I.-PARACELSUS ASPIRES.

SCENE.-Würzburg-a garden in the environs. 1512.

FESTUS, PARACELSUS, MICHAL.

Par. Come close to me, dear friends; still closer; thus!
Close to the heart which, though long time roll by
Ere it again beat quicker, pressed to yours,
As now it beats-perchance a long, long time-
At least henceforth your memories shall make
Quiet and fragrant as befits their home.

Nor shall my memory want a home in yours―
Alas, that it requires too well such free

VOL. I.

1

Forgiving love as shall embalm it there!
For if you would remember me aright-
As I was born to be-you must forget
All fitful, strange, and moody waywardness
Which e'er confused my better spirit, to dwell
Only on moments such as these, dear friends!
-My heart no truer, but my words and ways
More true to it: as Michal, some months hence,
Will say,
"this autumn was a pleasant time,"
For some few sunny days; and overlook
Its bleak wind, hankering after pining leaves.
Autumn would fain be sunny-I would look
Liker my nature's truth; and both are frail,
And both beloved for all their frailty!

Mich.

Aureole!

Par. Drop by drop!--she is weeping like a child! Not so! I am content-more than content

Nay, Autumn wins you best by this its mute
Appeal to sympathy for its decay!

Look up, sweet Michal, nor esteem the less

Your stained and drooping vines their grapes bow down,
Nor blame those creaking trees bent with their fruit,
That apple-tree with a rare after-birth

Of peeping blooms sprinkled its wealth among!
Then for the winds-what wind that ever raved
Shall vex that ash that overlooks you both,
So proud it wears its berries? Ah! at length,
The old smile meet for her, the lady of this
Sequestered nest! This kingdom, limited

Alone by one old populous green wall,
Tenanted by the ever-busy flies,

Gray crickets, and shy lizards, and quick spiders,
Each family of the silver-threaded moss-
Which, look through, near, this way, and it appears
A stubble-field, or a canebrake—a marsh

Of bulrush whitening in the sun : laugh now!
Fancy the crickets, each one in his house,
Looking out, wondering at the world-or best,
Yon painted snail, with his gay shell of dew,
Travelling to see the glossy balls high up
Hung by the caterpillar, like gold lamps !

Mich. In truth we have lived carelessly and well!

Par. And shall, my perfect pair-each, trust me, born For the other; nay, your very hair, when mixed, Is of one hue. For where save in this nook Shall you two walk, when I am far away, And wish me prosperous fortune? Stay! Whene'er That plant shall wave its tangles lightly and softly,

As a queen's languid and imperial arm

Which scatters crowns among her lovers, you
Shall be reminded to predict to me

Some great success! Ah, see! the sun sinks broad
Behind St. Saviour's: wholly gone, at last!

Fest. Now, Aureole, stay those wandering eyes awhile!
You are ours to-night at least; and while you spoke
Of Michal and her tears, the thought came back
That none could leave what he so seemed to love:
But that last look destroys my dream-that look !

As if, where'er you gazed, there stood a star!
How far was Würzburg, with its church and spire,
And garden-walls, and all things they contain,
From that look's far alighting?

Par. I but spoke And looked alike from simple joy, to see The beings I love best, shut in so well From all rude chances like to be my lot, That, when afar, my weary spirit,-disposed To lose awhile its care in soothing thoughts Of them, their pleasant features, looks, and words,Need never hesitate, nor apprehend Encroaching trouble may have reached them too, Nor have recourse to Fancy's busy aid To fashion even a wish in their behalf Beyond what they possess already here; But, unobstructed, may at once forget Itself in them, assured how well they are. Beside, this Festus knows, he thinks me one Whom quiet and its charms attract in vain, One scarce aware of all the joys I quit, Too fill'd with airy hopes to make account Of soft delights which free hearts garner up: Whereas, behold how much our sense of all That's beauteous proves alike! When Festus learns That every common pleasure of the world

Affects me as himself; that I have just

As varied appetites for joy derived

From common things; a stake in life, in short,