Classic Poem

THE Church is fill'd; so great the faith
That City in its Bishop hath;
And now the Congregation
Are waiting there in trembling prayer
And terrible expectation.

Emmelia and her sisterhood
Have taken there their seat;
And Choristers, and Monks, and Priests
And Psalmists there, and Exorcists,
Are station'd in order meet.

In sackcloth clad, with ashes strown
Upon his whiter hair,
Before the steps of the altar,
His feet for penance bare,
Eleimon stands, a spectacle
For men and Angels there.

Beside him Cyra stood, in weal
Or woe, in good or ill,
Not to be sever'd from his side,
His faithful helpmate still.

Dishevell'd were her raven locks,
As one in mourner's guise;
And pale she was, but faith and hope
Had now relumed her eyes.

At the altar Basil took his stand;
He held the Gospel in his hand,
And in his ardent eye
Sure trust was seen, and conscious power,
And strength for victory.

At his command the Chorister
Enounced the Prophet's song,
" To God our Savior mercies
And forgivenesses belong. "

Ten thousand voices join'd to raise
The holy hymn on high,
And hearts were thrill'd and eyes were fill'd
By that full harmony.

And when they ceased, and Basil's hand
A warning signal gave,
The whole huge multitude was hush'd
In a stillness like that of the grave.

The Sun was high in a bright blue sky;
But a chill came over the crowd,
And the Church was suddenly darken'd,
As if by a passing cloud.

A sound as of a tempest rose,
Though the day was calm and clear;
Intrepid must the heart have been
Which did not then feel fear.

In the sound of the storm came the dreadful Form;
The Church then darken'd more,
And He was seen erect on the screen
Over the Holy Door.

Day-light had sicken'd at his sight;
And the gloomy Presence threw
A shade profound over all around,
Like a cheerless twilight hue.

" I come hither, " said the Demon,
" For my Bondsman Eleimon!
Mine is he, body and soul.
See all men! " and with that on high
He held the open scroll.

The fatal signature appear'd,
To all the multitude,
Distinct as when the accursed pen
Had traced it with fresh blood.
" See all men! " Satan cried again,
And then his claim pursued.

" I ask for justice! I prefer
An equitable suit!
I appeal to the Law, and the case
Admitteth of no dispute.

" If there be justice here,
If Law have place in Heaven,
Award upon this Bond
Must then for me be given.

" What to my rightful claim,
Basil, canst thou gainsay,
That I should not seize the Bondsman,
And carry him quick away?

" The writing is confess'd; —
No plea against it shown; —
The forfeiture is mine,
And now I take my own!

" Hold there! " cried Basil, with a voice
That arrested him on his way,
When from the screen he would have swoopt
To pounce upon his prey; —

" Hold there, I say! Thou canst not sue
Upon this Bond by law!
A sorry legalist were he
Who could not, in thy boasted plea,
Detect its fatal flaw.

" The Deed is null, for it was framed
With fraudulent intent;
A thing unlawful in itself;
A wicked instrument, —
Not to be pleaded in the Courts. —
Sir Fiend, thy cause is shent!

" This were enough; but, more than this,
A maxim, as thou knowest, it is,
Whereof all Laws partake,
That no one may of his own wrong.
His own advantage make.

" The man, thou sayest, thy Bondsman is;
Mark, now, how stands the fact!
Thou hast allow'd, nay, aided him,
As a Freedman, to contract
A marriage with this Christian woman here;
And by a public act.

" That act being publicly perform'd
With thy full cognizance,
Claim to him as thy Bondsman thou
Canst never more advance; —

" For when they solemnly were then
United, in sight of Angels and men,
The matrimonial band
Gave to the wife a right in him;
And we on this might stand.

" Thy claim upon the man was by
Thy silence then forsaken;
A marriage thus by thee procured
May not by thee be shaken;
And thou, O Satan, as thou seest,
In thine own snare art taken! "

So Basil said, and paused awhile;
The Arch-fiend answer'd not;
But he heaved in vexation
A sulphurous sigh for the Bishop's vocation,
And thus to himself he thought: —

" The Law thy calling ought to have been,
With thy wit so ready, and tongue so free!
To prove by reason, in reason's despite,
That right is wrong, and wrong is right,
And white is black, and black is white, —
What a loss have I had in thee! "

" I rest not here, " the Saint pursued;
" Though thou in this mayst see
That in the meshes of thine own net
I could entangle thee!

" Fiend, thou thyself didst bring about
The spousal celebration,
Which link'd them by the nuptial tie
For both their souls' salvation.

" Thou sufferedst them before high Heaven
With solemn rites espoused to be,
Then and for evermore, for time
And for eternity.

" That tie holds good; those rites
Will reach their whole intent;
And thou of his salvation wert
Thyself the instrument.

" And now, methinks, thou seest in this
A higher power than thine;
And that thy ways were overruled,
To work the will divine! "

With rising energy he spake,
And more majestic look;
And with authoritative hand
Held forth the Sacred Book.

Then with a voice of power he said,
" The Bond is null and void!
It is nullified, as thou knowest well,
By a Covenant whose strength by Hell
Can never be destroy'd! —

" The Covenant of grace,
That greatest work of Heaven,
Which whoso claims in perfect faith,
His sins shall be forgiven.

" Were they as scarlet red,
They should be white as wool;
This is the All-mighty's Covenant,
Who is All-merciful!

" His Minister am I!
In his All-mighty name
To this repentant sinner
God's pardon I proclaim!

" In token that against his soul
The sin shall no longer stand,
The writing is effaced, which there
Thou holdest in thy hand!

" Angels that are in bliss above
This triumph of Redeeming Love
Will witness, and rejoice;
And ye shall now in thunder hear
Heaven's ratifying voice! "

A peal of thunder shook the pile;
The Church was fill'd with light;
And when the flash was past, the Fiend
Had vanish'd from their sight.

He fled as he came, but in anger and shame;
The pardon was complete;
And the impious scroll was dropp'd, a blank,
At Eleimon's feet.