The courtship of Miles Standish and other poems . lOO THE COURTSHIP OF IX. THE WEDDING-DAY. Forth from the curtain of clouds, from the tentof purple and scarlet, Issued the sun, the great High-Priest, in his gar-ments resplendent, Holiness unto the Lord, in letters of light, on hisforehead. Round the hem of his robe the golden bells andpomegranates. Blessing the world he came, and the bars of vaporbeneath him Gleamed like a grate of brass, and the sea at hisfeet was a laver! This was the wedding morn of Priscilla the Puritan were assembled together; the Elder and Magistrate also
The courtship of Miles Standish and other poems . lOO THE COURTSHIP OF IX. THE WEDDING-DAY. Forth from the curtain of clouds, from the tentof purple and scarlet, Issued the sun, the great High-Priest, in his gar-ments resplendent, Holiness unto the Lord, in letters of light, on hisforehead. Round the hem of his robe the golden bells andpomegranates. Blessing the world he came, and the bars of vaporbeneath him Gleamed like a grate of brass, and the sea at hisfeet was a laver! This was the wedding morn of Priscilla the Puritan were assembled together; the Elder and Magistrate alsoGraced the scene with their presence, and stood like the Law and the Gospel,. MILES STANDISH loi One with the sanction of earth and one with the blessing of and brief was the wedding, as that of Ruth and of the youth and the maiden repeated the words of betrothal,Taking each other for husband and wife in the Magistrates presence,After the Puritan way, and the laudable custom of then, and devoutly, the excellent Elder of PlymouthPrayed for the hearth and the home, that were founded that day in affection,Speaking of life and of death, and imploring divine benedictions. Lo! when the service was ended, a form ap-peared on the threshold. Clad in armor of steel, a sombre and sorrowfulfigure! Why does the bridegroom start and stare at thestrange apparition? Why does the bride turn pale, and hide her faceon his shoulder? 102 THE COURTSHIP OF Is it a phantom of air,—a bodiless, spectral illu-sion? Is it a ghost from the grave, that has come to for-bid the betrothal? Long had it stood there unseen, a guest unm-vited, unwelcom
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Keywords: ., bookauthorlongfell, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1910
