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THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

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THE FOULIS BOOKS

Digitized by tine Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/dreamofgerontiusOOnewmuoft

A visitant . . .

/s knocking . . . at my door. '

From a water-colour drawing by R. T. ROSE.

TfieDREAMoF CERONTI05I

ILLUSTRATIONS

From Water-Colour Drawings By Robert T. Ross.

* A Visitant

Is knocking his dire summons at my door.*

frontispiece

* Flies to the dear feet of Emmamxel.'

title-page

* Down, down for ever I was falling through

The sound framework of created things,

And needs must sink and sink

Into the vast abyss.'

page eight

* Another marvel, some one has me fast As though I were a sphere . . .*

page seventeen

' Hark ! for the lintels of the presence-gate Are vibrating and echoing back the strain.'

page thirty -two

V

* That Angel best can plead with Him for all Tormented souls . . .' p<ig^ forty

* And o'er the penal waters, as they roll,

I poise thee, and I lower thee, and hold thee . . .'

page forty-nine

* And I will come and wake thee on the morrow.'

page sixty four

THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

I

Gerontius

Jesu, Maria — I am near to death. The

And Thou art calling me j I know it Gerontius now. Not by the token of this faltering breath, This chill at heart, this dampness on my brow. — (Jesu, have mercy ! Mary, pray for me !)

'Tis this new feeling, never felt before, (Be with me, Lord, in my extremity!) That I am going, that I am no more. 'Tis this strange innermost abandon- ment,

A I

The (Lover of Souls ! Great God! I look

Dream of ^ ri-«i v

Gerontius ^^ 1 hec.)

This emptying out of each constituent And natural force, by which I come to be. Pray for me, O my friends ; a visitant Is knocking his dire summons at my door. The like of 'v^^hom, to scare me and to daunt. Has never, never come to me before, *Tis death, — O loving friends, your

prayers ! — 'tis he ! . . . As though my very being had given way. As though I was no more a substance now, And could fall back on aught to be my stay, (Help, loving Lord ! Thou my sole Refuge, Thou,)

And turn no whither, but must needs The

^^^^y Gcrontius

And drop from out this universal

frame Into that shapeless, scopeless, blank

abyss, That utter nothingness, of which I

came : This is it that has come to pass in me ; O horror ! this it is, my dearest, this ; So pray for me, my friends, who have not

strength to pray.

Assistants

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie

eleison. Holy Mary, pray for him. All holy Angels, pray for him. Choirs of the righteous, pray for him. Holy Abraham, pray for him.

3

The St. John Baptist, St. Joseph, pray forhim.

Gerontius St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew, St. John,

All Apostles, all Evangelists, pray for

him. All holy Disciples of the Lord, pray for

him. All holy Innocents, pray for him. All holy Martyrs, all holy Confessors, All holy Hermits, all holy Virgins, All ye Saints of God, pray for him.

Gerontius

Rouse thee, my fainting soul, and play the man ; And through such waning span Of life and thought as still has to be trod.

Prepare to meet thy God. And while the storm of that bewilder- ment Is for a season spent,

4

And, ere afresh the ruin on thee fall The

Use well the interval. g--.^:

Assistants

Be merciful, be gracious ; spare him,

Lord. Be merciful, be gracious ; Lord, deliver

him. From the sins that are past ;

From Thy frown and Thine ire ; From the perils of dying ; From any complying With sin, or denying His God, or relying On self, at the last ;

From the nethermost fire 5 From all that is evil ; From power of the devil ; Thy servant deliver. For once and for ever.

The By Thy birth, and by Thy Cross, Gerontius Rcscue him from endless loss ; By Thy death and burial. Save him from a final fall ; By Thy rising, from the tomb, By Thy mounting up above, By the Spirit's gracious love, Save him in the day of doom.

Gerontius

Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus,

De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex mens,

Parce mihi, Domine. Firmly I believe and truly

God is Three, and God is One And I next acknowledge duly

Manhood taken by the Son. And I trust and hope most fully

In that Manhood crucified ; 6

And each thought and deed unruly The

Do to death, as He has died. Ccrontiua

Simply to His grace and wholly

Light and life and strength belong. And I love supremely, solely,

Him the holy. Him the strong. Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus,

De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex meus,

Parce mihi, Domine. And I hold in veneration,

For the love of Him alone. Holy Church, as His creation,

And her teachings, as His own. And I take with joy whatever

Now besets me pain or fear, And with a strong will I sever

All the ties that bind me here. Adoration aye be given,

With and through the angelic host,

7

The To the God of earth and heaven, Gerontius Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus,

De profundis, oro te, Miserere, Judex meus, Mortis in discrimine.

I can no more ; for now it comes again, That sense of ruin, which is worse than

pain. That masterful negation and collapse Of all that makes me man ; as though I

bent Over the dizzy brink Of some sheer infinite descent ; Or worse, as though Down, down for ever I was falling

through The solid framework of created things, And needs must sink and sink 8

Down, down for ever I was falling through tJie fond framework of created things, and needs niitst sink and sink into the vast abyss."

Fro7n a water-colour drawing by R. T. ROSE.

Into the vast abyss. And, crueller still, i he A fierce and restless fright begins to cerontius

fill The mansion of my soul. And worse

and worse, Some bodily form of ill Floats on the wind, with many a loath- some curse Tainting the hallowed air, and laughs,

and flaps Its hideous wings. And makes me wild with horror and

dismay, O Jesu, help ! pray for me, Mary,

pray ! Some angel, Jesu ! such as came to

Thee In thine own agony .... Mary, pray for me, Joseph, pray for me,

Mary, pray for me.

9

'Pj^p Assistants

Dream of

Gerontius Rescuc him, O Lord, in this his evil

hour, As of old so many by Thy gracious

power: — Amen. Enoch and Elias from the common

doom; Amen. Noe from the waters in a saving home;

Amen. Abraham from th' abounding guilt of

Heathenesse; Amen. Job from all his multiform and fell

distress; Amen. Isaac when his father's knife was raised

to slay; Amen. Lot from burning Sodom on its judg- ment-day; Amen. Moses from the land of bondage and

despair; Amen.

10

Daniel from the hungry lions in their The

I . . Dream of

lair; Amen. Gerontiu$

And thechildren Three amid thefurnaee- flame; Amen.

Chaste Susanna from the slander and the shame; Amen.

David from Golia and the wrath of Saul j Amen.

And the two Apostles from their prison- thrall; Amen.

Thecla from her torments; Amen.

— so, to show Thy power,

Rescue this Thy servant in his evil hour.

Gerontius

Novissima hora est; and 1 fain would

sleep. The pain has wearied me . . . Into Thy

hands, O Lord, into Thy hands . . , II

^, The Priest

iiie Dream of ,

Gerontius Proficisccre, anima Christiana de hoc

mundo ! Go forth upon thy journey. Christian

soul ! Go from this world ! Go, in the name

of God, The omnipotent Father, who created

thee! Go, in the name of Jesus Christ, our

Lord, Son of the Living God, who bled for

thee ! Go, in the Name of th' Holy Spirit,

who Hath poured upon thee! Go, in the

name Of Angels and Archangels! in the

name

za

Of Thrones and Dominations^ in the The

«o«,« Dream of

name Gerontius

Of Princedoms and of Powers; and in

the name Of Cherubim and Seraphim, go forth ! Go, in the name of Patriarchs and

Prophets; And of Apostles and Evangelists, Of Martyrs and Confessors; in the name Of holy Monks and Hermits; in the

name Of holy Virgins; and all saints of God, Both men and women, go! Go on thy

course, And may thy place to-day be found in

peace, And may thy dwelling be the Holy

Mount Of Sion: — through the Same, through

Christ, our Lord.

13

The II

Dream of

Gerontius _

Soul of Gerontius

I went to sleep; and now I am refreshed. A strange refreshment: for I feel in me An inexpressive lightness, and a sense Of freedom, as I were at length myself, And ne'er had been before. How still it

is! I hear no more the busy beat of time, No, nor my fluttering breath, nor strug- gling pulse i Nor does one moment differ from the

next. I had a dream ; yes : — some one softly said * He's gone ' ; and then a sigh went round

the room. And then I surely heard a priestly voice Cry 'Subvenite'3 and they knelt in prayer,

«4

Iseem to hear him still j but thin and low. The And fainter and more faint the accents Gcrmiiius

As at an ever-widening interval.

Ah ! vi^hence is this ? What is this sever- ance ?

This silence pours a solitariness

Into the very essence of my soul ;

And the deep rest, so soothing and so sweet,

Hath something too of sternness and of pain.

For it drives back my thoughts upon their spring

By a strange introversion, and perforce

I now begin to feed upon myself,

Because I have nought else to feed upon.

Am I alive or dead ? I am not dead. But in the body still ; for I possess

IS

The A sort of confidence, which clings to

Dream of

Gcrontius Hie,

That each particular organ holds its

place As heretofore, combining with the rest Into one symmetry, that wraps me round, And makes me man ; and surely I could

move, Did I but will it, every part of me. And yet I cannot to my sense bring

home, By very trial, that I have the power. 'Tis strange; I cannot stir a hand or

foot, I cannot make my fingers or my lips By mutual pressure witness each to each. Nor by the eyelids' instantaneous stroke Assure myself I have a body still. Nor do I know my very attitude, Nor if I stand, or lie, or sit, or kneel. i6

" Another marvel: some one has me fast ....

As though I were a sphere. "

From a water-colour drawing by R. T. ROSE.

So much I know, not knowing how I The

Dream of know, Gerontiu3

That the vast universe, where I have

dwelt, Is quitting me, or I am quitting it. Or I or it is rushing on the wings Of flight or lightning on an onward

course. And we e'en now are million miles

apart. Yet ... is this peremptory severance Wrought out in lengthening measure- ments of space. Which grow and multiply by speed and

time ? Or am I traversing infinity By endless subdivision, hurrying back From finite towards infinitesimal, Thus dying out of the expanded world ? B 17

The Another marvel : some one has me

Dream of ^

Gerontiu8 '^^t

Within his ample palm ; 'tis not a grasp Such as they use on earth, but all around Over the surface of my subtle being, As though I vi^ere a sphere, and capable To be accosted thus, a uniform And gentle pressure tells me I am not Self-moving, but borne forward on my

way. And hark ! I hear a singing ; yet in sooth I cannot of that music rightly say Whether I hear or touch or taste the

tones. O what a heart-subduing melody !

Angel

My work is done. My task is o'er,

And so I come, i8

Taking it home, The

For the crown is won. Alleluia, For evermore.

My Father gave

In charge to me

This child of earth E'en from its birth, To serve and save. Alleluia, And saved is he.

This child of clay- To me was given,

To rear and train By sorrow and pain In the narrow way, Alleluia, From earth to heaven.

19

Dream of Gerontius

The Soul

Dream of

Gerontius It is a member of that family

Of wondrous beings, who, ere the worlds

were made. Millions of ages back, have stood around The throne of God : — he never has

known sin ; But through those cycles all but infinite. Has had a strong and pure celestial life. And bore to gaze on th* unveiled face of

God, And drank from the eternal Fount of

truth, And served him with a keenecstatic love. Hark ! he begins again.

Angel

O Lord, how wonderful in depth and height,

20

But most in man, how wonderful The Thou art! g;-»f

With what a love, v/hat soft persuasive might, Victorious o'er the stubborn fleshly heart, Thy tale complete of saints Thou dost

provide To fill the throne which angels lost through pride !

He lay a grovelling babe upon the ground, Polluted in the blood of his first sire, With his whole essence shattered and unsound, And, coiled around his heart, a demon dire. Which was not of his nature, but had skill

21

The To bind and form his opening mind to

Dream of .,,

Gerontius ^^^*

Then was I sent from heaven to set right

The balance in his soul of truth and

sin,

And I have waged a long relentless fight,

Resolved thatdeath-environed spirit

to win,

Which from its fallen state, when all

was lost. Had been repurchased at so dread a cost.

O what a shifting parti-coloured scene Of hope and fear, of triumph and dismay, Of recklessness and penitence, has been The history of that dreary, lifelong fray !

22

And O the grace to nerve him and to The

1 J Dream of

^^^"> Gerontius

How patient, prompt, and lavish at his need !

O man, strange composite of heaven and earth ! Majesty dwarfed to baseness ! frag- rant flower Running to poisonous seed ! and seeming vi^orth Cloaking corruption ! weakness mastering power ! Who never art so near to crime and

shame, As when thou hast achieved some deed of name ;

Howshould ethereal natures comprehend A thing made up of spirit and of clay,

23

The Were we not tasked to nurse it and to

Dream of ,

Gerontiua tend,

Linked one to one throughout its

mortal day ? More than the Seraph in his height of

place, The Angel-guardian knows and loves

the ransomed race.

Soul

Now know I surely that I am at length Out of the body : had I part with

earth, I never could have drunk those accents

in, And not have worshipped as a god the

voice That was so musical ; but now 1 am So whole of heart, so calm, so self- possessed,

24

Withsuch a fullcontent,and with a sense The So apprehensive and discriminant, Gerontius

As no temptation can intoxicate. Nor have I even terror at the thought That I am clasped by such a saintliness.

Angel

All praise to Him, at whose sublime de- cree The last are first, the first become the last ;

By whom the suppliant prisoner is set free, By whom proud first-borns from their thrones are cast ;

Who raises Mary to be Queen of heaven

While Lucifer is left, condemned and unforgiven.

25

The HI

Dream of

Gerontius ^^^^

I will address him. Mighty one, my

Lord, My Guardian Spirit, all hail 1

Angel

All hail, my child ! My child and brother, hail ! what wouldest thou ?

Soul

I would have nothing but to speak with

thee For speaking's sake. I wish to hold

with thee Conscious communion ; though I fain

would know

26

A maze of things, were it but meet to The

1 Dream of

^^^J Gerontius

And not a curiousness.

Angel

You cannot now Cherish a wish which ought not to be wished.

Soul

Then I will speak. I ever had believed That on the moment when the strug- gling soul Quitted its mortal case, forthwith it fell Under the awful Presence of its God, There to be judged and sent to its own

place. What lets me now from going to my Lord ?

27

The Angel

Gerontius Thou art not leti but with extremest

speed Art hurrying to the Just and Holy

Judge : For scarcely art thou disembodied yet. Divide a moment, as men measure time, Into its million — million — millionth

part, Yet even less than that the interval Since thou didst leave the body; and the

priest Cried *Subvenite/ and they fell to

prayer ; Nay, scarcely yet have they begun to

pray.

For spirits and men by different stan- dards mete The less and greater in the flow of time. 28

By sun and moon, primeval ordin- The

Dream of ances — Gerontius

By stars which rise and set harmoni- ously—

By the recurring seasons, and the swmg,

This way and that, of the suspended rod

Precise and punctual, men divide the hours,

Equal, continuous, for their common use.

Not so with us in th' immaterial world ;

But intervals in their succession

Are measured by the living thought alone.

And grow or wane with its intensity.

And time is not a common property ;

But what is long is short, and swift is slow,

And near is distant, as received and grasped

29

The' By this mind and by that, and every one

Dream of ^-^ ,,.,., ,

Gerontius IS Standard of his own chronology.

And memory lacks its natural resting

points, Of years, and centuries, and periods. It is thy very energy of thought Which keeps thee from thy God.

Soul

Dear Angel, say, Why have I now no fear at meeting

Him? Along my earthly life, the thought of

death And judgment was to me most terrible. I had it aye before me, and I saw The judge severe e'en in the Crucifix. Now that the hour is came, my fear is

fled;

30

And at this balance of my destiny, The

Now close upon me, With a serenest joy.

Now close upon me, I can forward look oerontius

Angel

It is because Then thou didst fear, that now thou

dost not fear. Thou hast forestalled the agony, and so For thee the bitterness of death is passed. Also, because already in thy soul The judgment is begun. That day of

doom. One and the same for the collected

world — That solemn consummation for all flesh, Is, in the case of each, anticipate Upon his death ; and, as the last great

day In the particular judgment is rehearsed,

31

The So now too, ere thou comest to the throne,

Dream of

Gerontius A presage rails upon thee, as a ray

Straight from the Judge, expressive of

thy lot. That calm and joy uprising in thy soul Is first-fruit to thee of thy recompense, And heaven begun.

IV

Soul

But hark ! upon my sense Comes a fierce hubbub, which would

make me fear, Could I be frighted.

Angel

We are now arrived Close on the judgment-court; that

sullen howl Is from the demons who assemble there.

32

Hark ! for the lintels of the presence-gate are vibrating and echoing back the strain.

From a water-colcur dra-a<ing by R. T. ROSE.

It IS the middle region, where of old ^^^

„ , Dream of

Satan appeared among the sons of God, Gcrontius To cast his jibes and scoffs at holy Job. So now his legions throng the vestibule, Hungry and wild, to claim their pro- perty. And gather souls for hell. Hist to their cry.

Soul How sour and how uncouth a disson- ance !

Demons Low-born clods

Of brute earth,

They aspire To become gods

By a new-birth, And an extra grace.

And a score of merits, C 33

The As if aught

GeToTriuI Could stand in place

Of the high thought, And the glance of fire Of the great spirits, The powers blest,

The Lords by right. The primal owners Of the proud dwelling And realm of light. Dispossessed, Aside thrust,

Chucked down. By the sheer might Ofa despot's will.

Of a tyrant's frown, Who after expelling Their hosts, gave, Triumphant still, And still unjust,

34

Each forfeit crown The Topsalm-droners ^^Zt^!.

And canting groaners

To every slave And pious cheat, And crawling knave, Who licked the dust

Under his feet.

Angel It is the restless panting of their being ; Like beasts of prey, v^ho, caged within

their bars, In a deep hideous purring have their

life. And an incessant pacing to and fro.

Demons The mind bold And independent,

35

The The purpose free,

Dream of ^ , ,

Gerontiu3 So we are told, Must not think

To have the ascendant.

What 's a Saint ? One whose breath

Doth the air taint Before his death ;

A bundle of bones, Which fools adore,

Ha ! ha ! When life is o'er, Which rattle and stink.

E'en in the flesh. We cry his pardon !

No flesh hath he ;

Ha! ha! For it hath died, 'Tis crucified Day by day,

36

Afresh, afresh The

H, , , Dream of

a-' ha! Gerontius

That holy clay,

Ha ! ha !

And such fudge

As priestlings prate

In his guerdon Before the Judge,

And pleads and atones For spite and grudge.

And bigot mood. And envy and hate.

And greed of blood.

Soul

How impotent they are ! and yet on

earth They have repute for wondrous power

and skill ;

37

The And books describe, how that the very

Dream of ^

Gcrontius ^'^^^

Of th' Evil One, if seen, would have

a force To freeze the very blood, and choke the

life Of him who saw it.

Angel

In thy trial state Thou hadst a traitor nestling close at

home, Connatural, who with the powers of

hell Was leagued, and of thy senses kept the

keys. And to that deadliest foe unlocked thy

heart. And therefore is it, in respect of man. Those fallen ones show so majestical.

38

But, when some child of grace, angel or The

Dream of saint, Gerontius

Pure and upright in his integrity

Of nature, meets the demons on their

raid, They scud away as cowards from the

fight. Nay, oft hath holy hermit in his cell, Not yet disburdened of mortality, Mocked at their threats and warlike

overtures ; Or, dying, when they swarmed, like

flies, around. Defied them, and departed to his Judge.

Demons

Virtue and vice,

A knave's pretence,

'Tis all the same ; Ha! ha!

39

The Dread of hell-fire,

Dream of r^r i

Gerontiua Of the venomous flame,

A coward's plea. Give him his price,

Saint though he be. Ha! ha!

From shrewd good sense

He 'II slave for hire ; Ha ! ha !

And does but aspire To the heaven above

With sordid aim. Not from love.

Ha ! ha !

Soul

I see not those false spirits ; shall I see My dearest Master, when I reach His throne ?

40

" That Angel best can plead with Him for all."

From a ivater-colour drawing by R. T. ROSE.

M:^l

Or hear, at least, His awful judgment- The

J Dream of

word Gerontius

With personal intonation, as I now Hear thee,not see thee, Angel ? Hitherto All has been darkness since I left the

earth ; Shall I remain thus sight-bereft all

through My penance time ? if so, how comes it

then That I have hearing still, and taste, and

touch, Yet not a glimmer of that princely sense Which binds ideas in one, and makes

them live ?

Angel

Nor touch, nor taste, nor hearing hast

thou now ; Thou livest in a world of signs and types, 4X

The The presentations of most holy truths,

Dream of x • • j ^ l • u

GcroDtius •L'lving and strong, which now encom- pass thee. A disembodied soul, thou hast by right No converse with aught else beside thy- self; But, lest so stern a solitude should load And break thy being, in mercy are

vouchsafed Some lower measures of perception, Which seem to thee, as though through

channels brought. Through ear, or nerves, or palate, which

are gone. And thou art wrapped and swathed

around in dreams, Dreams that are true, yet enigmatical ; For the belongings of thy present state, Save through such symbols, come not home to thee.

42

And thus thou tell'st of space and time The

Dream of and size, Gerontius

Of fragrant, solid, bitter, musical. Of fire, and of refreshment after fire ; As (let me use similitude of earth. To aid thee in the knowledge thou dost

ask) — As ice which blisters may be said to

burn. Nor hast thou now extension, with its

parts ,

Correlative, — long habit cozens thee, — Nor power to move thyself, nor limbs

to move. Hast thou not heard of those, who after

loss Of hand or foot, still cried that they had

pains In hand or foot, as though they had it

still?

43

The So is it now with thee, who hast not lost Gerontiua Thy hand or foot, but all which made up man,

So will it be, until the joyous day

Of resurrection, when thou wilt regain

All thou hast lost, new-made and glori- fied.—

— How, even now, the consummated Saints

See God in heaven, I may not expli- cate : —

Meanwhile let it suffice thee to possess

Such means of converse as are granted thee.

Though till the Beatific Vision thou art blind ;

For e'en thy purgatory, which comes like fire,

Is fire without its light.

44

Soul The

Dream of

His will be done ! Gerontius I am not worthy e'er to see again The face of day ; far less His counten- ance, Who is the very sun. Natheless, in life, When I looked forward to my purga- tory, It ever was my solace to believe. That, ere I plunged into th' avenging

flame, I had one sight of Him to strengthen me.

Angel

Nor rash nor vain is that presentiment ; Yes, — for one moment thou shalt see

thy Lord. Thus will it be : what time thou art

arraigned Before the dread tribunal, and thy lot

45

The Is cast for ever, should it be to sit Gerontius ^^ ^is right hand among His pure elect,

Then sight, or that which to thy soul is sight,

As by a lightning-flash, will come to thee,

And thou shalt see, amid the dark pro- found.

Whom thy soul loveth, and would fain approach

One moment ; but thou knowest not, my child.

What thou dost ask : that sight of the Most Fair

Will gladden thee, but it will pierce thee too.

Soul

Thou speakest darkly, Angel; and an

awe Falls on me, and a fear lest I be rash. 46

Angel The

Dream of

There was a mortal, who is now above Gerontiua In the mid glory : he, when near to die, Was given communion with the Cruci- fied,— Such, that the Master's very wounds

were stamped Upon his flesh ; and from the agony Which thrilled through body and soul in

that embrace, Learn that the flame of the Everlasting

Love Doth burn, ere it transform. . . .

Hark to those sounds 1 They come of tender beings angelical. Least and most childlike of the sons of God.

47

The First Choir of Angelicals

Dream of

Gerontius Praise to the Holiest in the height. And in the depth be praise : In all His words most wonderful ; Most sure in all His ways !

To us His elder race He gave

To battle and to win, Without the chastisement of pain.

Without the soil of sin.

The younger son he willed to be

A marvel in his birth : Spirit and flesh his parents were ;

His home was heaven and earth.

The Eternal blessed His child, and armed, And sent him hence afar, To serve as champion in the field Of elemental war. 48

And o'er the penal waters, as they roll.

From a water-colour di-awing by R. T. ROSE.

To be His Viceroy in the world The

r\{' 1 r Dream of

Or matter, and of sense; Gcrontius

Upon the frontier, towards the foe, A resolute defence.

Angel

We now have passed the gate, and are

within The House of Judgment ; and whereas

on earth Temples and palaces are formed of parts Costly and rare, but all material, So in the world of spirits nought is

found, To mould withal and form into a whole, But what is immaterial ; and thus The smallest portions of this edifice, Cornice, or frieze, or balustrade, or

stair. The very pavement is made up of life— D 49

The Of holy, blessed, and immortal beings, Gerontiui Who hymn their Maker's praise con- tinually.

Second Choir of Angelicals

Praise to the Holiest in the height, And in the depth be praise :

In all His words most wonderful ^ Most sure in all His ways !

Woe to thee, man ! for he was found

A recreant in the fight ; And lost his heritage of heaven,

And fellowship with light.

Above him now the angry sky, Around the tempest's din ;

Who once had angels for his friends. Has but the brutes for kin,

50

O man ! a savage kindred they : The

To flee that monster brood Geronti.s

He scaled the seaside cave, and clomb The giants of the wood.

With now a fear and now a hope, With aids which chance supplied.

From youth to old, from sire to son, He lived, and toiled, and died.

He dree'd his penance age by age^

And step by step began • Slowly to dofF his savage garb,

And be again a man.

And quickened by the Almighty's breath,

And chastened by His rod. And taught by Angel- visitings.

At length he sought his God ;

51

The And learned to call upon His Name, Gcrontius And in His faith create

A household and a fatherland, A city and a state.

Glory to Him who from the mire. In patient length of days,

Elaborated into life

A people to His praise !

Soul

The sound is like the rushing of the wind —

The summer wind — among the lofty pines ;

Swelling and dying, echoing round about,

Now here, now distant, wild, and beauti- ful;

While, scattered from the branches it has The

, Dream of

Stirred, Gerontius

Descend ecstatic odours.

Third Choir of Angelicals

Praise to the Holiest in the height. And in the depth be praise :

In all His words most wonderful ; Most sure in all His ways !

The angels, as beseemingly To spirit kind was given.

At once were tried and perfected, And took their seats in heaven.

For them no twilight or eclipse ;

No growth and no decay : 'Twas hopeless, all ingulfing night,

Or beatific day.

53

The But to the younger race there rose

Dream of « , ' ^ r ^^

Gerontiu. A hope upon Its fall ;

And slowly, surely, gracefully, The morning dawned on all.

And ages, opening out, divide The precious and the base,

And from the hard and sullen mass Mature the heirs of grace.

O man ! albeit the quickening ray, Lit from his second birth.

Makes him at length what once he was. And heaven grows out of earth ;

Yet still between that earth and heaven —

His journey and his goal — A double agony awaits

His body and his soul.

54

A double debt he has to pay — The

The forfeit of his sins : cZlntUxl

The chill of death is past, and now The penance-fire begins.

Glory to Him, who evermore

By truth and justice reigns ; Who tears the soul from out its case,

And burns away its stains !

Angel

They sing of thy approaching agony, Which thou so eagerly didst question of: It is the face of the Incarnate God Shall smite thee v/ith keen and subtle

pain; And yet the memory which it leaves will

be A sovereign febri fuge to heal the wound ;

55

The And yet withal it will the wound pro- Dream of . Gerontius VOke,

And aggravate and widen it the more.

Soul

Thou speakest mysteries; still methinks

I know To disengage the tangle of thy words : Yet rather would I hear thy angel voice, Than for myself be my interpreter.

Angel

When then — if such thy lot — thou seest

thy Judge, The sight of Him will kindle in thy

heart All tender, gracious, reverential

thoughts. Thou wilt be sick with love, and yearn

for Him,

56

And feel as though thou couldest but pity The

-J.. Dream of

"in^> Gerontius

That one so sweet should e'er have

placed Himself At disadvantage such, as to be used So vilely by a being so vile as thee. There is a pleading in His pensive eyes Will pierce thee to the quick, and trouble

thee. And thou wilt hate and loathe thyself;

for, though Now sinless, thou wilt feel that thou hast

sinned, As never thou didst feel ; and wilt desire To slink away, and hide thee from His

sight ; And yet wilt have a longing aye to dwell Within the beauty of His countenance. And these two pains, so counter and so

keen, —

57

The The longing for Him, when thou seest

Dream of tj.

Gerontius ^^^ "O^;

The shame of self at thought of seeing

Him, — Will be thy veriest, sharpest purgatory.

Soul

My soul is in my hand : I have no fear, — In His dear might prepared for w^eal or

woe. But harjc ! a deep, mysterious harmony : It floods me, like the deep and solemn

sound Of many waters.

Angel

We have gained the stairs Which rise toward the Presence-cham- ber j there

58

A band of mighty Angels keep the way The

Dream of

On either side, and hymn the Incarnate ccrontius God.

Angels of the Sacred Stair

Father, whose goodness none can know, but they Who see Thee face to face, By man hath come the infinite display

Of Thine all-loving grace j But fallen man — the creature of a day —

Skills not that love to trace. It needs, to tell the triumph Thou hast

wrought. An Angel's deathless fire, an Angel's reach of thought.

It needs that very Angel, who with awe,

Amid the garden shade. The great Creator in His sickness saw,

59

The Soothed by a creature's aid, Gcrontiua ^^^ agoniscd, as victim of the Law Which He Himself had made j For who can praise Him in His depth and

height, But he who saw Him reel in that victori- ous fight ?

Soul

Hark ! for the lintels of the presence- gate

Are vibrating and echoing back the strain.

Fourth Choir of Angelicals

Praise to the Holiest in the height, And in the depth be praise :

In all His words most wonderful ; Most sure in all His ways ! 60

The foe blasphemed the Holy Lord, The

As if He reckoned ill, Gerontius

In that He placed His puppet man The frontier place to fill.

For, even in his best estate,

With amplest gifts endued, A sorry sentinel was he,

A being of flesh and blood.

As though a thing, who for his help

Must needs possess a wife. Could cope with those proud rebel hosts.

Who had angelic life.

And when, by blandishment of Eve,

That earth-born Adam fell, He shrieked in triumph, and he cried,

' A sorry sentinel, 6i

The The Maker by His word is bound,

Dream of t^

Gcrontiui -b.scape or cure is none ;

He must abandon to his doom,

And slay His darling Son.'

Angel

And now the threshold, as we traverse it, Utters aloud its glad responsive chant.

Fifth Choir of Angelicals

Praise to the Holiest in the height, And in the depth be praise:

In all His words most wonderful ; Most sure in all His ways !

O loving wisdom of our God !

When all was sin and shame, A second Adam to the fight

And to the rescue came. 62

O wisest love ! that flesh and blood The Which did in Adam fail, Gcrontm

Should strive afresh against the foe, Should strive and should prevail*

And that a higher gift than grace Should flesh and blood refine,

God's Presence and His very Self, And Essence all divine.

O generous love ! that He who smote

In man for man the foe, The double agony in man

For man should undergo;

And in the garden secretly. And on the cross on high,

Should teach His brethren and inspire To suffer and to die.

63

The VI

Dream of

^"°"''"' Angel

Thy judgment now is near, for we are

come Into the veiled presence of our God.

Soul I hear the voices that I left on earth.

Angel

It is the voice of friends around thy bed, Who said the 'Subvenite ' with the priest. Hither the echoes come; before the

Throne Stands the Great Angel of the Agony, The same who strengthened Him, what

time He knelt Lone in the garden shade, bedewed with

blood.

64

Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial.

Fro7n a water-colour df-awing by R. T. ROSE.

That Angel best can plead with Him for all The Tormented souls, the dying and the dead. Gerontius

Angel of the Agony

Jesu ! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee;

Jesu! by that cold dismay which sick- ened Thee;

Jesu! by that pangof heart which thrilled in Thee;

Jesu ! by that mount of sins which crip- pled Thee;

Jesu ! by that sense of guilt which stifled Thee;

Jesu! by that innocence which girdled Thee;

Jesu ! by that sanctity which reigned in Thee;

Jesu! by that Godhead which was one with Thee; E 65

The Jesu ! Spare these souls which are so dear

Dream of , r^^t

Gerontiu3 ^O 1 hee,

Who in prison, calm and patient, wait for

Thee J Hasten, Lord, their hour, and bid them

come to Thee, To that glorious Home, where they shall

ever gaze on Thee.

Soul I go before my Judge. Ah ! . . .

Angel

.... Praise to His Name! The eager spirit has darted from my hold, And, with the intemperate energy of

love. Flies to the dear feet of Emmanuel 5 66

But, ere it reach them, the keen The

Dream of sanctity, Gerontius

Which with its effluence, like a glory,

clothes And circles round the Crucified, has

seized, And scorched, and shrivelled it; and now

it lies Passive and still before the awful Throne. O happy, suffering soul ! for it is safe, Consumed, yet quickened, by the glance

of God.

Soul

Take me away, and in the lowest deep

There let me be, And there in hope the lone night- watches keep.

Told out for me. 67

The There motionless and happy in my pain,

Dream of t ^ r i

Gerontius Lone, not forlorn,—

There will I sing my sad perpetual strain,

Until the morn There will I sing, and soothe my stricken breast.

Which ne'er can cease To throb, and pine, and languish, till possest

Of its Sole Peace. There will I sing my absent Lord and Love : —

Take me away, That sooner I may rise, and go above, And see Him in the truth of everlasting day.

68

Vli The

Dream of • Gerontiu*

Angel

Now let the golden prison ope its gates, Makingsweet music,as each fold revolves Upon its ready hinge. And ye, great

powers, Angels of Purgatory, receive from me My charge, a precious soul, until the day. When, from all bond and forfeiture

released, I shall reclaim it for the courts of light.

Souls in Purgatory

Lord, Thou hast been our refuge: in

every generation ; Before the hills w^ere born, and the

world was: from age to age Thou

art God.

E2 69

The Bring us not, Lord, very low : for Thou Gerontius ^ast said. Come back again, ye sons

of Adam.

A thousand years before Thine eyes are but as yesterday; and as a watch in the night which is come and gone.

Though the grass spring up in the morn- ing ; yet in the evening it shall shrivel up and die.

Thus we fail in Thine anger; and in Thy wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our sins in Thy sight: and our round of days in the light of Thy countenance.

Come back, O Lord ! how long? and be entreated for Thy servants.

In Thy morning we shall be filled with Thy mercy : we shall rejoice and be in pleasure all our days. 70

We shall be glad according to the days The

of our humiliation ; and the years oerontius

in which we have seen evil. Look, O Lord, upon Thy servants and

on Thy work: and direct their

children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God

be upon us: and the work of our

hands direct Thou it.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son ;

and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and

ever shall be: world without end.

Amen.

Angel

Softly and gently, dearest, sweetest soul, In my most loving arms I now enfold thee,

n

The And o'er the penal waters, as they roll, Gerontius I poise thee, and I lower thee, and hold thee.

And carefully I dip thee in the lake, And thou, without a sob or a resist- ance. Dost through the flood thy rapid passage take Sinking deep, deeper, into the dim dis- tance.

Angels, to whom the willing task is given, Shall tend, and nurse, and lull thee, as thouliest; And Masses on the earth, and prayers in heaven, Shall aid thee at the throne of the Most Highest. 72

Farewell, but not for ever ! brother dear. The Be brave and patient on thy bed of cerontiub sorrow ; Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial here, And I will come and wake thee on the morrow.

Edinburgh: T.and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty

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