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XXI-XXX
XX
`And then he set up such a headless howl,
That all the saints came out and took him in;
And there he sits by St. Paul, cheek by jowl;
That fellow Paul— the parvenů! The skin
Of St. Bartholomew, which makes his cowl
In heaven, and upon earth redeem`d his sin,
So as to make a martyr, never sped
Better than did this weak and wooden head.
XXI
`But had it come up here upon its shoulders,
There would have been a different tale to tell;
The fellow-feeling in the saint`s beholders
Seems to have acted on them like a spell,
And so this very foolish head heaven solders
Back on its trunk: it may be very well,
And seems the custom here to overthrow
Whatever has been wisely done below.`
XXII
The angel answer`d, `Peter! do not pout:
The king who comes has head and all entire,
And never knew much what it was about —
He did as doth the puppet — by its wire,
And will be judged like all the rest, no doubt:
My business and your own is not to inquire
Into such matters, but to mind our cue —
Which is to act as we are bid to do.`
XXIII
While thus they spake, the angelic caravan,
Arriving like a rush of mighty wind,
Cleaving the fields of space, as doth the swan
Some silver stream (say Ganges, Nile, or Inde,
Or Thames, or Tweed), and `midst them an old man
With an old soul, and both extremely blind,
Halted before the gate, and in his shroud
Seated their fellow traveller on a cloud.
XXIV
But bringing up the rear of this bright host
A Spirit of a different aspect waves
His wings, like thunder-clouds above some coast
Whose barren beach with frequent wrecks is paved;
His brow was like the deep when tempest-toss`d;
Fierce and unfathomable thoughts engraved
Eternal wrath on his immortal face,
And where he gazed a gloom pervaded space.
XXV
As he drew near, he gazed upon the gate
Ne`er to be enter`d more by him or Sin,
With such a glance of supernatural hate,
As made Saint Peter wish himself within;
He potter`d with his keys at a great rate,
And sweated through his apostolic skin:
Of course his perspiration was but ichor,
Or some such other spiritual liquor.
XXIV
The very cherubs huddled all together,
Like birds when soars the falcon; and they felt
A tingling to the top of every feather,
And form`d a circle like Orion`s belt
Around their poor old charge; who scarce knew whither
His guards had led him, though they gently dealt
With royal manes (for by many stories,
And true, we learn the angels all are Tories.)
XXVII
As things were in this posture, the gate flew
Asunder, and the flashing of its hinges
Flung over space an universal hue
Of many-colour`d flame, until its tinges
Reach`d even our speck of earth, and made a new
Aurora borealis spread its fringes
O`er the North Pole; the same seen, when ice-bound,
By Captain Parry`s crew, in `Melville`s Sound.`
XXVIII
And from the gate thrown open issued beaming
A beautiful and mighty Thing of Light,
Radiant with glory, like a banner streaming
Victorious from some world-o`erthrowing fight:
My poor comparisons must needs be teeming
With earthly likenesses, for here the night
Of clay obscures our best conceptions, saving
Johanna Southcote, or Bob Southey raving.
XXIX
`Twas the archangel Michael; all men know
The make of angels and archangels, since
There`s scarce a scribbler has not one to show,
From the fiends` leader to the angels` prince;
There also are some altar-pieces, though
I really can`t say that they much evince
One`s inner notions of immortal spirits;
But let the connoisseurs explain their merits.
XXX
Michael flew forth in glory and in good;
A goodly work of him from whom all glory
And good arise; the portal past — he stood;
Before him the young cherubs and saints hoary —
(I say young, begging to be understood
By looks, not years; and should be very sorry
To state, they were not older than St. Peter,
But merely that they seem`d a little sweeter.
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