Memorials of a Tour on the Continent, 1820/Processions, suggested on a Sabbath Morning in the Vale of Chamouny
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PROCESSIONS.
SUGGESTED ON A SABBATH MORNING IN THE VALE OF CHAMOUNY.
To appease the Gods; or public thanks to yield;
Or to solicit knowledge of events,
Which in her breast futurity concealed;
And that the past might have its true intents
Feelingly told by living monuments;
Mankind of yore were prompted to devise
Rites such as yet Persepolis presents
Graven on her cankered walls,—solemnities
That moved in long array before admiring eyes.
Or to solicit knowledge of events,
Which in her breast futurity concealed;
And that the past might have its true intents
Feelingly told by living monuments;
Mankind of yore were prompted to devise
Rites such as yet Persepolis presents
Graven on her cankered walls,—solemnities
That moved in long array before admiring eyes.
The Hebrews, thus, carrying in joyful state
Thick boughs of palm, and willows from the brook,
Marched round the Altar—to commemorate.
How, when their course they thro' the desart took,
Guided by signs which ne'er the sky forsook,
They lodged in leafy tents and cabins low;
Green boughs were borne, while for the blast that shook
Down to the earth the walls of Jericho,
They uttered loud hosannas,—let the trumpets blow!
Thick boughs of palm, and willows from the brook,
Marched round the Altar—to commemorate.
How, when their course they thro' the desart took,
Guided by signs which ne'er the sky forsook,
They lodged in leafy tents and cabins low;
Green boughs were borne, while for the blast that shook
Down to the earth the walls of Jericho,
They uttered loud hosannas,—let the trumpets blow!
And thus, in order, 'mid the sacred Grove
Fed in the Lybian Waste by gushing wells,
The Priests and Damsels of Ammonian Jove
Provoked responses with shrill canticles;
While, in a Ship begirt with silver bells,
They round his Altar bore the horned God,
Old Cham, the solar Deity, who dwells
Aloft, yet in a tilting Vessel rode,
When universal sea the mountains overflowed.
Fed in the Lybian Waste by gushing wells,
The Priests and Damsels of Ammonian Jove
Provoked responses with shrill canticles;
While, in a Ship begirt with silver bells,
They round his Altar bore the horned God,
Old Cham, the solar Deity, who dwells
Aloft, yet in a tilting Vessel rode,
When universal sea the mountains overflowed.
Why speak of Roman Pomps? the haughty claims
Of Chiefs triumphant after ruthless wars;
The feast of Neptune—and the Cerèal Games,
With Images, and Crowns, and empty Cars;
The dancing Salii—on the shields of Mars
Striking with fury; and the deeper dread
Scattered on all sides by the hideous jars
Of Corybantian cymbals, while the head
Of Cybele was seen, sublimely turretted!
Of Chiefs triumphant after ruthless wars;
The feast of Neptune—and the Cerèal Games,
With Images, and Crowns, and empty Cars;
The dancing Salii—on the shields of Mars
Striking with fury; and the deeper dread
Scattered on all sides by the hideous jars
Of Corybantian cymbals, while the head
Of Cybele was seen, sublimely turretted!
At length a Spirit more subdued and soft
Appeared, to govern Christian pageantries:
The Cross, in calm procession, borne aloft
Moved to the chaunt of sober litanies.
Even such, this day, came wafted on the breeze
From a long train—in hooded vestments fair
Enwrapt—and winding, between Alpine trees
Spiry and dark, around their House of Prayer
Below the icy bed of bright Argentière.
Appeared, to govern Christian pageantries:
The Cross, in calm procession, borne aloft
Moved to the chaunt of sober litanies.
Even such, this day, came wafted on the breeze
From a long train—in hooded vestments fair
Enwrapt—and winding, between Alpine trees
Spiry and dark, around their House of Prayer
Below the icy bed of bright Argentière.
But O the fairest pageant of a dream
Did never equal that which met our eyes!
The glacier Pillars with the living Stream
Of white-robed Shapes13, seemed linked in solemn guise,
For the same service, by mysterious ties;
Numbers exceeding credible account
Of number, stood like spotless Votaries
Prepared to issue from a wintry fount;
The impenetrable heart of that exalted Mount!
Did never equal that which met our eyes!
The glacier Pillars with the living Stream
Of white-robed Shapes13, seemed linked in solemn guise,
For the same service, by mysterious ties;
Numbers exceeding credible account
Of number, stood like spotless Votaries
Prepared to issue from a wintry fount;
The impenetrable heart of that exalted Mount!
They, too, who sent so far a holy gleam
While they the Church engirt with motion slow,
A product of that awful Mount did seem,
Poured from his vaults of everlasting snow;
Not virgin-lilies marshalled in bright row,
Not swans descending with the stealthy tide,
A livelier sisterly resemblance show
Than the fair Forms, that on the turf did glide,
To that unmoving band—the Shapes aloft descried!
While they the Church engirt with motion slow,
A product of that awful Mount did seem,
Poured from his vaults of everlasting snow;
Not virgin-lilies marshalled in bright row,
Not swans descending with the stealthy tide,
A livelier sisterly resemblance show
Than the fair Forms, that on the turf did glide,
To that unmoving band—the Shapes aloft descried!
Trembling, I look upon the secret springs
Of that licentious craving in the mind
To act the God among external things,
To bind, on apt suggestion, and unbind;
And marvel not that antique Faith inclined
To crowd the world with metamorphosis,
Vouchsafed in pity or in wrath assigned:
Such insolent temptations wouldst thou miss,
Avoid these sights; nor brood o'er Fable's dark abyss!
Of that licentious craving in the mind
To act the God among external things,
To bind, on apt suggestion, and unbind;
And marvel not that antique Faith inclined
To crowd the world with metamorphosis,
Vouchsafed in pity or in wrath assigned:
Such insolent temptations wouldst thou miss,
Avoid these sights; nor brood o'er Fable's dark abyss!