{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35654/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35654","id":"gutenberg_35654","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35654","summary":null,"tags":["Allegories","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Poetry","Category: Romance","Fairy tales","Prose poems"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by Sigal Alon, Matthew Wheaton, Fox in the Stars\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STARS IN THE POOL\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nSTARS IN\n\nTHE POOL\n\n_A Prose Poem for Lovers_\n\nBY\n\nEDNA KINGSLEY WALLACE\n\n_Author of \"Feelings and Things,\" \"Wonderings and Other Things\"_\n\n[Decoration]\n\nNEW YORK\n\nE. P. DUTTON & COMPANY\n\n681 FIFTH AVENUE\n\n\n_Copyright 1920_\n\n_By E. P. DUTTON & CO._\n\n_All Rights Reserved_\n\n\n_Printed in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\nTHE STARS IN THE POOL\n\n\n\n\n_The Stars in the Pool_\n\n\n\n\nI.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _The Castle_]\n\nMidmost of a forest of weaving lights and shadows, of dreaming winds,\nand fragrance wandering, there stood a great white castle, fair, and\ngleaming in the sun. Massive it was, yet high as well, so that it caught\nall colours of the dawn and sunset, like unto some peak of snow, remote\nfrom men.\n\n[Sidenote: _Good King Telwyn_]\n\nWithin the castle dwelt the good King Telwyn, lord of all that forest\nrealm, wherein at whiles were clearings, with orchards and vineyards,\nand fields of all manner of grain good for man and beast. And with the\nKing was Ellaline, the Queen, beloved and beautiful, and mother of\nRoseheart, whom Telwyn her father, old and wise, knew for the tenderest\nthought of God in woman form.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Beauty of Roseheart_]\n\nFair as the dawn was Roseheart, and about her a freshness like that of\nbabes. There was in her hair the ruddiness of tried gold, spun into a\nweb to catch the sun. Like the sky in the East at twilight were her\neyes, and the dark brows thereof as a flight of bird's wings. The mouth\nof her was crimson, and fresh, and young, and curved so tenderly\nwithal, that none looking upon her might fail to love her with the love\nthat leaps into the heart for all young things of fair seeming and\npromise.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Isle of Lokus_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Lokus Remembereth his Youth_]\n\nNow upon a day came overseas to Telwyn's realm one like a young god\ninvincible, Flame, son of Lokus, lord of a far island, wherein were\nfiery mountains having their roots in the sea. It was a land of wondrous\nbeauty, but they that dwelt therein, rich though they were, for that the\nland was exceeding fertile, yielding in fullest measure the fruits of\nthe earth, yet dwelt ever in danger betwixt the mountains and the sea.\nFor there had been times when living fire had rolled down the mountains,\nand the earth had been shaken mightily, and the sea, in a huge wall of\nemerald, had fallen upon the land and overwhelmed it. And Lokus, giving\nthought to these things, had deep desire that the son of his heart\nshould escape these dangers, and live out his years in peace and\nhappiness. And for that the youth was ever of the mind to fashion of the\nclay of the earth whatsoever things he saw, and might in nowise be\nwithheld from the cunning of his hands, it came into the mind of Lokus\nthat it were poor kindness to the child of his love to constrain him to\ncourts and statecraft. For Lokus remembered his own youth, and the\nstruggle thereof, when that his father had denied him the life of his\nown gift, which, darkling long, now sought in the son of his body and\nspirit its life to the glory of God.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Gifts of Flame_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame and the Salt Sea_]\n\nWherefore Lokus had called his son to him, and had bidden him to go\nstraitly to the friend of his own youth, the wise King Telwyn, who would\nteach him somewhat of life and living in the great world. But more than\nfor the ways and wit of men did Flame have thought for all things\nbeautiful in form. Right well he loved to liven clay to semblance of\nyoung maids and children, mothers, and old men wise with living. Ever\ninto their faces he put somewhat no other man might see in them. At\nwhiles, shapes of beauty like to nought that he had seen swam before his\nvision, but swiftly they faded, and he rubbed his eyes, and looked as he\nwere silly. Wherefore men called him Dreamer. Yet with all this had he\nlittle thought for what the Lord God had meant in the making of the\nworld, being well content in this his youth that by the instinct of his\nfingers, and no thought withal, he could please the good folk with\nhappy likeness of themselves. Tall and straight was Flame, with hair\nlike fire seen through smoke, and with skin like ripe olives in the\nlight of the going sun. Firm his mouth, and his brow both high and wide.\nIn his eyes were all the changing lights and colours of the sea. And it\nwas as if the salt sea were in his blood, so that when he flamed in the\nwont of youth and joy, it seemed like driftwood burning, leaping,\nflowering, in all the colours known of men.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Birth of Love_]\n\nAnd Flame, son of Lokus, looking upon the Princess Roseheart, drew one\ngreat breath, and loved her with the love of a man's heart. And\nRoseheart, when she looked into the eyes of Flame, and his heart\ntherein, knew him for her lord, and loved him wholly.\n\n[Sidenote: _Their Troth Plighted_]\n\nWherewith, Telwyn the King, her father, seeing these things, pondered\nthe youth, and when he had questioned him straitly, was in nowise loath\nthat the thing should be. For Telwyn was a wise man and discerning, and\nfound Flame a goodly youth, and nought against him for an husband to the\nPrincess, his daughter. Then was their troth plighted, yet were they\nover young to wed, and Telwyn the King spake plain words to Flame, that\nit were well he should prove himself in some wise ere he should claim\nfor bride the Princess Roseheart.\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _The Pool_]\n\nNow some way from the castle, deep in the forest, was set a Pool, so\ndeep and still that in its depths was imaged all that bent above its\nbrim--the fluttering leaves, and long-stemmed flowers, the flashing\nflight of birds, and white-winged argosies of cloud. And so shadowed it\nwas, and so deep beyond depth, that he who looked as far as he might\ncould see the stars of heaven mirrored therein.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Faces of Love_]\n\nDaylong did Flame feed the hunger of his eyes on the beauty of his\nbeloved, as clad in kirtle of forest-green, girt with gold, she knelt at\nthe edge of the Pool, or laughing, chased the butterflies, to woo them\nto her lips and hair. At whiles deep quiet came upon them as they bent\nabove the Pool, seeing nought of all it held save only the two faces of\nlove that looked therein.\n\n[Sidenote: _Earthlove Sprite Invisible_]\n\nUpon a day at the hour of golden noon, when all the land swam in a haze\nof beauty, a flickering brightness came and passed, when Earthlove,\nsprite invisible, touched with his lips these twain, and with a lilt of\nlaughter rode away athwart a sunbeam. Thereafter did Flame kiss\nRoseheart long, upon the mouth, and trembling, gazed into her eyes that\nwere like still pools, wherein was nought save his own image, more\nbeautiful than life. And Flame's heart swelled within him, lordly-wise,\nfor that he dwelt so in the eyes and the heart of his beloved. And in\nthe eyes of Flame was nought save Roseheart imaged, but swaying as it\nwere on a surging wave wherethrough ran all the changing lights and\ncolours of the sea.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Old Gray Woman_]\n\nBut when it was some while since these things had befallen, the dusk\nwas come, all suddenly, and there passed strangely over the Pool a\nshivering, and from it rose a mist that hid it. The heart of Flame was\ntroubled, and lifting his eyes to see what was toward, he saw before him\nmomently a figure of sorrow, Wur, the Old Gray Woman of Shadows, whose\neyes were as misty pools at twilight, her hair as cobwebs matted, and\nher garments as the wings of the dusk. Yet upon her, nathless, was a\nwistful beauty as of moonlight, wherein were all things wondrous.\n\n[Sidenote: _Of Sorrow_]\n\n\"Behold!\" said Flame in wonder to the maid Roseheart, but she was in\nfear of somewhat that was as a thing known and not known, and would not\nlook, but turned her face to his breast. And Flame spoke unto the Old\nGray Woman of Shadows, saying, \"Gray One, I pray thee, what wouldst\nthou?\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Way of Destiny_]\n\nShe answered, and her voice was as the winds of autumn, through bare\nbranches: \"I am Sorrow, and the Way of Destiny, and the Shadow of Things\nto be. The flower fadeth, and the flesh falleth away as a garment, but\nthe seed and the soul shall not perish, except the seed fall on barren\nground, and the soul feed upon the body alone. Ponder ye these things in\nyour hearts.\" And in a breath she was gone, leaving upon them a chill\nas of the winter death.\n\n[Sidenote: _Earthlove Once More_]\n\nWherefore was Flame of grievous mind for that he did not understand\nthese things. And Roseheart clung to him weeping, the while he gave her\nsuch sweet comfort as he might. Long he looked upon her in wonder, at\nthe spun gold of her hair, the white shining about her brows, her deep,\nstill eyes wherein was nought but his image, her mouth fashioned to joy\nand love, and her slender body, curving to the grace of womanhood. And\nonce again Earthlove, sprite invisible, touched him, and stung him, and\nhis heart surged with love of the maid, and his man's desire grew great\nwithin him.\n\nShe stirred, and looked into his eyes, and shrank away, for therein was\nthat which affrighted the peace of her soul. Looking, she saw not only\nher fair face, but her whole white body, drifting in the sea-surge of\nhis eyes, wherein were all the changing lights and colours of the sea.\n\n[Sidenote: _Sea-Surge and Fire-Bloom_]\n\nAnd the soul of Roseheart was faint with the far music of the sea-surge\nthat was the soul of Flame. Yet being but a young maid, she was in fear\nalso, saying, \"Flame! Thou dishonourest me!\" and freed herself, and\nsped away fleetly.\n\nAnd upon the youth was shame, but a new strength therewith, so that he\nrefrained him from following her, and cast himself upon the ground and\nwept, for that he had affrighted the innocence of Roseheart whom his\nsoul loved. And a great cry for succor grew in him, and he prayed full\nheartily to the Lord God that He would show him His will.\n\n[Sidenote: _Senta the Radiant One_]\n\nThereafter, feeling a presence, he looked up, and his eyes were blinded\nwith a great light, and he covered his eyes, and bowed his head. Before\nhim, in garments more shining than the noonday sun, stood Senta, the\nRadiant One. She spake, and her voice had the beauty of the sea in\nstorm, when sudden sunlight, flaming from the West, gives rainbow\ncolours to the flying foam: \"Hearken, Flame, to the voice of Vision,\nwhich the Lord God put into thy soul when thou wast born. From this day\nforth shalt thou rest not, but follow thy dream through all the earth\nand across the seas. At the last shalt thou find that thou seekest, for\nso is it written, but thou shalt not know the manner of thy finding, nor\nmay I tell thee. Sleep.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Vision_]\n\n[Sidenote: _The Woman of Radiance_]\n\nAnd upon Flame came sleep as the sleep of the sea at sunrise, midmost\nof the summer, whenas the glory of the sky is a great magic in the sea,\nswinging as a censer to and fro, that the Lord God may be honoured of\nthe wonders He hath made. Now the dream of Flame was a dream of\nwomanhood--of women beautiful as dawn or flowers, of women whose fair\nseeming covered evil, women good and women false, maids and mothers and\nharlots, drifting, thronging, clamouring, praying, fawning,\npassing--until at last came one clad in shining garments, fashioned full\nseemly, of white silk that flowed and clung, revealing gracious lines of\nher form who walked stately-wise, with little children about her knees.\nAnd Flame saw that her form was radiance, and her eyes were stars, but\nhe might not discern the fashion of her face for the light thereof. And\nhe was sore troubled that the seeming of her face was withholden from\nhim, for he knew in his soul that he had somewhat to do with her.\n\n[Sidenote: _Mother of Men_]\n\nCame once more the voice of Senta the Radiant One: \"Flame, Maker of\nImages, attend my words. This woman shalt thou seek throughout the\nworld, forasmuch as she is the dream of dreams in thy soul. In the\nfullness of thy manhood shalt thou fashion her in pure marble, and she\nshall be called Mother of Men. As for thee, thou shalt be called the\nGiver of Dreams. Awake.\"\n\nAnd Senta the Radiant One, passing, gathered to her breast with one\nswift motion the sprite Earthlove, that had revealed to her Flame and\nRoseheart in their need to be taught the wisdom of life which they knew\nnot.\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Senta Taketh Earthlove_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Dreams and Awakening_]\n\nAnd when that Senta had taken Earthlove unto herself, and had passed,\nthe evening was come, and there were stars a-many in the depths of Pool.\nTherewith, looking upon them, a great peace came upon Flame, and being\nweary, he laid himself down that he might sleep and be refreshed. And as\nhe slept, he dreamed of that woman whose form was radiance, and whose\neyes were stars. And his fingers stirred, and sought to fashion out of\nthe earth her form of beauty; but all crumbled under his touch, and he\nmight not.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Queen and her Women_]\n\nWhen the morning was come, and upon all things lay new freshness as of\nthe world's beginning, the youth Flame arose and stripped him, and\nplunged his body in the Pool that sleep might be shaken from him.\nWhereafter he got him to the castle, and when that he had stayed his\nhunger with bread and new milk, asked that he might have speech with his\ntroth-plight, the Princess Roseheart. Then a serving-man led him through\nmany halls to a great room wherein with their women sat Roseheart and\nthe Queen her mother.\n\n[Sidenote: _Beauty Added unto Beauty_]\n\nAnd there, in seemly raiment of soft colours, crimson, and the brown of\nold wood, and fresh green, the women sat before their looms, and their\nframes wherein rich broidery grew under their white fingers. And over\nall was sunlight, a flickering whereof was made by blown vines without\nthe casements, which were open to the morn. There was the whisper of\nsilk, and much babble of talk, after the fashion of women working.\nShuttles flew in the looms, and white arms wondrous fair in motion drew\nforth long silken threads, being wrought into fine stuffs, to the end\nthat beauty might be added unto beauty.\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart is Troubled_]\n\nQueen Ellaline sat very still in the midst of these her women. Of\ndelicate fashion she was, and gentle. Her eyes were widely set, and\nblue, and mother-sweet, and her hair was silvering with the caress of\nthe years. And she was sad in the midst of sunshine, forasmuch as she\nwas troubled at the mien of the maid, her daughter, who sat with\ndrooping head and still hands. And in good sooth, the heart of the\nPrincess was heavy within her, and no little in fear. Nightlong had she\nseen the vision of Flame, in whose eyes like the sea lay her white body\nfloating. Never before since he had loved her had she seen aught but her\nsoul's self therein, and she was troubled.\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart is Troubled_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Mother of Men_]\n\nAnd now Flame, son of Lokus, lord of that far isle of sea-surge and\nfire-bloom, entered in courtly wise this room of work and idleness, of\ngayety and gossip, and of love perplexed. In reverent greeting did he\nkiss the hand of Queen Ellaline; then turning him to the Princess\nRoseheart, he took both of her white hands in his, seeking to look into\nher eyes. And soon, for her love of him she might not refrain, and\nbravely gave them to his seeing. And for that she was shamefast, in the\nway of a maid, she looked as one that saw not. But in the eyes of\nRoseheart, he who loved her saw as he was wont only the image and\nseeming of himself. And he was sorrowful therewith, forasmuch as he had\nthought mayhap to find in the eyes of his love the twin stars of the\nwoman of his dream. But the thing was not. And remembering the Radiant\nOne, and the things that she had said, he knew that, will-he, nill-he,\nhe must fare forth in quest of that woman whose form was radiance, and\nwhose eyes were stars--her from whom he should fashion his Mother of\nMen.\n\nThen spake Ellaline, the Queen, with quiet voice, saying, \"What wouldst\nthou, Flame, son of Lokus? My daughter Roseheart hath seeming of some\nill-hap with which thou hast to do.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Speaketh Plainly_]\n\n[Sidenote: _The Pain of Roseheart_]\n\nTherewith did Flame drop the hands of Roseheart his love, and standing\nbefore the Queen her mother, he spake on this wise: \"I know not what\nthis thing may be, but somewhat hath been laid upon my will, so that\nchoice it hath none. Wherefore, though thy daughter Roseheart is as the\nblood of my heart to me, and fain would I take her to wife straightway,\nyet first must I go across the sea, and through all the earth, until I\nfind a certain woman whose form is radiance and whose eyes are stars,\nthat I may fashion of her in pure marble a Mother of Men that shall\nfulfill the dream of my soul. Not of my willing is this thing laid upon\nme. But the Lord God when I was born put into my soul the vision, and\ninto my hands the cunning to fashion the shape of my vision. Therefore\nmust I go, and abide the will of the Lord God lest He destroy me.\nWhether I shall return I know not, for many will be the perils of the\nway, but in my heart meseems I know that I shall return and take to\nwife the maid Roseheart, whom in all honour I love and cherish.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _A White Stillness_]\n\nHearing these words at the last, Roseheart found somewhat of courage\nbeyond that she had had, and looked into the eyes of Flame. Therein was\nno longer her own white body, as she had feared to see, but the noble\nform of a woman whose white silken draperies flowed and clung, whose\nform was radiance, and whose eyes were stars. With her were little\nchildren. And Roseheart, gazing, beheld the form of radiance, and the\nfaces of the children, as somewhat known, and not known, and in her\nheart was a white stillness, and no anger that Flame would leave her to\nseek this woman, but only the pain of longing, and a meekness like that\nof Mary, the Blessed Mother.\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame, His Farewell_]\n\nFlame, pitiful of the still sorrow of Roseheart, clasped her to his\nbreast, and kissed her thrice upon the forehead. But the Lure of the Way\nof Life was upon him, and turning strongly from the maid and the Queen,\nher mother, he said: \"Good greeting must I give you, from the heart, and\nlong farewell, for that I must be about the business the Lord God hath\nset me. But ere I go, I would see Telwyn, and speak with him of that I\nhave to do.\"\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame, His Farewell_]\n\nAll silently they three together sought Telwyn, the King, but now\nreturned from the hunt, and sitting at meat with his men in the great\nbanquet hall of the castle.\n\n[Sidenote: _King Telwyn_]\n\nA mighty man of sorts was Telwyn. Fierce in war, yet had he also a great\nlove of peace, of beauty, of mirth and joy, and of his food and wine.\nAlso had he great discernment for the true things in the hearts of men.\nWherefore, seeing sorrow and heaviness in the faces of the three whom he\nloved, who would have speech with him, he bade his men-at-arms and\nserving-men depart.\n\n[Sidenote: _The King Pondereth_]\n\nWhen that he had listened all quietly to the words of Flame, there first\ncame anger into his heart, and a mist upon his sight, for that\nRoseheart, his daughter, who was as the remembered joy of his youth,\nshould be in woe for the going from her of Flame, Son of Lokus, to\nfollow the gleam of stars in the eyes of the woman of his dream. Yet was\nTelwyn proud, and would constrain no man to take unreadily his daughter\nRoseheart; and just, for that he remembered what he had said to the\nyouth, that it were well he should prove himself somewhat ere he should\ntake the maid in marriage. Therefore with a mighty intake of the breath,\nand closing the lids of his eyes, wherein were lightnings, King Telwyn\nspake on this wise, his voice as the voice of far thunders: \"Flame, son\nof Lokus, thou grievest the heart of Telwyn, father of Roseheart, for\nthat thou puttest the maid in sorrow for thy going. Yet am I a man, and\nknow the heart of a man in youth. Fain would I give thee of the wisdom I\nhave learned, but that may not be.\n\n[Sidenote: _Telwyn Admonisheth Flame_]\n\nIn pain and struggle shalt thou come to thine own wisdom, which is for\nthee alone, so that no man may give it thee, but thou must win it. Yet\nsince thou hast won a maid to her promise, it were meet that thou\nshouldst go thy ways carefully, bravely, and in good faith, that thou\nmayest return in honour.\n\n[Sidenote: _Telwyn Admonisheth Flame_]\n\nI charge thee, see thou to these things lest the vengeance of Telwyn\nfind thee out, though thou wert in the uttermost parts of the earth.\nLend not thy soul to wine to make a mock of, nor to false women that\nthey may break it. Bear thou thyself with modesty; give of thy strength\nand wit to whomsoever hath need of them. Cheat no man of his due in any\nwise, remembering that so thou wouldst cheat thyself of thy birthright,\nwhich is to be one with truth and right in so far as thou canst attain\nthereunto. Thou art the son of Lokus, and art bound to carry his name\nand blood in honour. I have spoken. Farewell.\"\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Ellaline Distraught_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Ellaline Beholdeth Wur_]\n\nNow was Ellaline, the Queen, fair distraught, for that she understood\nnot her own mind in the matter. And her heart was as water with pity of\nthe maid, and as a sting her tongue, whenas she thought of the going of\nFlame, for that to her seeing he had put an affront upon their house.\nYet might she not speak in wrath, when Telwyn her husband had spoken in\nquietness. And there came upon her a trembling lest she speak, and\nTelwyn's displeasure come upon her.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Strength of Flame_]\n\nWherefore, turning to flee away, lest speaking she do wrong, Ellaline\nthe Queen saw some way off in the hall a figure of sorrow, Wur, the Old\nGray Woman of Shadows. And being in eld, well she wot that in the coming\nof Wur was sign that the Lord God was minded to send upon their house\nsorrow and the winds of destiny, and that not for her love and grief\nmight these things be stayed in anywise. Wherewith she kissed the maid\nher daughter tenderly, as in farewell, and fled away straitly, weeping.\nAnd Roseheart was white and still.\n\nWhen Flame turned him to the Princess Roseheart, fain would she have had\nhim kiss her upon the mouth, but he would not, seeking her brow instead,\nin all tenderness. And piteous was the face of the maid, that Flame whom\nshe loved denied her. But the eyes of Telwyn marking the thing, it\nseemed good to him that Flame turned him from the lips of his love. Well\ndid the King know the hearts of men, and right heartily did he hold in\nscorn those who had not the wit to fear such things as betray men unto\nweakness.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Going of Flame_]\n\nThereafter did Flame get him thence right speedily, to take ship for\nfar countries.\n\nThe maid Roseheart covered her eyes that she might not see the going of\nher beloved. And she wept full sore, and when Telwyn the King would have\ncomforted her, Wur, the Old Gray Woman of Shadows, came unto her\npitifully, and took her from the arms of her father, and folded her\nmantle about her, and led her away all gently. And yielding his little\nmaid unto Wur, whom well he wot of old, the King was shaken in grief,\nthat the thing must be and nought might stay it.\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart and Wur_]\n\nDaylong and nightlong the maid clung to Wur and to none other, and the\nOld Gray Woman of Shadows, whose voice was like unto the winds of\nAutumn, made sad music of the days and ways of men. Ever she spake,\ntelling tales of sorrow, whereunto Roseheart listened, saying in her\nheart, \"There is no sorrow like to mine, who am a widow before I am\nwed.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart Wakes Weeping_]\n\nYet there was, withal, in the tales of Wur, a gray beauty that melted\nthe heart of the maid, even in despite of her own grief, to a vague and\nterrible longing to learn what lay at the heart of life. Nightlong did\nWur watch over her, and the maid dreamed in sorrow, to wake weeping.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Face of Grief_]\n\nSo for a space was grief bitter in the maid, and grievous was the hurt\nof all things, for that Flame whom she loved had gone his ways from her.\nThen on a day, for pity of the grief wherewith she suffered, a longing\ngrew in her to look upon the face of her sadness in the Pool in the\nforest. Thither she went, therefore, with Wur, the Old Gray Woman of\nShadows, and leaned over the Pool in the wont of her old fashion. And as\nwith sore pity of herself she looked into the Pool, upon the face of\ngrief that was hers, she saw that in her eyes, which aforetime had held\nnought save the face of Flame, was an image that blotted out all else.\nSemblance it had of an image of Wur, the Old Gray Woman of Shadows,\nwhose hair was as cobwebs matted, whose eyes were as misty pools at\ntwilight, and whose garments were as the wings of the dusk. Yet as the\nmaid looked more nearly, she saw that the form had only the seeming of\nWur, and was in good sooth that of Roseheart herself, stricken in grief\nto the likeness of Wur.\n\nArising in wonder she turned her to look upon Wur, and in the face of\nthe Old Gray Woman of Shadows she saw strangely the semblance of\nherself, Roseheart. And at the horror and mystery of this thing which\nshe might not understand, the maid shrieked with terror. And when the\nOld Gray Woman would have folded her in her arms to quiet her, the maid\nwould not, and shrank away, and prayed for help to the Lord God that she\nmight have comfort.\n\n[Sidenote: _There Came a Radiance_]\n\nAnd there came a radiance, growing ever brighter, until Wur, the Old\nGray Woman of Shadows, might not stay, but fled away before that which\nwas more shining than the noonday sun. And Roseheart was ware of a\npresence she might not see for the brightness.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Coming of Senta_]\n\nThen spake Senta, the Radiant One, the Voice of Vision, unto the maid\nRoseheart, full gently, yet in the manner of one who may not be\ngainsaid: \"Roseheart, beloved of Flame, who shall be called Giver of\nDreams, lift up thy heart. Well hast thou learned the lore of sorrow\nthat Wur hath taught thee, and these things it is needful that thou\nshouldst know. But too much hast thou made thyself one with sorrow, to\nthe end that it hath grown dear to thee. This thing may not be. Pity\nthat seeketh not itself makes pure the heart of man, but pity of thyself\nfor thine own woe is another matter, whereto thou must look else will\nthy sorrow destroy thee. Thou shalt arise, therefore, and go unto thy\nfather Telwyn the King, and thy mother, the Queen Ellaline. Sore have\nbeen their hearts that thou wert in grief. It should be thy task rather,\nto bring them joy who are stricken in years.\n\n[Sidenote: _Vision and Dreams_]\n\n\"But since joy is not made of nought, and since there is now in thee\nsorrow alone, I say unto thee, go thy ways among the people of thy\nfather the King, and of thy grief make garments of joy to cover the\nnakedness of the poor withal. Take to them that are sick the flowers of\nthy kindness, that shall be as the snowdrops blossoming under the mantle\nof the winter of thy grief. Look into the eyes of the old and find\npatience, and into the hearts of the children and find hope. Tend thou\nthe bed of pain, and ease the woe of the sons of men in such measure as\nthou mayest. Therewith shall all things befall thee as the Lord God\ndesireth. Unto me, Senta, it is vouchsafed to give thee vision, and a\ndream, even as I gave these things unto Flame, thy beloved. Sleep.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Starry-eyed_]\n\nAnd Roseheart laid her down in the deep sleep as of a rosebud in the sun\nat mid-day, when life in a great tide flows and greatens, to the end\nthat the rose may be full-blown. And the dream of Roseheart was on this\nwise: There was a woman in shining garments, fashioned full seemly of\nwhite silk that flowed and clung, revealing gracious lines of her form\nwho walked stately-wise, with little children about her knees. Her form\nwas radiance, and her eyes were stars. And in the fashion of her\nseeming, and in the faces of the children, was somewhat as it were a\nthing known and not known. Then beheld Roseheart the seeming of Flame,\nher beloved, looking in joy and reverence upon this woman whose form was\nradiance, and whose eyes were stars.\n\nAnd Senta the Radiant One said unto Roseheart: \"Behold and see if this\nbe not she whom thou didst look upon at the last in the eyes of Flame\nwhom thou lovest.\" And it was so, and Roseheart marveled.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Heart of the Maid_]\n\nWhereafter Senta bade her awake, and she awoke and pondered these\nthings what they might mean. And in the heart of the maid there grew and\nstrengthened the desire and the will to be as that woman of her dream,\nwhose beauty was as music under the moon, and in all reverence beloved\nof her troth-plight, Flame. Thus are women ever, in their deep need to\nbe in all ways that they may, the desired of their lord.\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart Gives Greeting_]\n\nWhen all things had become clear to Roseheart she arose swiftly, and\nwent unto Telwyn the King, and the Queen her mother. And upon her face\nwas a shining which was the shining of her soul. And she said unto them,\n\"I give you greeting, my father and my mother.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Going of Wur_]\n\nAnd looking upon her they were glad exceedingly, and exchanged looks the\none with the other, for that the face of Roseheart was no longer gray\nwith grief.\n\nFirst answered Ellaline, saying, \"Greeting to thee, my daughter. Where\nnow is Wur, that thou hast the look of happiness?\"\n\nSudden wonder made wide the eyes of Roseheart. \"In good sooth I know\nnot,\" she answered. \"I have not seen her at all any more since the\ncoming of the Shining One.\"\n\nTelwyn the King leaned him forward in eagerness, asking, \"The Shining\nOne? What meanest thou?\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart, Her Task_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Telwyn Perceiveth_]\n\nInto the face of Roseheart came the far, wondering look of children,\nbut in her heart was a song. \"I know not,\" she made answer, \"unless it\nwas an angel of the Lord God, to shew me the things that I must do, and\nthat which I must become.\" Herewith the voice of the maid grew wondrous\nsweet. \"Of my garment of sorrow must I make raiment of joy to cover the\nnakedness of the poor. To the sick must I take the flowers of kindness\nthat are now as snowdrops blossoming under the mantle of the winter of\ngrief. I am to look into the eyes of the old and find patience, and into\nthe hearts of children and find hope. And I am to tend the bed of pain,\nand ease the suffering of the sons of men in such measure as I may,\nthat all things may befall me as the Lord God desireth.\"\n\nInto the face of Telwyn there came a tenderness like that of women, and\nin his voice were the tears a man may not suffer in his eyes. \"Great is\nthe joy in my heart,\" he said, \"for that thou art indeed become a woman.\nAnd well I wot that the Lord God is with thee, that thou knowest these\nthings of wisdom.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Queen Speaketh_]\n\nAnd Ellaline, looking into the face of her daughter, drew her to her\nheart, and spake on this wise: \"Deep grief has it been to me that in thy\npain I might not help thee, but must leave thee to the care of Wur,\nthat woman of sorrow. Nathless have I prayed for thee without ceasing.\nBlessed be the name of the Lord God that He hath found the Way for\nthee.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Telwyn and Roseheart_]\n\nNow on the morrow when Telwyn the King went among his people, to see\nthat all was well, and nought amiss that might be set right, he put\nRoseheart his daughter upon a white palfrey; and himself upon a mighty\nred horse, led her whithersoever he went, that she might see all things\nin the wisdom and tenderness newly come to her. And from his deep eyes\nlike the caverns of the sky, he watched her, as pity grew in her, and\nknowledge, and quick device of succor. Daylong they rode, at the\nnoontide having bite and sup with a woodcutter and his wife, newly\nblessed with a fine man child. And Roseheart, taking the child in her\narms, laughed and wept that he was so small and sweet, and for that he\nclung to her, and turned to her breast. And when the shadows grew long,\nand they set their faces toward the castle, the maid was sore weary, but\nshe knew it not, for the pity in her, and the thought of all awry in the\nworld that must be set right.\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart Steadfast_]\n\nAnd it befell that she dreamed that night of a babe that lay upon her\nbreast, and so sweet it was, that she woke weeping for very joy.\n\nThereafter daily the maid went forth with the King her father, or at\nwhiles with the Queen her mother, whenas she was wont to say unto Telwyn\nwith sweet gravity, \"This is a matter for women, of which thou knowest\nnought.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Her Need and Desire_]\n\nAnd the King smiled in his beard at the woman-ways of her. But hours\nthere were when that Roseheart was a-weary, and an-hungered for Flame,\nher troth-plight lord. Yet always, remembering her dream, she arose from\ngrief, and with the trouble of others, and what she might do for them,\nfilled the emptiness of her heart. And so great was her need and desire\nto become as the woman of the great dream, that slowly as a slender moon\nfills with silver, or a rosebud greatens to fullness, did Roseheart the\nmaid grow in fashion and seeming and good sooth toward the very truth of\nher desire, to be as that woman whose form was radiance and whose eyes\nwere stars.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Thrice Bloomed the Rose_]\n\nThrice the snowdrops came and went, thrice bloomed the rose; thrice the\nharvest ripened to the scythe, and winter flushed to spring, and Flame,\nson of Lokus, was not yet come from overseas to claim his promise of his\ntroth-plight maiden.\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Journeyeth_]\n\n[Sidenote: _He Groweth in Strength_]\n\nLong had he wandered from land to land, seeking ever the shape of his\ndream. Ever he made forms of beauty with his hands, whatsoever he saw,\nand men marveled thereat, so cunning-true they were, and skillful. And\neverywhere was he tempted with all manner of lures to flesh and spirit\nthat he forsake his dream and take his ease and pleasure like other men,\nbut he would not. And it befell that on a day when he was riding through\nthe forest, he came upon a carle that beat a woman, his wife. And Flame\nwas wroth with the carle, and fell upon him in fury, that so he should\nmisuse the strength that God had given him. And the anger of Flame was\nas the strength of ten men, but when he had the throat of the man in his\nfingers, and would have slain him, all suddenly his anger was not. And\nin good pity of the fellow that he was yet in youth, he loosed him, and\nadmonished him, and went his ways. And the strength of the man that he\nhad spared to God's good life was added to his own strength.\n\n[Sidenote: _He Serveth Need_]\n\n[Sidenote: _He Fareth On_]\n\nAnd with his good strength of the body was come strength of his soul\nalso. Wherefore, when in his wanderings he came upon a fair land wherein\nwas much kindness, and after a while that land, which had an aged king,\nwas threatened by savage men from wild forest land beyond, he girded on\nhis sword and led the people in war that they might put to confusion\nthe savage men who sought to slay them, and take their fat lands, and\nthe homes where they were born. And when their enemies were driven out,\nthe old King embraced with tears him who had risked his life for them,\nand besought him, saying, \"Flame, son of Lokus, what wouldst thou?\nWhatsoever thou ask, that will I give thee.\" And Flame, with a look of\nfar horizons in his eyes that were like the sea, answered him on this\nwise: \"God be gracious to thee for thy kindness, but it is I who am in\nthy debt, for that I have learned the sweetness of giving myself wholly,\neven unto death, if need be, that innocent folk should not suffer, nor\nevil prevail. I am a selfish man, thinking little enough of other folk,\nas I go my way dreaming, and that now I have seen somewhat other than\nthat is a mercy of the Lord God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Of Black Words_]\n\nAnd though the people clamoured that he should stay with them, he went\nhis way, and came into a new land, and dwelt there for a time. And being\ncomely, with grace and courtliness in his mien, and the beauty of the\nsea in his eyes, when he looked eagerly into the faces of women, seeking\nhis dream, many were sick with love of him. And they made devices that\nhe should tarry with them, some in innocence and good faith, as a maid\nmay, and some fawning, and whispering black words to the youth and heat\nof his blood.\n\nOf these last there came betimes a witch-woman, who discerning with\ncunning the eyes of Flame that they were like the sea, made herself as a\nmoon-woman, that he should follow her. And Flame, looking upon her,\nwhose face was as silver, felt somewhat surge within him answering her\ndesire. And the woman glided before him until they were come into the\ndesert.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Moon-Woman_]\n\nAnd when the moon-woman moved not so swiftly, but lingered, and Flame\nwould have touched her, she laughed, and would and would not, and\nreaching for her, he stumbled, and fell upon the ground, yet held her\nfast. And the night was black upon them.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Face of Leprosy_]\n\nWhen the early morning was come, Flame turned him from the moon-woman\nexulting that now at last he had drunk of the cup, desire whereof had\ntormented him. But as he turned, some way off in brightness stood Senta\nthe Radiant One. And she drew near, and spake not, but shed her light,\nwithout pity, upon the moon-woman. And Flame saw that she was not\nbeautiful, but a hag, and her face of silver the face of leprosy, white\nand horrible, and as old as the world. And he looked about him, and saw\nin the desert the bones of men. Then did he cry out in fear, \"I am in\nthe place of the dead!\"\n\nAnd he rose up swiftly and fled away till he was come to the edge of the\ndesert, and thence into a gentle land, of murmuring streams, and trees\non the which was fruit of divers kinds, and good to the taste. And after\nthat Flame had drunk of the waters, and eaten of the fruit, the Lord God\nwas pitiful of his shame and weariness, and he slept.\n\n[Sidenote: _Cometh the Dream_]\n\n[Sidenote: _The Voice of Vision_]\n\nSleeping, once more he dreamed of that woman of radiance, starry-eyed.\nBut whereas aforetime he might not see the fashion of her face, it was\nnow revealed to him in the seeming of his troth-plight maiden,\nglorified. Now was the rose full blown, the child become a woman, in\nstrength, and tenderness, and wisdom, and her beauty was as music under\nthe moon. Then unto him in his dream spake the Voice of Vision on this\nwise: \"Now that thou hast proved thyself in turning thee from the place\nof the dead, shalt thou have fullness of life, withal. Thou hast looked\nupon death in battle, and feared not, for that thou sawest therein that\nlife which is greater than thine own life; and thou hast looked upon\nthat life which is sin, and hast seen therein the death of the spirit.\nWherefore arise, and go straightway to claim the maiden Roseheart for\nthy wife, that the true life of body and spirit may be fulfilled unto\nthee. And whatsoever thou fashionest with thy hands, that shalt thou\nfashion also with thy heart and soul, in the light of the vision the\nLord God hath given thee. Arise.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Strength Fulfilled_]\n\nWith a great cry of joy he awoke, and strength was fulfilled to him as\nit had been a fountain, ever leaping and ever renewed. Wherewith\nstraightway he arose, and girt up his mantle for the journey, that\nswift might be the way of his going.\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Returneth_]\n\n[Sidenote: _The People at Games_]\n\nUnto the days of three moons he journeyed, over land and sea, and at\nlast he was come into the country of Telwyn, wherein were peace, and\ngood harvest, and labour for all that would. And while he was yet some\nway off, upon a hill, he saw that the people were gathered together in a\ngreat meadow, and there rose to him on the wind a great song of joy that\nthey were singing.\n\nAnd drawing near he saw that some of the people were playing at games in\nthe meadow, quoits and bowls, and other games of skill of divers kinds,\nwith trials of strength and daring for the eager blood of youth. And\nthere were horses a-many, and on them men laughing and jesting, and\nthere were women and children, some hundreds, clad in fluttering\ngarments of all the colours of joy.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Day of Joy_]\n\nIn the midst of the throng there sat upon a dais a woman in shining\nraiment of cloth of silver, broidered with roses that had caught their\ncolour from the rose tint of her face. And her hair of spun gold was\nbound with a silver fillet, fashioned in all delicacy, and colored to\nthe semblance of the roses that were in the pattern thereof, with leaves\ncunningly wrought of green gold. Standing beside her was a young page\nclad in crimson who carried a tray whereon were ribbands of bright\ncolours, the which the Princess Roseheart, for she it was in the shining\nraiment, did upon those who were victors in the games and contests.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Morning of Life_]\n\nGreat was the pride of the people that the Princess had come amongst\nthem in their merrymaking. Long had she been with them in sorrow and\nservice, but not before this day in the joy of the morning of life, and\nthey deemed it of good augury for her happiness.\n\n[Sidenote: _Cometh Flame_]\n\nNow when Flame, yet some way off, saw that the woman in shining raiment\nwas the beloved of his soul, Roseheart, his heart leapt within him, and\nthere was upon his limbs the speed of light. But betimes it came to him\nthat travel was upon his garments, and that it were not fit he should\ndishonour his troth-plight maiden by coming before her eyes in aught\nunworthy. Wherefore he turned him aside from the meadow, and made such\nhaste as he might toward the castle midmost of the forest.\n\nWhen he was come thither, he found therein only a few old serving men\nand women, for that all others were making holiday in the meadow, the\nKing, Telwyn, and the Queen Ellaline, as well as the humblest folk in\nthe castle.\n\n[Sidenote: _Sea-Surge and Fire-Bloom_]\n\nAnd Flame got him right speedily to the great room that had been for his\nsleeping aforetime. There, as of old, was a great chest wherein were the\ngarments he had brought with him from his home, the isle of sea-surge\nand fire-bloom. Therefrom he chose raiment of rich silk wherein leapt\nand flickered all colours as of driftwood burning--copper, and blue, and\ngreen, and rose, and violet--with a broidered cloak of velvet like clear\nflame. And he did on a sword the hilt whereof was wrought in divers hues\nof pure gold.\n\nAnd when all was done, and in the wont of youth he looked upon his\nlikeness in a mirror of silver that was there, he laughed in his heart\nfor that he was young and comely, and for that he was now returned to\nthe home of his heart.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Silken Tent_]\n\nThen with all speed he betook him thence to the great meadow. And when\nhe was come thither, he saw that a little way off at the edge of the\nforest was a silken tent that was like a purple iris, so beautiful it\nwas, and that thereunder were King Telwyn and Queen Ellaline, looking\nupon the pleasure of their people.\n\n[Sidenote: _Of Queen Ellaline_]\n\nAnd Flame saw that whereas the Princess Roseheart had been in the midst\nof the crowd when first he had seen her, she was now with her father and\nmother, the King and Queen, under the canopy, that had been set in a\nmossy glade flecked with sunlight and shadow, and glad with delicate\nflowers. The maid stood at the side of the Queen her mother talking\nshiningly of all that had befallen that morning. And the Queen Ellaline,\nmost fair indeed to look upon, in thin silk of silver-grey, wherethrough\nshowed under-silks of blue and violet, smiled happily at the life and\neagerness of the maid her daughter.\n\n[Sidenote: _Of Greetings_]\n\nAnd when the people saw that Flame, the son of Lokus, was come once\nmore, from overseas, to claim his troth-plight, the Princess Roseheart,\nthey pressed upon him clamouring, glad with great joy that the youth was\ngrown a man, in full stature of strength and bravery. And Flame\nreturned their greetings in all courtesy and kindness, but ever his\neyes turned whither his heart drave, toward the tent like an iris,\nwhereunder, like one dreaming, stood the woman of his heart and his\ndream, now motionless, with her soul in her eyes.\n\n[Sidenote: _A Silver Trumpet Singing_]\n\nAnd when King Telwyn made sure that the figure of flickering beauty that\nburned its way through the crowd of the people was Flame, son of Lokus,\nand none other, his heart was as a harp, swept with chords of joy and\nquestioning, of fear, and a nameless pain that now mayhap he must give\nhis little maid, that was as the remembered joy of his youth, to the\nclasp of a man, in whom should be her life thenceforward. But the heart\nof Queen Ellaline was as a silver trumpet singing, that the maid her\ndaughter was now to live the life of a woman, giving her life to a man,\nthat it should be greatened unto her, and to the world.\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _The Humility of Pride_]\n\n[Sidenote: _The Return In Honour_]\n\nNow when Flame was come before the King and Queen and the Princess\nRoseheart, he was filled with the humility of those who have great\npride, insomuch that he fell upon his knees before them to beg that\nwhich aforetime he had asked as in the ignorance of a child. But ere he\ncould speak, King Telwyn put forth his hand and raised him, saying,\n\"Flame, son of Lokus, thou art a thousand times welcome. Hearty\ngreeting we give thee, in good faith that thou hast returned in\nhonour.\"\n\nThen spake Flame on this wise: \"Greeting from the heart I give thee.\nMeseems my heart will burst with the fullness of my joy that I am come\nonce more to the home of my love, to look upon her beauty, and to give\ninto her keeping all that I have, and all that I am, for she is the soul\nof my soul.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Eagerness of Flame_]\n\nThen, bethinking himself that he must remember in courtesy to put before\nhis own desires that which was due to others, he made obeisance to the\nQueen, Ellaline, who greeted him with kindness, asking him whether he\nhad had food and drink since his journey.\n\n\"Nay,\" he said, \"how should that have been, when I was so much more\nan-hungered to see quickly the face of my beloved?\" And he turned him to\nhis love, Roseheart, standing very still, with her soul in her eyes.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Woman of Stars_]\n\nWith quick woman-wit then did Queen Ellaline motion the serving men that\nthey should draw the curtains of the tent, themselves standing without.\nAnd the King and Queen withdrew also, that the lovers might be alone.\nWhereupon Roseheart, her silver cloak falling from her, stood forth to\nFlame as that woman whose form was radiance, and whose eyes were stars,\nshe that was clad in shining raiment, fashioned full seemly of white\nsilk that flowed and clung, revealing gracious lines of her form, who\nwalked stately-wise, with little children about her knees.\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Falleth Upon His Knees_]\n\nAnd upon the sight of Flame was a mist, and when it had passed and he\nlooked again, the little children were not as they were living, but like\nwraiths of divers colours, making as it were a rainbow in the midst\nwhereof stood one still a maid. And Flame fell upon his knees, and\ncalled upon her name. And she set her two hands upon his head, and\nlifting it gently, looked down into his soul. And when they had come to\nunderstanding on this wise, she gave her hands into his, and lifted him\nup. And he drew her to his heart, and kissed her on the mouth, whereat\nshe was all a woman, and clung to him, saying with little broken cries,\n\"It hath been so lonely without thee--I love thee so!\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Finding_]\n\nRemembering the pain and struggle of his quest, Flame cried out,\n\"Wherefore did I go from thee?\" Yet even as he spake, right well he knew\nhow it had been needful that all things should have befallen them as\nthey had done.\n\nThen did the face of Roseheart grow wistful-sweet, and she asked, \"The\nwoman of thy dream--didst thou find her?\" And Flame answered, \"Aye, I\nhave found her. Dost thou not know? Thou thyself art that radiant woman,\nstarry-eyed. I know not what hath befallen thee, save that the starry\nheavens, that look upon all things, have made thine eyes their\ndwelling-place.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Beyond Self_]\n\n[Sidenote: _The Remembered Vision_]\n\nWhereupon Roseheart, his beloved, chided him on this wise, with a\nlaughter that was of the soul, and naught unkind in it: \"My happiness\nis so deep, I needs must laugh at thee. Meseems the truth is that\naforetime thou sawest only thyself in mine eyes, and that now thou hast\nlearned to look beyond thyself. And thus it hath been with me also. Once\nI saw not anything but myself in thine eyes, but now therein I see ships\nand far countries, and the forms of beauty that thou hast dreamed, and\nthose which thou shalt create in the years to come. When first I saw in\nthine eyes that woman of thy dream, of whom thou hadst spoken, sorrow\nand humility were heavy upon me, for that I understood not why there\nshould be aught in thine eyes but thy love, Roseheart. But there came a\ntime--\" She was silent for a moment that she might hear the music of the\nremembered vision. \"Have I grown like her--in good sooth?\" she\nwhispered.\n\n\"Thou art she,\" answered Flame, \"the soul of my soul.\"\n\n\"And what of thee?\" whispered Roseheart. \"What hast thou learned of life\nin thy far countries?\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Feast is Spread_]\n\nWhereupon he answered, as the Voice of Vision had told him, \"I have\nlooked upon death for right's sake, and seen therein the life greater\nthan mine own life; and I have looked upon the life which is sin and\nhave seen therein the death of the spirit. I have much to tell thee, for\nthat there must be nought but truth between us.\"\n\nThen did King Telwyn himself draw the curtains of the tent and look\nwithin, smiling. \"Flame, son of Lokus, the feast is spread for thee,\nthough well I wot thou knowest not if thou art hungry. But time and\nenough will there be for talk with thy speech-friend and troth-plight\nmaiden, when thou hast eaten thy meat, and refreshed thee from thy\njourney. Wherefore come now, the both of you, and shew yourselves unto\nthe people, that all may rejoice.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Feasting and Laughter_]\n\nThereupon did Flame, son of Lokus, lead forth his troth-plight maiden\nRoseheart, to a great table that had been spread under the trees, with a\nsilken cloth, and great dishes of silver and gold, whereon were roast\nflesh, and new bread, and green things steaming and savoury, and fruits\nof divers sorts, good to the taste and beautiful. And there were flagons\nof wine, crimson, and of the colour of corn, and of brown like the\nleaves of autumn.\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Speaketh Modestly_]\n\nThen was there feasting and laughter, and Flame, son of Lokus, told\nmany tales of far countries--of strange customs, and cunning of\nhusbandry and handicraft; of wars and the courts of Kings; of mightily\nmountains, of great seas and the storms thereof, wherein he himself had\nlaboured mightily with the men of the ship that they should not perish\nall.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Queen Taketh Note_]\n\nAnd for that all he spake on these matters was shrewd and well taken,\nand modest withal, King Telwyn, listening, marked with gladness the\nmanhood that had come to this youth of the isle of sea-surge and\nfire-bloom. And he was right well pleased, also, that the troth-plight\nof his daughter was returned with clear eyes and noble bearing, and\ncourtesy and readiness for all that made speech with him.\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart Hath Pride_]\n\nAnd Queen Ellaline, in the wont of elder women, had eyes to the way of\nFlame with his wine, the which he took gladly, as becomes a man, but not\novermuch; and she was content. Roseheart, sitting beside her mother, the\nQueen, had thought for none but her troth-plight lord whom she loved;\nyet marked with pride his thought and courtesy for all that sat at meat\nwith them. There was that in her which remembered with joy and\ntenderness how that he had thought aforetime only of themselves and\ntheir love; but now was she proud that her lord was become a man among\nmen, for well she knew that with all he said and did in any wise, there\nran always the music of his joy in her, and the love of his soul for\nhers.\n\n\n\n\nXI.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _The Shadows Grow Long_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Queen Ellaline Speaketh_]\n\nNow when they had eaten and drunk their fill, and had had much talk\nwithal, the shadows had grown long, and bird-song rippled the air in the\nwont of sundown. Wherefore King Telwyn bethought him how it would be\npleasant that the four of them, the Queen, the Princess Roseheart, and\nher troth-plight lord, Flame, should walk in the forest for a space, ere\nyet they returned to the castle.\n\nBut Queen Ellaline said to him, \"Nay, my lord, shall not thou and I\nreturn to the castle alone? Well I wot these twain have much to say,\neach to the other. Were it not well that they should walk apart in the\nforest in the cool of the evening, if that be their wish?\"\n\nAnd King Telwyn smiled thereat, saying, \"Well, well! Certain it is that\nI am but a stupid man, and thy woman's wit in the right of it.\" And\ntherewith he bade the young pair go apart as they wished for the space\nof an hour or two.\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Showeth Gratitude_]\n\nBut ere they went their ways, Flame raised to his lips the hand of the\nQueen, and kissed it, forasmuch as he was grateful to her exceedingly\nthat she had had thought and remembrance of the need of young lovers to\nbe alone together.\n\nWhereafter, the King and the Queen having turned their steps to the\ncastle, Flame and the Princess Roseheart wandered in sweet content in\nthe path that led to the Pool, where aforetime they had found their love\nand their destiny.\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart Radiant_]\n\nAnd when they were come thither, they found there, fluttering like\nbutterflies in a shaft of sunlight that came under the trees and among\nthe stems thereof, children that sported about the Pool. And these,\nforsaking their play, clamoured about the Princess Roseheart, in sweet\nrivalry of her love and her touch. And forasmuch as his beloved stood\nnow in the shaft of sunlight, radiant, starry-eyed, with little children\nabout her knees, Flame, the Giver of Dreams, worshiped her in his soul,\nand stooped him to the earth that he might seize the clay thereof, and\nmixing it with water from the Pool, fashion the likeness of her. But\nthough mightily he strove, the cunning of his hands was withholden from\nhim, and he might not.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Dusk Cometh_]\n\nThen the children, seeing it was late, flitted away to their homes, and\nthe sunlight grew faint and fainter, until the dusk was come, all\nsuddenly. And as the twain stood a little apart, each from the other,\nthere passed between them, as she had been a night-moth, Wur, the Old\nGray Woman of Shadows, whose eyes were as misty pools at twilight, her\nhair like cobwebs matted, and her garments as the wings of the dusk. And\nmomently there was upon them a chill as of the winter-death.\n\n[Sidenote: _Hand in Hand_]\n\nThen did Flame know in his heart that he must tell his white-souled\nlove, Roseheart, of the moon-woman in the desert. And his heart shook at\nthought of her grief and trouble thereat. But being a true man, and\nstrong for the more part, he knew that it were an ill thing to set\nforward the time of saying that which must be said. Therefore he took\nhis love by the hand, and led her to a mossy bank, whereupon they sat\nthem down, hand in hand. After a little he said: \"There is a thing that\nI must tell thee, but because thou art a maid and innocent, I know not\nif thou wilt understand.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Confesseth_]\n\nAnd seeing his trouble she answered him gently: \"Meseems thou couldst\nnot do anything I would not understand.\"\n\nDrawing her close within the shelter of his arms he said, \"Thou\nbelievest that I love thee as my heart's blood?\"\n\n\"Verily,\" she made answer, \"that must I needs believe, else could I not\nwed thee.\" Then because he was silent a space, as one thinking, she\nsaid, \"What is it that thou wouldst say to me?\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Speech Faileth Him_]\n\nWith quick words then he spake on this wise: \"Know then that there was a\nwoman--a witch that made herself as a woman of moonlight, beautiful\nexceedingly, that I should follow her. And forasmuch as mine eyes and my\nblood are as the sea, I might not refrain, for my weakness, but\nfollowed her as the sea the moon. And we came into the desert, and there\nremained for a space.\" Then did the speech of Flame fail him, for that\nhe knew not how to say that which must be said.\n\n[Sidenote: _Life Dishonoured_]\n\nAnd Roseheart looked upon him shrinkingly, and put away his arms, and\nrose, and stood away from him. And in her eyes that had held stars,\nthere came a mist, as when the heavens grow dull with that which is not\nstorm, but more like to sickness. \"And thou--\" she whispered, \"didst\nthou give thyself to this woman?\"\n\n\"Yea, but in the way of the flesh only,\" he answered, shamefast. \"I know\nnot if a maid can understand.\"\n\nThen was Roseheart silent a space, whereafter she said slowly, \"Meseems\nthat therein lay the sin of what thou didst. Hadst thou given thyself\nbody and soul, thy sin against me had been greater, but methinks then\nwould it have been less against the Lord God, whose gift of life thou\nhast dishonoured.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Radiant One_]\n\nThen spake Flame eagerly, \"But I told thee she was a witch-woman. Thou\nrememberest the Radiant One?\"\n\n\"Aye.\" The Princess Roseheart was grave and sorrowful. \"When that I\nturned me away from the moon-woman I saw the Radiant One, and she came\nand said naught, but shed her light upon the woman, and I saw that she\nwas not beautiful, like the moon, but a hag, and leprous. Wherefore,\nlooking about me I saw the bones of the dead. And I rose and fled away\nfrom that place.\"\n\n\"Thou didst well.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _Flame Shamefast_]\n\nThen was Flame filled with terror that though she spake in all\ngentleness, his love Roseheart was become as a stranger to him.\nStraightway he went to her, saying, \"Canst thou not forgive?\"\n\n\"I know not,\" she made answer, with the weariness of one in mortal pain.\n\n[Sidenote: _Thoughts of Torment_]\n\nThen he sought to put his arms about her, and draw her to him, but she\nlooked at him as one in surprise, and therewith he feared to touch her.\nAnd he fell upon his knees, and buried his face, shamefast, in the hem\nof her garment, and wept that he had so wounded her whom his soul loved.\nWith all gentleness she put him away from her, and went apart. And her\neyes were dry, but her heart bled, so that she was as one sick unto\ndeath.\n\nHer thoughts pricked her with torment, that her lord whom she had\nworshipped kneeling, as is the wont of women, was proven but a weak\ncreature on whom she might not lean for strength, for that he had it\nnot. And it was bitter to her that he whom she had thought to be a man\nsuch as the Lord God had meant in the making of the world, had been but\nas a child, or blind, that he had been deceived by the moon-woman.\nWherefore her heart, that had shrined a god, was now empty.\n\n\n\n\nXII.\n\n\n[Sidenote: _The Need of Flame_]\n\nFor some while did Flame lie upon the ground as one dead, but presently\nhis manhood arose and stood before the Princess Roseheart, saying, \"Then\nwilt thou send me from thee?\"\n\n[Sidenote: _A New Sweetness_]\n\n[Sidenote: _Roseheart Forgiveth_]\n\nAnd looking upon his manhood, that would face what must come to it, she\nsaw therewith somewhat that wrung her heart, the look of a little child,\nwith wistful eyes, and mouth that quivered. And she saw that his need\nof her was greater than it had been aforetime, as of a child for his\nmother. Wherewith into her heart that had been empty of all things\nwhenas the god might dwell there no longer, there came a new sweetness\nit could scarce hold, so great was the flood thereof. And through her\nbody and her soul the sweetness surged, so that there remained no\nbitterness at all, but a great gladness, as of the singing of many\nwaters in spring. In her face was the look as of a young mother looking\nupon her first man-child that she hath borne in pain with thanksgiving.\n\nFlame, looking upon the glory that was her face, fell at her feet,\ncrying, \"Thou wilt forgive?\"\n\nAnd she lifted him up, and drew his head to her breast, saying the while\nlittle words of love and comforting. Whereafter, he stood straight\nbefore her, and they looked each into the other's eyes as they had been\nspirits out of the flesh.\n\n[Sidenote: _Somewhat of New Beauty_]\n\nAnd there came a shining round about them, that was brighter than the\nnoonday sun, for that Senta, the Radiant One, was come and stood near\nthem. And Flame saw that in the face of his love was somewhat that had\nnot been there before, for the beauty whereof his soul sang. As one in a\ndream he stooped him to the earth once more to take of the clay thereof\nand fashion her his Mother of Men.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Meaning of Love_]\n\nBut ere he might do the thing he would, Senta the Radiant One drew near,\nand spake unto them, and her voice was as the music of a mighty\npine-wood raising to heaven a paean of triumph in a great wind of\nspring, with the voices of children therethrough, like little singing\nstreams. And the words of Senta were these: \"Joy to you that ye have\nlearned somewhat whereof life and love are made! Roseheart, beloved of\nFlame, son of Lokus, now art thou become in very truth a Mother of Men\nin thy woman's soul, for that thou hast learned the meaning of love,\nwhich is to minister, to suffer, to understand, and to forgive. And thou\ntoo, Flame, hast learned of it, insomuch that love constrained thee in\nthe pride of thy manhood to become as a little child that thou mightest\nbe forgiven. But stay thy hand, even yet, until thou hast taken the maid\nto wife, and made her in good sooth a mother of men according to the\nflesh. Then only shalt thou be given fullness of vision, and shalt\nfashion her in pure marble to be as a dream forever in the hearts of\nmen.\"\n\n[Sidenote: _The Sign and Symbol_]\n\nWith the passing of Senta, the Radiant One, was full evening come. And\nFlame, Fashioner and Giver of Dreams, led the Princess Roseheart, his\nlove and troth-plight maiden, to the brink of the Pool, in wonder beyond\nspeech, and a silence as of music. For the Pool held deep within deep;\nand far beyond their two faces of love, they beheld as in the night blue\nof heaven, the stars that the Lord God had set therein to be a sign and\nsymbol unto men of the things beyond the flesh.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAnd here ends this story of \"The Stars in the Pool.\" Written by Edna\nKingsley Wallace. Set in Type by the Odets Printing Company, in the Year\nof Our Lord One thousand nine hundred and twenty, and Published by E. P.\nDutton and Company in the City of New York.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note.\n\n\n  Title page spelling of \"auther\" was corrected to \"author.\"\n\n  Page 16 \"s e -surge\" was corrected to \"sea-surge.\"\n\n  Page 29 \"He He\" was corrected to \"He.\"\n\n  Archaic spellings, syntax and other anomalies remain as in original.","title":"The Stars in the Pool: A Prose Poem for Lovers","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":11663}