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. Well done,
Good and faithful servant! then said a Voice from the Brightness,
Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord... The ministering Spirits
Clapt their pennons therewith, and from that whole army of Angels
Songs of thanksgiving and joy resounded, and loud hallelujahs;
While on the wings of Winds upraised, the pavilion of splendour
Where inscrutable light enveloped the Holy of Holies,
Moved, and was borne away, thro’ the empyrean ascending.
Beautiful then on its hill appear’d the Celestial City,
Soften’d, like evening suns, to a mild and bearable lustre.
Beautiful was the ether above; and the sapphire beneath us,
Beautiful was its tone, to the dazzled sight as refreshing
As the fields with their loveliest green at the coming of summer,
When the mind is at ease, and the eye and the heart are contented.
Then methought we approach’d the gate. In front of the portal,
From a rock where the standard of man’s Redemption was planted,
Issued the Well of Life, where whosoever would enter,
So it was written, must drink, and put away all that is earthly.
Earth among its gems, its creations of art and of nature,
Offers not aught whereto that marvellous Cross may be liken’d
Even in dim similitude, such was its wonderful substance.
Pure it was and diaphanous. It had no visible lustre;
Yet from It alone whole Heaven was illuminate alway;
Day and Night being none in the upper firmament, neither
Sun, nor Moon, nor Stars; but from that Cross as a fountain
Flow’d the Light uncreated; light all-sufficing, eternal,
Light which was, and which is, and which will be, for ever and ever;
Light of light, which, if daringly gazed on, would blind an Archangel,
Yet the eye of weak man may behold, and beholding is strengthened;
Yea, while we wander below, opprest with our bodily burthen,
And in the shadow of death, this Light is in mercy vouchsafed us,
So we seek it with humble heart; and the soul that receives it
Hath with it healing and strength, peace, love, and life everlasting.
Thither the King drew nigh, and kneeling he drank of the water.
Oh what a change was wrought! In the semblance of age he had risen,
Such as at last he appear’d, with the traces of time and affliction
Deep on his faded form, when the burthen of years was upon him.
Oh what a change was wrought! For now the corruptible put on
Incorruption; the mortal put off mortality. Rising
Rejuvenescent he stood in a glorified body, obnoxious
Never again to change, nor to evil and trouble and sorrow,
But for eternity form’d, and to bliss everlasting appointed.
VIII. THE SOVEREIGNS.
Lift up your heads, ye Gates; and ye everlasting Portals,
Be ye lift up! For lo! a glorified Monarch approacheth,
One who in righteousness reign’d, and religiously govern’d his people.
Who are these that await him within? Nassau the Deliverer,
Him I knew: and the Stuart, he who, serene in his meekness,
Bow’d his anointed head beneath the axe of rebellion,
Calm in that insolent hour, and over his fortune triumphant.
Queen of the eagle eye, thou too, O matchless Eliza,
Excellent Queen, wert there! and thy brother’s beautiful spirit;
O’er whose innocent head there hover’d a silvery halo,
Such as crowns the Saint when his earthly warfare is ended.
There too was he of the sable mail, the hero of Cressy,
Flower of chivalry, he, in arms and in courtesy peerless.
There too his royal sire I saw, magnificent Edward,
He who made the English renown, and the fame of his Windsor
In the Orient and Occident known, from Tagus to Tigris.
Lion-hearted Richard was there, redoubtable warrior,
At whose irresistible presence the Saracen trembled;
At whose name the Caliph exclaim’d in dismay on Mahommed,
Syrian mothers grew pale, and their children were scared into silence.
Born in a bloody age, did he in his prowess exulting
Run like a meteor his course, and fulfil the service assign’d him,
Checking the Mussulman power in the height of its prosperous fortune;
But that leonine heart was with virtues humaner ennobled,
(Otherwhere else, be sure, his doom had now been appointed,)
Friendship, disdain of wrong, and generous feeling redeem’d it,
Magnanimity there had its seat, and the love of the Muses.
There with the Saxon Kings who founded our laws and our temples,
(Gratefully still to be named while these endure in remembrance,
They, for the pious work!) I saw the spirit of Alfred;
Alfred than whom no Prince with loftier intellect gifted,
Nor with a finer soul, nor in virtue more absolute, ever
Made a throne twice-hallow’d, and reign’d in the hearts of his people.
With him the Worthies were seen who in life partook of his labours,
Shared his thoughts, and with him for the weal of posterity travail’d:
Some who in cloisters immured, and to painful study devoted
Day and night, their patient and innocent lives exhausted,
And in meekness possess’d their souls: and some who in battle
Put the Raven to flight: and some who intrepid in duty
Reach’d the remotest East, or invading the kingdom of Winter,
Plough’d with audacious keel the Hyperborean Ocean.
I could perceive the joy which fill’d their beatified spirits
While of the Georgian age they thought, and the glory of England.
IX. THE ELDER WORTHIES.
Lift up your heads, ye Gates; and ye everlasting Portals,
Be ye lift up! Behold the Worthies are there to receive him,
They who in later days, or in elder ages ennobled
Britain’s dear name. Bede I beheld, who, humble and holy,
Shone like a single star, serene in a night of darkness.
Bacon also was there, the marvellous Friar; and he who
Struck the spark from which the Bohemian kindled his taper;
Thence the flame, long and hardly preserved, was to Luther transmitted,
Mighty soul, and he lifted his torch, and enlighten’d the nations.
Thee too, Father Chaucer! I saw, and delighted to see thee,
At whose well undefiled I drank in my youth, and was strengthen’d;
With whose mind immortal so oft I have communed, partaking
All its manifold moods, and willingly moved at its pleasure.
Bearing the palm of martyrdom, Cranmer was there in his meekness,
Holy name to be ever revered! And Cecil, whose wisdom
‘Stablish’d the Church and State, Eliza’s pillar of council.
And Shakespeare, who in our hearts for himself hath erected an empire
Not to be shaken by Time, nor e’er by another divided.
But with what love did I then behold the face of my master,..
Spenser, my master dear! with whom in boyhood I wander’d
Through the regions of Faery land, in forest or garden
Spending delicious hours, or at tilt and tourney rejoicing;
Yea, by the magic of verse enlarged, and translated in spirit,
In the World of Romance free denizen I;... till awakening,<
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When the spell was dissolved, this real earth and its uses
Seem’d to me weary, and stale, and flat.
With other emotion
Milton’s severer shade I saw, and in reverence humbled
Gazed on that soul sublime: of passion now as of blindness
Heal’d, and no longer here to Kings and to Hierarchs hostile,
He was assoil’d from taint of the fatal fruit; and in Eden
Not again to be lost, consorted an equal with Angels.
Taylor too was there, from whose mind of its treasures redundant
Streams of eloquence flow’d, like an inexhaustible fountain:
And the victor of Blenheim, alike in all virtues accomplish’d,
Public or private, he; the perfect soldier and statesman,
England’s reproach and her pride; her pride for his noble achievements,
Her reproach for the wrongs he endured: And Newton, exalted
There above those orbs whose motions from earth he had measured,
Through infinity ranging in thought: And Berkeley, angelic
Now in substance as soul, that kingdom enjoying where all things
Are what they seem, and the good and the beautiful there are eternal.
X. THE WORTHIES OF THE GEORGIAN AGE.
These with a kindred host of great and illustrious spirits
Stood apart, while a train whom nearer duty attracted
Through the Gate of Bliss came forth to welcome their Sovereign.
Many were they and glorious all. Conspicuous among them
Wolfe was seen: And the seaman who fell on the shores of Owhyhee,
Leaving a lasting name, to humanity dear as to science:
And the mighty musician of Germany, ours by adoption,
Who beheld in the King his munificent pupil and patron.
Reynolds, with whom began that school of art which hath equall’d
Richest Italy’s works, and the masterly labours of Belgium,
Came in that famous array: and Hogarth, who follow’d no master,
Nor by pupil shall e’er be approach’d, alone in his greatness.
Reverend in comely mien, of aspect mild and benignant,
There, too, Wesley I saw and knew, whose zeal apostolic,
Though with error alloy’d, hath on earth its merited honour,
As in Heaven its reward. And Mansfield the just and intrepid;
Wise Judge, by the craft of the Law ne’er seduced from its purpose;
And when the misled multitude raged like the winds in their madness,
Not to be moved from his rightful resolves. And Burke I beheld there,
Eloquent statesman and sage, who, though late, broke loose from his trammels,
Giving then to mankind what party too long had diverted.
Here, where wrongs are forgiven, was the injured Hastings beside him:
Strong in his high deserts, and in innocence happy, though injured,
He, in his good old age, outlived persecution and malice.
Even where he had stood a mark for the arrows of slander,
He had his triumph at last, when moved with one feeling, the Senate
Rose in respect at his sight, and atoned for the sin of their fathers.
Cowper, thy lovely spirit was there, by death disenchanted
From that heavy spell which had bound it in sorrow and darkness,
Thou wert there, in the kingdom of peace and of light everlasting.
Nelson also was there in the kingdom of peace, though his calling
While upon earth he dwelt, was to war and the work of destruction.
Not in him had that aweful ministry deaden’d, or weaken’d
Quick compassion, and feelings that raise while they soften our nature.
Wise in counsel, and steady in purpose, and rapid in action,
Never thought of self from the course of his duty seduced him,
Never doubt of the issue unworthily warpt his intention.
Long shall his memory live, and while his example is cherish’d,
From the Queen of the Seas, the sceptre shall never be wrested.
XI. THE YOUNG SPIRITS.
Ye whom I leave unnam’d, ye other Worthies of Britain,
Lights of the Georgian age,... for ye are many and noble,
How might I name ye all, whom I saw in this glorious vision?...
Pardon ye the imperfect tale! Yet some I beheld there,
Whom should I pretermit, my heart might rightly upbraid me,
That its tribute of honour, poor though it be, was withholden.
Somewhat apart they came, in fellowship gather’d together,
As in goodly array they follow’d the train of the worthies.
Chosen spirits were these, of the finest elements temper’d,
And embodied on earth in mortality’s purest texture;
But in the morning of hope, in the blossom of virtue and genius,
They were cut down by death. What then,.. were it wise to lament them,
Seeing the mind bears with it its wealth, and the soul its affections?
What we sow, we shall reap; and the seeds whereof earth is not worthy
Strike their roots in a kindlier soil, and ripen to harvest.
Here were the gallant youths of high heroic aspiring,
Who, so fate had allow’d, with the martial renown of their country
Would have wedded their names, for perpetual honour united;
Strong of heart and of mind, but in undistinguishing battle,
Or by pestilence stricken, they fell, unknown and confounded
With the common dead. Oh! many are they who were worthy,
Under the Red Cross flag, to have wielded the thunders of Britain,
Making her justice felt, and her proper power upholding
Upon all seas and shores, wheresoever her rights were offended,
Followers of Nelson’s path, and the glorious career of the Wellesley.
Many are they, whose bones beneath the billows have whiten’d,
Or in foreign earth they have moulder’d, hastily cover’d,
In some wide and general grave.
Here also were spirits
To have guided, like Cecil of old, the councils of England;
Or have silenced and charm’d a tumultuous Senate, like Canning,
When to the height of his theme, the consummate Orator rising,
Makes our Catalines pale, and rejoices the friends of their country.
Others came in that goodly band whom benigner fortune
Led into pleasanter ways on earth: the children of Science
Some, whose unerring pursuit would, but for death, have extended
O’er the unknown and material, Man’s intellectual empire,
Such their intuitive power; like Davy, disarming destruction
When it moves on the vapour; or him, who discovering the secret
Of the dark and ebullient abyss, with the fire of Vesuvius
Arm’d the chemist’s hand: well then might Eleusinian Ceres
Yield to him, from whom the seas and the mountains conceal’d not
Nature’s mystery, hid in their depths.
Here lost in their promise
And prime, were the children of Art, who should else have deliver’d
Works and undying names to grateful posterity’s keeping,
Such as Haydon will leave on earth; and he who, returning
Rich in praise to his native shores, hath left a remembrance
Long to be honour’d and loved on the banks of Thames and of Tiber:
So may America, prizing in time the worth she possesses,
Give to that hand free scope, and boast hereafter of Allston.
Here too, early lost and deplored, were the youths whom the Muses
Mark’d for themselves at birth, and with dews from Castalia sprinkled:
Chatterton first, (for not to his affectionate spirit
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p; Could the act of madness innate for guilt be accounted:)
Marvellous boy, whose antique songs and unhappy story
Shall, by gentle hearts, be in mournful memory cherish’d
Long as thy ancient towers endure, and the rocks of St. Vincent,
Bristol! my birth-place dear. What though I have chosen a dwelling
Far away, and my grave shall not be found by the stranger
Under thy sacred care, nathless in love and in duty
Still am I bound to thee, and by many a deep recollection!
City of elder days, I know how largely I owe thee;
Nor least for the hope and the strength that I gather’d in boyhood,
While on Chatterton musing, I fancied his spirit was with me
In the haunts which he loved upon earth. ’Twas a joy in my vision
When I beheld his face... And here was the youth of Loch Leven,
Nipt, like an April flower, that opens its leaves to the sunshine,
While the breath of the East prevails. And Russell and Bampfylde,
Bright emanations they! And the Poet, whose songs of childhood
Trent and the groves of Clifton heard; not alone by the Muses
But by the Virtues loved, his soul in its youthful aspirings
Sought the Holy Hill, and his thirst was for Siloa’s waters.
Was I deceived by desire, or, Henry, indeed did thy spirit
Know me, and meet my look, and smile like a friend at the meeting?
XII. THE MEETING.
Lift up your heads, ye Gates; and ye everlasting Portals,
Be ye lift up! Behold the splendent train of the Worthies
Halt; and with quicker pace a happy company issues
Forth from the Gate of Bliss: the Parents, the Children, and Consort,
Come to welcome in Heaven the Son, the Father, and Husband!
Hour of perfect joy that o’erpays all earthly affliction;
Yea, and the thought whereof supporteth the soul in its anguish!
There came England’s blossom of hope,.. the beautiful Princess;
She in whose wedded bliss all hearts rejoiced, and whose death-bell,
Complete Poetical Works of Robert Southey Page 190