New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-12-27


Rosered with beatings in it, as II alive,
Tin all the white walls Of my cell were dyed
TH tSsS t sSGTs sS aSeS on a sns He
Passed. ana the beam deeayd. and from the walls
The rosy Quiverings, died into the night"
Many of the knights pray and fast in the hope OF
the blessed vision; but Galahad the Good when he
hears what the nun has seen, becomes TRANSPORTED
with spiritual beauty such as cleaned from the
eyes of the maid and is chosen by her to go forth
as her knight of heaven, grit with sword-belt
woven of her hair, and break through all. till one
shall crown him king far in the spiritual CITY, 1t ID
while the knights are gathered in the mighty hail.
Which Merlin built for Arthur long ago
For ali the sacred mount OF CamelOt,
Aud all the dm ricn city, roof by roof,
Tower after tower spire beyond spire,
BY grove, and garden-lawn ana rushing Df0oHt
Climbs to the mighty hall that Merlin built
that the cup is next seen of man, appearing amid
A cracking and q irving Of the roofs,
And rending, and o blast, aud overhead
Thunder, and IN the Thunder was cry;
And In the blast there smOte along the hall
beam Of light seven times more clear than day;
All over coverd with luminous cloud,
And none might who bare u, and it past.
But every knight beheld bis fellows face
AS in glory, and all the knights arose.
Stood, till found voice and sware vow.
al sware q vow before them all. that
Because had not seen the Grail, would ride
twelvemonth and day in quest oft,
Until found and saw it." ..
Others of the knights take the same vow but
when the king enters and questions Them 1t appears
that no one has seen the Holy Grail except Galahad
to the others have appeared only the light aud the
glory.
"Ah Galahad, Galahad," said the King I" for such
As thou arr is the vision, not for these"
Yet since their VOWS are sacred, he sends them
forth though his heart is heavy with forebodings:
How often. o my knights.
Your places being vacant at my.side,
The chance of noble deeds will come and 20
IuchallenEed,
Lost in the Quagmire.
There was grand tourney to celebrate the open
ing of the adventure. and Galahad and Percivale
for strength was in them from the vision, over
threw all before them. Then the knights rode FORTH
and from g rich galleries. ladyladen" fell showers
Of flowers and men and boys cried God speed"
and knights and ladies wept i'll the street. The
scene of the departure is painted with the poets
most brilliant pencil, yet with only few strokes Of
his master-hand; but in the midst of it occurs one
of those extraordinary blemshes with which Ten
nyson sometimes amazes his most enthusiastic ad-
mirers:
In the middle street the queen
Who rode by Lancelot. valid and shriek'd aloud,
"This madness has come on MS Tor our SINS
1t is almost impossible to read that passage with
ont thinking of red faced. djsheveed virago; and
if we remember that Lanceot and Guinevcre were
already in the tolls of that deadly sin which was to
wreak their ruin, the incident VIII strike also as
grossly unlike what the conduct of q woman would
naturally be in such circumstances.
Sir Percivale tells first his own adventures; how,
lifted up in thought by his proves in the lists he
pushes out into the world full Of confidence until lac
finds himself in land Of sand and thOrns, and
thirsty even unto death Ae sees deep lawns, and
- "a brook
With one sharp rapid, where the crisping white
Payd ever back upon the sopng wave,
and fruitaden orchards but as he drinks and eats,
the brook and the fruit turn into dust. A woman
spinning at ouse-door holds forth her arms 10 meet
him but when he touches her, she too falls into
dust and nothing. He comes to a fair city on hill
top and as he climbs, crowd by the gateway cries
Welcome, Percvalew but when he reaches the sum
nit he finds only dust and ruins.
and
Was left alone once more aud cried, In grief,
40 / If fad the Holy Grail itself,
And touch 1t. 1t will crumble into dust"
A hermit tells him that phantOms haunt him be
cause he has not true humility, and has not, like
Galahad, lost himself to save HIMSELF; and while
he listens to the holy mans discourse, the maiden
knight suddenly appears. For him the Holy Cup
has been perpetual companion, never failing from
his side, nor coming covered, but moving with him
night and day:
p 's-And in the strength OF this rode ~
SCATTERING all evil customs every where,
And past thro' Pagan realms. and made them mne,
Aud broke thro' all, aud In the strength OF this
Come victor; but my time Is hard at hand,
Aud hence go; aud one viii crown me klng
Far In the spiritual city; and come thou too,
For thou shalt SEQ the vision when go"
Three pages are devoted to the journey of Sir Gala
had and Sir Percvale in company and to the passing
away of the pure oy-knight ia whom the charm of
this Idyl as well as the charm of the old legend
tiers. Led by the glorious appearance, Sir Galahad
fees along a causeway, 1000" e.
kp1tor Ifuk ma hill
thousand piers ran into the great sea,
and behind him the piers spring into fire and vanish.
while the heavens open and blaze with thunder
" such as seemed shoutngs Of all the sons of God"
Percivale would have followed but the way has DIS
appeared.
At once I him far the great sea,
In silvershning arinOr starry-clear; f.. .
And DER his head the holy vessel hung b.
Clothed In white samite or u uIuinaus cloud.
And with exceeding swiftness ran the boal,
II boat IL were,--I saw not whence IL came. ...
And when the heavens opend aud blaxed again
Roaring, saw him like u silver STAR ...
Aud had be set the SAIL or bad The boat
Become a living creature clad with wlnesi
And Ger his head the huy vessel hung
Reader than any rose, Joy TO me,
Then in a moment when they blazed again
Opening saw the least Of little stars
DOWN on the waste. and straight beyond the star
7 saw the spiritual city and all her spires I..
And eateways ~ glsry IKE X, ono on. pearl,
Strike from the sea; aud from the there shot
Dgelt, and knew 1t was the Holy Grail, 30.
which never eyes on earth again shall see.
With this exquisite passage we wish the poem
might have closed for il is not without shock that
we are brought back to the quest of the other
knights and 10 Percivale's story OF the love which
drew him away for season from the holy adyen-
tnre until one night his burnt kim within. so
that he rose and fed" but wept and hated himself
and even the Quest and everything but the lady Of
his heart until after he was joined with Galahad,
when be ceased 10 care for anything on earth. This