9 II. THE CURSE. 1. ALONE towards the Table of the Dead There with collected voice and painful tone Lo! Arvalan appears; Only Kehama's powerful eye beheld Receiv'd his feeble breath. And is this all? the mournful Spirit said, This all that thou canst give me after death? This unavailing pomp, These empty pageantries that mock the dead! 2. In bitterness the Rajah heard, And groan'd, and smote his breast, and o'er his face Cowl'd the white mourning vest. 3. ARVALAN. Art thou not powerful,... even like a God? And must I, through my years of wandering, The hour of Yamen's wrath? I thought thou wouldst embody me anew, ... Yea, re-create me! Father, is this all? But in that wrongful and upbraiding tone, For rising anger half supprest his grief. ... Had I not spell-secur'd thee from disease, Fire, sword, all common accidents of man, And thou!... fool, fool... to perish by a stake! And by a peasant's arm! ... Even now, when from reluctant Heaven, Forcing new gifts and mightier attributes, So soon I should have quell'd the Death-God's power. 5. Waste not thy wrath on me, quoth Arvalan, Of bliss, And thus o'er earth and air they roam at will, And when the number of their days is full, Go fearlessly before the aweful throne. But I,... all naked feeling and raw life, ... What worse than this hath Yamen's hell in store? If ever thou didst love me, mercy father! Save me, for thou canst save... the Elements Know and obey thy voice. 6. KEHAMA. The Elements Shall sin no more against thee; whilst I speak Fate hath made that its own; but Fate shall yield ARVALAN. Only the sight of vengeance. Give me that! Vengeance, full, worthy, vengeance!...not the stroke Of sudden punishment, no agony ... That spends itself and leaves the wretch at rest, But lasting long revenge. KEHAMA. What, boy? is that cup sweet? then take thy fill ! 7. So as he spake, a glow of dreadful pride Inflamed his cheek, with quick and angry stride He moved toward the pile, And raised his hand to hush the crowd, and cried, And gave a womanly shriek, and back she drew, 8. It chanced that near her on the river-brink, The sculptured form of Marriataly stood; It was an Idol roughly hewn of wood, Artless, and mean, and rude; The Goddess of the poor was she; None else regarded her with piety. But when that holy Image Kailyal view❜d, To that she sprung, to that she clung, On her own Goddess with close-clasping arms, For life the maiden hung. 9. They seized the maid; with unrelenting grasp They bruised her tender limbs ; She, nothing yielding, to this only hope Clings with the strength of frenzy and despair She screams not now, she breathes not now, She forms not in her soul one secret prayer, In the one effort centering. Wrathful they With tug and strain would force the maid away;... Didst thou, O Marriataly, see their strife, In pity didst thou see the suffering maid? Or was thine anger kindled, that rude hands Assail'd thy holy Image?. for behold The holy image shakes! 10. Irreverently bold, they deem the maid And now with force redoubled drag their prey; ... Bends, yields, . ... and now it falls. But then they scream, For lo! they feel the crumbling bank give way, And all are plunged into the stream. 11. She hath escaped my will, Kehama cried, The worser criminal! And on Ladurlad, while he spake, severe The strong reflection of the pile |