CHAPTER II.
_Lord Duf._ Did you not wake them, Cornaro?
_Cor._ Alas! my lord, I could not. Their slumber was so deep, it seemed to me A sleep eternal. Not a sleep of death, But of extatic silence. Such a beam Of joy and happiness I ne'er beheld Shed from the human face.
_The Prioress, a Tragedy._
The Poet's Tale.
Fain would I tell my friends and fellow-sufferers of my translationhence. Of all the joys and ecstacies of that celestial clime, yclepedthe land of faery; were it not that one is here whose sex forbids it,and whose gentle nature from such a tale would shrink, as doth theflower before the nipping gale. You all have heard of that celestialform, the white lady? And of that wan and beatific presence therelives in my remembrance some faint image of saintly beauty. But listto me, my friends, and do not smile, far less break forth with louduncourteous neigh, like war horse in the charge,--vile waste ofbreath! convulsive, unrestrained. But hear the truth: _It was not shewho bore me from this land_,--not she, _the white lady_, as alldivined. No, it was a form of flesh, and that flesh too of most rarequality. Fair, witching, plump, rosy and amorous; and of unmarredproportions. Sooth, she who lured me from my rustic home no other wasthan wandering minstreless, queen to the mightiest harper ever born.Sole empress of a tuneful wayward choir, thoughtless and giddy. Buttheir music stole my very soul away. What could I do but follow it, tolisten and to sing. In that bright train I sought the Scottish court,the nobles' hall, and every motely scene of loud festivity throughoutthe land. There have I heard and seen such scenes of love, ofdalliance, and of mirth, of deep intrigue and violent cruelty, as eyeof minstrel hath not witnessed. Yes, I have seen things not to beexpressed, at least not here. Therefore I'll change the rule thisnight pursued, of saying what myself have seen and done. The fairyland in which I sojourned was fair Caledon; and there I had my livingminstrel joys in high abundance. But I grieve to say, a fatal brawlplaced all of us within the line to which the sword of vengeanceextends its dreadful sway. Our group dispersed. The soul of melody wasthen no more! The sounds of harmony divine were hushed; all scatteredon the winds of other lands, and other climes, to charm with wailingnumbers. Southward I came, amid the border clans to trust my life, menlawless as myself. They once had saved me when a helpless orphan. Whomcould I better trust? And I have found their generosity alone out-doneby their own courage. For my adventures, let this sketch suffice. Andthough not of the fairyland, I will relate a tale, as pure, aswonderful and full of mystery, as if in other worlds I'd learned it. Ihad it from a simple peasant's mouth, an old grey hind upon the Sidleyhills, who vouched its truth. With faltering tongue, and palpitatingheart, for love, for life, and all the soul holds dear, I say my tale.O be my soul rapt to the estimate at which I hold the prize, and thedivine and holy narrative.
Once on a time, in that sweet northern land called Otholine, theheathen Hongar landed, and o'er-ran city and dale. The rampart and theflood in vain withstood his might. Even to the base of the unconqueredGrampians did he wend with fire and sword; and all who would notkneel, and sacrifice to his strange northern gods, he tortured to thedeath. Some few renounced the cross, for sordid life, and dread ofunheard torments. Men were roasted; matrons impaled; and purevirginity was given up to the rude soldiery to be abused, or humbledas they termed it. Then were they decked with flowers and ornaments,led forth in pairs unto the horrid shrine, and sacrificed to Odin.
At that time there lived three beauteous sisters of the line of mightykings. They were so passing fair, that all who saw them wondered, andall who wondered loved. Hongar and Hubba, these two heathen brothers,and princes of the Danes, heard of their fame, their beauty, and theirexcellencies of nature, and sent to seize them in their father'stower, that in the heights of Stormonth stood secure. The castle wassurprised, the virgins seized, and carried to the camp. There to theirdreadful trial were they brought, and bid to curse the sacred namethey feared and worshipped; to renounce the holy cross, and worshipOdin, or give up their bodies to shame, to ignominy, and to death onOdin's hideous altar. Marley and Morna both kneeled and intreated,begged a little time to ponder on the dread alternative. But the youngsprightly Lena, fairest she of Albyn's virgins, browed the invader'sthreat with dauntless eye: That eye whose liquid smile in love's sweetconverse had been formed to beam.
"Thou savage heathen!" cried she, "dost thou think to intimidate theroyal maids of Caledon to thy most barbarous faith? Tyrant, thou artdeceived. I dare thine ire. Thou may'st torment me; for I'm in thinehands, and thy heart ne'er knew pity. Thou may'st tear this tenderfragile form with pincing irons. But my soul's purity thou nevershall subdue by threat, by engine, or by flame. Thee and thy god Iscorn--I curse you both. I lean upon the rock that will not yield; andput my trust in one whose mighty arm can crush thee mid thy idol to anatom. I know he'll save me. He will save us all, if we but trust himwithout sinful dread. Here, underneath his bleeding cross, I kneel,and cast myself and my poor sisters here, upon his mercy. Here I makea vow to stand for him, and for his sacred truth, and for no other.Now, thou ruthless savage, here I defy thee. Do thy worst to us, andthou shalt see if Jesus or if Odin shall prevail, and who can bestpreserve their worshippers.
The heathen brothers smiled; and Hongar said, "How wildly sweet thelittle Christian looks! I make my choice to humble and prepare her forthe base slaves of Odin's warlike halls. Go warriors, lock them up indonjon deep, until the hour of midnight, when the rites of Odin shallbegin. Then will we send and bring them to the test; and all shallsee whose God is most in might, and who must yield.
In prison dark the virgins were immured, with sevenfold gates andsevenfold bars shut in. Soon as they were alone, the sisters twain,Marley and Morna, in fond tears embraced their youngest sister, laudedher high soul, and vowed with her to stand, with her to die, unsulliedin the faith they had been taught.
Then did they kneel on the cold dungeon floor, and one by one offeredtheir fervent prayers at mercy's footstool. But chiefly were theirvows made to the Holy Virgin; for they hoped that she would save theirpure virginity from sin's pollution. Never did prayers ascend up toheaven with greater fervency. And as the hour of midnight on themdrew, they kneeled; and, side by side, with lifted hands, and eyesturned toward heaven, sang aloud this holy simple hymn to theirRedeemer.
HYMN TO THE REDEEMER.
SON of the Virgin, hear us! hear us! Son of the living God, be near us! Thou who art man in form and feature, Yet God of glory, and God of nature. Thou who led'st the star of the East, Yet helpless lay at a Virgin's breast; Slept in the manger, and cried on the knee, Yet rulest o'er Time and Eternity. Pity thy creatures here kneeling in dust; Pity the beings in Thee that trust! Thou who fed'st the hungry with bread, And raised'st from the grave the mouldering dead; Who walked'st on the waves of the rolling main, Who cried'st to thy Father, and cried'st in vain; Yet wept for the woes and the sins of man, And prayed'st for them when thy life-blood ran; With thy last breath who cried'st FORGIVE! When bleeding and dying, that man might live! Over death and the grave hast the victory won, And now art enthroned by the stars and the sun. For thy name's glory, hear us, and come, And show thy power over idols dumb. O leave the abodes of glory and bliss, The realms of heavenly happiness; Come swifter than the gale of even On thy lightning's wing, the chariot of heaven; By the gates of light and the glowing sphere, O come on thy errand of mercy here! But Lord of glory we know not thee, We know not what we say; We cannot from thy presence be, Nor from thine eye away: For though on the right hand of God, Thou art here in this dark and drear abode: Beyond the moon and the starry way Thou holdest thy Almighty sway, Where spirits in floods of light are swimming, And angels round thy throne are hymning; Yet present with all who call on thee In this world of wo and adversity. Then, O, thou Son of the Virgin, hear us! God of love and of life be near us! O
ur hour of trial is at hand, And without thy aid how shall we stand? Our stains wash out, our sins forgive; And before thee may our spirits live. For thee and thy truth be our bosoms steeled: O be our help, our stay, our shield: Show thy dread power for mercy's sake, For thy name, and thy glory, and all is at stake; Bow down thy heavens, and rend them asunder, And come in the cloud, in the flame, or the thunder.
The trumpets now were sounding, while the host arose from wine andwassail, to prepare the baleful sacrifice of Christian souls. Thevirgins heard, and trembled as they kneeled; and beauteous Lenaraised her slender hands, and prayed, with many tears, that theAlmighty would stretch out his right hand and close their eyes ineverlasting sleep, to save them from self-slaughter, or the fate theydreaded more.
While yet the words were but in utterance, and ere the vow was vowed,they heard the gates unbarred one after one, and saw the lights glancethrough the lurid gloom. Each youthful heart turned, as it were, tostone; for well they weened the Danish soldiers came to bring themforth to shame and death. They kept their humble posture, with handsand eyes upraised, for they expected no pity or compassion save fromheaven.
The inmost door upon its hinges turned, like thunder out of tune; and,lo! there entered,--no heathen soldier,--but a radiant form coveredwith light as with a flowing robe. In his right hand he bore a goldenrod, and in his left a lamp that shone as bright as the noon-day sun.A thousand thousand gems, from off his raiment, cast their dazzlinglustre. Diamonds and rubies formed alternate stars, while all betweenwas rayed and spangled o'er with ever-varying brightness. Round hishead he wore a wreath of emeralds; these were set with never-fadinggreen. They deemed he was the great high priest of Odin come to leadthem to the sacrifice. But yet his look, so mild and so benign, raisedhalf a hope within their breasts of pity and regard. They were aboutto plead; but ere a sound breathed from their lips, the strangerbeckoned them to silence. Then, in mild and courteous strain, in theirown tongue, he thus accosted them:
"To ONE already have your vows been framed; and would you bow toanother? You have pleaded to heaven's high King; and would you pleadto man? Rise up, and follow me." The virgins rose; they had not powerto stay,--and followed him, alas! they knew not whither. They had novoice to question or complain. Door after door they passed; gate aftergate; and still their guide touching them with his golden rod, theyclosed in jangling fury. Onward still they moved, and met the heathenbands, led by their chiefs, Hongar and Hubba. They were drunk withwine; and loudly did they halloo when they saw their prey escaped, andwalking on the street all beauteous and serene: Closing around thefugitives, and jabbering uncouth terms and words obscene, the chiefsopened their arms to seize the helpless three. Just then their guideturned round unmoved, and waving his bright rod, the heathensstaggered, uttered mumbling sounds, and, trying vainly to supportthemselves, reeling they sunk enfeebled to the earth, where all asstill and motionless they lay as piles of lifeless corpses. How thevirgins wondered at what they saw! and fearless now they followedtheir bright leader. Next they met the priests of Odin, in their wildattire, marching in grand procession to the scene of mighty sacrifice.Aloft they bore their hideous giant idol; by his sides his loathsomeconsort and his monster son, Freya and Thor, while all their followerssung this choral hymn in loud and warlike strains:
HYMN TO ODIN.
I.
HE comes! he comes! Great Odin comes! Who can rise or stand before him? The god of the bloody field, The sword, and the ruddy shield; The god of the Danes, let all adore him.
II.
Wake the glad measure to The goddess of pleasure too, Who fills every hero with joy and with love! And hail to dread Thor, Great son of great sire, The quaffer of gore, And the dweller in fire: The god of the sun, and the lightnings above.
III.
Prepare! prepare! The feast prepare, Since mighty Thor our guest shall be: Three times three, And three times three, This day shall bleed for repast to thee!
IV.
Strike the light, Make the flame burn bright, Since Freya is here who gives delight! Three times three, And nine times nine, This day shall bleed on altar of thine.
V.
Shout and sing, Till the mountains ring! The father of men, and of gods the king! See him advance With sword and lance; Billows of life-blood, heroes, bring!
VI.
God of Alhallah's dome! God of the warrior's home! Who can withstand thee in earth or heaven? Bring to his altar then, Of Christian dames and men, Nine times nine, and seven times seven.
VII.
Bend to your place of birth, Children of sordid earth; The god of battles your homage disdains. Who dare oppose him? Christian or Moslem? Who is like Odin, the god of the Danes?
The maids and their angelic guide went on following the cross; and asthey went, they sung in sweet and humble aspirations the song of theLamb. They met the gorgeous files. Fair met with fair. The hideousidols sat an hundred cubits high; whereas the cross a maiden's handupbore. But when they met, the proud and mighty peal, swelling fromOdin's worshippers, was hushed as with a sob. The hills rang with thesound; and the o'erburdened air bore the last knell up to the skies.It quavered through the spheres, and died in distance, to be heard nomore, while nought but the sweet notes the virgins sung rose on thepaths of night. The motely mass of heathens stood amazed, and as theystood they listened and they quaked. The words were these at whichthey paused, and which the virgins sung:
* * * * *
Silence the blasphemers thee that defy, Strike down the mighty, Son of the Most High; Rise in thy power, that the heathen may see, What dust are their gods and their glory to thee; Raise thy right hand, and in pieces them shiver, That to the true God may the praise be for ever.
At every line the bearers and their gods trembled the more, and as thelast notes closed, the mighty Odin toppled from his throne, andcrashed amid his powerless worshippers. His wooden spouse and son fellwith the sire of Gods and men, and in a thousand pieces their gildedframes were dashed. Confusion reigned. The host fled in dismay; butOdin's priests sunk down in low prostration, groaning and howling forthe fall of Odin,--the shield and glory of the Danish host.
From out this wild confusion the bright guide conducted the threevirgins, to a cave close by the river's brink, and charged them hideuntil the wrath of the enraged foe should be abated. Here, said he,you are in perfect safety. No one living knows of this retreat. Heresleep and take your rest. May angels watch around your flinty couch.Farewell, I must begone on the employ assigned me by your father andby mine. He left the lamp and went his way. Forthwith they kneeled inprayer, thanking their Saviour for their great deliverance, then laidthem down to rest. They kissed the cross, and folded closely in eachother's arms, cheek leaning unto cheek, with holy hymns they sungthemselves asleep.
Great was the rage among the Danish chiefs, and wide the search forthese presumptuous and bold aggressors. The host was all discouragedand amazed, and nought but terror reigned. Earldoms were offered forthe audacious maids, dead or alive. But nor alive nor dead could theybe found, either by friend or foe. O dreadful were the execrationsuttered by the Danes. They called them demons, witches, and the worstof all incendiaries. Well they might. The terror of their arms wasbroken. Great was the rejoicing mid the hills and glens of Albyn, butthe eastern vallies groaned beneath the fury of the savage Dane, andChristian blood was shed on every cross.
The virgins waked at morn, and still the lamp sent forth its feebleglimmer through the cave. The day-beam through the crevice of the rockstreamed in and mixed with it. The virgins strove to rise, tospeak--to sing a morning hymn. But all their limbs were cold, andtheir tongues clove fast to their thirsty palates. Lena, fi
rst of allthe three, upraised her pallid form, and on the lamp turning herdrowsy eye, there did it settle, closed, and oped again, but stillwith faded and uncertain light, as if the mind were lacking. Long shesat, half raised in this uneasy torpid state,--this struggle 'twixtoblivion and life. Oft she assayed her sisters to awake, by namingthem; but still as oft the names died in a whisper. By degrees hermind dawned into recollection, as the moon breaks o'er the sullentwilight. Then the wonders, that she had seen o'ernight, aroused hersoul to all its wonted energy. She kneeled, and thanked her Maker forthe great deliverance to them vouchsafed. And when her sisters woke,they woke to join her in a heavenly song.
"What ails our sister? Here we are in safety. Why does our dearbeloved not rest in peace? The night is not far spent: the dawn ofmorn is yet far distant. O dear Lena sleep. Sleep on, and take yourrest. The morning sun is yet beneath the deep. Our limbs are cold; oureyes are heavy; yet we cannot rise, for we are weary, and not halfawake."
"Wake, my beloved sisters. It is time. The noon is at its height. Seehow the sun peeps through the granite cliffs, and on the stream shedsray of trembling silver. Let us rise and talk of all the wonders wehave seen."
Long they conversed in tears of gratitude, still peeping fromtheir cavern, lest the Dane again should find and drag them tothe altar. Sore were they pressed by hunger. From the stream they drankabundantly with thankful hearts. But food for many a day and many anight they scarce had tasted, and they longed for it with more thanordinary longing. Night approached; and there they sat, not knowingwhat to do, a prey to gnawing hunger. At the last, young Lena said, "Icannot ween that heaven hath wrought a miracle for our relief, and forno higher purpose than that we should be left to die of hunger in thisdark and hideous den. Again I'll put my life into its hand, and gointo the city after twilight in search of bread; and if I die I die:Heaven's will be done." Her sisters looked at her, and blessed her inthe holy Virgin's name. They could not bid her go where danger waited,so great, so imminent; and yet they felt they could not press herstay. With cautious eye, and with enfeebled step, trembling she soughtthe city gate. But when, afar, she saw by torch-light porters stridingto and fro, with glittering lances of enormous length, and ponderousbattle axes, her heart failed, and she drew back. But then she thoughtagain of those she left behind, and all the throes of perishingwith hunger, and resolved to risk all hazards. The huge gate stoodopen, and strangers went and came. "I'll join," thought she, "thisstraggling crew, and enter among them; they speak my native tongue.Ah! they must be a band of traitorous base renegades, that haverenounced the cross and joined the Dane; else wherefore free to go andcome and trade? I'm all unsafe with such. The strangers eyed her withmost curious and piercing looks, and whispered as they went. Theyseemed afraid, and shunned her by the way, as they who shun a beinginfected by the pestilence, or spirit from the dead. No one addresseda word to her, but hurried to the gate.
She came alone, for feeble was her step, and her breast palpitating aswith throb of burning fever, hopeless of admission.
The porters stared with wide extended gaze, and eyes protruding; butno word they spoke, nor crossed their lances. Straight she enteredin. "What can this mean?" thought she; "There is a change sinceyester-even that it passes thought to comprehend. These keepers arenot Danes; I heard them speak in Albyn's ancient tongue; and yetmethinks they wear the Danish garb. How's this? that I am free to comeand go, as in my childhood, when the land was free?"
She passed the sacred fane, and there beheld crowds entering in; butfast she sped away, weening they went to Odin's cursed rites.
She went to those that sold, and asked for bread. The woman stared ather with silent gaze. She asked again, and straight the huckster fledin floundering haste. Poor Lena stood amazed. "How's this?" said she,"where'er I show my face the people shun me. Here I shall remain, forI am faint with hunger, till I taste some of these cakes, which I canwell repay."
She stood not long until she was accosted by holy bedesman, who, withcautious step, and looks of terror, entered, fast repeating his _AveMaria_. "In the Virgin's name," cried he, "and under sanction of thiscross, I charge thee tell who or from whence thou art."
The virgin kneeled, and kissed the holy symbol, but waived directreply. "I lack some bread to give to those that famish, and I'll payfor that which I receive," was her reply.
"Then 'tis the bread of life that thou dost lack; man's natural food Ifear thou can'st not use, for thou art not a being of this world, butsavour'st of the grave. Thy robes are mouldy, and fall from off thyframe? Thy lips are parched and colourless. These eyes have not thelight of human life. Thou ominous visitant, declare from whence thouart, and on what mission thou com'st to this devoted wasted land?"
Lena looked up. The holy father's face to her appeared familiar. Buthow great the change since last she saw it. "Father Brand, dost thounot know me?" was her home reply.
With blenching cheek and with unstable eye the father gazed, and,faultering, stammered forth, "No. Jesu Maria, be thy servant's shield!Yes. Now I know thee. Art thou not the spirit of the hapless Ellamere,who was put down within our convent for a wilful breach of its mostsacred law? Avaunt! Begone! Nor come thou here t' accuse those thatgrieved for thee, while they executed just vengeance on thy life.Injurious ghost! Thy curses have fallen heavy on our heads, andbrought the wrath of heaven upon our land in tenfold measure. In theSaviour's name, whose delegate I am, I charge thee hence unto thyresting-place,--to that award that heaven's strict justice hathordained for thee; and come not, with that pale and withering look,more curses and more judgments to pronounce."
"Reach me thine hand," said she, and held her's forth, meaning to workconviction on his mind that she was flesh and blood. Her arm was wanas death itself, emaciated and withered, and furred with lines, lividand colourless, as by corrodent vapours of the grave. The monkwithdrew his hand within his frock, shook his grey locks, and, withslow palsied step, moved backward till the threshold stone he gained;then turned and fled amain. The household dame fled also from herinner door, from which she peered and listened, and the wonderingvirgin again was left alone. She waited there in wild and dumbincertitude a space; then took some bread, some fruits, and bakenmeat, laid some money down as an equivalent, and went away to seek herdark retreat.
But as she passed the fane, with wary step she ventured to the porch,and, marvelling, heard the whole assembly, joined in rapt devotion,praising the name of Jesus. Close she stood, and, darkling as it was,joined in the choir so much beloved. But all the wonders she so latehad seen yielded to this. In one short night, one strange eventfulnight, such things were done as human intellect, with all itscunning, could not calculate.
She passed the gate. The gaping sentinels stood, as they did before,immoveable, each casting sidelong glances unto his mate, to note whofirst should fly or call the word. She beckoned them as with intent tospeak; but in one moment porters, spears, and axes scattered andvanished in the darksome shade.
Reaching the cave, she found the lamp gone out that their mysteriousdeliverer had left them over night. First she regaled her sisters'hearts with the miraculous tidings that all the people worshippedJesus' name without dismay or molestation, who, but the night before,not for their lives durst have acknowledged him: That all seemed freeto go and come, and pray to whom they listed. The tale seemed aromance,--a dream of wild delirium. The Danes could not be banished ina night, and all the land cleared of the vile idolatry of Odin. Theydisbelieved the whole, as well they might, but held their peace,dreading their sister's mind mazed in derangement. Still, as she wenton, saying that all whom she had met or seen supposed her one arisenfrom the dead, or ghost of some departed criminal, strangled forbreach of a monastic vow, then did they grasp each other's hands, andweep for their dear sister's sad mishap. They deemed her mad as ravingwhirlwind, or the music of mountain cataract. Yet she had brought themfood of various sorts, which in the dark she gave them; and they fed,or strove to feed,--but small indeed the portion they devoured.
"How's this," cried Morna, "that my little cake grows ne'er the less?Can it be so that we are truly spirits,--ghosts of the three maidsthat overthrew the Danish god last night? I hunger and I thirst, 'tistrue. Tell me, Can spirits drink the element of water? Certes theymay. But then, how did we die, or when? for I cannot remember me ofpassing death's hideous and dreary bourn, though something of a wearypainful dream hangs round my heart."
This vague disjointed speech, the wayward visions of distemperature,struck the two others motionless, and set them on cogitationswandering and wild as meteors o'er a dreary wilderness. The thought ofbeing in a new existence, with all its unknown trials, powers, andlimits, their struggling minds essayed in vain to grasp.
Reason returned, but as a step-mother returns to frenzied orphan's dyingbed. They felt each other's pulses. There was life,--corporeal life;but still there was a change, which no one chose to mention,--yet achange quite unaccountable for one night's sleep to have effected.From their cavern's porch they viewed the stars of heaven. They werethe same as they were wont. They saw the golden wain, the polarplough tilling his ample field with slow unwearied furrow, and thesisters,--the seven lovely sisters of the sky, arching their gorgeouspath. Far to the east they spied a star beloved, which in theirchildhood they oft had watched, and named the "tiger's eye," changingits vivid colours as of yore. And then they wept to think of formerdays of innocence and joy. And thus in tears, clasped in each other'sarms, they laid them down their mazed and oppressed spirits tocompose.
While thus they lay, romantic Morna said: "My sisters, it is evidentto all that some great change has happed to us last night. We are notwhat we were. What can it be but change from one existence to another?A mortal creature cannot touch or feel a disembodied spirit; but weknow not how spirits feel each other. Sure as life and death holdopposition in this world, from the one into the other we have passed.I feel it in my being. So do you, though unacknowledged. Let us riseand walk as spirits do by night, and we shall see the change in us,not over a whole land in one short night. Come, let us roam abroad.I feel a restlessness,--a strong desire to flit from place toplace,--perchance to fly between the mountain and the cloud, and viewthe abodes of those we love.
This wild romance waked in the virgins' hearts an energy betweendespair and madness. All extremes erratic and unnatural, on the mindsof females, act like the infection of virulent disease. Up they arose,and, stepping from their cavern, took their way along the river'sbrink. Midnight was past. The tiger's eye had climbed the marble paththat branches through the heaven, and goggled forth, now red, nowblue, now purple and now green, down from his splendid ceiling far onhigh. 'Twas like a changeful spirit. In the east the hues of morningrose in towering streaks, as if the Almighty had caused light to growlike cedars from the summits of the hills. It was a scene for spirits!There were three abroad that morn before the twilight rose,--threecreatures spiritual, yet made of flesh! First they espied an agedfisherman, who passed without regard. Then did they deem they wereinvisible, and wilder still their fancies worked. The suburbs now theygained of the resplendent ancient Otholine, the emporium of the east,and hand in hand, with hurried, but enfeebled step, they trode itslanes and alleys. Those who saw them said their motions were erratic,like the gait of beings overcome with wine, or creatures learning towalk for the first time on earth. The early matron, and the twilightgroom, fled with hysteric cries at their approach. The gates were lefta-jar, the streets a waste: porter and sentinel joined in the flight,and nought but terror and confusion reigned.
The virgin sisters wist not what to do, or what to dread. Within theconvent's porch, they halted, turned, and gazed on one another, andwondered what they were, that nature thus shuddered at their approach,and held aloof. Three creatures spiritual yet made of flesh, belongingnot to heaven nor earth! but shunned by the inhabitants of both. Justthen, while standing in despondency, they heard the grey cock crow;the eldritch clarion note chilled every heart, and twanged on everynerve.
"That is our warning call," wild Morna said: "My sisters now we musthence and begone: that is the roll-call of the murdering spirits. Weshall be missed at matins. To your homes! your damp and moulderinghomes, ye ghastly shades! The daylight will dissolve you! Does thatvoice not say so?"
"Hush thee, gentle Morna! drive us not to distraction. Here we'll waituntil the convent matin; then we'll ask the holy prioress what thingswe are. What say you, gentle sisters? can we live outcasts on earth insuch incertitude? Our father's towers are distant. We can glide,like passing shades with slow and feeble motion, but nothing morespirits;--can sail the air in skiff of mist or on the breeze's wing.Such powers we have not; and to journey there we lack ability. Herethen we stay until we are resolved what strange events have happenedto us, to our native land, and church, of late so grievouslyoppressed."
"Yes, here we'll stay. Come, rouse the porteress! For see the sun tipsthe far hills with gold, and we shall melt before his tepid ray, allgentle as it is at early morn! My frame is like a mildew. The hoarfrost of death hath fallen on it. Oh, for the guide--the angelicyouth that left us yester-eve. Ho! daughters of the Cross! If any herehath 'scaped the murderous Dane, come forth and welcome the conquerorsof Odin. Ho! within! Wake ere the sun upbraids you. He is up, onservice to his Maker, yet you sleep. I say, wake."
"Who calls? What are you there?"
"We know not what we are. For that we come, to see if any here can usresolve. But two short nights ago, we were three maids of royallineage. Thou stern porteress, come forth and look on us. Canst thounot tell what we are made of? Why stand'st thou aloof?"
"Speak calmly, sister Morna. See she trembles and dares not answer.Gentle dame, we pray admission to your lady prioress, for sake of himwho died upon the cross, whose name we worship." Straight she vanishedupon her fearful mission, glad to 'scape from such a colloquy. Soonthen arrived the aged prioress, who them approached with dauntlesscountenance, and, unappalled, asked of their errand. "Venerable dame,dost thou not know, or hast thou never heard of the three maids ofStormont, who of late, led by a heavenly messenger, o'erthrew the godof Denmark, and upheld the cross triumphant o'er the breasts ofprostrate heathens?"
"Ay, I have heard of them; and often joined in prayer and thanksgivingfor the deliverance wrought by these royal virgins. That was aconquest that roused the spirit of the Christian to deeds of more thanmortal energy, and humbled the proud confidence the Dane placed in hisidols. Ay, that was a conquest shall cloud the brow of the idolaterwhile the world stands! But what was it you spoke of yester eve?Either you are deranged, or shallow poor impostors: for that time hathlong gone past, and the three wondrous maids were in the sight, andfrom the middle of that mighty host translated into heaven. Unless youcame from thence on sacred mission, and bringest evidence of identityby further miracle, better you had keep silence and depart."
"We are those maids, the maids of Stormont, nieces to the king; andwe require of you lodging and fair protection, till we prove ourlineage. There is something passing strange hath happed to us. Butwhat the circumstance, or how accordant with the works of God, is farbeyond the fathom and the height of our capacity. We are the maids ofStormont. To that truth we will make oath upon the holy cross."
The prioress crossed herself, commended her to heaven, and, with deepawe and dire astonishment, admitted them. She gazed upon them: theirfair cheeks were pale, and their benignant eyes looked through a hazethat was not earthly; it was like the blue mists of the dawning. Alltheir robes were of the fashion of a former day; and they were dampand mouldy, falling piecemeal from off their bodies with theirrottenness.
"I dread to question you, mysterious things. That you are earthlyforms, I see and feel. Whence are you? In what dreary unknown climehave you been sojourning? Or are you risen from out your graves? Ifyou have truth in you, and power to tell it, pray resolve me this; forI am lost in wonder."
"What we are we know not. For that purpose we came hither, that youmight tell us. All we know is this: Last night but one we were themaids of St
ormont, doomed to a dreadful fate. An heavenly one came toour rescue; led us through the gates of iron and of brass. Still as wewent, we conquered. Ranks of proud idolaters fell prostrate in thedust; and the great god, the mighty Odin, was o'erthrown, and dashedinto a thousand pieces. Straight our blessed guide conducted us into alonely cave close by the river's brink, and bade us sleep and take ourrest until the day should dawn and shadows fly away. We slept, andyester-morn, when we awoke, the lamp our guide had left still feeblyburned. Impelled by hunger, from our cave we ventured. All people flyfrom us; the Danes are gone; the name of Christ is mentioned. Noughtwe see and nought we hear is comprehensible."
"A miracle! a mighty miracle! Within that secret cavern you have sleptfor days and years, in quiet sweet repose, the lamp of heaven stillburning over you, until the day hath dawned,--such day of grace asScotland hath not seen. The heathen Dane, with all his hideous gods,was vanquished, but days of darkness and contention rose, until thistime, when all the glorious rays of mercy and of grace have shed theirinfluence on this benighted persecuted land; and you are waked toenjoy it. Let us go straight to the altar, and beneath the cross joinin elated thanksgiving."
The chancel door opened before the altar. When the three virginsentered in, and saw the figure on the cross, they cried aloud with onecombined voice, "'Tis he, 'Tis he! What? Have these heathens dared tolay their impious hands on him? 'Tis he! 'Tis he! Our heavenly guidethat saved us from the death. And have they slain him? Has the cursedDane----"
"Hold, hold, for mercy's sake; you do not know the things you utter.What you look upon, hangs there to represent the death of him whodied that man might live."
"And is it so? Then be our lives sacred unto the service of him wholaid his life down for our race, and sent his angel to deliver us,in his own likeness too; for this is he who came to us in greatextremity, when we called on the name of our Redeemer in agony ofsoul."
"Remain with me till our great festival. This miracle must be madeknown to all that trust in Jesus' name. Meanwhile I will cherish andcomfort the beloved of heaven."
The day arrived of the great festival, the anniversary of theoverthrow of mighty Odin,--that sublime event that broke the bands ofiron and of steel, and threw the gates of superstition open to Albyn'sChristian triumph. On that day the king's whole household, nobles ofthe realm, high dames and commons, abbots, monks, and mendicants, amotely and a countless multitude, assembled early at the monastery ofancient Otholine, to render thanks for their deliverance. Masses weresaid; and holy hymns of praise ascended to the skies. With one accord,then all the grateful multitude agreed to canonize the three heroicvirgins, who, with the aid of angels, had wrought out the Christian'striumph, the beloved of heaven, translated to the blest beatitude,where souls of saints and blessed martyrs dwell, and whose jointprayers might with the holy Virgin much avail.
A joyful clamour for the ordinance then spread around, so eager werethe crowd to kneel and pay their humble adorations to the three maids,translated to the heavens with bodies like their own. Applauses rang;and from behind the altar was given forth a song divine, in which athousand voices joined, till all were hushed at this ecstatic strain.
Hail to the happy three! Vessels of sanctity! Now honoured to stand At the Virgin's right hand. (Mater Dei! Remember me!) Remember us all, and send us for good, Bone of our bone, and blood of our blood.-- Song of harp, and voice be dumb!-- The heaven is oped. They come, they come!
A bustle rose. The abbot on his knees sunk down and leaned upon thealtar-cloth, and only a few voices whispered round, "They come, theycome!" The congregation turned their eyes into the chancel, and beheldthree virgins, all in robes of purest white, stand over against thealtar. The loud choir was hushed, and every brow was forward bent inlow obeisance: All believing these three beauteous flowers fromparadise had come arrayed in robes of heaven, with angel forms thatbloomed like winter roses newly oped, in high approval of thefestival, and sacred honours to be paid to them.
The virgins beckoned, raised their flowing veils, and their righthands to heaven. "Stay, they cried, stay the solemnity, ere youprofane the name and altar of the God of heaven. Here stand the threeunworthy maids of Stormont whom you would deify. Come nigh to us ourfather and our king, and ye chaste ministers of him we serve: Comenigh, and feel that we are mortal like yourselves, and stop the rite.Pay adoration to that Holy One who pitied us in misery extreme, andyou in grievous bonds. There be your vows and worship paid, in whichwe three shall join. He hath indeed done wondrous things for us, worksof amazement, which you all shall hear, and whoso heareth shallrejoice in heart."
Then came they all unto their father's knee, kneeled and embraced him,while the good old earl shed tears of joy, and rendered thanks toheaven; their sovereign next, their former lovers, friends, and allthey knew in that mixed multitude, they did embrace, that no remainingdoubt might spring and spread of their identity. It was a joyfulmeeting, such a one as hath not been in any land for happiness andholy ecstacy. They lived beyond the years of women,--but their liveswere spent in acts of holiness, apart from grandeur's train. In curingof the sick, clothing the naked, ministering to all in want andwretchedness, and speaking peace unto poor wandering and benightedsouls. Their evening of life was like the close of summer day, pure,placid, and serene,--the twilight long, but when at last it closed, itwas with such a heavenly glow, it gave pure prospect of a joyous dayto come. Thus ends my legend; and, with all submission, I bow to yourawards, and wait my doom.