By the sisterhood standing around the beatified | Thou, said the Monarch, here? Thou, Perceval, Virgin, [open, When with her dying eyes she sees the firmament Lifts from the bed of dust her arms towards her beloved, Utters the adorable name, and breathes out her soul in a rapture. summon'd before me?. Then, as his waken'd mind to the weal of his What of his son, he ask'd, what course by the Right in his Father's steps hath the Regent trod, Well could I then believe such legends, and Firm hath he proved and wise, at a time when well could I credit weakness or error All that the poets old relate of Amphion and Or- Would have sunk us in shame, and to ruin have pheus; hurried us headlong. How to melodious sounds wild beasts their strength True to himself hath he been, and Heaven has have surrender'd, Men were reclaim'd from the woods, and stones in harmonious order Moved, as their atoms obey'd the mysterious attraction of concord. This was a higher strain; a mightier, holier virtue Came with its powerful tones. O'ercome by the piercing emotion, Dizzy I grew, and it seem'd as though my soul were dissolving. How might I bear unmoved such sounds? For, like as the vapors Melt on the mountain side, when the sun comes forth in his splendor, Even so the vaulted roof and whatever was earthly Faded away; the Grave was gone, and the Dead was awaken'd. III. THE AWAKENING. rewarded his counsels. Peace is obtain'd then at last, with safety and Cried, and he clasp'd his hands; - I thank Thee, Now is my heart's desire fulfill'd. With honor surpassing All that in elder time had adorn'd the annals of England, Peace hath been won by the sword, the faithful minister answer'd. Paris hath seen once more the banners of England in triumph Wave within her walls, and the ancient line is establish'd. While that man of blood, the tyrant, faithless and godless, Render'd at length the sport, as long the minion of Fortune, Far away, confined in a rocky isle of the ocean, Fights his battles again, and pleased to win in the chamber THEN I beheld the King. From a cloud which What he lost in the field, in fancy conquers his cover'd the pavement conqueror. accuses, His reverend form uprose: heavenward his face There he reviles his foes, and there the ungrateful was directed, Heavenward his eyes were raised, and heaven- For his own defaults, the men who too faithfully ward his arms were extended. served him; Lord, it is past! he cried; the mist, and the weight, Frets, and complains, and intrigues, and abuses the and the darkness;·mercy that spared him. That long and weary night, that long, drear dream Oh that my King could have known these things! of desertion. could have witness'd how England Father, to Thee I come! My days have been Check'd in its full career the force of her enemy's many and evil; empire, Heavy my burden of care, and grievous hath been Singly defied his arms and his arts, and baffled my affliction. them singly, Thou hast releas'd me at length. O Lord, in Thee Roused from their lethal sleep, with the stirring have I trusted; example, the nations, Thou art my hope and my strength! And then, And the refluent tide swept him and his fortune in profound adoration, before it. Crossing his arms on his breast, he bent and wor- Oh that my King, ere he died, might have seen the shipp'd in silence. Presently one approach'd to greet him with joyful obeisance; fruit of his counsels! Nay, it is better thus, the Monarch piously answer'd ; He of whom, in an hour of woe, the assassin be- Here I can bear the joy; it comes as an earnest reaved us, of Heaven. sure are thy judgments. When his counsels most, and his resolute virtue Righteous art Thou, O Lord! long-suffering, but were needed. ble lustre. written: Then having paused awhile, like one in devotion | Tempering with grateful shade the else use abstracted, Earthward his thoughts recurr'd, so deeply the care Drawing near, I beheld what over the porta of his country Lay in that royal soul reposed; and he said, Is the This is the Gate of Bliss, it said; through 1: spirit the passage Quell'd which hath troubled the land? and the To the City of God, the abode of beatified § multitude freed from delusion, Weariness is not there, nor change, nor s Know they their blessings at last, and are they contented and thankful? nor parting; Time hath no place therein; nor evil. Yewould enter, Still is that fierce and restless spirit at work, was Drink of the Well of Life, and put away the answer; Still it deceiveth the weak, and inflameth the rash and the desperate. is earthly. O'er the adamantine gates an Angel stood the summit. Even now, I ween, some dreadful deed is preparing ; he exclaim'd, King George of England eth to judgment ! Move on the wing alert. Some nascent horror they Hear, Heaven! Ye Angels, hear! Souls of 2 look for, Good and the Wicked, Be sure! some accursed conception of filth and of Whom it concerns, attend! Thou, Hell, b darkness forth his accusers! Ripe for its monstrous birth. Whether France or As the sonorous summons was utter'd, the Waa Britain be threaten'd, who were waiting, Soon will the issue show; or if both at once are Bore it abroad through Heaven: and Hell, in be endanger'd, nethermost caverns, For with the ghosts obscene of Robespierre, Danton, Heard, and obey'd in dismay. THUS as he spake, methought the surrounding Flocking on either hand, a multitudinous army, space dilated. Overhead I beheld the infinite ether; beneath us Lay the solid expanse of the firmament spread like a pavement. Wheresoever I look'd, there was light and glory around me. Brightest it seem'd in the East, where the New Jerusalem glitter'd. Eminent on a hill, there stood the Celestial City; Beaming afar it shone; its towers and cupolas rising Came at the awful call. In semicircle inclining, Tier over tier they took their place: aloft, in the distance, Far as the sight could pierce, that glorious company glisten'd. From the skirts of the shining assembly, a silvery vapor Rose in the blue serene, and moving onward it deepen'd, Taking a denser form; the while from the opposite region High in the air serene, with the brightness of gold Heavy and sulphurous clouds roll'd on, and comin the furnace, pleted the circle. Where on their breadth the splendor lay intense There, with the Spirits accurs'd, in congenial darkness enveloped, and quiescent: Part with a fierier glow, and a short, quick, trem- Were the Souls of the Wicked, who, wilful in guilt ulous motion, and in error, Like the burning pyropus; and turrets and pinna- Chose the service of sin, and now were abiding its cles sparkled, Playing in jets of light, with a diamond-like glory coruscant. Groves of all hues of green their foliage intermingled, wages. Change of place to them brought no reprieval from anguish ; They, in their evil thoughts and desires of impotent malice, Envy, and hate, and blasphemous rage, and remorse | And the lying tongues were mute, and the lips which had scatter'd Accusation and slander, were still. No time for evasion This, in the Presence he stood; no place for flight; for dissembling No possibility there. From the souls on the edge of the darkness, Two he produced, prime movers and agents of mischief, and bade them Show themselves faithful now to the cause for which they had labor'd. Wretched and guilty souls, where now their audacity? Where now Are the insolent tongues so ready of old at rejoinder? Where the lofty pretences of public virtue and freedom? Where the gibe, and the jeer, and the threat, the envenom'd invective, Calumny, falsehood, fraud, and the whole ammunition of malice? of their Sovereign, On the cerulean floor, by that dread circle sur- Wretched and guilty souls, they stood in the face rounded, Stood the soul of the King alone. In front was Conscious and self-condemn'd; confronted with the Presence him they had injured, Veil'd with excess of light; and behind was the At the Judgment seat they stood. blackness of darkness. Then might be seen the strength of holiness, then was its triumph; Calm in his faith he stood, and his own clear conscience upheld him. Beholding the foremost, Him by the cast of his eye oblique, I knew as the firebrand Whom the unthinking populace held for their idol and hero, When the trumpet was blown, and the Angel Lord of Misrule in his day. But how was that made proclamation — countenance alter'd Lo, where the King appears! Come forward, ye | Where emotion of fear or of shame had never been who arraign him! witness'd; Forth from the lurid cloud a Demon came at the That invincible forehead abash'd; and those eyes summons. wherein malice It was the Spirit by which his righteous reign had Once had been wont to shine, with wit and hilarity been troubled; Likest in form uncouth to the hideous Idols whom temper'd, Into how deep a gloom their mournful expression had settled! Little avail'd it now that not from a purpose malignant, [evil; Not with evil intent he had chosen the service of Many-headed and monstrous the Fiend; with But of his own desires the slave, with profligate numberless faces, impulse, Numberless bestial ears erect to all rumors, and Solely by selfishness moved, and reckless of aught restless, that might follow. And with numberless mouths which were fill'd Could he plead in only excuse a confession of with lies as with arrows. baseness? atone for Clamors arose as he came, a confusion of turbulent | Could he hide the extent of his guilt? or hope to voices, Maledictions, and blatant tongues, and viperous Faction excited at home, when all old feuds were hisses; And in the hubbub of senseless sounds the watch- Insurrection abroad, and the train of woes that words of faction, abated, had follow'd! Freedom, Invaded Rights, Corruption, and War, Discontent and disloyalty, like the teeth of the and Oppression, Loudly enounced, were heard. But when he stood in the Presence, Then was the Fiend dismay'd, though with impudence clothed as a garment; dragon, He had sown on the winds; they had ripen'd beyond the Atlantic; Thence in natural birth, sedition, revolt, revolution; France had received the seeds, and reap'd the harvest of horrors; — thunder Where where should the plague be stay'd? Oh, In the infinite dying away. The roli most to be pitied They of all souls in bale, who see no term to the Ceased, and all sounds were hush'd, til « evil from the gate adamantine They by their guilt have raised, no end to their Was the voice of the Angel heard through. inner upbraidings! Him I could not choose but know, nor knowing but grieve for. Who might the other be, his comrade in guilt and in suffering, Brought to the proof like him, and shrinking like him from the trial? silence of Heaven. VI. THE ABSOLVERS. Nameless the libeller lived, and shot his arrows Ho! he exclaim'd, King George of Enga in darkness; standeth in judgment ! Undetected he pass'd to the grave, and leaving Hell hath been dumb in his presence. Yewhe earth arraign'd him, behind him Noxious works on earth, and the pest of an evil Come ye before him now, and here accuse : example, absolve him! Went to the world beyond, where no offences are For injustice hath here no place. hidden. Mask'd had he been in his life, and now a visor of iron, Riveted round his head, had abolish'd his features forever. Speechless the slanderer stood, and turn'd his face from the Monarch, Iron-bound as it was, - so insupportably dreadful, Soon or late, to conscious guilt is the eye of the injured. Caitiffs, are ye dumb? cried the multifaced Think ye then by shame to shorten the term of Back to your penal dens! And with horrible grasp gigantic Seizing the guilty pair, he swung them aloft, and in vengeance From the Souls of the Blesses Some were there then who advanced; and ar from the skirts of the meeting— Spirits who had not yet accomplish'd the purification, Yet, being cleansed from pride, from faction error deliver'd, Purged of the film wherewith the eye of the mind is clouded, They, in their better state, saw all things clear; and discerning Now, in the light of truth, what tortuous views had deceived them, They acknowledged their fault, and own'd the wrong they had offer'd; Not without ingenuous shame, and a sense of compunction, More or less, as each had more or less to atone for Hurl'd them all abroad, far into the sulphurous One alone remain'd, when the rest had retired to darkness. their station: Sons of Faction, be warn'd! And ye, ye Slan- Silently he had stood, and still unmoved and in derers! learn ye silence, Justice, and bear in mind that after death there is With a steady mien, regarded the face of the judgment. Whirling, away they flew. Nor long himself did he tarry, Ere from the ground where he stood, caught up by a vehement whirlwind, He, too, was hurried away; and the blast with lightning and thunder Volleying aright and aleft amid the accumulate Lord of his own resolves, blackness, absolute master. Scatter'd its inmates accurs'd, and beyond the Awful Spirit; his place was with ancient sages limits of ether and heroes; Drove the hircine host obscene: they, howling and Fabius, Aristides, and Solon, and Epaminondas. groaning, Fell, precipitate, down to their dolorous place of endurance. Here then at the Gate of Heaven we are met! said the Spirit; Then was the region clear; the arrowy flashes King of England! albeit in life opposed to each which redden'd other, Through the foul, thick throng, like sheeted ar- Here we meet at last. Not unprepared for the gentry floating meeting Now o'er the blue serene, diffused an innocuous Ween I; for we had both outlived all enmity, rendering splendor, Each to each that justice which each from each | Full of cares, and with perils beset. How heavy had withholden. In the course of events, to thee I seem'd as a Rebel, Thou a Tyrant to me;-so strongly doth circumstance rule men During evil days, when right and wrong are confounded. Left to our hearts we were just. For me, my actions have spoken, That not for lawless desires, nor goaded by desperate fortunes, Nor for ambition, I chose my part; but observant of duty, Self-approved. And here, this witness I willingly bear thee, - the burden Thou alone canst tell! Short-sighted and frail hast And Thy judgments who can abide? But as The desire of my heart hath been alway the good of my people, Pardon my errors, O Lord, and in mercy accept the intention! As in Thee I have trusted, so let me not now be confounded. Bending forward, he spake with earnest humility. Here, before Angels and Men, in the awful hour Good and faithful servant! then said a Voice from of judgment, the Brightness, Thou too didst act with upright heart, as befitted a Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.-The Sovereign ministering Spirits True to his sacred trust, to his crown, his kingdom, Clapp'd their pennons therewith, and from that and people. whole army of Angels Heaven in these things fulfill'd its wise, though Songs of thanksgiving and joy resounded, and loud hallelujahs; inscrutable purpose, While we work'd its will, doing each in his place While, on the wings of Winds upraised, the as became him. Washington! said the Monarch, well hast thou spoken and truly, Just to thyself and to me. On them is the guilt of the contest, Who for wicked ends, with foul arts of faction and falsehood, pavilion of splendor, Where inscrutable light enveloped the Holy of Moved, and was borne away, through the empyrean Beautiful then on its hill appear'd the Celestial Kindled and fed the flame; but verily they have Soften'd, like evening suns, to a mild and bearable their guerdon. lustre. Thou and I are free from offence. And would Beautiful was the ether above; and the sapphire that the nations, beneath us, Learning of us, would lay aside all wrongful Beautiful was its tone, to the dazzled sight as resentment, refreshing All injurious thought, and, honoring each in the As the fields with their loveliest green at the coming other Kindred courage of summer, and virtue, and cognate When the mind is at ease, and the eye and the knowledge and freedom, Live in brotherhood wisely conjoin'd. We set the example. They who stir up strife, and would break that natural concord, Evil they sow, and sorrow will they reap for their harvest. WHEN that Spirit withdrew, the Monarch around Even in dim similitude; such was its wonderful the assembly Look'd, but none else came forth; and he heard Pure it was and diaphanous. It had no visible the voice of the Angel, lustre ; King of England, speak for thyself! here is none to Yet from It alone whole Heaven was illuminate arraign thee. alway; Father, he replied, from whom no secrets are Day and Night being none in the upper firmament, hidden, neither What should I say? Thou knowest that mine was Sun, nor Moon, nor Stars; but from that Cross, as an arduous station, a fountain, |