Two travelers journeyed slowly along Mount Olivet, pausing anon to observe the flower-dells between them and Mount Zion, or to contemplate2 the wilder prospects3 where the wilderness4 of Judea edged close up to the hills they traversed. As the travelers passed, the natives looked after them with curiosity; for the garments of the former, though dust-covered, were those of personages above the ranks of the common people; also of a fashion that betokened5 them strangers in that vicinity.
One of these men was a youth, stalwart and comely7; the other was gray-haired and bent8 as if by the weight of years, though a closer view suggested premature9 blasting, rather than senile decline.
“Winfred, before entering Bethany, we’ll to the ‘Hill of Solomon,’ the site of Chemosh, the black image of the Roman Saturn10.”
Thereupon the twain turned away from the village and soon came upon a company of revelers, each wearing a crown of autumn fruits, and all gathered about a platform crowded with hilarious12 dancers.
[619]
“Saturnalia!” exclaimed the elder.
“The worship of Saturn ceased ages ago, did it not?”
“This is strange enough; and yet it’s a relief to meet a few happy people in this land of solemn faces; even if those happy ones do joy like fools.”
“They celebrate the passing of summer-heat and the coming of the rains of autumn. Say not fools; they are trying to be glad about something good, somehow coming from some one somewhere above them. Perhaps God can resolve scraps14 of thanksgiving out of it all.”
“Theirs is the laughter of wine! the laughter of the goat-god, Pan, whose face scared his mother and whose voice scared the gods!”
“We’ve a persistent15 custom here, son; and men do not play the fool for generations after one manner, at least, without cause.
“These attempt to press into the court of Pleasure to cajole her; all men do that; these have chosen merely an old way. They cling to the myth of Saturn, the subduer of the Titan of fiction. They say that deity16, dethroned in the god-world, fled to Italy, where he gave happiness and plenty through life, and the freedom of air and earth after death, which latter he made to be only a little sleep.”
“That was not more than a mock golden-age; it never came, I think.”
“But very alluring17 to those that long for it; they dance half-naked, typifying the primitive18 times when men had fewer cares, because fewer wants.”
[620]
“The devotees of Saturn were wont21 to offer their children in his altar-fires, and so ever more it happens; he that bends to the materialistic22 solely23, kindles24 altar-fires for his posterity25.”
“After to-day what comes to these, peace?”
“Nay, a year all dark and colorless; then another spasm26 called a feast—a brief lightning-flash revealing the darkness.”
“And so the years come and go; one generation of madmen, then another; death the only variety?”
“Nay! I’d have you look upon pleasure of sense deified, taking its pleasures under the shadows of Chemosh, for a purpose. You remember we read together, under the palms at Babylon, how the holy Daniel saw in vision the four winds of heaven striving on the sea?”
“The four winds and the sea! the meaning, opened, is conflict on every hand on earth! Out of the follies27 and turmoils28 David’s White Kingdom will emerge at last. Listen to the words of the inspired seer:
“‘Behold one like the Son of Man! There was given Him a dominion29 and a glory that all people should serve Him; an everlasting30 dominion!’
“It is coming; my poor faith, amid the conflicts and revels31 of man, hears the voice of God crying through the night, as in Eden’s dark hour: ‘Where art thou?’ My last lesson to my son awaits us at Bethany; let’s be going.”
Ere long Cornelius Woelfkin and his son Winfred stood silently, and with uncovered heads, before, but[621] a little apart from, a stately marble shaft32 that rose up amid the olive trees of Gethsemane. It was night, and they were alone. The father motioned the son back, and alone glided33 under the shadowing trees, toward the pillar. There the elder one threw himself down on the earth, close beside the monument; the youth, deeply moved, but unwilling34 to intrude35 upon the scene of sacred, silent grief, stood aloof36. In a small way, there was a repetition of the grief of the Man of Sorrows, who there, ages before, yearned37 in His humanity over a lost world, over those from whom His heart was soon to part for life. To be sure, the cross of Cornelius Woelfkin was infinitely38 less galling39, less heavy than that borne by his Master; and yet it was as heavy as he could bear, and hence the pitifulness of his grief.
Who can lift the curtain from his thoughts? The years roll back and memory’s pictures pass through his brain, at first in joyful40 train. The lovers in London; the betrothal41 at sea; the wedding at Jerusalem; the ecstatic consummation in years of marriage. Then the painful, almost awful separation by death, that never to be forgotten Christmas time. And then, twenty years with leaden feet carrying the lone-hearted man so painfully slow toward death’s portals, for which he longed with unutterable yearning42. “Oh, Miriamne, Miriamne, let me come,” he cried. The youth, hearing the agonized43 utterings, was instantly by his father’s side. But the old man, still oblivious44 to all but his sorrow and his memories, moaned on with deepening fervor45.
“Father,” called out the son. The father rose to his feet and calmly said: “My boy, pity me. I’m weak.[622] But oh, you never knew what it is to have your life sawn in twain and be compelled then to drag your half and lacerated being along the over-clouded vales of an undesired existence!”
“My mother’s tomb?”
“Yes. I promised, as my last service to you, to bring you to it. Its study shall be the finish of your schooling46.”
Just then the clouds broke away and the moonlight fell full upon the monument. It was a shaft, terminating in a crucifix; by its side were two forms, one that of St. John, with face turned toward the figure of the dying Savior; the other that of a woman kneeling, her face buried in her hands. On the base of the cross was the brief sentence: “Behold thy mother.” As the youth gazed on the farewell charge of Jesus to John, when He commended to the care of that beloved disciple47 His sorrowing mother, he started. It seemed as if the words had grown out of the marble suddenly while he was gazing, and for himself only. He felt as if he could almost embrace the stone.
The two men were silent and heart full. After a long time, they simultaneously48 turned away toward Bethany. They came to a turn in the road that would shut out all view of the garden of sorrow, and the elder paused, loath49 to leave the place where his heart was buried.
Presently he spoke50 again, as if unconscious of any other being with him: “Oh, Miriamne, I failed to carry out the work thou left’st me! How could I, alone? I was but half a man without thee, my other self! Miriamne, Miriamne, I can be only nothing when I can not be with thee.” Then the old man lifted his[623] hands as in benediction51 or embrace, and continued: “Farewell, a last farewell, sweet, white soul, until upon the tearless, healing shores of light I say good morning!”
There was a mighty52 pathos53 in the display of this old, ripe, strong grief, which lived on a love that could not die. The man was a study. He was of fine fibre, almost effeminate, never firm, except in his affection for that one woman. That was the one strong trend, the one anchorage of his life. He need not study the man far, who strove to know him, to discover that this tenacity54 was not natural to him always. It had been a growth under the influence of the peerless wife.
“Shall we go on?” after a little asked the son. With a shudder55 and a suppressed sob56 the elder moved on, but with laggard57 step, which soon paused. Just now, the moon being beclouded, it was very dark about them, and the father reached out his hand and drew the youth to his embrace. He whispered: “Winfred, son of Miriamne, you bear her image in your face, bear it ever in heart, as well. I’m glad you’re not so like me.” The son tried to speak, but the elder interrupted:
“You’ll ere long be fatherless as well as motherless, but take your mother for your guiding-star. You know what your birth cost her. By her death you obtained life, as by the Christ’s, immortality58. She saved others, she could not save herself; but if you’re true to her memory she’ll have a mother’s immortality, that life that lives in the life of her child.”
Let us gather up the last threads of our story. After the death of Miriamne, the “Sisters of Bethany” soon ceased to congregate59 at the “House of Bethesda,” in[624] the city on Olivet. Cornelius Woelfkin attempted for a time to carry forward the work of the mission, but, utterly60 miserable61 himself, he did not know how to bestow62 comfort on others; a man, without the intimate companionship of the woman who had been his inspirer, he had no discernment of the needs of woman, nor power to interpret the truths that were in the Book or in nature, those garners63 of manna.
The Hospitaler was sent for as an aid. He came but once, and then spoke as kindly64 as he could to the women of Bethany and Jerusalem, and took his farewell of them all, in closing words like these:
“The blessed Miriamne, child of Jesus, and emulator65 of Mary, has passed away, but Christ her Comforter and Savior may be such to each of you, that wills Mary’s example, as the inspiration of all women, can never die. The world has been a battle-ground, and each of you can here see over the whole field of conflict. Shall all pleasures be found under the leadership of Bacchus and Venus, or in Him that is the God of Joy? Shall woman echo the passions of man or the ‘Magnificat’ of Mary? Shall the strength that man seeks be that of the giants, brute66 force; the strength of woman be, in her youth the bewitchings of personal beauty, in old age the cunning of the witch-hag? Shall it not rather be in the girdle of her moral worth?
“The world needs to seek and find love, beauty and light. Some go after it, vainly, as did the Egyptian devotees of Phallic Khem; to whom, with pitiful incongruity67, were offered rampant68 goats and bulls, decorated with most delicate flowers. They called Khem the ‘God of births,’ the ‘beautiful God,’ but we know to[625] put mothers on the throne as the beautiful; their flowers, their jewels, their glories being their offspring!
“Women of Jerusalem, never forget the Savior’s own words to the women that envied His mother, crying that the one that bore Him and nursed Him was therefore peculiarly blessed! His reply was: ‘Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.’”
Then the Hospitaler, bending his eyes upon the pale-faced, widowed missioner, continued: “I’ll tell thee a tradition of our Lord’s mother. Doubting Thomas, laggard because doubting, came late to the burial-place of Mary. He begged to have her coffin69 opened, that once more he might gaze on the face of his Savior’s mother. It was done. But there seemed to be nothing in that coffin except lilies and roses, luxuriously70 blooming. Then, looking up, he saw the spirit of the woman ‘soaring heavenward in a glory of light.’ But as she soared, she threw down to him her girdle. Here is a beautiful parable71. The graves of the holy are to memory full of the ever-blooming roses of love and the lilies of purity. If we may not have them we loved with us always, we may have the virtues72 with which they engirdled themselves, for our conflicts.”
The Hospitaler paused, cast a glance of yearning tenderness upon the assembled women and the heart-stricken Cornelius; then exclaimed:
“Long partings are painful. Farewell!” He glided away ere any could clasp his hand. Not long after this event the Sheik of Jerusalem, Azrael’s putative73 son, raided Bethany, razing74 the “Temple of Allegory” to the earth. He was maddened because, after the disappearance75 of the Hospitaler, there came to him no stipend76 to[626] buy immunity77 for the “Bethesda House” of the “Sisters of Bethany.” He despoiled78 it, hoping to find a treasure therein, but though there was in and about the place a great wealth, it was all beyond his grasp or ken6, for he knew naught79 of the worth or power of precious truths and precious memories. Cornelius, after this, taking his infant son, soon departed from Syria. His dream of evangelizing the world and the great designs of Miriamne faded from his hopes, as the vision of universal empire has faded often from the hopes of dying conquerors80. For years he devoted81 himself to being father and mother to his child. At last we behold him, as in the foregoing pages, looking toward sunset. He stands finally in Bethany, his dismantled82 home and Miriamne’s ruined temple not far away, her tomb close at hand, himself like the fragment of a wreck83; altogether presenting a sad, dramatic tableau84. He stands there as the last of the new “Grail Knights,” the last of those who in his time were devoted to the new grail quest. It was Saturnalia-time, and it was night.
“Virgin and Mother of Our Dear Redeemer
...
If our Faith had given Us Nothing More
Than this Example of all Womanhood,
So Mild, so Strong, so Good,
So Patient, Peaceful, Loyal, Loving, Pure,
This Were Enough to Prove It Higher and Truer
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.
The End
The End
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1
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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betokened
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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Saturn
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| n.农神，土星 | |
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revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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guffaw
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| n.哄笑；突然的大笑 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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materialistic
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| a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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kindles
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的第三人称单数 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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turmoils
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| n.混乱( turmoil的名词复数 )；焦虑 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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31
revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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46
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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47
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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48
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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49
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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50
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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51
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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52
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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53
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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54
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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55
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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laggard
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| n.落后者；adj.缓慢的，落后的 | |
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58
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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59
congregate
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| v.(使)集合，聚集 | |
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60
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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garners
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| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的第三人称单数 ) | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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emulator
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| n.仿真器；仿真程序 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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incongruity
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| n.不协调，不一致 | |
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rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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parable
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| n.寓言，比喻 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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putative
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| adj.假定的 | |
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razing
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| v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的现在分词 ) | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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76
stipend
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| n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金 | |
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immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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80
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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81
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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82
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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83
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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84
tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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85
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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