III

NEOLIN.

Not yet at rest, my Sister! quoth the Prince,
As at her dwelling-door he saw the Maid
Sit gazing on that lovely moonlight scene:.
To bed, Goervyl. Dearest, what hast thou
To keep thee wakeful here at this late hour,
When even I shall bid a truce to thought,
And lay me down in peace ?.. Good night, Goervyl!
Dear sister mine, . . my own dear mother's child!

She rose, and bending on with lifted arms, Met the fond kiss, obedient then withdrew. Yet could not he so lightly as he ween'd Lay wakeful thoughts aside; for he foresaw Long strife and hard adventure to achieve, And forms of danger vague disturb'd his dreams.

Early at morn the colonists arose;

Some pitch the tent-pole, and pin down the lines
That stretch the o'er-awning canvass; to the wood
Others with saw and axe and bill for stakes
And undergrowth to weave the wicker walls;
These to the ships, with whom Cadwallon sends
The Elk and Bison, broken to the yoke.

Ere noon Erillyab and her son arrived, To greet the Chief. She wore no longer now The lank loose locks of careless widowhood; Her braided tresses round her brow were bound, Bedeck'd with tufts of grey and silvery plumes Pluck'd from the eagle's pennons. She with eye And countenance which spake no feign'd delight, Welcomed her great deliverer. But her son Had Nature character'd so legibly,

That when his tongue told fair his face bewray'd The lurking falsehood; sullen, slow of speech, Savage, down-looking, dark, that at his words Of welcome, Madoc in his heart conceived Instinctive enmity.

In a happy hour Did the Great Spirit, said Erillyab,

Give bidding to the Winds to speed thee here!
For this I made my prayer; and when He sent
For the Beloved Teacher, to restore him
Eyesight and youth, of him I then besought,
As he had been thy friend and ours on earth,
That he would intercede. . . Brother, we know
That the Great Spirit loves thee; He hath blest
Thy going and thy coming, and thy friends
Have prosper'd for thy sake; and now when first
The Powers of Evil do begin to work,
Lo! thou art here!.. Brother, we have obeyed
Thy will, and the Beloved Teacher's words
Have been our law; but now the Evil Ones
Cry out for blood, and say they are athirst,
And threaten vengeance. I have brought the Priest
To whom they spake in darkness... Thou art wise,

And the Great Spirit will enlighten thee; ..
We know not what to answer... Tell thy tale,
Neolin !

Hereat did Madoc fix upon him
A searching eye; but he, no whit abash'd,
Began with firm effrontery his speech.
The Feast of the Departed is at hand,
And I, in preparation, on the Field
Of the Spirit past the night. It came to me
In darkness, after midnight, when the moon
Was gone, and all the stars were blotted out;
It gather'd round me, with a noise of storms,
And enter'd into me, and I could feel

It was the Snake-God roll'd and writhed within ;
And I too with the inward agony,

Roll'd like a snake and writhed. Give! give! he cried:
I thirst!.. His voice was in me, and it burnt
Like fire, and all my flesh and bones were shaken ;
Till, with a throe which seem'd to rend my joints
Asunder, he past forth, and I was left
Speechless and motionless, gasping for breath.

Then Madoc, turning to Ayayaca,

Enquired, who is the man? . . The good old Priest
Replied, he hath attended from his youth
The Snake-God's temple, and received for him
His offerings, and perform'd his sacrifice,

Till the Belov'd Teacher made us leave

The wicked way.

Hear me ! quoth Neolin,

With antic gesture and loud vehemence ;

Before this generation, and before

These ancient forests,

yea, before yon lake

Was hollow'd out, or one snow-feather fell

On yonder mountain-top, now never bare, . .
Before these things I was,.. where, or from whence,
I who can tell? But then I was,

I know not,
And in the shadow of the Spirit stood;
And I beheld the Spirit, and in him

Saw all things, even as they were to be;

And I held commune with him, not of words,
But thought with thought. Then was it given me
That I should choose my station when my hour
Of mortal birth was come, hunter, or chief,

Or to be mightiest in the work of war,
Or in the shadow of the Spirit live,
And He in me. According to my choice,
For ever, overshadow'd by his power,

I walk among mankind. At times I feel not
The burthen of his presence; then am I
Like other men; but when the season comes,
Or if I seek the visitation, then

He fills me, and my soul is carried on,
And then do I forelive the race of men,

So that the things that will be, are to me
Past.

Amalahta lifted then his eyes

A moment; . . It is true, he cried; we know
He is a gifted man, and wise beyond
The reach of mortal powers. Ayayaca
Hath also heard the warning.

As I slept,

Replied the aged Priest, upon the Field
Of the Spirit, a loud voice awaken'd me,

Crying, I thirst! Give,.. give! or I will take!
And then I heard a hiss, as if a snake

Were threatening at my side... But saw you nothing?
Quoth Madoc... Nothing; for the night was dark.
And felt you nothing? said the Ocean Prince.
He answered, Nothing; only sudden fear...
No inward struggle, like possession? . . None.
I thought of the Beloved Teacher's words,
And crost myself, and then he had no power.

Thou hast slept heretofore upon the Field,
Said Madoc; didst thou never witness voice,
Or ominous sound? Ayayaca replied,
Certes the Field is holy! it receives,
All the year long, the operative power
Which falleth from the sky, or from below
Pervades the earth; no harvest groweth there,
Nor tree, nor bush, nor herb, is left to spring;
But there the virtue of the elements

Is gathered, till the circle of the months
Be full; then, when the Priest, by mystic rites,
Long vigils, and long abstinence prepared,
Goeth there to pass the appointed night alone,
The whole collected influence enters him
Doubt not but I have felt strange impulses
On that mysterious Field, and in my dreams
Been visited; and have heard sounds in the air,
I knew not what; . . but words articulate
Never till now. It was the Wicked One!

He wanted blood.

Who says the Wicked One?

It was our fathers' God! cried Neolin.