‘The providence that’s in a watchful state
Knows almost every grain of Pluto’s gold;
Finds bottom in the uncomprehensive deeps;
Keeps pace with thought, and almost like the Gods,
Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles.’
_Troilus and Cressida._
As soon as the trial was concluded,—if the series of extraordinary
scenes that took place in the court, could be so designated—the
reporters rushed out _en masse_ to send their respective phonographs to
the editors of the various journals they represented.
Never before had they such a titbit to offer their employers as was now
their good luck to possess. A love scene between their Emperor and his
astronomer, delivered in a dialogue wherein the actual voices were
reproduced was a treat not to be met with every day.
At least a hundred delicate voice-recorders had caught the sound-waves
from Sadbag’s phonograph, and borrowing the tones of Felicitas and
Mercia in their never-to-be-forgotten colloquy, gave them a value
unprecedented in all time. As soon as it got abroad that their
proprietors were in possession of these treasures, hundreds of
speculators offered enormous prices for their purchase, with a view of
reeling out their contents to admiring and appreciative audiences
throughout the globe.
These offers proved, indeed, too tempting to be resisted, so that in the
course of a week or two, India, together with many distant parts, was in
the enjoyment of the actual love scene that took place at Greenwich
Observatory, the most unlikely of all places for such an incident to
happen in.
The Great Test Tournament had been fought and won by the Easterners.
Their freedom now achieved, there remained only the nomination and
coronation of a Supreme Ruler to go through, the responsibility of which
weighed heavily upon the mind of the Indian Parliamentarians.
It was ultimately decided however, that their first Monarch should be
elected by the vote of the whole nation, independently of all claims of
royal descent made by members of the native aristocracy.
The interesting news of Felicitas’ unsuccessful love suit having been
brought to the ears of the people so graphically through the medium of
the voice-recorders, created an intense excitement in their mind, at all
times so sensitive to every emotion.
It brought out Mercia’s character in such vivid colours that she
appeared to them mentally projected on a living reflector. In their
intense imagination, they saw her before them uttering in her melodious
dream-like voice her now famous rhapsody; the tenderness of which
appealing to their hearts, stirred up their deepest emotions.
But when they arrived at her indignant refusal of the Emperor’s offer to
put away his wife, and give her the crown of his Consort, the climax was
reached, and the enthusiasm of the people found vent in loud cries
of—‘MERCIA FOR EVER! LONG LIVE MERCIA, OUR EMPRESS!’
And so the cry spreading itself through every quarter of that vast
Empire was caught up in wild delight—LONG LIVE MERCIA, OUR EMPRESS,
being echoed from every part, by people of every caste and every creed.
But when the intelligence reached this impressionable people that
Mercia, the greatest Astronomer, and noblest woman the world had ever
seen, was about to enter into a matrimonial alliance with Dayanand
Swami, the actual lineal descendant of The Great Mogul Dynasty, which
governed India from the early centuries downwards, that settled the
question.
In the course of the discussion upon the subject, which took place in
the House of Parliament at Calcutta, Sir John Punjaub their well-beloved
minister said—‘Now is this matter settled to our utmost satisfaction and
content. In Dayanand Swami we have the direct descendant of India’s
greatest, wisest, and most beneficent Ruler, the renowned Abkar, who was
the son of Humayun, who was the son of Baber, the founder of the Great
Royal Dynasty in the fifteenth century.
‘In Dayanand we shall have a second Abkar, for the mantle of his great
Ancestor hath fallen on him. In him the people of this great Empire will
have a kind Father, a wise Teacher, a just Ruler, and a lover and
promoter of learning.
‘By the union of Mercia and Dayanand we shall have restored to us the
lost Royal Line: in beauteous Mercia, perfect in face, and form, in soul
and mind, we have found the true representative of what a monarch ought
to be.
‘Herein is crystallised the talent, wisdom, and virtue of all
generations. In her person we shall have the embodiment of our country’s
dignity and honour. She shall become the Great Mother of India. The
Founder of our Royal Line, and her name shall shine as the stars for
ever and ever.’
In the presence of the greatest and most brilliant assemblage India had
ever seen since the days of her ancient splendour; consisting of Princes
and Potentates richly attired in court dress and coronet, representative
of their respective positions of Peishwar, Raja and Maharajah the
coronation took place a month later.
By dint of working day and night the preparations for the grand Imperial
Procession to be followed by the Crowning Function, were completed in
that period.
One thousand elephants, richly caparisoned in cloth of gold and various
embroideries; their heads ornamented with fine filagree work in gold or
silver, interspersed with gems, according to the wealth of their
respective owners, carried the howdahs containing the wives and
daughters of the dignitaries of the Realm. For Mercia had issued a
mandate beforehand that the ladies of the Chiefs of the Empire would be
expected to take part in the Function, veiled, or unveiled, according to
their respective ideas of propriety. In obedience to which every Ameer,
Maharajah, Rajah, Nawab, Sirdar, Dewan, and Nazim had the ladies of his
family carried in howdahs, where they enjoyed a splendid view of the
situation, owing to their elevated position, and at the same time added
an Eastern air of gorgeousness to the procession, most impressive to the
eye of the beholder.
The Princes, and native dignitaries themselves followed in carriages
drawn by horses, in the order of their rank the splendidly-appointed
Imperial Chariot, containing ‘Mercia, The Peerless,’ as she was now
named, and by her side was seated her Imperial Consort, ‘Dayanand, The
Wise.’
Long lines of body-guards composed of the finest physiqued men in the
realms, attired in a rich uniform of pale blue and gold bearing silver
lances, and mounted on high-mettled steeds, preceded and followed the
royal chariot, the sight of which drew forth the wildest acclamations of
joy from the people.
The ceremony took place neither in Christian nor Hindu temple, but in
the great hall of their Parliament House, the most stately building in
Calcutta.
As soon as the Coronation Oath was taken by Mercia, in accordance with
the custom of their most remote ancestry, she was sprinkled with water
from the Ganges, which was contained in a golden bowl glittering with
precious jewels. After which, the grand Imperial Crown was placed upon
her head by the venerable Prime Minister, who officiated as high priest
of the ceremony.
‘Now,’ said the old man, ‘I will finish by quoting a counsel from a part
of the most ancient of India’s literature,—the Dasakumaracharita, or
‘Stories of Ten Princes.’
‘Government is an arduous matter; it has three principles; Council,
Authority, and Activity. These mutually assisting each other dispatch
all affairs. Council determines objects, Authority commences, and
Activity effects their attainment. Policy is a tree of which Council is
the root, Authority the stem, and Activity the main branch. The
seventy-two Prakritis are the leaves; the six qualities of Royalty the
blossoms; power and success the flowers and the fruit. Let this shade
protect our Gracious Empress for ever.
‘And as at the birth of the Great Abkar, which happened at a time when
his father’s fortunes were fallen so low that he possessed neither
crown, nor kingdom, nor even the wherewithal to make the necessary gifts
to his friends and followers when a son was born unto him, he took a
musk-pod, and breaking it divided it amongst them, uttering the wish
that proved a prophecy; so may thy name, most noble Mercia, and thy
virtues spread in waves of perfume throughout thy wide domains, making
glad the hearts of thy faithful subjects, and filling them with joy, and
peace and love.
‘May the blessing of the Eternal Father rest upon thee and thine for
ever and for ever.’
THE END
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS.
By A. GARLAND MEARS.
Portrait. Superfine paper. Cloth, gold lettered. Price 6_s._
_NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE._—‘As an Alpine traveller might pluck the
eidelweiss in some unexpected cranny, so we open the pages of a volume
of IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS. It is the work of a poet of Nature....
Mrs. Mears strikes her harp with power and grace, and breathes life and
poetry into the dry bones of history. Interest will be aroused in them,
not only by their poetic treatment, but also by the erudition displayed
by the author.
‘The legends of her volume are enhanced by notes betraying considerable
research.... Mrs. Mears may be indeed described as the poet of love....
She is a close observer of human passion. Never before have we seen such
a complete analysis of the tender passion as that given in the series of
eighteen sonnets under the title of HONORIA’S LOVE.... IDYLLS, LEGENDS,
AND LYRICS go into the world with the stamp of approval, and, in winning
credit for their author, they reflect honour upon the town that saw
their birth.’
_MANCHESTER COURIER._—‘Considerable variety of style and sentiment are
illustrated in these interesting verses. The dramatic Idyll ILAMEA;
HONORIA’S LOVE, and other Sonnets; EDAIN, AN ANCIENT LEGEND OF IRELAND;
POEMS IN BLANK VERSE; CÆDMON, AN EARLY ENGLISH IDYLL, together with
SONGS and LYRICAL POEMS, are all samples of composition which indicate
that the author is no novice in such work. In HONORIA’S LOVE are
depicted the several emotions of the mind when under the influence of
love, each sonnet expressing a separate phase of that passion which is
admitted to be the strongest of all human passions. Owing to the form of
the verse these eighteen sonnets are less a love story, perhaps, than an
exposition of the emotions. The following is a specimen of them.... With
one other quotation we will close this admirable book.
‘LOVE, THE UNIVERSAL LAW.
‘As atom unto atom firmly lies
Obeying blindly that great law which makes
Subservient even lifeless matter; wakes
An energy, a force whose hidden ties
Bind animate, or inanimate in wise
True order. See, the silver cloudlet breaks,
With others interweaves; thus changed forsakes
An individual existence, dies.
‘Wave follows wave in rhythmic lines, and one
By one they lose themselves in close embrace;
Thus are we twain commingled: our lives run
In closest sympathy; we interlace
Our mind’s emotions: now, there hath begun
Creation new, to which past life gives place.’
_OXFORD CHRONICLE._—‘This is an 8vo. volume, printed in clear type, on
thick paper; cloth, gilt lettered. Its pages are laden with the music of
the love song and old-time love story. The aim of the author, not only
to reach the reasoning faculties, but to appeal to the imagination and
emotions; and to yield that pleasure to the mind which is the design of
poetry as of music, has been gained. True poetry, it has been said,
portrays, with terrible energy, the excesses of the passions; but they
are passions which show a mighty nature; which are full of power; which
command awe, and excite a deep though shuddering sympathy. Its great
tendency and power is to carry the mind above and beyond the beaten,
dusty, and weary walks of ordinary life: to lift it into a purer
element, and to breathe into it a more profound and generous emotion.
This consummation has been obtained by the dramatic Idyll ILAMEA, with
which Part I. opens. Its sublimity and elegance of style entitle it to
rank as one of the finest classics ever written on love.’
_NORTHERN ECHO._—‘IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS bespeak the true poetic
vein; the light phantasy of romantic thought; and the faculty of
expressing all in rhythmic verse. A Dramatic Idyll, ILAMEA, is, perhaps,
the happiest in the volume. It dwells, as really does the whole book, on
the immortal theme of love; and an argumentative colloquy between two
persons, the Count and Ilamea, reveals a flow of language and
beautifully balanced metre that make it a pleasure to read or recite.’
_DAILY TELEGRAPH._—‘This work is principally composed of old-time love
stories in verse, which the author claims have never before formed
subject of treatment by the poet. They present a picture, though only a
legendary one, of the days of our ancestors, and are interesting on that
account. A bouquet of love sonnets are treated with no little skill and
originality. An ancient legend of Ireland is very cleverly and
sympathetically rendered in EDAIN; CÆDMON, an Early English Idyll, is
also noteworthy. It is something to be reminded of the “peasant poet
who, a thousand years before Milton, sang the epic of the Creation;
vividly depicting the War in Heaven, the Fall of Satan, and his
Counsellings in Hell.” The author has produced a collection of poems
which exhibit true poetic instinct; and the work makes a goodly and
acceptable volume.’
_THE GRAPHIC._—‘The love song and love story form the staple of Mrs.
Garland Mears’ IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS. She possesses much fluency
of expression, and is not troubled in her theme by any melancholy
transcendentalism. In her view the object of poetry is to yield pleasure
to the mind, and it should appeal either to the imagination or to the
emotions. “Its true object,” she observes, “is not obtained when it
becomes chiefly the vehicle for philosophical or metaphysical
instruction reaching only the reasoning faculties.” Some of the poems
have a simple love tale for their basis, as in ILAMEA, CÆDMON, and THE
LOVE OF UTHER, the British King, for Igerna, with the resultant birth of
Arthur. In HONORIA’S LOVE we have a series of eighteen sonnets; from the
first of these we quote the eight opening lines dealing with “Love’s
Entrance.”
‘“Oh, kingly Love, when first thou didst enthral
My soul in thy sweet bonds I hardly knew
Thy presence: filled with joy, what could I do
But gaze upon thy face, and at thy call
Give willing ear? Then straight before thee fall,
In meekness yielding loving homage, true.
What sum of bliss wrapped up in moments few;
Life’s sweetest mystery is made my all!”’
_Extracts from Letters containing Criticisms by the Chairmen and
Secretaries of Public Libraries_:—
‘The librarian has handed to me the volume of IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND
LYRICS. I have had time to read the dramatic Idyll ILAMEA, and am
greatly pleased with its sweetness and high-souled tone.
‘It makes one feel better and stronger for its impressive lesson, so
vividly, and pathetically, and sympathetically told. ILAMEA is worth
the price of the whole volume.
‘I will devote the earliest opportunity to go through its pages,
feeling sure that they will add much pleasure to my life, as well as
intensify my attachment to poetry. The work is placed in the library
of this borough.
‘B. P. WRIGHT, J.P.,
_Chairman of Committee, Free Public
Library, Stafford_.’
* * * * *
‘The MAYOR OF SLIGO has requested that a second copy of IDYLLS,
LEGENDS, AND LYRICS be purchased. The verses are very sweet. They do
not stir the spirit like the strong lines of Byron: but they come over
us with a bewitching softness that in certain moods is still more
delightful, and soothe the troubled spirits with a refreshing sense of
truth, purity, and elegance.
‘They are pensive rather than passionate, and more full of wisdom and
tenderness than flights of fancy, or overwhelming bursts of emotion;
while they are moulded into grace, at least as much by the effect of
the moral beauties they disclose as by the taste and judgment with
which they are constructed.
‘DAVID SAULTRY,
_Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,
Sligo, Ireland_.’
‘I have read the first poem, ILAMEA, in this interesting volume of
verse, and can bear my testimony as to its beauty of conception and
true poetic merit. I like the poetry exceedingly, and feel quite
confident that the work only requires to be better known to secure it
a very wide circulation.
‘ALFRED LANCASTER,
_Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,
St. Helens_.’
* * * * *
‘I am very glad to see in IDYLLS, LEGENDS, AND LYRICS a poem on
Cædmon. I am particularly interested in old-time literature myself,
and am giving special attention to such subjects as “Cædmon” and
“Beowulf.”
‘I shall be very glad to have another copy, as it is the first work I
have seen for a long time which is so exactly suited to my taste.
‘FRED TURNER,
_Free Public Library, Brentford_.’
* * * * *
‘This work is an exceptionally good one, and I thank you for calling
my attention to a volume of poems of such merit as these possess.
‘I have told my committee that, as far as I am a judge of poetry, I
considered that this work was entitled to a place on our shelves.
‘Our public here are quick to form fairly accurate opinions as to the
value of works of this class. I shall be only too glad to find my own
judgment endorsed by that large body I have the pleasure to serve.
‘WILLIAM MAY,
_Chief Librarian, Free Public Library,
Birkenhead_.’
THE STORY OF A TRUST.
By the same Author.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.
Crown 8vo. 300 pp. cloth, gilt lettered, price 2_s._ 6_d._
_OXFORD CHRONICLE._—‘The authoress has been designated “the Poet of
Love, and Nature,” one who deserves the thanks of every student of early
English literature for reviving one’s interest in old-time literature.
Her claim to the eulogy is fully justified ... this latest production of
her pen is thoroughly realistic, and contains word-pictures graphically
descriptive of English country life.... Margaret is a gem, a perfect
type of womanhood, calling forth love and admiration. The chapter
containing the tragedy is ably written, and will commend itself to the
approval of lovers of the dramatic; while the chapter on “Sorrow”
appeals powerfully to the emotions.’
_NEWCASTLE CHRONICLE._—‘Deserves a hearty welcome at the hands of the
general public, and especially of North-country people.... Mrs. Garland
Mears’ style is fluent and forcible; she avoids all prevalent errors of
latter-day writers, and depending entirely on her own thoughts, which
she expresses in good English.’
_SHEFFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH._—‘The tale is most interesting and
graphically written.... Mrs. Garland Mears has creditably added both in
prose and poetry to the literature of the period.’
_BRADFORD MERCURY._—‘The narrative is vividly told, and is interspersed
with many historical references to Bradford. Mrs. Mears is a charming
writer, and all her tales are graphically written.’
_BRADFORD OBSERVER._—‘Considerable dramatic interest in the stories, and
their relation to the West Riding of Yorkshire, will give them special
interest in this neighbourhood.’
_MANCHESTER EXAMINER._—‘The book is interesting throughout. The
historical chapters dealing with York City and Hartlepool are
admirable.’
_YORKSHIRE POST._—‘The tone of the book is always admirable.’
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.