PART VII ANGEL Now let the golden prison ope its gates, SOULS IN PURGATORY 1. Lord, Thou hast been our refuge: in every generation; 2. Before the hills were born, and the world was: from age to age thou art God. 3. Bring us not, Lord, very low: for Thou hast said, Come back again, ye sons of Adam. 4. A thousand years before Thine eyes are but as yesterday: and as a watch of the night which is come and gone. 5. The grass springs up in the morning: at eveningtide it shrivels up and dies. 6. So we fail in Thine anger: and in Thy wrath we are troubled. 7. Thou hast set our sins in Thy sight: and our round of days in the light of Thy countenance. 8. Come back, O Lord! how long: and be entreated for Thy servants. 9. In Thy morning we shall be filled with Thy mercy: we shall rejoice and be in pleasure all our days. 10. We shall be glad according to the days of our humiliation: and the years in which we have seen evil. 11. Look, O Lord, upon Thy servants and on Thy work; and direct their children. 12. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and the work of our hands, establish Thou it. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. ANGEL Softly and gently, dearly-ransomed soul, I poise thee, and I lower thee, and hold thee. And thou, without a sob or a resistance, Dost through the flood thy rapid passage take, Sinking deep, deeper, into the dim distance. Angels, to whom the willing task is given, Shall tend, and nurse, and lull thee, as thou liest; And Masses on the earth, and prayers in heaven, Shall aid thee at the Throne of the Most Highest. Farewell, but not for ever! brother dear, Be brave and patient on thy bed of sorrow; Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial here, And I will come and wake thee on the morrow. CII THE ARCHERY CONTEST SIR WALTER SCOTT SIR WALTER SCOTT SIR WALTER SCOTT (17711832) was born in Edinburgh. As a boy he took keen interest in border ballads. His first publication (1802) was "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border." In 1805 appeared his first work of note, "The Lay of the Last Minstrel." Then followed for several years a rapid succession of poems, among them "Marmion and "The Lady of the Lake." In 1814 Waverley," a novel, appeared anonymously and had immediate success. During the next ten years other novels followed at the rate of a volume and a half a year, among them "Guy Mannering," "Rob Roy" and "Ivanhoe." " The sound of the trumpets soon recalled those spectators who had already begun to leave the field; and proclamation was made that Prince John, unwilling so many good yeomen should depart without a trial of skill, was pleased to appoint them, before leaving the ground, to execute the competition of archery intended for the morrow. To the best archer a prize was to be awarded, being a bugle horn, mounted with silver, and a silken baldric richly ornamented with a medallion of St. Hubert, the patron of sylvan sport. More than thirty yeomen at first presented themselves as competitors, several of whom were rangers and under-keepers in the royal forests of Needwood and Charnwood. When, however, the archers understood with whom they were to be matched, upwards of twenty withdrew themselves from the contest, unwilling to encounter the dishonor of almost certain defeat. For in those days the skill of each celebrated marksman was well known for many miles round. The diminished list of competitors for sylvan fame still amounted to eight. Prince John stepped from his royal seat to view more nearly the persons of these chosen yeomen, several of whom wore the royal livery. Having satisfied his curiosity by this investigation, he looked for the object of his resentment, whom he observed standing on the same spot, and with the same composed countenance which he had exhibited upon the preceding day. 66 Fellow," said Prince John, "I guessed by thy insolent babble thou wert no true lover of the long-bow, and I see thou darest not adventure thy skill among such merry-men as stand yonder." "Under favor, sir," replied the yeoman, "I have another reason for refraining to shoot, besides the fearing discomfiture and disgrace." "And what is thy other reason?" said Prince John, who for some cause, which perhaps he could not himself have explained, felt a painful curiosity respecting this individual. 66 Because," replied the woodsman, 66 "I know not if these yeomen and I are used to shoot at the same marks; and besides, moreover, I know not how your Grace might relish the winning of a third prize by one who has unwittingly fallen under your displeasure." Prince John colored as he put the question, is thy name, yeoman?" 66 66 Locksley," answered the yeoman. "What Then, Locksley," said Prince John, "thou shalt shoot in thy turn, when these yeomen have displayed their skill. If thou carriest the prize, I will add to it twenty nobles; but if thou losest it, thou shalt be stript of thy Lincoln green, and scourged out of the lists with bowstrings, for wordy and insolent braggart." "And how if I refuse to shoot on such a wager?" said the yeoman. "Your Grace's power, supported as it is by so many men-at-arms, may indeed easily strip and scourge me, but cannot compel me to bend or to draw my bow." "If thou refusest my fair proffer," said the Prince, "the Provost of the lists shall cut thy bowstring, break thy bow and arrows, and expel thee from the presence as a faint-hearted craven." "This is no fair chance to put on me, proud Prince," Locksley: Robin Hood. Lincoln green: a color produced in Lincoln, England; garment of this color worn by woodsmen. |