Square in Front of the Cathedral

This is the day, when from the deadOur Lord arose; and everywhere,Out of their darkness and despair,Triumphant over fears and foes,The hearts of his disciples rose,When to the women, standing near,The Angel in shining vesture said,"The Lord is risen; he is not here!"And, mindful that the day is come,On all the hearths in ChristendomThe fires are quenched, to be againRekindled from the sun, that highIs dancing in the cloudless sky.The churches are all decked with flowers,The salutations among menAre but the Angel's words divine,"Christ is arisen!" and the bellsCatch the glad murmur, as it swells,And chant together in their towers.All hearts are glad; and free from careThe faces of the people shine.See what a crowd is in the square,Gayly and gallantly arrayed!

ELSIE.Let us go back; I am afraid!

Nay, let us mount the church-steps here,Under the doorway's sacred shadow;We can see all things, and be freerFrom the crowd that madly heaves and presses!

ELSIE.What a gay pageant! what bright dresses!It looks like a flower-besprinkled meadow.What is that yonder on the square?

A pulpit in the open air,And a Friar, who is preaching to the crowdIn a voice so deep and clear and loud,That, if we listen, and give heed,His lowest words will reach the ear.

FRIAR CUTHBERT, gesticulating and cracking a postilion's whip.What ho! good people! do you not hear?Dashing along at the top of his speed,Booted and spurred, on his jaded steed,A courier comes with words of cheer.Courier! what is the news, I pray?"Christ is arisen!" Whence come you? "From court."Then I do not believe it; you say it in sport.

Ah, here comes another, riding this way;We soon shall know what he has to say.Courier! what are the tidings to-day?"Christ is arisen!" Whence come you? "From town."Then I do not believe it; away with you, clown.

And here comes a third, who is spurring amain;What news do you bring, with your loose-hanging rein,Your spurs wet with blood, and your bridle with foam?"Christ is arisen!" Whence come you? "From Rome."Ah, now I believe. He is risen, indeed.Ride on with the news, at the top of your speed!

To come back to my text! When the news was first spreadThat Christ was arisen indeed from the dead,Very great was the joy of the angels in heaven;And as great the dispute as to who should carryThe tidings thereof to the Virgin Mary,Pierced to the heart with sorrows seven.Old Father Adam was first to propose,As being the author of all our woes;But he was refused, for fear, said they,He would stop to eat apples on the way!Abel came next, but petitioned in vain,Because he might meet with his brother Cain!Noah, too, was refused, lest his weakness for wineShould delay him at every tavern-sign;And John the Baptist could not get a vote,On account of his old-fashioned camel's-hair coat;And the Penitent Thief, who died on the cross,Was reminded that all his bones were broken!Till at last, when each in turn had spoken,The company being still at loss,The Angel, who rolled away the stone,Was sent to the sepulchre, all alone.And filled with glory that gloomy prison,And said to the Virgin, "The Lord is arisen!"

But hark! the bells are beginning to chime;And I feel that I am growing hoarse.I will put an end to my discourse,And leave the rest for some other time.For the bells themselves are the best of preachers;Their brazen lips are learned teachers,From their pulpits of stone, in the upper air,Sounding aloft, without crack or flaw,Shriller than trumpets under the Law,Now a sermon, and now a prayer.The clangorous hammer is the tongue,This way, that way, beaten and swung,That from mouth of brass, as from Month of Gold,May be taught the Testaments, New and Old,And above it the great cross-beam of woodRepresenteth the Holy Rood,Upon which, like the bell, our hopes are hung.And the wheel wherewith it is swayed and rungIs the mind of man, that round and roundSways, and maketh the tongue to sound!And the rope, with its twisted cordage three,Denoteth the Scriptural TrinityOf Morals, and Symbols, and History;And the upward and downward motion showThat we touch upon matters high and low;And the constant change and transmutationOf action and of contemplation,Downward, the Scripture brought from on high,Upward, exalted again to the sky;Downward, the literal interpretation,Upward, the Vision and Mystery!

And now, my hearers, to make an end,I have only one word more to say;In the church, in honor of Easter dayWill be presented a Miracle Play;And I hope you will have the grace to attend.Christ bring us at last to his felicity!Pax vobiscum! et Benedicite!