The Pearl | Page 5

not, swift nor slow,
At last, thou must endure His doom."
"Let God doom as He doth ordain;
He will not turn one foot aside;

Thy good deeds mount up but in vain,
Thou must in sorrow ever bide;

Stint of thy strife, cease to complain,
Seek His compassion safe
and wide,
Thy prayer His pity may obtain,
Till Mercy all her might
have tried.
Thy anguish He will heal and hide,
And lightly lift away
thy gloom;
For, be thou sore or satisfied,
All is for Him to deal and
doom."
VII
Doom me not, dearest damosel;
It is not for wrath nor bitterness,
If
rash and raving thoughts I tell.
For sin my heart seethed in distress,

Like bubbling water in a well.
I cry God mercy, and confess.

Rebuke me not with words so fell;
I have lost all that my life did
bless;
Comfort my sorrow and redress,
Piteously thinking upon this:


Grief and my soul thou hast made express
One music,--thou who
wert my bliss.
"My bliss and bale, thou hast been both,
But joy by great grief was
undone;
When thou didst vanish, by my troth,
I knew not where my
Pearl was gone.
To lose thee now I were most loth.
Dear, when we
parted we were one;
Now God forbid that we be wroth,
We meet
beneath the moon or sun
So seldom. Gently thy words run,
But I
am dust, my deeds amiss;
The mercy of Christ and Mary and John

Is root and ground of all my bliss."
"A blissful life I see thee lead,
The while that I am sorrow's mate;

Haply thou givest little heed
What might my burning hurt abate.

Since I may in thy presence plead,
I do beseech thee thou narrate,

Soberly, surely, word and deed,
What life is thine, early and late?
I
am fain of thy most fair estate;
The high road of my joy is this,
That
thou hast happiness so great;
It is the ground of all my bliss."
She said, "May bliss to thee betide,"
Her face with beauty beaming
clear,
"Welcome thou art here to abide,
For now thy speech is to me
dear.
Masterful mood and haughty pride,
I warn thee win but hatred
here;
For my Lord loveth not to chide
And meek are all that to Him
come near.
When in His place thou shalt appear,
To kneel devout
be not remiss,
My Lord the Lamb loveth such cheer,
Who is the
ground of all my bliss."
"Thou sayest a blissful life I know,
And thou wouldst learn of its
degree.
Thou rememberest when thy pearl fell low
In earth, I was
but young to see;
But my Lord the Lamb, as if to show
His grace,
took me His bride to be,

Crowned me a queen in bliss to go

Through length of days eternally;
And dowered with all His wealth is
she
Who is His love, and I am His;
His worthiness and royalty

Are root and ground of all my bliss."

VIII
"My blissful one, may this be true.
Pardon if I speak ill," I prayed:

"Art thou the queen o' the heaven's blue,
To whom earth's honour
shall be paid?
We believe in Mary, of grace who grew,
A mother,
yet a blameless maid;
To wear her crown were only due
To one
who purer worth displayed.
For perfectness by none gainsaid,
We
call her the Phoenix of Araby,
That flies in faultless charm arrayed,

Like to the Queen of courtesy."
"Courteous Queen," that bright one said,
And, kneeling, lifted up her
face:
"Matchless Mother and merriest Maid,
Blessèd Beginner of
every grace."
Then she arose, and softly stayed,
And spoke to me
across that space:
"Sir, many seek gain here, and are paid,
But
defrauders are none within this place;
That Empress may all heaven
embrace,
And earth and hell in her empery;
Her from her heritage
none will chase,
For she is Queen of courtesy."
"The court of the kingdom of God doth thrive
Only because of this
wondrous thing:
Each one who therein may arrive,
Of the realm is
either queen or king;
And no one the other doth deprive,
But is fain
of his fellow's guerdoning,
And would wish each crown might be
worth five,
If possible were their bettering.
But my Lady, from
whom our Lord did spring,
Rules over all our company,
And for
that we all rejoice and sing,
Since she is Queen of courtesy."
"Of courtesy, as says St. Paul,
Members of Christ we may be seen.

As head and arm and leg, and all,
Bound to the body close have been,

Each Christian soul himself may call
A living limb of his Lord, I
ween.
And see how neither hate nor gall

'Twixt limb and limb may
intervene;
The head shows neither spite nor spleen,
Though arm
and finger jewelled be,
So fare we all in love serene,
As kings and
queens by courtesy."

"Courtesy flowers thy folk among,
And charity, I well believe.
If
foolish words flow from my tongue,
Let not my speech thy spirit
grieve.
A queen in heaven while yet so young,
Too high thou dost
thyself upheave.
Then what reward from strife were wrung?
What
worship more might he achieve
Who lived in penance morn and eve,

Through bodily pain in bliss to be?
Honour more high might he
receive,
Than be crowned king by courtesy?"
IX
"That courtesy rewards no deed
If all be true that thou dost say;
Our
life not two