Chapter X

The castle-gate stands open now,
And the wanderer is welcome to the hall 335
As the hangbird[34] is to the elm-tree bough,
No longer scowl the turrets tall,
The Summer's long siege at last is o'er;
When the first poor outcast went in at the door,
She entered with him in disguise, 340
And mastered the fortress by surprise;
There is no spot she loves so well on ground.
She lingers and smiles there the whole year round;
The meanest serf on Sir Launfal's land
Has hall and bower at his command; 345
And there's no poor man in the North Countree
But is lord of the earldom as much as he.

--_Lowell_.

[1] Just as the organist gets into the spirit of his theme by means of a dreamy prelude, so the poet by means of this introduction intends to suggest the spirit of the poem that follows.

[2] Sinais. See Exodus, xix and xx.

[3] Druid. The druids were the priests of the ancient Celts.

[4] benedicite. Blessing, benediction.

[5] No matter how engrossed we may be with worldly things, Nature is always influencing us for good.

[6] shrives. Hears confession and grants absolution.

[7] We give our lives in pursuit of foolish things. The cap and bells was a part of the costume of the court jester.

[8] nice. discriminating, able to make fine distinctions.

[9] chanticleer. A crowing cock. The bird that "sings clear."

[10] rifts. Literally, clefts or fissures; used metaphorically here with reference to the effects of "passion and woe" on the soul.

[11] Sir Launfal. A Knight of King Arthur's Round Table.

[12] Holy Grail. According to legend, the Holy Grail is the cup or bowl from which Christ drank at the Last Supper, and which was used by Joseph of Arimathea to receive the blood from Christ's wounds when his body was removed from the cross. The Grail was taken to England by Joseph of Arimathea, and at his death it remained in the keeping of his descendants. But in the course of time, owing to the impurity of life of its guardians, the Grail disappeared; and thereafter it appeared only to those whose lives were free from sin. The search for the Grail was undertaken by many of the knights of the Round Table, but only one knight, Sir Galahad, was pure enough to see the vision.

[13] rushes. Rushes were used in Mediaeval times to strew the floors of the feudal castles.

[14] North Countree. The north of England.

[15] Pavilion and tent, as here used, refer to the trees.

[16] See Luke, xxi, 1-4.

[17] store. plenty.

[18] groined. The groin is the line made by the intersection of two arches.

[19] crypt. A subterranean cell or chapel.

[20] relief. Figures are said to be in relief when they project or stand out from the ground on which they are formed.

[21] arabesques. A style of ornament, representing flowers, fruit, and foliage, adopted from the Arabs.

[22] corbel. A projection from the face of a wall, supporting an arch or rafter above.

[23] gulf. The opening, or throat, of the chimney.

[24] Yule-log. A great log of wood laid, in ancient times, across the hearth-fire on Christmas Eve.

[25] burden. refrain.

[26] seneschal. High-steward; the officer who had charge of feasts and other ceremonies.

[27] surcoat. A cloak worn over the armour of a knight. The surcoat of a Christian knight, was generally white, with a large red cross displayed conspicuously ("blazoned") upon it.

[28] He tried to forget the cold and snow, by calling to mind pictures of the hot desert.

[29] grewsome. horrible, hideous.

[30] tree. the cross.

[31] Beautiful Gate. See John, x, 7.

[32] temple of God in Man. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" I Cor., vi, 19.

[33] See Luke, xxii, 19, 20.

[34] hangbird. oriole.

THE BUILDERS.

All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time,[1]
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low; 5
Each thing in its plane is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled; 10
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees, 15
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere. 20

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete, 25
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure
With a firm and ample base 30
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain, 35
And one boundless reach of sky.[2]

--_Longfellow_.

[1] The figure seems to be that of a great edifice (Time) within which we are building stairways (our lives) which enable us to rise to higher levels.

[2] We gain a broader outlook on life.

BRITISH FREEDOM.[1]

It is not to be thought of that the flood
Of British freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world's praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flow'd "with pomp of waters unwithstood"--[2]
Roused though it be full often to a mood, 5
Which spurns the check of salutary bands,
That this most famous stream in bogs and sands
Should perish,[3] and to evil and to good
Be lost for ever. In our halls is hung
Armoury of the invincible knights of old: 10
We must be free or die, who speak the tongue
That Shakspeare spake--the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held. In everything we're sprung
Of earth's first blood, have titles manifold.

--_Wordsworth_.

[1] Written in 1802 or 1803, when an invasion of England by Napoleon was expected.

[2] This phrase is quoted from a poem by Daniel, an Elizabethan poet.

[3] in bogs and sands should perish. Should be destroyed by Napoleon.

THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH.[1]