The clangorous hammer is the tongue, This way, that way, beaten and swung, That from mouth of brass, as from Month of Gold, May be taught the Testaments, New and Old, And above it the great cross-beam of wood Representeth the Holy Rood, Upon which, like the bell, our hopes are hung.
And the wheel wherewith it is swayed and rung Is the mind of man, that round and round Sways, and maketh the tongue to sound!
And the rope, with its twisted cordage three, Denoteth the Scriptural Trinity Of Morals, and Symbols, and History;And the upward and downward motion show That we touch upon matters high and low;And the constant change and transmutation Of action and of contemplation, Downward, the Scripture brought from on high, Upward, exalted again to the sky;Downward, the literal interpretation, Upward, the Vision and Mystery!
And now, my hearers, to make an end, I have only one word more to say;In the church, in honor of Easter day Will be presented a Miracle Play;And I hope you will have the grace to attend.
Christ bring us at last to his felicity!
Pax vobiscum! et Benedicite!
IN THE CATHEDRAL
CHANT.
Kyrie Eleison Christe Eleison!
ELSIE.
I am at home here in my Father's house!
These paintings of the Saints upon the walls Have all familiar and benignant faces.
PRINCE HENRY.
The portraits of the family of God!
Thine own hereafter shall be placed among them.
ELSIE.
How very grand it is and wonderful!
Never have I beheld a church so splendid!
Such columns, and such arches, and such windows, So many tombs and statues in the chapels, And under them so many confessionals.
They must be for the rich.I should not like To tell my sins in such a church as this.
Who built it?
PRINCE HENRY.
A great master of his craft, Erwin von Steinbach; but not he alone, For many generations labored with him.
Children that came to see these Saints in stone, As day by day out of the blocks they rose, Grew old and died, and still the work went on, And on, and on, and is not yet completed.
The generation that succeeds our own Perhaps may finish it.The architect Built his great heart into these sculptured stones, And with him toiled his children, and their lives Were builded, with his own, into the walls, As offerings unto God.You see that statue Fixing its joyous, but deep-wrinkled eyes Upon the Pillars of the Angels yonder.
That is the image of the master, carved By the fair hand of his own child, Sabina.
ELSIE.
How beautiful is the column that he looks at!
PRINCE HENRY.
That, too, she sculptured.At the base of it Stand the Evangelists; above their heads Four Angels blowing upon marble trumpets, And over them the blessed Christ, surrounded By his attendant ministers, upholding The instruments of his passion.
ELSIE.
O my Lord!
Would I could leave behind me upon earth Some monument to thy glory, such as this!
PRINCE HENRY.
A greater monument than this thou leavest In thine own life, all purity and love!
See, too, the Rose, above the western portal Resplendent with a thousand gorgeous colors, The perfect flower of Gothic loveliness!
ELSIE.
And, in the gallery, the long line of statues, Christ with his twelve Apostles watching us!
A Bishop in armor, booted and spurred, passes with his train.
PRINCE HENRY.
But come away; we have not time to look, The crowd already fills the church, and yonder Upon a stage, a herald with a trumpet, Clad like the Angel Gabriel, proclaims The Mystery that will now be represented.
THE NATIVITY
A MIRACLE-PLAY
INTROITUS
PRAECO.
Come, good people, all and each, Come and listen to our speech!
In your presence here I stand, With a trumpet in my hand, To announce the Easter Play, Which we represent to-day!
First of all we shall rehearse, In our action and our verse, The Nativity of our Lord, As written in the old record Of the Protevangelion, So that he who reads may run!
Blows his trumpet.
I.HEAVEN.
MERCY, at the feet of God.
Have pity, Lord! be not afraid To save mankind, whom thou hast made, Nor let the souls that were betrayed Perish eternally!
JUSTICE.
It cannot be, it must not be!
When in the garden placed by thee, The fruit of the forbidden tree He ate, and he must die!
MERCY.
Have pity, Lord! let penitence Atone for disobedience, Nor let the fruit of man's offence Be endless misery!
JUSTICE.
What penitence proportionate Can e'er be felt for sin so great?
Of the forbidden fruit he ate, And damned must he be!
GOD.
He shall be saved, if that within The bounds of earth one free from sin Be found, who for his kith and kin Will suffer martyrdom.
THE FOUR VIRTUES.
Lord! we have searched the world around, From centre to the utmost bound, But no such mortal can be found;Despairing, back we come.
WISDOM.
No mortal, but a God-made man, Can ever carry out this plan, Achieving what none other can, Salvation unto all!
GOD.
Go, then, O my beloved Son!
It can by thee alone be done;
By thee the victory shall be won O'er Satan and the Fall!
Here the ANGEL GABRIEL shall leave Paradise and fly towards the earth; the jaws of hell open below, and the Devils walk about, making a great noise.
II.MARY AT THE WELL
MARY.
Along the garden walk, and thence Through the wicket in the garden fence I steal with quiet pace, My pitcher at the well to fill, That lies so deep and cool and still In this sequestered place.
These sycamores keep guard around;
I see no face, I hear no sound, Save bubblings of the spring, And my companions, who, within, The threads of gold and scarlet spin, And at their labor sing.
THE ANGEL GABRIEL.
Hail, Virgin Mary, full of grace!
Here MARY looketh around her, trembling, and then saith:
MARY.
Who is it speaketh in this place, With such a gentle voice?
GABRIEL.
The Lord of heaven is with thee now!
Blessed among all women thou, Who art his holy choice!
MARY, setting down the pitcher.
What can this mean? No one is near, And yet, such sacred words I hear, I almost fear to stay.
Here the ANGEL, appearing to her, shall say:
GABRIEL.
Fear not, O Mary! but believe!
For thou, a Virgin, shalt conceive A child this very day.
Fear not, O Mary! from the sky The Majesty of the Most High Shall overshadow thee!
MARY.