Chapter 9

Lo! when the service was ended, a form appeared on the threshold, Clad in armor of steel, a sombre and sorrowful figure! Why does the bridegroom start and stare at the strange apparition? 945 Why does the bride turn pale, and hide her face on his shoulder? Is it a phantom of air,--a bodiless, spectral illusion? Is it a ghost from the grave, that has come to forbid the betrothal? Long had it stood there unseen, a guest uninvited, unwelcomed; Over its clouded eyes there had passed at times an expression 950 Softening the gloom and revealing the warm heart hidden beneath them, As when across the sky the driving rack[57] of the rain cloud Grows for a moment thin, and betrays the sun by its brightness. Once it had lifted its hand, and moved its lips, but was silent, As if an iron will had mastered the fleeting intention. 955 But when were ended the troth and the prayer and the last benediction, Into the room it strode, and the people beheld, with amazement Bodily there in his armor, Miles Standish, the Captain of Plymouth! Grasping the bridegroom's hand, he said with emotion, "Forgive me! I have been angry and hurt,--too long have I cherished the feeling; 960 I have been cruel and hard, but now, thank God! it is ended. Mine is the same hot blood that leaped in the veins of Hugh Standish, Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for error. Never so much as now was Miles Standish the friend of John Alden." Thereupon answered the bridegroom: "Let all be forgotten between us,-- 965 All save the dear old friendship, and that shall grow older and dearer!" Then the Captain advanced, and, bowing, saluted Priscilla, Gravely, and after the manner of old-fashioned gentry in England, Something of camp and of court, of town and of country, commingled, Wishing her joy of her wedding, and loudly lauding her husband. 970 Then he said with a smile: "I should have remembered the adage,-- If you would be well served, you must serve yourself; and moreover, No man can gather cherries in Kent at the season of Christmas!"[58] Great was the people's amazement, and greater yet their rejoicing, Thus to behold once more the sunburnt face of their Captain, 975 Whom they had mourned as dead, and they gathered and crowded about him, Eager to see him, and hear him, forgetful of bride and of bridegroom, Questioning, answering, laughing, and each interrupting the other, Till the good Captain declared, being quite overpowered and bewildered, He had rather by far break into an Indian encampment, 980 Than come again to a wedding to which he had not been invited.

Meanwhile the bridegroom went forth and stood with the bride at the doorway, Breathing the perfumed air of that warm and beautiful morning. Touched with autumnal tints, but lonely and sad in the sunshine, Lay extended before them the land of toil and privation; 985 There were the graves of the dead, and the barren waste of the sea-shore. There the familiar fields, the groves of pine, and the meadows; But to their eyes transfigured, it seemed as the Garden of Eden, Filled with the presence of God, whose voice was the sound of the ocean.

Soon was their vision disturbed by the noise and stir of departure, 990 Friends coming forth from the house, and impatient of longer delaying, Each with his plan for the day, and the work that was left uncompleted. Then from a stall near at hand, amid exclamations of wonder, Alden the thoughtful, the careful, so happy, so proud of Priscilla, Brought out his snow-white bull, obeying the hand of its master. 995 Led by a cord that was tied to an iron ring in its nostrils, Covered with crimson cloth, and a cushion placed for a saddle. She should not walk, he said, through the dust and heat of the noonday; Nay, she should ride like a queen, not plod along like a peasant. Somewhat alarmed at first, but reassured by the others, 1000 Placing her hand on the cushion, her foot in the hand of her husband, Gayly, with joyous laugh, Priscilla mounted her palfrey. "Nothing is wanting now," he said with a smile, "but the distaff; Then you would be in truth my queen, my beautiful Bertha!"

Onward the bridal procession now moved to their new habitation, 1005 Happy husband and wife, and friends conversing together. Pleasantly murmured the brook, as they crossed the ford in the forest, Pleased with the image that passed, like a dream of love through its bosom, Tremulous, floating in air, o'er the depths of the azure abysses. Down through the golden leaves the sun was pouring his splendors, 1010 Gleaming on purple grapes, that, from branches above them suspended, Mingled their odorous breath with the balm of the pine and the fir-tree. Wild and sweet as the clusters that grew in the valley of Eshcol.[59] Like a picture it seemed of the primitive, pastoral ages, Fresh with the youth of the world, and recalling Rebecca and Isaac,[60] 1015 Old and yet ever new, and simple and beautiful always, Love immortal and young in the endless succession of lovers. So through the Plymouth woods passed onward the bridal procession.

--Longfellow.

[1] Miles Standish was born about 1580, the son of a Lancashire gentleman of a large estate. He entered the army of Queen Elizabeth and served for some time in the Netherlands. There he met the congregation of English Puritans with their pastor, Robinson, and although he did not become a member of their Church, he sailed with them in the Mayflower in 1620. He was entrusted with the defence of the new colony, and held, besides, other offices of trust in the community. In 1830 he removed from Plymouth and settled in Duxbury, where he died in 1656.

[2] The Mayflower, in which the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America, reached Cape Cod in November, 1620. Some weeks were spent in exploring the coast, but finally, towards the end of December, the Mayflower anchored in Plymouth Harbour, and it was decided that they should make a landing and found a settlement there. The name of "Old Colony" was for a long time applied to the settlement about Plymouth.

[3] doublet. A close-fitting garment for men, covering the body from the neck to the waist.

[4] Cordovan leather. A goatskin leather, prepared in Cordova, Spain.

[5] Cutlass. A short curved sword used by sailors. corselet. Armour for the body; breastplate.

[6] Damascus. A city in Syria, famous for its steel blades.

[7] mystical. Obscure and mysterious in meaning.

[8] fowling-piece. A light gun used for shooting birds. matchlock. An old-fashioned gun, fired by means of a match. This "match" was generally made of twisted cord which would hold the flame.

[9] John Alden had been taken aboard the vessel at Southampton, as a cooper. He was free to return to England on the Mayflower, but decided to share the fortunes of the Puritans.

[10] A monk named Gregory, in the sixth century, seeing some fair-haired youths in the slave market at Rome, enquired as to their nationality. He was told that they were Angles. "Non Angli, sed Angeli," said Gregory. "They have the faces of Angels, not of Angles."

[11] Flanders, part of the Netherlands, in Europe.

[12] arcabucero. Literally, archer; here, musketeer,

[13] howitzer. A small cannon.

[14] The following is from an account of Plymouth Colony in 1627: "Upon the hill they have a large square house with a flat roof stayed with oak beams, upon the top of which they have six cannons, commanding the surrounding country. The lower part they use for their Church, where they preach on Sundays and the usual holidays. They assemble by beat of drum, each with his musket or firelock, in front of the Captain's door; they have their cloaks on and place themselves in order three abreast, and are led by a sergeant without beat of drum. Behind comes the Governor in a long robe; beside him on the right hand comes the preacher, and on the left hand the Captain, and so they march in good order, and each sets his arms down near him. Thus they are constantly on their guard night and day."

[15] sagamore. An Indian chief of the second rank; sachem, a chief of the first rank; pow-wow, a conjurer or medicine-man.

[16] Goldinge. A well-known translator of the Elizabethan age.

[17] The Mayflower set sail for England on April 5, 1621.

[18] Priscilla Mullins (or Molines) was the daughter of William Mullins, who died in the February following the landing of the Pilgrims.

[19]"In his journey, as he was crossing the Alps and passing by a small village of the barbarians with but few inhabitants, and those wretchedly poor, his companions asked the question among themselves by way of mockery if there were any canvassing for offices there; any contention which should be uppermost, or feuds of great men one against another. To which Caesar made answer seriously, 'For my part I had rather be the first man among these fellows, than the second man in Rome.'" Plutarch's _Life of Caesar_, A. H. Clough's translation.

[20] Genesis, ii, 18.

[21] illusion. An illusion is a misleading or deceptive appearance. The happiness that he had looked forward to was turning out to be false and unreal.

[22] Baal and Astaroth were the two chief divinities of the Phoenicians, male and female respectively. To worship Baal and Astaroth is to give oneself up to worldly desires and pleasures.

[23] The Mayflower, in England, is the hawthorn; in the New England States, the trailing arbutus.

[24] Ainsworth. A clergyman and scholar who was persecuted on account of his religious belief, and sought refuge in Holland.

[25] Luke, ix, 62.

[26] Terms used in heraldry.

[27] See Revelation, xxi and xxii. An apocalypse is a revelation, and the term is generally applied to the Book of Revelation.

[28] dulse. Coarse red seaweed, sometimes used as food.

[29] II Samuel, xii, 3.

[30] Districts of the Netherlands.

[31] hand-grenade. A ball or shell filled with explosives, and thrown by the hand.

[32] Wat Tyler. The leader of the peasant revolt in England in 1381.

[33] Elder William Brewster.

[34] See Acts ii, 1-4.

[35] Stephen Hopkins, Richard Warren, Gilbert Winslow.

[36] gunwale. The upper edge of a boat's side.

[37] thwarts. Seats, crossing from one side of the boat to the other.

[38] adamantine. That cannot be broken; hence _fate_ is "the wall adamantine."

[39] yards. The spars supporting the sails.

[40] Gurnet. A headland near Plymouth.

[41] The place where the Pilgrims had their first encounter with the Indians, December 8, 1620.

[42] See Genesis, i, 2.

[43] See Genesis, ii, 10-14.

[44] The account of the march of Miles Standish is based on the New England chronicles.

[45] See I Samuel, xvii, and Numbers, xxi.

[46] wampum. Beads made of shells, and used by the Indians both for money and for ornament.

[47] to chaffer for peltries. To trade in skins or furs.

[48] merestead. A bounded lot.

[49] brackish. saltish.

[50] The chief character in a German legend.

[51] Helvetia. Switzerland

[52] stall. A booth, or shop.

[53] distaff. The staff for holding the flax or wool from which the thread is spun.

[54] See Exodus xxviii, for the references in this description.

[55] laver. A brazen vessel in the court or a Jewish tabernacle, where the priests washed their hands and feet.

[56] Book of Ruth, chapter iv.

[57] rack. vapor.

[58] An English proverb.

[59] Eshcol. When Moses sent spies into the land of Canaan, "they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff."

[60] See Genesis, xxiv.

SOHRAB AND RUSTUM.

The story of Sohrab and Rustum is based on an episode related in the Shahnamah, or Book of Kings, by Firdusi, the epic poet of Persia. The chief hero of the Shahnamah is Rustum, the Hercules of Persian mythology. Rustum was the son of Zal, a renowned Persian warrior. When a mere child, he performed many wonderful deeds requiring great strength and valor. He became the champion of his people, restored the Persian king to his throne, and defeated Afrasiab, the great Turanian, or Tartar, leader, who had invaded Persia. During a hunting expedition in Turan, his renowned horse Ruksh was stolen from him, and in order to recover it, he was forced to call on the King of Samangam, a neighbouring city. The king welcomed him, and gave him his daughter Tahminah, in marriage. Before the birth of his child, however, Rustum was called back to Persia, but he left with Tahminah a charm, or amulet, by which he might be able to recognize his offspring. When Sohrab, the son, was born, the mother, fearing that Rustum would return and take him away from her to bring him up as a soldier, sent word that a daughter had been born to him. Rustum, accordingly, did not return to Samangam, but remained in ignorance of Sohrab. In the meantime, as Sohrab grew, up he became a great warrior, and having learned that the renowned Rustum was his father, he longed to meet him, that he might fight for him and help to make him king. At length the opportunity came. The army of Afrasiab, under the command of Peran-Wisa, invaded Persia once more, and Sohrab accompanied the host. The Persians prepared to meet the invaders, and the two armies met at the river Oxus, which formed the boundary between the two kingdoms. It is at this point that the story of _Sohrab and Rustum_ begins.

[_Sohrab wakes in the early morning, and passes through the sleeping army to the tent of old Peran-Wisa, his chief.]

And the first grey of morning fill'd the east, And the fog rose out of the Oxus[1] stream. But all the Tartar[2] camp along the stream Was hush'd, and still the men were plunged in sleep: Sohrab alone, he slept not: all night long 5 He had lain wakeful, tossing on his bed; But when the grey dawn stole into his tent, He rose, and clad himself, and girt his sword, And took his horseman's cloak, and left his tent, And went abroad into the cold wet fog, 10 Through the dim camp to Peran-Wisa's[3] tent.

Through the black Tartar tents he pass'd, which stood Clustering like bee-hives on the low flat strand Of Oxus, where the summer floods o'erflow When the sun melts the snows in high Pamere:[4] 15 Through the black tents he pass'd, o'er that low strand, And to a hillock came a little back From the stream's brink, the spot where first a boat, Crossing the stream in summer, scrapes the land. The men of former times had crown'd the top 20 With a clay fort: but that was fall'n; and now The Tartars built there Peran-Wisa's tent, A dome of laths, and o'er it felts were spread. And Sohrab came there, and went in, and stood Upon the thick-pil'd carpets in the tent, 25 And found the old man sleeping on his bed Of rugs and felts, and near him lay his arms. And Peran-Wisa heard him, though the step Was dull'd; for he slept light, an old man's sleep; And he rose quickly on one arm, and said:-- 30

[Peran-Wisa wakes and asks the reason of his coming. Sohrab proposes to settle the battle by a duel with a champion selected by the Persians. By this plan Rustum would hear of it, and father and son meet at last.]

"Who art thou? for it is not yet clear dawn. Speak! is there news, or any night alarm?"

But Sohrab came to the bedside and said:-- "Thou know'st me, Peran-Wisa: it is I. The sun is not yet risen, and the foe 35 Sleep; but I sleep not, all night long I lie Tossing and wakeful, and I come to thee. For so did King Afrasiab[5] bid me seek Thy counsel, and to heed thee as thy son, In Samarcand,[6] before the army march'd, 40 And I will tell thee what my heart desires. Thou knowest if, since from Ader-baijan[7] first I came among the Tartars, and bore arms, I have still serv'd Afrasiab well, and shown, At my boy's years, the courage of a man. 45 This too thou know'st, that, while I still bear on The conquering Tartar ensigns through the world, And beat the Persians back on every field, I seek one man, one man, and one alone. Rustum, my father; who, I hop'd should greet, 50 Should one day greet, upon some well-fought field His not unworthy, not inglorious son. So I long hop'd, but him I never find. Come then, hear now, and grant me what I ask, Let the two armies rest to-day: but I 55 Will challenge forth the bravest Persian lords To meet me, man to man: if I prevail, Rustum will surely hear it; if I fall-- Old man, the dead need no one, claim no kin. Dim is the rumour of a common fight, 60 Where host meets host, and many names are sunk: But of a single combat Fame speaks clear."

He spoke: and Peran-Wisa took the hand Of the young man in his, and sigh'd, and said:--

"O Sohrab, an unquiet heart is thine! 65 Canst thou not rest among the Tartar chiefs, And share the battle's common chance with us Who love thee, but must press forever first, In single fight incurring single risk, To find a father thou hast never seen? 70 Or, if indeed this one desire rules all, To seek out Rustum--seek him not through fight: Seek him in peace, and carry to his arms, O Sohrab, carry an unwounded son! But far hence seek him, for he is not here. 75 For now it is not as when I was young, When Rustum was in front of every fray: But now he keeps apart, and sits at home, In Seistan,[8] with Zal, his father old. Whether that his own mighty strength at last 80 Feels the abhorr'd approaches of old age; Or in some quarrel with the Persian King.[9] There go:--Thou wilt not? Yet my heart forebodes Danger or death awaits thee on this field. Fain would I know thee safe and well, though lost 85 To us: fain therefore send thee hence, in peace To seek thy father, not seek single fights In vain:--but who can keep the lion's cub From ravening? and who govern Rustum's son? Go: I will grant thee what thy heart desires." 90

[_Peran-Wisa fails to dissuade Sohrab. The sun rises, the fog clears, and the Tartar host gathers_.]

So said he, and dropp'd Sohrab's hand and left His bed, and the warm rugs whereon he lay, And o'er his chilly limbs his woollen coat He pass'd, and tied his sandals on his feet, And threw a white cloak round him, and he took 95 In his right hand a ruler's staff, no sword, And on his head he plac'd his sheep-skin cap, Black, glossy, curl'd the fleece of Kara-Kill;[10] And rais'd the curtain of his tent, and call'd His herald to his side, and went abroad. 100

The sun, by this, had risen, and clear'd the fog From the broad Oxus and the glittering sands: And from their tents the Tartar horsemen fil'd, Into the open plain; so Haman bade; Haman, who next to Peran-Wisa rul'd 105 The host, and still was in his lusty prime. From their black tents, long files of horse, they stream'd: As when, some grey November morn, the files, In marching order spread, of long-neck'd cranes, Stream over Casbin,[11] and the southern slopes 110 Of Elburz,[12] from the Aralian estuaries,[13] Or some frore[14] Caspian reed-bed, southward bound For the warm Persian sea-board: so they stream'd. The Tartars of the Oxus, the King's guard, First with black sheep-skin caps and with long spears; 115 Large men, large steeds, who from Bokhara[15] come And Khiva, and ferment the milk of mares.[16] Next the more temperate Toorkmuns of the south,[17] The Tukas, and the lances of Salore, And those from Attruck[18] and the Caspian sands; 120 Light men, and on light steeds, who only drink The acrid milk of camels, and their wells. And then a swarm of wandering horse, who came From far, and a more doubtful service[19] own'd; The Tartars of Ferghana, from the banks 125 Of the Jaxartes, men with scanty beards And close-set skull-caps; and those wilder hordes Who roam o'er Kipchak and the northern waste, Kalmuks and unkemp'd Kuzzaks,[20] tribes who stray Nearest the Pole, and wandering Kirghizzes, 130 Who come on shaggy ponies from Pamere. These all fil'd out from camp into the plain, And on the other side the Persians form'd: First a light cloud of horse, Tartars they seem'd, The Ilyats of Khorassan:[21] and behind, 135 The royal troops of Persia, horse and foot, Marshall'd battalions bright in burnish'd steel. But Peran-Wisa with his herald came Threading the Tartar squadrons to the front, And with his staff kept back the foremost ranks. 140 And when Ferood, who led the Persians, saw That Peran-Wisa kept the Tartars back, He took his spear, and to the front he came, And check'd his ranks, and fix'd them where they stood. And the old Tartar came upon the sand 145 Betwixt the silent hosts, and spake, and said:--

[_Peran-Wisa calls on the Persians to find a champion, and Gudurz agrees to do so_.]

"Ferood, and ye, Persians and Tartars, hear! Let there be truce between the hosts to-day. But choose a champion from the Persian lords To fight our champion Sohrab, man to man." 150

As, in the country, on a morn in June, When the dew glistens on the pearled ears, A shiver runs through the deep corn for Joy--- So, when they heard what Peran-Wisa said, A thrill through all the Tartar squadrons ran 155 Of pride and hope for Sohrab, whom they lov'd.

But as a troop of pedlars, from Cabool,[22] Cross underneath the Indian Caucasus, That vast sky-neighbouring mountain of milk snow; Winding so high, that, as they mount, they pass 160 Long flocks of travelling birds dead on the snow, Chok'd by the air, and scarce can they themselves Slake their parch'd throats with sugar'd mulberries-- In single file they move, and stop their breath, For fear they should dislodge the o'erhanging snows-- 165 So the pale Persians held their breath with fear.

And to Ferood his brother chiefs came up To counsel: Gudurz and Zoarrah came, And Feraburz, who rul'd the Persian host Second, and was the uncle of the king: 170 These came and counsell'd; and then Gudarz said:--

"Ferood, shame bids us take their challenge up, Yet champion have we none to match this youth. He has the wild stag's foot, the lion's heart. But Rustum came last night; aloof he sits 175 And sullen, and has pitch'd his tents apart: Him will I seek, and carry to his ear The Tartar challenge, and this young man's name Haply he will forget his wrath, and fight. Stand forth the while, and take their challenge up." 180

So spake he; and Ferood stood forth and said:-- "Old man, be it agreed as thou hast said. Let Sohrab arm, and we will find a man."

[_Gudurz calls on Rustum in his tent. "Help us, Rustum, or we lose_."]