impress of intelligence, 
 
 Where reason is the umpire ? Are they Gods ? 
 
 Together they make casual approach, 
 
 And I will be invisible among 
 
 These comprehending shades, and hear their converse. 
 
 Enter ADAM and EVE. 
 
 EVE. how much happiness it is to be 
 Where Heaven s favors are so bountiful 
 That they administer to all our wants ! 
 
 ADAM. Not only to be here among these bounties 
 Of pleasing prospects and delicious fruits, 
 But to be here with thee, my loved companion, 
 Is all the fullness of my earthly bliss. 
 
 EVE. When thou art happy, I am happy too 
 So much thy joys administer to mine ; 
 And thus I think it will for ever be. 
 
24 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 ADAM. It will be ever thus, if we obey 
 As willing subjects to the will of Heaven. 
 Thou seest all these beasts which we have named, 
 Do fawn obsequious ; we are lords of them, 
 And they obey us ; they yield not in strength : 
 Tis the superiority of mind 
 That holds them willing in submission now. 
 Our reason s tenure is conditional, 
 Which with its normal influence directs 
 Our actions that we do no being wrong, 
 But have a love for all that God has made ; 
 And then the soul exists in purity. 
 If no extraneous and rebellious essence 
 Mix with the salient currents of the life, 
 Then will our beings ever thus remain 
 In harmony with all the universe, 
 And the Creator of the universe. 
 
 EVE. And is there danger that our reason be, 
 By some rebellious essence, overcome, 
 So that, from its abnormal influence, 
 We would regard not universal good ? 
 
 ADAM. Eve, there is an interdicted tree 
 In th midst of this fair garden, which, if we 
 Partake of, dreadful ill will come upon us : 
 And passing near, no doubt thou hast observed 
 Its branches reaching far on every side ; 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 25 
 
 And specious is its fruit ; but if we taste, 
 Or even touch it, we will surely die ! 
 
 EVE. And yet I can not comprehend what death 
 We would incur by eating of that fruit. 
 Would these our bodies, in the self-same day, 
 Cease to exist, and be entirely nothing ? 
 Or can the meaning be, death of the soul ? 
 I rather think the soul will never die, 
 But will live on, and on, and on, forever. 
 
 ADAM. We would not cease to be, but cease to bear 
 The image of our Archetype divine. 
 That fruit has such pernicious quality, 
 It would contaminate the fluid life, 
 That, from the fountain, does its offices 
 To the whole system ; and the mind would be 
 Dragged down in deepest darkness, destitute 
 Of thoughts of heaven and eternity ; 
 And on the very earth below the earth 
 Even lower than the beasts our grovelling thoughts 
 Would course in deep and dire depravity. 
 
 EVE. partner of my joys ! who taught thee thus ? 
 
 ADAM. A short time since, even when thou wast 
 
 created, 
 
 Which time I slept, came dreams, with sights and 
 sounds 
 
 That waked my soul. Anon an angel came 
 
 2 
 
26 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 From the bright regions just beyond the sky, 
 
 Which opened as he passed, who turned his flight 
 
 Down into Paradise, and over me 
 
 Made sudden pause, with admonition thus: 
 
 " Adam, attend ; thy Maker will command." 
 
 Anon a voice out of the empyrean, 
 
 Came down in soft, commanding cadences: 
 
 " Of every tree of th garden thou mayst eat ; 
 
 But of the tree of th knowledge of good and evil, 
 
 Thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the day 
 
 Thereof thou eatest, thou shalt surely die !" 
 
 Eve, great then was my anxiety, 
 
 And fearful my misgivings ; but anon, 
 
 The angel did instruct and comfort me, 
 
 Admonishing obedience to Heaven, 
 
 As I have since advised. Eve, thou hast heard : 
 
 My dear companion, let us e er be wary. 
 
 The orb of day now stoops before the night ; 
 
 Let us go, therefore, to our couch of rest. 
 
 [Exeunt ADAM and EVTE. 
 Luc. Go ; and ere long a living death await you, 
 
 And everlasting anguish be your rest ! 
 
 There is no secret out of heaven none 
 
 That serves not espionage. My legions vast, 
 
 That are imprisoned far in vaster night, 
 
 I shall bring hither for no little cause : 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 27 
 
 Beelzebub, whom I appointed prince 
 
 In the complaining deep, to ease the wounds 
 
 Which his expectancy had erst received 
 
 By dire expulsion from the realms of light, 
 
 With his auxiliar service here will serve me ; 
 
 And all that there bewail their miseries, 
 
 Let forth from wrathful night, shall hither come, 
 
 And find a respite doing mischief here ! 
 
 I will haste thither heaven s gate is shut ; 
 
 The day descends, and shade lies on my way ; 
 
 But yonder, as from heaven, now Uriel 
 
 Bears hitherward, and light attends his way ; 
 
 I know him well, for once we closely met 
 
 In conflict, but it now must be my care 
 
 That he shall not know me, nor whence I am ; 
 
 No doubt I can learn much to my advantage, 
 
 If I await his coming and appear 
 
 An angel as from heaven immediate 
 
 Now with the semblance of supernal sheen, 
 
 I will dissemble so that afterward, 
 
 Myself will marvel when I think of it. 
 
 Enter URIEL. 
 
 I saw thee [to URIEL] , when thy bright and airy way 
 Turned hitherward across the evening mists. 
 Admiring all the works of the Creator, 
 As I, thou too, perhaps, hast hither come, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 Down from th empyreal regions to behold, 
 With an exploring eye, this happy world. 
 What joy it is to chant in heaven the praise 
 Of Him who hath created the blest spirits 
 In heaven adoring, and the many orbs 
 In the immensity : what joy to swell 
 The song loud and afar, and hear the choir 
 Of vast creation all in chorus join, 
 And tongues celestial chime the interlude 
 Of cadences among the rolling spheres. 
 URIEL. To Him all praise belongs : To Him all 
 
 heaven 
 
 Attune symphonious songs, while all His works 
 Accord soft harmonies. 
 
 Luc - Verily, hast thou, 
 
 While in thy wanderings, visited the orbs 
 Circling the day, or far beyond the light 
 That flows effulgent here, even in the vast 
 Which the creation fills, found other worlds 
 That, more than this, partake of heaven s regard, 
 Where beings dwell, highest in excellence 
 Of any that inhabit them ? 
 
 URIEL. None more than this ; 
 
 For here the habitation is of MAN, 
 The highest of intelligences that 1 
 Inhabit any orb, of whom the fame 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 29 
 
 Went forth prophetic mong the heavenly hosts, 
 Long time before the mighty King did wage, 
 Against arrayed rebellion, dreadful war, 
 "When all his enemies were overthrown, 
 And cast out into darkness into wo ! 
 
 Luc. A loss much felt in heaven when suddenly, 
 So many legions left their sighing harps 
 Strewed thickly over heaven s broad champaign ! 
 
 URIEL. Th extreme necessity that did compel 
 The swift expulsion thence, did not prevent 
 Commiseration for the dire distress 
 Of heaven s lost legions, whose sad harps attuned, 
 In their last touch, to the according praise 
 That rang symphonious through the empyrean 
 Sighed forth their lingering tones in lamentation, 
 And mournful grew the cadence, and more mournful, 
 Till drowned with din of hostile armaments ; 
 And when the volleys of transcendent light 
 From the uplifted shield of Heaven s Son, 
 Broke on the serried ranks of rebel hosts, 
 And turned their flight beyond the walls of heaven 
 The tempest even of solid light and flame, 
 That, swift pursuing, urged the lingering, 
 Sighed when the last of the rebellious angels 
 Fell out the opened walls ; then turning back, 
 Resolving to ethereal again, 
 
30 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Sighed heavily along the empyrean. 
 Oh, then did the triumphant warriors 
 Weep sorrowful! Again the tempest sighed, 
 And sighing, to God s armory returned ! 
 
 Luc. Does the victorious King of heaven fear, 
 Again will rise rebellion, that he keeps 
 His armories filled with the waiting tempests 
 Of latent light and flame that may again, 
 Should any exigency call them forth 
 To do the will of Might, burst into life, 
 And with destruction quickly overwhelm 
 Aspiring monarchies ? 
 
 URIEL. He doth not fear 
 
 That more of his blest worshippers will fall 
 From their estate most happy, but tis known, 
 That he who first incited to rebellion 
 Appollyon, premier of all motive ill, 
 Who, with his rash adherents, was cast forth 
 Into imprisoned darkness, hath made way 
 Beyond the bounds of that restricted night, 
 And may, with all his reckless votaries 
 If he should work their way out that abysm 
 Again attempt 0, vain would be th attempt 
 To overthrow heaven s ancient sovereignty ; 
 And though he should not make such vain attempt, 
 No doubt he will essay to work his wiles 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 31 
 
 Among th intelligences that inhabit 
 
 These new created orbs, and chiefly this, 
 
 Where MAN, Heaven s last and greatest work, abides, 
 
 Whom to estrange from Heaven, would bring joy 
 
 To the apostate Leader. 
 
 Luc. Ay, and throw 
 
 Echoes of laughter out th abysm of wo ! 
 
 URIEL. Yet to prevent such deprecated evil, 
 The universal Sovereign hath, my seat, 
 Set vigilant in the sun, from which I watch, 
 Observing if the Foe attempt encroachment 
 In these parts, so may providence avert 
 His purposed mischief. 
 
 Luc. Has thy wariness 
 
 Observed aught here suspicion doth regard, 
 That just at evening thou hast left thy seat 
 In th sun, and come swift hither panoplied ? 
 My stay before thy coming, had espied 
 None that may need thy watching, therefore grant, 
 It would be better would it not be better, 
 If thou give not thy weary vigilance 
 And service to unnecessary care ? 
 
 URIEL. I had observed such, and I tell thee that 
 Thy words as ill become thee as thy sheen, 
 Through which I now discover that thy shape 
 Hath dared appear in such a speciousness, 
 
32 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 As for a time did hide designing ill. 
 Appollyon, false Dissembler, thou art he, 
 Who, ere declining day to evening s shades 
 Began to yield earth s paradise, I saw, 
 With volumed darkness hanging on his way, 
 Stride awkward down the mountain, out whose top 
 Belched clouds of smoke and flames and liquid fires. 
 Thy purpose here is to work ill . Away ! 
 Lest fell destruction wait upon thy stay ! 
 
 Luc. Ha, Uriel, lookst thou so, ha, lookst thou so ? 
 Thou knowst me then, and thou didst hither como 
 Upon a sunbeam from the luminous orb, 
 To spy me out, and thither mayst return ; 
 And thou mayst hope, the eve being more advanced, 
 That quickly down that slanting beam of light, 
 Speed urge thee. 
 
 URIEL. Foe of heaven, who art thou 
 
 That darest by thy minatary voice, 
 As well as by thy evil purpose here, 
 Subject thyself to peril ? 
 
 Luc. Thou knowst me, 
 
 Yet knowst me not ; then know that I am he 
 Who led embattled legions into conflict 
 That shook the founded heavens, and did set 
 Pale terror on th array of hostile foes ; 
 And knowing this, if thou dost have regard 
 
Now Uriel lifts aloft his flaming- sword 
 And Lucifer flees from impending danger. 
 
 PAGE 33. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 33 
 
 For thy own safety, let thy flight be quick. 
 
 URIEL. Audacious Fugitive, I know that thou 
 Didst lead thy legions all embattled on 
 To swift discomfiture and disarray ; 
 Then thou and all thy vanquished warriors, 
 Through heaven s opened walls did quickly turn 
 Your flight precipitant in fearful haste, 
 Before descending storms of fiery hail, 
 While in advance awaking meteors glanced 
 In fitful mood, and glared with fitful blaze, 
 To light you on, and on, into the deep, 
 "Where angry whirlwinds rushed to furious strife, 
 And dashed the liquid, elemental fire 
 On adamantine darkness that shrieked out 
 The echoes of your wailing miseries, 
 While lightnings fiercely flashed, and awing thunders 
 Rolled ponderous along th abyss of wo ! 
 
 [Now URIEL lifts aloft his flaming sword, 
 And LUCIFER flees from impending danger 
 Just as an ostrich, when the Arab s horse 
 Pursues, half runs, half flies, so on the earth, 
 He leaves the impress of his cloven foot, 
 And with his wings spread wide, and talons at 
 Th 9 extremes, with motion quick, both ran and flew. 
 2* 
 
34 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 In flight he safety seeks : his purpose here 
 Would work progressive ill. Night s mantle now 
 Hangs over paradise, and sleep, no doubt, 
 Has shut the world from man, save what through 
 
 dreams, 
 
 In image, is presented to his fancy. 
 I will at once attend him, and present 
 Such faithful reminiscence to his spirit 
 Of Heaven s command, as deeply will impress 
 His waking hours ; then will I turn my flight 
 Direct to heaven with all anxiety ; 
 And all the powers empyreal shall learn 
 Recounted venture, and the Foe s design 
 Here to usurp supremacy, no doubt. [Exit. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 35 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 The dark Abyss. Enter BEELZEBUB, DIABOLOS, 
 MAMMON, TYPHON, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 DIAB. Long is the time that Lucifer hath left 
 Us here in wearisome uncertainty 
 Of his return from solitary way, 
 On which he dared essay the lonely waste, 
 Beyond this dark and dread imprisonment. 
 
 BEEL. Though long hath been the time, if well em 
 ployed, 
 
 It is the best assurance of success ; 
 Therefore, although his absence be prolonged, 
 That need not add to our uneasiness. 
 
 DIAB. Behold what fury agitates this gulf 
 Behold the dark floods surging billowy ; 
 Now fiercer lightnings strike upon these walls, 
 And the foundations of this concave shake ! 
 
 BEEL. This is unwonted fury, and, no doubt, 
 Betokens the arrival of our chief : 
 Behold the walls of darkness open now 
 To strokes of darting fire ! Lo now, he comes! 
 
36 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Enter LUCIFER. 
 
 DIAB. Hail, Sovereign, Chief of all these many 
 
 powers 
 That have awaited long thy welcome back ! 
 
 BEEL. Hail, Chieftain, hail! The myriad of hosts, 
 Have waited anxiously, again to greet thee. 
 
 Luc. Hail, Prince, and all these warriors that fled 
 From domination, choosing rather wo 
 Than servitude in heaven! would you know 
 What hopes lie out upon our distant way ? 
 
 BEEL. Let all the vast deep be attentive now, 
 To learn of every peril or success 
 That hath awaited thee. No doubt some means 
 For opportune revenge, hath fallen on 
 Thy ventures : We would know what chances lie 
 Beyond this darkness ; what discoveries 
 Where works the Ancient, and where is the image 
 Of the Creator, as foretold in heaven, 
 If any such hath been created yet ! 
 
 Luc. When I had passed these walls, my doubtful 
 
 way 
 
 Lay swift through solitudes of ancient night, 
 Where the creation, at remotest verge, 
 Encroached upon rude chaos, and forthwith, 
 The power of law controlled that part the wild 
 Which compassed me about, and voluble, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 37 
 
 The huge concerted mass, detached, rolled forth 
 Into creation ; and in circuit wide, 
 The rolling sphere pursued its steady round. 
 Its vast and ponderous circumference 
 Oppressed me, thus confined in central globe, 
 And there my struggles long attrite, did melt 
 That portion of the mass conglomerate, 
 Contiguous about me, all to fire 
 To liquid fire ! Anon I blew a blast 
 Of very flame, that out the earth shot far, 
 Making the convex gape. Through that hiatus, 
 The liquid welled, that cooled on the outside, 
 And formed a mountain, through whose opened top, 
 The like eruptions, oft successive poured 
 Adown its slopes. Up through the crater large, 
 My way proceeded, thence afar I viewed 
 The broad horizon, and with peering eye 
 Surveyed with care, the traveled orb around, 
 And found that animation held degrees, 
 Each in the special form that suited it ; 
 But there was none with image like to God, 
 Discovered yet, and thence I turned my way 
 Back to the mountain, when I heard such sounds 
 As though the whole infinity of worlds, 
 Sung choruses, and all the sons of Heaven 
 Shouted for joy ! 
 
38 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 BEEL. It was not long ago, 
 
 Strange and mysterious sounds, of origin 
 From far, gave intonation audible 
 Above these thunders ! 
 
 Luc. Doubtless twas the same. 
 
 Upon the next day, in the evening, 2 
 Not long before the night: for day and night 
 Move round the world successive as it turns 
 Its sides alternate to the central orb 
 That shades far light, I trod again where shades 
 Of growing arbors, gathered on my way; 
 And while my vision turned with aspect sharp, 
 Through many separate ambrosial shades, 
 I saw two beings walking both erect, 
 Unlike all others, and discoursing oft 
 In happy conversance. They seemed like gods. 
 There will we go and gratify revenge 
 For heaven s afflictive vengeance. 
 
 BEEL. Let us bring 
 
 Upon him, quick destruction unawares, 
 And to this end, inhale the hottest flames, 
 That issue from the world s internal fires, 
 And blow athwart his way destruction dire, 
 And scatter all his being into nothing ! 
 Thus ending the Creator s greatest work 
 The creature uncreated suddenly ! 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 89 
 
 Luc. Is to be ended greatest of all ills, 
 While in such end, one knows not he is ended, 
 And in such want of knowledge, ends all wo ? 
 Had it been thus, we all would have been ended, 
 When we with haste fled quickly out of heaven. 
 Had we been ended, then we had escaped 
 The wrath that doth afflict our beings now ; 
 Yet such impassively we can endure, 
 If we can bring on man a living death : 
 We will not end him, but will mar him so 
 That Heaven shall weep to look upon his wo. 
 
 BEEL. We will not end him, but inflict such pain 
 Upon him, that revenge will be our gain. 
 
 Luc. Not further shall aggressive arms but wiles 
 More puissant, disarm the conqueror, 
 And into torments of the nether deep, 
 Betray the earth s God-like inhabitants. 
 I ve tried the force of arms, and now will try 
 What force in deepest sub til ty doth lie. 
 
 BEEL. I Ve tried the force of arms and now will see 
 If there be greater force in subtilty. 
 
 DIAB. The greatest force that is in arms I Ve tried : 
 I ll prove if more in subtilty abide. 
 
 TYPHON. I ve tried the force of arms, and soon can 
 
 tell 
 If greater force in subtilty doth dwell. 
 
40 
 
 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 MAM. IVe tried the force of arms, and fled amain, 
 Yet subtilty may turn my loss to gain. 
 
 IMP. My arms did little, and I fain would be 
 Where I could try the power of subtilty. 
 
 BAG. We tried the force of arms and quick defeat 
 Drove us forth quickly out of heaven, yet relying on 
 
 subtile stimulant our warfare we will repeat. 
 
 Luc. Now all ye powers, once overcome in fight, 
 But not subdued, and able to confound 
 Your mighty foes with dread, who are no doubt 
 Susceptible of it, prepare to go 
 A journey swift and far out from this deep, 
 Into that world where machinations shall 
 Serve our severest purpose, till alarm 
 Find heaven, no doubt unconscious of what ill 
 Is hatched in hell, to bear upon mankind 
 Respected with heaven s vigilance so much, 
 That wariness behooves us ; for the angels, 
 No doubt, tend thither with oft ministrations ; 
 Indeed I did encounter one of them 
 Twas Uriel, and since but he, I thought 
 It hardly worth the while to drive him thence. 
 Our course will be directly to the vent 
 Whence issue liquid fires ; not such as these, 
 Fierce in enduring age, but such as are 
 Congenial rather to our habitudes ; 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 41 
 
 Then will we go and come, and on the earth, 
 Make havoc as will suit convenience quite. 
 Seize now these lightnings ! all ye mighty hosts, 
 And with them, break these walls of adamant, 
 And here no more will be our weary stay, 
 And we will find revenge upon our way ! 
 
 {With multiplying strokes of lightnings fierce, 
 Th Infernal hosts unite in one essay, 
 Not vain; for strokes on strokes, redoubled, pierce 
 The prison walls which suddenly give way, 
 And let them forth ; and in complete array, 
 Toward earth direct, they swift pursue their flight, 
 Where they arrive just at the close of day ; 
 And thicker darkness spreads far on the night, 
 While round the mountain s smoking crater they 
 alight. 
 
42 THE DRAMA OF EABTH. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 A Volcano. Enter LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. Here is so much I know so little of, 
 That for inquiries, may excuses plead : 
 What place was that we crossed, so very fair? 
 And what or who was that that stood erect, 
 Majestically there surveying all ? 
 
 Luc. All that, respecting which thou dost inquire, 
 Pertains in common to our interests 
 And ceremonial apology 
 Need not precede. That place was paradise, 
 And that was MAN, who held thy passing glance 
 Of admiration there erect, supreme 
 Among those willing animals that wait 
 His ruling gait and his commanding voice. 
 When hitherward from the deep night of hell, 
 Our way crossed that elysium, ere the day 
 Had quite withdrawn for night s approaching shades, 
 Those arbors of thy wonder and those fruits, 
 Bright in the gleaming sun, were all for man 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 43 
 
 The arbors to protect him from the heat 
 Of the meridian day ; those fruits his food 
 On which his life depends continually. 
 The quality of fruit which he partakes, 
 Will qualify his nature. In that garden 
 There is a tree of Heaven s interdiction, 
 Whose fruit, if he partake, its quality 
 Will bring destruction even on his being. 
 
 BEEL. 0, 1 perceive that, by thy journey here, 
 Thy espionage has not been vain at all, 
 Since such important secret is discovered, 
 And by whatever means it matters not. 
 
 Luc. From Adam s converse with his consort Eve, 
 Which I had overheard, this I did learn, 
 Which knowledge from an angel he received, 
 To answer every question of his thought, 
 Thus with philosophy of Nature s law 
 If in the salient currents of the life 
 Mix no extraneous or rebellious essence 
 Then his pure spirit ever will remain 
 In harmony with all the laws of heaven. 
 
 BEEL. In making noxious essence, Heaven did work 
 To our advantage, if the interdict 
 Shall be unheeded, which shall be our care. 
 
 Luc. What Heaven lacked in doing, we shall do ; 
 What we do will not be the work of Heaven ; 
 
44 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And when we shall have caused the fall of man, 
 
 Our triumph will be great, and greater far, 
 
 If man so fallen, charge gainst heaven his fall ! 
 
 BEEL. As day and night alternate move around 
 This rolling earth that circles far the sun, 
 I think yon grey betokens morning near ; 
 And will it not be well, when day shall dawn, 
 That thou, or I, or both of us, should go, 
 And lead him in temptation, that be eat 
 The evil fruit, and therefore be destroyed ? 
 
 Luc. Soon as the coming day begins its course, 
 I will in paradise attempt man s fall ; 
 But thither, I will Baccho send at once, 
 To bring a portion of the evil fruit ; 
 For I suspect its quality is such, 
 I may observe its curious effects. 
 
 BEEL. Baccho, with the remainder of our hosts, 
 Is in the central globe, which way this wide 
 Hiatus leads, through which rise smoke and flames. 
 
 Luc. Upon my summons he will quickly come. 
 Ho, Baccho, let thy presence here attend. 
 
 Enter BACCHO. 
 
 BACCHO. Great Master, here I am ; what shall I do ? 
 Luc. Observe yon garden with its many trees ; 
 And central, there is one with branches far 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 45 
 
 Extended, bearing very specious fruit. 
 Go thither on thy momentary way, 
 And of its fruit bring hither specimen, 
 With the electric speed of thy return. 
 
 BACCHO. I will ; It shall be brought here quickliest ; 
 Even now I smell its goodly quality. [Exit BACCHO. 
 
 Luc. No doubt that Baccho, though inferior 
 To most that fled from high dominion, will 
 Be instrument effecting very much 
 That through our hopes, lie in the future yet. 
 
 BEEL. Perhaps, though now I can not judge of it. 
 
 Enter BACCHO with fruit. 
 
 BACCHO. Here is the fruit : those ails be gone so 
 there be ease in me, and forgetfulness of the afflic 
 tive punishments. That garden be mine ; this world 
 be mine ; all the planets be mine ; all the universe 
 be mine, and I be the King of it. Go to ! go to ! I can 
 rend ye with thunderbolts, and tempests of flame, and 
 fiery hail ! I can rend the earth ! I can blast 
 creation ! 
 
 Luc. He has partaken of the evil fruit, 
 And manifests its visible effects ; 
 And with it now his habitude conforms ; 
 And in conformity thereof will he 
 Pursue on earth, abounding influence. 
 
46 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Now take him into the interior globe 
 Through the hiatus yawning wide near by. 
 
 [Exit BEELZEBUB with BACCHO. 
 The orb of day is rising now, and morn, 
 From orient, is crossing paradise, 
 Where I shall quick repair to work man s fall. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 EDEN. Enter EVE, gathering fruits. 
 
 EVE. Sleep lingers on him still, and he may rest 
 From yesterday s fatigue attending on 
 His labor here among these fruitful trees ; 3 
 For I would rather that he still repose 
 And yet I choose not to be here alone. 
 
 Enter ADAM. 
 
 ADAM. Eve, my beloved, my ever dear companion, 
 Thy absence from my side hath wakened me ; 
 And I have sought thee, though not long have sought, 
 And found thee here. 
 
 EVE. Yea, I am gathering fruits, 
 
 Of which our banquet will be soon prepared, 
 And we together will enjoy repast 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 47 
 
 Of all delicious fruits none that would harm: 
 But something I have reminiscence of, 
 That doth impress me sadly. 
 
 ADAM. What it is, 
 
 I fain would know, because my happiness 
 Increases or diminishes with thine : 
 I apprehend that thou hast been advised 
 In dreams again, as I, what danger from 
 Heaven s Enemy may yet beset us here. 
 
 EVE. Thou dost presume correctly; for last night 
 
 Even as the night before, concerning which 
 I gave some intimation yesterday 
 While I was sleeping, dreams awaked my soul, 
 Which with an angel from the realms above, 
 Held converse ; and he counseled me that I 
 With care avoid the interdicted fruit. 
 Then I did greatly wonder what the cause 
 Of so much fear that we would disobey ; 
 And by inquiry learned some evil spirit 
 The chief of many legions which with him, 
 For disobedience, were driven from heaven, 
 
 And mured in depths of adamantine night 
 
 Had fled imprisonment, and hitherward 
 Turned his designing way, and would, no doubt, 
 Prom motives of revenge, essay to bring 
 Upon us all destructive influence. 
 
48 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 ADAM. While we obey, no harm can come upon us ; 
 
 So there need not be fear, save it be fear 
 
 That we shall disobey by eating of 
 
 The interdicted tree, and there is no 
 
 Necessity for that, since here we find 
 
 All fruits that are essential to supply 
 
 Our wasting bodies, which to Nature s law 
 
 Are subjects of accordance, and must yield 
 
 To a continual change, though it will bring 
 
 Our dissolution and return to dust, 
 
 Of which we are composed. 
 
 EVE. Yea, we shall die, 
 
 Though we eat not the interdicted fruit. 
 
 ADAM. Our bodies must ; all matter organized, 
 Must pass to dissolution ; all that grow 
 Yea, all that, by their circulating life, 
 Continually change their particles, 
 Until it brings the sure effect of death : 
 So every plant, and every shrub and tree ; 
 All beasts, all birds, all tribes that live in waters ; 
 All that are formed of dust, to dust return : 
 But Oh that other death which we would die, 
 If we should eat of that forbidden tree 
 A living death ! an everlasting death ! 
 
 EVE. I know not that I fully comprehend 
 The living death, the everlasting death, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 49 
 
 Which we would find in disobedience. 
 
 ADAM. By th evil fruit our beings would be marred, 
 Nor be like the creative Prototype ; 
 And low and vile would be our thoughts and deeds : 
 And it would hasten dissolution too, 
 Of this organic temple of the soul ; 
 And when this body yields to dissolution, 
 Oh ! then the soul so far estranged from God, 
 And cast into perdition, only fit 
 For corrpany with Heaven s rebellious foes- 
 Would range for ever in consuming wrath, 
 And never be consumed, but vainly wish 
 Annihilation ! Such would even be 
 The living death the everlasting death! 
 O Eve ! we now enjoy terrestrial bliss, 
 And naught will mar our happiness, if we 
 Shall faithfully regard the interdict 
 Which has been given for purpose positive, 
 And not to make a trial of our will ; 
 For the Omniscient hath no need to make 
 Experiment, to know with how much power 
 He hath ordained us ! Here we may partake 
 The fruit craved by our normal appetites ; 
 And hitherto, on our sufficient food, 
 We have subsisted plain and simple food 
 Of all desirable variety 
 
 3 
 
50 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And may not of ourselves seek to partake 
 
 That which would do us harm : Heaven is our friend. 
 
 Heaven s enemy will be our enemy, 
 
 And seek to bring us also into wo ! 
 
 EVE. Heaven will, and thou wilt, be my guardian, 
 So dear to me, and chary of my good ; 
 Therefore accept my humble gratitude. 
 
 ADAM. 0, do not say, accept thy gratitude ! 
 For rather I owe gratitude to thee, 
 Whose conversance hath been my great delight. 
 Heaven guard us ! Now yon trees I will attend 
 And do their pruning, while thou gatherest 
 Fruits for our morning meal, to which repast, 
 Upon this mossy rock, I will return, 
 When thou shalt call me hither to partake. 
 
 [Exit ADAM. 
 
 EVE. Thou mayst expect, then, to return ere long ; 
 For soon the banquet will be all prepared. 
 
 Enter LUCIFER, in shape of an Orang-outang* 
 Luc. [Aside."] She is alone, and opportunity 
 Now serves me : therefore let all wiles assist 
 In my designs ; wiles from infernal depths, 
 Show me more false than is my shape assumed ! 
 Fair woman [approaching and addressing her~] y and 
 the fairest in this world, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 5] 
 
 Of all that s fair ay, to the eye more pleasing 
 
 Than all else I have been observing thee 
 
 Gathering with diligence these goodly fruits, 
 
 While native grace attends thy every move ; 
 
 And on thy brow there is capacity 
 
 For all the knowledge that, in earth and heaven, 
 
 Awaits an infinite intelligence : 
 
 Though yet, methinks, thou hast not eaten of 
 
 The fruit possessing that mysterious power 
 
 To cause expansion intellectual, 
 
 Even to the wide range of infinity. 
 
 EVE. We eat of all the fruits that nourish us, 
 And what is hurtful that we must not eat. 
 
 Luc. There is a kind of fruit, of which, as yet, 
 Ye have not eaten, and which would perform 
 All I have said, and make ye what ye are not. 
 
 EVE. And what we would not wish to be, perhaps : 
 But where is there such fruit as thou speak st of? 
 
 Luc. T is here. [ Offers fruit of the forbidden tree. 
 
 EVE. Oh ! tis the fruit that would work death, 
 Which we have been commanded not to eat. 
 
 Luc. Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of all 
 The trees that yield mature their goodly fruits ; 
 And this especially, the most ambrosial ? 
 
 EVE. We may partake that which is wholesome food, 
 But that in th midst this garden, God hath said, 
 
52 THE DRAMA OF EAETH. 
 
 " Ye shall not eat nor touch it, lest ye die ;" 
 And what thou hast, is that pernicious fruit. 
 
 Luc. what an interdiction ! what injustice ! 
 How falsely represented is the fruit 
 That would make gods of ye ! Ye shall not die ; 
 For God doth know that in the very day 
 Ye eat thereof, ye shall perceive the truth, 
 And ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil : 
 And more : by eating such continually, 
 Ye may, with aspirations infinite, 
 Advance to be the greatest gods in heaven ! 
 I know thy nature craves ambrosial fruits, 
 That nourish earthly beings into gods ; 
 And what thy godlike nature craves, is good 
 And wholesome ; but from what it does not crave, 
 What need of strict command of abstinence ? 
 
 EVE. Dost thou eat of it ? Thou art not a god ; 
 For the deep earthly-seeming dullness of 
 Thy looks, belies thy specious reasoning. 
 Then eat the fruit thyself, and prove thy words : 
 If I could be a god by eating of it, 
 Thou couldst be something more than thou art now, 
 That stridest awkwardly thy shape uncouth 
 Along on devious way upon these flowers, 
 Which mars their beauty much. 
 Luc. Fair woman, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 53 
 
 My shape and manners, I am well aware, 
 
 Become not one who would be thy adviser ; 
 
 Yet shapes uncouth, that dully stroll about 
 
 With awkwardness, may know a truth and tell it, 
 
 So that a fairer and more graceful one, 
 
 By giving heed, may gain advantages. 
 
 Tis true, I have partaken of this fruit, 
 
 And by that means have made advancement great ; 
 
 For hadst thou seen me ere I did partake, 
 
 My ugliest shape that sneaked among these shrubs, 
 
 Dreading the gaze of one fit for a god, 
 
 Would have surprised thy gazing with alarm : 
 
 Denied the power of speech almost of thought 
 
 I sought for food, and only dared be seen 
 
 By snakes, and toads, and meanest kinds of vermin, 
 
 That fled from me with fear at the first sight ; 
 
 And while I digged for pig-nuts, I espied 
 
 Turning my eyes whence came the balmy breeze, 
 
 Filled with voluptuous smell this kind of fruit, 
 
 Of which I did partake immediately, 
 
 And am not as before, but what I am ! 
 
 Wouldst thou have oculary evidence ? 
 
 Behold, I taste again ; see what I shall be ! 
 
 [He partakes of the fruit, and immediately as- 
 sumes the appearance of an angel of light. 
 
54 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Fair woman, wilt thou eat and be a god ? 
 
 [He presents her the fruit; she receives it 
 EVE. fruit ambrosial, that can change to gods 
 Those that partake ; thy goodness I shall know, 
 And will, by thy mysterious power, be changed, 
 And be like to the greatest of the gods ! [Eats. 
 
 Luc. Great be the change that fruit will work in ye ! 
 Preparing of your banquet, never more 
 Avoid the fruit that will make gods of ye : 
 I must depart to where the gods abide. [Exit. 
 
 EVE. Is change so soon wrought in him by this fruit, 
 That he hath gone to where the gods abide ? 
 Am I not now a god ? precious fruit ! 
 Thy quality doth breed divinity 
 That doth inspire me. All this world is mine : 
 
 The sun is mine ; so is the day it brings ; 
 
 The moon is mine that smiles upon the night, 
 
 And all the stars are mine, and all these beasts, 
 
 Which now look fearful of me all are mine! 
 
 By my persuasion, Adam shall partake 
 
 Of this fruit also and become a god ; 
 
 And I will bring it to him now with haste. [Exit. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 55 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 Ethereal Space. Enter Two ANGELS. 
 
 FIRST ANGEL. 
 
 Oh ! man is fallen fallen ! it is done, 
 And evil flows destructive in his veins ; 
 Even from this error are his ills begun, 
 And desolation in his being reigns, 
 Inviting anguish and afflictive pains, 
 Which he in his adversity must know ; 
 And while in failing clay his spirit wanes, 
 The universal song hath ceased to flow, 
 And earth sends up a wail of everlasting wo. 
 
 SECOND ANGEL. 
 
 Heaven ! Oh, woful earth ! Oh, fallen man ! 
 What darkness hangs upon his dreary way, 
 Who from the great creative edict sprang, 
 And has that edict dared to disobey, 
 And gainst Omnipotence, himself array, 
 In disregard of Heaven s of nature s law ; 
 Now all the universe feels dread dismay, 
 
56 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 And shrinking back with sympathetic awe, 
 Sees Death and Hell gape wide to glut their ravenous 
 
 maw. 
 
 FIRST ANGEL. 
 
 Oh ! dark and dreadful evil doth invade 
 The heart of man depraved by Heaven s Foe, 
 Who,from the fountain, hath insidious made 
 Destructive essence through life s currents flow, 
 That man might therefore naught of goodness know, 
 And his chained spirit sink beneath the care, 
 Of Hell s invidious might, usurping so, 
 That Death, through long eternity, might there, 
 Find immortality bewailing in despair 1 
 
 SECOND ANGEL. 
 
 Yet Heaven is merciful as Heaven is just, 
 And will the fullness of that mercy share 
 On earth, among the creatures of the dust, 
 Formed in the image of th Eternal there ; 
 Though now despoiled the counterpart, so fair 
 When all his thoughts did flow in purity 
 Forth from the clear and happy fountain, where 
 Now dwells contamination, and a sea 
 Of desolation rolls on to eternity ! 
 
 FIRST ANGEL. 
 
 Yea, goodness infinite will be revealed 
 Twixt hell s dark regions and the realms of light ; 
 
THE DRAMA OP EABTH. 57 
 
 And the deep wound on earth will yet be healed, 
 And all this foulest wrong give place to right, 
 By intercession of supernal Might, 
 Who will through sufferance the victory gain 
 O er Death and Hell, that in eternal night 
 Shall dwell together, ever to remain 
 In all the agonies of everlasting pain ! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 A Volcano. Enter LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. And the command that they should not par- 
 
 take 
 The fruit of such a tree, is disobeyed ? 
 
 Luc. Well apprehended ; and I will recount 
 Adventure there. The woman, whom I found 
 Alone, and gathering fruits for their repast 
 At morn, I did deceive with specious lies, 
 And such assurances as one would laugh 
 To think of ay, that the forbidden fruit 
 Would not work death, but life, and they that eat 
 Thereof, would be as gods. Then she partook, 
 And quick began, with maudlin utterance, 
 To prate incessantly with phrase uncouth ; 
 
 3* 
 
58 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 And I discovered, with observing care, 
 She, with the fruit destructive made fast way 
 To her companion, whom she quick beguiled 
 With hasty words smooth with persuasiveness, 
 And story of its power to change to gods, 
 All who partake of it : Then he partook, 
 And in his maudlin thought became a god : 
 Forthwith they fell to wrangling, and the beasts, 
 Affrighted, fled, or turned a scorning look, 
 Nor further would acknowledge him their lord. 
 There I continued lurking till the day 
 Began decline adown the sloping west, 
 At which time I did hear the judgment of 
 Offended Heaven, against offending man ; 
 For Heaven, it proved, was conversant of all, 
 Since, that the universal Author s voice, 
 Unwelcome now in Eden, did pronounce 
 The judgment first on me as instigator 
 That on the instigator shall recoil 
 Avenging punishment : Then let it come 
 Whenever it may come, if thus his threat, 
 He fain would think his power can execute. 
 Yet should it ever be, it would be joy 
 To know it is provoked by thwarting Heaven ! 
 Next on the woman judgment was pronounced 
 In part : That she her progeny should bear 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 69 
 
 In sorrow, and that her desire should be 
 To her companion, and to him be subject. 
 Next, Adam listened to the consequence 
 In part to him, and thus it was pronounced ; 
 " Because thou hast not hearkened unto me 
 But to thy wife, and eaten of the tree, 
 Of which I did command thee not to eat ; 
 Therefore the ground is cursed for thy sake, 
 And thou henceforth shalt eat of it in sorrow, 
 And thorns and thistles it shall bear to thee, 
 And thou shalt eat of herbs, and in the sweat 
 Of thy face sunburnt get thy bread henceforth, 
 Until thy body shall return to dust ; 
 For dust thou art and shalt to dust return." 
 Their woes are now begun their being marred ; 
 The circulating essence of their life, 
 Tainted with poison so their appetites, 
 Depraved, now crave the fruit which hastens death 
 Upon the body, while it mars the soul ; 
 Each exercising mutual influence ; 
 And through the law hereditary, shall 
 Man s progeny be tainted with this death, 
 From generation on to generation, 
 And so their aspirations shall be fixed 
 Low as the ground that bears their wayward tread. 
 BEEL. Ay, such will bring on earth confusion vast, 
 
60 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Which even is begun in paradise ; 
 
 For looking from this mount, across that way 
 
 I surely saw such sights, and heard such sounds, 
 
 As would imply displeasure of the One 
 
 Who doth create, and doth regard his creatures. 
 
 Luc. Ay, thunders muttered in the darksome clouds 
 That gathered fast upon the burthened air ; 
 And lightnings broke anon, whence they, enchained, 
 Awaited edict, ere on wings of fire 
 They flew the fearful messengers of wrath 
 And the displeasure of creation s God. 
 Swift rushed the angry winds, and waters moved, 
 With murmurs dismal on their burthened waves ; 
 Anon the beasts, already slunk away 
 From human gaze, began their farther haste 
 To forests dark, nor deigned a look behind ; 
 So Heaven in anger frowned on paradise, 
 And angels from above on rapid wings, 
 Flew thither panoplied with swords of flame, 
 And shields of fire, and drove the human pair, 
 Now abject, forth from Eden desolate ! 
 The orient way was held by cherubim, 
 And round the tree of life, a flaming sword 
 Turned every way to guard its wholesome fruit. 
 
 BEEL. May not the wrath of Heaven then serve 
 our wiles, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 61 
 
 And give consent vindictive to the woes, 
 That we inflict upon the creature man ? 
 
 Luc. Heaven s anger may be kindled into flame, 
 To execute upon him punishment : 
 All this will follow from our diligence 
 Serving our enmity against th Avenger, 
 Who will, no doubt, repent that he hath made 
 An image like himself, to be destroyed. 
 
 BEEL. Can we expect so much, nor fail in this ? 
 It would repay us for our sufferings, 
 Since we did hasten out of heaven, repulsed, 
 With fury raging after us, and found 
 Such shelter only as th abysm of wo 
 Afforded. 
 
 Luc. Yet can doubts possess thy thoughts, 
 That thou dost ask, " Can we expect so much, 
 Nor fail in this ?" See what has now been done ; 
 And on our bold emprises will success 
 Rise in triumphal and majestic state ; 
 For much that will eventuate in time, 
 Awakes my prescience. Shall I show thee aught 
 Of great events that are in future yet ? 
 
 BEEL. I would behold them. Canst thou show me 
 them? 
 
 Luc. Ay, turn thy vision yonder. What seest thou 
 Through the discovered vista of hereafter, 
 
62 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Which brings to thy observance what shall be 
 Along Time s steady movement what seest thou? 
 
 BEEL. I see a flood of waters pouring down 
 From blackest clouds ; it spreads upon the earth, 
 A universal deluge, and drowning men 
 Cling fast to masses wrecked with thunderbolts, 
 O er whom roll heavy surges ; and far out, 
 A floating ark of huge bulk scorns the waves. 
 
 Luc. Thou seest the work of man s repenting Maker, 
 Who, fearful of our usurpation here, 
 Will fling destruction on his rebel creatures ; 
 And, with vexed elements of earth and air, 
 Create confusion on th external globe, 
 Infixing death on his marred images, 
 It grieves, him so to look on, for he sees 
 Our triumph there, and his afflictive loss ! 
 
 BEEL. Yet will he all destroy ? 
 
 Luc. No : he will spare 
 
 A few, deemed good, to people earth again, 
 And think, no doubt, to end our domination : 
 The vainest thought ! since all mankind will feel 
 Hereditary taint from th fruit of evil, 
 And their curst appetites will crave it still. 
 
 BEEL. Great Lucifer, I clearly comprehend, 
 And I am ready to work vengeful spite, 
 By every means whatever it may be. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 63 
 
 Luc. I know thy power and will, and I chose well 
 When I appointed thee prince of the legions 
 I freed from Heaven s thralldom. Now our way 
 Leads down into the chambers of the globe, 
 Where waiting myriads dominion hold 
 Over the elements they forge in shapes 
 Of missiles for all exigency made, 
 Should th powers of heaven attempt here to dislodge us. 
 We go with counsels of our further work, 
 To our auxiliars vast in multitudes, 
 Sufficient for our multiplying need 
 Whom we will make familiar with our cause, 
 And all man s attributes, that they may know 
 When to assail, and how; and they will do 
 The greater part the business we shall plan : 
 Yet that requiring greater power and skill, 
 Assign not to inferiority, 
 But will ourselves perform. Wake hell in earth ! 
 
 ECHO. Wake hell in earth ! 
 
 BEEL. Whence did that echo come ? 
 
 I think it came not from the concave sky. 
 
 Luc. It came not from the sky ; the sky can not 
 Give out infernal echoes ; but it pales 
 To hear the dreadful voice of Hell on earth, 
 Answered by myriads of the hosts of hell 
 Within it, whither now our way extends. [Exeunt. 
 
64 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE VIII. 
 
 The Same. Enter BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. Come forth, Diabolos and Mammon, come, 
 And Baccho ; here attend immediately ! 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS, MAMMON, and BACCHO. 
 
 DIAB. Great Prince, thy call has brought us quickly 
 
 here: 
 What is there to be done at present time ? 
 
 BEEL. Much : Cain and Abel, Adam s sons unlike, 
 Are now about to offer sacrifice 
 In yonder glade. Go, interpose your powers 
 So Cain shall make a sacrifice of Abel. 
 
 DIAB. We will. 
 
 MAM. We will. 
 
 BAG. We will. 
 
 DIAB. We go at onco, 
 
 And that shall be accomplished speedily ! 
 
 [Exeunt* 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 65 
 
 SCENE IX. 
 
 A Glade, where there are two Altars. Enter CAIN 
 and ABEL. 
 
 ABEL. Here are the altars that I have prepared, 
 Which are awaiting now the sacrifice 
 That we will offer to indulgent Heaven ; 
 And we will place our thoughts above the world, 
 And all things transitory. Wait no more, 
 My brother Cain : wilt thou now sacrifice ? 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS, MAMMON, and BACCHO, invisible, 
 with Wands. BACCHO waves his Wand over 
 
 CAIN. 
 
 CAIN. If I delay, thou needst not : thou hast brought 
 The firstlings of thy flock, and thou mayst first 
 Begin thy offering ; for I shall first 
 Offer this liquor to my fervent thirst. 
 
 ABEL. Cain, refrain ! It is the noxious fruit 
 That worketh death ! 
 
 CAIN. What if it worketh death ? 
 
DO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 I have partaken oft, and will again. [Drinks. 
 
 [MAMMON waves his Wand over CAIN. 
 What need have I to offer sacrifice 
 On a consuming altar ? will it profit ? 
 
 ABEL. Cain, my brother ! I will offer now 
 My sacrifice to God, and in my prayer 
 I will remember thee. 
 
 CAIN. Then offer now 
 
 Thy sacrifice, and pray too, if thou wilt, 
 But not for me ; for I can sacrifice, 
 And do my praying too, when I desire. 
 
 ABEL. Cain ! beware lest God be angry with thee, 
 And not accept thy sacrifice when offered. 
 
 CAIN. Presumer, what hast thou to do with that ? 
 Offer thy sacrifice, and I will mine ; 
 And see which will be more acceptable. 
 
 ABEL. By faith, I know my sacrifice will be 
 Accepted, though I am unworthy of it. 
 
 [They build fires upon their altars, and place 
 upon them their offerings. 
 
 CAIN. The slow fire dies beneath my offering, 
 While to the clouds the flame of thine ascends. 
 Is not my offering as good as thine ? 
 Why, then, is thine accepted, and not mine ? 
 Well, I will offer now good sacrifice 
 To Heaven, by making sacrifice of thee ! 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 67 
 
 [CAIN beats ABEL with a club. 
 
 ABEL. What dost thou now, my brother ? my 
 
 brother ! 
 
 Thou knowest not thy deed, and I forgive thee : 
 May Heaven forgive thee also, my brother ! 
 
 [ABEL dies. Exeunt MAMMON and BACCHO. 
 
 DIAB. Ha ! it is well performed. I will remember 
 His offering a human sacrifice: 
 There shall be many such upon this world ! 
 
 [Exit DIABOLOS. 
 
 CAIN. What have I done ? Is this my brother Abel ? 
 And am I Cain ? Oh ! now my soul awakes 
 To the severe reality of this ! 
 Yet why may I not possibly mistake ? 
 Arise, my brother Abel ! Art thou dead, 
 That thou dost lie so still ? for thy pale cheek 
 Doth wear a smile upon it ! Art thou dead ? 
 And Cain thy murderer ? It was not Cain ; 
 For he is saddest mourner of thy death ; 
 But twas the evil spirit that inhabits 
 The frequent potions of my thirst depraved, 
 That holds my soul in thralldom absolute, 
 And doth beget within me hellish deeds ! 
 My younger brother Abel my brother! 
 Thou, guardian angel, didst admonish me ; 
 And if I had obeyed thy admonitions, 
 
68 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 I had not now occasion to repent 
 
 Of such a deed as this, for which, I fear, 
 
 Vengeance will overtake me. Why these fears ? 
 
 Are they the harbingers of punishment, 
 
 Or but creations of a guilty conscience ? 
 
 Re-enter DIABOLOS, and waves his Wand over 
 
 CAIN. 
 
 No matter which. The deed is done. Away, 
 Ye tell-tale fears, that would expose my crimes, 
 With guilty habitation on my features ! 
 With stern denial I will dare to meet 
 The powers vindictive both in earth and heaven ! 
 
 [A Voice from above is heard. 
 
 YOICE. Cain ! Cain ! where is thy brother ? 
 
 CAIN. I know not : 
 
 Am I my brother s keeper ? 
 
 VOICE. What hast thou done ? 
 
 Thy brother s blood hath now a voice that crieth 
 To me from th ground, and tells thy guilty deed, 
 For which thou now art cursed from the earth, 
 Which, at thy hand, received thy brother s blood. 
 When thou dost till the ground, it shall not yield 
 Henceforth to thee her strength : a fugitive 
 And vagabond shalt thou be in the earth ! 
 
 [Exit DIABOLOS. 
 
 CAIN. My punishment is more than I can bear ; 
 
I sec u flood of waters jtouriii,^ down 
 
 From blackest clouds ; it spreads upon the earth 
 
 A universal delude. 
 
 PAGK 62. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 69 
 
 For thou this day hast driven me from out 
 The face of earth, and from thy face shall I 
 Be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive 
 And vagabond in th earth ; and it shall be 
 That every one that findeth me, shall slay me ! 
 
 VOICE. Fear not ; for whosoever slayeth Cain, 
 On him shall seven-fold vengeance be imposed. 
 
 CAIN. A mark is set upon me : therefore, man, 
 I know, shall not be instrument of vengeance ; 
 For none shall kill me. I must go away : 
 My power is failing, and I must not stay ! [Exit. 
 
 SCENE X. 
 A Volcano. Enter LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. The flood is past, the great flood Heaven 
 
 did send 
 
 To drown the world of our supremacy, 
 Yet sent in vain, as coming time must prove. 
 The waters are subsided, and our spies, 
 Most vigilant, make swiftly here and hence, 
 Their coming and their going, on dark wings 
 Through the pale ether. 
 
 Luc. It is even thus : 
 
70 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 BEEL. One thousand and six hundred years ago, 
 Two score and seventeen in the addition 
 Thou didst unveil the future to my view, 
 And I beheld the earth drowned with this flood 
 Which has not long been off the humid earth. 
 
 Luc. Wouldst thou behold the future yet again, 
 That thou dost speak of this ? 
 
 BEEL. I would. 
 
 Luc. Behold ! 
 
 With thy expectant vision turned across 
 The way of Ararat into the blue, 
 That draws aside, discovering to thy view, 
 The proof of what our diligence shall do: 
 What there so interests thy wondering gaze ? 
 
 BEEL. Upon a mountain, just outside a city, 
 I see a cross whereon a being like 
 The Son of God, bows low his pallid brow : 
 Now darkness hides the sun ; the earth quakes, 
 And rocks are rent asunder there, and graves 
 Yawn tenantless of their awakened dead : 
 Now round the cross, the multitude, as though 
 Disquieted with fears, go to and fro, 
 Pale as the sea when startled winds disturb 
 To an awakening fright its slumbering breast ; 
 Even as when we, upon our journey here, 
 Turned our swift course across the watery realm, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 71 
 
 That felt the very shadow of our flight, 
 
 While fear impressed the air, that fled in tempests 
 
 Along the frightened main ! 
 
 Luc. All that thou seest 
 
 Will come to pass : That was the Son of God, 
 Who terminated the celestial war 
 In which we were almost victorious, 
 When from the concave of his lifted shield, 
 Then made offensive armor fronting us, 
 Shot volleys of transcendent light across 
 Our ranks unable to withstand its glare 
 All sudden and unwonted and pursued 
 Our flying legions then, with fiery tempests, 
 That sighing 1 to his armory returned, 
 When we had passed beyond heaven s opened walls ! 
 Yet time will give us opportunity 
 To wreak on him accumulated hate ; 
 And though he knows our purpose thwarted once, 
 He yet shall know he can not thwart revenge : 
 Even though victory at last should be 
 On the Almighty s side, and we be driven 
 Again to feel no respite of our pain 
 By vexing the inhabitants of earth, 
 Yet, if the most his subjects be our captives, 
 To writhe forever in consuming wrath, 
 How dear to him will be that victory ! 
 
72 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 For this cause, yet Heaven s own begotten Son 
 Shall suffer the severest suffering : 
 As we unwilling anguish must endure, 
 And feel the wrath of the Eternal One, 
 So, He shall feel the burthen of our hate : 
 sweet revenge ! that makes a heaven of hell ! 
 
 BEEL. sweet revenge ! that makes a heaven of hell ! 
 
 Luc. Again the habitants of earth are few, 
 And all our forces need not be in action 
 Until occasion shall require. I now go down 
 Among them and their revelings, and when 
 The time is fit, Diabolos will come 
 To do thee offices on Ararat, 
 All which have been delivered to thy charge. [Exit. 
 
 BEEL. And which are being performed : And now 
 
 I see 
 
 By observation in the orient, 
 Typhon in haste, and on his way attends 
 Silence and shades, while evening comes apaco ; 
 And the hushed air broods with a mournful quiet 
 Along the waste of death. 
 
 Enter TYPHON. 
 
 TYPH. All hail ! great Princo. 
 
 BEEL. What favor more ? Doth opportunity 
 Wait on advancing timo and on our wiles ? 
 
THE DEAMA OF EARTH. 73 
 
 TYPH. I bring more tidings ; thou canst better 
 
 judge 
 What opportunities they may unfold. 
 
 BEEL. I think before they are delivered, I 
 Well apprehend what thy report will show: 
 Is th vineyard fully grown which has been planted 
 By Lamach s son, who, with his family, 
 Came from the ark to people earth again ? 
 And is its fruit mature, and juice expressed, 
 Yet stale and noxious, so that we may have 5 
 No more delay in tempering again, 
 To suit our purposes, to deeper taint, 
 The members of this family of Noah, 
 Which has been saved from the prevailing flood ? 
 
 TYPH. The lusty vineyard yields its fruit mature, 
 And nocent preparation of its juice 
 Fermented, has been well attended to. 
 When will we have the revelings which thou 
 Didst promise ? for my service has been much, 
 And well performed. 
 
 BEEL - It has, I am assured ; 
 
 Recount it : all thy deeds shall have reward. 
 TYPH. Why, I did course along the troubled 
 
 spume 
 
 Of the deep waters, following the ark 
 On devious way, with fluctuating winds, 
 
74 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 Day after day, night after night, even while 
 
 The elements were leagued against me so, 
 
 My way was difficult along the flood ; 
 
 And some celestial spirit, as I told thee 
 
 A time before, did strive to thwart my course, 
 
 Amalgamating air and fire and noise, 
 
 With which my way was vexed with usage rough ; 
 
 And when the ark did rest on Ararat, 
 
 Which I did hasto to bring thee tidings of, 
 
 Then that celestial spirit interposed, 
 
 And raised a tempest all of fire across 
 
 My flight, which took me from my course awry 
 
 More than a thousand leagues, whence I did toil 
 
 Against the speed of flame, back on my way. 
 
 BEEL. Well, Typhon, brave Typhon, thou didst 
 well. 
 
 Thy service there was much, though not to me 
 
 More than thyself; tho gain is shared alike, 
 
 That comes by any of our separate acts 
 
 In common cause. 
 
 TYPH. I have done other things ; 
 
 I have been vigilant on Ararat 
 
 Where rests the great ark empty of all life ; 
 
 Thence swift to thee, oft tidings I did bring 
 
 Of Noah going with his family, 
 
 And every animal ; all flesh, both fowl 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 75 
 
 And cattle ; even every creeping thing, 
 Out of the ark; and of the sacrifice 
 Which, on an altar, he did make to Heaven 
 Of one of every cleanly beast and fowl, 
 Burnt to a smelling savor as offensive 
 To me, as any could be sweet to Heaven. 
 
 BEEL. All that was well which thou didst ; all was 
 
 well : 
 
 Thou art a brave spirit who, bravest deeds, 
 Art able to perform : Thou didst else there. 
 
 TYPH. Yes, other things I did on Ararat ; 
 Beneath the rainbow of God s covenant, 
 I heard the oracle he did pronounce 
 That not again for man s sake would he curse 
 The ground, for the imagination of 
 Man s heart is evil, even from his youth 
 Nor yet again smite any living thing ; 
 An<i while the earth remains, seed time and harvest 
 And cold, and heat, and summer and winter, 
 And day, and night, should cease not : this I heard 
 And brought the tidings of it. 
 
 BEEL. Very well, 
 
 Brave Typhon, well : we shall have revelings 
 Ere long, yet something else is to be done, 
 On Ararat, with essence very vile, 
 So that man s heart being evil from his youth, 
 
76 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Shall yet become most evil from his youth, 
 By an enlarged inheritance of ill, 
 From much addition to the taint which flows 
 Pernicious through the fountain of his life. 
 The time is fit ; Come forth, Diabolos, 
 And Imp, and Baccho, come ! 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 DIAB. flail ! here we are, 
 
 And at your service. 
 
 BEEL. There is business now ; 
 
 The vineyard is mature on Ararat ; 
 There do your offices : Intoxication 
 Shall revel on the mountain, and the spirit 
 Of man be tempered to our very wish ; 
 And progeny succeeding progeny, 
 Shall long experience the sure effects. 
 
 DIAB. I will attend the full accomplishment. 
 0, 1 could blow a breath and split the sea, 
 And it would fear for ever to unite 
 Again its severed waters, holding back 
 Against attractive forces all their bulk ! 
 I could pluck the moon out of its orbit, 
 So we could walk the night in thicker darkness, 
 Without that glaring eye upon our way ! 
 But such doth not behoove us now to do. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 77 
 
 SCENE XL 
 
 ARARAT. Enter No AH, from a tent. DIABOLOS, TY- 
 PHON, IMP, and BACCHO, at a distance, departing-. 
 
 NOAH. why by daytime came such heavy night 
 Upon my spirit, that it sank in sleep, 
 From which forgetfulness, I have awaked ? 
 My senses have been drowned in poisonous draught, 
 To which partaking, I had been deceived 
 By Ham, my son, who will not heed advice, 
 But to indulgence yields his appetite, 
 That injuries upon his soul and body, 
 Course through his veins. 
 
 Enter SHEM, HAM, and JAPHETH ! 
 
 Ham, my son ! 
 What is it thou hast done to me ? 
 
 HAM - Nothing, 
 
 But the good wine this vineyard doth produce, 
 I gave to thee, and of thy own accord 
 Thou didst partake ; naught further have I done. 
 
 NOAH. Thou art my son, and disputation now, 
 
78 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Need not encroach upon this interview, 
 
 But condemnation falls upon thy acts ; 
 
 For by thy wickedness thou hast provoked 
 
 Heaven s judgment which is given me to pronounce 
 
 On Canaan name of thy posterity. 
 
 Cursed be Canaan ; a servant, he 
 
 Of servants, shall unto his brethren be. 6 
 
 But blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, 
 
 And Canaan to him shall render service. 
 
 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell 
 
 In th tents of Shem, and Canaan shall serve him. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XII. 
 
 A Volcano. Enter BEELZEBUB, meeting- DIABOLOS, 
 TYPHON, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 BEEL. Infernal spirits, is your charge performed ? 
 
 DIAB. It is, and we left Noah in his tent 
 And overcome with the stale juice of grape, 
 So that he knew not that he was alive ; 
 And Ham has been our instrument in this, 
 Who had been plied with vileness potable ; 
 And his regard paternal is destroyed 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 79 
 
 By his oft bibings ; and the crimson life 
 Is tainted with the essences of ill. 
 
 BEEL, Ha ! Thence will follow acts which we shall 
 
 urge 
 
 Bickerings, jealousies, hate, strife, stratagems, 
 Spoils, murders, and revenge : all these shall be 
 Even as before the flood. 
 
 DIAB. I have no doubt 
 
 That all the world would yet again be drowned, 
 Because of our successful policies, 
 If Heaven had not decreed it otherwise. 
 
 BEEL. What if, with fire it shall bo burned to ashes, 
 And be resolved to ether, and be drawn 
 To other spheres, by gravitating force, 
 And gathered into their circumference ? 
 
 DIAB. Where then would be the spirits that we 
 
 torment ? 
 
 Would their essential beings be consumed ; 
 And so the acts that we delight in, end ? 
 
 BEEL. No: Spirits of the earth that then be damned, 
 Will suffer wrath that burns continual, 
 Which the material fires within this world 
 Scarce counterfeit with all their violence. 
 Those torments are within us endless fixed, 
 Where er we be, nor aught can multiply, 
 Nor aught decrease, save the delight we feel 
 
80 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 For having caused mankind to share them too. 
 
 According to appointment, now the time 
 
 Is fit to revel in the fiery deep. 
 
 Come now, ye spirits, who have lately served 
 
 My will on Ararat, effectual, 
 
 And revel in the furnace of the world ! 
 
 DIAB. Through the hiatus large, spout liquid fires, 
 And blow fierce flames ; that will be revelry. 
 
 TYPH. ? T was promised us to revel, so we will, 
 In manner suitable, and that, to me, 
 "Will be to forge the elemental fire, 
 To lightnings, and, astride them, course the deep. 
 
 IMP. And manner suitable to me will be 
 To grasp the lightnings and entangle them 
 In strife for separation, and so forth. 
 
 [Exeunt all but BACCHO. 
 
 BAG. The meaning of that so forth must be drink 
 ing ; for there be no real revelry that drinking be not 
 companion of ; and for such I am well prepared with 
 the good spiritual essence in this crucible; and which 
 doth elevate the spirit to the full enjoyment of rev 
 elry. It is this that I do mingle in the stale grape-juice 
 for mankind, and thereby they fall into revelries, and 
 fightings, and many other good mischiefs all which 
 follow so forth if so forth be really drinking. [Exit. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 81 
 
 SCENE XIII. 
 A Forest in JUDEA. Enter LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 Luc. Dost thou think so ? well, do thy will m this. 
 
 BEEL. I see the doubt that weighs upon thy answer, 
 Can we not then destroy his incarnation, 
 While yet in infancy ? 
 
 Luc - Whether or not, 
 
 Make trial : send Diabolos, who shall 
 Destroy all the first born in Bethlehem 
 And the surrounding regions. 
 
 BEEL - We will then 
 
 Make sure of the Redeemer and the kingdom, 
 Which may be without end, though we shall reign. 
 
 Enter TYPHON. 
 
 Why, Typhon, dost thou tremble in thy haste ? 
 Why dost thou put such agitation on ? 
 
 TYPH. Did ye not see the light : Did ye not hear 
 The noise tremendous, like a trumpet sounding 
 Loud in the sky, with strange and awful meaning. 
 
82 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 BEEL. "We did, and know its import: Dost thou know 
 Where is Diabolos ? 
 
 TYPH. Near Bethlehem, 
 
 Attending to the murder of some footmen. 
 
 BEEL. Not now, I see ; for hither on his way 
 Diabolos doth shade the eye of night. 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS. 
 
 DIAB. Hail, Lucifer ! Beelzebub all hail ! 
 There now is cause for great activity. 
 
 BEEL. There ever is much cause for us to act : 
 What special cause invests thee now with dread 
 Or seeming fear, who art so wonted brave ? 
 
 DIAB. Did ye not see the light nor hear the voice 
 More dreadful than the thunders of the deep ? 
 Oh, it hath frightened me more than the terrors 
 That followed us precipitant from heaven ! 
 
 BEEL. We saw the light and heard pronunciation 
 Fall from the sky, much heavier than thunders ; 
 But what of that can light or noise affright thee? 
 
 DIAB. Lucifer, when I did venture forth, 
 In lunar light, to tread the way of death, 
 And aid some night-assassins seeking blood, 
 A blazing star, on sudden, lit the skies, 
 And slow descending, eastward moved until, 
 O er Bethlehem it stood and cast a gleam 
 
THE DKAMA OP EARTH. 83 
 
 Of vivid light athwart the way of night. 
 
 Anon a voice from heaven did shake the earth ; 
 
 And thus it fell with all its terrors down : 
 
 " Now unto us a child is born ; to us 
 
 A Son is given ; the government shall be 
 
 Upon his shoulders, and his name be called 
 
 Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, 
 
 The everlasting Father, th Prince of Peace." 
 
 Will not our warfare soon be brought to close ? 
 
 For He of whom the ancient prophets spoke 
 
 Is come t assume the guardianship of men. 
 
 Fear fills me now, which anger might dispel, 
 
 If I, with wrath, could fright the powers of Heaven, 
 
 Nor think of accident upon my way. 
 
 BEEL. Fear not while thou art willing to perform 
 A deed the stars will pale to look upon ; 
 For thou wouldst intercept, as well as we, 
 Encroachment on this government of ours ; 
 Therefore, ere thou didst Come, we had determined, 
 That thou shouldst do more acts in Bethlehem, 
 According with thy honorable name, 
 So worthy hitherto from worthy deeds. 
 
 DIAB. I have done very much upon the earth ; 
 And will do all that may advance our rule. 
 
 BEEL. Art thou prepared to do what we propose 
 If it should be to slay the dread Messiah ? 
 
84 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 DIAB. Ay, that I will, if it be in my power. 
 
 BEEL. T is that we had determined. 
 
 DIAB. Who shall bo 
 
 The instrument in this : It shall be done. 
 
 BEEL. Herod the king, Avho, jealous of his throne, 
 Shall fear Messiah here will reign instead. 
 Go, trouble him with this till he shall seek 
 Messiah s life while yet he is an infant : 
 Go, ply thy effort well. 
 
 DIAB. That will I do ; 
 
 For I did make him slay his sons and wife, 
 And I will make him take Messiah s life. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XIV. 
 
 A Room in HEROD S Palace. Enter HEROD, and 
 Valet bearing Wine, of ivhich HEROD partakes. 
 
 HER. Go to my officers without delay, 
 And tell them I desire their presence here. 
 
 [Exit Valet. 
 
 The wise men whom I sent to Bethlehem 
 Have mocked me ; for they deign not to return, 
 And bring me word if they have found the child 
 By diligence of search, as I commanded : 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 85 
 
 And it is possible my feigned design 
 To worship him may be suspected false, 
 That they have not returned to me again. 
 Yet tis determined that he shall be slain, 
 Though Bethlehem and all the coasts thereof 
 Be deluged with a billowy flood of tears: 
 Even though the voice of weeping lamentation 
 Should crack the sky, and trouble all the air 
 So it would whisper sorrows o er the world ! 
 
 Enter Officers. 
 
 IST OFF. Thy royalty looks pale : art thou not well ? 
 
 HER. I am quite well, although Jerusalem, 
 Yea, all Judea, hath a sickness on her 
 Which naught except chirurgery can cure ; 
 And ye are the physicians I have chosen. 
 
 IST OFF. Why, we are not physicians, nor know wo 
 Of any sickness come upon the kingdom 
 Which, if we were to know, should we attempt 
 The office of a surgeon, such beginning 
 Might be most dangerous empiricism. 
 
 3D OFF. I am prepared to do thy utmost will, 
 Though it should be to probe Jerusalem, 
 Or amputate the limb of Bethlehem, 
 Or any other that may pain the kingdom. 
 
 HER. I am the heart which in this kingdom beats, 
 
86 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 To whom, and from whom, flow the currents of life ; 
 
 And from its sickness I am languishing : 
 
 Therefore it is ye see that I am pale. 
 
 A vein in Bethlehem must now be lanced ; 
 
 Then will the life essential to my life 
 
 Flow healthily as wont. Now go ye forth: 
 
 In Bethlehem, and all the coasts thereof, 
 
 Slay every male child two years old and under ! 
 
 IST OFF. [Aside to the Officers.] Is he not mad ? 
 
 2D OFF. There is another fit of slaughter on him. 
 
 SD OFF. We must obey, or be ourselves his victims ; 
 Yet conscience smites me when I smite to death. 
 
 IST OFF. Soft, I will speak with him, that we may 
 
 know 
 
 If his sincerity demands this deed. 
 Great King, obedience to your royalty ; 
 But may I ask, what ails your kingdom, that 
 Such slaughter only can recover it, 
 That th air would all be pierced with shrieks of grief? 
 
 HER. None but physicians this can understand ; 
 And thou art no physician, so thou saidst : 
 Wherefore should explanations waste my breath ? 
 It is decreed : therefore it shall be done ! 
 
 IST OFF. Oh, sickening remedy ! the kingdom must 
 Drink the magnetic life of infant blood ; 
 To heal the kingdom thus, will make me sick. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 87 
 
 HER. Art thou a man ? What is thy liver made of, 
 That thou dost even pale to think of blood ? 
 Drink thou of this. Nay, start not ; tis not blood ! 
 Drink : it will give thee spirit of a man 
 Drink, all of ye, this fear-dispelling drink ! 
 
 [HEROD drinks, then the Officers drink, 
 
 of the wine. 
 
 Can ye not murder now ? can ye not slay 
 The young in Bethlehem ? 
 
 3 D Q FP . I have killed men : 
 
 But to kill a child 
 
 H ER . Drink more of this : 
 
 Drink, all of ye ! [HEROD and Officers drink. 
 
 Can ye not kill a child ? 
 
 IST OFF. Yes, I can kill more than a hundred chil 
 dren, 
 By cutting off their heads ! 
 
 2D OFF. Ho ! I can kill 
 
 More than a thousand, dashing out their brains ! 
 
 3D OFF. And if their mothers make noise by cry 
 ing, it will be real music, nor will we relent. Let us 
 go. Blood ! blood ! infants blood ! It will please 
 our King, whose officers we are ; and we are loyal ! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
88 
 
 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XV. 
 
 A Wilderness in JUDEA. Enter LUCIFER, BEELZEBUB, 
 DIABOLOS, MAMMON, TYPHON, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 Luc. From thy first intimation, I did doubt 
 That in his infancy we could prevail 
 Against the Son incarnate on the earth. 
 
 BEEL. But how did he escape ? The star appeared 
 O er Bethlehem, and every male child there, 
 Under two years, was slain. 
 
 Luc - Heaven s ministers, 
 
 That hither oft come from the empyrean 
 On errands from the Throne, must have forewarned 
 His parents, that they fled with him beyond 
 The region that was doomed to infant slaughter ; 
 And, from neglected watch, he did escape 
 The fate thou didst assign his infancy 
 In that design, and though in its attempt 
 So unsuccessful, worthy yet no less. 
 
 BEEL. Those white-winged messengers have often 
 times 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. $9 
 
 From their celestial habitation come, 
 With hinderance upon our efforts here, 
 And great vexation. Must we suffer it ? 
 Shall we not rather wage against them war, 
 And hurl upon their way hell s missive fire, 
 To turn them quickly back in thither haste 
 Where they may find immured security ? 
 
 Luc. Nay, verily ; for they will not perform 
 Much that we may not turn to our account, 
 If we have care upon man s appetite. 
 
 DIAB. Ay, through abnormal appetite indulged, 
 Our power upon the world is very great. 
 We fain would have all feasting here abound, 
 But never fasting, since thereby mankind 
 Become less subject to our influence : 7 
 For verily, for forty days and nights 
 Did Moses fast ; and then, despite my power, 
 He held with the Jehovah audience 
 Upon Mount Sinai, and from him received 
 Two tablets with the written decalogue. 
 
 TYPH. And when Elijah fasted in the desert, 
 I could not exercise him with my power. 
 
 Luc. And now, in the Judean desert, Christ 
 Is fasting ; and I think the time has come, 
 That, with temptation, I may break that fast 
 Which, to accomplish, thither I will go, 
 
90 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And make experiment with deepest wiles. 
 
 What if 1 overcome him, and traduce 
 
 Him from the side of Heaven ? No virtue then 
 
 Could turn against us the Kedeemer s power ! 
 
 But if that fast I break not with the craving 
 
 Of long-unsatiated appetite, 
 
 Then shall my effort be to gain accord 
 
 Of act to my desire, thereby to gain 
 
 Upon him influence, and open thus 
 
 Insidious way for my advancing wiles ; 
 
 Or, failing still, advantage I will take 
 
 Of the chief object of his mission here, 
 
 Which is, to bear the weight of man s transgression, 
 
 And guide his footsteps from the ways of death, 
 
 Wherein my influence leads him to walk : 
 
 Therefore will I make specious promises, 
 
 That, if he worship me, I will resign 
 
 My power on earth, that he may have all sway ; 
 
 And I no more will tempt mankind astray ; 
 
 And then he need not die upon the cross, 
 
 And groan beneath the weight of agonies : 
 
 And should I gain compliance happily, 
 
 Since he is here exemplar for mankind, 
 
 Then all mankind will bow and worship me : 
 
 Such be attempt ! If no success attend, 
 
 Then through the influence of essence vile, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EAKTH. 91 
 
 "We yet will have all things to our desire ; 
 
 For by experiments we shall enhance 
 
 The potency of all polluting draughts. 
 
 I go ; and ye will respite here awhile, 
 
 Reflecting on successes of the past, 
 
 While thither to Messiah now I haste. [Exit LUCIFEE. 
 
 BEEL. Let all success await thy great attempt ! 
 
 BAG. I rather judge that I, with food or drink 
 Of good-vile quality, might overcome 
 Messiah s fasting : there is mighty power 
 In wines made goodly vile by mixing in 
 Decoction of strong roots digged secretly. 
 
 BAG. I have done very much in times now past. 
 
 BEEL. Thou hast, for which thou art deserving much. 
 
 IMP. Much service I have done upon the world, 
 Going on errands in the open day, 
 Exposed to light, and also in the night ! 
 And swiftly through the elemental air, 
 When lightnings pierced it, and the furious storms 
 Threatened the stationed forests, went my way. 
 
 MAM. And much have I done also, purchasing 
 Man s quintessential life with little gold 
 Making him lie for but a little gold ; 
 Making him steal for but a little gold ; 
 Making him kill for but a little gold ! 
 
 DIAB. Ay, thou didst much when I assisted thee, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Conjuring conscience quite inaudible, 
 And in man s heart inspiring influence. 
 
 BAG. that was easy after I had made 
 Them drink the juices stale of grape and palm 
 Then thou couldst easily inspire them, for 
 Their consciences went out when drink went in. 
 I have done very many other things 
 With swine-fat I have vexed the crimson life, 
 Especially upon the sultry days, 
 Producing counterfeit of maudlin wrath ; 
 Thence followed jealousies and bickerings, 
 And envy, strife, and animosities : 
 
 should I tell the half my deeds besides, 
 The tale would lengthen till the end of time ! 
 
 IMP. T is said that at the end of time this world 
 Is to be burned as Nineveh was burned. 
 Thinking of Nineveh, I think again 
 Of very many great achievements. 
 
 BAG. Then 
 
 Thou thinkst of my achievements, for they be 
 So very many and so very great. 
 
 IMP. I think of very many errands which 
 
 1 did in Nineveh, when Gabriel 
 
 And other angels often crossed my way ; 
 But I avoided them and did all things 
 According to direction : > 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 93 
 
 i And the inhabitants of Nineveh, 
 And Sodom, and Gomorrah, which with fire 
 From heaven were burned, were of the race of Ham 
 Whom I did goodly-vilely qualify ; 
 Therefore, contamination and a thirst 
 For nocent draughts, was their inheritance. 
 
 TYPH. Think ye what I did on the plains of Shinar, 
 When men were snoring discords on the night ; 
 
 IMP. If there be any discords in thy tale, 
 Let it be long and not have any end. 
 
 TYPH. do not break it into pieces then. 
 
 IMP. Say on, and I will neither speak nor snore, 
 Lest such a kind of melody expand 
 My nostril, that thou wouldst be quickly seized 
 With very rapture, and at once forget 
 That thou art not above in heaven ! 
 
 TYPH. In th plains of Shinar, when the sun had led 
 The day behind the occidental steep, 
 In huddled tents, forgetfulness reposed 
 With men, and snoring vexed the sleepy night 5 
 Then went I careful forth, and in their ears 
 Whispered the greatness of enduring name ; 
 And in their minds inspired essential pride, 
 And fear that time would blot their memory : 
 So when the morning called them, hastily 
 Up they arose and rubbed their sleepy eyes, 
 
94 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 , running to and fro, cried with loud voice, 
 " Ho ! Let us build a city and a tower 
 Whose top shall reach the heavens, and make our 
 
 selves 
 
 A name, lest we be scattered o er the earth, 
 And its broad shores receive our wandering tribes." 
 With brick and mortar, they began to build 
 A city and a tower, whose altitude 
 Should reach the heavens, to make themselves a name, 
 Lest they should bo divided, and abroad 
 Be scattered on the face of all the earth. 
 Then was the King of heaven provoked to wrath 
 Who, in his anger, scattered far and wide, 
 With their changed dialects the tribes of men. 
 
 BAG. 0, that was Babel ! and the founders of 
 All that confusion, were one Nimrod and 
 One Asshur, who were also lineal 
 In th race of Ham, who was contaminate 
 From the best good-vile liquor that I gave him : 
 And they were very mighty rebels too ; 
 For Nimrod hunted men made them depart 
 From th teachings far, of Shem s posterity. 9 
 I made the Shechemites so merry too, 
 With goodly drink, that they conspired against 
 Abimelech. I made the Ephraimites 
 Drunkards, and the kings sick with drunkenness ; 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 95 
 
 And, with the very good-vile liquor,! 
 
 Did even turn the prophets out their way ; 
 
 I made them err in vision and in judgment 
 
 Stumble. In Babylon, besides, I brought 
 
 Riot and vomiting and filthiness : 
 
 I made the nations drunken with her wine, 
 
 So madness and destruction did abound. 
 
 DIAB. Madness, murder, havoc, war, revenge, 
 I have excited over all the earth, 
 And hell rejoiceth therefore. 
 
 BEEL - Worthy, all, 
 
 Because your deeds have vexed the world so much 
 That we behold its many miseries. 
 The tide of life wells from the heart of man, 
 Mingled with entity malign, which shapes 
 Excrescences of mental counterparts 
 That give expression to our influence, 
 Which works upon the earth s inhabitants, 
 Destruction. Let us depart apace ; 
 For, through the sky, illumination glows 
 Empyreal along the coming way 
 Of angels hitherward, and it behooves 
 Not now that we surprise them with alarm. [Exeunt. 
 
 Enter several ANGELS. 
 Is? ANG. Not to the Tempter, favor in regard 
 
96 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Will the Messiah yield although the wiles 
 Of Lucifer should seem to show awhile 
 The speciousness of fair expedience 
 To be compliance with infernal will. 
 
 2o ANG. No ; the Messiah, who is now incarnate 
 Because of sin upon the world, hath come 
 In order to redeem mankind from death ; 
 Nor will he yield to aught Hell may propose, 
 And so will Heaven be glorified in him ; 
 And, faithful to our charge when Lucifer 
 Shall flee from him confounded with defeat, 
 To him will we proceed and minister. 
 Meanwhile we go to the Judean desert, 
 And there keep distant watch ; while Christ is led 
 Forth by the tempter, him will we observe 
 Where er he may depart. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 97 
 
 SCENE XVI. 
 
 Wilderness in JUDEA. .Enter CHRIST and LUCIFER 
 meeting-. 
 
 Luc. Hail, whosoe er thou art ! Behold I not 
 One who is more than man ? Art thou not He 
 Of whom the prophets spake the Son of God, 
 Who, it is said, would miracles perform ? 
 Command thou then that these stones be made bread ; 
 And if thy mandate cause them thus to change, 
 Thou shalt have proof that thou art even He, 
 And thou mayst eat thy fill, for I perceive 
 That thou art hungered. 
 
 CHRIST. I know thee, who thou art the Evil One. 
 And dost thou think I know not who Jam ? 
 Besides, tis written that man shall not live 
 By bread alone, but he shall nourishment 
 Receive from every word that cometh from 
 The mouth of God. 
 
 Luc - Tis truly written thus. 
 
 Let ns go forth into Jerusalem ; 
 
98 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 For I would learn of thee, that I may there 
 Find opportunity for veriest proof 
 That thou art the Messiah Prince of Peace! 
 For I am willing to make compromise, 
 Which may result with favor to his mission. 
 CHRIST. I will go there into the holy city^ 
 But will not yield obedience to thee, 
 Although my sufferance admits thy presence. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XVII. 
 
 CHRIST and LUCIFER on a Pinnacle of the Temple in 
 
 JERUSALEM. 
 
 Luc. I fain would know if thou art the Messiah : 
 If thou be He, cast thyself down ; for it 
 Is written, " He shall give his angels charge 
 Concerning thee, and in their hands shall bear 
 Thee up, lest thou, at any time, shouldst dash 
 Thy foat against a stone." 
 
 CHRIST. Tis said, " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
 thy God." 
 
 Luc. Is it temptation then, to seek to know, 
 Of certainty, who is the Son of God 
 That, on conditions, I may favor show/ 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 99 
 
 By yielding to his everlasting sway ? 
 
 Yet thou didst intimate in thy reply, 
 
 That thou art He. I will presume thou art, 
 
 Since thou didst know me on my first approach : 
 
 Even as thou saidst, I am the Evil One. 
 
 And none I think on earth, save the Messiah, 
 
 In my dissimulation, could perceive 
 
 That verily I am the enemy 
 
 That long gainst Heaven have striven, not in vain, 
 
 Which thou and all celestial powers well know. 
 
 From yonder mountain of exceeding height 
 
 That overlooks the kingdoms of the world, 
 
 Which I have oft surveyed in my regard 
 
 We may behold their partial magnitude. 
 
 Thither let us repair if thou wouldst know 
 
 What I am willing to resign to thee ; 
 
 And the conditions I will there make known. 
 
 CHRIST. I will go to the summit of the mountain, 
 And view the kingdoms which I must redeem ; 
 And though thy presence may accompany, 
 By my permission now, that thou mayst see 
 How great thy ultimate discomfiture ; 
 Thou needst not think to move me from my mission : 
 Thy powef is finite and thou canst not move 
 The Rock which is the world s sole, safe foundation. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
100 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XVIII. 
 
 CHRIST and LUCIFER on the Summit of a high Mount 
 ain Cities in the distance. 
 
 Luc. Lookthou upon the extended country round 
 Into the east, and west, and north, and south: 
 Whichever way thou turnest, kingdoms vast, 
 With their great cities spotting here and there 
 The hills and plains far as the eye extends, 
 Fill with their glory the surrounding view. 
 I reign triumphant over all of these : 
 My will is the great impulse of the world ; 
 For in the coursing essence of man s life 
 In all the currents leading to the soul, 
 I have enhanced hereditary ill 
 By ministrations of the evil fruit ; 
 And Nature s efforts can not overcome 
 The working mischief, nor is heavenly grace 
 Sufficiency to change all human hearts, 
 Till I resign all willingly to thee, 
 And strive no more against the powers of heaven. 
 Then think again upon thy mission here : 
 
Look thou upon the extended country round 
 Into the east and west, and north and south. 
 
 PAGE 100, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 101 
 
 Canst thou relieve the world of all its ill 
 
 Unless I cease my efforts to increase it, 
 
 Withdrawing all my power to give thee sway ? 
 
 It will not be an easy thing to bear 
 
 The weight of man s transgression : this would press 
 
 The crimson life-drops through thy very pores ; 
 
 And ere the cup be drank even to its dregs 
 
 The language of thy deepest groan would be 
 
 A prayer to be relieved, if possible, 
 
 From deepest anguish of thy burthened spirit ! 
 
 And would such prayer be heard ? No ; not in heaven, 
 
 Nor even in hell save it be uttered now ! 
 
 Yet tis not meet that thou shouldst suffer thus 
 
 No ; grant me one request ; and all the sway 
 
 I hold upon the earth, I will resign, 
 
 And never more go forth to tempt mankind ; 
 
 And thy devoted subject man shall be. 
 
 Now if thou wouldst all men should honor thee, 
 
 Do this one thing fall down and worship me. 10 
 
 CHRIST. Hence get thee, Satan : it is written thou 
 Shalt worship God Him only shalt thou serve. 
 
 [Exit SATAN, and immediately several Angels 
 enter, and with the Messiah depart. 
 
102 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XIX. 
 
 CALVARY. JESUS, with a crown of thorns on his 
 head y on a Cross, between two Malefactors. A 
 Multitude Officers, Soldiers, and Citizens about 
 them. Above JESUS, on the Cross, in letters of 
 Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, is written the super 
 scription of his accusation "Tms is JESUS, THE 
 KING OP THE JEWS." 
 
 CHRIST. Father, 
 
 Forgive them ; for they know not what they do ! 
 
 OFF. Since he saved others, let him save himself, 
 If he be Christ the chosen One of God. 
 
 SOLD. If, as thou saidst, thou be King of the Jews, 
 Now save thyself, and then we will believe. 
 
 IST MAL. If thou be Christ, then save thyself and us. 
 
 2o MAL. 0, dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art 
 In the same condemnation ? we indeed 
 Justly, for we receive the due reward 
 For that which we have done ; but this man hath 
 Done naught amiss. My Lord, remember me 
 When thou dost come into thy kimdom ! 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 103 
 
 CHRIST. To-day shalt thou, with me in paradise, 
 
 Find happiness immortal ! 
 
 Eloi ! Eloi ! lama sabachthani ? 
 
 [A Soldier offers him vinegar in a sponge 
 
 on a reed. u 
 
 OFF. He calleth for Elias. Let us see 
 If from the dead, to save him, he will come. 
 
 CHRIST. Father, into thy hands I now commend 
 My spirit. IT is FINISHED! [Dies. 
 
 Twas then the temple s vail was rent in twain; 
 The sun shrunk with amazement from the sight, 
 And graves yawned tenantless ; and as the main 
 Is oft by startled winds awaked to fright 
 And sudden paleness, so did fear alight 
 Upon the multitude which, to and fro, 
 Trod apprehensive through the dreadful night 
 That till the ninth hour palled the very glow 
 Of the diurnal course, and frightened Hellbelow ! 
 
 END OP PAET I. 
 
PAET SECOND. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 A Country in SPAIN. Enter BEELZEBUB and DIABO- 
 
 LOS. 
 
 DIAB. Why should the voyage be prevented ? why 
 Not rather hasten it ? We have discovered 
 Such potency in this distilled liquid, 
 I think we ought to fill the earth with it 
 Even all the western continent, where now 
 The red man of the savage wilderness 
 Wars on opposing tribes : give this to them, 
 And havoc will increase. 
 
 BEEL. * Great Lucifer 
 
 Hath said, " Beware ! let no ship sail that way." 
 His wisdom doth direct, nor know I yet 
 In full why it may be of service that 
 We thwart all expedition to the West. 
 Enter TYPHON. 
 
 Hast thou performed thy charge at Salamanca ? 
 
 5* 
 
106 THE DRAMA OF EAKTH. 
 
 TYPH. Ay, to the full ; and if thou hadst been there, 
 Thou wouldst have laughed. 
 
 BEEL. Why dost thou think I would ? 
 
 TYFH. To hear the language of a hundred mouths, 
 That gave out, in as many different tones, 
 Objection to discourage all adventure 
 Across the billowy and frothy sea. 
 Thus from one organ issued gravest speech: 
 " It can not be ; for such opinion is 
 At variance with all geography 
 Of earth and sky, as taught in holy scripture." 
 Another " preposterous presumption, 
 And big absurdity ! I will not listen, 
 My ears do pain me so." Another said, 
 With grave accordance on his emphasis : 
 " It is not possible that he should know 
 More than the wise and skillful mariners 
 Of many centuries." Another spoke 
 Objection thus : " So spherically huge 
 If it perchance be spherical at all *- 
 Is this great globe, that three years sail could not 
 Bring him round to th imaginable East ; 
 And tis a question with the wisest men, 
 If that the ocean be not infinite 
 That it can not be crossed, nor lands be found 
 Upon the farther side." Others asserted : 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 107 
 
 " If any one should sail so far awest, 
 He never would be able to return : 
 The world being round, his thither course would be 
 All way descending ; and returning thence 
 Could not be done without the strongest gale." 
 And others, looking reverent and devout, 
 Spoke gravely" St. Augustine questions it." 
 He is a crafty felon and deceiver," 
 
 Came from the lips of others ; and all agreed 
 
 That it did not become the dignity 
 
 And state of princes there to act upon 
 
 The reasonings with which the mariner 
 
 Weighed his adventurous hypothesis ; 
 
 And the embodiment of this conclusion 
 
 Went to the navigator in this form : 
 
 " Because we are so occupied with wars, 
 
 Especially the conquest of Granada, 
 
 We can not treat upon the subject now." 
 
 All this is what I did at Salamanca, 
 
 In th j convent of St. Stephen s. 
 
 BEEL. Thou didst well ; 
 
 And it behooves us much that we beware 
 
 That his persisting efforts shall effect 
 
 No voyage following the days and nights 
 
 Into the farther West. 
 
 Enter IMP. 
 
108 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 News to report 
 Hast thou, that thou hast come so swiftly here ? 
 
 IMP. Perez, once the Queen s confessor, has become 
 interested in behalf of the navigator, and will be his 
 solicitor for the aid of the crown, for which he is now 
 on his way to Santa Fe, where the sovereigns are su 
 perintending the siege of Granada s capital. 
 
 BEEL. So perseverance doth impel him yet 
 Or spirit of celestial temper rather 
 To urge the undertaking of his plan 
 To track the wide and solitary waste. 
 His perseverance shall by perseverance 
 Be met, and obstacles beset him till 
 Successive failures cause abandonment 
 Of his designs to follow out the West. 
 Diabolos, thy course to Santa F6 
 Must traverse speed. Go, thwart the will of Heaven, 
 If such be there to find expedient 
 Against the wiles with which we interrupt 
 Celestial influence : go and inspire 
 Effective doubts, and such misgivings, that 
 The mariner shall dream of storms and wrecks, 
 And agonies of yielding up the ghost 
 In bottom of the sea ; and in such dreams 
 Drown every one of his adventurous thoughts. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 109 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 Ethereal Space. Enter URIEL, ITHURIEL, and other 
 Angels. 
 
 URIEL. The voice of Perez shall, at Santa Fe, 
 Move sovereign audience, nor shall the powers 
 That move in plagues and punishment, again 
 Invade the council there to disapprove, 
 With feigned objection and assumptive fault, 
 The course across the broad sea, which shall reach 
 The other hemisphere. 
 
 ITH. That is our charge, 
 
 Which shall be done ; ay, we will guard the space 
 Of the solicitation in behalf 
 Of him who fain would gather to his aid 
 Sufficiency to course the western way 
 Across the wide, unfathomable wave 
 That marges on the isolated shore, 
 Where yet shall congregate from all the globe 
 People to form a nation powerful 
 To break the manacles of ages dark, 
 
110 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 And send its virtuous influence afar 
 Through every way of earth s inhabitation. 
 
 URIEL. How soon, Ithuriel, may we see this 
 In full accomplishment ? 
 
 ITH. Six centuries 
 
 Shall be the struggle hard gainst wrong and darkness, 
 And gainst the cause of all the evil fruit, 
 Before the nations shall behold in full 
 The power and glory of a nation s virtue ! 
 But let us hasten forth to Santa Fe, 
 Whence, from our presence at the consultation, 
 The powers of hell shall fearful shrink away, 
 Or thence be driven by flaming armaments, 
 Who would not dare again attempt to prove 
 Armipotence celestial ! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 A Forest. Enter BEELZEBUB and DIABOLOS, meeting. 
 
 BEEL. What gratifying news canst thou report 
 From Santa Fe ? again the mariner 
 No doubt has been refused the aid he seeks 
 To undertake the voyage. Tell me what 
 Reply to his solicitation made 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. Ill 
 
 The Queen and sovereigns, that I may prepare 
 For risible expression, as thou dost 
 No doubt expect to move me. 
 
 DIAB. If thou wouldst 
 
 Distend thyself with laughter, it would be well 
 That thou begin at once, that thou dilate 
 With full rejoicing ; for when I shall tell 
 My great mishaps, thou wilt collapse again. 
 
 BEEL. I know thy very meaning : thou hast not 
 Succeeded, then, with what at Salamanca 
 Was well effected ; and I wonder why. 
 
 DIAB. Into the Hispan court at Santa Fe 
 I gained not entrance ; for a vasty force 
 Of thronged celestials armed with flame and light 
 That made my vision shrink, compelled me back : 
 Nor could I put on terrors to disperse 
 Array so formidable, nor affright 
 With noise, though I sent lightnings forth in shapes 
 Of hostile armor from the dreadful deep, 
 And shrieked back on their fast-pursuing course 
 All clamorous uproar ! 
 
 BEEL. This betokens much ; 
 
 And more significant the cause appears 
 That so provokes supernal opposition. 
 
 DIAB. Let us impel them back and gather now 
 Our forces from the world and from the deep, 
 
112 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And fury wage against th empyreal hosts, 
 And turn their course swift upward whence they came: 
 Then will I make, with violent discharge, 
 Vesuvius shoot at heaven, and fiery danger 
 Threaten the sky. 
 
 BEEL. No ; brave Diabolos, 
 
 We have gained naught in battle absolute 
 Against celestial hosts : then let us rather 
 Work on with wiles, wherein is greater strength, 
 Which we have proved by long experiment. 
 Whatever may be done at Santa Fe, 
 No vessel yet is ready for the voyage : 
 And now surveillance we will keep at ports, 
 Awaiting there the opportunity 
 For sudden interruption. 
 
 DIAB. Be it so: 
 
 I shall rend top-sails, and twist to fragments 
 The joined masts, and strangle the vessels all 
 Beneath the mountain-wave ! 
 
 BEEL. That may be done 
 
 If it be well, to know which, wisdom waits 
 Our consultation. Lucifer doth know, 
 And will advise with reaching sapience 
 What is expedient : the way is best 
 Which he proposes ; therefore give all heed 
 When counsel opportune from him I gain. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 118 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 A Country in SPAIN. Enter LUCIFER. 
 
 Luc. How shall my fortunes mount how thrive 
 Upon the drooping world hell s machinations ! 
 My purpose moves upon experiment ; 
 For, from the fruits of th earth is death distilled 12 
 In fiercer and more potent quality, 
 That makes destruction swifter, and its tide 
 Shall bury nations in its deepening woes ; 
 Nor can the currents of Redemption flow 
 Into the depth of hell, though the Messiah 
 Himself did suffer agonies DIED ? 
 What if his incarnation hath availed 
 Naught ? This distilled essence shall enhance 
 All woes ! This is the liquid fire of hell ! 
 And on its swift and burning flood shall move 
 Strife, hate, and death determinate destruction 
 Ay, these shall swifter throng the wide-ope d gates 
 Of th endless and immitigable deep. 
 Of this, as if twere nectar, shall the nations 
 
114 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 Largely imbibe, so sweet the taste of death 
 Shall be to their empiric appetites : 
 Then they shall drink, and loud shall be their shouts : 
 " This is the universal panacea, 
 The emanation of divinity." 18 
 Anon the furious deep shall echo forth 
 Laughter upon the groanings of despair ; 
 And while the earth shall stand, this liquid death 
 Shall make the soul of man all desolate. 
 The intellectual spirit shall be bound ; 
 And Revelry shall laugh at consequence, 
 And hush the very voice that would assail 
 The CAUSE of hell s enlarged prosperity ! 
 Yet sad presentiment abides with me 
 That on the western world will virtue spring 
 To curb and overthrow in Christendom 
 And all the earth, the sway which I shall hold 
 By th spirit of the still ; I must prevent 
 Adventure thither ; for an expedition 
 In meditation is even now conceived, 
 To track the sea, and on its distant bounds 
 Find empire : To prevent this I have given 
 Beelzebub strict charge, nor know I yet 
 What probabilities await his office. 
 Enter BEELZEBUB. 
 BEEL. Hail, Lucifer ! 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 115 
 
 Luc. Beelzebub, all hail ! Is there more cheer I 
 Hast thou with thy so potent influence, 
 Thwarted the voyage that across the tide 
 Was held in contemplation is it yet 
 Abandoned ? 
 
 BEEL. No : three caravels from Palos, 
 
 While now the sun doth his diurnal course 
 Wheel down the Occident, with spreading sails 
 Move thitherward, and must ere long find out 
 The world that lies at west. 
 
 Luc. Thou art prepared 
 
 To thwart their course with interruption dire. 
 
 BEEL. By thy advising m jans : though at thy charge 
 I have in vain used effort to prevent 
 The voyage which is undertaken now 
 In spite of all : Thinkst thou tis possible 
 That we its consummation yet may thwart ? 
 
 Luc. What ! can ye not to their destruction rouse 
 The violence of the vexed elements, 
 And split with wrathful waves the hollow crafts 
 That spurn the lower depth ? Can ye not breathe 
 Into the passions flames of mutiny, 
 Thus causing usurpation of command ; 
 That the employ vex more the troubled sea 
 With the firm admiral s unwilling bulk, 
 Then turn to seek the port of their departure ? 
 
116 THE DRAMA OP EAETH. 
 
 Haste thither with thy forces ; Break the vessels 
 Across the waves with strokes of violent tempests ! 
 Sink them and all into the lower brine, 
 That their adventure perish : or raise mutiny 
 To cast the admiral into the foam : 
 So much he likes adventure, let him there 
 Explore the oozy bottom of the deep ; 
 Nor will he open then across the flood, 
 A way upon the terrene Occident. 
 
 BEEL. It shall be done : I will amaze with danger 
 The caravels at sea. I will inhabit 
 The corposant ; and from the deck and yard-arms, 
 And the mast-heads, I will observe the spirits 
 At my command, what way they shall affect 
 The mariners, to make them do what tempests, 
 By insubordination, may, perchance, 
 Fail to effect. 
 
 Luc. Attend it well ; for on 
 
 Efficient action there depends our state 
 In most important measure. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 117 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 IRELAND. Enter TYPHON, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 BAG. This distilled essence is the much better- 
 viler liquor. 
 
 IMP. What name shall we give it ? It should have 
 exceedingly good name. 
 
 TYPH. Oh, such name as will give the pretension of 
 its opposite qualities such as lengthen the life of 
 the drinker, and make him feel strong when he is 
 weak, and have spirits when he is dispirited for lack 
 of spirits! 
 
 IMP. Then we will call it rope. 
 
 TYPH. Why, rope ? Can a rope give spirit, 
 make a man strong, or extend his life. 
 
 IMP. Yea, it can do all that. 
 
 TYPH. By what strange appliance can it be shown 
 to have such qualities ? 
 
 IMP. No strange appliance : Refractory youth dance 
 spiritedly by the application of rope; therefore it gives 
 spirit. This liquor makes one man cut another to 
 
118 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 pieces, that he be hanged for it : then rope extends 
 his life into the other world so quickly that he has only 
 time to give a few kicks and struggles, and all is over. 
 And when a man s life, by means of a rope, is taken 
 from him, he becomes strong, and stronger, and 
 strongest, like any decaying carcass. 
 
 TYPH. I grant it so ; yet we must not give this 
 liquor such name as will remind one of spirit resolved 
 painfully, or of being suspended till life be suspended, 
 or of the strong odor of his returning clay, for it 
 might cause him to pale and his hand to quiver when he 
 lifts the chalice to his lips. 
 
 IMP. What name then should we give it ? 
 
 TYPH. Why, it should be known to men by such 
 name as will sweeten their bibing propensities ; we 
 will call it usquebaugh, aqua vita3, and other terms 
 that denote good qualities. 
 
 BAG. The water of life, aqua vitse: that bo a 
 very good name ; for it be verily the quintessence of 
 my being : it be the entity of my quiddity. 
 
 IMP. It be a good name for 
 
 While it hurries a man through life 
 He thinks it gives him new life. 
 
 TYPH. Lies are ever most excellent currency. I 
 have told the great doctors that it is the panacea sent 
 from heaven for the physical renovation of mankind. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 119 
 
 Really it shall become so common in future time by 
 Baccho s influence 
 
 BACH. Ay, by my influence. 
 
 TYPH. that every man may prescribe it for him 
 self and friends from palatial instigation, and the in 
 fluence of conventionality. This liquor shall be com 
 mon in Christendom, and the Christians shall carry 
 it among the heathens; so said the great, wise Luci 
 fer, and the great, wise Beelzebub. 14 
 
 BACH. Ay, by my influence. 
 
 IMP. Why then do they make efforts to prevent the 
 
 discovery of the western land across the wide sea? 
 
 for by voyages thither this better-viler liquor may be 
 carried to the wild red man of the wild, so he may 
 have full share of the vital-destroying essence. 
 
 TYPH. I know not why, unless it be from suspicion 
 that on the western world may arise influences more 
 powerful than any yet, to oppose the good-vile liquors 1 . 5 
 Yet, we will know all hereafter. The wisdom of 
 Lucifer directs. 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS. 
 
 DIAB. Why waiting here ? The ships are flying 
 
 west. 
 
 Beelzebub demands your presence quick ; 
 So take your course with me to use vast power 
 To intercept the voyage on its way. [Exeunt. 
 
120 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 On a Ship at Sea. Enter BOATSWAIN and SAILORS. 
 
 IST SAIL. We be very rats to feed the grimalkin, 
 whose use of life is but to eat us ; or what do we here ? 
 The admiral will hazard our lives that he may hope 
 to be a great lord : if we be not rats then we have 
 sailed far enough in this direction. 
 
 SD SAIL. Ay, we have : let us throw him into the 
 sea and satisfy him with wide dominion; he shall 
 have a surfeit on t, then we will turn the course of 
 our vessels landward, and on our return say that our 
 good admiral fell overboard. 
 
 3o SAIL. Ay, let us throw him into the sea and re 
 turn to port again let us throw him into the sea. 
 
 IST SAIL. Return ? Why, we shall never return ; 
 for in these seas we will never have a breeze to carry 
 us back. 
 
 2o SAIL. Here comes the admiral. He shall have 
 drink enough in his last hour. 
 
 Enter COLUMBUS. 
 IST SAIL. Where s the land? Whero s the land ? 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 121 
 
 2o SAIL. The land the land : show us the land : 
 we care not for signs ; let us see the land : we will go 
 no farther. 
 
 COL. Nay, be patient ; remember the rewards. 
 
 IST SAIL. The rewards be only promises, and such 
 can neither be touched nor tasted, nor smelt ; what 
 then be they good for? and our lives be as little 
 worth for the chances of losing : what will we do 
 with promises when we lie drowned ? They will not 
 be in our possession, no ; nor in anticipation either. 
 
 2D SAIL. There is land where we embarked: we 
 will go thither ; and when we become fools again, we 
 will hunt the sea for vagaries. 
 
 COL. Nay; but remember, my brave mariners 
 Ye who have noted all these signs of land 
 What glory shall be yours on your return, 
 If but a few days more we keep our course 
 To disembark upon the fairest clime 
 Beneath revealing day : a few days more 
 Will bring us to the Indies ; and returning, 
 Joy will accompany ; and would ye rather 
 Cut short the full accomplishment of all 
 That hath invited us so far on sea, 
 And risk returning dangers but to hear 
 The hissing scorn of every gondolier ? 
 
 BOAT. T is yet a few days more ; a few days more 
 
122 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 And then land not discovered, shall it be 
 Again, a few days more ? What do we care 
 For crabs, or weeds, or river fowls, or doves ? 
 They are not land ; we can not disembark 
 On such vague signs ; and yet a few days more ! 
 Well, be it so ; what then ? Shall we return ? 
 
 COL. After three days, if then we find not land, 
 We will return. 
 
 BOAT. Cheerily, brave mariners, 
 
 All to your posts ; for only three days more 
 We go in this direction. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 A Forest. Enter LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 Luc. I like it not : I rather would it were 
 That mischief on the main had served our purpose. 
 
 BEEL. Great were my efforts, yet I could not give 
 Direction to the dangers of the sea 
 That they should take possession of the fleet, 
 And with its course deal with such violence 
 As to prevent the far discovery. 
 I went before, and in the air hung terrors 
 That paled the mariners : anon I roared 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 123 
 
 Dismal monotony along the deep ; 
 
 And on their course direct I did resolve 
 
 All into flame, and plunge into the sea, 
 
 That shuddered with alarmed surprise : above, 
 
 In circumambient air, my forces stood, 
 
 And swift at my command wheeled down their flight 
 
 To their appointed stations on the ships, 
 
 Exciting discontent and deep complaints 
 
 Among the mariners, with whom they held 
 
 Invisible their presence. Thence arose 
 
 Murmurs that threatened violence upon 
 
 The admiralship. The sea stood ready 
 
 To gulp the staid commander : following, 
 
 The foam divided where instinctively 
 
 The hungry monsters of the deep pursued. 
 
 In an unconscious night, the admiral s ship 
 
 I guided in the current treacherous, 
 
 That it was cast upon the perilous rocks ; 
 
 Yet all escaped, although the sea did roar 
 
 With violent desire to swallow them. 
 
 By the supernal powers the furious storm 
 
 Was wrested from my grasp, or otherwise 
 
 I would have dashed the caravels abreak 
 
 Upon the hugest wave or rocky beach. 
 
 So on the sea our efforts have been vain : 
 
 I have advised thee. 
 
124 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Luc. The Heavens verily 
 
 Do strive against us, and advance with care 
 Upon the West all hurrying design 
 There to establish, to our much regret, 
 A nation from which hinderance will come 
 To the fulfilling measure of our deeds. 
 
 BEEL. If there a nation shall proceed ere long, 
 Why not to our advantage ? May we not 
 Follow with guile, and swift pursue the course 
 Of influence celestial, and resolve 
 Opposing circumstance into accordance 
 With our advancing power ? Then may we not 
 Encourage emigration to that shore, 
 Rather than hinder it, and there display 
 Afar the ensigns of successful war 
 Among the civil nations, that they bend 
 To our full sway ; and may we not enhance 
 Our power upon the red man of the wild, 
 With good-vile essence ? Yet my confidence 
 Is fully in thy wisdom ; and I seek 
 Not to oppose, but rather know why yet 
 Our rule may not advance across the sea 
 With thither progress of the artful world. 
 
 Luc. Beelzebub, thou knowest the very cause 
 Whereby we rule the earth s inhabitants. 
 
 BEEL. Ay, verily, the entity of ill, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 125 
 
 Opposing God and Nature, from the heart 
 Proceeding, courses in the crimson life, 
 Administering death and fast destruction 
 To Nature s call for life, and fashioning 
 The mind into a rebel instrument 
 Against the Agent of eternal Law ! 
 
 Luc. Well hast thou said! and, Beelzebub, 
 I apprehend, by some presentiment, 
 There are calamities across the sea 
 
 Awaiting us. 
 
 I apprehend that on the Western world 
 
 There will arise a more effectual war 
 
 Against our power than hath assailed us yet, 
 
 And that our rule which we shall much enhance 
 
 By the rebellious spirit of the still, 
 
 Which with its fiery potency shall flame 
 
 Infernal influence in human passions, 
 
 And make the nations subject will be given 
 
 To fearful hazard there : tis therefore best 
 
 To place impediment before adventure 
 
 In every way, and meet with hinderance 
 
 All effort that designs the settlement 
 
 Of that vast wild by these inhabitants. 
 
 BEEL. It shall be done : I will wreck vessels, 
 Or instigate the red man of that wild 
 To murderous ire that shall with violence 
 
126 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Pursue disembarkation on their country, 
 And, by extermination full, discourage 
 Adventure more. 
 
 Luc. Go ; and success await ! 
 
 Celestial power doth follow Heaven s design, 
 To guard attending interest. If thou fail, 
 Then let the warfare come in which will we 
 Bring to full proof the vasty power of wiles ! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 127 
 
 SCENE VIII. 
 
 The Blue Ridge, in AMERICA, A. D. 1620. Enter 
 LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. No doubt tis by Omnipotence designed, 
 For all according semblance of events 
 Approve it thus. 
 
 Luc. From European shores 
 
 They come in flying vessels o er the main, 
 And swell the borders of their settlements. 
 
 BEEL. My efforts to prevent this have been great : 
 I have sent dangers forth upon the sea 
 To cross the way of hither-sailing vessels, 
 And have inspired this savage wild with fury 
 And crimson carnage from distempered passions, 
 That much has hindered the advancement here 
 Of lingering settlement to ope this wild ; 
 Yet from the Orient, to these far shores 
 Come habitants. 
 
 Luc. Ay, even as thou sayst, 
 
 Thy efforts have availed much to retard 
 
128 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 The rising nation here. Continue them, 
 And stay advancement by thy influence 
 Over the ocean-tempests and the passions 
 Of th aboriginal inhabitants. 
 
 BEEL. My power shall there be felt, and fiery liquid 
 Shall flame such spirit in the savage breast, 
 As shall essay upon these colonies, 
 Repelling and exterminating power : 
 And I will send a moiety of force 
 To course upon the sea the wrecking tempests, 
 That dangers multiply upon the way 
 Of hither-sailing vessels. 
 
 Luc. Not of all ; 
 
 For there are some that may advantage us, 
 If, on the vexed sea and this continent, 
 Supernal influence should circumscribe 
 Thy power, that it should want efficiency 
 To fill the measure of extermination 
 Entire to these intruding colonies. 
 
 BEEL. The vessels coming from the ardent clime 
 Of Africa, and bringing Ethiops 
 To serve the Spanish settlements upon 
 The farther South, may be of the advantage 
 That moves thy intimation of regard. 
 
 Luc. Not those alone ; for there is now a vessel 
 That, from the country of the Ethiop, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EAETH. 129 
 
 Tends hither ward, and brings a score of slaves, 
 To disembark upon these latitudes, 
 And serve the habitants abiding here. 
 
 BEEL. Should I allow that vessel to arrive 
 In safety ? 
 
 Luc. Yex the tempests not to wrath, 
 Nor sea to boister anger on the way 
 That craft pursues, nor any such as bears 
 The Ethiops hither ; for they may advantage 
 Our full-determined sway upon the world : 
 For if it shall be that upon this wild 
 A civil nation rise, there shall be here 
 Such systematic Ethiopian bondage, 
 As will, no doubt, subserve our purposes. 
 
 BEEL. And yet I apprehend, Lucifer, 
 That such would work against more than advance 
 Our rule ! 
 
 Luc. What harm dost thou suspect from this ? 
 
 BEEL. If it should be that, in despite my power, 
 A nation shall arise upon this shore, 
 With lumination from the Orient ; 
 The harm that doth resolve, in my suspect, 
 By the permission in these latitudes 
 Of Ethiop slaves, is this : The habitants 
 In these degrees central between the clime 
 That neath the Ursine constellation rolls 
 
130 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Its icy circle, and the equinox 
 That makes beneath the burning Zodiac 
 Perpetual rotation have come hither 
 From Albion mostly ; and less credulous 
 Are they of the proclaimed efficiency 
 Of such indulgences and absolutions 
 As metal from the nether earth may buy. 
 Some have from other countries come, t escape 
 The utmost tortures of the Inquisition, 
 With which from heretics do we extort 
 Confessions, and inspire within their hearts 
 Pale dread. 
 
 Luc. Ay, it appears so, very much, 
 
 In circumstance of these inhabitants. 
 
 BEEL. And if these scarcely find congenial here 
 The torrid season, that they may pursue 
 All needed occupations, they may not 
 Make to the burning south farther advance ; 
 And we may hold those sultry latitudes 
 In papal bondage, and in such convenience 
 Make all avail of opportunity 
 To make aggressions on religious freedom 
 In this contiguous clime ; and tis my thought 
 That if the Ethiops, who with endurance 
 Abide oppression of the sultry day, 
 Serve these inhabitants, they may advance 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 131 
 
 Hard on the burning zone, and there encroach 
 
 With all religious freedom on the shores 
 
 Of the large gulf, and on the florid land 
 
 Of the peninsula, where now from Spain 
 
 There are established votaries of our 
 
 Keligion, which, with torturous racks, and gibbets, 
 
 And fire, and galleys, and dreaded armaments, 
 
 We do defend and urge aggressively 
 
 Against the peace of all the world ! 
 
 Luc. Hast thou no further reason to advance 
 Objectively ? 
 
 BEEL. We have established customs 
 
 In Africa, which, in the language of 
 The Christian tongue, are noted barbarous 
 The burial alive of wives and slaves, 
 When, from the outward of this mundane sphere, 
 The husband s spirit, from its tenement 
 Left moldering, hath found th eternal shades. 
 The human sacrifices, too, to Bossum : 
 Yam customs, where the bloody saturnalia 
 Inspires the adoration of the Fetich 
 And shrouded there humanity with such 
 Consummate darkness that it even grovels 
 On the low earth ! But, from the circumstance 
 Of Ethiop slavery here in Occident, 
 There may proceed an influence from out 
 
132 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 This hemisphere, to end the full dominion 
 Whereby we sway all Ethiopia. 
 The land of Africa, strewed with the skulls 
 Fallen from the hostile front of savage tribes 
 Met in vindictive warfare, then might feel 
 The tread of heavenly peace, and light celestial 
 Dispel the darkness gathered on that clime, 
 And Ethiopia look up to Heaven. 
 
 Luc. Beelzebub, wisdom hath often served 
 Thy utterance, which, with expression true, 
 Hath told the very secret of our rule. 
 
 BEEL. Ay, this is th very secret of our rule : 
 With vile, destructive essences do we 
 Contaminate the very blood of life, 
 And thus develop, in the being man, 
 The most unnatural predominance 
 Of faculties, which, yielding to our sway, 
 Urge the pursuit of evil, and in shade 
 So deep shroud him, that he will not, nor dare, 
 Seek light ! 16 
 
 Luc. With essences of vileness, ay ; 
 And by this very means man may receive 
 Our doctrines : therefore it shall not avail 
 The powers supernal, if the Christian world, 
 By any circumstance, be instrument 
 In the establishment in Africa 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. . 133 
 
 Of such Christianity as doth receive, 
 And cherish in its range, the evil fruit. 17 
 Therefore the essence of contamination, 
 Being instrument of death, we must defend 
 Against all effort that the powers of heaven 
 Shall make to wrest it from infernal use. 
 Erst I acquainted thee of my suspect 
 That on this land, now called America, 
 Would opposition come, and that our sway 
 With draughts of fiery and infernal liquids 
 Would meet with opposition more than wont, 
 For which I shall prepare ; and when the strife 
 Shall come, then will I make of slavery 
 Upon this continent, an instrument 
 With which we may enlarge our endless sway. 
 
 BEEL. Ho, that would change the aspect very much t 
 But in what manner can this best be done ? 
 
 Luc. Through man s depravity in consequence 
 Of disobedience of primal Law, 
 Some shall here use the Ethiops at service, 
 With such severity, and castigate 
 In anger, with such rigid chastisement, 
 That many nations, heeding not the cause, 
 Will raise the voice of arrogant reproach, 
 Forgetting their own vileness ; further, now, 
 I need not intimate : the orient 
 
134 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Is dark with shade depending from the flight 
 Of Typhon hitherward, whom I did send 
 To the subjected clime of Africa, 
 With charge observant. 
 
 Enter TYPHON. 
 
 TYPH. Hail, great Chief! 
 
 And hail, Beelzebub Prince of the powers 
 Of th air ; all hail ! In Ethiop-dom all 
 Is well : deeds are performed to thy full wish,- 
 Strifes, wars, havoc, and the imbibing of 
 Intoxicating mead. 18 
 
 Luc. Thus far, all well. 
 
 Upon thy hither way, didst thou observe 
 A vessel making passage to this shore, 
 With Ethiops aboard ? 
 
 TYPH. Such I observed ; 
 
 And on the giddy top-mast I beheld 
 Mammon astride, with full directed look, 
 And anxious, fixed upon this latitude 
 In th Occident : then gathered I the winds, 
 And with them urged the vessel swifter on 
 Its hither course, and it is now in port 
 At Jamestown. 
 
 Luc. That was well. Thy diligence 
 
 Is thy reward. Course now the ortive way 
 
And on the <;iddy top-mast I beheld 
 Mammon astride. 
 
 P.U.K 134. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 135 
 
 Where thy observance shall respect our acts 
 Of gaining usurpation ; go in haste ; 
 And desolation, linger on thy way 
 Through Albion, and Erin, and the countries 
 Of the adjacent continent beyond. 
 
 TYPH. The work goes well in Erin : thither I 
 Make swift my way upon the orient. [Exit TYPHON. 
 
 Luc. Let opposition come if it may come ; 
 Such preparation shall I make for it 
 That I shall fear it not ; for if success 
 Attend the efforts here for settlement, 
 I will bring hither votaries of Baccho, 19 
 And Mammon in effective complement, 
 And give our wiles full scope to overcome 
 Opposing action. 
 
 BEEL. Hither Mammon comes 
 
 Swift through the darkened east. 
 
 Enter MAMMON. 
 
 MAM. Hail, Lucifer, 
 
 Chief in the dark dominion, hail ! all hail, 
 Beelzebub, prince of the powers o the wind ! 
 It fares quite well with my affairs : a gale 
 Which I controlled not, helped my vessel on 
 Fast into port at Jamestown, and a score 
 Of Africans I there have set on shore 
 
136 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And sold them. 20 To the orient my way 
 Solicits me, where I have left my agents 
 Making good disposition of vile drinks 
 In great adulteration, aqua vitae 
 Beer, ale, wine, juice of barley. 
 
 Luc. Diligence 
 
 Serves all our purposes ; go and perform 
 To satisfaction deeds thy will regards. [Exit MAM. 
 
 Luc. Thrive all infernal schemes : supernal light 
 Be shrouded from the convex of the world, 
 And hell s dark shadow pall this wide domain, 
 That the dismayed celestial shrink away ! 
 
 BEEL. All is at thy direction, which so well 
 Brings earth to our control. Whence comes this 
 
 light 
 
 That suddenly glows on this wilderness 
 Brighter than day ? 
 
 Luc. See : yonder come celestials : 
 
 Let us away in shadows ; for, no doubt, 
 They come to spy all our emprises out. [Exeunt. 
 
 Enter URIEL and ITHURIEL. 
 
 URIEL. Thus quickly they have fled that fain would 
 
 here 
 
 Establish firm the monarchy of hell. 
 They shun our presence save when multitudes, 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 137 
 
 Assembled from the realm of reigning night, 
 Encounter on his solitary way, 
 Some lone celestial. 
 
 In despite the schemes 
 Of all heaven s adversaries, here will rise 
 A nation from which error will be driven 
 By light of all eternal Truth, away, 
 As night is driven by the orb of day. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE IX. 
 
 A country in AMERICA. Enter LUCIFER, BEELZEBUB, 
 and DIABOLOS. 
 
 Luc. In all this region, when the late array 
 Of warring armies, waged hostilities, 
 Peace heavily abides. 
 
 BEEL. I fain would have 
 
 Effected such a strife as would have caused 
 TV annihilation of these colonies. 
 And yet the strife of arms has much enhanced 
 Intoxication with pernicious drinks 
 From the West Indies. 21 
 
 Luc. We must bring again 
 
 A desolating war upon this land. 
 
138 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 BEEL. Whence shall we bring forth armies ? 
 
 Luc. From the isles 
 
 Whence sways the sceptered Saxon. 
 
 BEEL. Albion 
 
 The mother-country ! Well, that may be done 
 By our infernal power. I will attend it 
 Even as thy wisdom shall direct. 
 
 Luc. Bring forth 
 
 An armament to answer an array 
 Against exactions we shall instigate, 
 And devastate this western hemisphere 
 With arms not solely, but with liquid death 
 From stills that shall be soon erected here 
 When such supplies lack from the orient. 
 Here then shall intellectual light grow dim 
 And dark ; and night shall pall these habitants 
 Henceforth, so they shall not be instrument 
 Subservient to the celestial powers, . 
 By influence against the liquors vile 
 Which make the world so subject to our rule. 
 War, havoc, let it be ; and night eternal 
 Shut out the light of heaven ! 
 
 BEEL. It shall be so. 
 
 Diabolos, thou hearest the decree, 
 Which shall be answered by our ministry. 
 
 DIAB. War, havoc, it will be ; and ruin s plagues 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 139 
 
 Ride on the rushing violence of flame 
 By sulphurous discharge from calibres 
 Of massive metals. Forth from Albion 
 Armies shall come, and desolation come. 
 
 Luc. Go, and beware of the celestials, that 
 Their interference may not intercept, 
 And gain advantages from our intents. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE X. 
 IRELAND. Enter IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 BAG. This real whisky this good aqua-vitae, is 
 equal to the West India rum made of the cane juice, 
 which we had in the wars twixt the Anglicans and 
 Franciscans in America, across the waters. 0, the 
 occasion was joyful ; for the liquor caused more de 
 struction than the sulphurous explosions or the pointed 
 metal ! My revelings there have oftentimes been 
 great ; yet, this country bounded by the waters, is the 
 favorite country for me to revel in : I wish it to ex 
 tend over the whole ball ; such addition would in 
 crease my revelry. 
 
 IMP. Once in the deep I heard it said that wishes 
 do no service. 
 
140 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 BAG. I wish them to do service. 
 
 IMP. And wish in vain. Art thou not satisfied with 
 the good liquors and drinking customs of the nations ? 
 
 BAG. Not in toto ; for though the propensities of 
 the nations for the good-vile drink be great, yet if all 
 other nations were to abound in bibing customs 
 equally with this one, upon this big island, it would 
 be satisfaction to me in fuller measure. Imp, see ; 
 see in all directions on this island. Those vapors be 
 not fogs from the marshes nor the wide waters, but 
 they be fumes from the stills that mantle this country 
 with the pall of hell, and make it congenial for us. 
 0, this good aqua-vitae ; the better-viler liquor for 
 maudlin satiety ; how it smells to my nostril ! This 
 is better than the currni or the mil-fion. 22 All Albion 
 now turns up the nose with favor to snuff the good 
 smell of this good aqua-vitae. 
 
 IMP. The people of Albion be also a nation of 
 drunkards i 23 medicated beer, ale, and aqua-vitas, 
 work the perdition of them. 
 
 BAG. Ay, beer, ale, and good aqua-vitae in better 
 
 degree. 
 
 Enter TYPHON. 
 
 TYPH. How, Baccho, with the good, strong liquors 
 does it fare with thee on this bounded island? 
 
 BAG. 0, well, well : my revelries be affected with 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 141 
 
 strong favor. Thy swift way, coursing oft this isl 
 and, and Albion across the channel, and the many 
 countries of the continents, no doubt hath led thee to 
 behold differences. Seest thou not my greater pros 
 perity on this island ? Didst thou not come through 
 vapors contiguous here ? Typhon, look about thee 
 see the smoke of the stills rising toward heaven ! 
 Will it not smoke out all celestial influence on this 
 island ? 
 
 TYPH. It may ; and if it do not hide the sun that 
 continual darkness cover the land, the vile liquors 
 that bubble over the fires will darken the intellect of 
 man and make in his soul a perpetual night ! I have 
 important message ; across the wide waters impor 
 tant measures command attention : War follows 
 again in America. 
 
 BAG. More wars, more wars in America? Ho, 
 that news affects me happily ! The last war Hwixt 
 the Anglicans and Franciscans did enhance my revel 
 ry there. I will be quick among the armies. Whence 
 be the armies ? 
 
 TYPH. From Albion to put down rebellion of the 
 colonies against exactions instigated by the premiers 
 of the infernals, to make havoc there and establish 
 stills over the whole country by cutting off foreign 
 supplies of the burning juices. 
 
142 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 BAC. From Albion ? Ho, the beer-drinkers, the 
 ale-drinkers, and the aqua-vitae drinkers, will get 
 satiety in the wars ! Thither I go. 
 
 IMP. It will please me to see the stills smoke in 
 America. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XL 
 
 ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS in PENNSYLVANIA Distille 
 ries in the distance. Enter LUCIFER. 
 
 Luc. Now prosper the infernals ! Here the sway 
 Of wily influence is supernal dread : 
 War ! havoc ! desolation ! not alone 
 By fierce conflicting arms, but the more fierce, 
 Relentless, fiery, and infernal liquids ! 
 Yet I perceive that yon distilleries 
 Lack now the wonted volumes of their fumes, 
 And what the cause of it I soon shall learn ; 
 For on his airy way, Beelzebub 
 Comes hither darkening the fiery course 
 Of the paled sun that shrinks with wonted fear 
 To look upon his flight. 
 
 Enter BEELZEBUB. 
 What further observation? 
 BEEL. Havoc sways 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 143 
 
 Imperial ; but some celestials here 
 Do work against us. By their influence, 
 The legislative power of Pennsylvania 
 Prohibits further distillation of 
 All grains. 
 
 Luc. And no content in the excise 
 On liquors to raise revenues thereby ? 
 
 BEEL. So little of regard that clamorous 
 The people are, against the distillation 
 Of grains cibarious because, indeed, 
 There are disturbers that alarm themselves 
 Lest that the armies suffer lack of grains ; 
 Who represent still houses as a curse 
 And nurseries of woes and miseries. 
 
 Luc. Such instigation by the powers celestial, 
 Must quick be counteracted or our rule 
 Will here diminish. 
 
 BEEL. I will quickly forth 
 
 With powers at my command, and clamors raise 
 Gainst such oppression and such usurpation 
 Of liberties and rights, that quick repeal 
 Will come to these restrictions : then again 
 Distilleries will smoke, and laughter echo 
 From the infernal deep ! 
 
 Luc. And ever may 
 
 Complete success attend upon thy way. [Exeunt. 
 
144 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XII. 
 
 A country in PENNSYLVANIA. Enter TYPHON, MAM 
 MON, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 MAM. Oh, there be very plagues within me now 
 That need much remedies ! If I could see 
 The smoke ascending from the many stills, 
 All would go well again ; for then would sight 
 Of gold dispel these troubles. 
 
 TYPH. So it is, 
 
 That when we prosper, deeming not that harm 
 May ever come, it comes all suddenly ; 
 And therefore are we startled with surprise. 
 
 IMP. If I had been sent to the legislature to exer 
 cise my power we would not now have cause for these 
 unhappy reflections; for there would have been no 
 action to interfere with the distilleries, and they 
 would smoke stilL 
 
 BAG. If any of you wish to see smoke, look here 
 and see me operate on this meerschaum filled with the 
 dried weed and fire set thereto ; and while I whiff 
 away the fumes, ye should imagine this to be a huge 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 145 
 
 distillery with the smoke ascending to the sky ; this I 
 do ; and here is comfort by which I forget that any 
 distilleries have ceased operation. See now [smokes ] 
 and imagine that ye see men staggering along in 
 whichever devious way their noses, rubicund with 
 alcoholic circulation, lead them ; and women mourn 
 ing for lost husbands, and children piping down the 
 diapason audible for food. 
 
 Enter BEEL. 
 
 BEEL. What do ye here, infernal spirits, what ? 
 Discern ye not the vantage Heaven has gained 
 Through dominating legislation? See 
 The fire is all out! no smoke ascends 
 From these distilleries ! and such aggressions 
 Unchecked, will militate against our rule. 
 Go quickly forth and swell the loud alarm ! 
 Make the inhabitants shriek out with fears 
 Concerning the encroaching agency 
 Against full liberty in their vocations. 
 Then will repeal come quick, and smoke will rise 
 All voluble from all distilleries. 
 
 TYPH. That we will do: men shall go to and fro 
 And tune their voices into rough complaints 
 Till every little hill shall echo back 
 According resonance, and murmurs float 
 Along on the unwilling atmosphere ! [Exeunt. 
 
146 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XHI. 
 
 A country in PENNSYLVANIA. Enter Two CITIZENS. 
 
 IST CIT. What change is in the air ? 
 
 2o CIT. It smells not as was its custom. 
 
 IST CIT. It offends my nostrils, for since the dis 
 tilleries have been stopped there has been no smoke 
 to cleanse it by attracting its vile impurities ; and I 
 know not what diseases will follow, but I think grave- 
 diggers will soon have employment enough. 
 
 2o CIT. I think I smell impurities now that do 
 sicken me : ! 
 
 IST CIT. No doubt of it ; and ere long our noses 
 must turn pale and lose their healthy appearance; 
 for soon there will be no liquors in these parts which 
 we can use to make circulation go to the extremities ; 
 for this war has cut oif foreign supplies of the 
 strengthening liquors, and the prohibition of making 
 them here, will soon work the ruin of us; for we will 
 have to drink the thin water instead of toddies. 
 
 2D CIT. And some say we will have no more Indian 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 147 
 
 summers ; for there will be no smoke for them : really 
 I think calamities be coming to the seasons also. 
 
 IST CIT. I d rather pay large tax. I d rather 
 England would succeed against the revolution than 
 that I be deprived of liquors : If we be rebels, let us be 
 rebels against the legislature which does nothing but 
 acts of tyranny all tyranny ! 
 
 2o CIT. Let us cry for repeal, repeal. 
 Enter another Citizen. 
 
 IST CIT. [to 3d Cit.] Shall we not have repeal 
 of the laws that make us subjects of tyranny. what 
 say you ? 
 
 3o CIT. Repeal of what laws ? 
 
 IST CIT. Why, the laws that make us subjects of 
 tyranny subjects of tyranny ! 
 
 So CIT. I know of no such laws except those which 
 England is trying to enforce by the power of arms. 
 
 IST CIT. Nay : I think not of that, but the acts 
 of the legislature against distilling grain, whence 
 comes the good liquor which is the life of us ; for it 
 makes the blood circulate to the extremities. 
 
 3o CIT. Our armies must be fed or our liberties can 
 not be achieved : Already there is lack of sufficient 
 food because of the distilling of grain ; therefore it 
 is well for the distilleries to have ceased operations, 
 that our armies triumph rather than perish. 
 
148 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 2D CIT. Give me enough of the good drinks that 
 help so much the blood in its course to the extremi 
 ties, and I care not which army triumphs. It is the 
 good liquor that strangles the worms, and cures the 
 colics, and the cramps, and the rheumatisms, and the 
 gouts. In the heat of summer it cools me : in the 
 cold of winter it warms me, and makes the blood 
 flow to the farther end of my exposed nose even in 
 the very coldest weather. 
 
 SD CIT. But, does it not any harm ? does it not 
 cause want and wretchedness in the land ? does it 
 not evil to the immortal part of man ? 
 
 2D CIT. 0, it makes the olfactory powers acute, 
 that I do smell out wrongs ! There be no wrong so 
 great as that which deprives us of drinks such 
 drinks as do make the nose red and full of healthi 
 ness, and fill up the whole body with artificial life 
 when the spirits do begin to droop, and make cares 
 go swift away into forgetfulness so that we know not 
 
 that there be any cares. 
 
 
 
 Enter another Citizen. 
 
 4TH CIT. My property is all destroyed all de 
 stroyed by legislative tyranny ! I know not what the 
 country is coming to. It will soon be ruined ; for 
 the people will want supply of the good liquors. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 149 
 
 SD CIT. The distilleries are plagues, and thereby 
 our armies are brought to starvation, and the country 
 blighted with miseries. 
 
 4TH CIT. Is it so ? ha ! My distillery is my prop 
 erty ; and therefore to make liquors my right ; and I 
 will do it : I must live I must live. 
 
 SD CIT. I see no necessity for that, if thereby 
 misery, disease, and death, must desolate the country. 
 
 4TH CIT. Nonsense. I will have my liberty ! I 
 will have my rights ! 
 
 IST CIT. Hurrah hurrah for liberty ! 
 
 2o CIT. Hurrah hurrah! we will make liquors, 
 and care not for the legislature. 
 
 4TH CIT. Good friends, we will have our rights in 
 spite of everything hurrah! 
 
 [Exeunt all but 3d Citizen. 
 
 3o CIT. So triumphs the vile essence of the still, 
 Which makes the heart of man pursue all ill, 
 And gold become a god to which he makes 
 A sacrifice of his own fellow man. 
 When shall the truth prevail when shall the world 
 Perceive that the beginning of all wrong 
 Lies in the evil fruit which yet on earth 
 Doth tempt mankind with speciousness of good 
 And lead them on to everlasting death ! [Exit. 
 
150 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XV. 
 
 A Country in PENNSYLVANIA. Enter LUCIFER and 
 BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. Fires smoke again beneath the vital stills ; 
 Kestrictions are repealed that choked their freedom, 
 By the so potent influence of hosts 
 At my command, who shrieked along the woods, 
 Mountains, and vales, against the usurpation, 
 Till the infection caught the spirits of men, 
 And that infection grew into a plague 
 That made them clamor loud for distillation, 
 Nor tax the favor of their miseries 
 Sweet in their very thoughts as swayed by us, 
 Yet made all woful in reality. 
 
 Luc. Ay, it is well again in the regard 
 Of these great instruments of desolation, 
 Whence flow the fiery liquid and afflictions ! 
 
 BEEL. But, if this Revolution, that now wields 
 Determined arms gainst oriental rule, 
 Which at our instance grew into oppression, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 151 
 
 Should, by supernal aid, at last succeed 
 In casting off the rule of Albion 
 Is there more probability that harm, 
 By legislative power against vile drinks, 
 Will be attempted on our future sway ? 
 
 Luc. I will affirm tis more than probable : 
 Therefore the issue of this war should leave 
 These colonies in all submissiveness, 
 Lest that our fortunes wane in all the West, 
 Thence over the whole globe : they may, if here 
 We check not in their very embryon 
 Opposing accidents, if such they be 
 That would pursue our fortunes, thus to bring 
 Mischance upon our ventures. It appears 
 That Heaven s design would free these colonies : 
 Therefore Diabolos hath charge to bring 
 Destruction on these armies all impelled 
 With revolution ; therefore we assist 
 The arms of Britain, and we instigate 
 The native tribes in aid of Britain s arms. 
 Behold Diabolos, upon his way 
 Hither, in shade depending with his flight ! 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS. 
 Luc. ) 
 
 } Hail, Diabolos ! 
 BEEL. ) 
 
 DIAB. Hail, Lucifer, great Chief ! 
 
152 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Hail, Prince Beelzebub, all hail ! The battles 
 Are fierce to my desire : the sulphurous flames 
 Shoot swift the metal globes that carry death 
 And pale alarm into the hostile ranks, 
 From which loud groans do penetrate the air, 
 And crack the sky, between which and the earth, 
 The smoke of war hangs palling all the dead ! 
 
 Luc. We must not let this Revolution triumph, 
 Which seems directed by supernal aid, 
 For the design appearing to my prescience : 
 Therefore, with vasty force attend the way 
 Of war, and vanquish all the Occident ! [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 153 
 
 SCENE XVI. 
 
 A Forest in PENNSYLVANIA. Enter LUCIFER, BEEL 
 ZEBUB, and DIABOLOS. 
 
 % 
 
 DIAB. The Revolution was triumphant, ay, 
 Nor yet a fault of mine : we all did see 
 The vapors of the upper air on flame, 
 Bearing celestials, and their course did lead 
 The armies of revolt to victory. 
 
 Luc. Nor that alone : celestial heralds coursed 
 The way of nations and discoursed throughout 
 Adverse opinion, whose omnipotence 
 Held back aggressive arms and left the West 
 Dissevered from authority, save what 
 Infernals exercise ; for, what have here 
 Celestial spirits to do, that we shall not 
 Undo with almost momentary wiles ? 
 
 BEEL. Voices are heard occasional along 
 These settlements, which give expression thus : 
 " Beware the essence that intoxicates !" 
 The tax that has been placed on distillation 
 Is a significant celestial vestige. 
 
 Luc. We must with vigilance beware the ways 
 
 7* 
 
154 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Of opposition : we will overcome 
 
 Excise, lest it should lead to other acts 
 
 Aggressive ; therefore we will bring alarm 
 
 To all its votaries. 
 
 DIAB. I am prepared 
 
 For aught whatever that will aid our cause. 
 BEEL. Awaiting, there are myriads of spirits 
 
 To serve our purpose, and will quick proceed 
 
 Upon that business when it is advised 
 
 How to pursue it best nor fail therein. 
 Luc. Beelzebub, Diabolos, we will 
 
 Determine this in council, though not here ; 
 
 For oft our consultations have been given 
 
 To espionage, whereby some lurking spirit, 
 
 Descended here from the imperial heaven, 
 
 Did early quite discover our intents, 
 
 And swift returned to the supernal Power, 
 
 Thereby become acquainted with them all ; 
 
 And, in obedience to his command, 
 
 As quick again come hither with a host 
 
 To interrupt us. Farther in the way 
 
 Where day proceeds, yet bearing to the south, 
 
 There is a cave, and near its opening 24 
 
 A narrow entrance to the thickest darkness. 
 
 Thither let us repair, and there consult 
 
 How the excise we best shall overcome. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 155 
 
 SCENE XVII. 
 
 A Forest in AMERICA. Enter TYPHON, IMP, and 
 BACCHO. 
 
 TYPE. How fares it with thee, Baccho ? 
 
 BAG. Well, with the many juices to suit the many 
 tastes which I confer on the people. 
 
 TYPH. Ay, really the liquors be very many, and 
 many be their qualities. 
 
 BAG. Yea, brandies of many kinds, and gins ; West 
 India rum ; whisky, with which I have so much affect 
 ed the Celts ; and many other liquids, of different de 
 grees of good-evil qualities. I have great influence 
 with these and the many mixtures. I have given out 
 customs of times for regular partaking, besides con 
 ventionalities which may bring the liquid of bottles to 
 mouths at any accident of time : also, on all occasions, 
 flips, toddies, srmgs, and the et cetera which includes 
 drams of fairly ludicrous names, summon appetites to 
 the guzzling-shops of Mammon and me, established all 
 over the land ; and there, on specific times also, the 
 professions and clerkships dissolve a half-hour in po- 
 
156 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 table punches. I am also in partnership with Mam 
 mon as a physician : we cure all, in pretension, with 
 medicated rum, under various names, such as Tinc 
 tures, Elixirs, <fcc. ; and, by the dispensation of cred 
 ibly salutary customs, rum and cherries protects from 
 cold ; rum and peach-nuts concludes repasts to aid di 
 gestion ; rum and milk of kine is the good nutriment 
 for the matron, and rum and opium makes the infant 
 sleep ! 
 
 TYPH. Ay, and qualifies his taste so that, in matu 
 rity, rum and rum makes him sleep in the miry ditch. 
 
 BAG. Ay, and soon after, in the ground ! 
 
 TYPH. I have observed these workings to our fa 
 vor ; but across the wide waters,have thy late visitings 
 been effectual to the full bibulous measure of com 
 mandment ? 
 
 BAG. Yea, yea; across the big waters my oft way, 
 like tempests, makes vessels beware impetuosity, while 
 their top-masts, to and fro inquiet, bend down and 
 touch the vexed brine ; and on the Emerald island and 
 the many other countries whence comes the day, great 
 has become my power over the erect species there in 
 habiting. 
 
 IMP. Not always erect ! 
 
 BAG. No ; for I make them abject, and lie in mire 
 like swine. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 157 
 
 IMP. Except the grunting 
 
 BAG. Instead of which, I bring forth vomiting. 
 
 IMP. 0, ay yes ! 
 
 BAG. Think of it, and consider how much I inspire 
 the sons and daughters of men, that praise be ren- 
 - dered to me, though not solely formal to ancient cus 
 tom of festivities where liquors be drank in honor of 
 the gods. 
 
 IMP. What gods ? None, I think, but the infernals, 
 ruling the world. 
 
 BAG. Why, I I: those gods all be I, so honored 
 in various representation. All Athens was oft drunk 
 in honor of me : then lewdness did triumph over the 
 sublime spiritual of the images which were not then 
 more the images of God. At the Anthesteria, rewards 
 incited to emulation in drunkenness, all in honor of 
 me ; and Rome, that big city, did me honor with fes 
 tivities which marked the progress of our kingdom : 
 so said great Lucifer and great Beelzebub. I have 
 been honored in the name of Bacchus, and Cotyro, 
 and Comus, et cetera; and all festivities in honor of 
 me, were celebrated, as ever they must be, with maud 
 lin debauchery. 
 
 IMP. Great Baccho, this big world doth nod to 
 thee, and do thee much homage. I have oft seen 
 mankind, with affection, prone in the mire in venera- 
 
158 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 tion to thee which seeing, as often hath affected me 
 with mirth because of it. I was lately in the land 
 of Erin and other countries of the East, and I did smile 
 audibly when I beheld the great miracles performed 
 there by the juices ; and those smiles mingling with 
 the snoring of noses which protruded red from the 
 faces of drunkards lying in ditches, and the reso 
 nance according with children s cries for food was 
 the terrestrial music which moved me to tempestuous 
 laughter. 
 
 TYPH. These things be well, Baccho. No doubt 
 thou wilt ere long establish here the habits of the 
 times when, across the waters, the dignitaries and 
 church officers got drunk in honor of Messiah, and the 
 Virgin, and the apostles, and the saints whence fol 
 lowed riots, and broils, and conflicts, and debauche 
 riesall which be pleasing to us, very. 
 
 BAG. Ha ! the parson had the strongest juices then. 
 I called it Theologicum, and the laymen did send for 
 it, upon special occasions, for jubilees : almost such 
 things even now be here : but on the Emerald island 
 I am the essential god for there, there be more ad 
 oration of me than of any other god. 
 
 TYPH. Verily, and the people there have become 
 subjects of the Saxons, according to our ordination. 
 BAG. They be subjects of me ! 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 159 
 
 TYPH. Yea, and because of which, they are subject 
 to the Saxons, whose rule from Albion has been re 
 jected here in America by power of arms ; yet if we 
 shall completely substitute our rule here in better de 
 gree, all will be well : but there are hinderances, such 
 as the excise on distillation, which may grow into ul 
 timate prohibition. This is to be overcome as soon 
 as the infernal premiers, now in council, have deter 
 mined upon the method. 
 
 IMP. Quickly now it is growing dark. 
 
 TYPH. Ay, the orb of the day, declining down the 
 west, is hid behind the way of Mammon, who is now 
 coming hither. He is oft vexed because of legislative 
 authority in the excise, which lessens the profits of 
 the distillation of grains to the auxiliar juices. 
 
 Enter MAMMON. 
 
 MAM. I come again ; and ever on my way 
 I am inspired for gain to vex the world. 
 
 TYPH. Does all meet thy desire, while to and fro, 
 And up and down advantage moveth thee ? 
 
 MAM. The works which I regard in principal, 
 The making marketable essences 
 For the desire of vitiated taste, 
 That bring much profits from distilleries, 
 Encounters hinderance in the excise 
 
160 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 On distillation which to overcome, 
 I quick would make all means subservient, 
 Tis so obnoxious ; and why may we not 
 Oppose it now with seasonable act ? 
 
 TYPH. We may not know how to oppose it best, 
 Until the council, which deliberates 
 In caverned darkness, have determined it. 
 
 MAM. I would the council were at end ! Oft I 
 Have hied me to the entrance of the cave 
 Where they are now assembled, hoping that 
 The subject which they were considering 
 Be quick disposed, which greatly is my care ; 
 And thus have I, that I might early know 
 What course of action swift we should pursue 
 Gainst the excise : and yet my management, 
 By craft and by conspirant combinations, 
 Hath sometimes made it little of effect. 
 
 BAG. Ay, so ; mine too. Excises and prohibitions, 
 by my power, have greatly given way or become inef 
 fectual in past times, while I have aided thee in thy 
 crafts, and thy combinations, and thy smugglings, and 
 thy bribes, and thy many other demeanors. 
 
 TYPH. For which thou hast had honors. Look 
 
 ye all 
 
 In the direction of the council-cave : 
 Diabolos makes hither rapid way ! 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 161 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS. 
 BIAS. Hail, devils, hail ! 
 
 TYPH. 
 
 MAM. 
 
 , > All hail, Diabolos ! 
 
 BAG. 
 
 MAM. Have the considerate, in caverned night, 
 Eesolved how we shall banish the excise ? 
 DIAB. It is determined that the officers 
 Of the excise, encounter insurrection, 
 
 Which shall be quick inspired. Forth let us go 
 
 Mammon, to thy regarded interest, 
 
 And Baccho, thine, whereon is founded mine 
 
 And great infernal power. 
 
 MAM. I will inspire 
 
 Anxiety for gold, so the excise 
 Shall fail to be enforced because of it. 
 
 TYPH. I will inspire hate to this government, 
 And opposition to its constitution, 
 And make the law-excise an instrument 
 Increasing disaffection : thence shall come 
 The contemplated insurrection quick. 
 
 BAC. I will inspire the people with brandy-smashes, 
 and gin cock-tails, and whisky-punches, till their ru 
 bicund noses smell encroachments on their liberties 
 when they go about to collect the excise. 
 
162 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 IMP. Ay, and resistance to the officers will bring 
 bludgeons into service, and tar and feathers also ; for 
 I will inspire the people with such like chivalry. 
 
 DIAB. Ay, and such weapons as are used in wars 
 The bristling bayonets and shooting-arms ; 
 The massive cylinders that pour forth flame 
 With detonating, danger-flying death, 
 If any exigency should bring such 
 In requisition : I will act my part ! 
 Now let us go upon this business quick. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XVIII. 
 
 By a Distillery in PENNSYLVANIA. Enter a Distiller, 
 and a Farmer with a load of grain. 
 
 FAR. What s the price of corn ? 
 
 Dis. The same that I paid you for the last load 
 you brought me. 
 
 FAR. That is too little : I could have Sold this 
 load for more, near at home. 
 
 Dis. That market is still open for you. 
 
 FAR. But it was a woman who wished to buy : she 
 has no money, but proposed to pawn me her bedding, 
 which is all rags. Her husband is now indebted to me 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 163 
 
 for grain. He works for me, but does little ; for he 
 is drunk most of the time. I sell for money not 
 for promises which are of doubtful value. Money 
 brings interest : promises tax with trouble. 
 
 Dis. I pay money, not promises ; yet if you prefer, 
 I will pay you in whisky. 
 
 FAR. Whisky is a good thing. 
 
 Dis. And therefore should command a good price. 
 
 FAR. And therefore should grain which it is made 
 of. 
 
 Dis. No; for the tax on distillation lessens the 
 profits. 
 
 FAR. Curse the tax ! I am down on the tax. 
 Why should there be tax on liquors ? they are not 
 so plentiful as water, and there is no tax on water. 
 
 Dis. None ; but it is a tax on the gullet to drink 
 the water instead of the smooth, oily liquors which 
 slide down into the stomach of their own accord. 
 
 FAR. I know it is a tax it is a tax on the gullet 
 to drink water ; and this knowledge I have bought, 
 too, with dear experience ; for I remember once to 
 have drank some water, and my throat became so sore 
 that I applied to a physician, who pronounced my 
 disease an inflammation of the esophagus ; and his 
 prescription was whisky with roots in it. He under 
 stood my case exactly ; for he knew what I dared 
 
164 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 not tell him that my malady was caused by the 
 friction of water! There is hope that we will be 
 relieved of tax on the good liquors. 
 
 Dis. Yes, the people in convention at Pittsburgh 
 have determined to resist the excise at all hazards ; 
 were you there ? 
 
 FAR. No ; I was sick internally with colics and 
 gripings. 
 
 Dis. You ought to partake more freely of the 
 healthy liquors. 
 
 FAR. I think I ought ; for my appetite tells me so. 
 
 Dis. Well, I will take your grain at an advance of 
 ten per cent and pay you in whisky ; for I know you 
 will do all in your power to resist the excise. 
 
 FAR. Certainly I will ; for the excise makes the 
 price of grain low and that of whisky high ; there 
 fore the farmers have to defray the expenses of the 
 war ; and wherefore should they bear all this burden ? 
 
 Dis. And the next thing, if we resist not the ex 
 cise, it will be increased to defray the increasing 
 expenses of the government in consequence of the 
 increase of crimes and pauperism. Such expenses 
 should rest on the whole people, and not merely on 
 those who are interested in making whisky and other 
 good drinks for the good of all the people. Really, if 
 such expenses be allowed to rest on the good liquor- 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 165 
 
 business, it would be a false intimation that this 
 honorable business is responsible for the stealings, 
 and the bruising of noses, and the gouging of eyes, 
 and the cutting off of weasands. I say, let us down 
 with the excise. 
 
 FAR. We will do that : we will tar and feather the 
 officers when they go about to collect it. 
 
 Bis. Ay, I have prepared for that : I have a quan 
 tity of tar and feathers ready in the distillery; and by 
 arrangement, citizens near by are ready to assist me 
 at a moment s notice. Yonder comes an excise officer 
 now, and if he should say a word about tax we will 
 have sport. 
 
 FAR. We will, most assuredly ; and we will see 
 such a metamorphosis of an officer into one of a 
 singular species of the feathered race, that he will 
 not know his own identity till he try his appetite and 
 find that he still loves whisky. 
 
 Enter an Officer. 
 OFF. Good morning, gentlemen. 
 FAR.) 
 Bis \ morning, sir. 
 
 OFF. Mr. B. I have come to collect the excise : 
 you own this distillery, I believe. 
 
 Bis. Then you are a believer, and will therefore be 
 saved. 
 
166 THE DRAMA OF E2\JITH. 
 
 OFF. Of course I am to understand that you intend 
 to save me the trouble of proceeding to extreme 
 measures to collect the excise, which method of be 
 ing saved, I am sorry to say, I am not favored with on 
 all occasions of this kind. 
 
 Dis. Of course I intend to save you that trouble. 
 OFF. Will you acquaint me, if you please, with the 
 amount of the proceeds of your distillery for the year 
 ending in the month of 
 
 Dis. No ; I will see you damned in h 1 first. 
 OFF. No ; not if I am to be saved, which will be 
 in a place so far removed from the place you speak 
 of, that you could not see me at all. 
 
 Dis. Ho, citizens ! ho ! come and assist in waiting 
 on this officer. 
 
 Enter several Citizens. 
 
 This man wants tax for making whisky. Let us de 
 monstrate our wrongs. 
 
 IST CIT. Tar and feather him ! 
 2o CIT. Tar and feather him ! 
 FAR. Hang him ! 
 
 Dis. Tar and feather him! Make a goose of the 
 goose ! Let him appear in proper habit ! Ho, boy, 
 bring that pot of tar and that bag of feathers. 
 
 OFF. Nay, I beseech you, consider what you intend 
 doing. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 167 
 
 Pis. That we have, and made ample preparations 
 for it. 
 
 Enter a Servant from the distillery, bringing a pot of 
 tar and a bag of feathers. Citizens let go the 
 Officer, and surround him. 
 
 OFF. Hear me while I explain my position. 
 
 Dis. It needs no explanation, we know your po 
 sition. We will change it for you : be quiet and sub 
 mit, and be thankful that by so doing you may save 
 your neck. 
 
 [They partly divest him,and smear him with tar. 
 
 IST CIT. That s the way to serve the excise offi 
 cers. 
 
 2o CIT. Thou shouldst have been wary of these 
 times that so soil thy office. 
 
 FAR. Man, what a friend thou hast in tar ; for it 
 sticketh to thee closer than a brother in time of 
 difficulty. 
 
 Dis. While he has a friend in tar, we have an 
 enemy in tar ; for the excise officer is our enemy, and 
 here is one in tar ! ha, ha ! put on the feathers, boy. 
 [Tlie Servant feathers the Officer. 
 Now thy habit becomes thee, for it is the habit of a 
 goose. Will a goose collect tax ? No, not of me. 
 Or if thou thinkst thyself not a goose, try the liquor 
 
168 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 in this flask that thou mayst know surely thou art not, 
 by thy appetite : Nay, do not refuse a good gift ; it 
 is good liquor, and there be no devils in it ; for the 
 excise was paid on it long ago. 
 
 FAR. Nay, be not dispirited when there is no lack 
 of spirits : drink the liquor on which the excise has 
 been paid, then you shall be high in feather. 
 
 Dis. See, he refuses like a goose, which he really 
 is ; for his appetite is not that of a man. Take him 
 to the pond ! Take him to the pond ! That is the 
 place for geese. 
 
 IST GIT. To the pond to the pond! Take him 
 to the pond ! 
 
 FAR. Away with him ! [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 169 
 
 SCENE XIX. 
 
 A road in PENNSYLVANIA.^^ a body of armed 
 Citizens, with a Leader. 
 
 LEAD. We have in time assembled to beset 
 The marshal and his office, which we hate 
 While he doth use it gainst the insurrection. 
 This way he is to come : tis almost time 
 He is to pass : Look yonder now, he comes ! 
 And if we do not make the sunshine through him, 
 We will so frighten him that he shall think 
 His days are fully numbered. Ha ! my men, 
 Now keep your mouths wet and your powder dry, 
 Yet careful of your lurking. 
 
 IST CIT. So we will, 
 
 When we have drawn the corks out of our flasks, 
 And drank another turn of goodest spirit. 
 
 2o CIT. there is life in liquor ; nothing else. 
 Now I could shoot and hit the orbed moon 
 If it were night. 
 
 3D CIT. The marshal is most here ; 
 
 And I shall make a bullet graze his ear. 
 
 8 
 
170 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 4TH CIT. And I will make one graze his nose, and 
 
 so, 
 
 When he hears danger he will smell it too. 
 STH CIT. My mouth is wet, besides, my powder s 
 
 dry; 
 
 And I will make a bullet graze his eye, 
 And danger he will know is very nigh 
 When heard, and smelt, and seen ; so he will fly. 
 Careful, he comes 
 
 Enter the Marshal on horseback. 
 
 LEAD. Now blaze away my men, 
 
 \_TJie Men^re, and the Marshal, urging his horse 
 
 to speedy makes flight crying murder. 
 His office now I think he will forget. 
 He surely will, if in him there remains 
 Enough of wit to save him from a rope, 
 By leaving the affairs of government, 
 In hands of those who best will manage them. 
 
 IST CIT. And furthermore, if there is any wit 
 Which has not yet been frightened out of him, 
 That wit will teach him to remain at home, 
 And spend his days in drink and quietude. 
 
 LEAD. We will go home in comfortable mind ; 
 For we to-day have served our country much. 
 To-morrow we will serve our country more 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 171 
 
 By taking the inspector prisoner. 
 Tis said a force is ready to protect 
 His most opprobrious person should he need 
 At any time assistance. Let us see 
 How much they will protect him when they find 
 That they themselves will need protection too. 
 For this we must increase our number much, 
 And also be well armed with blunderbusses. 
 At nine o clock, Ante Meridian, 
 Let all our forces be assembled at 
 The Highway Tavern, there to wet our mouths, 
 And be prepared to show our chivalry. 
 IST CIT. Three cheers, good men. 
 
 Hurrah hurrah hurrah ! 
 [Exewt. 
 
172 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XX. 
 
 Residence of the Whisky Inspector surrounded by a 
 body of Citizens on guard. 
 
 IST CIT. Dost thou think surely an attack to day 
 Will be attempted ? 
 
 2o CIT. If my ears erred not, 
 
 And an attempt be made to execute 
 That which I overheard, be sure it will, 
 And by a force superior to ours 
 No doubt, if all the disaffected round 
 In these parts, join the insurrectionists, 
 Who fain would trample the supremacy 
 Of law beneath their rash and wayward tread. 
 
 IST CIT. Yonder they come all armed: Be all 
 
 prepared 
 To give them warm reception. 
 
 2D CIT. So we will ; 
 
 But see how greatly they outnumber us : 
 Can we hold out against them ? 
 
 IST CIT. We will try : 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 178 
 
 What if we yield our lives to serve the cause 
 Of law and government ? The sacrifice 
 Will not be vain : To die is glorious 
 When life is given to subserve the right ; 
 And such is true ambition, and it is 
 ^ As well in single combat to defend, 
 In justice, the true sovereignty of law, 
 As tis, in war, to fight with multitudes 
 In the defence of a besieged city. 
 
 2D GIT. Yet when defenders of the right, in vain, 
 For lack of numbers, strive against the wrong, 
 There s nothing gained in favor of the right, 
 By any sacrifice of its defenders. 
 In war, it is impolitic to lose 
 An army all in conflict, rather than 
 Surrender to the foe : To die in arms, 
 Boots not, unless some favor to the cause 
 That urges to the warfare, be accomplished. 
 It would be rash here to expose our lives, 
 Against the multitude, without a hope 
 That we would be successful in defense 
 Of the inspector s residence and person. 
 
 IST CIT. They come ; and what is best, that we 
 
 will do. 
 
 .Enter a large body of Insurgents,^ surround the 
 Guard. 
 
174 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 LEAD. I. Ho, men, what are you doing here ? 
 
 LEAD. G. Nothing 
 
 As yet, although we may do something if 
 Occasion should require. 
 
 LEAD. I. yes, you may 
 
 If such occasion should determine it 
 
 
 
 As gives to acts the name of accidents. 
 Under such circumstances I have known 
 Of persons letting windy passion glide 
 From an occasion into accident. 
 And will you here do such offensive acts ? 
 
 LEAD. G. We may do acts that will offend you 
 more. 
 
 LEAD. I. Ha, may you so ? Where now is the 
 
 inspector ? 
 
 Bring him forth quickly or else we will send 
 You all where daylight will not find you more. 
 
 LEAD. G. He is within and I will speak to him, 
 That he appear and answer you himself. 
 Inspector, ho I speak to this army here, 
 That they beware of doing violence. 
 
 Inspector appears at a window. 
 INSP. What would you have ? 
 LEAD. G. Speak to this army here 
 
 So they shall not do any violence. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 176 
 
 LEAD. I. Surrender all, or else the consequence 
 Will be the death of every one of you. 
 
 LEAD. G. We will defend you though it cost our 
 lives. 
 
 INSP. No ; we can not successfully oppose 
 These numbers that are here arrayed against us, 
 Therefore twill profit not that any one 
 Should lose his life when there is not a hope 
 That th object of resistance can be gained. 
 
 LEAD. I. Surrender, all of ye. 
 
 LEAD. G. Here are our arms, 
 
 And we surrender. 
 
 LEAD. I. You are wise to do so ; 
 
 Nor would I have demanded it of you, 
 If I had thought you had not any wit. 
 Come forth thou bottled-nosed inspector quick 
 Thou judge-of-liquor, thou, whose office is 
 Unpleasant to thy cultivated taste 
 Alone when thou dost taste of watered liquors ; 
 Come forth, I say, thou smeller-out-of-wrongs. 
 
 [ The Inspector surrenders with his Guard. 
 Now march with us which way we shall direct, 
 Because the public weal will not allow 
 Such men as you to be at liberty. [Exeunt. 
 
176 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XXI. 
 
 EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. Enter URIEL and ITHURIEL 
 meeting. 
 
 URIEL. Upon this wide extent, Ithuriel, 
 What warfare doth ensue, for, from the deep 
 Hell s wily legions come, and here they wage 
 Strife to the utmost for supremacy. 
 And to subserve their purposes of ill, 
 They have excited the inhabitants 
 Beyond the mountains to an insurrection 
 Against the government, and thus would fain 
 Affect the favor of the evil fruit 
 In greater measure. Ithuriel ! 
 "Will our hopes fail ? See the extended flood 
 Of error that doth overwhelm the world ! 
 The fiery essences excite to evil ; 
 Thence follow wants, woes, miseries, and death, 
 That cast a dismal umbrage far and deep 
 Where we had hoped eternal truth would flame 
 In purity and light, and radiate 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 177 
 
 Afar, in lumination of the world. 
 
 Is this th avail for which we coursed the ways 
 
 Along the waters, aiding hitherward 
 
 Inhabitants to form a nation which 
 
 We hoped would yield acknowledgment of truth 
 
 And, in such office, oft encountering 
 
 Upon our course the powers that come from hell, 
 
 Who, interposing with tempestuous winds, 
 
 And adverse, and with mutinies, have oft 
 
 Debarred our efforts from effectiveness ? 
 
 Is this th avail to find constituent here, 
 
 Of sociate man, the essence from which springs 
 
 Such evils ? 
 
 ITH. Verily, the Enemy 
 
 Of Heaven, and friend of universal ill 
 Strives here all zealous with infernal might ; 
 And his emboldened efforts will not cease 
 Upon the earth until they shall be changed 
 To struggles gainst the adamantine chains 
 Which shall be heaped upon him manifold, 
 And bind him and his power, which ere long 
 Must wane as Heaven pursues against him war ! 
 Nor are our efforts vain, although at times 
 We fail in partial from our full intents, 
 Because the wiles of Hell vast as the night 
 In the infernal, miserable deep 
 
 8* 
 
178 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Oppose us : and although the insurrection 
 
 Strides bold at west the mountains to cast off 
 
 Restrictions on the evil essences, 
 
 Imposed beneath the governmental charge, 
 
 It shall not overcome authority 
 
 Here instituted temporal for man, 
 
 In government which Providence approves, 
 
 As far as may its power direct for good ; 
 
 For what is good in the authority 
 
 Of temporal laws, down from its source in heaven 
 
 Comes hither by celestial embassy ; 
 
 And Heaven, by many missions here, intends 
 
 The execution of those laws infringed ; 
 
 And that I have in charge, and by what aid 
 
 I may solicit to accompany, 
 
 Now to pursue against insurgent arms 
 
 A warfare west the mountains that divide 
 
 Affected faith in sovereignty of law, 
 
 From insurrection ; therefore I desire 
 
 Thy way to turn with mine this to effect. 
 
 URIEL. To do whatever best may serve the weal 
 Of earth s inhabitants, is the delight 
 Of the celestial servitors. 
 I go with thee upon these offices, 
 And in all duties yield to thy dispose. 
 
 ITH. The chief officials of the government 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 179 
 
 Shall follow our intents, and by our aid 
 
 They shall convoke to arms a numerous host. 
 
 That shall assert the law s supremacy, 
 
 And strike dispersion through the factious ranks. 
 
 Let us go forth and soon we shall report 
 
 Advancing legions, and the heavens shall flame 
 
 With the celestial vanguard, such as oft 
 
 Led forth the armies of the late revolt 
 
 Against the usurpation of the East. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XXII. 
 
 A Country in PENNSYLVANIA. Enter a body of In 
 surgents, with their Leader, and RuMBLOSSOM. 26 
 
 LEAD. Fellow-citizens soldiers! By a long and 
 bloody war, this country has become free from the 
 tyranny of England, which was exercised by taxing 
 tea. But we have now assembled with arms, to freo 
 ourselves from the greater tyranny of our own gov 
 ernment, which is even now sending an army to en 
 force a tax even on our liquors ! We must resist that 
 army at all hazards and free the liquors from tax ; 
 for if the liquors be not free, we be not free ourselves ; 
 for the liquors become a part of our bodies, and our 
 
180 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 spirits be made up of the spirits that be in the liquors : 
 therefore, if the liquors be taxed, the tax be on our 
 very bodies and on our spirits ; and the people who 
 drink the good liquors ought not to be taxed for being 
 better compounded than the rest of mankind, but they 
 ought rather to receive a premium. 
 
 RUMB. We shall not be taxed for being so well 
 compounded. Hurrah for the insurrection! success 
 to the insurrection ! 
 
 LEAD. Mr. Rumblossom, I appoint you sergeant. It 
 will be necessary to drill these men. 
 
 RUMB. Get in file, men ; get one behind another, 
 and form lines that s file. All about face! you 
 are now in rank. [ To Leader.] See ! yonder como 
 men in trappings. I think they be officers of the gov 
 ernment. Shall we fire on them ? 
 
 LEAD. No : there be but few, and they can not 
 harm us ; and if they be officers of the government 
 forces, we will take them prisoners and learn the 
 condition of the army, if there be really an army, as 
 has been noised about, perhaps to frighten us from 
 our purpose. But bugbears do not frighten the val 
 iant those that be valiant from imbibing spirits ! 
 
 Enter Officers. 
 
 Ho, men ! where are you from, and what is your busi 
 ness here, with epaulettes on ? 
 
Look yonder, then ; observe, it tliou hast not, 
 The sunlight shot askance from baronets. 
 
 PAGE 181, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 181 
 
 OFF. Doth come this question from authority 
 That leads against the government the arms 
 Of insurrection ? First I would know this, 
 Ere I give answer. 
 
 LEAD. I answer, then, it does : 
 
 And by th authority we have assumed 
 Against the tyranny of government 
 In taxing distillation, I would know 
 Why you are here with regimentals on ? 
 
 OFF. Look yonder, then ; observe, if thou hast not, 
 The sunlight shot askance from bayonets 
 And burnished firearms ported in array 
 Thickly and hitherward : thence we have come, 
 And on no mission false nor vain, I think, 
 Thus seconded by numbers powerful 
 And vast ; and thou mayst learn it truly thus 
 That thou surrender to th authorities 
 Of proper government, and that these men, 
 Misled to insurrection, quick disperse 
 In quietude, ere visitation come 
 Of punishment severe for following 
 Thy treasonable counsels. 
 
 LEAD. INS. So thou seem st 
 
 To know not what is proper government, 
 Or thou wouldst not improperly have thought 
 Our proper action for our liberty 
 
182 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 To be improper. See : the government 
 
 Doth tax our drinks, and therefore they are dear ; 
 
 And makes th grain sell cheap which drinks afe 
 
 made of: 
 
 Therefore the government would make us poor, 
 And therefore tis that we are here with arms. 
 
 OFF. My words shall then be few tis best; for 
 
 where 
 
 There is no understanding to perceive 
 That tis not best that most the world be poor 
 From influence of the destroying liquors, 
 And all the poor should starve for want of bread, 
 The law alone will serve as argument, 
 And it will be enforced by power of arms. 
 
 [Fife and drums heard. 
 
 LEAD. I now would shoot you down, if 
 
 OFF. There s an if: 
 
 I know thou wouldst if thou shouldst dare do it 
 Before the dread array which hither turns 
 Embattled movement and doth set the pale 
 To quivering. Deliver up thy sword 
 Thou art my prisoner ! 
 
 LEAD. Well, here it is : 
 
 It hath been of some service to direct 
 Maneuvers in our sportive discipline, 
 Which we sometimes indulge in to remember 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 183 
 
 The battles we have fought for liberty ; 
 It never has been wielded clumsily, 
 In real nor affected use ; but now 
 It is an instrument I do not need, 
 And therefore I deliver it to you. 
 
 OFF. I am assured thou hast no need of it : 
 But of the manner thou shalt answer for 
 This thy pretended sportive discipline, 
 I am not quite so well assured, but think 
 That it will be suspension on a rope 
 Betwixt the very heavens and the earth. 
 Why dost thou tremble at the thought of it, 
 And still turn paler and yet paler still ? 
 Such is the height to which thou hast aspired. 
 Disperse you, men ! go quiet to your homes, 
 And thank the government for lenity, 
 That such permission now is given you ; 
 And never more pursue the erring way 
 Of insurrection never more, I say ! [Exeunt. 
 
 END OF PAET II. 
 
PART THIRD. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 
 A Country in MASSACHUSETTS, A. D. 1845. Enter 
 LUCIFER and BEELZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. Behold, Lucifer ! the opposition 
 We now encounter, which accumulates 
 Against us, since the while ago a gleam 
 Of light shot out of heaven athwart the ways 
 Of our dominion. 26 Here celestials come 
 With armor lifted high to cleave, with strokes 
 Severe, our palpable ascendency. 
 
 Luc. Yet if the consequence, and not the cause, 
 Receive the strokes, for ever they may fall, 
 And yet accomplish nothing gainst our rule : 
 And this by plot I purpose to effect. 
 
 BEEL. I know great power lies in the depth of wiles, 
 Which should ere long be made effectual 
 Against the sociated means now here 
 
186 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Established by the embassy of light 
 To interrupt us. 
 
 Luc. Behold what night now gathers on the day, 
 Even while my thoughts concentrate on resolve! 
 Although day s orb is in meridian, 
 Yet, notwithstanding, real darkness spreads 
 Apace, which to infernal vision shows 
 More clearly all the things we do on earth ! 
 
 BEEL. Lucifer, the much that we have done 
 To alienate the brotherhood of men, 
 Through northern and through southern latitudes, 
 Delights tne revolution of my gaze ! 
 Along the populous North hath want, and strife, 
 And murder, followed ministrations of 
 Destroying essence ; and the very same 
 Hath followed in more southern latitudes : 
 Yet twixt those countries slavery divides 
 Opinions, each in strife against the other. 
 
 Luc. Tis there my plot concentrates. This the 
 
 means 
 
 I shall attempt : Such clamors I will raise 
 Against that institution, that the voice 
 Against the cause of all its ill shall be 
 Inaudible ; and crystalline arcades, 
 That cross our way, shall all be crumbled down 
 To solid pavements for the cloven feet 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 187 
 
 Of all our vast authority to tread, 
 
 While going to and fro, and up and down ! 
 
 Beelzebub, 
 
 BEEL. Ay, Lucifer, I know 
 
 There are particulars that give thee pause 
 Ere thou think st proper to disclose in full 
 The burthen of thy meaning. 
 
 Luc. Turn thy gaze 
 
 Above in the circumference of air, 
 And all among these crags where there may lurk 
 Spies from the empyrean, lest the deeds 
 That I intend, be early known in heaven, 
 From my directions being overheard 
 By spies celestial, which have oftentimes 
 Discovered to the heavenly powers our schemes, 
 And therefore brought upon them hinderance. 
 
 BEEL. Oh, I see nothing in the air above, 
 Nor mong these crags, that leads me to suspect 
 That any espionage can now be here ; 
 For, to my view through this contiguous shade, 
 No halo is discerned which doth surround 
 Spirits of light ; and hereabout the air 
 Has all a sultry savor. 
 
 Luc. Nor to me 
 
 Appears sign of supernal messenger 
 Among this contiguity of crags ; 
 
188 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Nor vestige in the air nor on the earth, 
 That shows late way of heavenly embassy ; 
 Therefore I will deliver here my charge : 
 There is a youth reared in this granite space, 
 With reason sealed hereditary on 
 His brow, in high degree, whose destiny 
 May be if we allow it such a course, 
 Under the guidance of the powers of light 
 To lead this government so that its bonds 
 Grow firmer gainst our greater opposition. 
 Thou knowest such one ? 
 
 BEEL. Ay, I know such one ; 
 
 And many such there may be, but he whom 
 I mean particularly, is Legree, 
 Who is the subject of thy reference, 
 No doubt. 
 
 Luc. He is the subject of design, 
 And he shall be our instrument awhile : 
 He shall be plied with vilest essences 27 
 Until his spirit sink into such change, 
 That he shall do the acts that we appoint ; 
 And his determined way shall find the space 
 Of Ethiop service, and appointed means 
 Shall give into his charge the toil of slaves ; 
 And, by the influence of maddening draughts 
 Of liquors sent down thither from the North, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 189 
 
 He shall subject them to such tortures that 
 
 The spirit shall go from its tenement 
 
 Of suffering clay. Such things, accounted gross, 
 
 Will of necessity be known abroad ; 
 
 Though, while some means show evils to the world, 
 
 And teach the world to hate, and fear to do them, 
 
 Yet spirits of darkness make the world so blind, 
 
 It ever fears to trace effect to cause : 
 
 So, when the actions which Legree shall do, 
 
 Be known through civil channels of the earth, 
 
 The ministers of darkness shall, with wiles, 
 
 Divert the world s attention from the cause, 
 
 And let it only dwell upon effects ; 
 
 Therefore the North shall shrug, and fond amaze 
 
 Shall seize the nations, which shall hardly think 
 
 There can be other slaves than Ethiop slaves ! 
 
 Nor shall the South then see what harm is done them 
 
 By vilest essence, while they cherish still 
 
 Their enemy in draughts of burning death ! 
 
 They have their institution to defend ! 
 
 Beelzebub, to thee I give in charge 
 
 The management of this effective scheme : 
 
 Pursue it with thy service at control. 
 
 BEEL. It shall be done : the spirits at my command 
 Shall quick attend to its accomplishment, 
 Soon as their offices can serve th issue. 
 
190 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 Luc. My course now turns across the Orient 
 To traverse our ascendency, which way 
 Lies in enlargement over the wide earth ! 
 
 [Exit LUCIFER. 
 
 BEEL. I to my charge will call immediately 
 Attendance. Ho! Diabolos, come forth, 
 Where er thou art in circumambient air, 
 And be here momentary ! 
 
 Enter DIABOLOS. 
 
 DIAB. Here I am : 
 
 For, at thy bidding, through the atmosphere 
 My course has brought me whence my deeds have been 
 Stabbing men, strangling babes, slandering, 
 Violating virtue, torturing heretics, 
 And other things in lateral occurrence ; 
 But hither I have come swift as the light 
 Shot from the sun, or the electric flame 
 Riving the air ; and my obedience waits 
 Thy will, whatever it be. 
 
 BEEL. Soon thou shalt know 
 
 What I require. Ho ! Typhon, from the vast 
 Of air, come hither ! 
 
 Enter TYPHON. 
 
 TYPH. I am here at onco : 
 
 I left the pirate-ship which, with my breath 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 191 
 
 Like to a tempest, I did urge beyond 
 Pursuit, and it is safe upon the wave ; 
 And I am at thy service. 
 
 BEEL - Thou shalt soon 
 
 Know what is my requirement. Mammon, ho ! 
 My summons bids thee come here quickliest ! 
 
 Enter MAMMON. 
 
 MAM. Well, I am here, and quicklier than light, 
 Or lightning traversing the storm ! What, pray ? 
 My doings have been all of great account 
 Cheating, thieving, selling indulgences, 
 And the intoxicating juices also 
 Pirating on the wet and vasty sea : 
 Whatever thou wouldst have me further do, 
 I will perform in full capacity 
 Of my essential office. 
 
 BEEL - Yet awhile, 
 
 And thou shalt know. Here Baccho shall attend : 
 His office is great service : Baccho, ho ! 
 Como hither, Baccho, ho ! come hither quick ! 
 
 Enter BACCHO. 
 BAC. Bi, bo, bibulo, 
 
 This is the world for me ; 
 This is the world for all of us, 
 Because it is the world for me ! 
 
192 THE DRAMA OF EARTH, 
 
 Here I ;I T U, you see, cou;o from reveling where li 
 quors be imbibed ; and I am ready to do all that per 
 tains to drunkenness. Were it not for drinking, this 
 world would not be the world for my association. 
 
 BEEL. Baccho, prepare to work temptations great. 
 Come hither, Imp, where er thou art : let now 
 Thy way through the conducting atmosphere, 
 Turn hitherward upon this summons quick ! 
 Enter IMP. 
 
 IMP. What, Master ? I have come from superin 
 tending the drawing of corks, the broaching of bar 
 rels, and the bottling of cure-alls ; and I am ready to 
 do all special duty. 
 
 BEEL. Ye spirits in attendance, that await 
 Direction, know ye one Legree, whose life 
 Flows vigorous in abstinence, and draws 
 But little of its true inheritance 
 From drunken ancestry, nor easily 
 Yields to assaults of wily influence 
 Know ye such one ? 
 
 DIAB. Ay ! 
 
 TYPH. Ay ! 
 
 MAM. Ay! 
 
 BAG. Ay! 
 
 IMP. Ay ! ho inhabits among the granites, and his 
 spirit affects the celestial more than the terrestrial. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 193 
 
 BAG. He eschews the good-vile drinks brandy, 
 gin, whisky, rum, toddies, slings, smashes, cock-tails, 
 and the weed : therefore, there is to me no comfort in 
 his companionship. 
 
 MAM. Although he likes the comforts of possessions, 
 He will not dream of gold continually, 
 Nor coin it from advantage over hirelings. 
 
 TYPH. Nor will he utter lies nor words malign, 
 Even though his occupation aid such temptings. 
 DIAB. Nor wield the weapons of revenge or death. 
 BEEL. He shall be tampered with the essences ; 
 Then will he do at least a part of these : 
 See ye to it, ye spirits at my command 
 Legree shall be a victim of our wiles ! 
 Make him so low and vile, and, by the means 
 So free at your control, cause him to turn 
 His travel southward to the land of slaves : 
 There set him in authority, although 
 Himself shall be more abject than the toil 
 Beneath his care. Ay, this is not beyond 
 The province of your power: and more make him 
 Inflict upon his service tortures that 
 Shall free the spirit from authority 
 Of such subjected mastery. This is 
 The charge attend it well : I will regard 
 Its consummation. Then Columbia, 
 
 9 
 
194 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And Albion, and many of the nations, 
 
 Shall drink down death, and weep compassion on 
 
 The victims of this victim ; but no tear 
 
 Shall fall for the misfortunes of Legree ! 
 
 Ha ! then will Albion, especially, 
 
 Thunder anathemas against the power 
 
 That holds the Ethiop in servitude, 
 
 Nor scarcely deem her drunken citizens 
 
 More abject than the Ethiopian slave 
 
 And yet this Union shall be all convulsed 
 
 Diverse through latitude ! Go forth : pursue 
 
 All this, and great advantage will accrue ! 
 
 \The devils raise a great shout, and exeunt 
 
 SCENE n. 
 
 LEGREE S House. LEGREE and CELESTRA, seated 
 together. 
 
 LEG. Celestra, my Celestra, gentle lady, 
 Thy presence is my life, and by thy presence, 
 This earth to me is all a paradise 
 All seasons, summer, and perpetual joy 
 Reigns in this bosom which were desert else. 
 What if all crowns and jewelled diadems, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 195 
 
 And all the empires, kingdoms, and dominions 
 Of all the earth, could be in my possession 
 By loss of thee ? the purchase would be dear: 
 I could not thus resign all happiness 
 And let my soul become a vasty desert, 
 In which itself, for ever and for ever, 
 Might roam to find it all a cheerless waste, 
 Where all the crowns and jeweled diadems, 
 And all the empires, kingdoms, and dominions, 
 Could not dispel the gloom of desolation ! 
 
 CEL. My husband, I thank you : I am greatly bound 
 In duty to you for your kind regard. 
 I thank the Giver of all goodly gifts 
 That th world to me is such a happy world. 
 
 LEG. Celestra, I regret, while business calls 
 Me to the city, that affairs compel 
 Such haste and weary course by day and night, 
 That the fatiguing way may not allow 
 Thy happy presence to accompany. 
 
 CEL. Thou wilt not long be absent ? 
 
 LEG - No, my dear ; 
 
 A few days only and I will return. 
 Meanwhile the hope of meeting thee ere long, 
 Will cast a cheer upon my distant way : 
 Without which hope, my absence, dear, from thee, 
 Would be a real absence from myself; 
 
196 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 For, without thee, my days would all be nights 
 Closing upon departed happiness ; 
 And life be but a breathing, not a living ; 
 And joys be sorrows, and all pleasures, pains 
 Riving my heart asunder ! Fare thee well 
 Thus, with a kiss, we part to meet again 
 Ere Phaeton hath four times driven round 
 The coasted sky with his swift chariot 
 Laded with day. 
 
 CEL. Farewell while you are absent. 
 
 {Exit LEGREE, 
 
 Yet, is my fear t it will fare ill with him ; 
 For oft conventionalities contemn 
 Man s high exalted nature and conspire 
 Against his reason and his appetite 
 Through mediate potic -s of destroying essence, 
 Which all abase all his sublimity, 
 And lay both what is mortal and immortal 
 In ruins ! From temptation, none are free, 
 And dangers oft beset the wariest. 
 My husband has a cousin in the city, 
 One Malverton, who had been temperate 
 Through all his youth ; and he was prosperous ; 
 But I have learned that since reverse of fortune 
 Hath followed his successes he has sought 
 Such consolation as the glass affords 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 197 
 
 In its death-mingled, mad exhilaration ! 
 
 Him, will my husband visit; and what then ? 
 
 Why is it that my anxious spirit says : 
 
 " What then" ? So heavy is the very thought, 
 
 It is a burthen to my soul to think 
 
 What then may follow that will make thick night, 
 
 Hang dark and heavily upon the future. 
 
 When Malverton, with bland persuasiveness, 
 
 Says, " Simon, come, let s have a social glass 
 
 And then recite the happy incidents 
 
 That gathered thickly on our youthful days," 
 
 Or else, by the presumed consent of custom, 
 
 And smiles unconsciously insidious, 
 
 He says, " Let s make the glad hours of our meeting 
 
 More glad with merry potions ; come, Legree, 
 
 Health and prosperity be in the future, 
 
 And let the cheer expression pass with wine ;" 
 
 Will then my husband yield to such request ? 
 
 Be silent, all my fears : say not that he 
 
 Will take the first step down that awful steep 
 
 Which leads accelerating to the gulf 
 
 Of everlasting ruin ! no ; no ; no ; 
 
 Be silent, fears, I say, that thus unsought 
 
 Intrude against all probabilities, 
 
 Because he is not made of such frail earth 
 
 As yield to errors gross and palpable, 
 
198 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Else why do I esteem him most of all. 
 Celestra, let thy fears no more close close 
 The opened door of thy adoring heart 
 And thus shut out the light of happiness. 
 Simon will soon return, and naught the bliss 
 Shall mar that will live in his greeting kiss. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 A room in MALVERTON S House. MALVERTON and 
 LEGREE seated at table. 
 
 MAL. Those were the days of our youthful enjoy 
 ments, and it is pleasant to live them again in reminis 
 cence : Take some wine, Mr. Legree. 
 
 LEG. Excuse me this time ; it affects me unfavor 
 ably to drink wine after repast. What may be good 
 for some persons at such time, is not for me. 
 
 MAL. I am sorry it affects you so ; wine is now the 
 conclusion of my repast : Some other time will doubt 
 less be favorable for us to pledge our mutual friend 
 ship. We have seen much to-day : shall we not at 
 tend the theatre to-night ? 
 
 LEG. They have good plays, no doubt, from which 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 199 
 
 one may be taught impressive lessons by the repre 
 sentation of virtuous and vicious examples in contrast? 
 
 MAL. Yes ; to-night, at the Notional, will transpire 
 the play of " Othello, the Moor of Venice," which 
 represents the unhappy result of ill-founded jealousy. 
 
 LEG. It will please me. I intend to depart for 
 home to-morrow, and the conclusion of my business 
 affairs here, is but an answer. I will return in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 MAL. I await your return. [Exit LEGREE.] His 
 pale face ought to be colored a little. I suppose he 
 drinks only the excuse for drink the insipid water, 
 else, I know not how he is supplied with so many in 
 sipid excuses. I have solicited him to drink at mid- 
 time between meals, and his exception to this time he 
 gave thus : " I beg you to excuse me ; I can not drink 
 at this hour with safety" as if fatalities were the 
 accidents of certain times ! I have solicited him to 
 drink with me before meals, and by incidental favor 
 or perfection of practice, his excuse became only this 
 manner: " It seems that persons have such consti 
 tutional differences, that many may take a dram before 
 eating, while I can not without unfavorable affec 
 tion ; therefore I beg you will excuse me." Excuse 
 him ! ha ! And now it is not good for him to take 
 wine after repast ! What ! Is he not my friend ? 
 
200 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 "Was he not the most intimate associate of my youth, 
 and is he now not enough a man to endure the cheer 
 ing liquors long enough to pass a jovial hour with a 
 friend ? And, by refusal of compliance, will he thus 
 slight me on all occasions ? Ha ! I 11 see ! There 
 is a bar in the Notional Theatre, where we go to 
 night. There I took my first dram, and many others, 
 doubtless, have done the same, and afterward, like 
 myself, found it easy to partake at any and almost all 
 times. There I will try him : there I will assail the 
 fortress of his excuses, and I will prevail on him to 
 drink with me, and afterward, he will find that liquors 
 are good without any exception regarding particular 
 times. 
 
 Enter LEGREE. 
 
 LEG. "Well, my friend, I am now ready to take the 
 pleasurable walk. 
 
 MAL. The evening being agreeable, as well as your 
 companionship, we will have a pleasant time. 
 
 LEG. I thank you. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 01 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Bar-room in the Notional Theatre. Men drinking 
 at the bar. Enter MALVERTON and LEGREE. 
 
 MAL. How do you like the play thus far ? 
 
 LEG. Well. 
 
 MAL. Desdemona is a lovely creature, 
 
 As she has been personified to-night : 
 I know of no one lovelier. 
 
 LEG. I know 
 
 One lovelier beyond comparison. 
 
 MAL. You mean your wife ? 
 
 kEG- She is the paragon 
 
 Of women, in my estimation. 
 
 MAL. You may not always think so. 
 
 LEG - Should I see 
 
 A being seeming lovelier, I would think 
 That being not belonging to this earth, 
 But had come hither from the realms above, 
 So nearly my Celestra seems to be 
 An angel sent to make my life most happy. 
 9* 
 
202 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 MAL. I have not had the pleasure of seeing her, 
 But I observe you are not what you were ; 
 For in your features there is that portrayed 
 That doth proclaim a happiness beyond 
 All that which gathered on your youthful days, 
 When all your dullest mood was gayety. 
 I beg your pardon that I have not yet 
 Congratulated you upon your marriage, 
 Whereby such happiness befalls your lot ; 
 But I am ready to make all amends 
 That lie within my power, and will express, 
 By th inspiration which this bar affords, 
 My gratulations. Now, what will you have ? 
 Here is a good variety of liquors. 
 
 LEG. I thank you, and I beg you will excuse me : 
 However much it may be my desire, 
 I must not now partake it is my weakness : 
 I wonder I am not as other men, 
 That I may bear, at such an hour as this, 
 The draught that seems the cheer of many men, 
 Which would disturb my drooping thoughts with pain ; 
 And I would treasure the succeeding acts 
 Which will be soon afforded. Tell me, pray, 
 This way we did not enter doth it lead 
 Where we may breathe the purer atmosphere 
 Beyond these walls ? 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 203 
 
 MAL. If not, it is the way 
 
 Where we may find the spirit sociable 
 In excellent liquors. Are you not my friend ? 
 And will you slight me thus on all occasions 
 On which I seek to pledge our mutual friendship ? 
 Can it be possible you are not made 
 Of the material I think you are, 
 That hath the virtue, relishing the good, 
 Which, from the heart, inspires the gayety 
 Thus made a happy attribute of manhood ? 
 No ; no, my friend, if you be yet my friend, 
 The harm is in your fears, not in the draught 
 Which has the power to banish every fear ! 
 I have no fear, save that experience 
 Has never taught you how much pleasure lies 
 In the innocuous and cheering draught. 
 
 LEG. Experience has never taught me that 
 There s pleasure in th inebriating cup. 
 I am your friend, and that I will attest 
 In manner as determined by your pleasure, 
 Even though in that I should forget myself, 
 And minister to my own harm. Indeed, 
 This little difference, that would divide 
 Our early friendship, shall be set aside. 
 
 MAL. Tis well concluded, and you need not fear ; 
 For, for the world I would not do you harm 
 
204 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 By importunity against your good ! 
 What will you have ? 
 
 ^ EG - Whatever may please you : 
 
 I will not use the liberty of choice. 
 
 MAL. Good cogniac, then, at this time of the night, 
 Will favor my imbibing appetite. 
 
 LEG. Good cogniac, then, at this time of the night, 
 Will make our further friendships move aright. 
 
 MAL. Here is a compound, and invisible 
 Is each of its component parts : one third 
 Is cogniac brandy ; and another third 
 Is my congratulations on your marriage 
 To her who is the idol of your love ; 
 The other third, invisible, is health 
 And great prosperity through all your life (?) 
 And this is real nectar, mingled thus ! 
 
 LEG. I thank you for the audible expression 
 Of these which are invisible, yes 
 Although not tasteless, being ingredients 
 Of nectar! Here is health and happiness (?) 
 May you enjoy them ever, though the Fates 
 Essay their opposition ! 
 
 MAL. It is well 
 
 To drink our early sports again to quaff 
 The gayety of youth, if that be past : 
 More pleasures now for manhood ! Drink again ; 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 205 
 
 For our remembrances are in the draught ! 
 
 LEG. Nay, Malverton, are not our friendships pledged, 
 And our remembrances enlivened too ? 
 Will we forget our early pleasantries 
 Around the social board, which had not then 
 The chalice of this inspiration on it ? 
 
 MAL. Legree, you are not made of such frail stuif 
 As can not bear a wholesome quantity 
 Of the soul-cheering, soul-inspiring drink ; 
 For, had you been, you could not have obtained 
 The blessing of connubial happiness 
 In such a wife as I have learned you have : 
 The power by which you won her would, no doubt, 
 Directed to imbibing, find you able 
 To bear the joys of a perpetual drinking. 
 Will you not drink again ? 
 
 <EG. It will please you. 
 
 MAL. This time my appetite solicits wine ; 
 And here are my congratulations now, 
 On your release from chaining habitude, 
 Which nothing knows of the inspiring joy 
 That with this spirit flows into the spirit ! 
 
 LEG. I thank you. Here is health, and wealth, and 
 
 wine, 
 For your continual blessings ! 
 
 MAL. Ay, truly said, for when I have wine I have 
 
206 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 health, when I have wine I have wealth, and when I 
 have wine I have wine, all which are comforts that 
 come by wine. 
 
 [Bell rings, and applause within. 
 
 LEG. Does not the play begin ? 
 
 MAL. Yes, the curtain rises now. 
 
 LEG. Let us go and see the rest of the play. What 
 was the play, was it Hamlet, Prince of Tyre, which 
 I have read of in Sophocles, or was it Macbeth, the 
 usurious Jew ? 
 
 MAL. It was Macbeth, the usurious Jew. 
 
 LEG. Well, we will give em plause ! [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 In the Notional Theatre. 
 
 Among the Audience On the Stage IAGO and 
 MALVERTON and LEGREE. CASSIO. 
 
 " IAGO. What was he 
 that you followed with 
 your sword ? What had he 
 done to you? 
 
 CAS. I know not. 
 IAGO. Is it possible ? 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 207 
 
 MAL. Exactly so ; d ye 
 hear that ? 
 
 LEG. Not all. What 
 said he ? 
 
 MAL. He said:" 
 that men should be an 
 enemy to themselves and 
 not put any drink in their 
 mouths, and thus impover 
 ish their brains, that they 
 have no joy, revel, pleas 
 ure, nor applause ; but be 
 transformed into beasts !" 
 Encore! encore! 
 
 CAS. I remember a 
 mass of things, but no 
 thing distinctly ; a quar 
 rel, but nothing where 
 fore. that men should 
 put an enemy in their 
 mouths to steal away 
 their brains ! that we 
 should, with joy, revel, 
 pleasure, and applause, 
 transform ourselves into 
 beasts ! 
 
 I AGO. Why, but you 
 are now well enough ! 
 How came you thus recov 
 ered? 
 
 CAS. It hath pleased 
 the devil, drunkenness, to 
 give place to the devil, 
 wrath ; one unperfect- 
 ness shows me another, to 
 make me frankly despise 
 myself. 
 
 IAGO. Come, you are too 
 severe a moraler : As the 
 time, the place and the 
 
208 
 
 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 LEG. Encore ! encore ! 
 
 MAL. Really, man be all 
 spirit when his body be 
 made up of spirits. 
 
 For our own 
 
 good: There be many 
 things for our own good : 
 Such be cogniac ; such be 
 champaign ; such be mar- 
 achino ; such be juleps ; 
 such be toddies ; such be 
 flips; such be punches 
 and while they glow in 
 the nose they make the 
 spirits glow also. 
 
 LEG. Ha ! my spirits 
 now glow. 
 
 MAL. Yes, wine is a 
 good familiar creature, if it 
 be well used ; and to use it 
 well is to drink it ; wine is 
 made to be drunk. 
 
 condition of this country 
 stands, I could heartily 
 wish this had not befallen ; 
 but since it is as it is, 
 mend it for your own good. 
 CAS. I will ask him for 
 my place again ; he shall 
 tell me, I am a drunk 
 ard! Had I as many 
 mouths as Hydra, such an 
 answer would stop them 
 all. To be now a sen 
 sible man, by and by 
 a fool, and presently a 
 beast ! strange ! Every 
 inordinate cup is unbless 
 ed and the ingredient is a 
 devil. 
 
 I AGO. Come, come, good 
 wine is a good familiar 
 creature if it be well 
 used;" etc. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 209 
 
 LEG. I am not drunk; 
 Do you call me drunk? 
 Insolence, away ! 
 
 MAL. I, Insolence ? 
 [Strikes him, whereupon 
 
 they engage in fight, 
 
 and are taken away by 
 
 Officers. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 A Room in LEGREE S House. Enter CELESTRA. 
 
 GEL. Six times the coursing visitant of day 
 Hath driven night beyond the Occident, 
 Since my dear husband left, nor yet returns, 
 Though confident assurance set that time 
 Of happy expectation, to arrive 
 Before the last two days, that, heavily, 
 Have moved o er my lone spirit sadly drooped. 
 Why comes he not ah, why ? There is a why ! 
 let my tongue not utter what I think, 
 Lest that same utterance should sound like truth 
 Spoke from afar, to murmur in my soul 
 Bad tidings ! What art thou, capricious time, 
 That mock st me and dost make thy moments long, 
 
210 . THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 But to prolong the misery of suspense. 
 Thy fleeter hours brought me all happiness 
 A few days since, but that has all retired 
 Behind his unavailing promises, 
 Which now come up before me dark all dark 
 As night ! and gloomy as the shades of death ! 
 May joys not come again ? 0, if they come, 
 The idol of my heart will come and bring them! 
 Simon ! why delay ? why dost thou stay 
 From thy adorer ? Dost thou doubt my love ? 
 Or has thy love grown cold so soon ? No ; no ; 
 Fortuities have interfered ; but what 
 To my dear husband has befallen thence? 
 let my soul he silent of its fears ! 
 
 Enter BRIDGET. 
 
 BRID. He s coming, he s coming. 
 GEL. Who ? Simon Legree, my husband ? 
 BRID. Yes, he is at the door ; I saw him from the 
 
 window. 
 CEL. I thank you for that word. 
 
 Enter LEGREE. 
 LEG. Good morning, dear. 
 CEL. 0, good morning ! 
 
 [She hastens to him and he kisses her, then 
 she turns away pale and silent. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 211 
 
 LEG. Why, what s the matter, dear ? I ve come 
 
 again. 
 
 I promised you I would in a few days, 
 And yet the time I have been gone, seems long 
 Because thy presence is so dear to me. 
 
 GEL. I do not now regard the little time 
 That intervened between my expectation 
 And your return, for time is nothing when 
 Tis past. 
 
 LEG. Have I not come before the time 
 That I appointed, have I not, Celestra ? 
 
 GEL. Time past is nothing ; you have now returned. 
 
 LEG. Yet why are you so pale, are you not well ? 
 
 GEL. If I am pale, and if I am not well, 
 I would that I were not pale and were well, 
 If my being pale and sick, makes you unhappy. 
 
 LEG. What is the matter, dear, tell me, Celestra ; 
 Ho, Bridget, bring some water ; she is fainting ! 
 Quick, Bridget ! 
 
 BRID. Missis! Celestra! boo hoo 
 
 CEL. No ; leave me by myself awhile, I pray, 
 I shall recover from this indispose 
 That causes me to droop. 
 
 LEG - Well, be it so. 
 
 Perhaps tis best, I leave at her request: 
 Perhaps too sudden joy upon our meeting 
 
212 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 After suspense, has caused all this ; for now, 
 
 I do remember, I have some delayed 
 
 Returning at the time I did appoint. [Exit LEGREE, 
 
 CEL. I see it all, plain as the very day 
 There is a woful future on my way ; 
 "When sets the sun before the gazing eye, 
 There is no question that the night is by. 
 So when I breathe my husband s tainted breath, 
 
 And see the feature of his shadowed spirit, 
 I know my joys are lingering in death 
 I know my future, sorrows will inherit. 
 And that it is that makes me sick at heart, 
 And turns me sudden pale, no other art. 
 Ah me ! To be a drunkard s wife ! I see 
 
 The durance of endurance in reserve 
 For one Celestra, married to Legree, 
 
 Yet from all duties she will never swerve. 
 I know her love will make her cling to him, 
 Aye, cling to him and cling to suffering, 
 For such is woman s frailty ; frailty? No: 
 Tis frailty that through appetite invites 
 The demon drunkenness. Oft have I seen 
 Outside my path, the dread insidious monster 
 Luring its victims into misery. 
 That monster now begins insidious 
 To prey across my pilgrimage. Is there 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 213 
 
 No hope that I shall find it otherwise ? 
 The power of habit over appetite 
 I know full well, and therefore ends my hope. 
 No ; no : Why do I magnify the cause 
 Of this revulsion that doth make me pale ? 
 Look at life s better side: Good cheer, Celestra. 
 Re-enter LEGREE. 
 
 LEG. How is it with you now, Celestra, dear ? 
 
 CEL. 0, I am better and I thank you for 
 Your kind regard. 
 
 LEG. I thought you would be better, 
 
 And think you soon will be entirely well. 
 
 CEL. I hope so : did you meet your city friends, 
 And find them well ? 
 
 LEG. 0, yes, they are all well. 
 
 CEL. Did you see Malverton ? 
 
 LEG. Him ? yes: he was 
 
 My chum, you know, in my collegiate course. 
 
 CEL. He is the same, perhaps, he used to be. 
 
 LEG. Perhaps, or no ; not quite : there is some 
 
 change 
 
 In his appearance since five years ago. 
 Time makes such changes. 
 
 CEL. Time and circumstance 
 
 Do much in fellowship, yet circumstance 
 Doth oft pursue alone vast enterprise : 
 
214 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Ay, time and circumstance build and lay waste, 
 Yet circumstance does oftentimes destroy 
 When time with deference would rather spare. 
 Your absence has been safe from casualty, 
 I hope, in all your journey ? 
 
 LEG. Yes, entirely ; 
 
 For I need not except such incidents 
 As are not worthy incidental mention. 
 Bridget, attend Celestra s wants with care ; 
 She will recover from indisposition 
 In but a little time a little while. 
 Some business with my neighbor down the way 
 I must attend to now without delay. [Exit LEGREE. 
 
 GEL. I rather that business had been so urgent that 
 it sooner would hare brought him home to its atten 
 dance. I fear the reason of its urgency now, may be his 
 anticipation of further question, the true answering 
 of which, might sadly reveal much that I suspect, 
 something in his regard, not worthy incidental men 
 tion, which probably would prove to be the cause 
 of an apparently bruised eye, and swelled cheek, and 
 offensive breath ! Celestra, wife of Legree, prepare 
 for events in the future that shall rack thy soul ! that 
 shall that shall Bridget, come, assist me to retire. 
 [She faints as BRIDGET comes to her assistance. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 215 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 Bar-room in the Notional Hotel. LEGREE, with other 
 Citizens, drinking- and quarreling-. DIABOLOS and 
 BACCHO, invisible, waving- their ivands over them. 
 Landlord behind the bar. 
 
 LEG. Who is he that braves me ? It was not as 
 you said. I defy you ! 
 IST CIT. Defy me ? Take that, and that ! 
 
 [Strikes him. 
 LEG. Then take that, and that ! 
 
 [ Gives him several blows. 
 
 2o CIT. If there s going to be a fight, I ll have a 
 fist in it too. 
 
 3D CIT. So will I. 
 
 [ Whereupon all engage in the fight. LEGREE 
 
 stabs his first antagonist, ivho falls. 
 IST Crr. Ho ! help ! murder ! [Dies. 
 
 [The other parties escape at one door, 
 
 and Officers enter at another. 
 OFF. What is the matter ? Who did this ? 
 
216 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 LAND. No one here. I know not who. They have 
 gone that way. 
 
 OFF. That way, then, we go to arrest them. 
 
 [Exeunt Officers. 
 
 SCENE VIII. 
 
 A Street before the Notional Theatre. Enter ST. 
 CLARE, and a Friend of ST. CLARE and LEGREE. 
 
 ST. CLARE. I knew his nature *oble, generous, 
 And yet I think that there is that in him 
 Which, fiery, must render terrible ! 
 Legree a drunkard ! Ay, dost thou know more ? 
 I pray you, tell me : doth his family 
 Suffer because of it ? Why do I ask, 
 For doth not drunkard comprehend all that ? 
 And yet I rather that you tell me all, 
 So I may not imagine worse than all. 
 
 FRIEND. Then know that recently I waited at 
 The portal of his dwelling-place the door 
 Was opened : I beheld ! there a pale form, 
 And haggard, cast on me bewildered gaze ! 
 A child in rags clung to her tattered garments, 
 And cried the diapente mournful down ; 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 217 
 
 Anon succeeded in beseeching tone : 
 
 " Please, mother, give me bread please give me 
 
 bread!" 
 
 " My child, I have no bread to give !" she said, 
 And her lamenting voice sunk in my soul 
 So mournful, that it drew tears from my eyes, 
 Which, to remembrance, never wept before, 
 Although my spirit hath been bowed in grief ! 
 I asked, " Where is Legree ?" Her answer was : 
 " I know cot where : tis seldom he is here : 
 Go ask the winds, for they can tell thee more 
 Than I can tell, wherever he may be !" 
 
 ST. CLARE. Dost thou not think some charitable 
 
 hand 
 Hath ministered to their necessities ? 
 
 FRIEND. I sent them food : if that was charity, 
 Then charity may dwell in hearts of stone ; 
 For, had the flinty mountains heard the words 
 That in despairing tones came from her lips, 
 They would have melted down, and from their veins 
 Poured all their golden treasures into need ! 
 
 ST. CLARE. These evils ought to challenge such re 
 gard, 
 That they would quick be banished from the world. 
 
 FRIEND. But they do not, indeed ; and since they be, 
 
 The world doth think it is because they must be. 
 10 
 
218 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 ST. CLARE. There is inquiry further in my mind, 
 And yet I will not ask your favor more. 
 
 FRIEND. Do me the favor, will you, to inform me 
 How I, your humble servant, best may serve 
 In presentation of what you would know, 
 If it be possibly within my power ? 
 
 ST. CLARE. I feared there might be darker circum 
 stance 
 
 You did not like to tell, lest I should feel 
 The pain that follows most unwelcome news ; 
 For meaning intimations I have heard, 
 Referring to Legree, which tender me 
 The fear that criminality abides 
 On some of his exceptionable acts. 
 I fain would learn ; and therefore let me ask 
 Has there been any crime committed, which, 
 In the account of justice, would require 
 The person of Legree to answer for ? 
 
 FRIEND. Oh, crimes be plentiful upon this world ! 
 They sometimes stare us into dread of them 
 While gazing on us stern and terrible ! 
 And oft the observation hath been lost 
 In the complete enormities of blood 
 So hath the hand been seen to wield the blade, 
 Piercing the heart of an antagonist ; 
 Whose hand, nobody positively knew, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 219 
 
 And in the evidence it hath appeared 
 A crowd was seen a fight, and many men 
 Struggling together and a dagger raised 
 And thrust the victim struggling in his blood ! 
 No more. Such was the lamentable part 
 Acted not long since in our little village, 
 In th bar-room of the Notional Hotel ; 
 And noisy Rumor said Legree was there, 
 And more for Rumor was severe, and made 
 The charge necessitating his arrest 
 For which he has been tried, but not condemned, 
 Since lack of proof makes accusation vain. 
 
 ST. CLARE. Tis best one should know naught of 
 
 circumstance, 
 
 Of which, when all is known, the heart is sad. 
 To know a little, leads one to pursue 
 The facts connected, leading to the worst. 
 
 FRIEND. His love for the intoxicating cup, 
 Inordinate, is most misfortunate. 
 
 ST. CLARE. There was a time he shunned the hellish 
 
 cup, 
 
 Or seemed to shun, as he would hell itself ! 
 I have no doubt that more than common arts, 
 Or wiles infernal, have upon him worked, 
 To lead him into ruin s surest way. 
 
 FRIEND. I think his first inebriation was 
 
220 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 In th Notional Theatre not long ago. 
 At least so Rumor says ; and Rumor oft 
 Speaks true, though careless in the utterance. 
 
 ST. CLARE. The Notional Theatre ? Why, that is 
 
 here 
 
 Within which is a bar, I am aware : 
 And there begins the playing of such tricks 
 As make the world aghast at the effects : 
 And if there be presented on the stage, 
 Acts, showing the reward of vice as well 
 As that of virtue, yet it is my hope 
 That th counterpart of what Legree hath done, 
 Or may do, that shall pain the world s great eye. 
 Will never be presented on the stage 
 In th Notional, unless the cause be shown 
 That brought him into such adversities. 
 And since Legree is fallen, who is safe ? 
 For I know none whose appetite I thought 
 More in subjection to refraining will. 
 
 FRIEND. The influences that surround some men, 
 To lead them adverse in the way to crime, 
 May be exceptive in a great degree : 
 For one who would be tempted easily 
 To an unwise indulgence, may escape 
 The influences to such habitude ; 
 And yet another, fortified against 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 221 
 
 Palatial instigation and assaults 
 Of incitation quite inordinate, 
 Yields to the potency of circumstance 
 That seems omnipotent ! 
 
 ST. CLARE. I can account 
 
 For his sad error in no other way 
 Which error makes the reminiscences 
 Of our associate pleasures lie in gloom. 
 I soon shall be at home, in latitude 
 Toward the sun, remote quite ten degrees ; 
 And when I turn my eyes again upon 
 The woful and accursed intemperance, 
 Which casts its umbrage on the sunny South, 
 All will appear more sombre to my view ; 
 And oft my thoughts will turn upon Legree 
 Oh ! Heaven, not earth, knows what his end will be ! 
 
 Enter BACCHO, invisible, with a corkscrew. 
 FRIEND. The atmosphere is most unpleasant here 
 All on a sudden : shall we not go hence ? 
 
 ST. CLARE. Phoo ! the vile air arising from this ditch 
 Offensively affects my nasal sense : 
 Let our immediate steps turn from this place. 
 
 {Exeunt ST. CLARE and his Friend. 
 BAG. Fu ! the bad air that comes up out this ditch, 
 Offends his nostril in the choice of smell. 
 
222 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 0, 1 see that my presence, though invisible, is man 
 ifest to his nose, yet by his nose he knows not that it 
 is I ; for the perfume, consisting of the commingled 
 odors of brimstone and this corkscrew, which so of 
 fends his uncultivated nasal sense, he doth mistake 
 for some earthly odor. St. Clare, St. Clare ! if 
 thou couldst have seen me in some dissembled shape, 
 so thou wouldst not have known my identity, to be 
 frightened thereby ; and, withal, hadst thou known 
 my familiarity with that Simon Legree, no doubt thy 
 inquiries would have detained me long, and, in the an 
 swering of them, I should have told thee such a mul 
 titude of lies tli at I might have been in want of suffi 
 cient supply of them during a few courses of the day : 
 and the lies that I should have told thee, would have 
 been good for thee somnific soporific that thy 
 siestas would not have regard for Legree, nor any 
 night of thy slumbers, the great things which I with 
 the bottles, do. Furthermore, let me advise thee that 
 at some future time I may overcome also thee over 
 come thee with the good liquor in bottles ! There 
 be accidents in bottles, too accidents which Mam 
 mon calls property and I think that it be well that 
 thou be not long in this world. Really, this world 
 be full of accidents as it be full of bottles. The time 
 is almost present at which I am to meet Mammon and 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 223 
 
 Imp in the bar-room in the Notional. Their speed 
 be greater than mine, and no doubt I will find them 
 awaiting me. [Goes into the Theatre. 
 
 SCENE IX. 
 
 Bar-room in the Notional Theatre. MAMMON and 
 IMP filling bottles. 
 
 MAM. I have got most effective instrument 
 To touch the appetite of all this world, 
 So I may prove all things by appetite ; 
 At least I have got something in this bottle 
 Of most exceedingly good quality. 
 
 IMP. I think that be rather queer, and much is my 
 wonder if, without any aid, thou hast invented extra 
 ordinary mixture contained in that slim-necked vessel 
 smelted from the rock ; and if thou hast, more is my 
 wonder what it is. 
 
 0, it is elements, all elements ! 
 
 IMP. 0, ho! this great globe be all made of ele 
 ments, and I think thou couldst not keep even the 
 miniature of it in that bottle smelted from the rock. 
 
 MAM. 0, there are other elements than those 
 Essential of this globe conglomerate, 
 
224 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 And I have got them bottled in this bottle. 
 Here are the elements of strife, of hate, 
 Of murder, havoc, wo, and squalid want, 
 Tears, sighs, and groans, and baleful miseries, 
 Diseases, dire delirium tremens ; ha I 
 And these are property, all property, 
 Which in material form is alcohol, 
 With which are mingled many potent drugs ; 
 And they enhance my profits very much. 
 
 IMP. 0, ho ! that be not extraordinary now, it be 
 only common : yet I wish thee extraordinary succes 
 ses ; for I like to have plentiful business, superin 
 tending the bottling of the rum, the gin, the whisky, 
 the wine, the beer, and the residue of the intoxica 
 ting juices ; and the music that best cheers my labors, 
 will be the shrieks of deliriums and the cry of the 
 orphan s wants ; all these be real music to me. 
 
 Enter BACCHO. 
 
 Ha, Baccho ! in good time thou hast come, and no 
 doubt the smell of these bottles persuades thee that 
 the mixtures be of proper qualities. 
 
 BAC. Good, good ; 0, ay ! they all be of very 
 good qualities, even as any in the most regarded lo 
 calities of this world even the placo of my last 
 visitation. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 225 
 
 IMP. I know not what locality has been favored 
 with thy last visiting. 
 
 BAG. Why, the big island which be the stool on 
 which John Bull sits and drinks beer and toddies. 
 
 IMP. And eats poisoned bread. 
 
 BAG. Ay, my very last visiting was there, whither 
 I went, shadowing the ocean with my speed, and I 
 have been attending to the continuance of the drink 
 ing customs ! 
 
 IMP. Yery important customs ; and when they all 
 shall be established here, our rejoicings will be louder 
 than all tempestuous roarings ! 
 
 MAM. And my profits will be enlarged exceedingly. 
 
 BAG. 0, think of it ! births, baptisms, marriages, 
 deaths, dinners, canvassings, elections, contracts, 
 beginnings, finishings, are all celebrated with the im 
 bibing of the liquors ; and in the trades, too, think of 
 it, the fines, footings, pay-night customs, allowance 
 pots, way-geese, muggings, remuneration pints, drink 
 penalties, bribes, and vast many others, think of it 
 and smile. 28 
 
 IMP. I do think of it, and know it is worthy of 
 risible contemplation ; and if I should laugh now, 
 to the fullness of my rejoicing in contemplation 
 thereof, this bar-room would be burst asunder and all 
 
 the bottles broken no doubt. 
 10* 
 
226 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 MAM. Then beware that thy rejoicing be not vent 
 ed; for, indeed, such effect would be calamity because 
 of the destruction of my property. 
 
 BAG. And here we overcome the people with the 
 juices, here I overcame Legree, who be instrument 
 in the scheme we be advancing. 
 
 IMP. 0, I will have care : Thinking of Legree, I 
 have no doubt that his future acts will make John 
 Bull roll his eyes in wonder while he sits and drinks 
 his poisoned beer and toddies. 
 
 BAG. Assuredly so. Even now comes the time 
 that I am to meet Diabolos, and with him traverse 
 divers places, getting up fights and superintending the 
 bruising of noses, and the bunging of eyes, and other 
 good offenses in greater degrees. 
 
 IMP. 0, haste then! great bungings come from 
 the bung-holes of barrels. I too must haste to attend 
 to the bottlings in divers places for the revelries. 
 
 MAM. And I too must make speed to collect the 
 moneys for the good-bad juices. [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 227 
 
 SCENE X. 
 
 Bar-room in the Notional Hotel, Landlord behind 
 the bar Loafers tippling . Enter CELESTRA. 
 
 GEL. 0, sir ! I pray you that you will not give 
 
 My husband any more liquor. 
 
 May I think 
 
 Your silence gives compliance with my wish ? 
 say that you will not ! for I can not 
 Keturn without this promise. 
 
 LAND. Go away, 
 
 Woman, nor meddle here with my affairs ! 
 
 CEL. 0, sir ! t is my affair, and if you think 
 That it is not, look on these tattered garments, 
 And on this pale emaciated form 
 Which has been fed on sorrow till it is 
 Sorrow s own image ; think of my homo 
 Now destitute of every earthly comfort, 
 Save it be comfort to look on my child 
 Clad scantily and hungering for food, 
 Without the wherewith to supply its wants 
 Then know that all this misery has como 
 
228 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 By the destructive liquor which is here 
 Exchanged for all iny husband s scanty means. 
 So deeply in my soul my sorrow lies 
 
 I can not weep, or tears would flow amain : 
 0, could I weep my sorrows from my eyes, 
 
 My tears would flood the world and drown t again. 
 Sir, will, you grant me my request ? 
 
 LAND. No ; no. 
 
 To my own business only, I attend ! 
 We all are subject to misfortune, so 
 Annoy us here no more ; there is the door. 
 
 CEL. I know t is there, and I will not disturb it. 
 
 LAND. Begone, I tell you ; tis no place for you 
 Here in this bar-room ; so, I say, begone ! 
 
 CEL. I will not go until you promise me 
 That you will give my husband no more liquor. 
 
 LAND. 0, ho ! you want me to assist you then, 
 To make your exit from this bar-room quick. 
 
 [Advances toward her. 
 
 CEL. Beware, sir, touch me not, there s danger 
 
 in me! 
 If you advance I 11 tear you all to pieces ! 
 
 LAND. [Shrinking] 0, yes, I see now that you are 
 
 a beast, 
 
 And now I see the devil in your eyes. 
 This is no place for beasts, so go away. 
 
Beware, sir, touch me not, there s danger in me ! 
 If you advance I ll tear you all to pieces! 
 
 I A<,L 2-28. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 229 
 
 GEL. No place for beasts ? Have I not read the 
 
 sign 
 Entertainment for man and beast 
 
 LAND. Then go into the stable ; that s the place 
 "We keep the beasts in, go into the stable ! 
 
 GEL. Ha ! who are you ? Whence your authority 
 That gives its utterance in such command ? 
 No doubt you give such order to the beasts 
 You make of men with these vile liquors here. 
 0, 1 know who you are and now my eyes 
 Are quick compelled to weeping ! 
 
 LAND. Yes, they are, 
 
 And so your sorrows will be wept away. 
 
 GEL. If now these tears flowed forth from sorrow s 
 
 depths, 
 They might give me relief, but they do not. 
 
 LAND. Why do you weep then, if tis no relief? 
 
 GEL. My eyes do pain me, therefore I do weep. 
 
 LAND. 0, do they so ? Well, I know why it is, 
 It is from looking into others business. 
 
 GEL. There is a devil in my eyes, Oh ! Oh ! 
 And that s the reason they do pain me so. 
 
 LAND. Ha ! that I told you, which you have con 
 fessed. 
 I knew I saw the devil in your eyes. 
 
 GEL. How faithful are the mirrors of my eyes 
 
230 THE DEAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 That you can look in them and see the devil ; 
 For they reflect the image of yourself! 
 0, 1 know who you are ! you are the devil 
 That is according to your own confession ; 
 And well your deeds approve it : I will not 
 Pray to the devil, no ; no favors will I ask 
 Of you ; for you are from the nether deep. 
 I will go home and say I ve seen the devil, 
 Who tempts the world still with the evil fruit ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 LAND. Ha ! I would rather be the devil really, so 
 
 I could keep all the women in such fear of me that I 
 
 should get rid of their annoyances ; yet, I have now 
 
 got so used to their winnings that all the feminine 
 
 prayers and tears in this world shall not work against 
 
 this liquor business that pays so well. I have made 
 
 a great deal of money out of Legree ; Why, he would 
 
 spend money in treating as if it grew in his way ; 
 
 and now, though it is scarce with him, I know that 
 
 what he gets will come into my hands, though his 
 
 family starve ! but it matters not to me where he 
 
 gets his money, when it is mine, it is all the same. 
 
 He will be able to endure a great deal of liquor yet ; 
 
 for he has a big arm, and firm gait when he is sober. 
 
 Heigh ! money makes the mare to go. [Exit. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 231 
 
 SCENE XL 
 In LEGREE S House. Enter CELESTRA and Child. 
 
 CHILD. Ma, give me bread ma, give me bread! 
 
 CEL. Sleep yet a little longer, my dear child, 
 Until your papa come and bring us bread. 
 
 [Child sleeps. 
 
 Oh ! why does he delay to bring us food, 
 That we with cold and hunger may not die ? 
 I would have gone myself to purchase bread, 
 But maladies have fastened on my frame, 
 Brought to me by my many miseries ; 
 Therefore, some little money, I had earned 
 By toils severe, I did intrust him with, 
 Exhorting scrupulous expenditure 
 For our immediate necessities : 
 But no return comes to supply our wants ! 
 Nor need I wonder why : too well I know- 
 He hath been waylaid by his appetite 
 For the destroying beverage of hell ! 
 And it seems, therefore, death awaits us here 
 
232 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 By cold and hunger, ere the night withdraw 
 
 To let another day awake the world. 
 
 Before the morrow dawn, my child will sleep 
 
 A sleep so deep, no dreams of agonies 
 
 From piercing want, will then disturb its rest ! 
 
 Then will I rather leave this painful world ; 
 
 For now my life is living on itself 
 
 It feeds on this emaciated form ! 
 
 To die is but to leave this famished clay, 
 
 And live upon bread of Eternal Life ! 
 
 Yet why may I not live the during while 
 
 Allotted for the habitants of earth, 
 
 And feel the happiness the world affords 
 
 To those respected by its partial favor ? 
 
 But I must live on miseries awhile, 
 
 And, living on them, I shall starve to death ! 
 
 Is this the fate that must attend my life ? 
 
 Inexorable Fate ! I would be free 
 
 From thy dread power. Oh ! why was the earth 
 
 Made to possess a little happiness, 
 
 Alluring mortals into misery ? 
 
 Oh ! why was ever such a thing as love ? 
 
 Oh ! why the pleasures of association ? 
 
 Oh ! why one moment of domestic peace 
 
 To give enjoyment, to be pricked so deep 
 
 With thorns of sorrow, expectations failed, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 283 
 
 And hopes all blasted to imbittered woes, 
 
 That the whole soul must ache ? And still I love 
 
 I love Simon Legree ; for tis not he 
 
 It is an accident that tortures me 
 
 And my dear child with cold and hunger now, 
 
 Through his neglect that leaves us destitute 
 
 Of what to comfort would administer, 
 
 While he provides sole for his appetite 
 
 Perverted to the thirst for liquid fire ! 
 
 Oh ! why should appetite be so depraved, 
 
 That one should drink down fire into the soul, 
 
 To burn it to a wreck ? Ah ! there can be 
 
 No other wreck so direful in creation, 
 
 As that of the Creator s greatest work. 
 
 My husband ! the first time I uttered it, 
 
 The fond appellative, upon my tongue, 
 
 Thrilled happily my soul ! still sweet, yet bitter 
 
 In this sad circumstance where wretched want 
 
 Accompanies the way of life thus drear 
 
 And ruin follows on his habitude ! 
 
 CHILD. [Awaking.] Ma, give me bread ! 
 
 CEL. My child, I have no bread ! 
 
 CHILD. Ma, give me bread ma, give me bread ! 
 
 CEL. I have no bread, my child ; I have no bread ! 
 
 CHILD. I am cold, mother I am cold! 
 
 CEL. I know thou art, my child ; yet I have not 
 
234 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 The wherewithal to clothe thee, nor obtain 
 Protection from these rude and chilly winds 
 That enter through the broken window here. 
 Be patient yet a little longer, child 
 Then will the journey of our life be ended, 
 And we will leave this world to dwell in heaven. 
 
 CHILD. Is there bread in heaven, mother ? 
 
 CEL. There we will never want for bread of life ! 
 
 CHILD. Will it be warm in heaven, mother ? 
 
 CEL. There we will never suffer with the cold ; 
 For it will be warm there. 
 
 CHILD. I wish to be in heaven, mother ? 
 
 CEL. My child, we soon will be in heaven, 
 Where wants will never come. [Child sleeps. 
 
 Enter LEGREE. 
 
 LEG. I say, old woman, where is that money that 
 you spun for ? I want it. 
 
 CEL. I have it not ; I gave you all I had 
 Some time ago, for you to purchase bread 
 To nourish my sick frame and this dear child, 
 But you forgot to do so, I suppose ; 
 For your return has been delayed till now, 
 And I perceive that you have brought no bread ! 
 
 LEG. I say, woman, tis no use complaining : I want 
 the money, if there is any. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 235 
 
 GEL. If there be any here, I know it not. 
 I too have wants that must soon be supplied, 
 Or else this child and I shall leave this world ; 
 For cold and hunger prey upon our lives ! 
 
 LEG. Nonsense! I say, old woman, I know you 
 too well. There s no danger o your dyin : I ve 
 lived with ye long enough to know ye couldn t be 
 froze nor starved. Ye re tougher n a b iled owl, or 
 I d a got rid o ye long ago. 
 
 GEL. If that can be your wish, then strike me dead, 
 So you may have the comfort of my absence. 
 
 LEG. No, I won t ; for if ye be most froze and 
 starved, ye will die soon without my killing ye. I 
 was near being hanged once, because it was said that I 
 killed a man. So I will see ye die, but I will not 
 kill ye. 
 
 GEL. No, not with blows, and yet will you with 
 
 words 
 
 Tormenting, drive my spirit forth to seek 
 A better place to dwell in than this world, 
 
 Which seems to me so much like dreadful hell ! 
 
 Yet there s no fire here, nor smell of sulphur, 
 And all is cold : therefore this is not hell ! 
 And thou art not the devil ! Why dost thou then 
 Strive to torment me so ? Oh ! why art thou 
 Less friendly than these broken windows are, 
 
236 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Through which the pointed shafts of frozen winds 
 Fly hitherward, and pierce me through and through ? 
 But now thy words are ruder in attack, 
 Whereby they fall like lightning on my soul, 
 To drive it forth from this fast-failing temple ! 
 My child, my child oh! it is cold in death! 
 Yet this was but its mortal tenement, 
 Whose habitant, immortal, now has gone 
 To bask in the eternal light of heaven ! 
 And there will cold and hunger never come. 
 0, I will follow thee, beloved child! 
 My soul goes forth upon my sighing breath, 
 To happy realms beyond the gate of death ! [Dies. 
 LEG. 0, 1 understand ye ! Playing possum again, 
 ha ? Try in to make me think ye are dead, as ye did 
 once when I kicked ye, and ye turned pale, and pre 
 tended to faint ; but ye got over it again, and so ye 
 will this time. Well, you do look like a dead per 
 son, that s a fact ! Speak, wife ! where is the rest 
 
 ofwhere is Will you have some bread, wife ? 
 
 Wake up, wife! I want you to tell me something. 
 She does not move. Really, I believe she is dead ; 
 and this child, too is dead ! What strange feeling 
 
 is this that now possesses me ? 
 
 Who am I ? or whence comes this sudden change, 
 That startles me with the realities 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 237 
 
 Of my afflictive errors that have thrived 
 On yielding appetite, whence my affections 
 Were so estranged, that, with my cruelties, 
 Celestra I have driven from this earth, 
 And the sole child that had so base a father ! 
 
 Celestra, come back to this world again ! 
 
 my Celestra, come, and I will love you ! 
 For I did love you once, though since, that flame 
 Seemed quenched entirely by the beverage 
 Which is hell s mischievous material fire, 
 That burns the soul with everlasting flame ! 
 Celestra, I did love you once ; though since, 
 That flame of love burned low and almost out, 
 Or quite extinguished, yet some latent sparks 
 Still lingered in my heart, which blaze again 
 Now thou art gone from me. Oh ! gone for ever ! 
 Now thy perfections show thou art an angel, 
 And I am startled into apprehension 
 Of the realities of what I am 
 Fast sinking through the earth to dreadful hell ! 
 my Celestra, I have murdered thee 
 And our sole child, with harshest cruelties ! 
 Yet, ere I murdered thee, myself I murdered, 
 And by that crime became an instrument 
 To torture thee till thou hast left the world ! 
 Will Heaven forgive my crimes so multiplied ? 
 
238 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 In this defiled temple of my soul 
 
 There is no faith which can look up to Heaven ; 
 
 For Heaven hath this decreed : " No drunkard shall 
 
 Enter the realms of bliss 1" Therefore I know 
 
 That I shall never more see my Celestra ! 
 
 And yet I do her wrong to call her mine ; 
 
 For death has now annulled that claim 0, no ! 
 
 Not death : the wrongs which I had done to her, 
 
 Long since had set aside my claim to one 
 
 Who ought to dwell in heaven not with me. 
 
 Oh ! why do now these truths break on my soul, 
 
 To show how low the depth where I have fallen ? 
 
 For, knowing of my aggravated deeds, 
 
 Will never make Celestra mine again 
 
 To feel my baseness, will not raise the dead ! 
 
 Then why should I not drain the cup again, 
 
 And drown my sorrows in forgetfulness ? 
 
 And then I shall not know how vile I am. 
 
 No : if I have the power to refrain, 
 
 I rather will live on in punishment, 
 
 Than make addition to my degradation. 
 
 Yet from such punishment may I not flee ? 
 
 Although I can not wander from myself, 
 
 That I may thus get farther from remorse, 
 
 Yet I will follow to their burial, 
 
 Celestra and my child, and not return 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 239 
 
 Then to this home oh ! it is desolate ! 
 
 And I will rather wander o er the earth, 
 And so forget that once I had a home 
 And a companion who was such an angel : 
 Or, if I ever must remember this, 
 
 Then let the flaming armory of storms 
 
 Jove s thunderbolts in missive fire attend 
 The utter embassy to minister 
 Upon me torments ! or else let me starve 
 In fire or ice, with dainties in the reach 
 Of my stern-gazing eyeballs ! but let not 
 
 Conscience be my tormentor ! Celestra ! 
 
 But my strength fails. Is not this all a dream ? 
 
 If not, then is it not miraculous 
 
 That I should feel the love of temperate youth 
 
 Burning again the moment she is gone 
 
 Into the high and happy realms beyond 
 
 The influence of unavailing love ? 
 
 The portals of my eyes are now weighed down 
 
 With an oppression reaching to my spirit, 
 
 And I would fain sleep off this heaviness, 
 
 If dreadful dreams would not affright my soul ! 
 
 Dreams or no dreams, perforce I can not choose : 
 
 Where shall I lie, save by this lifeless body ? 
 
 [Lies down by CELESTRA. 
 
240 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Enter BACCHO and IMP. 
 
 BAC. [To LEGREE.] I gave thee not that spell, 
 which makes thee condemn the good juices. I will 
 take all the anti-imbibing disposition out of thee. 
 Go, Imp, quick to the estuary not far, and bring to 
 me a reed hither. 
 
 IMP. I am Beelzebub s servant not thine. 
 BAG. Beelzebub will smite thee with thunders if 
 thou do not assist me. 
 
 IMP. Oh ! oh ! I will get thee a reed. [Exit. 
 
 BAG. Imp, that little devil, is notional at times, 
 
 and likes not to obey when I command. Really, he 
 
 ought to know, and he will yet learn, that I have 
 
 more influence on this world than all the other devils. 
 
 [ Takes a flask from LEGREE S pocket. ] Empty, ha ? 
 
 Well, I will quick effect the filling of it. [He fills it 
 
 by conjuration. ] There, that will make thy appetite 
 
 rejoice when thou dost taste it! [Places it back in 
 
 LEGREE S pocket.] 
 
 Enter IMP, with a reed. 
 
 IMP. Here is the reed, 
 A tube indeed ; 
 And if you ever knew it, 
 I could blow a hurricane through it ! 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 241 
 
 BAG. Do not that ; for the reed being crooked, the 
 hurricane would form whirlwinds, traversing the whole 
 wide earth: and the danger would be, that thereby 
 all distilleries would be, in fragments, scattered afar. 
 IMP. 0, then, I will not blow a tempest Ibut this 
 reed is well fitted for tunes. [BACCHO takes the reed.] 
 I breathed music through it on my way hither. Did 
 ye not hear it rolling along on the breeze ? 
 BAG. I heard it not. What kind of music was it ? 
 IMP. 0, it -must have been crooked music, that it 
 took a wry course, and did not come to ye ; therefore 
 ye could not hear it ! 
 
 BAG. Beware thy wind, lest it should do thee harm. 
 And now, reed! grown for other purpose than 
 that of giving passages of music, I will make exceed 
 ingly good use of thee. [Places the reed to LEGREE S 
 ear, and chants through if] : 
 
 O, whisky is the goodly juice 
 
 To banish care, 
 
 And health repair : 
 It has been made for mortals use, 
 And leaves for ills no more excuse 
 Upon this world, or anywhere. 
 
 It cools the hot and warms the cold, 
 And drives all pain 
 11 
 
242 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 From earth amain : 
 It never lets a man grow old, 
 Nor half its blessings can be told 
 The cup, then, let him ever drain! 
 
 It oils the wheels of lazy life, 
 And makes all gay 
 Both night and day- 
 
 There, this reed is split ! 
 
 IMP. Verily, it is because those big lies could not 
 pass through at the joints. 
 
 BAG. Hush ! What if he were to awake, and hear 
 thee call them lies? for, whatever they be, they 
 shall be palatable truths to Legree. There he 
 awakes ! let us be invisible. [LEGREE awakes. 
 
 LEG. That was a queer dream I had. I begin to 
 feel thirsty while thinking of it; but there s no use 
 of being thirsty when my flask is empty, and no pros 
 pect of its being filled. [ Takes out his flask. ] Why, 
 it is full now : I thought I had drunk it dry dry as 
 I be but it seems I didn t; else, how could it be 
 full now ? [Drinks and sings ] : 
 
 0, whisky is the goodly juice 
 To banish care, 
 And health repair : 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 243 
 
 It has been made for mortals use, 
 And leaves for ills no more excuse 
 Upon this world, or anywhere. 
 
 It cools the hot and warms the cold, 
 
 And drives all pain 
 
 From earth amain : 
 It never lets a man grow old, 
 
 Nor half its blessings can be told 
 
 The cup, then, I will ever drain ! 
 
 It oils the wheels of lazy life, 
 And makes all gay 
 
 Both night and day 
 
 Why, I ve forgot the rest, or else that is all of it. 
 BAG. And makes one happy when his wife 
 
 Is dead: nor knows, when plagues are rife, 
 That any ever cross his way ! 
 
 LEG. What s that? Who is that speaking, and 
 where is he ? [Looks all above and around; then puts 
 his ear to the bottle, and listens. ] I hear a noise : I 
 believe there be devils in this bottle ! [Examines it 
 carefully at the light; and IMP and BACCHO, getting 
 in range, are discovered to him through the flask.] 
 Oh ! there be devils in this flask devils ! . 
 I will never touch the bottle again ! [ Throws it away, 
 and exeunt. Thunders and lightnings. 
 
244 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XII. 
 
 On a Flat-boat at the Landing at CINCINNATI. 
 Enter Pilot. 
 
 PILOT. I have only Stokes with me, and I need an 
 other hand to help run this boat; for there are 
 many snags down in the Mississippi. Yonder comes a 
 man from the boat just above, and I 11 bet a treat 
 he wishes to engage a trip. I will pretend that I do 
 not care for more help and so get him cheap, if he 
 wishes to hire. I know they want no more help on 
 the boat above. 
 
 Enter LEGREE. 
 
 LEG. Are you the pilot of this boat ? 
 
 PILOT. I am. 
 
 LEG. Do you want to engage a hand to go down 
 the river ? 
 
 PILOT. No, I believe not ; perhaps you can engage 
 to go on the boat above. 
 
 LEG. No ; I have just been there ; they are sup 
 plied with help : How much will you give me to go 
 down with you ? 
 
 PILOT. If I were in want of a hand, I would pay 
 
THE BEAM A OF EARTH. 245 
 
 you a fair price ; but, under the circumstances, the 
 price which I should offer you, would be so little, that 
 you would have as much reason to be offended, as I 
 to expect that you would accept my offer ; but if you 
 desire to go very much, you can set a price on your 
 labor, and if it be low enough to suit my convenience, 
 I will hire you for accommodation. 
 
 LEG. I am travelling westward southward 
 most any direction it happens, and I am not particu 
 lar about the price. I will go down with you for ten 
 dollars. 
 
 PILOT. Why, a man who wishes to travel and see 
 his friends, will go with me for half that amount. 
 
 LEG. Friends friends ! If I had friends, I 
 would not be here ; I would not have gone so far from 
 home ; Home, I have no home ! 
 
 PILOT. Why, most people have both home and 
 friends ; yet some who deserve both, may be so un 
 fortunate as to have neither. 
 
 LEG. I had a home when I had a wife, and she was 
 my friend ; but she is dead ! I had a child too, it 
 is dead ! I will go down with you for five dollars. 
 
 PILOT. Well, you may consider yourself hired. 
 Will you take a drink ? 
 
 LEG. No, I think not ; I determined not to drink 
 any more. 
 
246 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 PILOT. Ho, nonsense ! you had better take a little, 
 just enough to forget that your wife and child are 
 dead ; you will find a friend in liquor. 
 
 LEG. Why, then, I might forget too that I wish to 
 go down the river. 
 
 Enter BACCHO, and he waves a wand over LEGREE. 
 PILOT. Never mind, I have got an article aboard 
 as good as ever rinsed the cobwebs down a man s 
 throat. Halloo, Stokes ! 
 
 STOKES. [Within. } Halloo yourself! what d ye 
 
 want ? 
 
 PILOT. Bring up that flask of the good 0-be-joy- 
 
 ful. 
 
 Enter STOKES. 
 
 STO. Here it is, the repose of weariness, the 
 comfort of sorrow, and the essence of jollity. 
 
 PILOT. And the consolation of this world where 
 we poor mortals dwell. Stranger, what may I call 
 your name ? 
 
 LEG. My name is Legree. 
 
 PILOT. Well, Mr. Legree, this will give you joy. 
 
 Take a swig. 
 
 LEG. Here is luck for you. [Drinks.] 
 PILOT. And here is your health, Mr. Legree, and 
 the hope that we will have favorable winds which 
 make light work for boatmen. [Drinks.] 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 247 
 
 STO. And here is the hope that, if we should strike 
 a snag and sink, all the barrels aboard will bu st, so 
 that we will drown decently in liquor instead of the 
 muddy Mississippi. [Drinks.] [Exit baccho. 
 
 PILOT. All ready. Loose the cable from the shore 
 take in the cable. How out the forward end, 
 left forward. All right : here we go. 
 PILOT awe? STOKES. [Singing. ] 
 " Heigh-o, the boatmen row 
 Way down the river on the 0-hi-o. 
 Heigh-o, the boatmen row 
 Way down the river on the 0-hi-o. 
 Boatmen dance ; boatmen sing ; 
 Boatmen up to any thing: 
 Boatmen dance ; boatmen sing ; 
 Boatmen up to any thing." 
 
 [ The boat moves away. 
 
248 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XIH. 
 
 A Forest in MISSISSIPPI. .Enter several Land- 
 Pirates. 
 
 SD PIR. Are you sure that nearly all the cargo of 
 that flat-boat is sold ; for really I don t like to kill a 
 man without the prospect of getting a good sum of 
 
 money ? 
 
 IST PIR. Sure of it? Why, can t I see? I was 
 aboard to-day, and there were only a few barrels 
 left, and at first there must have been a thousand. 
 
 2o PIR. It gives me fear to kill a man, but we will 
 have to dispatch them : When the eye of desire is 
 looking for gold, the eye of conscience winks at the 
 deed that gets it. 
 
 IST PIR. Of course we will dispatch them ; " The 
 dead tell no tales," and what is it to kill a man even 
 though the reward for it should be little ?- Accidents 
 kill men, and why may not a dagger ? 
 
 2D PiR. Why, then, only because a dagger is not 
 an accident. 
 
 IST PIR. Well, if it takes the place of one, it is 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 249 
 
 all the same : furthermore, there is that in this flask 
 which will banish all fears and remorses, a friend, 
 by the aid of which, I have many times taken the 
 life of a man for but a little money : Here, take an 
 other swig : I think you need a little more prepara 
 tion for the dangerous part of the business we follow. 
 [Second Pirate drinks.] There, now. How do you 
 feel ? where now is your conscience ? 
 
 2o PIR. It is gone, and the liquor has taken its 
 place. I could kill a hundred men ; I hope there be 
 a hundred aboard that boat ; be there not a hundred ? 
 
 IST PIR. No ; not a hundred ; there be only three, 
 all red-nosed fellows though, and one of them 
 big and burly, who, no doubt, would show hard fight 
 if we should awake him in this world ; but we must 
 take care for that, and dispatch them all so that they 
 shall awake only in another world ! 
 
 SD PIR. I care not to think of another world, if I 
 am ever to go there unless there be plenty of money 
 and whisky in it. 
 
 IST PIR. Why, we be in this world now, and we 
 
 have nothing to think of but the affairs of it. I 
 
 think it is time now that the boatmen be asleep. Let 
 
 us proceed on the scent of money. [Exeunt. 
 
 11* 
 
250 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XIV. 
 
 On a Flat-boat landed at the shore of the MISSISSIPPI 
 River, far down. Enter Pilot, LEGREE, and 
 STOKES. 
 STO. "Well, Pilot, how did you like that one-horse 
 
 town ? 
 
 PILOT. I liked the town well enough, but I know 
 not why you call it a one-horse town. 
 
 STO. 0, 1 see ! Liquor dealers generally estimate 
 the size of a town by the number of red noses they 
 
 see in it. 
 
 PILOT. Whether it be large or small, is not now 
 my care : I did not like the looks of those men who 
 came aboard to-day. 
 
 STO. 0, 1 reckon you think they be ruffians that 
 have danger in them ; but I fear them not half so 
 much as I fear these musketoes that now make battle 
 and take from me my very life-blood in spite of me. 
 
 PILOT. It is the whisky in you which they are 
 after ; you should not drink quite so much of it, but, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 251 
 
 to be relieved of them, you may both go to your 
 births, and while you sleep, each of you, keep an ear 
 directed upward, and if I should call you, listen to 
 me instead of the snoring that you will make then 
 get you up quickly and come forth with your weapons 
 in readiness, as if you expected to fight panthers ; for 
 dangerous animals sometimes visit flat-boats. 
 
 STO. We will, sir ; come, Legrec, let s take a 
 snooze. 
 
 LEG. A snooze is a good thing at this time, but a 
 swig is at any time better than a snooze. 
 
 STO. I know it is, for it is a truth so true that I can 
 even smell it by merely putting my nostril to the 
 mouth of this flask. [ They drink and exeunt. 
 
 PILOT. I would like to drink too, but the presenti 
 ment which I have, that all is not safe hereabout, 
 gives me a kind of fear that somewhat takes away my 
 appetite for whisky ; but what a fool am I to let ap 
 petite be surrendered to fear ; and what a strange 
 thing is fear too, if it be a thing at all; yet it can 
 not be touched, nor tasted, nor smelt ; therefore I think 
 it be nothing, or nothing more than the vapidity 
 of the brain from the want of fumes of whisky, which, 
 when it is drank, is changed into the genuine spirit 
 of a man. 0, 1 know what fear is it is the want 
 of whisky fumes in the brain! so I ll take a little 
 
252 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 swig, though I have no appetite for it, then will my 
 fear be gone and my appetite be come. [Drinks. ] 
 Now my fear is gone so I think I would n t be afeard 
 even of the devil, if he should appear to me now 
 with his cloven feet, and crooked horns, and long, 
 barbed tail, and eyes of fire, and brimstone smoke 
 coming out of his nostrils no ; I wouldn t be afeard 
 even of the devil. Ho ! who comes there ? 
 Enter several Land-pirates. 
 
 IST PIR. Strike him down strike him down ! 
 
 PILOT. Ho, Stokes ! Legree ! come here quick. 
 
 Enter STOKES and LEGREE. 
 [The Pirates make attack all engage in fight 
 in ivhich all are killed except LEGREE. 
 
 LEG. I left alone ? The result of this fight would 
 have been good if none but the ruffians had been 
 killed ; yet why may it not be better as it is. Ha ! 
 The money is now mine, and I 11 have more than five 
 dollars for this trip. [Searches their pockets and 
 rolls them overboard.] The moon is up, I ll untie the 
 cable, and be off with this boat ; and at convenient 
 time I will be in possession of a plantation and nig 
 gers somewhere in these lower latitudes, and then be 
 as much a lord as any one that has authority. Heigh- 
 ho ! [He unties the cable and the Boat 
 
 moves away. 
 
O murder ! I urn stabbed ! 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 253 
 
 SCENE XV. 
 
 Bar-room in a Tavern in the South. Citizens drink 
 ing at the bar. ST. CLARE, reading- a paper. 
 
 IST CIT. Come, St. Clare, take a drink. 
 ST. CLARE. Not now ; you must excuse me. 
 IST CIT. Not drink with me ? It is true, then, that 
 you are now in sympathy with the temperance fanatics, 
 and have forgot what is good for colds, and to keep 
 the system regulated ? 
 
 ST. CLARE. It is true that I have been accustomed 
 to drink some, but I have resolved to refrain, and I 
 shall endeavor to keep my resolution. 
 
 [2d and 3d Citizens drunk and disputing. 
 2o CIT. I say it was ! 
 
 3D CIT. I say it was not I [Strikes him. 
 
 [They fight, and ST. CLARE, in attempting 
 
 to part them, is stabbed? 3 
 
 ST. CLARE. murder ! I am stabbed ! I shall die 
 die, and leave my business unarranged : I promised 
 Tom his liberty ! [Jafe is carried awa ^ 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
254 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XVI. 
 
 A Plantation on Red River. Slaves Cabin. En 
 ter EMELINE and GASSY. 
 
 EME. To be a slave a slave to such a beast to 
 such a devil! Gassy, I can t endure it! Can t 
 we get away ? 
 
 CAS. We might try ; but, if we should be caught 
 
 EME. What would he do, Gassy ? 
 
 CAS. What would he not do ? I have not told you 
 yet that I have heard screams back at the quarters 
 that almost make me afraid now to think of ; and 
 there is a tree not far away, burnt black, and the 
 ground about it covered with ashes ! No one would 
 dare tell you what was done there ; but you know how 
 poor Tom has suffered almost killed because he sung 
 Christian hymns, and prayed, and because he would 
 not practise flogging on me ; and all this for nothing 
 but to take the piety out of him, and teach him to bo 
 such kind of overseer as Sambo and Quimbo. 
 
 EME. Poor Tom ! It is a wonder that he has so 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 255 
 
 nearly recovered from his wounds ; and if we had not 
 carried water to him, and taken good care of him, he 
 would have died : yet that would have been better 
 than to be a slave to such a master. 
 
 CAS. Something dreadful must happen to Tom yet ; 
 for I know he can t be broke in so that he will give 
 up praying and go to flogging ; I know he will never 
 do that. Tom has known what it is to have kind 
 masters. 
 
 EME. Yes ; when he was up in old Kentuck, and 
 took care of his master Shelby s farm, he had a better 
 time. 
 
 CAS. I have heard him speak of it, but I have not 
 heard him tell why he was sold, to be sent down here 
 in this lower country. 
 
 EME. His master had to sell him and other of his 
 slaves, to pay debts. 
 
 CAS. But if Shelby s slaves all worked as well as 
 Tom, I don t see why his master need have been com 
 pelled to sell him. 
 
 EME. Cassy, I have learned of Tom that wine 
 has done all this ! Shelby was a gentleman, but he 
 drank, and made bad bargains, and expended too 
 much of his money in festivities ; therefore Tom was 
 sold to a slave-dealer. 
 
 CAS. Yet he got into the hands of a good master 
 
256 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 when St. Clare bought him ; and if St. Clare had not 
 been taken suddenly out of the world, Tom would not 
 now be in the hands of Legree. 
 
 EME. Yes, St. Clare was a good master was good 
 to Tom but he was not good to himself; for he got 
 into the habit of frequenting the tavern, where he 
 drank occasionally : and it was while trying to sepa 
 rate two drunken men fighting, that he was stabbed 
 by one of them, and died before he could make out 
 Tom s free papers ; for he had promised Tom his lib 
 erty. Oh ! liquor does the greatest mischief to mas 
 ters ; makes them insolvent, and makes them devils 
 sometimes, when they drink enough of it. what a 
 devil it makes of Legree ! He also gives drink to 
 Sambo and Quimbo : no wonder they can do such flog 
 gings, and grin like devils all the time. Cassy, you 
 know Massa Legree spends much time at the tavern 
 over in town, and you know how he drinks and ca 
 rouses ; and I tell you that all his property niggers, 
 plantation, and all will be sold sometime to pay his 
 debts. This plantation is going to ruin now in his 
 hands. 
 
 CAS. Emeline, I see it is drink that causes our 
 great troubles : drink makes masters squander the 
 property they get by their slaves ; drink makes them 
 devils sometimes. Yet I drink ; yes, Emeline, I drink 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 257 
 
 brandy whenever I can get it. It makes me forget 
 that I have been sold away from the husband that I 
 loved and who loved me, and that I have got a mas 
 ter now who is a very devil ! 
 
 EME. Mother used to tell me never to drink any 
 of the bad liquors ; she said it had been the cause of 
 the most of her troubles. 
 
 CAS. I know it is a bad thing, yet I d rather be 
 drunk all the time while I am a slave to Legree 
 would n t you ? 
 
 EME. Q Gassy ! let us runaway, and end our mise 
 ries some other way than by drinking brandy. Even 
 if we should be caught, and flogged or burned to death, 
 it would be better than to be a slave to a devil ! 
 
 CAS. We will try to escape ; and if we get away 
 safely beyond his reach, then I will be happy, and 
 drink no more. 
 
 EME. Heaven help us ! Let us prepare our bun 
 dles and go immediately. Let me direct, for I think 
 I know the course best. [Exeunt. 
 
258 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XVII. 
 
 In a Bar-room. Enter Landlord, SMOLLICK, JACK, 
 and QUIMBO. 
 
 LAND. [Filling* jugs. ~\ Then your master s gals 
 Gassy and Emeline have really run away ? 
 
 QUIM. Yes, Mas r, 30 run away, and we are going to 
 have a hunt for them : the planters about are going 
 to join us, and the brandy is for the company ; so we 
 will have a jolly time. 
 
 LAND. If you catch them, what will you do to them ? 
 
 QUIM. Don t know : we will do what Mas r Legree 
 tells us ; I reckon they will fare hard/ Mas r Legree 
 wants your honor and Smollick to join in the hunt. 
 
 LAND. Tell your master we will take pleasure in 
 that. 
 
 SMOL. Yes, we will, and he may expect us soon. 
 [Exit QUIMBO, with two jug s of brandy. 
 
 LAND. What a good supply of brandy he has got 
 for the occasion ! Legree is the right kind of a man, 
 and it is a pleasure to assist him on such occasions. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 259 
 
 SMOL. Yes, he is a real good fellow, and we will 
 have a regular spree : he don t mind spending money 
 for the good of himself and friends. We have had a 
 great many jolly good sprees here at his expense, al 
 though he is like the devil sometimes when he has 
 got a good quantity of brandy in him. I reckon he 
 has got a good supply of that article to help us 
 through the swamps, over logs, through bushes, over 
 quagmires. Come, let us go : my appetite tells me it 
 is time for the hunt to begin. 
 
 LAND. Come on. We will take our guns along. 
 Jack, attend the bar, and keep all things right. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XVIH. 
 A Plantation on Red River. Enter LEGREE and 
 
 QUIMBO. 
 
 LEG. We have hunted long enough in the swamps 
 for the runaway gals without finding them. That 
 cussed Tom is at the bottom of this affair I know 
 he is. Go, Quimbo, and bring him here quickly : he 
 shall tell all he knows about it, though I have to roast 
 him. [Exit QUIMBO.] That cussed Tom, ha! he 
 
260 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 was so mighty pious that he wouldn t whip the gal 
 Cassy when I ordered him to do it -a queer begin 
 ning for a nigger that I thought to make an overseer 
 of. And what pious excuses ! " Ain t used to flog 
 ging ; never did, and can t do it no way." I wonder 
 what he did up in old Kentuck when he was overseer 
 there as he told me he had been ? There is a smart 
 chance of things for him to learn yet, and he shall 
 learn them all, though his bones be broken in learn 
 ing them. Willing to do work, but not flogging." 
 Ha ! I 11 let him know that flogging is work, when I 
 tell him to do it. I reckon, though, that his piety is 
 about gone now, after the flogging which I gave him, 
 and which Sambo and Quimbo gave him when I gave 
 him over to them to break him in. Sambo and Quim 
 bo can do flogging they like to do it and to flog 
 Tom is especial fun for them ; for they know I pur 
 chased him for an overseer, and therefore they hate 
 him. A slave tell me he don t think it right to do 
 what I tell him ! Ha ! I 11 see whether he will think 
 it right to tell me where the gals Cassy and Emeline 
 have gone. [Drinks from his flask. 
 
 Enter QUIMBO, with TOM. 
 
 Well, Tom, I ve determined to kill you, unless you 
 tell me where the runaway gals are : so speak quick ! 
 
 UNCLE TOM. I don t know, mas r. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 261 
 
 LEG. Ye don t know, eh? Well, I ll make you 
 know ; so take that, and that ! 
 
 [Strikes him on the head with the butt-end of a 
 loaded whip-stock. TOM staggers and falls. 
 
 UNCLE TOM. Lord, my heavenly Master, take my 
 spirit home, where the wicked cease from troubling 
 and the weary are at rest ! [Dies. 
 
 LEG. More Bible, eh ? but I reckon ye are done 
 kicked the bucket now. -Well, I don t want pious 
 niggers on my plantation. All my niggers have got 
 to acknowledge me as their only master. Take him 
 away, Quimbo ; and if he does not breathe again, put 
 him into the ground. [Exeunt. 
 
262 THE DRAMA OF EARTH, 
 
 SCENE XIX. 
 
 A Forest in AMERICA Enter BEELZEBUB, meeting 
 DIABOLOS, MAMMON, IMP, and BACCHO. 
 
 DIAB. Hail, great Beelzebub ! I come again 
 And offer now more tidings of success. 
 
 BEEL. All hail, Diabolos ! I wait to hear. 
 
 DIAB. You did advise, tis done accordingly: 
 Legree is victim of vile essences 
 Adulterated vilest, and the acts 
 Which I have instigated him to do 
 By such means, are already known afar, 
 I have no doubt. The wind sighs audibly, 
 And sympathy for those who felt his power 
 Begins sad movement ! 
 
 BEEL. This I have observed 
 
 And know thy part exceedingly well done, 
 In causing such occurrence, and as much 
 As possible, that sympathy shall be 
 Compounded with the vilest essences 
 And thus occasion more advantages. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 263 
 
 DIAB. I am not well assured how that may be ; 
 For in the latitudes north of the lino 
 That makes division, those who sympathize 
 Most with the slave, if I do not mistake, 
 Are generally those who do not give 
 Favor to prevalence of vilest drinks. 
 
 BEEL. To that consideration I accede, 
 Yet circumstances otherwhere are not 
 The same, especially in Albion ; 
 For there we may commingle sympathy 
 With drinks, and loud will be the people s shouts 
 To swell the voice gainst slavery in the west; 
 Nor will they recognize themselves as slaves 
 More abject on their way down into hell ! 
 And even here, as far as possible, 
 The question lying twixt the north and south 
 Shall be to all appearance paramount 
 To every other ; so our wiles shall work ; 
 And by the bottle we will do anon 
 Great injuries ; and yet we will do these 
 In such a manner that they shall appear 
 To be sole consequence of slavery ; 
 And we will then be able so to stir 
 The waters of the pool political, 
 As to divide the Union ! then our sway 
 By vilest liquors will increase so vast 
 
264 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 That ruin shall receive this nation FALLEN ! 
 For when this Union fails, ha ! then fails all 
 Its harmony its peace ; and then will strife 
 Find brother watching brother far estranged, 
 Nor will he see whence comes the greatest harm 
 That can befall a soul immortal ! Ha ! 
 Then will succeed best opportunities 
 Of wiles, and triumph be anon complete ; 
 For then will come on earth a darker age 
 Than any that has ever palled it yet ! 
 Now let your way direct to Albion, 
 To mingle drink with sympathy for slaves ! 
 Go forth, and do your mighty acts ; for there 
 Great mischief waits your thither way in haste. 
 
 [Exit BEELZEBUB. 
 
 DIAB. Ha ! what an instrument the bottle is, 
 We will divide the Union with the bottle. 
 
 MAM. I will do service there by mixing drinks, 
 And medicating them in various ways, 
 And so my fortunes vastly will increase. 
 
 IMP. I will get the medicines and do thee great 
 assistance. 
 
 BAG. And I will make good use of the mixtures : 
 I will have great revelings among the red-noses and 
 beer-heads, and the very thinking of it excites me 
 comfortably. Oftentimes I have had feasts, to which 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 265 
 
 thousands gathered into one imbibing contiguity, and 
 then the revelings. and fightings that belonged to the 
 occasion, were real ! not imaginary. 31 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XX. 
 
 A Country in ENGLAND. Enter DIABOLOS and 
 MAMMON. 
 
 DIAB. Now on the continent across the sea 
 Murmurs arise against oppression of 
 The Ethiop slave as instanced in the power 
 
 Legree did exercise at our control: 
 
 Mammon, hast thou as yet arranged affairs 
 For the approaching opportunities. 
 
 MAM. I have, and shortly will proceed to work 
 Their full accomplishment. 
 
 DlAB - What hast thou done ? 
 
 MAM. I have given order for a million labels, 
 And sent Imp to bring hither articles 
 For great adulteration of the drinks 
 That bring me many fortunes. 
 
 DlAB Very well - 
 
 What are the labels for ? what kind of labels ? 
 MAM. Labels to make men s eyes so prominent 
 12 
 
266 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 That jugs can be hung on them really 
 Labels for bottles and of many kinds, 
 Which read " Uncle Tom Beer, Uncle Tom Gin, 
 Uncle Tom Wine, Uncle Tom Cogniac, 
 Uncle Tom Gullet-washer, Uncle Tom 
 Invigorator," and great many kinds. 32 
 
 DIAB. No doubt thy profits will be very great. 
 MAM. 0, certainly ; for Uncle Tom, you know, 
 Was really a saint, and Englishmen, 
 Drinking the liquor in the labeled bottles, 
 Will think it fills them with divinity ! 
 
 DIAB. Ha ! well thou canst attend to these affairs, 
 And I will be among the multitudes, 
 At times convenient, gouging eyes, stabbing, 
 Shooting, and doing many spiteful tricks. 
 Meanwhile I will attend the workshops, where 
 I thrash the ragged urchins till they smell 
 Infernal power and answer with a yell. 33 
 
 [Exit DIABOLOS. 
 
 MAM. Tis my desire that Imp make quick return 
 With medicines with which I doctor beer 
 And other liquors of vile quality, 
 And make them viler in a vast degree. 
 There are physicians that in studied practice 
 Cure some diseases by creating others 
 Of more malignant stamp, and such am I, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 267 
 
 Well skilled in my profession. Now I see 
 That Imp has come with medicines for me. 
 
 Enter IMP. 
 
 IMP. Medicines not for thee, but for the beer. 
 
 MAM. ho ! it is all the same. 
 
 IMP. Have these medicines the proper smell ? 
 
 MAM. They smell of the mineral, the vegetable, 
 And the animal kingdoms. 
 
 . IMP. From those kingdoms I have brought them 
 according to thy direction, thou notable doctor, thou 
 skillful doctor. 
 
 MAM. Thou knowest well, I am a skillful doctor. 
 
 IMP. Ay, thou dost cure all diseases of beer and 
 viler liquors, therefore I know, thou art a skillful 
 doctor. I know the cause of the ailings of mankind, 
 but the cause of the ailings of beer, I know little of. 
 
 MAM. Then tell of that only which thou knowest : 
 What is the cause of men s ailings ? 
 
 IMP. 0, beer beer of that special quality re 
 covered from disease with lese medicines by thy em- 
 piricism, destroys the ne vous vitality that there be 
 not enough strength in the system to oppose the in 
 trusion of gouts, colics, cramps, gripings, rheuma 
 tisms, neuralgias, dyspepsias, apoplexic - t and many 
 others set down in the familiar nosology: it also 
 
268 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 fumes away the sensible of the mind and leaves there 
 all the crude and the splenetic ; but the cause of the 
 indisposition of beer, tell me, Mammon, that verity 
 may respond to my apprehension. 
 
 MAM. No mystery at all : a large quantity of 
 beer made of little malt and hops, or strong beer 
 mixed with water that kind of beer which will not 
 command sale for one diminutive piece of the red 
 metal, is diseased. 
 
 IMP. If it would command ready sale, would it 
 then be diseased ? 
 MAM. no no! 
 
 IMP. Then the disease must be in the wills of the 
 drinkers. 
 
 MAM. No; for if it were, recovery would come by 
 medicating their wills, but I medicate the beer and 
 so recover it from its indisposition for sale ; therefore 
 the disease is in the beer. 
 
 IMP. It must have many diseases to require such 
 large variety of medicines as I have brought here at 
 your direction. 
 
 MAM. It hath many, and each of such malignant 
 character that it requires several qualities of medicine 
 for its cure. Those diseases are all wants: one is 
 the want of alcohol; another the want of bitterness; 
 another the want of pungency ; another the want of 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 269 
 
 muddiness; another the want of age; another the 
 want of astringency ; another the want of froth : I 
 cure them all. 
 
 IMP. Then thou art a cure-all, a panacea. 
 Panacea! I thought that the beer had only one 
 disease, the want of sale. 
 
 MAM. Ay, that is the stage to which all the others 
 tend and prove mortal, unless these remedies be ap 
 plied : What hast thou here ? 
 
 IMP. All that thou didst tell me to bring : this is 
 treacle ; this is alum ; this is coriander ; this is cara 
 way ; this is henbane ; this is vitriol ; this is St. Ig 
 natius bean ; this is opium ; this is cocculus indicus, 
 this is Bohemia rosemary ; this is wormwood ; this is 
 aloes ; this is quassia ; this is gentian ; this is fish ; 
 this is clam-shell : this is potash ; this is lime. 
 
 MAM. All proper medicines for the recovery of 
 beer, but the medicines for the good of brandy, and 
 gin, and rum, and whisky; hast thou brought the full 
 quantity ? 
 
 IMP. Ay, here is oil of vitriol ; oil of cassia ; oil 
 of turpentine ; oil of caraways ; oil of juniper ; oil 
 of almonds ; sulphuric ether ; extract of capsicums ; 
 extract of orris root ; extract of Angelica root ; 
 water; sugar ; saffron ; mace ; terra japonica ; nitre ; 
 aqua ammonia. 
 
270 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 MAM. A proper collection, and very good for tho 
 liquors. 
 
 IMP. And very good-bad for the drinkers, which is 
 seen in the quicker effect of making the eyes water, 
 and the firing up of their noses, and the causing of 
 the tottering in their locomotions. 
 
 MAM. Well, it is all in aid of our government in the 
 world. Ha ! here comes Baccho with an anxious look 
 which, I have no doubt, has regard for the good-vile 
 
 juices. 
 
 Enter BACCHO. 
 
 BAG. Ho, for more of the medicated and the mixed 
 liquors ! 
 
 MAM. Thy desires are of such a quality that I re 
 gard them with great favor ; yet is not this country 
 full of liquors ? Really, it is my interest to have 
 plentiful supply for all contingencies. 
 
 BAG. But see what a commotion is now making 
 noise through all this island ; and it is the commotions 
 that in this country especially, bring liquor in very 
 gr 3at requisition. Uncle Tom, who was a saint and 
 hated the good-vile drinks, 34 and who lived across 
 the big waters when he lived, and who was killed 
 by Legree when he died, is wept for here with a 
 kind of sympathy that has no sympathy with the ur- 
 chin starvelings of the workshops on this big island, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 271 
 
 which ought to be surrounded by a great sea* of 
 real liquor instead of the brine, which is not good 
 for drinking at all: And to-night Uncle Tom is 
 to be represented at the theatre, and I shall be 
 among the audience making applause; and I shall 
 give out such an odor of beer and stronger liquors, 
 which being smelt, the auditors will quickly forget 
 that they have any troubles, such as poverty from the 
 intoxicating liquors, the loss of friends from the intoxi 
 cating liquors, and the many that be hanged for what 
 they did by the influence of the intoxicating liquors, 
 and the many that be starving because of the intoxi 
 cating liquors ; and when they shall have forgotten 
 all this, they will shed tears, like crocodiles, over the 
 fate of Uncle Tom, who became a victim of our vic 
 tim across the waters ! 
 
 MAM. 0, that be very well, Baccho ! and we are 
 making great preparation for medicating and mixing 
 the liquors ; and thou hast come at fit time to render 
 great assistance by smelling and tasting them, by 
 which means, we can have true guide to bring them 
 quickly to their full perfection. Come, we will pro 
 ceed to the operation in my laboratory. Very many 
 liquors, which shall have proper age and all other 
 good qualities, shall be prepared for to-night s drink 
 ing. [Exeunt. 
 
272 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XXL 
 
 A Gin-shop in LONDON, 35 Landlord waiting" on Cus 
 tomers. Enter a Citizen. 
 
 CIT. [Looking at the bottles in the bar.~\ JETuncle 
 Tom beer, eh? JEZimcle Tom brandy, eh? jEZimcle 
 Tom gin, eh ? 
 
 LAND. Yes, Aand the best kind of drinks no mis 
 take. 
 
 CIT. Well, I ll take some of the .Huncle Tom gin. 
 It must be good, although hit as not ad time to Aac- 
 quire the good quality of A age ; for hit is something 
 new, of course. 
 
 LAND. No, you mistake : I got hit direct from Mr. 
 Mammon s laboratory, where hit as been ^undergoing 
 the process of A acquiring Aage Aever since JETunclo 
 Tom was born. 
 
 CIT. Ah! as Ait? Well, ere s to the repose of 
 JTuncle Tom, and the downfall of American slavery ! 
 
 [Drinks. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 273 
 
 LAND. American slavery his a dreadful thing : ow 
 poor IZuncle Tom suffered Aat the ands of is cruel 
 master ! 
 
 CIT. Cruel, cruel ! But what his that box for ? 
 
 LAND. Read the label, Aand you will see : you Aare 
 a generous man. 
 
 CIT. [Reads.] This box is to receive penny con 
 tributions to put down slavery in the United States. 
 It is hoped this worthy object ivill enlist the co-operor 
 tion of all. "Well, I ll put in a penny ; for I ave Aas 
 much sympathy for the poor slave Aas my /^appetite 
 as for beer, gin, brandy, or whisky. Hit his a pity 
 there his so much suffering hm the world. 
 
 LAND. A great pity ; but Aif A our greatest grand 
 mother HQVQ ad not Aeaten a forbidden Aapple, the 
 world now would Aall be appy, Aand there would be 
 no slaves hm America, where they Aare most starved, 
 scarcely clothed, worked to death, Aand then flogged 
 ^entirely to death ! Oh, hit his orrible orrible ! 
 
 CIT. JSimcle Tom is to be represented 7iin a play 
 Aat the Liquor- all Theatre to-night, and hit will be 
 a first-rate performance, of course. 
 
 LAND. Per aps : hare you going to ^attend ? 
 
 CIT. Yes, if I ave money Aenough. Let me see : 
 I ave got just a shilling; that will take me Ain. 
 
 Eigh- o ! urra for .ffuncle Tom ! This shilling, which 
 12* 
 
274 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 my wife id away, comes andy now. What business 
 ad she to ide money from me ? .Ham I not lord of 
 my wife ? .Hare not the men lord of the women ? 
 As not a man the right to take care of Aall the money 
 Aafter they /tare united /tin matrimony ? 
 
 LAND. Of course e as. 
 
 CIT. Of course e as ! .Hare you going to the the 
 atre, landlord ? 
 
 LAND. No, I can not go ; I ave to remain ere to 
 Aattend to the wants of my customers ; it will not 
 do to neglect them : these .Huncle Tom drinks /tare 
 fan great demand. 
 
 CIT. Success to the drinks, Aand joy to the drink 
 ers ! I m for the theatre. Urra for /f uncle Tom ! 
 
 [Exit Citizen. 
 
 LAND. I ave no doubt that the play of .Himcle Tom 
 /tat Liquor- all, will be a good one ; but, Rafter /rail, 
 e might Aas well ave remained ere /*and spent is 
 money for .Huncle Tom drinks. Keally, e Aought to 
 know that the h administering to the /^appetite his the 
 /tonly way to /tobtain real Aenjoyment ; for /rin that 
 way /^all is cares Aand troubles /tin this life would be 
 banished, /tand the //annoyances by the /^importunities 
 which I know e is A often subjected to from the wants 
 of is wife Aand children would not /iaffect im Aany 
 Aall ! Really, the people bought to spend /tall 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 275 
 
 their money /tat my bar : ere s where they can get 
 the worth of their money ! 
 
 Enter a Woman. 
 
 Ere again, eh ? Well, what d ye want ? Aven t 
 I told you not to come ere /tany more? So get 
 /taway from ere ! 
 
 WOMAN. Please, sir, I wish to know /ilf my usband 
 as been ere. 
 
 LAND. Well, e as, /tand e as gone /taway again. 
 So, go /taway, woman ! 
 
 WOMAN. Please, sir, where as e gone ? 
 
 LAND. I know not, /tand I care not ; nor will I care 
 where you go but begone ! 
 
 WOMAN. [Going. ] I wish e was /tat ome! 
 Please, landlord, don t sell my usband /tany more 
 liquor ! 
 
 LAND. That s what I Aexpected. No more of your 
 /iimportunities : I ve been /tannoyed enough with 
 them ! My liquors are my property, /tand I 11 do 
 what I choose with them, without /tasking the li advice 
 of a woman. We /tall ave to take the world /tas /tit 
 appens so go /taway, woman! 
 
 [ The Woman goes to her home ; and ivhen the bell 
 tolls the midnight hour, her Husband is brought 
 to her DEAD, having been killed in a drunken 
 fight ! The Murderer, of course, is to be hanged. 
 
276 
 
 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 SCENE XXII. 
 
 A Northern City. Street before the Notional Thea 
 tre. People entering- the Theatre. Enter the 
 Street, two Southerners. Music within. 
 
 IST SOUTH. That is good music. This is a theatre : 
 let us go in and see the play. 
 
 2o SOUTH. It is the Notional Theatre, and, for spe 
 cial reasons, I will not patronize it. However, let us 
 see what the play is. [Reads the bill. ] " NOTIONAL 
 THEATRE. UNCLE TOM S CABIN EVERY NIGHT ! UN 
 PARALLELED SUCCESS OF THIS GREAT MORAL DRAMA !" 
 
 IST SOUTH. Why, the play must be about Uncle 
 Tom, who was killed by his cruel master, Legree. It 
 is unfortunate that such a person should ever own a 
 slave. 
 
 2o SOUTH. It is ; but our system allows it. 
 
 IST SOUTH. But there are laws that protect the 
 slave from cruelty. 
 
 2v SOUTH. True ; yet they give no protection when 
 they are not enforced. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 277 
 
 IST SOUTH. Public sentiment against the abuse of 
 slaves is their great protection. 
 
 2D SOUTH. It did not protect Uncle Tom. 
 
 IST SOUTH. But I have learned that Legree s plan 
 tation and slaves have been sold, and that he has left 
 the country. Did not public sentiment compel him 
 to do so ? 
 
 2o SOUTH. No : the same circumstance that had 
 taken the property from its former proprietor, took it 
 also from Legree. Its former owner had become in 
 solvent from the effects of intemperance, and the prop 
 erty was sold cheap at sheriff s sale, and Legree be 
 came the purchaser. But the tavern in the town 
 near by, is the legendary of sad reverses. Legree 
 was fond of the intoxicating beverages, and, in no 
 mysterious way, his property went from his hands, and 
 he himself has gone I know not where. 
 
 IST SOUTH. Legree is an unfortunate a wretched 
 man. 
 
 2o SOUTH. He is, indeed. I have learned, from 
 one more familiar with him, that there were times 
 when a singular feeling would possess him, and he 
 would exclaim : Celestra ! Is it possible ? The 
 Notional Theatre ! That fatal drink!" I believe, 
 if we were to know more concerning him, we would 
 be more inclined to pity than to blame ; and it is pos- 
 
278 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 sible that the bar-room in this very theatre, may have 
 had much to do with his first step to ruin. The 
 crowd has gone in. Let us see what these pictures 
 are. [Advancing into the vestibule, and observing 
 pictures hanging on the wall. ] This picture seems 
 to represent Mr. Shelby and Haley drinking and ma 
 king terms about the sale of Uncle Tom. The changes 
 of Uncle Tom s fortune are in those glasses of wine ; 
 for it was this kind of indulgence which so controlled 
 Mr. Shelby s affairs that he was obliged to sell his 
 slaves! Let us depart: we have got too near the 
 liquid poison within ; for I smell its offensive odor ! I 
 am already sick with a surfeit of curiosity, and have 
 no desire to enter. 
 
 IST SOUTH. Well, if this is a place, where, for 
 money, they make characters like Legree make 
 men beasts ; and then, for money, exhibit their 
 beastly actions as curiosities ! I also have no desiro 
 to enter. [Exeunt. 
 
 TICKET-SELLER. [Putting his head through the 
 ticket-door and thinking aloud.] Southern gentle 
 men, eh ? Wai, I don t " keer" whar a man comes 
 from ; if he only pays his quarter he can go in, and 
 if he don t, why, he can walk away ; but, after all, I 
 wish they had paid their quarters and gone in ; for, 
 really, this is the place where they can get the worth 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 279 
 
 of their money, especially in the play of Uncle Tom, 
 where they can see plantation manners see themselves 
 as others see em. But there comes a hard-looking 
 customer if he be a customer at all; no matter 
 if he has got a quarter he can see great sights inside. 
 
 Enter SIMON LEGREE intoxicated. 
 
 LEG. What bill is this, eh ? [Reads] " NOTIONAL 
 THEATRE. UNCLE TOM S CABIN EVERY NIGHT ! UN 
 PARALLELED SUCCESS OF THIS GREAT MORAL DRAMA" ! 
 Why, this is the Notional Theatre. I think I Ve been 
 here before. Shouldn t wonder if I have; I was 
 herewith Malverton took a drink and Ce- 
 lestra! but that s past ! I will not think of her. 
 Uncle Tom s Cabin must be a real curiosity ; for I 
 burnt it up before I left the plantation, and it must 
 have come up here on the principle that the resurrec 
 tion will be got up on : really, I would like to see the 
 ghost of Tom s cabin; I could tell if it be genuine; 
 for I know every feature of it, I know how all the 
 logs looked, where every knot was and every piece 
 of bark ; I would not be afeard of it either ; I ain t 
 afeard of anything; I wouldn t be afeard if Tom 
 himself should appear and occupy it ; no, not I. Let 
 me see ; I have a quarter left, and enough besides to 
 pay for a drink. I must see the curiosities. [Ad- 
 
280 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 vances into the vestibule. ] But what pict res are 
 these ? [Reads ] " HALEY MAKING TERMS WITH SHELBY 
 FOR SLAVES." Why, that must be the Shelby of old 
 Kentuck Tom s former master that I heard him 
 tell of. Well, I don t care anything about Shelby, 
 nor Haley, but I d like to have a good swig of that 
 liquor they ar drinkin . The very pict re of those 
 bottles and glasses, makes my mouth water for liquor 
 some real rum, or gin, or whisky, or cogniac ; but 
 I ll have to wait till I get inside, I reckon: But what 
 kind of a picture is this ? [ Observing a picture of 
 Uncle Tom being ivhipped, and reads ] " UNCLE 
 TOM WITH ANOTHER MASTER." Putting the whip on 
 im, eh ? " Wai," that looks really nat ral. That s 
 the way to make a nigger dance. [Hops up.~\ Go it, 
 Tom, if that s you ; and I believe it is ; for it looks 
 just like you, a real pious nigger: I feel as if I 
 should like to have hold of that whip: I m used to 
 that kind of business : I could make the very pict re 
 of Tom hop right up! [Hops up] but but I m 
 out of that business now. My plantation is gone, and 
 niggers too ! I must see the play ; for it will be 
 amusement : may be they 11 want some applause made, 
 and if they do, I can do that just as easy as blowing 
 on a whistle after I have oiled my blower with a little 
 rum or gin, or whisky, or brandy. I say, Mr. [to the 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 281 
 
 Ticket Agent] how much will I have to pay to go in 
 and see the performance ? 
 
 T. AGENT. You can go in for a quarter. 
 
 LEG. " Wai," here tis ; it is the last quarter I ve 
 got, but I Ve got enough left to buy a drink or two 
 of the good 0-be-joyful, at the bar within : I am glad 
 you have such good accommodations. 
 
 [Pays his quarter and goes in. 
 
 SCENE XXIII. 
 
 On a Steamboat descending- the Ohio River. 
 ter a Southerner and a Northerner. 
 
 SOUTH. This is delightful view presented here, 
 Of the Ohio river and its shores. 
 
 NORTH. It is. 
 
 SOUTH. The scenery upon each marge, 
 
 Especially, is very beautiful ; 
 Those wide-branched sycamores and stately elms, 
 With foliage like to the emerald, 
 Are very pleasing to the view. 
 
 NORTH. They are, 
 
 And must delight they eye of every one. 
 
 SOUTH. And if insatiate thence the vision tnrn 
 
282 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 Deflecting glance into the lucid stream, 
 The imaged arbors perfectly appear, 
 Inverted, yet as grand as beautiful. 
 
 NORTH. There is much here presented to the view 
 That challenges affection of the eyes, 
 Which are indeed the servitors of mind. 
 The scenes that lie surrounding I admire, 
 Although not admirable equally, 
 To me, appear the separated shores. 
 
 SOUTH. But I can not observe the difference, 
 If there be any real difference, 
 In nature s handy-work upon the shores, 
 Between which lies this river s coursing way : 
 Each side possesses varied scenery, 
 Of cliffs, of hills, of plains, of fields, of woods ; 
 All admirable in variety. 
 
 NORTH. All that is admirable I admire 
 In works of nature and of art, as far 
 As nature may, and art themselves alone, 
 Resolve in the sublimer faculties ; 
 All this itself is pleasing to the eye, 
 Itself is gratifying to the mind ; 
 Yet there may be what of itself is fair, 
 Connected with associations, such, 
 That when the eye beholds, the mind grows sick, 
 And then the scene grows painful to the eye, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 283 
 
 Which turns to be delightful otherwhere ; 
 
 So when I look upon the southern shore 
 
 Of the Ohio river, I grow sick 
 
 From the associations that arise 
 
 And fill my mind with painful contemplations ; 
 
 Therefore I rather turn my eyes away 
 
 From cliffs, and hills, and plains, and fields, and woods, 
 
 Which, on the shore that lies upon the south, 
 
 Are but the symbols in mnemonic art, 
 
 Presenting all the evil of the land, 
 
 Which evil has such vasty magnitude, 
 
 The Union is all blighted with its curse. 
 
 SOUTH. I must confess that I am not awaro 
 To what you now allude, since, very oft, 
 Opinions are conflicting ; what to one, 
 Presents appearance very hideous, 
 Another looks on with indifference, 
 Yet shrinks aghast at what the former sees, 
 Mild and most specious in comparison : 
 And yet I think you may allude, perhaps, 
 To slavery, since what to me appears 
 An evil to be deprecated more 
 Is not here limited by parallel, 
 Nor any marge of any watery way. 
 
 NORTH. I do allude to human slavery 
 For nothing else on earth is like to it, 
 
284 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Since of all evils, this presents the sum. 
 
 SOUTH. Sir, sir ? 
 
 NORTH. A man made in the image of his God, 
 Must toil and sweat beneath the tyrant s lash, 
 That tyranny may lie on beds of ease ! 
 What can afflict the contemplation more ? 
 
 SOUTH. 0, 1 can tell you ! It is painful more 
 To see that image which is likest God s, 
 Struck down in everlasting ruins, that 
 The beasts can even gaze upon his fall, 
 Yet none can comprehend how low his fall ! 
 0, sir ! the evils of intemperance 
 O er all this land, are spread in broad extent 
 Dark is the curse and dire the misery 
 That follow on its desolating way ! 
 
 NORTH. Yet it is voluntary on man s part, 
 If he degrade himself through appetite ; 
 But tis not, in regard to slavery 
 One can not choose, and by that choice be free, 
 When power sways over him its mastery. 
 
 SOUTH. Though he can not, the will is not enslaved, 
 As in the case of appetite depraved, 
 Which is the greater bondage on the world, 
 Because thereby man s normal being yields 
 And is struck down into the deepest ruin ! 
 My home is in the south, and yet I think 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 285 
 
 I have not learned unjust comparison. 
 
 NORTH. I think you have ; Look on the sunny 
 
 south; 
 
 Behold the Ethiop blood and Anglican, 
 In concourse through the veins of servitude ! 
 Say, who are they in bondage, not allowed 
 To learn of Heaven or hell except by proxy ! 
 Bought, sold made meanest chattels of! 
 Oppressors of the sunny south, these are 
 Your sons and your daughters ! Think of it. 
 Th day blushes ; the night blackens over the 
 Enormities of your iniquities ! 
 
 SOUTH. Sir, sir, 
 
 NORTH. Eeceive it as you may ; tis true. 
 
 SOUTH. who am I to listen, and not strike 
 A blow at once to punish insolence ! 
 Am I coward ? am I not a coward ? 
 You would appear a brave man : is it brave 
 To utter such uncharitable speech, 
 Presuming on defying attitude ? 
 
 NORTH. Whatever you may call it, let it pass : 
 I do not fear whatever you may do. 
 
 SOUTH. Indeed ! I hope it is not your design 
 To tempt me to do something I ought not, 
 And after, would be very sorry for, 
 When high-wrought passion be allayed again. 
 
286 THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 NORTH. I tempt no man ; I only speak the truth. 
 Do what you may, I fear no southerner. 
 SOUTH. And must I bear all this? No: I will 
 
 strike 
 
 And punish insolence, though afterward, 
 It should be more occasion for regret, 
 Than any other act of all my life. 
 
 [Advances with a stiletto drawn from his cane : 
 
 Northerner draws a pistol and retreats. 
 NORTH. Hold ! hold ! I say, or I will blow you 
 
 through ! 
 SOUTH. No no I will not strike; for this is 
 
 not 
 
 The virtue of a man, this drunkards do 
 When they are wrought with the distempered 
 
 draughts ! 
 
 NORTH. I see it is this weapon that you fear. 
 SOUTH. I fear your weapon not ; I fear myself. 
 It follows not essentially that I 
 Should be, like many of my countrymen, 
 Excited easily to fatal strife. 
 Nay : reason holds me back ; it stays my hand ; 
 For I have somewhat seen the world s wide ways 
 Whence many mischiefs rise, and I confess, 
 I rather judge you honest in your thoughts, 
 And let it pass as wisdom would advise. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 287 
 
 NORTH. My thoughts are honest thoughts and true 
 as honest. 
 
 SOUTH. I do not question it : I know that wrong 
 Exists in great degree in latitudes 
 Where instituted service bears its chains. 
 
 NORTH. A good confession ; very good confession : 
 "Whoever rather will confess a wrong 
 Than hide it, is deserving of respect, 
 And I am glad to hear you thus confess. 
 I could not dwell where slavery exists : 
 I rather be removed from all its curse 
 And scenes of horror, to some other clime 
 Where man s own offspring are not made his slaves, 
 To toil per-force and do his drudgery ; 
 Where no Legrees and Lokers torture them, 
 And bring them victims to the gates of death. 
 
 SOUTH. Yet where is there a country free from 
 wrongs. 
 
 NORTH. The northern part of these United States 
 Is free from wrongs like these. 
 
 SOUTH. 0, is it so ? 
 
 I know that in the country where I live, 
 Man is not all divine, nor half divine ; 
 For frailty is the large inheritance 
 Of mortals there, however different 
 It may be in the country that you speak of; 
 
288 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 For farther in the northern latitudes, 
 
 The composition of mankind is such, 
 
 That the intoxicating beverage, 
 
 Inflames the passions and depraves the thoughts 
 
 And the affections, so the consequence 
 
 Whicfy makes the day blush and which blackens night, 
 
 Is that the master s sons and daughters are, 
 
 In many cases, illegitimate 
 
 And born to the inheritance of chains ! 
 
 There, poisonous potions are not good for man ; 
 
 They drink the beverage and so become 
 
 Legrees and Lokers, and their dreadful acts 
 
 Are heralded abroad the wide, wide world. 
 
 NORTH. It matters not what causes evils deeds ; 
 Bad acts are bad, whatever be the cause. 
 
 SOUTH. Banish the cause, the deeds will disappear, 
 Pray, tell me, sir, if in the northern states, 
 Men are so constituted that vile drink 
 Will harm them not ? say, are they proof against 
 The poisons of th intoxicating cup, 
 So that thereby their passions may not task 
 All guilty consequence to bring reproach ? 
 
 NORTH. Well, whether they be poison proof or not, 
 I need not intimate ; they have no slaves. 
 
 SOUTH. Yet that which doth degrade men lower 
 than slaves, 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 289 
 
 Or even beasts, they have abundance of; 
 And that they give to men ; nay, sell to men : 
 Ay, sell to us, remote the burning zone 
 Less far than this cold line. We drink the fire, 
 And then our acts be such that, judging us, 
 You think we scarce deserve the name of men. 
 NORTH. Your acts be wholly your own acts, not 
 ours ; 
 
 And yet you seek to implicate the north 
 
 In cruelties upon the Ethiop slave ! 
 
 Is it not ever so with guiltiness ? 
 
 Guilt ever seeks to hide its hideous shape, 
 
 By turning gaze upon some imperfection 
 
 In the accusing spirit. 
 SOUTH. Doth it so ? 
 
 Whatever evil there be in the land 
 
 Where slaves toil. I would not attempt to hide. 
 
 But has the north not done them any wrong ? 
 
 And if they have, may I not speak of it, 
 
 If I have any feeling for the wronged ? 
 
 And doth not this inquiry answer you ? 
 
 But if it answer not, I 11 answer, then, 
 
 " Guilt ever seeks to hide its hideous shape 
 
 By turning gaze upon some imperfection 
 
 In the accusing spirit." 
 
 NORTH. We need not 
 
 13 
 
290 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Debate unprofitably. 
 
 SOUTH. It may be 
 
 Not all unprofitable. If you please 
 Look yonder ; can you tell what craft that is 
 We are approaching? 
 
 NORTH. Yes, it is a flat-boat. 
 
 SOUTH. You see those barrels on it, do you not ? 
 NORTH. I do, 
 
 SOUTH. That humble boat, too, has a name. 
 
 NORTH. It has a name ; for I can plainly see , 
 It is the " Whisky-dealer of Ohio." 
 Enter a Flat-boat loaded with whisky. The Steam 
 boat , halting to set a passenger ashore, remains some 
 little time in talking distance from the Flat-boat, 
 BOATMEN. [Singing.] 
 
 " Heigh-o, the boatmen row, 
 
 Way down the river on the 0-hi-o ; 
 Heigh-o, the boatmen row, 
 Way down the river on the 0-hi-o ; 
 Boatmen dance, boatmen sing, 
 Boatmen up to anything ; 
 Boatmen dance, boatmen sing, 
 Boatmen up to anything." 
 SOUTH. Now I will speak with them, though they 
 
 should think 
 I am impertinent when I shall ask 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 291 
 
 How far they go, and what they have aboard ? 
 Halloo the boat. 
 
 BOAT. Halloo, yourself, I say ; 
 
 Are you going to run all night ? 
 
 SOUTH. How far do you go down the river, sir ? 
 
 BOAT. [Singing.] 0, way down the 0-hi-o, 
 
 Then down the Mis-sis-sip-pi-o. 
 
 SOUTH. Excuse me, sir, what have you got aboard? 
 
 BOAT. 0, we have got a jolly crew aboard ! 
 And more than that, we ve got a load of whisky. 
 
 SOUTH. I must not question it, but what, indeed 
 Is your boat loaded with ? 
 
 BOAT - Whisky, I say. 
 
 SOUTH. I beg your pardon, now I understand 
 It is your boat thus loaded, not yourselves ; 
 But tell me, pray, what is your whisky good for ? 
 
 BOAT. 0, it is good tis good why, it is good 
 To drown cares, quench fears, and make men brave. 
 
 SOUTH. Does it drown cares ? It brings them on 
 
 in trains 
 
 Unceasing till the grave devours them all, 
 All that are mortal ; some of them may live 
 Still on, and fill eternity with wo! 
 Does it quench fear ? It rather makes men blind 
 To every danger, and step o er the mark 
 Discretion lays betwixt the good and ill. 
 
292 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 Ah ! does it make men brave ? It makes them rash, 
 And with temerity they rush on death ! 
 Let him, and him alone, be counted brave 
 Who can withstand temptation s hard assaults 
 And gainst the evil passions in his breast 
 Wage a successful war ; but I would not 
 Give you unpleasant feelings ; if I do, 
 It gives me also pain, but I must speak 
 As I think may be service to mankind ; 
 For I desire the greatest good of all. 
 
 IST BOAT. 0, no offence whatever, sir, and if 
 You judge our article of trade not good 
 For all the things that I have mentioned, then, 
 I ll tell you what tis good for ; It is good 
 To make Legrees of and Tom Lokers of! 
 ALL THE BOATMEN. [Rowing- and Singing.] 
 " Heigh-o, the boatmen row 
 
 Way down the river on the 0-hi-o ; 
 
 Heigh-o, the boatmen row 
 
 Way down the river on the 0-hi-o ; 
 
 Boatmen dance," 
 
 [ The Flat-boat moves away. 
 SOUTH. To make Legrees of and Tom Lokers 
 
 of!- 
 
 But the Legrees and Lokers have not all 
 Their dwelling in the south ; for well I know 
 
I ll tell you what tis j^ood for; It is -ood 
 To make Le^rees of and Tom Lokcrs of! 
 
 I AGK 292. 
 
THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 293 
 
 That there are such inhabiting the north, 
 Which place my traverse way hath many times 
 Brought me along. On such occasion once, 
 When I was powerless to interfere, 
 I saw two men in furious combat strive, 
 Who were in state of partial drunkenness ; 
 Each struggled hard to ward the other s blow 
 And thrust his weapon with a fatal aim ! 
 I heard a cry ! I saw the champion 
 Rise from his foe, with the stiletto, true 
 To its sad purpose, quivering in his heart ! 
 Then on the body sat the murderer, 
 The severed head of his antagonist, 
 With blood-stained fingers twisted in its hair, 
 Dripped sanguinary drops while demon-like 
 He whirled it round, and swung it to and fro ; 
 
 And a triumphant smile played on his lips, 
 
 Smile which had wandered from infernal depths ; 
 Then uttered horrid imprecations on 
 
 His victim, quite too awful to repeat, 
 
 Prayed that his soul might find all else but rest, 
 
 And in a frenzy far too deep for earth 
 
 He muttered o er and o er his hellish prayer ! 
 
 NORTH. But northern men do not alone afford 
 Means of intoxication to the south ; 
 Yet I allow that gold hath tempted them 
 
294 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 To furnish much infernal beverage, 
 
 Which I do wish were banished from the world, 
 
 Because the cup is full of cruelties, 
 
 Almost beyond all human utterance ! 
 
 SOUTH. The tongue that tells its cruelties, should 
 
 be 
 
 All lightning that the voice should falter not ! 
 The ear that hears them, lest it afterward 
 Forget all sound, should be so far removed 
 That it could not distinguish if it be 
 The lightning s answer or the voice of winds, 
 Or rushing waters, or the din of war ! 
 The pen that writes them, should be flint, and fire, 
 And steel, in order to endure the task ! 
 The eyes that look upon them, should be all 
 Of stone, and dull as night, lest they should weep, 
 A flood of tears and drown the world again ! 
 You say you wish it banished from the world. 
 You do wish so ? Here is my hand my heart 
 No doubt we understand each other well 
 And argument should have its period. 
 
 NORTH. My heart responds, and we will yet be 
 
 friends : 
 
 On temperance our Liberty depends ; 
 United, we will banish as a foe, 
 The poison-cup, which is a cup of wo. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 295 
 
 SOUTH. Which would usurp supremacy entire 
 And burn mankind with its consuming fire. 
 
 [ The boat moves away. 
 
 SCENE XXIV. 
 
 A Forest in AMERICA. Enter LUCIFER and BEEL 
 ZEBUB. 
 
 BEEL. Lucifer, thou hast observed how well 
 The powers at my command have followed out 
 The scheme which made such victim of Legree 
 As made the angels weep ; yet while the acts 
 Which we have done, are sounded o er the land 
 In solemn cadences, see what advance 
 Supernal powers have made against vile drinks. 
 
 Luc. I know how great the influence of all 
 Associations working now combined, 
 Their vast attempts ; and yet this follows not 
 From the divisional disturbance, no ; 
 For there is no relationship to cause 
 The like dependency, therefore we need 
 Chiefly do this pursue the policy 
 Which makes Legree our victim, with vile drinks 
 Perform innumerable acts, which they, 
 
296 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 "Who sympathize with suffering, will deem 
 Abomination ; yet conceal the cause 
 So that reacting effort operate 
 Upon effects alone ; and by such means 
 "We yet will counteract opposing power ; 
 For violence upon the government 
 Of these United States, shall by the drink, 
 Be carried to its utmost so shall fall 
 This Union, and for ever then will be 
 Distracting feuds while fullest liberty 
 Shall follow to the instruments of ill 
 And even now in Kansas have we not 
 Established rule ? for there the fiery essence 
 Blasts the immortal man ! 
 
 BEEL. Ay, very true 
 
 That country is on our side of the line 
 Already ; for the deeply-burning liquids 
 There serve our will ! 
 
 Luc. Arise now, fallen spirits ; 
 
 And soon this Union shall be victimized 
 And not this Union only, but the world ! 
 
 BEEL. It shall be ; there is power enough in lies 
 To fill this world with sighs and miseries ! [Exeunt. 
 
THE DRAMA OF EARTH. , 297 
 
 SCENE XXV. 
 
 Within a Hospital LEGREE on a Bed. Attendants. 
 
 LEG. What place is this ? Why are these devils 
 
 here? 
 
 Away ! away ! for this place is not hell ! 
 Now vipers cling to me ! 0, take them off! 
 Now they are crawling over me ! Take off 
 These snakes they hiss at me ! 0, horrible ! 
 Protect me from these dread pursuing fiends 
 That multiply around me with their torments ! 
 Now flames dance round now darkness strikes me 
 
 blind. 
 
 Now frightful beings indescribable 
 Gaze on me hideous ! I shut my eyes 
 To see them not, and yet I see them still ! 
 Do ye not see them, and do ye not hear them ? 
 Now I am falling ! falling ! where am I ? 
 Oh ! what a vast and absolute abyss ! 
 Off, Demons ! Oh ! is there no one who will 
 Deliver me from terrors ? God ! but 
 
298 THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 There is no God who will deliver ine ; 
 Celestra, 0, Celestra, where are you 
 You who would never leave me comfortless 
 While you were on earth to comfort me 
 Where are you now ? Come, save me from these 
 
 fiends ! 
 
 These fiery dragons ! But she is in heaven : 
 ? T is well, but I am going into hell ! 
 Take off these snakes ! Take off their icy coils ! 
 They glare at me. with dreadful eyes of fire ! 
 I ll take them off; but now I can not feel 
 My body with my hands. 36 Where am I now ? 
 I have no body sensible to touch ! 
 My spirit disembodied falls in torments ! 
 Celestra, save me, save me, Celestra ! [Dies. 
 
 END OF PART III. 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH, 
 
 NOTE 1. Page 28. 
 
 For here the habitation is, of man 
 The highest of intelligences that 
 Inhabit any orb. 
 
 WE have reason to believe that most of the planets are 
 inhabited by intelligent beings, but of what characters, and 
 what degrees of intelligence, we can not resolve ; and, 
 for the purposes of this drama, it may be of little conse 
 quence if it should be discovered that I have erred in 
 representing the primitive inhabitants of this earth as 
 beings intellectually superior to those who may inhabit 
 other planets. 
 
 NOTE 2. Page 38, 
 Upon the next day, in the evening. 
 
 ALTHOUG uforen oon and afternoon are used respectively 
 for morning and evening, yet the latter have also been in 
 use from ancient time, and are now generally used in the 
 southern states. 
 
300 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 NOTE 3. Page 46. 
 His labor here among these fruitful trees. 
 
 MAN was placed in the Garden of Eden to dress it and 
 keep it. Of course we are to understand that this was 
 labor, which, in a moderate degree, is not a curse. If 
 mankind were now in their normal state, all who are 
 neither too old nor too young, would be in the condition 
 to labor, and would have intelligence so that little, very 
 little of their labor would prove without effect or be lost, 
 and therefore all could have the proper luxuries of life 
 by means of that amount of labor which is not a curse 
 but a blessing. 
 
 NOTE 4. Page 50. 
 Enter LUCIFER in the shape of an Orang-Outang. 
 
 I KNOW not that it is of any importance whether the 
 form which Satan assumed when he beguiled the first 
 human pair, was, or was not, that of a serpent. In 
 this drama I have chosen to represent it as one of the 
 simia genus; and however much it may be supposed to 
 be the subject of exceptions, is also of little account ; and 
 whether either the literal, or the allegorical interpretation 
 of the Mosiac account of the fall of man, be the correct one 
 instead of the other, it can not affect the truth that evil 
 is in the world, and that it is the same, by whatever agent 
 it may have been caused. However, for the benefit of 
 those who may read this volume, and be curious to learn 
 what reasons there may be for believing that the animal 
 which the tempter possessed on that occasion, may have 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 3Q1 
 
 been as well one of the simia tribe, as a serpent, and 
 
 who may not otherwise have convenient access to those 
 reasons I submit the folio wing exegesis of the scriptural 
 reference to the same, as given by Dr. Adam Clarke, 
 whose reputation of being learned in the languages, may 
 entitle it to favorable consideration. 
 
 " We have here [Gen. chap. iii.J one of the most 
 difficult, as well as the most important narratives in the 
 whole book of God. The last chapter ended with a short, 
 but striking account of the perfection and felicity of the 
 first human beings, and this opens with an account of 
 their transgression, degradation, and ruin. That man is 
 in a fallen state, the history of the world, with that of 
 the life and miseries of every human being, establish be 
 yond successful contradiction. But how, and by what 
 agency, was this brought about ? Here is a great mys 
 tery; and I may appeal to all persons who have read 
 the various comments that have been written on the 
 Mosaic account, whether they have ever yet been satis 
 fied on this part of the subject, though convinced of the 
 fact itself. Who was the serpent 1 Of what kind, in what 
 way did he seduce the first happy pair ? These are ques 
 tions which remain yet to be answered. The whole account 
 is either a simple narration of facts, or it is an allegory. 
 If it be a historical relation, its literal meaning should be 
 sought out ; if it be an allegory, no attempt should be 
 made to explain it, as it would require a direct revelation 
 to ascertain the sense in which it should be understood ; 
 for fanciful illustrations are endless. Believing it to be a 
 simple relation of facts capable of a satisfactory explana 
 tion, I shall take it up on this ground, and by a careful 
 
302 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 examination of the original text, endeavor to fix the 
 meaning and show the propriety and consistency of the 
 Mosaic account of the Fall of Man. The chief difficulty 
 in the account is found in the question : Who was the 
 agent employed in the seduction of our first parents ? 
 
 " The word in the text, which we, following the Sep- 
 tuagint, translate serpent, is wna nachash, and according 
 to Buxtorf and others, has three meanings in scripture. 
 1. It signifies to view or observe attentively, to divine or use 
 enchantments, because in them the augurs viewed atten 
 tively the flight of birds, the entrails of beasts, the course 
 of the clouds, etc., and under this head it signifies to ac 
 quire knowledge by experience. 2. It signifies brass, 
 brazen, and is translated in our Bible, not only brass, but 
 chains, fetters, fetters of brass, and in several places steel : 
 see 2 Sam. xxii. 35 ; Job xx. 24 ; Psal. xviii. 34 ; and 
 in one place, at least, Jilthiness or fornication ; Ezekiel, 
 xvi. 36. 3. It signifies a serpent, but of what kind is 
 not determined. In Job xxvi. 13, it seems to mean the 
 whale or hippopotamus. By his spirit he hath garnish 
 ed the heavens ; his hand hath formed the crooked ser- 
 ven,t,rm um nachash bariach; asVr&barach signifies 
 to pass on or pass through, and ima bcriach is used for 
 a bar of a gate or door that 2>asscd through rings, etc., 
 the idea of straightness rather than crookedness, should be 
 attached to it here ; and it is likely that the hippopotamus 
 or sea-horse is intended by it. In Eccles x. 11, the 
 creature called nachash of whatever sort, is compared to 
 the babbler. Surely the serpent (iana nachash), will bite 
 without enchantment ; and a babbler is no better. 
 
 " In Isai. xxvii. 1, the crocodile or alligator seems par- 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 303 
 
 ticularly meant by the original. In that day the Lord 
 shall punish leviathan, the piercing serpent, etc. And in 
 Isai. Ixv. 25, the same creature is meant as in Gen. iii. 1, 
 for in the words : And dust shall be the serpent s meat, 
 there is an evident allusion to the text of Moses. In 
 Amos, ix. 3, the crocodile is evidently intended. Though 
 they be hid in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command 
 the serpent (tiJHin hannachash), and he shall bite them. No 
 person can suppose that any of the snake or serpent kind 
 can be intended here ; and we see from the various ac 
 ceptations of the word, and the different senses which 
 it bears in various places in the sacred writings, that it ap 
 pears to be a sort of general term confined to no one sense. 
 Hence it will be necessary to examine the root accurate 
 ly, to see if its ideal meaning will enable us to ascer 
 tain the animal intended in the text. We have already 
 seen that UJfiS nachash signifies to view attentively, to 
 acquire knowledge, or experience by attentive observation ; 
 so ^ntijna nichas/iti (Gen. xxx. 27), I have learned by expe 
 rience; and this seems to be its most general meaning in 
 the Bible. The original word is, by the Septuagint, 
 translated oy>ts, a serpent, not because this was its Jixed 
 determinate meaning in the sacred writings, but because 
 it was the best that occurred to the translators; and 
 they do not seem to have given themselves much trouble 
 to understand the meaning of the original ; for they have 
 rendered the word as variously as our translators have 
 done; or rather our translators have followed them, as 
 they give nearly the same significations found in the 
 Septuagint ; hence we find that oyis is as frequently used 
 by them as serpent, its supposed literal meaning as used 
 
304 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 in our version. And the New Testament writers who 
 seldom quote the Old Testament, but from the Sep- 
 tuagint translation, and do not often change a word 
 in their quotations, copy this version in the use of this 
 word. From the Septuagint, therefore, we can expect no 
 light, nor indeed from any other of the ancient versions, 
 which are all subsequent to the Septuagint, and some of 
 them actually made from it. In all this uncertainty, it is 
 natural for a serious inquirer after truth, to look every 
 where for information. And in such an inquiry, the Ar 
 abic may be expected to afford some help, from its great 
 similarity to the Hebrew. A root in this language, very 
 similar to that in the text, seems to cast considerable 
 light on the subject : >MAAL chanas, or khanasa, signifies 
 he departed, drew off, lay hid, seduced, slunk away ; from 
 this root come \p&]akhnas t \MUJ^> khanasa, and \J^y^ 
 khanoos, which all signify an ape, or satyrus, or any crea 
 ture of the simia or ape genus. 
 
 "It is very remarkable also that from the same root 
 comes ui\J^Jthanas t the devil, which appellative he bears 
 from that meaning of u*/*L khanasa, he drew off, seduced, 
 etc., because he draws men off from righteousness, seduces 
 them from their obedience to God, etc. Is it not strange 
 that the devil and the ape should have the same name, 
 derived from the same root, and that root so very similar 
 to the word in the text 1 But let us return and consider 
 what is said of the creature in question. Now the nachash 
 was more subtle, d^S arum, more wise, cunning, or prudent 
 than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made ; 
 In this account we find : 1. That whatever this nachash 
 was, he stood at the head of all inferior animals for wis- 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 305 
 
 dom and understanding. 2. That he walked erect, for 
 this is necessarily implied in his punishment, on thy 
 Icily (i. e. on all fours) shalt thou go. 3. That he was en 
 dued with the gift of speech ; for a conversation is here 
 related between him and the woman. 4. That he was 
 also endued with the gift of reason, for we find him rea 
 soning and disputing with Eve. 5. That these things 
 were common to this creature, the woman no doubt having 
 often seen him walk erect, talk, and reason, and therefore 
 she testifies no hind of surprise when he accosts her in 
 the language related in the text; and indeed from the 
 manner in which this is introduced, it appears to be only 
 a part of a conversation that had passed between them 
 on the occasion, Yea hath God said, etc. 
 
 " Had this creature never been known to speak before 
 his addressing the woman at this time, and on this subject, 
 it could not have failed to excite her surprise, and to 
 have filled her with caution, though from the purity and 
 innocence of her nature, she might have been incapable 
 of being affected with/ear. Now I apprehend that none 
 of these things can be spoken of a serpent of any spe 
 cies. 1. None of them ever did, or ever can walk erect. 
 The tales we have had of two-footed and four-footed 
 serpents, are justly exploded by every judicious natu 
 ralist, and are utterly unworthy of credit. The very 
 name of serpent comes from serpo, to creep ; and there 
 fore, to such it could be neither curse nor punishment to 
 go on their bellies, i.e. to creep on as they had done from 
 their creation ; and must do while their race endures. 
 2. They have no organs for speech, or any kind of ar 
 ticulate sounds ; they can only hiss. It is true that an 
 
306 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 ass by miraculous influence, may speak ; but it is not to 
 be supposed that there was any miraculous interference 
 bere. God did not qualify this creature with speech for 
 the occasion, and it is not intimated that there was any 
 other agent that did it ; on the contrary, the text inti 
 mates, that speech and reason were natural to the nachash ; 
 and is it not in reference to this, the inspired penman 
 says : The nachash was more subtle or intelligent than all 
 the leasts of the field which the Lord God had made ? 
 
 " Nor can, I find that the serpentine genus are remark 
 able for intelligence. It is true, the wisdom of the ser 
 pent has passed into a proverb, but I can not see on what 
 it is founded, except in reference to the passage in ques 
 tion, where the nachash which we translate serpent, fol 
 lowing the Septuagint, shows so much intelligence and 
 cunning ; and it is very probable, that our Lord alludes 
 to this very place when he exhorts his disciples to be 
 wise, prudent, or intelligent, as serpents, rpgovipot us oi 
 cyeis", and it is worthy of remark, that he uses the same 
 term employed by the Septuagint, in the text in question, 
 Oyis r t v ytyori/LKOTnros, the serpent was more prudent or in 
 telligent than all the beasts, etc. All these things con 
 sidered, we are obliged to seek for some other word to 
 designate the nachash in the text, than the word serpent, 
 which on every view of the subject appears to me in 
 efficient and inapplicable. We have seen above that 
 khanas, ahhanas, and khanoos signify a creature of 
 the ape or satyrus kind. We have seen that the 
 meaning of the root is, he Jay hid, seduced, slunk away, 
 etc., and that khanas means the devil, as the inspir- 
 er of evil and the seducer from God and truth. (See 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 307 
 
 Golius and Wilmet.) It therefore appears to me, that a 
 creature of the ape or orang-outang kind, is here intend 
 ed ; and that Satan made use of this creature as the most 
 proper instrument for the accomplishment of his mur 
 derous purposes against the life and soul of man. Under 
 this creature he lay hid, and by this creature he seduced 
 our first parents, and drew off or slunk away from every 
 eye but the eye of God. Such a creature answers to 
 every part of the description in the text; it is evi 
 dent from the structure of its limbs and their muscles, 
 that it might have been originally designed to walk 
 erect, and that nothing less than a sovereign controlling 
 power, could induce them to put down hands in every 
 respect formed like those of man, and walk like those 
 creatures whose claw-armed paws prove them to have 
 been designed to walk on all fours. The subtlety, cun 
 ning, endlessly varied pranks and tricks of these creatures, 
 show them, even now, to be more subtle and more intelli 
 gent than any other creature, man alone excepted. Being 
 obliged now to walk on all fours, and gather their food 
 from the ground, they are literally obliged to eat the dust, 
 and though exceedingly cunning and careful in a varie 
 ty of instances, to separate that part which is whole 
 some and proper for food, from that which is not so, in 
 the article of cleanliness, they are lost to all sense of 
 propriety ; and though they have every means in their 
 power, of cleansing the aliments they gather off the 
 ground, and from among the dust, yet they never, in their 
 savage state, make use of any, except a slight rub 
 against their side, or with one of their hands, more to 
 see what the article is than to cleanse it. Add to this 
 
308 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 their utter aversion to walk upright ; it requires the Tit- 
 most discipline to bring them to it, and scarcely anything 
 irritates them more than to be obliged to do it. Long 
 observation on some of these animals, enables me to state 
 these facts. 
 
 " Should any person who may read this note, object 
 against my conclusions because apparently derived from 
 an Arabic word, which is not exactly similar to the He 
 brew, though to those who understand both languages, the 
 similarity will be striking ; yet, as I do not insist on the 
 identity of the terms, though important consequences have 
 been derived from less likely etymologies, he is welcome 
 to throw the whole of this out of account. He may then 
 teike up the Hebrew root only, which signifies to gaze, 
 to view attentively, pry into, inquire narrowly, etc., and 
 consider the passage that appears to compare the nacliasJi 
 to the babbler, (Eccles. xx. 11,) and he will soon find, 
 if he have any acquaintance with creatures of this genus, 
 that for earnest, attentive, watching, looking, etc., and for 
 chattering or babbling, they have no fellows in the animal 
 world. Indeed, the ability and propensity to chatter, is 
 all they have left, according to the above hypothesis, 
 of their original gift of speech, of which they appear to 
 have been deprived at the fall, as a part of their pun 
 ishment. 
 
 " I have spent the longer time on this subject : 1. 
 Because it is exceedingly obscure. 2. Because no in 
 terpretation hitherto given of it, has afforded me the 
 smallest satisfaction. 3. Because I think the above 
 mode of accounting for every part of the whole transac 
 tion, is consistent and satisfactory ; and in my opinion, 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 309 
 
 removes many embarrassments, and solves the chief diffi 
 culty. It can be no solid objection to the above mode 
 of solution, that Satan, in different parts of the New Tes 
 tament, is called the serpent ; the serpent that deceived 
 Eve by his sub tilt y ; the old serpent, etc., for we have al 
 ready seen that the New Testament writers have borrowed 
 the word from the Septuagint, and that the Septuagint 
 themselves use it in a vast variety and latitude of mean 
 ing ; and surely the orang-outang is as likely to be the 
 animal in question as ttJFiS nachash and oyis ophis, are likely 
 to mean at once a snake, a crocodile, a hippopotamus, for 
 nication,, a chain, a pair of fetters, & piece of brass, a. piece 
 of steel, and a conjurer ; for we have seen above, that all 
 these are acceptations of the original word. Besides, the 
 New Testament writers seem to lose sight of the animal 
 or instrument used on the occasion, and speak only of 
 Satan himself, as the cause of the transgression and the 
 instrument of all evil. If however, any person should 
 choose to differ from the opinion stated above, he is at 
 perfect liberty to do so ; I make it no article of faith, 
 nor of Christian communion. I crave the same liberty 
 to judge for myself, that I give to others, to which every 
 man has an indisputable right, and I hope no man will 
 call me a heretic for departing in this respect from the 
 common opinion, which appears to me to be so embar 
 rassed as to be altogether unintelligible." 
 
 " [Ver. 14.J The tempter is not asked why he deceived 
 the woman ; he can not roll the blame on any other ; 
 self-tempted he fell, and it is natural for him, such is his 
 enmity to deceive and destroy all he can. His fault ad 
 mits of no excuse, and therefore God begins to pronounce 
 
310 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 the sentence on him first. And here we must consider a 
 two-fold sentence, one on Satan and the other on the 
 agent he employed. The nachash, whom I suppose to 
 have been at the head of all the inferior animals, and in a 
 sort of society and intimacy with man, is to be degraded, 
 entirely banished from human society, and deprived of 
 the gift of speech Cursed art thou above all cattle and, 
 above every least of the field thou shalt be considered 
 the most contemptible of animals ; upon thy lelly shalt 
 thou go thou shalt no longer walk erect, but mark the 
 ground equally with thy hands and feet ; and dust shalt 
 thou cat though formerly possessed of the faculty to 
 distinguish, choose, and cleanse thy food, thou shalt feel 
 henceforth like the most stupid and abject quadruped, all 
 the days of thy life through all the innumerable gener 
 ations of thy species. God saw meet to manifest his 
 displeasure against the agent employed in this melancholy 
 business ; and perhaps this is founded on the part which 
 the intelligent and subtle nachash took in the seduction 
 of our first parents. We see that he was capable of it, 
 and have reason to believe that he became a willing 
 instrument. 
 
 " [Verse 15.J I will put enmity between thee and the wo 
 man. This has been generally supposed to apply to a 
 certain enmity subsisting between men and serpents, but 
 this is rather a fancy than a reality. It is yet to be dis 
 covered that the serpentine race have any peculiar en 
 mity against mankind, nor is there any proof that men 
 hate serpents more than they do other noxious animals. 
 Men have much more enmity to the common rat and 
 magpie than they have to all the serpents in the land, 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 311 
 
 because the former destroy the grain, etc., and serpents 
 in general, far from seeking to do men mischief, flee his 
 approach, and generally avoid his dwelling. If, however, 
 we take the word nachash to mean any of the simia or 
 ape species, we find a more consistent meaning, as there 
 is scarcely an animal in the universe so detested by most 
 women as these are ; and indeed men look on them as 
 continual caricatures of themselves. But we are not to 
 look for merely literal meanings here ; it is evident that 
 Satan, who, actuated this creature, is alone intended in 
 this part of the prophetic declaration. God, in his end 
 less mercy, has put enmity between men and him ; so 
 that, though all mankind love his service, yet all invaria 
 bly hate himself. Were it otherwise, who could be 
 saved 1 A great point gained toward the conversion of 
 the sinner is to convince him that it is Satan he has been 
 serving, that it is to him he has been giving up his soul, 
 body, goods, etc. ; he starts with horror when this convic 
 tion fastens on his mind, and shudders at the thought of 
 being in league with the old murderer. But there is a 
 deeper meaning in the text than even this, especially in 
 these words, it shall bruise thy head, or rather in hu, HE 
 who 1 the seed of the woman : the person is to come by 
 the woman, and by her alone, without the concurrence of 
 man. Therefore the address is not to Adam and Eve, 
 but to Eve alone; and it was in consequence of this 
 purpose of God that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin / 
 this, and this alone, is what is implied in the promise of 
 the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent. 
 Jesus Christ died to put away sin by the sacrifice of 
 himself, and to destroy him who had the power of death, 
 
312 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 that is, the devil Thus he bruises his head destroys 
 his power and lordship over mankind, turning them from 
 the power of Satan unto God. [Acts xxvi. 18.] And 
 Satan bruises his heel God so ordered it, that the salva 
 tion of men could only be brought about by the death of 
 Christ ; and even the spiritual seed of our blessed Lord 
 have the heel often bruised, as they suffer persecution, 
 temptation, etc., which may be all that is intended by 
 this part of the prophecy." 
 
 Aside from the above reference, intimation respecting 
 the chimpanzee, a species of the simia genus, or now 
 considered a distinct species, may reflect additional con 
 sideration to this subject. 
 
 " The chimpanzee is a native of the west coast of 
 Africa, where it is said to attain a stature equal to that of 
 a man. It is by some supposed to be not so far removed 
 from the negro as to render conversion of the one into the 
 other at all impossible. But if we compare this creature, 
 which is admitted by all zoologists, to make the nearest 
 approach in its structure to the physical conformation of 
 man, with the very lowest and least intelligent of the 
 human race, we shall find the difference so great, as 
 vastly to outweigh the resemblances, and render several 
 intermediate gradations of development necessary, before 
 we can arrive from the most man-like monkey at the 
 lowest and most ape-like of human beings. 
 
 " Like other monkeys, the chimpanzee possesses four 
 hands, that is to say, the hinder feet, instead of being 
 fitted as in man for walking on the ground, are converted 
 into hands to assist him in climbing trees, his ordinary 
 place of abode being among the branches. He progresses 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 313 
 
 in fact very awkwardly when in an upright position, as 
 the sole of his foot can not be brought flat to the ground, 
 and he is obliged to walk merely on the outside of it, 
 with his toes drawn up in a very cramped and uncomfort 
 able position. The thumb of these hinder hands, is by 
 no means so perfect as that of the true hands of the an 
 terior members, but even these, when compared with the 
 same organs in man, will be found very inferior in point 
 of perfection. The thumb is much shorter and incapable 
 of being brought into those varied relations with the 
 other fingers which enable the human hand to perform 
 such a vast variety of operations with so much delicacy 
 and precision. In the form of the head, too, the differ 
 ence is, perhaps, even still more striking. Instead of the 
 large cranium required to contain the brain of a human be 
 ing, the chimpanzee, like his congeners, has a flat, retreat 
 ing forehead, with a large ridge over the eyes for the at 
 tachment of the strong muscles of the jaws. In the 
 young animal, the forehead is higher, and the ridge just 
 mentioned far less distinct, so that the creature has then 
 a much more intelligent and amiable aspect than at a later 
 period of its existence; and as most, if not all, the speci 
 mens which have been brought alive to Europe, have been 
 young, a false impression of their intelligence and docility 
 and also of their external resemblance to the human race 
 has been produced, for it appears that when arrived at 
 maturity they acquire, along with great powers for mis 
 chief, every inclination to employ them 
 
 " Their human-like form does not prevent them from 
 being eaten by the negroes, who regard a well-cooked 
 chimpanzee as exceedingly palatable food, in spite of a 
 
 14 
 
314 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 tradition which is said to prevail amongst some of them, 
 the chimpanzees were once members of their own tribe, 
 but were expelled for the filthiness and depravity of their 
 habits. In captivity, especially when quite young, the 
 animals are exceedingly docile, and imitate many human 
 actions to great perfection, they will take their food with 
 knife, fork, and spoon, and sometimes appear to prefer 
 using these implements, to conveying the food to their 
 mouths with their hands. They drink from a cup or 
 glass, like a human being, and occasionally evince a very 
 human predilection for intoxicating liquors" 
 
 This reference to the chimpanzee, furnishes a text or 
 two, worthy of consideration : The tradition of the ne 
 groes, that the chimpanzees were once members of their own 
 tribes, but were expelled for thefflthiness and depravity of 
 their habits, may be true ; for God has ordained laws to 
 govern humanity. That there are causes which degrade 
 man toward the beast, is true ; and it is equally true that 
 there is no limit beyond which, downward, further cause 
 can not take him. Certain conditions are necessary for 
 the constitution of the being man : Those conditions are 
 such food, such drink, such employment, such society : 
 If those conditions be rejected through successive gener 
 ations, the being may still be, but it can not be MAN. 
 But, rather, 
 
 It can bo 
 
 Chimpanzee. 
 
 The same lie which was told to Eve, is told at this day : 
 An individual, whose depraved appetite craves such food 
 and drink as is not adapted to the wants of man in his 
 high, exalted nature, says to him whose appetite is not so 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 315 
 
 depraved : These things vile beer, stale, and artificial 
 wine, gin, rum, man-killer are all good for food, pleas 
 ant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one good and 
 wise! 
 
 NOTE 5. Page 73. 
 
 And is its fruit mature, and juice expressed, 
 Yet stak and noxious so that we may have, etc. 
 
 THE pure, unfermented juice of the grape is an article 
 of refreshment, and oftentimes very necessary ; and it is 
 far from my thought to speak against the use of any 
 thing that God, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, has 
 made for the manifold wants of man. Grapes contain a 
 large ratio of nutritive substance : sugar is one of their 
 principal ingredients ; but fermentation changes their 
 saccharine matter into alcohol, which still proves to be a 
 deadly poison, notwithstanding all the efforts put forth to 
 make the world believe that it is good for food and to 
 be desired to make one good and wise ! Besides the in 
 jurious quality of fermented wines, when we consider the 
 prevalence of the vile compounds which affect the feature 
 of imitation to them made up of logwood, rhatanay- 
 root, Brazil-wood, brandy-cowe, extract of almond-cake, 
 cherry -laurel-water, gum benzoin, aloes, tartaric acid, 
 lamb s blood, black sloes, sugar of lead ! who will deny 
 that even man the frail worm can work miracles by 
 making of deadly poisons, a liquor, which even while 
 it kills convinces the appetite that it is good for food, 
 and pleasant to the eyes, and to le desired to make one 
 good and 
 
316 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 NOTE 6. Page 78. 
 
 Cursed be Canaan, a servant he, 
 Of servants shall unto his brethren be. 
 
 " Instead of Canaan simply, the Arabic version has 
 Ham, the father of Canaan ; but this is acknowledged 
 by none of the other versions." CLARKE. 
 
 It seems probable that Ham and his son Canaan, 
 were habitually very intemperate, and that Noah, from 
 the knowledge of the hereditary effects of the same, 
 pronounced the curse on their posterity. " The words 
 in the original, says Hewlett, are only cursed Canaan, 
 equivalent to wretched, ill-fated Canaan / and might not 
 have been spoken till Noah s death." [ED. Comprehensive 
 Commentary] 
 
 By the meaning of the text and the context, it is ob 
 vious that it was not a single act of Ham nor his son 
 Canaan, in reference to Noah, for which either would in 
 cur a curse, himself individually, nor bring on his posterity 
 a curse having no immediate connection with the cause 
 
 but their acts must have been such as would necessarily 
 
 bring a curse on their posterity. Dr. Clarke says that 
 " Ham and, very probably his son Canaan, had treated 
 their father on this occasion with contempt or reprehen 
 sible levity." Be that as it was, it is not even suppo- 
 sable that such act, aside from the depravity to cause it, 
 would fix a curse on their multiplied descendants at this 
 day ; the meaning is plain : God shall enlarge Japheth 
 his posterity ; and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem ; 
 his posterity shall dwell in the tents of Shem s posterity; 
 and Canaan shall be his servant the descendants of 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 317 
 
 Canaan shall serve the descendants of Japheth. If it be, 
 as some commentators tell us on the authority of Dr. BUSH, 
 that Shem signifies name [renown] ; Ham, burnt, or black; 
 Japheth, persuasion, enlargement ; Canaan, extreme hu 
 miliation, it must be supposed that these very names had 
 been indicated by the spirit of prophecy : if otherwise, 
 .then it must be conceded that in the account of this occur 
 rence, which was probably written by Moses nearly 900 
 years afterward, the names Shem, Ham, and Japheth, 
 were also determined subsequently by the fortunes of 
 their descendants. 
 
 If doubt be raised as to Ham s or Canaan s depravity, 
 by the violation of physical law, being the cause of the 
 curse upon their posterity from generation to generation, 
 it must apparently be assumed as a part of its foundation, 
 that such is not a cause as likely to reduce to servitude 
 any race of man ; which assumption will receive due con 
 sideration whenever sincerely presented. 
 
 NOTE 7. Page 89. 
 
 We fain would have all feasting here abound, 
 But never fasting, since thereby, mankind 
 Become less subject to our influence. 
 
 FASTING is not instituted to do violence to the consti 
 tution ; for if it were, then the heathen who does violence 
 to himself by tearing his flesh with iron hooks in order 
 to appease the supposed anger of his gods, would there 
 by indulge in a form of worship equally proper. That 
 kind of fasting which does violence to the normal 
 constituency of the physical man, does the same violence 
 
318 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 to the mental and moral. Fasting is beneficial whenever 
 its effect is to strengthen the being the mind the 
 soul and bring it to the tension that guards against 
 excess and its concomitant influences. Fasting is bene 
 ficial to overcome the diseased state which is caused by 
 indulging the appetite in whatever is injurious, or by in 
 dulging it to excess. Fasting is beneficial to overcome 
 the vitiated, depraved, abnormal state of the ap 
 petite itself. Fasting is beneficial to overcome such 
 diseased state and such vitiated, depraved, abnormal 
 state of the appetite, whether it be caused by one s own 
 indulgence, or inherited from father, grandfather, or 
 great-grandfather, or progenitor who lived a thousand 
 years before, or even from Adam himself; and in this, 
 as well as in all acts of kindness and benevolence, our 
 Savior thought it proper to be exemplar ; for by the 
 record of his acts we find that immediately after he was 
 baptized he was led by the spirit into the wilderness, 
 where he fasted forty days and nights, at which time the 
 devil made unsuccessful attempts to influence him. The 
 moral power of fasting this great law of nature, of God 
 Christ taught to his disciples ; for when, on a certain 
 occasion they had failed to cast out a devil, and asked 
 him why they could not, he replied that " this kind goeth 
 not out but by prayer a,u(l fatting." 
 
 Piety is promoted by fasting, but sinful desires are 
 augmented by repletion ; for whatever clogs the physical 
 functions, affects injuriously the mind and soul, which, 
 with the physical, have mutual relation therefore, such 
 physical injury is also mental and moral injury : There 
 by one becomes less satisfied with himself and those 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 319 
 
 around him, and is in a less fit condition to fulfil the last 
 command of our Savior, tliat yc love one another. 
 
 NOTE 8. Page 94. 
 0, that was Babel 
 
 " THE Targums, both of Jonathan len Uzziel and of 
 Jerusalem, assert that the tower was for idolatrous pur 
 poses, and that they intended to place an image on the 
 top of the tower, with a sword in its hand probably to 
 act as a talisman against their enemies. Whatever their 
 design might have been, it is certain that this temple or 
 tower was afterward devoted to idolatrous purposes. 
 Nebuchadnezzar repaired and beautified this tower, and 
 it was dedicated to Bel, or the sun." [CLARKE.] 
 
 According to Herodotus, the tower in the temple of 
 Belus in Babylon (supposed to be identical with the 
 tower of Babel) was pyramidal, and each side at the 
 base measured a furlong, making the whole a half mile 
 in circumference ; its height, according to the estimation 
 of another, was six hundred and sixty feet. Forty years 
 after Babylon had been conquered by Cyrus, Xerxes, 
 after having plundered the city, laid this temple in ruins : 
 It is the most stupendous mass of all that remains of 
 Babylon. It lies in a desert about six miles from Hilleh ; 
 The ruins of this temple are called Birs Nimrood : The 
 Jews call it Nebuchadnezzar s prison. With respect to 
 the identity of the tower of Babel, however, there are 
 different opinions. 
 
320 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 NOTE 9. Page 94. 
 
 For Nimrod hunted men made them depart 
 From tlie teachings far of /Shcm s posterity. 
 
 DR. Adam Clarke, referring to Nimrod (Gen. x. 8), 
 says : " Of tins person little is known, as he is not men 
 tioned except here and in 1 Chron. i. 10, which is evi 
 dently a copy of the text in Genesis. He is called a 
 mighty hunter before the Lord ; and from verse 10, we 
 learn that he founded a kingdom which included the cities 
 Babel, Ercch, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 
 Though the words are not definite, it is very likely he 
 was a very bad man. His name (Nimrod) comes from 
 " "ra marad, lie rebelled ; and the Targum on 1 Chron. i. 
 10, says : Nimrod began to be a mighty man in sin, a 
 murderer of innocent men and a rebel before the Lord. The 
 Jerusalem Targum says : He was mighty in hunting 
 [or in prey] and in sin before God ; for he was a hunter 
 of the children of men in their languages ; and he said 
 unto them, Depart from the religion of Shem and cleave 
 to the institutes of Nimrod. The Targum of Jonathan 
 ben Uzziel says : From all the foundation of the world, 
 none was ever found like Nimrod, powerful in hunting, 
 and in rebellions against the Lord. The Syriac calls 
 him a warlike giant. The l^s tsayid t which we render 
 hunter, signifies prey; and is applied in the Scriptures 
 to the hunting of men by persecution, oppression, and 
 tyranny. Hence it is likely that Nimrod, having ac 
 quired power, used it in tyranny and oppression ; and by 
 rapine and violence, founded that domination which was 
 the first distinguished by the name of a kingdom on the 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 321 
 
 face of the earth. How many kingdoms have been found 
 ed in the same way, in various ages and nations from 
 that time to the present! From the Nimrods of the 
 earth, God deliver the world!" 
 
 NOTE 10. Page 101. 
 
 Do this one thing fall down and worship me. 
 " THE last temptation was the most subtle and the 
 most powerful All these will I give thce if thou icilt 
 fall down and icorship me. To inherit all natwns, had 
 been repeatedly declared to be the birth-right of the 
 Messiah. - His right to universal empire could not be con 
 troverted ; nor could Satan presume to make the invest 
 iture. What then, was his purpose ? Satan had hitherto 
 opposed, and that with considerable success, the King 
 dom of God on the earth ; and what he appears to 
 propose here, were terms of peace and an honorable re 
 treat. The worship which he exacted was an act of 
 homage in return for his cession of that ascendency which, 
 through the sin of man, he had obtained in the world. 
 Having long established his rule among men, it was not 
 at first to be expected, that he would resign it without a 
 combat ; but the purpose of this last temptation appears 
 to be an offer to decline any further contest; and yet 
 more, if his terms were accepted, apparently to engage 
 his influence to promote the kingdoms of the Messiah. 
 And as the condition of this proposed alliance, he re 
 quired, not divine worship, but such an act of homage as 
 implied amity and obligation ; and if this construction 
 be allowed, he may be supposed to have enforced the 
 14* 
 
322 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 necessity of the measure, by every suggestion of the 
 consequences of a refusal. The sufferings which would 
 inevitably result from a provoked opposition which would 
 render the victory, though certain to Christ himself, 
 dearly bought; added to which, the conflict he was pre 
 pared to carry on through succeeding ages, in which all 
 his subtlety and powers should be employed to hinder the 
 progress of Christ s cause in the earth, and that with a 
 considerable degree of anticipated success. There the 
 devil seems to propose to make over to Christ the power 
 and influence he possessed in this world on condition 
 that he would enter into terms of peace with him ; and 
 the inducement offered was, that thereby our Lord should 
 escape those sufferings both in his own person, and in those 
 of his adherents, which a provoked contest would insure. 
 And \ve may suppose that a similar temptation lies hid 
 in the desires excited even in some of the servants of 
 Christ, who may feel themselves often induced to em 
 ploy worldly influences and power for the promotion of 
 his kingdom, even though, in so doing, an apparent com 
 mission of Christ and Belial is the result : for it will be 
 found, that neither wordly riches, nor power, can be em 
 ployed in the service of Christ, till, like the spoils taken 
 in war, (Detit. xxxi. 21-23,) they have passed through 
 the fire and water, as, without a divine purification, they 
 are not fit to be employed in the service of God and his 
 Church. 
 
 " Hence we may conclude that the first temptation had 
 for its professed object : 1. Our Lord s personal relief 
 and comfort, through the inducement of a separate and 
 independent act of power. The second temptation pro- 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 323 
 
 fessed to have in view Ins public acknowledgment by the 
 people as the MESSIAH ; for should they see him work 
 such a miracle as throwing himself down from the pin 
 nacle of the temple without receiving any hurt, they 
 would be led instantly to acknowledge his divine mission ; 
 and the evil of this temptation may be explained, as 
 seeking to secure the success of his mission by other 
 means than those, which, as the Messiah, he had received 
 from the Father. Compare John xiv. 31. The third 
 temptation was a subtle attempt to induce Christ to ac 
 knowledge Satan as an ally in the establishment of his 
 kingdom." E. M. B. 
 
 " The above is the substance of the ingenious theory 
 of my correspondent, which may be considered as a 
 third mode of interpretation partaking equally of the 
 allegoric and literal" CLARKE. 
 
 NOTE 11. Page 103. 
 A soldier offers him vinegar in a sponge on a reed. 
 THIS vinegar was doubtless the wine mingled with 
 myrrh which they had offered him a short time previously. 
 (John xix. 29.) " Now there was set a vessel," etc. 
 the one containing the mixture offered him on this pre 
 vious occasion Mark xv. 23. "And they gave him 
 wine mingled with myrrh ; but he received it not." The 
 parallel place in Matthew (xxvii. 34) has : " They gave 
 him vinegar to drink mingled with gall ; and when he 
 had tested thereof, he would not drink." In allusion to 
 the second time it was offered him, John has (xix. 30) : 
 " When JESVS therefore had received the vinegar, ho 
 
324 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 said: It is finished :" It is very probable that he 
 only tasted, and then refused it as he had previously 
 done ; for in the parallel passages we find that others 
 objected, and perhaps somewhat restrained the one who 
 offered him the vinegar probably to revive him, that they 
 might see if EUas would come and save him from the 
 power of his enemies (Matthew, xxvii. 48-49) : " And 
 straightway one of them ran and took a sponge, and 
 filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed and gave him 
 to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether 
 Elias will come and save him." (Mark xv. 36) : " And 
 one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on 
 a reed and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone ; let us 
 see whether Elias will come to take him down." There is 
 probably an omission in the text here ; for, according to 
 the other evangelists who have spoken of this, it was not 
 he who offered him the vinegar, but the rest who said, 
 Let alone, etc. Luke speaks of the vinegar only as having 
 been offered to him (chap, xxiii. 36, 37) : " And the soldiers 
 also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, 
 and saying, If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself." 
 Clarke tells us that " Inebriating drinks were given to 
 condemned prisoners, to render them less sensible of the 
 torture they endured in dying. This custom of giving 
 etupifying potions to condemned malefactors, is alluded 
 to in Proverbs xxxi. 6. Give strong drink, "tpii> shekar, 
 inebriating drink, to him who is ready to perish, i.e. to 
 him who is condemned to death ; and wine to him who is 
 BITTER of soul because he is just going to suffer the pun 
 ishment of death, and thus the llabbins understand it." 
 (Clarke s Commentary Note, Matt, xxvii. 34. Prov. v. 34.) 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 325 
 
 " The Talmud, states that this drink consisted of wine 
 mixed with frankincense, and was given to criminals im 
 mediately before execution. A preparation of this kind 
 was offered to our Savior : And they gave him to drink, 
 wine mingled with myrrh, but he received it not. The 
 same custom was observed among the Romans, and, at a 
 comparatively recent period, a similar practice prevailed 
 in some part of this country f England]." GRINROD. 
 
 NOTE 12. Page 113. 
 
 For from the fruits of th earth is death distilled. 
 THERE are different opinions respecting the time when 
 distillation was first discovered. Professor Waterhouse 
 says : " The art of procuring ardent spirit by distillation 
 was the discovery of the Arabian chemists, a century or 
 two after the death of Mahomet, who died in 631. But 
 so sensible were the Mahometans of the destructive ef 
 fects of spirituous liquors that the use of them was prohib 
 ited even by their own laws. Such, however, was their 
 prejudice against Christianity, that they willingly suffered 
 this infernal and fascinating spirit to be introduced among 
 Christian nations. A more subtle plan, perhaps, could not 
 have been devised to eradicate every religious principle 
 from the human mind, and to disse?ninate those of an op 
 posite nature. A considerable time had elapsed before 
 ardent spirits were manufactured in Europe, and they 
 were very sparingly used for several centuries. Then, 
 people in general were exempted from raging disorders 
 both of body and mind. In process of time, however, 
 when distilled spirits were freely taken, it was observed 
 
326 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 
 
 that new diseases appeared, and such disorders as had 
 been mild and tractable became formidable and alarming." 
 
 Grinrod tells us (Bacchus, a Prize Essay) that " the 
 date and authors of this invention [distillation,] are 
 involved in considerable obscurity. The Chinese, whose 
 perseverance in scientific pursuits are well known, are, 
 by some writers, supposed to have been acquainted 
 at an early period with the art of distillation. This sup 
 position, however, is destitute of the necessary proofs. 
 
 " The Chinese and Saracens had long been acquainted 
 with a species of distillation, by means of which they 
 were enabled to extract the essence or aroma of flowers. 
 Perfumes and essences were held in great esteem by these 
 oriental nations. 
 
 "Pliny, who flourished in the first century of the 
 Christian era, does not make the slightest allusion to the 
 art of distillation. Galen is also silent on this subject. 
 This justly celebrated physician flourished about a cen 
 tury after Pliny. Galen alludes to distillation as a means 
 of extracting the aroma of plants and flowers. 
 
 " The same observation will apply to the Arabians, 
 who were famed for their pretended knowledge of al 
 chemy and the profession of medicine. Rhazes, Albu- 
 cassis, and Avicenna, three celebrated physicians who 
 lived about the tenth and eleventh centuries, speak of 
 the distillation of roses, but not of the extraction of in 
 toxicating spirit from fermented liquors. 
 
 " Arnoldus de Villa or Villanova, a physician of the 
 south of Europe, who flourished in the thirteenth century, 
 is the first writer who distinctly alludes to the discovery 
 of ardent spirit. From the statements of this member 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 327 
 
 of the medical profession, it appears that the ancients 
 were not acquainted with the process that it had only- 
 become recently known." 
 
 NOTE 13. Page 114. 
 
 This is the universal panacea, 
 The emanation of divinity. 
 
 ARNOLDUS DE VILLA informs us that when ardent spirit 
 was discovered, it was supposed to be a " universal 
 panacea" Raymond Lully of Majorca, who was a dis 
 ciple of Arnoldus de Villa, dwelt with much animation 
 on its supposed medicinal properties ; indeed, he sup 
 posed it to be " an emanation of divinity sent for the 
 physical renovation of mankind. It is said that he first 
 applied to it the name of alcohol. 
 
 In Hollinshed s Chronicles, there is an allusion to a 
 treatise by Theoricus, which speaks thus of the medicinal 
 properties of alcohol : " It sloweth age, it strengthened 
 youth, it helpeth digestion, it cutteth phlegme, it aban- 
 doneth melancholic, it relisheth the heart, it lighteneth 
 the mind, it quickeneth the spirits, it cureth the hydrop- 
 
 sia, it healeth the strangurie it puffeth away ven- 
 
 tositie, itkeepeth and preserveth the head from whirring, 
 the eyes from dazzling, the tongue from lisping, the 
 mouth from snaffling, the teeth from chattering, and the 
 throat from rattling ; it keepeth the weasan from stiffling, 
 the stomach from wambling, and the heart from swel 
 ling ; it keepeth the hands from shivering, the sinews 
 from shrinking, the veins from crumbling, the bones from 
 aching, and the marrow from soaking." 
 
328 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 NOTE 14. Page 119. 
 And the Christians shall carry it to the heathen nations. 
 
 I KNOW not what reflects so severely upon Christian 
 nations as the extension of the means and habitude of 
 intemperance to the heathen at the same time and often 
 in deplorable connection with what they offer as the 
 Christian religion. The efforts of the missionary have 
 often been paralysed to a very great extent by the in 
 fluences promoting intemperance, which have often ac 
 companied their labors among the heathen, who, if left 
 without the aid of those efforts associated with such evil, 
 would be, indeed, less the objects of commiseration. 
 
 Grinrod tells us, on authorities to which he refers, 
 that " it was no uncommon thing in Calcutta, and other 
 places, to see a European lie intoxicated in the street, 
 surrounded by several natives who were very scrupulous 
 in the observance of their religious rites and ceremonies, 
 and to hear them tauntingly exclaim : Here is one of 
 your Europeans, look at him, you never see us get drunk 
 en, as you do ; let your missionaries stop at home and 
 preach to their own countrymen ? .... 
 
 " The simple Indian can not forbear to reproach his 
 religious instructor with an inconsistency so glaringly op 
 posed to the principles of humanity ; and much more of 
 Christianity. I am glad, said a missionary to an Indian 
 chief, that you do not drink whisky, but it grieves me to 
 find that your people are accustomed to use so much of 
 it. Ah, yes, said the red man, as he fixed an eloquent 
 eye upon the preacher, which communicated the reproof 
 before he uttered it We Indians use a great deal of 
 whisky : but we do not make it ! 
 
NOTES TO THE DKAMA OF EARTH. 329 
 
 " Scarcely any tribe among the untutored Indians in 
 North America, has been free from the consequences 
 arising from the introduction and use of alcoholic liquors. 
 The records of missionary labors among those tribes ex 
 hibit in the strongest light the obstacles which this de 
 moralizing practice presents to the introduction and diffu 
 sion of religious truth. 
 
 " The same injurious example is found to exist among 
 professing Christians in Mahometan countries, and is 
 productive of corresponding impressions on the followers 
 of the prophet. The remarks of a respected missionary 
 in Persia, are to the point : What kind of Christianity 
 do the Mahometans of this country behold ? None that 
 has life none that is productive of a morality, even 
 equal to their own ; intemperance, for instance, is so 
 common among the Christians of Persia, and the few 
 Europeans who stroll hither for the sake of lucre, that 
 where Mahometans see one of their own sect intoxicated, 
 which is now become rather common, they at once say, 
 That man has left Mahomet and gone over to Jesus. 
 
 " The same observation may be applied to China. The 
 Chinese view with great jealousy the introduction of 
 foreign customs, and in particular the attempts made to 
 convert them to Christianity. These strong prejudices have 
 no doubt, been greatly strengthened by the intemperate 
 conduct of the inhabitants of Christian countries, occasion 
 ally residing among them. In the year 1831, the Chinese 
 authorities at Canton, had occasion to issue a procla 
 mation forbidding the sale of wine and spirits to foreign 
 seamen. This measure originated in the intemperate 
 conduct of European and American seamen, who, in their 
 
330 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 fits of intoxication frequently disturbed the public peace, 
 and this to so serious an extent, as to cause a suspension 
 of commercial intercourse between China and European 
 nations. Lamentable indeed must be that state of things, 
 by which the government of a heathen territory is com 
 pelled to restrain the immorality of natives of a Christian 
 land. 
 
 " The inconsistent conduct of professing Christians ex 
 hibits a similar result in regard to the exertions now being 
 made for the conversion of the posterity of Abraham. It 
 can, therefore, excite little surprise that these efforts have, 
 hitherto, in a great measure been ineffectual. These 
 remarks more particularly apply to Poland and Russia. 
 The affecting appeal of a recently converted Jew to his 
 Christian friends, can not be too extensively read. He 
 distinctly shows that the inconsistency of Christian pro 
 fessors forms the main obstacle to the conversion of the 
 Jews. In the better classes of society on the continent, 
 there is, as I have already said, more strictness of morals 
 among the Jews, than among the Christians/ The im 
 morality of the Christian is quite proverbial among the 
 Jews. Again : You may imagine what I felt, when, 
 inquiring one day of my brother, concerning an old ac 
 quaintance, he replied, without having any intention to 
 offend me, or even reflecting how his answer was likely 
 to affect me, " He lives exactly like a Christian ;" mean 
 ing that he led a profligate life. Also, still in relation to 
 the conduct of Christians abroad : The Jews are aware 
 that Christians have as well as they, a day which is 
 called their Sabbath, and various other festivals or holy 
 days. How do they behold these days professedly de- 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 331 
 
 voted to the service of Christ, spent by his pretended 
 worshippers. They see the country part of the popula 
 tion coming in to join their brethren of the towns in the 
 services of the church, and after these are over, they see 
 them resort to the public houses, not merely to spend the 
 rest of the day in rioting and drunkenness, but even in 
 the commission of crimes, etc. The narrative is too 
 revolting to be further detailed." 
 
 It was quite recently that England made war on China 
 because the Chinese had refused to be stultified killed, 
 by their opium. To-day we have news of the bombardment 
 of Canton by British war-vessels, the opportunity for 
 which appears to have been sought in the pretense of 
 insulted flag ; yet while the real cause plainly appears to 
 be the exclusiveness of the Governor General Yeh, 
 " who," the London Leader informs us, " appears to belong 
 to the high tory party of the celestial empire that 
 party which would for ever shut the central flower 
 nation against barbaric intruders like the vulgar British." 
 For at least a moiety of this exclusiveness, is not the 
 British nation responsible 1 Let the ghosts of the Ce 
 lestials who have been killed by British opium, give 
 answer ! 
 
 It appears that the American nation has not been be 
 hind iii affording to the heathen the means of intoxica 
 tion. " During the year 1835, fourteen merchant-vessels 
 eleven of which were American, sold in the port of Hon 
 olulu, Island of Mani, alone, 16,950 gallons of ardent 
 spirits, and carried 37,522 gallons to the Indians of the 
 northwest coast, making 54,000 gallons of rum and 
 brandy distributed among the natives, and it was ascer- 
 
332 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 tained that the largest proportion of this was shipped by 
 a deacon of a congregational church in Boston. New Eng 
 land rum has found its way from California to Behring s 
 Straits, among all the islands of the Pacific and Indian 
 oceans, and it has even penetrated into Africa, Egypt, and 
 through the whole extent of the Sultan s dominions. 
 The rum which has been exported from this country has 
 usually been diluted with one-half water, then drugged 
 with tobacco, pepper, etc., and sold for about four dollars 
 per gallon. Not long since, the barque Emma Isadora, 
 sailed from Boston with a cargo of 5,200 gallons of rum 
 and several missionaries for the heathen !" LEE. 
 
 This is lamentable to consider ; yet it will ever be 
 thus while professed Christians neglect to enforce the 
 true teachings of Christ by the powerful presentation, 
 (both by precept and example) of God s law, which is 
 recognized in nature, and which man must recognize, or 
 pay the terrible penalty of disobedience and infidelity. 
 
 NOTE 15. Page 119. 
 
 7 know not why, unless it be from suspicion that on the western world 
 will arise influences more powerful than any yet, to oppose the good-vile 
 liquors. 
 
 GOVERNMENTS and religious orders have, at different 
 times, enacted laws to restrain intemperance, the most re 
 markable and effective of which, I will here, on the au 
 thority of Grinrod, present mention : 
 
 " The religion of the Chinese, and of most neighbor 
 ing nations, enjoins upon its devoted followers entire 
 abstinence from all intoxicating liquors. The inhabitants 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 333 
 
 of China generally, as well as the natives of Japan, 
 adopt the religious creed of the divinity Fo, whose pre 
 cepts, by a strict conformity to which alone, they conceive 
 they can lead a virtuous life, and obtain his approbation, 
 are as follows: 1st. Not to kill anything that has life. 
 2dly. Not to steal. 3dly. Not to commit fornication. 
 4thly. Not to lie. And 5thly. Not to drink strong li 
 quors" 
 
 " The doctrines of Boodh, or Budha, are adopted by 
 nearly one half of the human race. In Ceylon, the Bir- 
 man empire, Siam and Laos, this imaginary deity is 
 worshipped under the name of Godama or Gautama; 
 throughout China under the name of Fo, and in Japan, by 
 the name of Siaka. The following quotation illustrates 
 the command of this Chinese divinity : This law com 
 mands us not to drink any intoxicating liquor. There 
 are many sorts in the western frontier countries, as 
 liquors made of sugar-cane, of grapes, and of many other 
 plants ; in this country (China) it is the general custom 
 to make a strong liquor from rice of all these thou 
 shalt not drink, with this exception, when thou art sick, 
 and nothing else can restore thy health, and then it must 
 be known by all that thou drink strong liquors. If there be 
 reason for it thou shalt not touch any liquor with thy 
 lips, thou shalt not bring it to thy nose to smell at, nor 
 shalt thou sit in a tavern, or together with people who 
 drink spirits. 
 
 " There was once a certain Yew-pohan, who, by break 
 ing this law, violated also all others, and committed the 
 thirty-six sins ; you can see by this, that it is no small 
 sin to drink wine [strong drink.] There is a particular 
 
334 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 department in hell filled with mire and dirt for the trans 
 gressors of this law, and they will be born again as stupid 
 and mad people, wanting wisdom and intelligence. There 
 are bewildering demons and maddening herbs, but spirits 
 disorder the mind more than any poison. The Scripture 
 moveth us, therefore, to drink melted copper, sooner than 
 violate this law and drink spirits. Ah, how watchful 
 ought we to be ourselves." Catechism of the Skamas, or 
 the Laws and Regulations of the Priesthood of Budha. 
 
 The very remarkable and successful attempt in the 
 Mahometan faith, to arrest the evil of intemperance is 
 said to have originated not with the prophet Mahomet, 
 but to have been taken from a sacred book called the 
 Taalim, the author of which gives the following reason 
 for the enactment of prohibition from the use of wine : 
 
 " Two angels, the one called Arot, and the other 
 Marot, were sent in preference to all others to govern the 
 world, with express orders not to drink wine. A differ 
 ence happening to arise between a husband and wife, 
 who previously had lived together in the greatest har 
 mony ; the latter who was desirous to regain the affec 
 tions of her husband, imagined that she could easily 
 accomplish so desirable an object by the mediation of the 
 two favorites of Heaven. She accordingly invited them 
 to her house, where they were received with every mark 
 of distinction. Wine was presented to them in a cup, 
 which they were not able to refuse from the beautiful 
 hands that offered it. It is not, remarks the writer, 
 from whose work this narration is taken, very excusable 
 in celestial beings to become mortal for the sake of a fine 
 woman. They tasted of the liquor which seemed so 
 
NOTES TO THE DBAMA OF EARTH. 835 
 
 delicious in its nature, that they drank too much of it, so 
 that becoming inflamed, and even intoxicated by it, they 
 were desirous to repay their kind hostess by certain 
 marks of attachment, which, remarks the same writer, 
 are in general more used by lovers than by husbands. 
 The woman being faithful and chaste, was much embar 
 rassed and concerned to get out of this dilemma. Under 
 a pretense of curiosity, however, she asked the two mes 
 sengers what words they made use of to procure a return 
 to heaven. One weakness generally leads to another, 
 and the angels disclosed to her their important secret. 
 The woman instantly profited by their disclosure, and 
 ascejaded to the throne of the Eternal, where, in a sup 
 pliant tone, she exposed her complaint which was heard 
 with justice. The Father of the Universe did even more, 
 for this pure soul became a radiant star, and the faithful 
 angels were tied by the feet with chains, and precipitated 
 into the well called Babil, where the Mahometans believe 
 they will remain until the day of judgment. The Al 
 mighty, on this account, prohibited the use of wine to all 
 his servants for ever. 
 
 " The less learned among the Mahometans, attribute 
 this celebrated law to the following circumstance: One 
 day, Mahomet, passing through a village, remarked that 
 the inhabitants were celebrating some festival with great 
 joy. Having ascertained that a wedding and wine were 
 the cause of this mirth, the prophet in his wisdom, judg 
 ing that pleasure was the soul of life, conceived a great 
 fondness for that liquor, which enchanted the senses, by 
 making men forget their miseries. On passing, however, 
 the next morning through the same place, Mahomet saw 
 
336 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 the earth drenched with human blood, and soon learned 
 that the guests having become mad by their excessive 
 use of wine, had attacked each other in the most cruel 
 manner, and some of them had been killed, while the 
 greater part were covered with wounds. The prophet, 
 like a wise man, now saw reason to change his former 
 hasty opinion, and determined to have nothing to do with 
 a custom, the end of which was so bitter and destruc 
 tive." 
 
 " In the 17th century, it would appear that the Turks 
 had acquired a love for wine, for, according to Sir Paul 
 Ricaut, the Sultan Amurath, A.D. 1634, forbade entirely 
 the use of wine, and punished several with death for dis 
 obeying his order. A similar edict was issued by Ma 
 homet the Fourth, A.D. 1670, who commanded all those 
 who had any wine to send it out of the town, and the 
 punishment of death was announced as the penalty of 
 disobedience. The edict of this emperor was generally 
 carried into execution. In the decree in question, Ma 
 homet spoke of wine as a most noxious liquor, invented 
 by the devil to destroy the souls of men, to disturb their 
 reason, and to inflame their passions. This monarch was, 
 no doubt, influenced in his conduct by the terrible se 
 ditions occasioned by wine in the reign of Mahomet the 
 Third. The latter had his seraglio forced by his soldiers, 
 who were under the influence of wine, and escaped with 
 his own life by the sacrifice of his principal favorite. 
 
 " Similar prohibitions have frequently been enforced 
 in more modern times in Mahometan countries. In Sudan, 
 for instance, the Sultan Abdelrahman, in 1795, prohibited 
 the use of intoxicating liquor, under the penalty of 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 337 
 
 death, and those who made it, had their heads shaved, 
 and were publicly exposed to every possible degrada 
 tion. In Persia also, during Sir Robert Ker Porter* 
 visit to that country, in 1819 and 1820, a severe prohi 
 bition was made against wine by the reigning monarch, 
 who not only himself abstained from its use, but ordered 
 his officers to destroy all the wine they could discover in 
 any part of the kingdom. 
 
 " The late Sultan died of delirium tremens, the result 
 of vinous indulgence. The present Sultan, his son, on 
 his accession to the throne, issued a proclamation against 
 the use of wine, and caused one million of piasters worth 
 of wine to be thrown into the Bosphorus." 
 
 NOTE 16. -Page 132. 
 
 Ay, this is th very secret of our rule : 
 With vile destructive essences do we 
 Contaminate the very blood of life, 
 And thus develop in the being man, 
 The most unnatural predominance 
 Of faculties, which, yielding to our sway, 
 Urge the pursuit of evil, and in shade 
 So deep shroud him that lie will not, nor dare 
 Seek light! 
 
 I regard this as being emphatically affirmed in the 
 Holy Bible, and all nature, of which God is the author : 
 it is concomitant of every law that he has uttered for 
 the government of man, or else it is not true that matter 
 can affect the soul for good or evil ; and if that is not 
 true, then it is not true that "No drunkard can inherit 
 the kingdom of heaven." By the influence of matter 
 
 15 
 
338 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 the soul may receive harm though the indulgence be not 
 that which determines drunkenness. The laws of God 
 are in the constitution of man, and he who is ignorant of 
 man, is ignorant of theology. 
 
 The laws of man s being are spiritual, social and physical. 
 
 When man is in his moral state as a spiritual being, 
 his spirit is in communion with God. 
 
 When man is in his normal state as a social being, his 
 acts are such as contribute to the happiness of himself 
 and those around him. 
 
 When man is in his normal state as a physical being, 
 he lives in obedience to the physical law as required ly 
 the normal spirit. 
 
 To be in the normal state physically, is to be prepared 
 for obedience to the social and spiritual laws of the being. 
 
 To be in the normal state socially, is the result of being 
 in the normal state physically and spiritually. 
 
 To be in the normal state spiritually, is to be in spirit 
 ual communion with God, the proof of which will be 
 such love to man as is manifest in fulfilling the social 
 law, and neither of these can be, while the being is not 
 in the normal state physically for the holy spirit of 
 God can not dwell in an unfit temple. 
 
 All the laws of man s being are so instituted that the 
 violation of them brings its own punishment. 
 
 Man having been created with his spirit in communion 
 with the spirit of God, he is ever unhappy while his 
 spirit is not in such communion. 
 
 Man having been created a social being, he is ever un 
 happy while he does not conform to all that is required of 
 him as such. 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 339 
 
 Man having been created a physical being, he is ever 
 unhappy while he does not fulfill the laws that govern 
 him as such: therefore, 
 
 A man can not be happy spiritually without his spirit 
 being in communion with God, any more than he can 
 be happy physically while his hand is in the fire. 
 
 All punishment is designed for good : the pain that is 
 felt when the hand is in the fire, is to cause the hand to 
 be taken out quickly. The pain that the spirit feels 
 when banished from God, is to bring him back to God, or 
 else its purpose must be only for example. 
 
 God never gave evil propensities to man ; he came by 
 them, from the violation of law by himself or his progen 
 itors the same way that he comes by dyspepsia and gout. 
 
 " What from this barren being do we reap, 
 
 Our senses narrow and our reason frail, 
 
 Life short, and truth a gem that loves the deep, 
 
 And all things weighed in custom s falsest scale : 
 
 Opinion is omnipotence, whose veil 
 
 Mantles the earth with darkness until right 
 
 And wrong are accidents, and men grow pale 
 
 Lest their own judgments should become too bright, 
 And their free thoughts be crimes, and earth have too much light. * 
 
 NOTE 17. Page 133. 
 
 In the establishment in Africa 
 
 Of such Christianity as doth receive 
 
 And cherish in its range the evil fruit. 
 
 ACCORDING to the account given by Mungo Park, who 
 travelled in Africa in the years 1795, 1796, and 1797, the 
 Africans who are converted to the Mahometan faith, drink 
 
340 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 nothing but water ; and considering the intemperance 
 generally existing in Christian nations, it is quite proba 
 ble that the enemy of mankind prefers that the Africans 
 be converted to the religion that admits the use of in 
 toxicating liquors as a beverage, rather than that they 
 become Mahometans. 
 
 NOTE IS. Page 134. 
 Strifes, wars, havoc, and the imbibing of intoxicating mead. 
 
 " THE honey which they collect is chiefly used by 
 themselves in making a strong, intoxicating liquor, much 
 the same as the mead which is produced from the honey 
 in Great Britain." 
 
 " If a man loses his life in one of those sudden quar 
 rels which perpetually occur at their feasts, when the 
 whole party is intoxicated with mead, his sons," etc. 
 
 " The beverage of the Pagan Negroes is beer and 
 mead; of each of which they frequently drink to excess." 
 Mungo Park s Travels in Africa. 
 
 NOTE 19. Page 135. 
 
 1 will bring hither votaries of Baccho 
 And Mammon, in effective complement. 
 
 THE reader can see how effectually this determination 
 has been carried out. The greater share of the low 
 groggeries that curse this land, are kept by individuals 
 who have migrated here, not to bless our country, but to 
 enlarge upon it the curse of intemperance. It is not 
 agreeable to make this charge, but it is true, especially 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 341 
 
 as regards the cities. We welcome you, foreigners to 
 engage in any occupation that is for the good of our 
 country, but if you love the country of your adoption, 
 seek, rather, to assist us to relieve it of the greatest evil 
 that can afflict any land. 
 
 NOTE 20. Page 135. 
 
 Fast into port at Jamestown, and a score 
 Of Africans 1 there have set on shore 
 And sold them. 
 
 IN the year 1620, a Dutch vessel arrived at James 
 town in Virginia, having aboard twenty Negroes who 
 were there sold for slaves. This was the beginning of 
 slavery within what was then the boundary of the British 
 Colonies in America. 
 
 NOTE 21. Page 137. 
 
 And yet the strife of arms has much enhanced 
 Intoxication by the essences 
 From the West Indies. 
 
 THE time of this scene is shortly after the close of the 
 French war. The Hon. Charles A. Lee, in alluding to 
 the intemperance at this time and during many years pre 
 vious, says : " Between the years 1700 and 1750, West 
 India rum began to come into very general use, especially 
 in New England and New York, among the farmers and 
 laboring men. The lumber and produce of the entire 
 colonies were bartered for the products of the West In 
 dies ; and it was not unusual at this period, for farmers 
 to consume from one to two barrels of rum in a year. 
 
342 NOTES TO THE DUAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 The French war also which occurred about this period 
 had a most disastrous effect on the habits of the people, 
 in respect to the use of spirituous liquors. This war 
 commenced in 1755 and terminated in 1763, having last 
 ed eight years. The colonies furnished the principal 
 portion of the troops although considerable bodies were 
 sent over from England, many of whom had served in 
 the low countries, where spirit was in general use. Ra 
 tions were accordingly served out and thus thousands of 
 New England men who had never been addicted to its 
 use, acquired a taste and a habit of drinking which fol 
 lowed them on their return to their own families." 
 
 NOTE 22. Page 140. 
 
 T/ie curmi or the mil-Jion. 
 
 CURMI (ale) we are told was the peculiar drink of the 
 ancient Irish and Britons. Mil-fion (mead) is said to have 
 been the common beverage of the early inhabitants of 
 England. 
 
 NOTE 23. Page 140. 
 
 The people of Albion be also a nation of drunkards. 
 IT appears that the English had become particularly 
 noted for drunkenness ; indeed, during the period that 
 England was a commonwealth, drunkenness was so com 
 mon that it was called by other nations the Land of 
 Drunkards. In the Historical Miscellany, Gentlemen s 
 Magazine, 1736, there is notice of grog-shops having the 
 inviting sign : " Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for two 
 pence, clean straw for nothing." Smollet in the History 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 343 
 
 of England, in alluding to this fact says : " They ac 
 cordingly provided cellars and places strewed with straw, 
 to which they conveyed those wretches who were over 
 whelmed with intoxication. In those dismal caverns 
 they lay until they recovered some use of their faculties, 
 and then they had recourse to the same mischievous po 
 tion ; thus consuming their health and ruining their fam 
 ilies, in hideous receptacles of the most filthy vice, re 
 sounding with riot, execration, and blasphemy." 
 
 Shakspeare, in alluding to the noted drunkenness of 
 the English, places in the mouth of Hamlet in tragedy, 
 the following acknowledgment : 
 
 " This heavy-headed revel east and west 
 
 Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations ; 
 
 They clepe us, drunkards, and with swinish phraso 
 
 Soil our addition ; and, indeed, it takes 
 
 From our achievements, though performed at hight, 
 
 The pith and marrow of their attribute." 
 
 We learn on good authority (see Bartholin, lib. ii. c. 
 12) that intemperance abounded even in their religious 
 festivals (?), on which occasions they drank largely to the 
 honor of the Apostles, of the Virgin Mary, and of Christ ! 
 
 NOTE 24. Page 154. 
 There is a cave, and near its opening, etc. 
 
 SOME may suppose that the Mammoth Cave in Ken 
 tucky is here meant ; yet I must acknowledge that I am 
 not aware that tradition or history gives any account of 
 the infernals having occupied this place for their deliber 
 ations ; however, in this great and wonderful cavern 
 there are some scenes which are known by very signifi- 
 
344 NOTES TO THE DBAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 cant names : I may mention The Bottomless Pit, The 
 Haunted Cha?nber, Purgatory, The River Styx. At the 
 distance of nearly six miles in the cave, is a sulphur 
 spring, and near it, a huge pile of empty wine-bottles. 
 
 NOTE 25. Page 179. 
 
 A country in Pennsylvania. Enter a body of Insurgents, etc. 
 " SOON after the adoption of the Federal Constitution, 
 Congress enacted a general excise law, which was pecu 
 liarly obnoxious to those who had opposed the adoption 
 of the Constitution. Such was especially the case with 
 the inhabitants west of the Alleghany Mountains, who 
 openly denounced the excise law as tyrannical, un 
 necessary, and unjust, and those who voted for it, as 
 the friends of monarchy and the enemies of a repub 
 lican government. Being far removed from any mar 
 ket, they found it more profitable to distil than to 
 export the products of the soil, and in September, 
 1791, open combinations began to be formed for resisting 
 the enforcement of the law. Many of the collectors 
 were tarred and feathered, and other indignities offered 
 them, so that no persons could be found who were wil 
 ling to undertake the office. The deputy marshals were 
 also intimidated from serving process on those who had 
 committed acts of violence on the persons of revenue 
 officers. The most obnoxious features of the excise act 
 were repealed by Congress ; but still it could not be en 
 forced. The principle of excise, and not the detail of 
 its execution, became the object of hostility. A general 
 convention was held at Pittsburgh, at which resolutions, 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 345 
 
 for the second time were passed, for resisting the execu 
 tion of the law, for withholding all intercourse with ex 
 cise officers, and for treating them on all occasions with 
 contempt. The people at large were exhorted to follow 
 the same line of conduct ; committees of correspondence 
 were appointed, and pains taken to increase the number 
 of the disaffected. 
 
 "At first the President issused a proclamation, exhort 
 ing all persons to desist from any combination or proceed 
 ings which tended to obstruct the execution of the laws, 
 and require the interference of the civil magistrates. Other 
 measures were also adopted, such as intercepting spirits 
 on their way to market, and directing the agents of the 
 army to purchase only those on which the duty had been 
 paid. But notwithstanding all these measures, the law 
 was still resisted until the 15th of July, 1794, the marshal, 
 while in the execution of his duty, was beset on the road 
 by a body of armed men, who fired at him. On the 
 next day, the insurgents, to the number of five hundred, 
 attacked the house of the inspector, and took him pris 
 oner, together with the force which he had collected for 
 his defense. The public mails from Pittsburgh to Phila 
 delphia, were stopped and rifled, and the insurgents 
 boldly proclaimed that it was their intention to resist by 
 force of arms the authority of the United States. No 
 other alternative being now left, the President of the 
 United States made a requisition on the Governors of 
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, for 
 a force of 15,000 men, who were placed under the com 
 mand of Governor Lee, of Virginia. The insurgents 
 numbered about 7,000 strong. The army marched into 
 15* 
 
346 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 the country of the disaffected, but finding no armed force 
 but what was readily dispersed, left a small body of men 
 after having secured a few of the leaders, and thus end 
 ed the famous WHISKY REBELLION of 1791." LEE. 
 
 NOTE 26. Page 185. 
 
 A gleam 
 
 Of light shot out of heaven athwart the ways 
 Of ow dominion. 
 
 THIS is allusion to the temperance movement in the 
 United States. The " American Temperance Society" 
 was instituted in the year 1826. The labors and wri 
 tings of the Rev. Dr. Lyinan Beecher, doubtless contributed 
 very largely to give impulse to the temperance cause 
 which has moved onward, gathering strength, and saved 
 the country from the ruin which was impending in the 
 vice of intemperance. And if the zeal of philanthropists 
 now be turned away from this evil, our country may yet 
 sink into ruin. Are not the enemies to peace and pros 
 perity, now calling for more of the man-destroying liquor, 
 and for liberty to dispense it ; and is not that liberty 
 granted so that our neighbors, our friends, our sons, 
 our daughters, our grand-children, may suffer from its in 
 fluence may starve, and shiver in rags may DRINK 
 it and be DESTROYED ! 
 
 NOTE 27. Page 188. 
 He shall be plied with vilest essences, etc. 
 
 I HAVE not deemed it essential that I should adopt the 
 same circumstance of Legree s earlier days, as presented 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 347 
 
 in " Uncle Tom s Cabin," which influenced him to bru- 
 t^ilities. I have not thought it necessary to send him 
 forth upon the ocean in a piratical vessel in order to pre 
 pare him for crimes of the grossest nature ; no : For this, 
 I find the entire means on dryland: all the instru 
 ments and appliances are there, and it has seemed to me 
 only necessary to present him as being made a subject 
 of their influence. I have done so. That intemperance 
 was the principal cause of the cruelties of Legree, will 
 doubtless appear when we consider the following quota 
 tions from " Uncle Tom s Cabin." 
 
 " Simon rode on, however, apparently well pleased, 
 occasionally pulling away at a flask in his pocket." 
 Chap. 32. 
 
 " Legree was just mixing himself a tumbler of punch, 
 pouring his hot water from a cracked and broken-nosed 
 pitcher, grumbling as he did so, Plague on that Sam 
 bo/" etc. Chap. 35. 
 
 " Blast it, said Legree to himself, as he sipped his 
 liquor ; * where did he get that V " Ib. 
 
 " Legree and both the drivers, in a state of furious in 
 toxication, were singing, whooping, upsetting chairs, and 
 making all manner of ludicrous and horrid grimaces at 
 each other." Ib. 
 
 "His coarse, strong nature craved, and could endure, 
 a continual stimulation, that would have utterly wrecked 
 and crazed a finer one." Chap. 36. 
 
 " Legree was serving brandy profusely among them." 
 Chap. 40. 
 
 " He drank more than usual ; held up his head briskly, 
 and ewore louder than ever." Chap. 42. 
 
348 NOTES TO THE DfiAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 " After this Legree became a harder drinker than 
 ever before." Ib. 
 
 NOTE 28. Page 225. 
 Think of it and smile. 
 
 MR. DUNLOP, in a work entitled, "Drinking usages 
 in Great Britain," details them to the number of two 
 hundred and ninety-seven ! 
 
 NOTE 29. Page 253. 
 
 They fight, and St. Clare, in attempting to part them, is stabbed. 
 
 " ST. CLARE had turned into a cafe to look over an 
 evening paper. As he was reading, an affray arose be 
 tween two gentlemen in the room who were both partially 
 intoxicated. St. Clare and one or two others made an 
 effort to separate them, and St. Clare received a fatal 
 stab in the side with a bowie-knife, which he was at 
 tempting to wrest from one of them." Uncle Tom s 
 Cabin. 
 
 NOTE 30. Page 25$. 
 
 "Yes, Mas r, etc. 
 
 THE slave in the south calls the white man master 
 whether he is his slave or not. 
 
 NOTE 31. Page 265. 
 
 Oftentimes 1 have had feasts to which thousands gathered, etc. 
 WE will call attention to an occurrence of this kind 
 which took place in Scotland in July, 1830, on the oc- 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP *,AKTH. 349 
 
 casion of the coming of age of the sou of a gentleman of 
 large estate. 
 
 " The company took their seats at about two o clock 
 in the afternoon, and then commenced the cutting and 
 distributing of the ox to which was added an unlimited 
 supply of porter, strong ale, and whisky. Four half- 
 hogsheads of porter and six of strong ale, with about 
 sixty gallons of beer, were provided for the occasion. When 
 the party had sufficiently regaled themselves, and had 
 often devoted copious libations to the happiness of their 
 generous employer and his amiable lady, they quietly 
 dispersed. No sooner had they dispersed, than the spec 
 tators took possession of them, and the work of jollifi 
 cation went on briskly. Nor were the intoxicating 
 draughts confined to those who encompassed the im 
 mense rustic table ; pitchers of whisky mixed with strong 
 ale and porter, were served out in the most liberal man 
 ner to all who chose to participate in them. The con 
 sequence was that in a very short time hundreds were in 
 a state of deep intoxication ; and hand-barrows and carts 
 were instantly put in requisition to convey them to their 
 several habitations. On the road from Bannockburn 
 Muir, in every direction, people were found lying perfectly 
 helpless. One man states, that between Bannockburn and 
 Stirling, he loosened the neck-cloths, and placed in elevated 
 positions, no less than eight individuals, evidently in 
 danger of suffocation. But the scene around the table 
 baffles description. Some ran thither to assist fathers - 
 others to help sons some to aid brothers others to 
 succor husbands and not a few husbands to bring away 
 frail wives. It frequently happened, too, that those who 
 
350 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 proffered assistance to others, were prevailed on to taste 
 the liquor, and therefore were soon as much in need of 
 aid themselves as those to whom they meant to extend 
 it. Men, women, and children, were seen stagger 
 ing about in inimitable confusion, tumbling over each 
 other with the utmost unconcern, and lying by scores in 
 every direction, neither able to tell their names nor their 
 residences. On Sunday morning, parties were out in all 
 directions looking for relations and friends, and removing 
 them from the highways that they might not be observed 
 by people going to church. No fewer than three indi 
 viduals died from the effects of excessive drinking, not to 
 mention several others who narrowly escaped a similar 
 fate from the same cause, having been obliged to be re 
 peatedly bled, and afterward attended by medical men. 
 The three victims to this debauch were all stout young 
 men in the prime of life." Public Papers, (See Bac 
 chus, by Grinrod.) 
 
 A work published in Scotland, entitled, " Some Account 
 of the State of Morals and Religion in Syke, in 1805, 
 and the Period immediately previous to It," had the fol 
 lowing melancholy picture of the barbarous manner in 
 which their funerals were conducted : " Some were free 
 enough to acknowledge that they experienced delight in 
 hearing of the death of a man or woman, because of the 
 prospect it afforded them of getting their Jill of whisky. 
 The friends of the deceased were particularly anxious to 
 solemnize the funeral with a great feast. This was what 
 they called burying their deceased friend with decency. 
 Hence they wasted, not only unnecessarily, but most 
 wantonly, a great quantity of liquor and victuals on 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 351 
 
 those occasions. This woful and barbarous practice was 
 general and of so long standing, that persons, when arrived 
 at old age,manifested a great anxiety to lay by a certain sum 
 of money against their funeral. And upon their death-beds, 
 while indifferent upon the state of their souls, they would 
 not forget to order matters regarding their funerals ; often 
 expressing, that they would not be happy unless men 
 were drunk and fought at their funerals. Their sur 
 viving relations would not forget to attend to their dying 
 requests. For honor s sake this barbarous custom must 
 be complied with. Not to do so, was incurring disgrace. 
 Hence, many who were poor in circumstances, in order 
 to attend it, ran themselves deeply into debt, which some 
 of them were never able to discharge. Surely, it was a 
 spectacle calculated to awaken deep regret in the bosom 
 of an enlightened and benevolent Christian, to behold 
 the distressed widow in the most destitute circumstances, 
 going without shoes or head-dress, with six, seven, or 
 eight ragged and starving children, while perhaps the 
 only coin must be disposed of to procure whisky to make 
 her neighbors drunk and fight one another. Although 
 the people on other occasions would walk twenty or 
 thirty miles without either food or drink, yet, at funerals 
 the persons assembled must be treated to excess, though 
 the place of interment should not be a mile distant. 
 Scores of men must be invited ; and every man served 
 with four or even five glasses of strong whisky, and some 
 food before they moved. Horse-loads of bread and cheese, 
 dressed fowls, beef, and whisky, went along with them to 
 the burying-ground. The funeral procession marched in 
 good humor, preceded by a piper to the place of inter- 
 
352 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 ment. When the grave was secured, they sat down in 
 some convenient place in the open air, but not unfre- 
 quently in the church, when the minister happened to be 
 so generous as to grant his permission. The feasting then 
 commenced. The rulers of the feast were always most 
 pressing in their liberality. A number of uninvited per 
 sons were seen to make their appearance ; they were 
 served separately. Bread and beef were tossed in the 
 air that they might alight among the boys, to produce 
 scuffling among them, to the no small amusement of the 
 assembly, and the great honor of the deceased ! As the 
 drinking advanced, they became wildly obstreperous and 
 tumultuous, so that the clamor might be heard at a great 
 distance. When the day was far spent, and the excessive 
 drinking of ardent spirits had produced general intoxica 
 tion, fighting and bloodshed ensued. The men of the 
 different clans would form themselves into parties, and 
 furiously attack each other. Many would be so over 
 come with drunkenness, that, they could not move. The 
 grosser the transactions of the day, it was considered the 
 more honorable, and a more lasting monument to the 
 memory of the deceased. At a gentleman s funeral five 
 or six ankers of whisky would generally be consumed. 
 Most of the ministers would countenance this barbarous 
 custom with their presence, and none of them ever made 
 any vigorous effort to suppress or abolish it." 
 
 In a work entitled " The Life of the Empress Cather 
 ine" we have the following dreadful account of a gra 
 tuitous (?) feast which occurred in the city of St. Peters- 
 burgh, Russia, in the year 1779 : "One of the farmers 
 of the brandy duty who had made an immense fortune 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 353 
 
 by his contract, proposed to give a feast to the inhabitants 
 of the city, in testimony of his gratitude to those who 
 had enriched him. The victuals, the beer, and the 
 brandy, which he caused to be served, cost him 20,000 
 rubles, $15,000! The populace flocked in crowds to 
 the place adjoining to the summer-garden, where he 
 gave this enormous repast ; and in spite of the precau 
 tions that had been taken, disturbances soon arose among 
 this motley throng of guests. The contentions first began 
 about the places, and the better kind of provisions spread 
 upon the board ; from struggles and noise they proceeded 
 to blows. Several persons were killed ; others became 
 so intoxicated that they fell asleep in the streets and 
 perished from the severity of the weather. The number 
 of people who lost their lives on this occasion amounted 
 to at least 500 !" 
 
 NOTE 32. Page 266. 
 
 Uncle Tom Beer, Uncle Tom Gin, Uncle Tom Wine, Uncle Tom 
 Cogniac, and great many kinds. 
 
 DICKENS, in a graphic sketch of the bar of a large gin 
 shop, tells us that " There are two side aisles of great 
 casks, painted green and gold, enclosed within a light 
 brass rail, and bearing such inscription as Old Tom, 549 ; 
 * Young Tom, 360 ; Samson, 1421. " 
 
 Giving a general description of a gin-palace, the same 
 author says, " A handsome plate of glass in one door di 
 rects you to the Counting-house; another to the Bottle 
 department ; a third to the Wholesale department; a 
 fourth to the Wine Promenade ; and so forth, until we 
 
854 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 are in daily expectation of meeting a Brandy Bell/ or a 
 Whisky Entrance. Then ingenuity is exhausted in 
 devising attractive titles for the different descriptions of 
 gin ; and the dram-drinking portion of the community as 
 they gaze upon the gigantic black and white announce 
 ments, which are only to be equalled in size by the 
 figures beneath them, are left in a state of pleasing hesi 
 tation between The Cream of the Valley, The Out and 
 Out, The no Mistake, The Good for Mixing, The 
 real Knock-me-down, The Celebrated Butter Gin, The 
 regular Flare-up, and a dozen other equally inviting 
 wholesome liquors. Although places of this description 
 are to be met with in every second street, they are in 
 variably numerous and splendid in precise proportion to 
 the dirt and poverty of the surrounding neighborhood. 
 The gin-shops in and near Drury-lane, Holborn, St. 
 Giles s, Covent-Garden, and Clare-market, are the hand 
 somest in London. There is more filth and misery near 
 those great thoroughfares than in any other part of the 
 city." 
 
 NOTE 33. Page 266. 
 
 And thrash the ragged urchins till they smell. 
 Infernal power and answer with a yell. 
 
 THERE is doubtless no place in the world where human 
 beings who are innocent of crime, receive such diabolical 
 treatment as the servants in the British workshops do. It 
 is a shocking subject of reflection it is appalling; yet, 
 to the effects of intemperance the cause of this cruelty 
 can be generally traced. " In Sedgley they are some- 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 355 
 
 times struck with a red-hot iron, and burned and bruised 
 simultaneously ; sometimes they have a flash of lightning 
 sent at them. When a bar of iron is drawn white-hot 
 from the forge, it emits fiery particles, which the man 
 commonly flings in a shower upon the ground by a swing 
 of his arm, before placing the bar upon the anvil. This 
 shower is sometimes directed at the boy. It may come 
 over his hands and face, his naked arms, or on his breast. 
 If his shirt be open in front, which is usually the case, 
 the red-hot particles are lodged therein, and he has to 
 shake them out." HORNE, Report,}). 76, 757. 
 
 " In Wednesbury, a few months ago an adult workman 
 broke a boy s arm by a blow with a piece of iron ; the 
 boy went to school till his arm got well ; his parents 
 thought it a good opportunity to give him some school 
 ing." Ib., Evidence, No. 331. 
 
 " The class of children in this district, the most abused 
 and oppressed, are the apprentices, and particularly those 
 who are bound to the small masters among the lock 
 smiths, key and bolt makers, screw-makers, etc. Even 
 among these small masters, there are respectable and hu 
 mane men, who do not suffer any degree of poverty to 
 render them brutal ; but many of these men treat their 
 apprentices not so much with neglect and harshness, as 
 with ferocious violence, the result of unbridled passions, 
 excited often by ardent spirits, acting on bodies exhaust 
 ed by overwork, and on minds which have never re 
 ceived the slightest moral or religious culture, and which, 
 therefore, never exercise the least moral or religious re 
 straint." 1. 
 
 Though abundant is the evidence which is really start- 
 
356 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 ling to every one possessed of human feeling, I need here 
 adduce only a few instances : 
 
 > A g e(1 sixteen : His master stints him 
 
 from six in the morning till ten and sometimes eleven at 
 night, as much as ever he can do; and if he don t do it 
 his master gives him no supper, and gives him a good 
 hiding, sometimes with a big strap, sometimes with a big 
 stick. His master has cut his head open five times 
 once with a key, and twice with a lock ; knocked the 
 corner of a lock into his head twice once with an iron 
 bolt, and once with an iron shut a thing that runs into 
 
 the staple. His master s name is , o f Little 
 
 London. There is another apprentice besides him, who 
 is treated just as bad." II., p. 33. 
 
 " A ged fourteen : Has been an in-door ap 
 prentice three years. Has no wages ; nobody gets any 
 wages from him. Has to serve till he is twenty-one. His 
 master behaves very bad. His mistress behaves worse, 
 like a devil, she beats him j knocks his head against the 
 wall. His master goes out a drinking, and when he comes 
 back, if anything s gone wrong that he (the boy) knows 
 nothing about, he is beat all the same." /., p. 32. 
 
 In the year 1831, a woman named Esther Hibner was 
 executed in London for starving and beating to death a 
 parish apprentice. "The evidence in the case of Es 
 ther Hibner proved that a number of girls, pauper ap 
 prentices, were employed in a workshop that their 
 victuals consisted of garbage, commonly called hog s 
 wash, and of this they never had enough to stay the pains 
 of hunger ; that they were kept half naked, half clothed in 
 dirty rags, that they slept in a heap on the floor amid 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 357 
 
 filtli and stench ; that they suffered dreadfully from cold ; 
 that they were forced to work so many hours together ; 
 that they used to fall asleep while at work ; that for fal 
 ling asleep, for not working as hard as their mistress wish 
 ed, they were beaten with sticks, with fists, dragged by 
 the hair, dashed on the ground, trampled upon and other 
 wise tortured ; that they were found, all of them more or 
 less, covered with chilblains, scurvy, bruises, and wounds ; 
 that one of them died of ill-treatment; and mark this 
 that the discovery of that murder was made in conse 
 quence of the number of coffins which had issued from 
 Esther Hibner s premises, and raised the curiosity of her 
 neighbors. For this murder Mrs. Hibner was hanged; 
 but what did she get for all the other murders which, re 
 ferring to the number of coffins, we have a right to believe 
 she committed. She got for each oClO ($50). That is to 
 say, whenever she had worked, starved, beaten, dashed, 
 and trampled a girl to death, she got another girl to treat 
 in the same way with 10 for her trouble." England 
 and America : Harper & Brothers, publishers, 1834. 
 
 NOTE 34. Page 270. 
 Uncle Tom was a saint and hated the good-vile drinks, etc. 
 
 UNCLE TOM thus warned his master of the consequen 
 ces of intemperance : " 0, my dear young Mas r ! I m 
 afraid it will be loss of all all body and soul. The 
 good book saith It biteth like a serpent and stingeth 
 like an adder ! my dear Mas r." Uncle Tom s Cabin. 
 
358 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 NOTE 35. Page 272. 
 
 A gin-shop in England. 
 
 DICKENS gives the following sketch of the bar of a 
 large gin-shop and its ordinary customs in Drury-lane, 
 London : " All is light and brilliancy. The hum of many 
 voices issues from that splendid gin-shop, which forms the 
 commencement of the two streets opposite, and the gay 
 building with the fantastically ornamented parapet, the illu 
 minated clock, the plate-glass windows, surrounded by 
 stucco rosettes, and its profusion of gas-lights in richly 
 gilt burners, is perfectly dazzling when contrasted with 
 the darkness we have just left (coming through the nar 
 row streets and dirty courts which divide Drury-lane from 
 Oxford-street, and that classical spot adjoining the brewery 
 at the bottom of Tottendam-court-road, best known to the 
 initiated as the Rookery J. The interior is even gayer 
 than the exterior. A bar of French-polished mahogany, 
 elegantly carved, extends the whole width of the place ; 
 and there are two side aisles of great- casks, painted green 
 and gold, enclosed within a light brass rail, and bearing 
 such inscriptions as Old Tom, 549 ; Young Tom, 360 ; 
 4 Samson, 1421. Beyond the bar is a lofty and spacious 
 saloon, full of the same enticing vessels, with a gallery 
 running around it equally well furnished. On the counter 
 in addition to the usual spirit apparatus, are two or three 
 little baskets of cakes and biscuits, which are carefully 
 secured at the top with wicker-work, to prevent their 
 contents from being unlawfully extracted. Behind it are 
 two showily-dressed damsels with large necklaces, dis 
 pensing the spirits and compounds. They are assisted 
 
NOTES TO THE DRAMA OP EARTH. 359 
 
 by the ostensible proprietor of the concern, a stout, coarse 
 fellow in a fur cap, put on very much on one side, to give 
 him a knowing air, and display his sandy whiskers to the 
 best advantage. It is growing late and the throng of 
 men, women, and children, who have been constantly go 
 ing in and out, dwindle down to two or three occasional 
 stragglers cold, wretched-looking creatures in the last 
 stage of emaciation and disease. That knot of Irish labor 
 ers at the lower end of the place, who have been alternately 
 shaking hands with and threatening the life of each other 
 for the last hour, become furious in their disputes, and 
 finding it impossible to silence one man, who is particu 
 larly anxious to adjust the difference, they resort to the 
 infallible expedient of knocking him down and jumping 
 on him afterward. The man in the fur cap and the pot 
 boy rush out ; a scene of riot and confusion ensues ; half 
 the Irishmen get shut out, and the other half get shut in ; 
 the pot-boy is knocked among the tubs in no time ; the 
 landlord hits everybody, and everybody hits the landlord ; 
 the barmaids scream ; the police come in ; and the rest 
 in a confused mixture of arms, legs, staves, torn coats, 
 shouting and struggling. Some of the party are borne 
 off to the station-house, and the remainder slink home to 
 beat their wives for complaining, and kick the children 
 for daring to be hungry." And thus Dickens gives the 
 description of the homes to which they slink : " Wretched 
 houses with broken windows patched with rags, and 
 paper, every room let out to a different family, and in 
 many instances to two or even three ; fruit and sweet- 
 stuff manufacturers in the cellars, barbers and red-herring 
 venders in front parlors, and cobblers in the back ; a 
 
360 NOTES TO THE DRAMA OF EARTH. 
 
 bird-fancier on the first-floor, three families on the second, 
 starvation in the attics, Irishmen in the passage ; a mu 
 sician in the front kitchen, and a charwoman and five 
 hungry children in the back one filth everywhere 
 a gutter before the houses and a drain behind them 
 clothes drying and slops emptying from the windows ; 
 girls of fourteen or fifteen with matted hair, walking 
 about barefooted, and in white great coats, almost their 
 only covering ; boys of all ages, in coats of all sizes and 
 no coats at all ; men and women, in every variety of 
 scanty and dirty apparel, lounging, scolding, drinking, 
 smoking, squabbling, fighting, and swearing." 
 
 NOTE 36. Page 298. 
 
 But now 1 can not fed 
 
 My body with my hands. 
 
 A CERTAIN individual, in describing the manner in 
 which he had been afflicted with delirium tremens, says : 
 " I lost the sense of feeling too ; for I attempted to grasp 
 my arm in one hand, but consciousness was gone. I put 
 my hand to my side, to my head, but felt nothing; and 
 still I knew that my limbs and frame were there." 
 
 THE END.