第43章
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  ”St——St,”he’dwhisper,”theCorregidor!”[90]IhadbeenusedtothinkthatpersonageWasonewithlacqueredbreeches,lustrousbelt,Andfeatherslikeaforestinhishat,Whoblewatrumpetandproclaimedthenews,Announcedthebull-fights,gaveeachchurchitsturn,Andmemorizedthemiracleinvogue!

  Hehadagreatobservancefromusboys;

  Wewereinerror;thatwasnottheman。

  I’dlikenow,yethadhaplybeenafraid,Tohavejustlooked,whenthismancametodie,[100]

  Andseenwholinedthecleangaygarretsides,Andstoodabouttheneatlowtruckle-bed,Withtheheavenlymannerofrelievingguard。

  Herehadbeen,mark,thegeneral-in-chief,Thro’awholecampaignoftheworld’slifeanddeath,DoingtheKing’sworkallthedimdaylong,Inhisoldcoatanduptokneesinmud,Smokedlikeaherring,diningonacrust,——

  And,nowthedaywaswon,relievedatonce!

  Nofurthershoworneedofthatoldcoat,[110]

  Youaresure,foronething!Blessus,allthewhileHowsprucelywearedressedout,youandI!

  Asecond,andtheangelsalterthat。

  Well,Icouldneverwriteaverse,——couldyou?

  Let’stothePradoandmakethemostoftime。”Transcendentalism”:

  APoeminTwelveBooks——

  *Transcendentalism:apoemintwelvebooks。Itmustbeunderstoodthatthepoetaddressedhaswrittenalongpoemunderthistitle,andabrother-poet,whileadmittingthatitcontains”truethoughts,goodthoughts,thoughtsfittotreasureup”,raisestheobjectionthattheyarenaked,insteadofbeingdraped,astheyshouldbe,insightsandsounds——

  Stopplaying,poet!Mayabrotherspeak?

  ’Tisyouspeak,that’syourerror。Song’sourart:

  WhereasyoupleasetospeakthesenakedthoughtsInsteadofdrapingtheminsightsandsounds——

  Truethoughts,goodthoughts,thoughtsfittotreasureup!

  Butwhysuchlongprolusionanddisplay,Suchturningandadjustmentoftheharp,Andtakingituponyourbreast,atlength,Onlytospeakdrywordsacrossitsstrings?

  Stark-nakedthoughtisinrequestenough:[10]

  SpeakproseandholloittillEuropehears!

  Thesix-footSwisstube,bracedaboutwithbark,Whichhelpsthehunter’svoicefromAlptoAlp——

  Exchangeourharpforthat,——whohindersyou?

  Buthere’syourfault;grownmenwantthought,youthink;

  Thought’swhattheymeanbyverse,andseekinverse;

  Boysseekforimagesandmelody,Menmusthavereason——so,youaimatmen。

  Quiteotherwise!Objectsthrongouryouth,’tistrue;

  Weseeandhearanddonotwondermuch:[20]

  Ifyoucouldtelluswhattheymean,indeed!

  AsGermanBoehmenevercaredforplantsUntilithapped,a-walkinginthefields,Henoticedallatoncethatplantscouldspeak,Nay,turnedwithloosenedtonguetotalkwithhim。

  Thatdaythedaisyhadaneyeindeed——

  Colloquizedwiththecowsliponsuchthemes!

  WefindthemextantyetinJacob’sprose。

  ButbythetimeyouthslipsastageortwoWhilereadingproseinthattoughbookhewrote,[30]

  CollatingandemendatingthesameAndsettlingonthesensemosttoourmind

  Weshuttheclaspsandfindlife’ssummerpast。

  Then,whohelpsmore,pray,torepairourloss——

  AnotherBoehmewithatougherbookAndsubtlermeaningsofwhatrosessay,——

  OrsomestoutMagelikehimofHalberstadt,John,whomadethingsBoehmewrotethoughtsabout?

  Hewitha”lookyou!”ventsabraceofrhymes,Andintherebreaksthesuddenroseherself,[40]

  Overus,under,rounduseveryside,Nay,inandoutthetablesandthechairsAndmustyvolumes,Boehme’sbookandall,——

  Buriesuswithaglory,youngoncemore,Pouringheavenintothisshuthouseoflife。

  Socome,theharpbacktoyourheartagain!

  Youareapoem,thoughyourpoem’snaught。

  Thebestofallyoushowedbefore,believe,Wasyourownboy-faceo’erthefinerchordsBent,followingthecherubatthetop[50]

  ThatpointstoGodwithhispairedhalf-moonwings——

  22。GermanBoehme:JacobBoehmeorBehmen,ashoemakerandafamoustheosophist,b。1575,atOldSeidenberg,avillagenearGoerlitz;d。1624。The24thverseofthepoem,”Henoticedallatoncethatplantscouldspeak”,mayrefertoaremarkableexperienceofBoehme,relatedinDr。HansLassenMartensen’s`JacobBoehme:hislifeandteaching,orstudiesintheosophy:

  translatedfromtheDanishbyT。RhysEvans’,London,1885:”Sittingonedayinhisroom,hiseyefelluponaburnishedpewterdish,whichreflectedthesunshinewithsuchmarvelloussplendorthathefellintoaninwardecstasy,anditseemedtohimasifhecouldnowlookintotheprinciplesanddeepestfoundationsofthings。

  Hebelievedthatitwasonlyafancy,andinordertobanishitfromhismindhewentoutuponthegreen。Buthereheremarkedthathegazedintotheveryheartofthings,theveryherbsandgrass,andthatactualnatureharmonizedwithwhathehadinwardlyseen。”

  Martensen,inhisbiography,followsthatbyFrankenberg,inwhichtheexperiencemaybegivenmoreindetail。

  37-40。himofHalberstadt,John:”ItisnotathinkerlikeBoehme,whowillcompensateusforthelostsummerofourlife;butamagicianlikeJohnofHalberstadt,whocan,atanymoment,conjurerosesup。””The`magic’symbolized,isthatofgenuinepoetry;butthemagician,or`Mage’,isanhistoricalperson;andthespecialfeatimputedtohimwasrecordedofothermagiciansintheMiddleAges,ifnotofhimself。

  `JohannesTeutonicus,acanonofHalberstadhtinGermany,afterhehadperformedanumberofprestigiousfeatsalmostincredible,wastransportedbytheDevilinthelikenessofablackhorse,andwasbothseenandheardupononeandthesameChristmasday,tosaymassinHalberstadht,inMayntz,andinCologne’

  `Heywood’sHierarchy’,Bk。IV。,p。253。The`prestigiousfeat’

  ofcausingflowerstoappearinwinter,wasacommonone。”——

  Mrs。SutherlandOrr’s`HandbooktotheworksofRobertBrowning’,p。209。

  Itmaybesaidthattheadvicegiveninthispoem,Browninghasnotsufficientlyfollowedinhisownpoetry。Onthispoint,awriterinthe`BritishQuarterlyReview’Vol。23,p。162justlyremarks:”Browning’sthoughtisalwaysthatofapoet。Subtle,nimble,andpowerfulasistheintellect,andvariousasisthelearning,allismanifestedthroughtheimagination,andcomesforthshapedandtintedbyit。Thus,evenintheforegoingpassages[citedfrom`Transcendentalism’and`BishopBlougram’sApology’],wherethematterisalmostaspurelyasitcanbetheproduceofthemereunderstanding,itisstillevidentthatthemethodofthethoughtispoetic。Thenotionstaketheformofimages。

  Forexample,thepoetmeanstosaythatProseisagoodandmightyvehicleinitsway,butthatitisnotPoetry;

  andhowdoestheconceptionshapeitselfinhismind?Why,inanimage。AllatonceitisnotProsethatisthoughtabout,butahugesix-footspeaking-trumpetbracedroundwithbark,throughwhichtheSwisshuntershelptheirvoicesfromAlptoAlp——

  Poetry,ontheotherhand,beingnosuchbigandblaringinstrument,butaharptakentothebreastofyouthandsweptbyecstaticfingers。

  AndsowiththeimagesofBoehmeandhisbook,andJohnofHalberstadtwithhismagicrose——stillaconcretebodytoenshrineanabstractmeaning。”

  ApparentFailure。”Weshallsoonloseacelebratedbuilding。”——ParisNewspaper。

  1。

  No,forI’llsaveit!Sevenyearssince,IpassedthroughParis,stoppedadayToseethebaptismofyourPrince;

  Saw,mademybow,andwentmyway:

  Walkingtheheatandheadacheoff,ItooktheSeine-side,yousurmise,ThoughtoftheCongress,Gortschakoff,Cavour’sappealandBuol’sreplies,Sosaunteredtill——whatmetmyeyes?——

  St。1。ToseethebaptismofyourPrince:thePrinceImperial,sonofNapoleonIII。andtheEmpressEugenie,bornMarch16,1856。

  theCongress:theCongressofParis。

  Gortschakoff:PrinceAlexanderMichaelowitschGortschakoff;

  whilerepresentingRussiaattheCourtofVienna,hekeptAustrianeutralduringtheCrimeanWar。

  Cavour:CountCamilloBensodiCavour,Italianstatesman,b。1810;

  attheCongressofParis,broughtforwardthequestionofthepoliticalconsolidationofItaly,whichledtotheinvasionofItalybytheAustrians,whoweredefeated;d。6thJune,1861。

  Buol:KarlFerdinandvonBuol-Schauenstein,Austriandiplomatist,andministerofforeignaffairsfrom1852to1859。

  2。

  OnlytheDoriclittleMorgue!

  Thedead-housewhereyoushowyourdrowned:

  Petrarch’sVauclusemakesproudtheSorgue,YourMorguehasmadetheSeinerenowned。

  Onepaysone’sdebtinsuchacase;

  Ipluckedupheartandentered,——stalked,KeepingatolerablefaceComparedwithsomewhosecheekswerechalked:

  Letthem!NoBriton’stobebalked!——

  St。2。Petrarch’sVauclusemakesproudtheSorgue:

  FontainedeVaucluse,acelebratedfountain,inthedepartmentofVaucluse,inSouthernFrance,thesourceoftheSorgues。

  ThevillagenamedafteritwasforsometimetheresidenceofPetrarch。

  3。

  Firstcamethesilentgazers;next,Ascreenofglass,we’rethankfulfor;

  Last,thesight’sself,thesermon’stext,ThethreemenwhodidmostabhorTheirlifeinParisyesterday,Sokilledthemselves:andnow,enthronedEachonhiscoppercouch,theylayFrontingme,waitingtobeowned。

  Ithought,andthink,theirsin’satoned。

  4。

  Poormen,Godmade,andallforthat!

  Thereverencestruckme;o’ereachheadReligiouslywashungitshat,Eachcoatdrippedbytheowner’sbed,Sacredfromtouch:eachhadhisberth,Hisbounds,hisproperplaceofrest,WholastnighttenantedonearthSomearch,wheretwelvesuchsleptabreast,——

  Unlesstheplainasphalteseemedbest。

  5。

  Howdidithappen,mypoorboy?

  YouwantedtobeBuonaparteAndhavetheTuileriesfortoy,Andcouldnot,soitbrokeyourheart?

  You,oldonebyhisside,Ijudge,Were,redasblood,asocialist,Aleveller!DoestheEmpiregrudgeYou’vegainedwhatnoRepublicmissed?

  Bequiet,andunclinchyourfist!

  6。

  Andthis——why,hewasredinvain,Orblack,——poorfellowthatisblue!

  Whatfancywasit,turnedyourbrain?

  Oh,womenweretheprizeforyou!

  Moneygetswomen,cardsanddiceGetmoney,andill-luckgetsjustThecoppercouchandoneclearniceCoolsquirtofwatero’eryourbust,Therightthingtoextinguishlust!

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