Words will not serve me, alms alone suffice; "Woman!" Tritemius answered, " from our door None go unfed; hence are we always poor: 25 A single soldo is our only store. Thou hast our prayers; -what can we give thee more?" "Give me," she said, "the silver candlesticks God well may spare them on His errands sped, 30 Or He can give you golden ones instead." Then spake Tritemius, "Even as thy word, 35 Above the gifts upon His altar piled!) Take what thou askest, and redeem thy child.” But his hand trembled as the holy alms So the day passed, and when the twilight came And, dumb with grateful wonder, to behold VIII. THE BROTHER OF MERCY. PIERO LUCA, known of all the town 5 His last sad burden, and beside his mat Unseen, in square and blossoming garden drifted, 10 Backward and forth, and wove, in love or strife, 6. The monastery of La Certosa is about four miles distant from Florence, the scene of this little poem. 8. The Val d'Arno is the valley of the river Arno, upon which Florence lies. 16. The Brethren of the Misericordia, an association which ad its origin in the thirteenth century, is composed mainly of the wealthy and prosperous, whose duty it is to nurse the sick, to aid those who have been injured by accident, and to secure decent burial to the poor and friendless. They are summoned by the sound of a bell, and, when it is heard, the member slips away from ball-room, or dinner party, or wherever he may be puts on the black robe and hood, entirely concealing his face, slit openings being provided for the eyes, and performs the Their black masks by the palace-wall I see." Piero answered faintly, "Woe is me! 2c This day for the first time in forty years In vain the bell hath sounded in my ears, Calling me with my brethren of the mask, Beggar and prince alike, to some new task Of love or pity, — haply from the street 25 To bear a wretch plague-stricken, or, with feet Hushed to the quickened ear and feverish brain, To tread the crowded lazaretto's floors, Down the long twilight of the corridors, Midst tossing arms and faces full of pain. 30 I loved the work: it was its own reward. I never counted on it to offset My sins, which are many, or make less my debt To the free grace and mercy of our Lord; But somehow, father, it has come to be 35 In these long years so much a part of me, I should not know myself, if lacking it, But with the work the worker too would die, And in my place some other self would sit Joyful or sad, what matters, if not I? 40 And now all 's over. Woe is me!" "My son," The monk said soothingly, "thy work is done; Of God thou enterest thy eternal rest. No toil, no tears, no sorrow for the lost 45 Shall mar thy perfect bliss. Thou shalt sit down Clad in white robes, and wear a golden crown Forever and forever." Piero tossed On his sick-pillow: "Miserable me! I am too poor for such grand company; duty assigned to him. This perfect concealment is to a.d an securing the perfect equality enjoined by the Order. 50 The crown would be too heavy for this gray It would be hard to sit there night and day, 55 Not for bread only, but for pity's sake. I'm dull at prayers: I could not keep awake, I would do good to. Will death change me so Methinks (Lord, pardon, if the thought be sin!) Some cooling tears." Thereat the pale monk crossed His brow, and, muttering, "Madman! thou art lost!" 75 Took up his pyx and fled; and, left alone, The sick man closed his eyes with a great groan 53. The Tribune is a hall in the Uffizi Palace in Florence here are assembled some of the most world-renowned statues ncluding the Venus de' Medici. 66. Strada, street. Then was he made aware, by soul or ear, Of somewhat pure and holy bending o'er him, 80 And of a voice like that of her who bore him, Tender and most compassionate: "Never fear! For heaven is love, as God himself is love; Thy work below shall be thy work above." And when he looked, lo! in the stern monk's place 85 He saw the shining of an angel's face! The Traveller broke the pause. "I've seen IX. THE PROPHECY OF SAMUEL SEWALL. 1697. [SAMUEL SEWALL was one of a family notable in New England annals, and himself an eminent man in his generation. He was born in England in 1652, and was brought by his father to this country in 1661; but his father and grandfather 86. The poem of The Brother of Mercy forms a part of The Tent on the Beach, in which Whittier pictures himself, the Traveller (Bayard Taylor), the Man of Books (J. T. Fields), camping apon Salisbury beach and telling stories. |