Andreas: The Legend of St. Andrew | Page 6

Holy One, Defense of all
mankind,
The angels' Lord, departed to the land
High in the
heavens--He is the King by right, 120 Steadfast He rules supreme in all
the world.
Exalted high was Matthew at the voice
New-heard. The veil of
darkness slipped away,
Vanished in haste; and straightway came the
light,
The murmuring sound of early reddening dawn.
The host
assembled; heathen warriors
Thronged in great crowds; their
battle-armor sang;
Their spears they brandished, angry in their hearts,

Under the roof of shields; they fain would see
Whether those
hapless men were yet alive,
Who fast in chains within their
prison-walls 130 Had dwelt a while in comfortless abode,
And which
one they might first for their repast
Rob of his life after the time
ordained.
They had set down, those slaughter-greedy foes,
In runic
characters and numerals
The death-day of those men, when they
should serve
As food unto that famine-stricken tribe.
Then
clamored loudly that cold-hearted brood;
Throng pressed on throng;
their cruel counsellors
Recked not at all of mercy or of right.
Oft
did their souls, led by the devil's lore, 140 Under the dusky shadows
penetrate,
When in the might of beings ever-cursed
They put their
trust. They found that holy man,
Prudent of mind, within his prison
dark,
Awaiting bravely what the radiant King,
Creator of the angels,

should vouchsafe.
Then was accomplished, all except three nights,

The appointed time, the season foreordained,
Which those fierce
wolves of war had written down,
At end of which they planned to
break his bones, 150 And, parting straight his body and his soul,
To
portion out as food to old and young
The body of the slain, a
welcome feast;
They cared not for the soul, those greedy men,
How
after death the spirit's pilgrimage
Might be decreed. So every thirty
nights
They held their feast; most fierce was their desire
To tear
with bloody jaws the flesh of men 160 To be their food. Then He, who
with strong might
Stablished this world, was mindful how that saint

Abode in misery 'mongst stranger men,
Fast bound in chains--that
saint who for His sake
Had suffered from the Hebrews, had withstood

The magic incantations of the Jews.
Where in Achaia holy Andrew dwelt,
Guiding his people in the way
of life, 170 A voice was heard from out the heavens above.
To him,
that steadfast saint, the Lord of hosts,
Glory of kings, Creator of
mankind,
Unlocked the treasure of His heart, and thus
In words He
spake:--"Thou shalt go forth and bear
My peace, and journeying shalt
fare where men,
Devourers of their kind, possess the land,
And hold
their home secure by murderous might.
This is the custom of that
multitude:
Within their land they spare no stranger's life,
But when
those evil-doers chance to find
A helpless wight in Mermedonia, 180
Death must be dealt and cruel murder done.
I know that 'mongst those
townsmen, fast in chains,
Thy brother dwells, that saint victorious.

It lacks but three nights of the time ordained,
When, midst that people,
by the hard-gripped spear,
In struggle with the heathens, he must
needs
Send forth his soul all ready to depart;
Unless thou come
before the appointed time."
Straightway did Andrew answer him again:
"My Lord, how can I o'er
the ocean deep 190 My course accomplish, to that distant shore,
As
speedily as Thou, O King of glory,
Creator of the heavens, dost

command?
That road thine angel can more easily
Traverse from
heaven; he knows the watery ways,
The salt sea-streams, the wide
path of the swan,
The battle of the surf against the shore,
The terror
of the waters, and the tracks
Across the boundless land. These foreign
men
Are not my trusty friends, nor do I know
In any wise the
counsels of this folk; 200 To me the cold sea-highways are unknown."
Him answered then the everliving Lord:--
"Alas, O Andrew, that thou
shouldst be slow
To undertake this journey, since for God,

Almighty One, it were not hard to bring
That city hither, 'neath the
circling sun,
Unto this country, o'er the ways of earth--
The princely
city famous, with its men--
If He, the Lord of Glory, with a word 210
Should bid it. So thou mayst not hesitate
To undertake this journey,
nor art thou
Too weak in wit, if thou but keepest well
The faithful
covenant with thy Lord. Be thou
Prepared against the hour, for there
can be
No tarrying on this errand. Thou shalt go
And bear thy life
into the grasp of men
Full violent, where 'gainst thee shall be raised

The strife of warfare, with the battle-din
Of heathens, and the
warriors' martial might.
Even to-morrow with the early dawn, 220 At
the sea's border thou shalt straightway go
On shipboard, and upon the
waters cold,
Over the ocean[1], break thy speedy way.
Thou hast
My blessing over all the earth,
Wherever thou shalt fare!" The Holy
One,
Ruler and Guardian, archangels' King,
The world's Defense,
betook Him to His home,
That glorious home, where souls of
righteous men
After the body's fall shall life enjoy.
So in that town
this mission was decreed 230 Unto the noble champion; not abashed

In mind was he, but steadfast for the deed
Heroic; hardy-hearted, firm
in soul,
No skulker he from battle, but prepared
For warfare, in
God's struggle