Chapter the Twelfth.
There's something in that ancient superstition, Which, erring as it is, our fancy loves. The spring that, with its thousand crystal bubbles, Bursts from the bosom of some desert rock In secret solitude, may well be deem'd The haunt of something purer, more refined, And mightier than ourselves. OLD PLAY.
Young Halbert Glendinning had scarcely pronounced the mystical rhymes,than, as we have mentioned in the conclusion of the last chapter, anappearance, as of a beautiful female, dressed in white, stood within twoyards of him. His terror for the moment overcame his natural courage, aswell as the strong resolution which he had formed, that the figure whichhe had now twice seen should not a third time daunt him. But it wouldseem there is something thrilling and abhorrent to flesh and blood, inthe consciousness that we stand in presence of a being in form like toourselves, but so different in faculties and nature, that we can neitherunderstand its purposes, nor calculate its means of pursuing them.
Halbert stood silent and gasped for breath, his hairs erectingthemselves on his head---his mouth open--his eyes fixed, and, as thesole remaining sign of his late determined purpose, his sword pointedtowards the apparition. At length with a voice of ineffable sweetness,the White Lady, for by that name we shall distinguish this being, sung,or rather chanted, the following lines:--
"Youth of the dark eye, wherefore didst thou call me? Wherefore art thou here, if terrors can appal thee? He that seeks to deal with us must know no fear nor failing! To coward and churl our speech is dark, our gifts are unavailing. The breeze that brought me hither now, must sweep Egyptian ground, The fleecy cloud on which I ride for Araby is bound; The fleecy cloud is drifting by, the breeze sighs for my stay, For I must sail a thousand miles before the close of day."
The astonishment of Halbert began once more to give way to hisresolution, and he gained voice enough to say, though with a falteringaccent, "In the name of God, what art thou?" The answer was in melody ofa different tone and measure:--
"What I am I must not show-- What I am thou couldst not know-- Something betwixt heaven and hell-- Something that neither stood nor fell-- Something that through thy wit or will May work thee good--may work thee ill. Neither substance quite nor shadow, Haunting lonely moor and meadow, Dancing; by the haunted spring, Riding on the whirlwind's wing; Aping in fantastic fashion Every change of human passion,
While o'er our frozen minds they pass, Like shadows from the mirror'd glass. Wayward, fickle is our mood, Hovering betwixt bad and good, Happier than brief-dated man, Living twenty times his span; Far less happy, for we have Help nor hope beyond the grave! Man awakes to joy or sorrow; Ours the sleep that knows no morrow. This is all that I can show-- This is all that thou mayest know."
The White Lady paused, and appeared to await an answer; but, as Halberthesitated how to frame his speech, the vision seemed gradually to fade,and became more and more incorporeal. Justly guessing this to be asymptom of her disappearance, Halbert compelled himself to say,--"Lady,when I saw you in the glen, and when you brought back the black book ofMary Avenel, thou didst say I should one day learn to read it."
The White Lady replied,
"Ay! and I taught thee the word and the spell, To waken me here by the Fairies' Well, But thou hast loved the heron and hawk, More than to seek my haunted walk; And thou hast loved the lance and the sword, More than good text and holy word; And thou hast loved the deer to track, More than the lines and the letters black; And thou art a ranger of moss and of wood, And scornest the nurture of gentle blood."
"I will do so no longer, fair maiden," said Halbert; "I desire to learn;and thou didst promise me, that when I did so desire, thou wouldst bemy helper; I am no longer afraid of thy presence, and I am no longerregardless of instruction." As he uttered these words, the figure ofthe White Maiden grew gradually as distinct as it had been at first;and what had well-nigh faded into an ill-defined and colourless shadow,again assumed an appearance at least of corporeal consistency, althoughthe hues were less vivid, and the outline of the figure less distinctand defined--so at least it seemed to Halbert--than those of an ordinaryinhabitant of earth. "Wilt thou grant my request," he said, "fair Lady,and give to my keeping the holy book which Mary of Avenel has so oftenwept for?"
The White Lady replied:
"Thy craven fear my truth accused, Thine idlehood my trust abused; He that draws to harbour late, Must sleep without, or burst the gate.
There is a star for thee which burn'd. Its influence wanes, its course is turn'd; Valour and constancy alone Can bring thee back the chance that's flown."
"If I have been a loiterer, Lady," answered young Glendinning, "thoushalt now find me willing to press forward with double speed. Otherthoughts have filled my mind, other thoughts have engaged my heart,within a brief period--and by Heaven, other occupations shallhenceforward fill up my time. I have lived in this day the space ofyears--I came hither a boy--I will return a man--a man, such as mayconverse not only with his own kind, but with whatever God permits to bevisible to him. I will learn the contents of that mysterious volume--Iwill learn why the Lady of Avenel loved it--why the priests feared,and would have stolen it--why thou didst twice recover it from theirhands.--What mystery is wrapt in it?--Speak, I conjure thee!" The ladyassumed an air peculiarly sad and solemn, as drooping her head, andfolding her arms on her bosom, she replied:
"Within that awful volume lies The mystery of mysteries! Happiest they of human race, To whom God has granted grace
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray, To lift the latch, and force the way; And better had they ne'er been born, Who read, to doubt, or read to scorn."
"Give me the volume, Lady," said young Glendinning. "They call meidle--they call me dull--in this pursuit my industry shall not fail,nor, with God's blessing, shall my understanding. Give me the volume."The apparition again replied:
"Many a fathom dark and deep I have laid the book to sleep; Ethereal fires around it glowing-- Ethereal music ever flowing-- The sacred pledge of Heav'n All things revere. Each in his sphere, Save man for whom 'twas giv'n: Lend thy hand, and thou shalt spy Things ne'er seen by mortal eye."
Halbert Glendinning boldly reached his hand to the White Lady.
"Fearest thou to go with me?" she said, as his hand trembled at the softand cold touch of her own--
"Fearest thou to go with me? Still it is free to thee A peasant to dwell: Thou mayst drive the dull steer, And chase the king's deer, But never more come near This haunted well."
"If what thou sayest be true," said the undaunted boy, "my destinies arehigher than thine own. There shall be neither well nor wood which I darenot visit. No fear of aught, natural or supernatural, shall bar my paththrough my native valley."
He had scarce uttered the words, when they both descended through theearth with a rapidity which took away Halbert's breath and every othersensation, saving that of being hurried on with the utmost velocity. Atlength they stopped with a shock so sudden, that the mortal journeyerthrough this unknown space must have been thrown down with violence, hadhe not been upheld by his supernatural companion.
It was more than a minute, ere, looking around him, he beheld a grotto,or natural cavern, composed of the most splendid spars and crystals,which returned in a thousand prismatic hues the light of a brilliantflame that glowed on an altar of alabaster. This altar, with its fire,formed the central point of the grotto, which was of a round form,and very high in the roof, resembling in some respects the dome of acathedral. Corresponding to the four points of the compass, there wentoff four long galleries, or arcades, constructed of the same brilliantmaterials with the dome itself, and the termination of which was lost indarkness.
No human imagination can conceive, or words suffice to describe, theglorious radiance which, shot fiercely forth by the flame, was returnedfrom so many hundred thousand points of reflection, afforded by thesparry pillars and their numerous an
gular crystals. The fire itself didnot remain steady and unmoved, but rose and fell, sometimes ascendingin a brilliant pyramid of condensed flame half way up the lofty expanse,and again fading into a softer and more rosy hue, and hovering, as itwere, on the surface of the altar to collect its strength for anotherpowerful exertion. There was no visible fuel by which it was fed, nordid it emit either smoke or vapour of any kind.
What was of all the most remarkable, the black volume so often mentionedlay not only unconsumed, but untouched in the slightest degree, amidthis intensity of fire, which, while it seemed to be of force sufficientto melt adamant, had no effect whatever on the sacred book thussubjected to its utmost influence.
The White Lady, having paused long enough to let young Glendinning takea complete survey of what was around him, now said in her usual chant,
"Here lies the volume thou boldly hast sought; Touch it, and take it,--'twill dearly be bought!"
Familiarized in some degree with marvels, and desperately desirous ofshowing the courage he had boasted, Halbert plunged his hand, withouthesitation, into the flame, trusting to the rapidity of the motion, tosnatch out the volume before the fire could greatly affect him. But hewas much disappointed. The flame instantly caught upon his sleeve, andthough he withdrew his hand immediately, yet his arm was so dreadfullyscorched, that he had well-nigh screamed with pain. He suppressed thenatural expression of anguish, however, and only intimated the agonywhich he felt by a contortion and a muttered groan. The White Ladypassed her cold hand over his arm, and, ere she had finished thefollowing metrical chant, his pain had entirely gone, and no mark of thescorching was visible:
"Rash thy deed, Mortal weed To immortal flames applying; Rasher trust Has thing of dust, On his own weak worth relying: Strip thee of such fences vain, Strip, and prove thy luck, again."
Obedient to what he understood to be the meaning of his conductress,Halbert bared his arm to the shoulder, throwing down the remains ofhis sleeve, which no sooner touched the floor on which he stood thanit collected itself together, shrivelled itself up, and was withoutany visible fire reduced to light tinder, which a sudden breath of winddispersed into empty space. The White Lady, observing the surprise ofthe youth, immediately repeated--
"Mortal warp and mortal woof. Cannot brook this charmed roof; All that mortal art hath wrought, In our cell returns to nought. The molten gold returns to clay, The polish'd diamond melts away. All is alter'd, all is flown, Nought stands fast but truth alone. Not for that thy quest give o'er: Courage! prove thy chance once more."
Imboldened by her words, Halbert Glendinning made a second effort, and,plunging his bare arm into the flame, took out the sacred volume withoutfeeling either heat or inconvenience of any kind. Astonished, and almostterrified at his own success, he beheld the flame collect itself, andshoot up into one long and final stream, which seemed as if it wouldascend to the very roof of the cavern, and then, sinking as suddenly,became totally extinguished. The deepest darkness ensued; but Halberthad no time to consider his situation, for the White Lady had alreadycaught his hand, and they ascended to upper air with the same velocitywith which they had sunk into the earth.
They stood by the fountain in the Corri-nan-shian when they emerged fromthe bowels of the earth; but on casting a bewildered glance around him,the youth was surprised to observe, that the shadows had fallen farto the east, and that the day was well-nigh spent. He gazed on hisconductress for explanation, but her figure began to fade before hiseyes--her cheeks grew paler, her features less distinct, her form becameshadowy, and blended itself with the mist which was ascending the hollowravine. What had late the symmetry of form, and the delicate, yet clearhues of feminine beauty, now resembled the flitting and pale ghost ofsome maiden who has died for love, as it is seen indistinctly and bymoonlight, by her perjured lover.
"Stay, spirit!" said the youth, imboldened by his success in thesubterranean dome, "thy kindness must not leave me, as one encumberedwith a weapon he knows not how to wield. Thou must teach me the artto read, and to understand this volume; else what avails it me that Ipossess it?"
But the figure of the White Lady still waned before his eye, until itbecame an outline as pale and indistinct as that of the moon, when thewinter morning is far advanced, and ere she had ended the followingchant, she was entirely invisible:--
"Alas! alas! Not ours the grace These holy characters to trace: Idle forms of painted air, Not to us is given to share The boon bestow'd on Adam's race! With patience bide. Heaven will provide The fitting time, the fitting guide."
The form was already gone, and now the voice itself had melted away inmelancholy cadence, softening, as if the Being who spoke had been slowlywafted from the spot where she had commenced her melody.
It was at this moment that Halbert felt the extremity of the terrorwhich he had hitherto so manfully suppressed. The very necessity ofexertion had given him spirit to make it, and the presence of themysterious Being, while it was a subject of fear in itself, hadnevertheless given him the sense of protection being near to him. Itwas when he could reflect with composure on what had passed, that a coldtremor shot across his limbs, his hair bristled, and he was afraid tolook around lest he should find at his elbow something more frightfulthan the first vision. A breeze arising suddenly, realized the beautifuland wild idea of the most imaginative of our modern bards [Footnote:Coleridge.]--
It fann'd his cheek, it raised his hair, Like a meadow pale in spring; It mingled strangely with his fears, Yet it fell like a welcoming.
The youth stood silent and astonished for a few minutes. It seemed tohim that the extraordinary Being he had seen, half his terror, half hisprotectress, was still hovering on the gale which swept past him, andthat she might again make herself sensible to his organs of sight."Speak!" he said, wildly tossing his arms, "speak yet again--be oncemore present, lovely vision!--thrice have I now seen thee, yet theidea of thy invisible presence around or beside me, makes my heart beatfaster than if the earth yawned and gave up a demon."
But neither sound nor appearance indicated the presence of the WhiteLady, and nothing preternatural beyond what he had already witnessed,was again audible or visible. Halbert, in the meanwhile, by the veryexertion of again inviting the presence of this mysterious Being, hadrecovered his natural audacity. He looked around once more, and resumedhis solitary path down the valley into whose recesses he had penetrated.
Nothing could be more strongly contrasted than the storm of passion withwhich he had bounded over stock and crag, in order to plunge himselfinto the Corri-nan-shian, and the sobered mood in which he now returnedhomeward, industriously seeking out the most practicable path, not froma wish to avoid danger, but that he might not by personal toil distracthis attention, deeply fixed on the extraordinary scene which he hadwitnessed. In the former case, he had sought by hazard and bodilyexertion to indulge at once the fiery excitation of passion, and tobanish the cause of the excitement from his recollection; while now hestudiously avoided all interruption to his contemplative walk, lest thedifficulty of the way should interfere with, or disturb, his own deepreflections. Thus slowly pacing forth his course, with the air of apilgrim rather than of a deer-hunter, Halbert about the close of theevening regained his paternal tower.