The Visions of the Sleeping Bard
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Ellis Wynne >> The Visions of the Sleeping Bard
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Upon that we turned our faces from the great City of Destruction and
ascended towards the other city, which was considerably less; and on our
way we met several at the upper end of the streets who had made a move as
of turning away from the temptations of the gates of Destruction, and
making for the gate of life. But they either failed to find it or grew
weary on the way; very few went through--one man of rueful countenance,
ran in earnest while crowds on all sides derided him, some mocking, {28b}
some threatening him, and his kindred clinging to him, begging him not to
condemn himself to lose the whole world at one stroke. "I lose but a
small portion of it, and were I to lose all, what loss, I pray you, would
it be? For what is there in the world to be desired, unless it be
deceit, oppression and squalor, wickedness, folly and madness?
Contentment and rest is man's supreme happiness--this is not to be found
in your city. For who of you is content? {29a} 'Higher, higher,' is the
aim of all in the Street of Pride, 'More, more' cry all that dwell in the
Street of Lucre, 'Sweet, sweet, yet more' is the voice of everybody in
the Street of Pleasure. And as for rest, where is it, and who hath
obtained it? If a man is of high degree, adulation and envy almost kill
him; if poor, everybody is ready to trample and despise him. If one
would prosper, he must set his mind upon being an intriguer; if one would
gain respect, let him be a boaster or braggart; if one would be godly,
and attend church and approach the altar, he is dubbed a hypocrite, if he
abstain from doing so, he becomes at once an antichrist or a heretic; if
he is light-hearted, he is called a scoffer, if silent, a morose cur; if
he practises honesty, he is but a good-for-nothing fool; if well dressed,
he is proud, if not, he is a pig; if gentle of speech, he is double-faced
and a rogue, whom none can fathom; if rough, he is an arrogant and
froward devil. This is the world you make so much of, and pray you take
my share of it and welcome," and at the word he shook himself free of
them all, and away he sped boldly to the narrow gate, and spite of all,
pushing onwards he entered, and we too at his heels. Upon the
battlements on either side of the gate were many men dressed in black,
encouraging the man and applauding him. "Who are those in black up
yonder?" I asked. "They are the watchmen of King Emmanuel," answered he,
"who in their sovereign's name invite men hither and help them through
the gate."
By this we were at the gate: it was very low and narrow, and mean,
compared with the lower gates; around the door the Ten Commandments were
graven--the first table on the right hand and above it, "Thou shalt love
God with all thy heart," and above the other table on the left, "Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," and above the whole "Love not the
world neither the things that are in the world." I had not been looking
on long before the watchmen began calling in a loud voice upon the
condemned men: "Flee, flee for your lives!" But it was few that gave
any heed at all to them, though some enquired, "What are we to flee
from?" "From the prince of this world, who ruleth in the children of
disobedience; from the corruption that is in the world through the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; from the
wrath that is coming upon you." "What is your beloved city? " cried a
watchman, "but a huge charred roof over the mouth of hell, and were ye
here ye should see the conflagration beyond your walls ready to burst in
and consume you even unto the bottomless pit." Some mocked, others,
menacing, bade them have done with their wicked nonsense; yet one here
and there would ask, "Whither shall we flee?" "Hither," answered the
watchmen, "flee hither to your rightful king, who through us still offers
you reconciliation, if ye return to your allegiance, and leave that rebel
Belial and his bewitching daughters. However fair they appear, it is all
sham; Belial is but a very poor prince at home; he has nought but you as
faggots for the fire and for food, both roast and boiled, and never will
ye suffice him; never will his hunger be appeased or your pain cease.
Who would ever in a moment of madness enter the service of such a
malignant slaughterer, and suffer eternal torments, when he might live
well under a king who is merciful and kind to his subjects, and who hath
never done them aught but good on all sides, and kept them from Belial,
so that in the end he might give to each one a kingdom in the realm of
light. Oh, ye fools, will ye have that terrible foe, whose lips are
parched with thirst for your blood, and reject the compassionate prince
who hath given his own blood to save you?" Yet these reasons which would
melt the rock seemed to have no good effect upon them, and chiefly
because few had the time to listen to them, the others were too intently
gazing at the gates; and of those listening, very few reflected thereon,
and of these again, many soon forgot them; some would not believe they
served Belial, others would not have it that this untrodden little hole
was the gate of Life, and that the other bright portals, and this castle,
were a delusion to prevent them seeing their doom before coming face to
face with it.
Just then, behold a troop of people from the Street of Pride, knocking
boldly enough at the gate; but they were all so stiff-necked that they
could never enter a place so low without soiling their periwigs and
horns, so they sulkily retraced their steps. In their wake there came up
a group from the Street of Lucre: "And is this the Gate of Life?" asked
one; "Yea," said the watchman overhead. "What must be done to enter?" he
enquired. "Read what is inscribed above the doorway and ye shall know."
The miser read the Ten Commandments through: "Who will say that I have
broken one of these?" he exclaimed. But when he looked up, and saw the
words, "Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world," he was
amazed, and could not swallow that hard saying. There was one, green-
eyed and envious, who turned back when he read: "Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself." There was a gossip and a slanderer who became
dazed on reading: "Thou shalt not bear false witness." When he read,
"Thou shalt not kill," "This is not the place for me" quoth the
physician. In short, everybody saw something which troubled him, and so
they all returned together to consider the matter. I saw no one yet come
back who had conned his lesson; they had so many bags and scripts tightly
bound to them, that they could never have got through such a narrow
needle's eye, even if they had tried to. After that a drove from the
Street of Pleasure walked up to the gate. "Where, pray, does this road
lead to?" asked one of the watchmen. "This," answered he, "is the way
that leads to eternal joy and happiness." Whereupon all strove to enter,
but failed, for some were too stout to pass through such a strait
opening; others too weak to struggle, being enfeebled through debauchery.
"Oh, ye must not attempt to take your baubles with you," said the
watchman, observing them; "ye must leave behind your pots and dishes,
your minions, and all other things, and then hasten on." "How shall we
live?" asked the fiddler, who would have been through long since but that
he feared to smash his fiddle. "Ye must trust the king's promise to send
after you as many of these things as will do you good," said the
watchman. This made them all prick their ears, "Oh, oh!" said one, "a
bird in hand is worth two in the bush," and at that they with one accord
turned back.
"Let us enter then," said the Angel, and drew me in; and there in the
porch I first of all perceived a large baptismal font, and hard by, a
well of salt water. "What is this doing in the middle of the road?" I
asked. "Because everybody must wash therein before obtaining citizenship
in the Court of Emmanuel; it is called the well of repentance." Overhead
I could see inscribed "This is the gate of the Lord." The gateway, and
street also, widened and became less steep as we went on, and after
proceeding a short distance I heard a voice behind me slowly saying,
"That is the way, walk ye in it." The street trended upwards, but was
very clean and straight, and though the houses there were not so lofty as
those in the City of Destruction, they were fairer to behold; if there
was less wealth, there was also less dissension and care; if the choice
dishes were fewer, pain was more rare; if there was less turmoil, there
was less grief and more undoubtedly of true joy. I wondered at the
silence and sweet tranquility there, when thinking of what was going on
below. Instead of the cursing and swearing, the scoffing, debauchery and
drunkenness, instead of the pride and vanity, the torpitude of one
quarter and the violence of another, yea, for all the bustle and the
pomp, the hurly-burly and the brawl which there unceasingly bewildered
men, and for the innumerable and unvarying sins, there was nothing to be
seen here but sobriety, kindness and cheerfulness, peace and
thankfulness, compassion, innocence and contentment stamped upon the face
of every man, except where one or two silently wept, grieving that they
had tarried so long in the enemy's city. There was no hatred or anger,
except towards sin, and this was certain to be overcome; no fear, but of
displeasing their king, who was more ready to be reconciled than to be
angry with his subjects; no sound, but that of psalms of praise to their
Saviour. By this we had come in sight of an exceedingly fine building,
oh, so magnificent! No one in the City of Destruction, neither the Turk
nor the Mogul nor any one else, has anything equal to it. "This is the
Catholic Church," said the Angel. "Is it here Emmanuel holds his court?"
asked I. "Yes, this is the only royal court he has on earth." "Are
there many crowned heads beneath his sway?" "A few--thy queen, some of
the princes of Scandinavia and Germany, and a few other petty princes."
"What is that compared with those over whom great Belial rules--emperors
and kings without number?" "For all that," said the Angel, "not one of
them can move a finger without Emmanuel's permission--no, not even Belial
himself. For Emmanuel is his rightful liege too, only that he rebelled,
and was in consequence bound in chains to all eternity; although he is
still allowed for a short period to visit the City of Destruction where
he entices all he can into like rebellion, and to bear a share of his
punishment; and though he well knows that by so doing he increases his
own penalty, {34a} yet malice and envy urge him on whenever he has a
pretext, and so much does he love evil that he seeks to destroy this city
and this edifice, although he knows of yore that its Saviour is
invincible."
"Prithee, my lord," said I, "may we approach so as to obtain a better
view of this magnificent royal court (for my heart waxed warm towards the
place since first I had beheld it). "Oh yes, easily," answered the
Angel, "for therein is my place, my duty and my work." The nearer I came
thereto the more I wondered at the height, strength, splendour, grandeur,
and beauty of its every part, how skilful the work was, and how apt the
materials. Its base was an enormous rock wondrously fashioned, and of
strength impregnable; upon it were living stones, laid and joined in such
perfect order that no stone could possibly appear finer elsewhere than in
its own place. One part of the church projected in the form of a
wonderfully handsome cross, and the Angel saw me looking at it, and said,
"Dost thou recognise that part?" I knew not what to answer. "That is
the Church of England," he said. I was somewhat startled, and looking up
beheld Queen Anne on the church-top enthroned, with a sword in each hand-
-the one in the left called "Justice," to defend her subjects against the
inhabitants of the City of Destruction, the one in the right, to preserve
them from Belial and his spiritual evils, and this was called "the sword
of the Spirit," or the Word of God. Beneath the left sword lay the
statute book of England, and beneath the other, a big Bible. The sword
of the Spirit was fiery, and of immense length, and would kill further
away than the other would touch. I could see the other princes with like
arms defending their part of the church, but I deemed mine own queen
fairest of all, and her arms the brightest. At her right hand I observed
throngs clad in black--archbishops, bishops, and learned men upholding
with her the sword of the Spirit, while soldiers and officials, with a
few lawyers, supported the other sword. I was allowed to rest awhile, by
one of the magnificent doors where people came in to obtain membership in
the Universal Church, and whereat a tall angel was doorkeeper. The
interior of the church was lit up so brilliantly that Hypocrisy dared not
show her face therein, and though sometimes she appeared at the threshold
she never entered. Just as I saw, in the space of a quarter of an hour,
a Papist, who thought that the Catholic Church belonged to the Pope, came
and claimed its freedom. "What have you to prove your right?" demanded
the porter. "I have plenty of the traditions of the fathers, and of
councils of the church," he answered, "but what need I more certain than
the word of the Pope, who sits in the infallible chair?" Then the
doorkeeper opened a huge Bible--a load in itself; "This," said he, "is
our only statute book--prove your right from this or go." And he
straightway departed.
Then came a flock of Quakers, who wished to enter with their hats on, but
were turned away for being so ill-mannered. After them some of the barn-
folk, who had been there only a short while, began to speak: "We have
the same statute book as ye have," they averred, "and therefore show us
our privileged place." "Stay," said the bright porter, steadfastly
gazing on their foreheads, "I will show you something: see yon mark of
the rent ye made in the church when leaving it without cause or reason?
And would ye now have a place therein? Get ye back to the narrow gate,
and wash thoroughly in the well of repentance, to see if ye will reach
some of the royal blood ye erstwhile drank {36a} and bring some of the
water of that well to moisten the clay, so as to make up yonder rent and
then ye are welcome."
Before we had gone a rood westward I heard a noise coming from above,
from among the princes, and everybody, great and small, was taking up
arms and donning his armour as if for war, and ere I had time to cast
about me for a refuge, the whole sky became black, and the city darker
than when an eclipse befalls; the thunder roared, the lightning flashed
to and fro, and ceaseless showers of deadly shafts were directed from the
lower gates against the Catholic Church, and had there not been in each
man's hand a shield to receive the fiery darts, and had the foundation
rock not been so strong that nothing could ever harm it, we all would
have become one burning mass. But alack, this was but a prologue or
foretaste of what was to follow; for suddenly the darkness became
sevenfold more intense, and Belial himself advanced in the densest cloud,
and around him his chief officers both earthly and infernal, ready to
receive and accomplish his behest at their several posts. He had
entrusted the Pope and his other son of France {37a} with the destruction
of the Church of England and its queen; the Turks and Muscovites were to
strike at the other sections of the Church, and slay the people, and
especially the queen and the other princes, and above all to burn the
Bible. The first thing the queen and the other saints did was to bend
the knee and tell of their wrongs to the King of Kings in these words:
"The stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, oh
Emmanuel." And immediately a voice replied: "Resist the devil and he
will flee from you." And then commenced the greatest and most terrible
conflict that ever took place on earth. When the sword of the Spirit
began to be whirled round, Belial and his infernal hosts began to
retreat; then the Pope began to waver, while the King of France still
held out, though he too was almost giving up heart, seeing the queen and
her subjects so united, while he himself was losing ships and men on the
one hand, and on the other many of his subjects were in open revolt; and
the onslaught of the Turk also was becoming less fierce. Just then,
woe's me, I saw my beloved companion shooting away from me into the
welkin to join a myriad other bright princes. Thereupon the Pope and the
other earthly commanders began to slink off and become prostrate through
fear, and the infernal princes to fall by the thousands. The noise of
each one falling seemed to me as if a great mountain fell into the depths
of the sea, and between this noise and the agitation on losing my friend,
I awoke from sleep, and returned to this oppressive sod, most
unwillingly, so pleasant and enjoyable it was to be a free spirit, and
above all to be in such company, notwithstanding the great danger I was
in. Now I had no one to comfort me save the Muse, and she was rather
moody--scarcely could I get her to bray out these lines that follow:-
Behold this wondrous edifice,
Both heaven and earth comprising,
The universe and all that is
At God's command arising -
This world, with ramparts wide from pole to pole,
Down from its starry, brilliant dome,
E'en to the depths where angry billows roll,
And beasts that through the forest roam -
All things that sea and sky afford,
Thy faithful subjects eke to be;
A lesser heaven, a home for thee
Oh! man, creation's lord.
But once that thou desired to know
The ways of sin, seductive,
The hellish tempter, to our woe,
Became a power destructive;
He cursed our earth and ruin brought on all,
Yea, very nature felt the bane -
Its blighted walls now totter to their fall,
And soon disorder rules again.
This earthly palace then at last,
Unroofed, dismantled and decayed,
A hideous, barren waste is laid
By desolation's blast.
Behold oh, man! this glorious place
In the empyrean hovering
While all is but a treach'rous face
Foul swamps and quagmires covering.
Thy sin, that whelmed this earth in days of yore,
Shall draw upon it quenchless fire
With flaming torrents wildly rushing o'er -
A prey to conflagration dire;
If thou wouldst 'scape this dreadful fate,
I pray thee counsel take from me,
To Mercy's city straightway flee
For life within its gate.
Behold that city's peerless might
Withstanding all oppression -
Then flee thereto in thy sad plight,
Be free from sin's possession.
Behold thy refuge in this dreary land
Where all may find true, peaceful rest,
A rock, impregnable on every hand,
Where perfect love reigns ever blest;
We sinful men, the way must search,
And there in faith for pardon pray,
And live a blissful, tranquil day
Within the Holy Church.
II.--THE VISION OF DEATH IN HIS NETHERMOST COURT
One long, cold, and dark winter's night, when one-eye'd Phoebus well nigh
had reached his utmost limit in the south and, from afar, lowered upon
Great Britain and all the Northern land, and when it was much warmer in
the kitchen of Glyn Cywarch {43a} than at the top of Cader Idris, and
better in a cosy room with a warm bedfellow than in a shroud in the
lychgate, I was meditating upon a talk I had had by the fireside with a
neighbour concerning the brevity of human life, and how certain it was
that death would come to all, and yet how uncertain its coming. Thus
engaged, I had just lain down, and was half-asleep, when I felt a heavy
weight stealthily creeping over me, from head to heel, so that I could
not move a finger--my tongue only was unbound. I perceived, methought, a
man upon my chest, and above him, a woman. After eyeing him carefully I
recognised by his strong odours, dewy locks and blear eyes, that the man
was no other than my good Master Sleep. "I pray you, sir," cried I,
squeaking, "what have I done to you that you bring that witch here to
torment me?" "Hush," said he, "it is only my sister Nightmare; we twain
are going to pay our brother Death {43b} a visit, and want a third to
accompany us, and lest thou shouldst resist we came upon thee, just as he
does, unawares. Consequently come thou must, willy-nilly." "Alas," I
cried, "must I die?" "Nay," said Nightmare, "we will spare thee this
time." "But an't please you," said I, "your brother Death has never
spared anyone yet who came beneath his stroke--he who wrestled with the
Lord of Life himself, though it was little he gained by that contest."
Nightmare, at that word, rose up angrily and departed. "Come along,"
cried Sleep, "thou wilt never repent of thy journey." "Well," said I,
"may there never be night in Sleepton, and may Nightmare never have rest
save on an awl's point if ye bring me not back where ye found me."
Then away we went over hills and through forests, across seas and
valleys, over castles and towers, rivers and rocks, and where should we
alight but at one of the gates of the daughters of Belial, at the rear of
the City of Destruction, where I noticed that the three gateways of
Destruction contracted into one at the back, and opened upon the same
place--a murky, vaporous, pestilent place, full of noisome mists, and
terrible lowering clouds. "Prithee, good sir," asked I, "what place be
this?" "The chambers of Death," replied Sleep. And no sooner had I
asked than I could hear some wailing, groaning, and sighing; some
deliriously muttering to themselves or feebly moaning, others in great
travail, and with all the signs of man's departure from life; and, now
and then, would one give a long-drawn gasp, and lapse into silence. At
that moment, I heard a key being turned in a lock, and at the noise I
looked around for the door, and gazing steadfastly, perceived thousands
upon thousands of doors, seemingly afar off but really close at hand.
"Please, Master Sleep, where do these doors open upon?" asked I. "Upon
the land of Oblivion," was the answer, "an extensive domain {44a} under
the sceptre of my brother Death, and this great rampart is the boundary
of vast Eternity." By this I could see that there was a little death-imp
at every door, each one bearing arms, and a name different from that of
his fellows; though it was evident that they, one and all, were the
ministers of the same king. Nevertheless they were continually
quarrelling about the sick; one would snatch the patient to take him as a
gift through his own door, while another strove to take him through his.
On our approach, I observed that over each door the name of the Death who
kept it was written, and also that at each door were an hundred various
things left all of a heap, showing plainly that those who went through
were in haste. Over one door I saw "Hunger," and yet on the floor close
by were full purses, and bags, and brass-nailed trunks. "This is the
Porch of Misers," said Sleep. "Whom do those rags belong to?" "To the
misers, mostly," he replied, "but there are some which belong to idlers,
gossipmongers and others, who, poor in everything except in spirit,
preferred to die of hunger rather than ask for help." Next door was
Death-by-Cold, and when I came opposite him I could hear much shuddering
and shivering, and at his door, were many books, pots and flagons, a few
sticks and bludgeons, compasses, cords and ship's tackle. "Scholars have
gone this way," said I. "Yea, lonely and helpless, far from the succour
of those who loved them, their very garments stolen from them. Those,"
he continued, pointing to the pots, "are relics of the boon companions,
whose feet were benumbed under the benches, while their heads were
seething in drink and noise; those things over there belonged to those
who journeyed amid snow-clad mountains, and to North Sea traders." The
next was a lanky skeleton called Fear-Death--so transparent you could see
he had no heart; at his door, too, there were bags and chests, bars and
strongholds. Through this one went userers and traitors, oppressors and
murderers, though many of these last called at the next door, at which
was a Death named Gallows, with a rope ready round his neck. Next to him
was Love-Death, and at his feet thousands of musical instruments and
song-books, love-letters, spots and pigments to beautify the face, and
hundreds of tinselled toys for the same purpose, together with a few
swords: "With these rivals have fought duels for their mistresses, and
some have killed themselves," said Sleep. I could see that this Death
was sandblind. At the next door was a Death whose colour was worst of
all, and whose liver was entirely gone--his name was Envy. "This is the
Death," said Sleep, "which brings hither those who have lost money,
slanderers, and a rideress or two, who are jealous of the law which
demands that a wife should submit herself unto her husband." "Pray, sir,
what is a rideress?" "A rideress is a woman who will over-ride her
husband, her neighbourhood, and the whole country if she can, and by dint
of long riding, at last, rides a devil from that door down to the
bottomless pit." Next was the door of Ambition-Death for those who hold
their heads high, and break their necks, for want of looking on the
ground they tread on; at this door lay crowns, sceptres, standards,
petitions for offices, and all manner of arms of heraldry and war.
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