And strong as what it was, and- I ask not By heart and soul, and make itself the equal— A spur in its halt movements, to become They woo with fearless deeds the smiles of fortune, main Form'd as thou art. I may dismiss the mould Of shadow, which must turn to flesh, to incase This daring soul, which could achieve no less Without it. Arn. Had no power presented me Have done the best which spirit may to make The eyes of happier man. I would have look'd Though to a heart all love, what could not love me turn, because of this vile crooked clog, Which makes me lonely. Nay, I could have borne Of shape;-my dam beheld my shape was hopeless. I knew the passionate part of life, I had And who is so is the master of Whatever dreads to die. Stran. What Arn. Decide between you have been, or will be. I have done so. You have open'd brighter prospects to my eyes, ("Whosoever," says Lord Bacon," hath any thing fixed in his person that doth induce contempt, hath also a perpetal spur in himself to rescue and deliver himself from scorn; therefore, all deformed persons are extreme bold; first, as in their own defence, as being exposed to scorn, but in process of time by a general habit: also it stirreth in them industry, and especially of this kind, to watch and observe the weakBess of others, that they may have somewhat to repay. Again, in their superiors, it quencheth jealousy towards them, as persons that they think they may at pleasure despise : and it layeth their competitors and emulators asleep, as never believing they should be in possibility of advancement till they see them in possession: so that upon the matter, in Beautiful shadow Of Thetis's boy! Who sleeps in the meadow Whose grass grows o'er Troy : From the red earth, like Adam,(2) Thy likeness I shape, As the being who made him, Till the rose in his cheek As thou wavest in air! Of birds on yon oak! And drank the best dew! a great wit, deformity is an advantage to rising." Essay Iv.-L. E. Of this, Lord Byron himself afforded a striking example. "His chief incentive, when a boy, to distinction was," says Moore, "that mark of deformity on his person, by an acute sense of which he was first stung into the ambition of being great. In one of his letters to Mr. Hunt, he discloses it to be his own opinion, that an addiction to poetry is very generally the result of an uneasy mind in an uneasy body;-disease or deformity,' he adds, have been the attendants of many of our best poets.'"-P. E. (2) Adam means "red earth," from which the first man was formed. Let us but leave it there; No matter what becomes on't. Stran. That's ungracious, If not ungrateful. Whatsoe'er it be, It hath sustain'd your soul full many a day. Arn. Ay, as the dunghill may conceal a gem Stran. But if I give another form, it must be Arn. Stran. Arn. Who would do so? And therefore I must. Stran. Clay thou art; and unto spirit All clay is of equal merit. Fire! without which nought can live; Burning in a quenchless lot: Where nor fish, beast, bird, nor worm, Save the worm which dieth not, Can preserve a moment's form, But must with thyself be blent: Fire! man's safeguard and his slaughter: Fire! Creation's first-born daughter, And Destruction's threaten'd son, When Heaven with the world hath done: Fire! assist me to renew Life in what lies in my view Stiff and cold! That I know not, Is thickest, that I may behold it in You! I said it ere That's to say, where there is war And woman in activity. Let's see! Spain-Italy-the new Atlantic worldAfric, with all its Moors. In very truth, There is small choice: the whole race are just now Tugging as usual at each other's hearts. Arn. I have heard great things of Rome. Stran. A goodly choiceAnd scarce a better to be found on earth, Since Sodom was put out. The field is wide too; For now the Frank, and Hun, and Spanish scion Of the old Vandals, are at play along The sunny shores of the world's garden. Arn. Shall we proceed? Stran. How Like gallants, on good coursers. What ho! my chargers! Never yet were better; Since Phaeton was upset into the Po. Our pages too! Arn. Shall be plain Arnold still. Cas. We'll add a title Count Arnold:" it hath no ungracious sound, And will look well upon a billet-doux. Arn. Or in an order for a battle-field. Cæs. (sings.) To horse! to horse! my coal-black steed More knows whom he must bear; On the plain be cvertaken; In the wave he will not sink, Nor pause at the brook's side to drink; In the race he will not pant, In the combat he'll not faint; On the stones he will not stumble, Time nor toil shall make him humble; Arn. Say master rather. Thou hast lured me on, Through scenes of blood and lust, till I am here. Cas. And where wouldst thou be? Oh, at peace-in peace! Cæs. And where is that which is so? From the star To the winding worm, all life is motion; and In life commotion is the extremest point Of life. The planet wheels till it becomes A comet, and destroying as it sweeps The stars, goes out. The poor worm winds its way, But still, like them, must live and die, the subject Arn. Cæs. "Tis no rebellion. Arn. And when it prospers Will it prosper now? Arn. And those scarce mortal arches, Cæs. The city, or the amphitheatre? Arn. You! Cæs. I saw him. Yes, sir. You forget I am or was Spirit, till I took up with your cast shape And a worse name. I'm Cæsar and a hunch-back Now. Well! the first of Cæsars was a bald-head, And loved his laurels better as a wig (So history says) than as a glory. (1) Thus Slay his own twin, quick-born of the same womb, Arn. But what have these done, their far Cæs. And what had they done, whom the old Romans o'erswept?-Hark! Arn. They are soldiers, singing A reckless roundelay, upon the eve Of many deaths, it may be of their own. (1) Suetonius relates of Julius Caesar, that his baldness gave him much uneasiness, having often found himself, upon that account, exposed to the ridicule of his enemies; and that, therefore, of all the honours conferred upon him by Cæs. In my grammar, certes. I Was educated for a monk of all times, And once I was well versed in the forgotten Etruscan letters, and-were I so minded— Could make their hieroglyphics plainer than Your alphabet. Arn. And wherefore do you not? Cæs. It answers better to resolve the alphabet Back into hieroglyphics. Like your statesman, And prophet, pontiff, doctor, alchymist, Philosopher, and what not, they have built More Babels, without new dispersion, than The stammering young ones of the flood's dull ooze, Who fail'd and fled each other. Why? why, marry, Because no man could understand his neighbour. They are wiser now, and will not separate For nonsense. Nay, it is their brotherhood, Their Shibboleth, their Koran, Talmud, their Cabala; their best brick-work, wherewithal They build more [sneerer! Arn. (interrupting him.) Oh, thou everlasting Be silent! How the soldiers' rough strain seems Soften'd by distance to a hymn-like cadence! Listen! Caes. Yes. I have heard the angels sing. Song of the Soldiers within. They pass'd the broad Po. We have captured a king, Here's the Bourbon for ever! Though pennyless all, We'll have one more endeavour Or break or climb o'er As mounts each firm foot, Our shout shall grow gladder, And death only be mute. And who then shall count o'er And down with the keys! Her streets shall be gory, the senate and people, there was none which he either cepted or used with so much pleasure as the right of wear ing constantly a laurel crown.-L. E. Cas. And her temples so hoary Shall clang with our tread. Oh, the Bourbon! the Bourbon ! The Bourbon for aye! Of our song bear the burden! And fire, fire away! Are couch'd at their mother; An indifferent song For those within the walls, methinks, to hear. Ara. Yes, if they keep to their chorus. But here The general, with his chiefs and men of trust. [comes A goodly rebel! Enter the Constable BOURBON (1) "cum suis," etc. etc. Phil. Doubt not our soldiers. Were the walls of Have never seen it. |