ForasIliehere,hoursofthedeadnight,Dyinginstateandbysuchslowdegrees,Ifoldmyarmsasiftheyclaspedacrook,Andstretchmyfeetforthstraightasstonecanpoint,Andletthebedclothes,foramortcloth,dropIntogreatlapsandfoldsofsculptor’swork:[90]
Andasyontapersdwindle,andstrangethoughtsGrow,withacertainhumminginmyears,AboutthelifebeforeIlivedthislife,Andthislifetoo,popes,cardinals,andpriests,SaintPraxedathissermononthemount,Yourtallpalemotherwithhertalkingeyes,Andnew-foundagateurnsasfreshasday,Andmarble’slanguage,Latinpure,discreet,——Aha,ELUCESCEBATquothourfriend?
NoTully,saidI,Ulpianatthebest![100]
Evilandbriefhathbeenmypilgrimage。
Alllapis,all,sons!ElseIgivethePopeMyvillas!Willyeevereatmyheart?
Everyoureyeswereasalizard’squick,Theyglitterlikeyourmother’sformysoul,Oryewouldheightenmyimpoverishedfrieze,Pieceoutitsstarveddesign,andfillmyvaseWithgrapes,andaddavisorandaTerm,AndtothetripodyewouldtiealynxThatinhisstrugglethrowsthethyrsusdown,[110]
TocomfortmeonmyentablatureWhereonIamtolietillImustask”DoIlive,amIdead?”There,leaveme,there!
ForyehavestabbedmewithingratitudeTodeath:yewishit——God,yewishit!Stone——
Gritstone,a-crumble!ClammysquareswhichsweatAsifthecorpsetheykeepwereoozingthrough——
Andnomorelapistodelighttheworld!
Wellgo!Iblessye。Fewertapersthere,Butinarow:and,going,turnyourbacks[120]——
Ay,likedepartingaltar-ministrants,Andleavemeinmychurch,thechurchforpeace,ThatImaywatchatleisureifheleers——
OldGandolf,atme,fromhisonion-stone,Asstillheenviedme,sofairshewas!——
1。Vanity,saiththepreacher,vanity!:”TheBishoponhisdeath-bedhasreachedSolomon’sconclusionthat`allisvanity’。Soheproceedstospecifyhisparticularvanityinthechoiceofatombstone。”——
N。Brit。Rev。34,p。367。”In`ThePalaceofArt’,Mr。Tennysonhasshownthedespairandisolationofasoulsurroundedbyallluxuriesofbeauty,andlivinginandforthem;butintheendthesoulisredeemedandconvertedtothesimplehumanitiesofearth。
Mr。Browninghasshownthatsuchasenseofisolationandsuchdespairarebynomeansinevitable;thereisadeathinlifewhichconsistsintranquilsatisfaction,acalmprideinthesoul’sdwellingamongtheworld’sgatheredtreasuresofstatelinessandbeauty……
SotheunbelievingandworldlyspiritofthedyingBishop,whoordershistombatSaintPraxed’s,hissenseofthevanityoftheworldsimplybecausetheworldispassingoutofhisreach,theregretfulmemoryofthepleasuresofhisyouth,theenviousspitetowardsGandolf,whorobbedhimofthebestpositionforatomb,andthedreadlesthisreputedsonsshouldplayhimfalseandfailtocarryouthisdesigns,areunitedwithaperfectappreciationofRenaissanceart,andaluxurioussatisfaction,whichevenadeath-bedcannotdestroy,inthesplendorofvoluptuousformandcolor。”——
EdwardDowden。
46。Frascati:atownofcentralItaly,nearthesiteoftheancientTusculum,tenortwelvemilesS。E。ofRome;
ithasmanyfineoldvillas。
53。DidIsay,basaltformyslab,sons?:Notehowallthingselse,evensuchreflectionsasareexpressedinthetwoprecedingverses,areincidentalwiththeBishop;hispoor,art-besottedmindturnsabruptlytotheblackbasaltwhichhecravesfortheslabofhistomb;
andseevv。101,102。
66。travertine:seenotetov。67of`PictorIgnotus’。
71。pistachio-nut:or,greenalmond。
79。Ulpian:DomitiusUlpianus,oneofthegreatestofRomanjurists,andchiefadviseroftheemperor,AlexanderSeverus;bornabout170,died228;belongstotheBrazenageofRomanliterature。
95。SaintPraxedathissermononthemount:thepoordyingBishop,inthedisorderofhismind,makesa`lapsuslinguae’here;seev。59。
99。elucescebat:”hewasbeginningtoshineforth”;alateLatinwordnotfoundintheCiceronianvocabulary,andthereforecondemnedbytheBishop;thiswordis,perhaps,whatismeantbythe”gaudyware”
inthesecondlineofGandolf’sepitaph,referredtoinv。78。
AToccataofGaluppi’s。
1。
OhGaluppi,Baldassaro,thisisverysadtofind!
Icanhardlymisconceiveyou;itwouldprovemedeafandblind;
But,althoughItakeyourmeaning,’tiswithsuchaheavymind!——
St。1。Galuppi,BaldassaroratherBaldassare:b。1703,inBurano,anislandnearVenice,andthencecalledBuranello;d。1785;
adistinguishedcomposer,whoseoperas,aboutfiftyinnumber,andmostlycomic,wereatonetimethemostpopularinItaly;
GaluppiisregardedasthefatheroftheItaliancomicopera。
2。
Hereyoucomewithyouroldmusic,andhere’sallthegooditbrings。
What,theylivedoncethusatVenicewherethemerchantswerethekings,WhereSaintMark’sis,wheretheDogesusedtowedtheseawithrings?——
St。2。SaintMark’s:seeRuskin’sdescriptionofthisgloriousbasilica,in`TheStonesofVenice’。
3。
Ay,becausethesea’sthestreetthere;and’tisarchedby……
whatyoucall……Shylock’sbridgewithhousesonit,wheretheykeptthecarnival:
IwasneveroutofEngland——it’sasifIsawitall。
4。
DidyoungpeopletaketheirpleasurewhentheseawaswarminMay?
Ballsandmasksbegunatmidnight,burningevertomid-day,Whentheymadeupfreshadventuresforthemorrow,doyousay?
5。
Wasaladysuchalady,cheekssoroundandlipssored,——
Onherneckthesmallfacebuoyant,likeabell-floweronitsbed,O’erthebreast’ssuperbabundancewhereamanmightbasehishead?
6。
Well,anditwasgracefulofthem:they’dbreaktalkoffandafford——She,tobitehermask’sblackvelvet,he,tofingeronhissword,WhileyousatandplayedToccatas,statelyattheclavichord?——
St。6。Toccatas:theToccatawasaformofmusicalcompositionfortheorganorharpsichord,somewhatinthefreeandbrilliantstyleofthemodernfantasiaorcapriccio;
clavichord:”akeyedstringedinstrument,nowsupersededbythepianoforte{nowcalledapiano}。”——Webster。
7。
What?Thoselesserthirdssoplaintive,sixthsdiminished,sighonsigh,Toldthemsomething?Thosesuspensions,thosesolutions——”Mustwedie?”
Thosecommiseratingsevenths——”Lifemightlast!wecanbuttry!”——
St。7。Themusicaltechnicalitiesusedinthisstanza,anymusiciancanexplainandillustrate。
8。”Wereyouhappy?”——”Yes。”——”Andareyoustillashappy?”——”Yes。
Andyou?”——”Then,morekisses!”——”DidIstopthem,whenamillionseemedsofew?”
Hark,thedominant’spersistencetillitmustbeansweredto!——
St。8。Thequestionsinthisstanzamustbesupposedtobecausedbytheeffectupontherevellersofthe”plaintivelesserthirds”,the”diminishedsixths”,the”commiseratingsevenths”,etc。,oftheprecedingstanza。
9。
So,anoctavestrucktheanswer。Oh,theypraisedyou,Idaresay!”BraveGaluppi!thatwasmusic!goodalikeatgraveandgay!
IcanalwaysleaveofftalkingwhenIhearamasterplay!”
10。
Thentheyleftyoufortheirpleasure:tillinduetime,onebyone,Somewithlivesthatcametonothing,somewithdeedsaswellundone,Deathsteppedtacitly,andtookthemwheretheyneverseethesun。
11。
ButwhenIsitdowntoreason,thinktotakemystandnorswerve,WhileItriumpho’erasecretwrungfromnature’sclosereserve,InyoucomewithyourcoldmusictillIcreepthrougheverynerve——
St。11。WhileItriumpho’erasecretwrungfromnature’sclosereserve:thesecretofthesoul’simmortality。
12。
Yes,you,likeaghostlycricket,creakingwhereahousewasburned:”Dustandashes,deadanddonewith,VenicespentwhatVeniceearned。
Thesoul,doubtless,isimmortal——whereasoulcanbediscerned。
13。”Yoursforinstance:youknowphysics,somethingofgeology,Mathematicsareyourpastime;soulsshallriseintheirdegree;
Butterfliesmaydreadextinction,——you’llnotdie,itcannotbe!——
St。13。Theideaisinvolvedinthisstanzathatthesoul’scontinuedexistenceisdependentonitsdevelopmentinthislife;
theironiccharacterofthestanzaisindicatedbythemerelyintellectualsubjectsnamed,physics,geology,mathematics,whichdonotofthemselves,necessarily,contributetoSOUL-development。Allfromthe2dverseofthe12thstanzadownto”Dustandashes”inthe15th,iswhatthemusic,”likeaghostlycricket,creakingwhereahousewasburned”,saystothespeaker,inthemonologue,ofthemenandwomenforwhomlifemeantsimplyabutterflyenjoyment。
14。”AsforVeniceandherpeople,merelyborntobloomanddrop,Hereonearththeyboretheirfruitage,mirthandfollywerethecrop:
Whatofsoulwasleft,Iwonder,whenthekissinghadtostop?
15。”Dustandashes!”Soyoucreakit,andIwantthehearttoscold。
Deardeadwomen,withsuchhair,too——what’sbecomeofallthegoldUsedtohangandbrushtheirbosoms?Ifeelchillyandgrownold。
AbtVogler。
AfterhehasbeenextemporizingupontheMusicalInstrumentofhisInvention。
1。
Wouldthatthestructurebrave,themanifoldmusicIbuild,Biddingmyorganobey,callingitskeystotheirwork,Claimingeachslaveofthesound,atatouch,aswhenSolomonwilledArmiesofangelsthatsoar,legionsofdemonsthatlurk,Man,brute,reptile,fly,——alienofendandofaim,Adverse,eachfromtheotherheaven-high,hell-deepremoved,——
ShouldrushintosightatonceashenamedtheineffableName,Andpilehimapalacestraight,topleasuretheprincessheloved!——
St。1。Theleadingsentence,”Wouldthatthestructurebrave”,etc。,isinterruptedbythecomparison,”aswhenSolomonwilled”,etc。,andcontinuedinthe2dstanza,”Woulditmighttarrylikehis”,etc。;
theconstructionofthecomparisonis,”aswhenSolomonwilledthatarmiesofangels,legionsofdevils,etc。,shouldrushintosightandpilehimapalacestraight”;thereferenceistothelegendsoftheKoraninregardtoSolomon’smagicalpowers。
2。
Woulditmighttarrylikehis,thebeautifulbuildingofmine,Thiswhichmykeysinacrowdpressedandimportunedtoraise!
Ah,oneandall,howtheyhelped,woulddispartnowandnowcombine,Zealoustohastenthework,heightentheirmasterhispraise!
Andonewouldburyhisbrowwithablindplungedowntohell,Burrowawhileandbuild,broadontherootsofthings,Thenupagainswimintosight,havingbasedmemypalacewell,Foundedit,fearlessofflame,flatonthenethersprings。