In which a man may come to his end, whose crimes Have roused all nature up against him- pshaw! – Her. For mercy's sake is nobody in sight? No traveller, peasant, herdsman?
Not a soul: Here is a tree, ragged, and bent, and bare, That turns its goat's-beard flakes of pea-green moss From the stern breathing of the rough sea-wind; 'This have we, but no other company: Commend me to the place. If a man should die And leave his body here, it were all one As he were twenty fathoms underground. Her. Where is our common friend? Mar. The spirit of a murdered man, for instance- Might have fine room to ramble about here, A grand domain to squeak and gibber in. Her. Lost man! if thou hast any close-pent guilt Pressing upon thy heart, and this the hour Of visitation
Her. Restore him, Heaven! Mar.
Whom no one comes to meet, I stood alone;- I murmured —but, remembering Him who feeds The pelican and ostrich of the desert, From my own threshold I looked up to Heaven And did not want glimmerings of quiet hope. So, from the court I passed, and down the brook, Led by its murmur, to the ancient oak
I came; and when I felt its cooling shade,
The desperate wretch!- A flower, I sate me down, and cannot but believe- While in my lap I held my little babe
Fairest of all flowers, was she once, but now
More with delight than grief — I heard a voice Such as by Cherith on Elijah called;
They have snapped her from the stem-Poh! let her lie And clasped her to my heart, my heart that ached Besoiled with mire, and let the houseless snail Feed on her leaves. You knew her well-ay, there, Old man! you were a very lynx, you knew The worm was in her
It said, "I will be with thee." A little boy, A shepherd-lad, ere yet my trance was gone,
Mercy! Sir, what mean you? Hailed us as if he had been sent from heaven,
Mar. You have a daughter! Her.
O, that she were here!- She hath an eye that sinks into all hearts, And if I have in aught offended you, Soon would her gentle voice make peace between us. Mar. (aside.) I do believe he weeps-I could weep
There is a vein of her voice that runs through his: Even such a man my fancy boded forth From the first moment that I loved the maid; And for his sake I loved her more: these tears- I did not think that aught was left in me Of what I have been-yes, I thank thee, Heaven! One happy thought has passed across my mind.
It may not be I am cut off from man;
No more shall I be man-no more shall I
And said with tears, that he would be our guide: I had a better guide-that innocent babe- Her, who hath saved me, to this hour, from harm, From cold, from hunger, penury, and death; To whom I owe the best of all the good
I have, or wish for, upon earth — and more And higher far than lies within earth's bounds: Therefore I bless her: when I think of man,
I bless her with sad spirit,-when of God,
I bless her in the fulness of my joy!
Mar. The name of daughter in his mouth, he prays! With nerves so steady, that the very flies
Sit unmolested on his staff.-Innocent!- If he were innocent - then he would tremble And be disturbed, as I am. (Turning aside.) I have read
Have human feelings!-(To HERBERT.) Now for a In story, what men now alive have witnessed,
How, when the people's mind was wracked with doubt, Appeal was made to the great Judge: the accused With naked feet walked over burning ploughshares. Here is a man by nature's hand prepared
For a like trial, but more merciful.
Why else have I been led to this bleak waste? Bare is it, without house or track, and destitute Of obvious shelter, as a shipless sea. Here will I leave him-here-All-seeing God! Such as he is, and sore perplexed as I am; Learn, young man, I will commit him to this final Ordeal! - He heard a voice-a shepherd-lad came to him
To fear the virtuous and reverence misery,
And was his guide; if once, why not again, And in this desert? If never then the whole Of what he says, and looks, and does, and is, Makes up one damning falsehood. Leave him here To cold and hunger!-Pain is of the heart, And what are a few throes of bodily suffering If they can waken one pang of remorse?
[Goes up to HERBERT. Old man! my wrath is as a flame burnt out, It cannot be rekindled. Thou art here Led by my hand to save thee from perdition; Thou wilt have time to breathe and think Her. O, mercy! Mar. I know the need that all men have of mercy, And therefore leave thee to a righteous judgment. Her. My child, my blessed child! Mar. No more of that; Thou wilt have many guides if thou art innocent; Yea, from the utmost corners of the earth, That woman will come o'er this waste to save thee. [He pauses and looks at HERBERT's staff. Ha! what is here? and carved by her own hand! [Reads upon the staff.
"I am eyes to the blind, saith the Lord. He that puts his trust in me shall not fail!" Yes, be it so; - repent and be forgiven- God and that staff are now thy only guides.
Should prove as Lennox has foretold, then swear,
[He leaves HERBERT on the Moor. My friends, his heart shall have as many wounds As there are daggers here. Lacy.
What need of swearing! One of the Band. Let us away! Another.
A third. Hark! how the horns Of those Scotch Rovers echo through the vale. Lacy. Stay you behind; and when the sun is down, Light up this beacon.
One of the Band. You shall be obeyed.
[They go out together.
Osw. Nay, then-I am mistaken. There's a weak- Ill names, can render no ill services,
About you still; you talk of solitude
What need of this assurance At any time? and why given now?
In recompense for what themselves required. So meet extremes in this mysterious world, And opposites thus melt into each other.
Mar. Time, since man first drew breath, has never moved
Osw. You are now in truth my master; you have taught me But they will soon be lightened. What there is not another living man
With such a weight upon his wings as now;
Had strength to teach; and therefore gratitude
Is bold, and would relieve itself by praise.
Mar. Wherefore press this on me? Osw. That you have shown, and by a signal instance, How they who would be just must seek the rule By diving for it into their own bosoms. To-day you have thrown off a tyranny That lives but in the torpid acquiescence Of our emasculated souls, the tyranny
Of the world's masters, with the musty rules
By which they uphold their craft from age to age: You have obeyed the only law that sense Submits to recognise; the immediate law, From the clear light of circumstances, flashed Upon an independent intellect.
Henceforth new prospects open on your path; Your faculties should grow with the demand; I still will be your friend, will cleave to you Through good and evil, obloquy and scorn Oft as they dare to follow on your steps. Mar. I would be left alone. Osw. (exultingly.)
I know your motives! I am not of the world's presumptuous judges, Who damn where they can neither see nor feel, With a hard-hearted ignorance; your struggles I witnessed, and now hail your victory. Mar. Spare me awhile that greeting Osw.
It may be, That some there are, squeamish half-thinking cowards, Who will turn pale upon you, call you murderer, And you will walk in solitude among them. A mighty evil for a strong-built mind! Join twenty tapers of unequal height And light them joined, and you will see the less How 't will burn down the taller; and they all Shall prey upon the tallest. Solitude! The eagle lives in solitude!
The sparrow so on the house-top, and I,
The weakest of God's creatures, stand resolved
To abide the issue of my act, alone.
Osw. Ay, look up- Cast round your mind's eye, and you will learn Fortitude is the child of Enterprise: Great actions move our admiration, chiefly Because they carry in themselves an earnest That we can suffer greatly.
It cannot live with thought; think on, think on, And it will die. What! in this universe, Where the least things control the greatest, where The faintest breath that breathes can move a world; What! feel remorse, where, if a cat had sneezed, A leaf had fallen, the thing had never been Whose very shadow gnaws us to the vitals.
Mar. Now, whither are you wandering? That a man So used to suit his language to the time,
Osw. Now would you? and for ever? - My young Should thus so widely differ from himself — friend,
As time advances either we become
The prey or masters of our own past deeds. Fellowship we must have, willing or no; And if good Angels fail, slack in their duty, Substitutes, turn our faces where we may, Are still forthcoming; some which, though they bear
Murder what's in the word!
I have no cases by me ready made To fit all deeds. Carry him to the camp!- A shallow project; — you of late have seen More deeply, taught us that the institutes Of nature, by a cunning usurpation
This is a happy day. My father soon Shall sun himself before his native doors; The lame, the hungry, will be welcome there.
Mar. I have borne my burthen to its destined end. Osw. This instant we'll return to our companions-No more shall he complain of wasted strength, O, how I long to see their faces again!
Enter IDONEA, with Pilgrims who continue their
Of thoughts that fail, and a decaying heart; His good works will be balm and life to him. Mar. This is most strange!-I know not what it was, But there was something which most plainly said,
Idon. (after some time.) What, Marmaduke! now That thou wert innocent. thou art mine for ever. Idon. How innocent! And Oswald, too! (To MARMADUKE.) On will we to O, heavens! you've been deceived. my father
With the glad tidings which this day hath brought; We'll go together, and such proof received Of his own rights restored, his gratitude
To God above will make him feel for ours.
Mar. To bring perdition on the universe. Idon. Already I've been punished to the height Of my offence. [Smiling affectionately.
What ails you! [Distractedly.
Mar. The scrip that held his food, and I forgot To give it back again! Idon. What mean your words? Mar. I know not what I said—all may be well. Idon. That smile hath life in it! Mar.
SCENE, a room in the Hostel - MARMADuke and OSWALD.
Mar. But for Idonea! I have cause to think That she is innocent.
Osw. Leave that thought awhile, As one of those beliefs which in their hearts Lovers lock up as pearls, though oft no better Than feathers clinging to their points of passion. This day's event has laid on me the duty Of opening out my story; you must hear it, And without further preface. In my youth, Except for that abatement which is paid By envy as a tribute to desert,
was the pleasure of all hearts, the darling Of every tongue-as you are now.
That I embarked for Syria. On our voyage Was hatched among the crew a foul conspiracy Against my honour, in the which our captain Was, I believed, prime agent. The wind fell; We lay becalmed week after week, until The water of the vessel was exhausted; I felt a double fever in my veins,
Yet rage suppressed itself; — to a deep stillness Did my pride tame my pride; -for many days, On a dead sea under a burning sky, I brooded o'er my injuries, deserted By man and nature; — if a breeze had blown, It might have found its way into my heart,
And I had been - no matter-do you mark me?
Mar. Quick-to the point—if any untold crime Doth haunt your memory.
Patience, hear me further!- One day in silence did we drift at noon By a bare rock, narrow, and white, and bare; No food was there, no drink, no grass, no shade, No tree, nor jutting eminence, nor form Inanimate large as the body of man, Nor any living thing whose lot of life Might stretch beyond the measure of one moon. To dig for water on the spot, the captain Landed with a small troop, myself being one: There I reproached him with his treachery. Imperious at all times, his temper rose;
He struck me; and that instant had I killed him, And put an end to his insolence, but my comrades Rushed in between us; then did I insist
(All hated him, and I was stung to madness) That should leave him there, alive!- we did so. we Mar. And he was famished? Osw.
Naked was the spot; Methinks I see it now-how in the sun Its stony surface glittered like a shield; And in that miserable place we left him, Alone but for a swarm of minute creatures Not one of which could help him while alive, Or mourn him dead. Mar. A man by men cast off, Left without burial! nay, not dead nor dying, But standing, walking, stretching forth his arms, In all things like ourselves, but in the agony With which he called for mercy; and—even soHe was forsaken?
You returned Upon that dismal hearing-did you not?
Osw. Some scoffed at him with hellish mockery, And laughed so loud it seemed that the smooth sea Did from some distant region echo us.
Mar. We all are of one blood, our veins are filled At the same poisonous fountain!
Osw. 'T was an island Only by sufferance of the winds and waves, Which with their foam could cover it at will. I know not how he perished; but the calm,
The same dead calm continued many days.
Mar. But his own crime had brought on him this doom,
His wickedness prepared it; these expedients Are terrible, yet ours is not the fault.
Osw. The man was famished, and was innocent! Mar. Impossible!
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