第 164 节
作者:空白协议书      更新:2021-02-21 16:30      字数:9322
  LUCIFER。
  There is my German Prince again;
  Thus far on his journey to Salern;
  And the lovesick girl; whose heated brain
  Is sowing the cloud to reap the rain;
  But it's a long road that has no turn!
  Let them quietly hold their way;
  I have also a part in the play。
  But first I must act to my heart's content
  This mummery and this merriment;
  And drive this motley flock of sheep
  Into the fold; where drink and sleep
  The jolly old friars of Benevent。
  Of a truth; it often provokes me to laugh
  To see these beggars hobble along;
  Lamed and maimed; and fed upon chaff;
  Chanting their wonderful puff and paff;
  And; to make up for not understanding the song;
  Singing it fiercely; and wild; and strong!
  Were it not for my magic garters and staff;
  And the goblets of goodly wine I quaff;
  And the mischief I make in the idle throng;
  I should not continue the business long。
  PILGRIMS; chanting。
  In hac urbe; lux solennis;
  Ver aeternum; pax perennis;
  In hac odor implens caelos;
  In hac semper festum melos!
  PRINCE HENRY。
  Do you observe that monk among the train;
  Who pours from his great throat the roaring bass;
  As a cathedral spout pours out the rain;
  And this way turns his rubicund; round face?
  ELSIE。
  It is the same who; on the Strasburg square;
  Preached to the people in the open air。
  PRINCE HENRY。
  And he has crossed o'er mountain; field; and fell;
  On that good steed; that seems to bear him well;
  The hackney of the Friars of Orders Gray;
  His own stout legs!  He; too; was in the play;
  Both as King Herod and Ben Israel。
  Good morrow; Friar!
  FRIAR CUTHBERT。
  Good morrow; noble Sir!
  PRINCE HENRY。
  I speak in German; for; unless I err;
  You are a German。
  FRIAR CUTHBERT。
  I cannot gainsay you。
  But by what instinct; or what secret sign;
  Meeting me here; do you straightway divine
  That northward of the Alps my country lies?
  PRINCE HENRY。
  Your accent; like St。 Peter's; would betray you;
  Did not your yellow beard and your blue eyes。
  Moreover; we have seen your face before;
  And heard you preach at the Cathedral door
  On Easter Sunday; in the Strasburg square。
  We were among the crowd that gathered there;
  And saw you play the Rabbi with great skill;
  As if; by leaning o'er so many years
  To walk with little children; your own will
  Had caught a childish attitude from theirs;
  A kind of stooping in its form and gait;
  And could no longer stand erect and straight。
  Whence come you now?
  FRIAR CUTHBERT。
  From the old monastery
  Of Hirschau; in the forest; being sent
  Upon a pilgrimage to Benevent;
  To see the image of the Virgin Mary;
  That moves its holy eyes; and sometimes speaks;
  And lets the piteous tears run down its cheeks;
  To touch the hearts of the impenitent。
  PRINCE HENRY。
  Oh; had I faith; as in the days gone by;
  That knew no doubt; and feared no mystery!
  LUCIFER; at a distance。
  Ho; Cuthbert!  Friar Cuthbert!
  FRIAR CUTHBERT。
  Fare well; Prince;
  I cannot stay to argue and convince。
  PRINCE HENRY。
  This is indeed the blessed Mary's land;
  Virgin and mother of our dear redeemer!
  All hearts are touched and softened at her name;
  Alike the bandit; with the bloody hand;
  The priest; the prince; the scholar; and the peasant;
  The man of deeds; the visionary dreamer;
  Pay homage to her as one ever present!
  And even as children; who have much offended
  A too indulgent father; in great shame;
  Penitent; and yet not daring unattended
  To go into his presence; at the gate
  Speak with their sister; and confiding wait
  Till she goes in before and intercedes;
  So men; repenting of their evil deeds;
  And yet not venturing rashly to draw near
  With their requests an angry father's ear;
  Offer to her their prayers and their confession;
  And she for them in heaven makes intercession。
  And if our faith had given us nothing more
  Than this example of all womanhood;
  So mild; so merciful; so strong; so good;
  So patient; peaceful; loyal; loving; pure;
  This were enough to prove it higher and truer
  Than all the creeds the world had known before。
  PILGRIMS; chanting afar off。
  Urbs coelestis; urbs beata;
  Supra petram collocata;
  Urbs in portu satis tuto
  De longinquo te saluto;
  Te saluto; te suspiro;
  Te affecto; te requiro!
  THE INN AT GENOA
  A terrace overlooking the sea。  Night。
  PRINCE HENRY。
  It is the sea; it is the sea;
  In all its vague immensity;
  Fading and darkening in the distance!
  Silent; majestical; and slow;
  The white ships haunt it to and fro;
  With all their ghostly sails unfurled;
  As phantoms from another world
  Haunt the dim confines of existence!
  But ah! how few can comprehend
  Their signals; or to what good end
  From land to land they come and go!
  Upon a sea more vast and dark
  The spirits of the dead embark;
  All voyaging to unknown coasts。
  We wave our farewells from the shore;
  And they depart; and come no more;
  Or come as phantoms and as ghosts。
  Above the darksome sea of death
  Looms the great life that is to be;
  A land of cloud and mystery;
  A dim mirage; with shapes of men
  Long dead and passed beyond our ken;
  Awe…struck we gaze; and hold our breath
  Till the fair pageant vanisheth;
  Leaving us in perplexity;
  And doubtful whether it has been
  A vision of the world unseen;
  Or a bright image of our own
  Against the sky in vapors thrown。
  LUCIFER; singing from the sea。
  Thou didst not make it; thou canst not mend it;
  But thou hast the power to end it!
  The sea is silent; the sea is discreet;
  Deep it lies at thy very feet;
  There is no confessor like unto Death!
  Thou canst not see him; but he is near;
  Thou needst not whisper above thy breath;
  And he will hear;
  He will answer the questions;
  The vague surmises and suggestions;
  That fill thy soul with doubt and fear!
  PRINCE HENRY。
  The fisherman; who lies afloat;
  With shadowy sail; in yonder boat;
  Is singing softly to the Night!
  But do I comprehend aright
  The meaning of the words he sung
  So sweetly in his native tongue?
  Ah yes! the sea is still and deep。
  All things within its bosom sleep!
  A single step; and all is o'er;
  A plunge; a bubble an no more;
  And thou; dear Elsie; wilt be free
  From martyrdom and agony。
  ELSIE; coming from her chamber upon the terrace。
  The night is calm and cloudless;
  And still as still can be;
  And the stars come forth to listen
  To the music of the sea。
  They gather; and gather; and gather;
  Until they crowd the sky;
  And listen; in breathless silence;
  To the solemn litany。
  It begins in rocky caverns;
  As a voice that chants alone
  To the pedals of the organ
  In monotonous undertone;
  And anon from shelving beaches;
  And shallow sands beyond;
  In snow…white robes uprising
  The ghostly choirs respond。
  And sadly and unceasing
  The mournful voice sings on;
  And the snow…white choirs still answer
  Christe eleison!
  PRINCE HENRY。
  Angel of God! thy finer sense perceives
  Celestial and perpetual harmonies!
  Thy purer soul; that trembles and believes;
  Hears the archangel's trumpet in the breeze;
  And where the forest rolls; or ocean heaves;
  Cecilia's organ sounding in the seas;
  And tongues of prophets speaking in the leaves。
  But I hear discord only and despair;
  And whispers as of demons in the air!
  AT SEA
  IL PADRONE。
  The wind upon our quarter lies;
  And on before the freshening gale;
  That fills the snow…white lateen sail;
  Swiftly our light felucca flies;
  Around the billows burst and foam;
  They lift her o'er the sunken rock;
  They beat her sides with many a shock;
  And then upon their flowing dome
  They poise her; like a weathercock!
  Between us and the western skies
  The hills of Corsica arise;
  Eastward in yonder long blue line;
  The summits of the Apennine;
  And southward; and still far away;
  Salerno; on its sunny bay。
  You cannot see it; where it lies。
  PRINCE HENRY。
  Ah; would that never more mine eyes
  Might see its towers by night or day!
  ELSIE。
  Behind us; dark and awfully;
  There comes a cloud out of the sea;
  That bears the form of a hunted deer;
  With hide of brown; and hoofs of black
  And antlers laid upon its back;
  And fleeing fast and wild with fear;
  As if the hounds were on its track!
  PRINCE HENRY。
  Lo! while we gaze; it breaks and falls
  In shapeless masses; like the walls
  Of a burnt city。  Broad and red
  The flies of the descending sun
  Glare through the windows; and o'erhead;
  Athwart the vapors; dense and dun;
  Long shafts of silvery light arise;
  Like rafters that support the skies!
  ELSIE。
  See! from its summit the lurid levin
  Flashes downward without warning;
  As Lucifer; son of the morning;
  Fell from the battlements of heaven!
  IL PADRONE。
  I must entreat you; friends; below!