Marl

“ In fact we always see external objects through stained glass, and the hues imparted are in our windows, not in the objects themselves. It is wonderful how different the aspect of every thing was to the eyes of Marlow as he returned towards Paris, from that which the scene had presented as he went. All seemed sunshine and brightness, from the happiness of his own heart. ”

“ The Director was sitting too close to the glow, for the fire had deepened and intensified as the great logs slowly burned into rosy embers, and I could smell a whiff of scorching trouser legs; but the courageous man dared not move, for fear of breaking the spell. Marlow's tale was a powerful one: I could hear Mrs. Marlow suspire faintly, ever so faintly—the troubled, small, soft sigh of a brave woman indefinably stricken. The gallantry of women! ”

“ Yet I had heard it—Mary—Mary—Mary!
Marlowe. You heard your own heart pound from riding.
Mary. Again! Open the window! [Marlowe rises and goes to the window.] Do you see anything?
Marlowe. All’s sinister. The moon fled out of the sky Long since, and the black trees of midnight quake. [Pg 92]
Mary. And the wind! What a wind! It tugs at the window-frame Like jealousy, mad to break in and part us. Could you be jealous?
Marlowe. If I were a fool I’d let you guess it.
Mary. Wise, you’re wise, but—jealous? Too many men in the world! ”

“ Marley spoken of, in English or in French, in a way that is not respectful. None but I know what she has been to me, nor how that there is no one in the world to fight her battles but myself. No one but I know how good she is, how true, how honest, how loving; those who snap and sneer at her are not worthy to buckle her shoes. A word spoken against her, in ridicule or in disparagement, I will not bear, I cannot bear. ”

“ MARLOW.
I never gave her the slightest cause. HARDCASTLE.
Well, well, I like modesty in its place well enough. But this is over-acting, young gentleman. You may be open. Your father and I will like you all the better for it. MARLOW.
May I die, sir, if I ever—— HARDCASTLE.
I tell you, she don't dislike you; and as I'm sure you like her—— MARLOW.
Dear sir—I protest, sir—— HARDCASTLE.
I see no reason why you should not be joined as fast as the parson can tie you. MARLOW.
But hear me, sir— HARDCASTLE.
Your father approves the match, I admire it; every moment's delay will be doing mischief. ”

“ No need of such a stealthy pace, Marlow! You may tread firm and boldly. Even your beloved step will not wake her. The body sleeps till the day of judgment. The spirit [Pg 608] has gone where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. ”

“ Notre curé qui est mort était si bon, si humain que nous l'avons tous pleuré. En mourant il a désigné son neveu pour son successeur et l'on a voulu nous en donner un autre. Ce n'est pas juste, n'est-ce pas, madame la Reine? Les Marlin, voyez-vous, depuis bien longtemps, sont curés de Saint-Eustache, de père en fils, et les paroissiens n'en souffriront pas d'autre.
The curious argument advanced by the deputy in favour of Marlin no doubt amused the queen, and she promised to do what she could. ”

“ Eastward Ho, iii. 2 (Gertrude) ; B. Jonson, Ev. Man out of Humour, Induct. (Carlo) ; a marvel, B. Jonson, Silent Woman, iii. 1 (Mrs. Otter) . A Devon and Somerset pronunc., see EDD. (s.v. Marl, vb.3) .
marlian, a merlin, small hawk. Song in Tottel’s Misc., p. 132, l. 1. A Cornish pronunc., see EDD. (s.v. Marlin) .
marling, a ‘marline’, a small tarred cord used for binding ropes. Dryden, Annus Mirab. 148. See Dict. (s.v. Marline) .
marmaritin, a plant. Middleton, The Witch, iii. 3 (Hecate) . L. marmaritis; Gk. μαρμαρῖτις, a plant that grows in marble quarries (Pliny) . ”

“ Marley. It is required of every man, that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. My 234spirit never walked beyond the counting-house. Mark me! in life my spirit never moved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me. Scrooge. Seven years dead, and travelling all the time! You travel fast. Marley. On the wings of the wind. Scrooge. You might have got over a great quantity of ground in seven years. Marley. ”

“ There is no doubt that Marley was dead. ”

“ Scrooge never painted out Old Marley’s name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. ”

“ The stranger assented to whatever she said, and accepted an invitation to sup with us; my mother instantly sent an intimation of her will to my father, to have, not the fatted calf, indeed, but the fatted duck prepared; and he and the maid used such expedition, that, by the time we returned, a neat, comfortable supper was ready to lay on the table. Mr. Marlowe, the stranger’s name, as he informed me, was all animation and affability: it is unnecessary to say, that my mother, father, and myself, were all complaisance, delight, and attention. ”

“ but it was only after a long silence, when he said, in a hesitating voice, "I suppose you fellows remember I did once turn fresh-water sailor for a bit," that we knew we were fated, before the ebb began to run, to hear about one of Marlow's inconclusive experiences. ”

“ Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. ”

“ When you are strong enough you may take Poppy and the others and return to your work among the waterfalls, or you may go down to the coast. The river and the labor of the river are at your disposal, for you have passed the tests of the river. Your gold and outfit are safe. You are your own master, my dear Marlow ”

“ When Actions, Unadorn'd, are faint and weak,
Cities and Countries must be taught to speak:
Gods may descend in Factions from the Skies,
And Rivers from their Oozy Beds arise:
Fiction may deck the Truth with spurious Rays,
And round the Heroe cast a borrow'd Blaze.
MARLBRO's Exploits appear divinely bright,
And proudly shine in their own Native Light:
Rais'd of themselves, their genuin Charms they boast;
And those who Paint 'em truest, Praise 'em most.
FINIS.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ Inscribing it to deathless memory.”
—Chapman’s Third Sestiad to Marlowe’s Hero and Leander.
20 “Unhappy in thine end,
Marley, the Muses’ darling for thy verse,
Fit to write passions for the souls below,
If any wretched souls in passion speak.”
—George Peele “Prologue to the Honour of the Garter.”
21 “The impression of the man that hath been dear unto us, living an after life in our memory, etc.” ”

“ He just stopped in here for a sup of beer."
"You saw what happened to him outside?"
"Suppose I did?"
"How long before was it that he entered your place?"
"Tin minutes, mebbe—mebbe not more nor five."
"And you don't know him?"
"I do not. I tould ye that before."
"And how about the old woman in the worsted hood that entered this place a moment before this man came out? Who was she, and where is she now?"
"That? Oh, that was Mrs. Marley," replied the saloon-keeper, with the air of a man relieved to be questioned on a point upon which he could answer freely at last.
"And who is Mrs. Marley?" ”

“ Nor are these isolated passages; from the opening lines of the prologue to the final speech of Nature the verse has the appearance of being the work of a graceful if not very strong hand writing in imitation of Marlowe's early style. We must, therefore, it seems to me, take the words of the prologue as signifying not that the play was the first work of the author, but that it was his earliest adventure in verse.
The plan of the work is as follows. The shepherds of Utopia come to dame Nature and beg her to make a woman for them. ”

“ This supper was always on a grand scale, the royal household (that is, the sons and daughters of France) at table, and a large number of courtiers and ladies present, sitting or standing, and on the evening before the journey to Marly all those ladies who wished to take part in it. That was called presenting yourself for Marly. Men asked in the morning, simply saying to the King, "Sire, Marly." In later years the King grew tired of this, and a valet wrote up in the gallery the names of those who asked. The ladies continued to present themselves. ”

“ The nobility of the Spencers has been illustrated and enriched by the trophies of Marlborough; ”

“ What do you say? Was it still veiled? I don’t know. For me that white figure in the stillness of coast and sea seemed to stand at the heart of a vast enigma. The twilight was ebbing fast from the sky above his head, the strip of sand had sunk already under his feet, he himself appeared no bigger than a child—then only a speck, a tiny white speck, that seemed to catch all the light left in a darkened world. . . . And, suddenly, I lost him. . . .
CHAPTER 36
With these words Marlow had ended his narrative, and his audience had broken up forthwith, under his abstract, pensive gaze. ”

“ On the way he met the Marquis de Gesvres, who was coming to fetch him, and brought similar news. It may be imagined what a hubbub and disorder there was this night at Marly, and what horror at Saint Cloud, that palace of delight! Everybody who was at Marly hastened as he was best able to Saint Cloud. Whoever was first ready started together. Men and women jostled each other, and then threw themselves into the coaches without order and without regard to etiquette. Monseigneur was with Madame la Duchesse. ”

“ On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore, or Blackmoor. ”

“ Soon came Merlin unto the king, and said, Sir, ye must purvey you for the nourishing of your child. As thou wilt, said the king, be it. Well, said Merlin, I know a lord of yours in this land, that is a passing true man and a faithful, and he shall have the nourishing of your child, and his name is Sir Ector, and he is a lord of fair livelihood in many parts in England and Wales; and this lord, Sir Ector, let him be sent for, for to come and speak with you, and desire him yourself, as he loveth you, that he will put his own child to nourishing to another woman, and that his wife nourish yours. ”

“ Thou art a marvellous man, said King Mark unto Merlin, that speakest of such marvels, thou art a boistous man and an unlikely to tell of such deeds. What is thy name? said King Mark. At this time, said Merlin, I will not tell, but at that time when Sir Tristram is taken with his sovereign lady, then ye shall hear and know my name, and at that time ye shall hear tidings that shall not please you. Then said Merlin to Balin, Thou hast done thyself great hurt, because that thou savest not this lady that slew herself, that might have saved her an thou wouldest. ”

“ Grant mighty strength to our lords, if the Maruts are pleased with our praise. As a trodden path furthers a man, may they further us; help us with your brilliant favors. Favored by you, O Maruts, a wise man wins a hundred, favored by you a strong racer wins a thousand, favored by you a king also kills his enemy: may that gift of yours prevail, O ye shakers. I invite these bounteous sons of Rudra, will these Maruts turn again to us? Whatever they hated secretly or openly, that sin we pray the swift ones to forgive. ”

“ Pourers of floods, the Maruts, Masters of all wealth, they who can ne'er be conquered, make the mountains shake. 5. The Maruts, Friends of men, are glorious as the fire: their mighty and resplendent succour we implore. Those storming Sons of Rudra clothed in robes of rain, boon-givers of good gifts, roar as the lions roar. 6. We, band on band and troop following troop, entreat with fair lauds Agni's splendour and the Maruts' might, With spotted deer for steeds, with wealth that never fails, they, wise Ones, come to sacrifice at our gatherings. ”

“ By the faith of my body, said Balin, I might not save her, for she slew herself suddenly. Me repenteth, said Merlin, because of the death of that lady thou shalt strike a stroke the most dolorous that ever man struck, except the stroke of our Lord, for thou shalt hurt the truest knight and the man of most worship that now liveth, and through that stroke three kingdoms shall be in great poverty, misery, and wretchedness, twelve year, and the knight shall not be whole of that wound many years. ”

“ O Agni, on to the strong host of the Maruts, bedecked with golden chains and ornaments. To-day I call the folk of the Maruts down from the light of heaven. As thou, Agni, thinkest in thine heart, to the same object my wishes have gone. Strengthen thou these Maruts, terrible to behold, who have come nearest to thy invocations. Like a bountiful lady, the earth comes towards us, staggering, yet rejoicing; for your onslaught, O Maruts, is vigorous, like a bear, and fearful, like a wild bull. ”

“ The Maruts watch the man who sings their praises, promoters of the thought of him who worships. Seat you on sacred grass in our assembly, this day, with friendly minds, to share the banquet. 3. No others gleam so brightly as these Maruts with their own forms, their golden gauds, their weapons. With all adornments, decking earth and heaven, they heighten, for bright show, their common splendour. 4. Far from us be your blazing dart, O Maruts, when we, through human frailty, sin against you. ”

“ We’re late now for much praying, Lamorak,
When you and I can feel upon our faces
A wind that has been blowing over ruins
That we had said were castles and high towers—
[Pg 20] Till Merlin, or the spirit of him, came
As the dead come in dreams. ”

“ WITH gleaming lances, with their breasts adorned with gold, the Maruts, rushing onward, hold high power of life. They hasten with swift steeds easy to be controlled. Their cars moved onward as they went to victory. 2. Ye, as ye wist, have gained of your own selves your power: high, O ye Mighty Ones, and wide ye shine abroad. They with their strength have even measured out the sky. ”