The Sicilian's Tale - The Wayside Inn - Part Second

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    THE BELL OF ATRI

    At Atri in Abruzzo, a small town
    Of ancient Roman date, but scant renown,
    One of those little places that have run
    Half up the hill, beneath a blazing sun,
    And then sat down to rest, as if to say,
    "I climb no farther upward, come what may,"--
    The Re Giovanni, now unknown to fame,
    So many monarchs since have borne the name,
    Had a great bell hung in the market-place
    Beneath a roof, projecting some small space,
    By way of shelter from the sun and rain.
    Then rode he through the streets with all his train,
    And, with the blast of trumpets loud and long,
    Made proclamation, that whenever wrong
    Was done to any man, he should but ring
    The great bell in the square, and he, the King,
    Would cause the Syndic to decide thereon.
    Such was the proclamation of King John.

    How swift the happy days in Atri sped,
    What wrongs were righted, need not here be said.
    Suffice it that, as all things must decay,
    The hempen rope at length was worn away,
    Unravelled at the end, and, strand by strand,
    Loosened and wasted in the ringer's hand,
    Till one, who noted this in passing by,
    Mended the rope with braids of briony,
    So that the leaves and tendrils of the vine
    Hung like a votive garland at a shrine.

    By chance it happened that in Atri dwelt
    A knight, with spur on heel and sword in belt,
    Who loved to hunt the wild-boar in the woods,
    Who loved his falcons with their crimson hoods,
    Who loved his hounds and horses, and all sports
    And prodigalities of camps and courts;--
    Loved, or had loved them; for at last, grown old,
    His only passion was the love of gold.

    He sold his horses, sold his hawks and hounds,
    Rented his vineyards and his garden-grounds,
    Kept but one steed, his favorite steed of all,
    To starve and shiver in a naked stall,
    And day by day sat brooding in his chair,
    Devising plans how best to hoard and spare.

    At length he said: "What is the use or need
    To keep at my own cost this lazy steed,
    Eating his head off in my stables here,
    When rents are low and provender is dear?
    Let him go feed upon the public ways;
    I want him only for the holidays."
    So the old steed was turned into the heat
    Of the long, lonely, silent, shadeless street;
    And wandered in suburban lanes forlorn,
    Barked at by dogs, and torn by brier and thorn.

    One afternoon, as in that sultry clime
    It is the custom in the summer time,
    With bolted doors and window-shutters closed,
    The inhabitants of Atri slept or dozed;
    When suddenly upon their senses fell
    The loud alarum of the accusing bell!
    The Syndic started from his deep repose,
    Turned on his couch, and listened, and then rose
    And donned his robes, and with reluctant pace
    Went panting forth into the market-place,
    Where the great bell upon its cross-beam swung
    Reiterating with persistent tongue,
    In half-articulate jargon, the old song:
    "Some one hath done a wrong, hath done a wrong!"

    But ere he reached the belfry's light arcade
    He saw, or thought he saw, beneath its shade,
    No shape of human form of woman born,
    But a poor steed dejected and forlorn,
    Who with uplifted head and eager eye
    Was tugging at the vines of briony.
    "Domeneddio!" cried the Syndie straight,
    "This is the Knight of Atri's steed of state!
    He calls for justice, being sore distressed,
    And pleads his cause as loudly as the best."

    Meanwhile from street and lane a noisy crowd
    Had rolled together like a summer cloud,
    And told the story of the wretched beast
    In five-and-twenty different ways at least,
    With much gesticulation and appeal
    To heathen gods, in their excessive zeal.
    The Knight was called and questioned; in reply
    Did not confess the fact, did not deny;
    Treated the matter as a pleasant jest,
    And set at naught the Syndic and the rest,
    Maintaining, in an angry undertone,
    That he should do what pleased him with his own.

    And thereupon the Syndic gravely read
    The proclamation of the King; then said:
    "Pride goeth forth on horseback grand and gay,
    But cometh back on foot, and begs its way;
    Fame is the fragrance of heroic deeds,
    Of flowers of chivalry and not of weeds!
    These are familiar proverbs; but I fear
    They never yet have reached your knightly ear.
    What fair renown, what honor, what repute
    Can come to you from starving this poor brute?
    He who serves well and speaks not, merits more
    Than they who clamor loudest at the door.
    Therefore the law decrees that as this steed
    Served you in youth, henceforth you shall take heed
    To comfort his old age, and to provide
    Shelter in stall an food and field beside."

    The Knight withdrew abashed; the people all
    Led home the steed in triumph to his stall.
    The King heard and approved, and laughed in glee
    And cried aloud: "Right well it pleaseth me!
    Church-bells at best but ring us to the door;
    But go not in to mass; my bell doth more:
    It cometh into court and pleads the cause
    Of creatures dumb and unknown to the laws;
    And this shall make, in every Christian clime,
    The Bell of Atri famous for all time."



    INTERLUDE

    "Yes, well your story pleads the cause
    Of those dumb mouths that have no speech,
    Only a cry from each to each
    In its own kind, with its own laws;
    Something that is beyond the reach
    Of human power to learn or teach,--
    An inarticulate moan of pain,
    Like the immeasurable main
    Breaking upon an unknown beach."

    Thus spake the Poet with a sigh;
    Then added, with impassioned cry,
    As one who feels the words he speaks,
    The color flushing in his cheeks,
    The fervor burning in his eye:
    "Among the noblest in the land,
    Though he may count himself the least,
    That man I honor and revere
    Who without favor, without fear,
    In the great city dares to stand
    The friend of every friendless beast,
    And tames with his unflinching hand
    The brutes that wear our form and face,
    The were-wolves of the human race!"
    Then paused, and waited with a frown,
    Like some old champion of romance,
    Who, having thrown his gauntlet down,
    Expectant leans upon his lance;
    But neither Knight nor Squire is found
    To raise the gauntlet from the ground,
    And try with him the battle's chance.

    "Wake from your dreams, O Edrehi!
    Or dreaming speak to us, and make
    A feint of being half awake,
    And tell us what your dreams may be.
    Out of the hazy atmosphere
    Of cloud-land deign to reappear
    Among us in this Wayside Inn;
    Tell us what visions and what scenes
    Illuminate the dark ravines
    In which you grope your way.    Begin!"

    Thus the Sicilian spake.    The Jew
    Made no reply, but only smiled,
    As men unto a wayward child,
    Not knowing what to answer, do.
    As from a cavern's mouth, o'ergrown
    With moss and intertangled vines,
    A streamlet leaps into the light
    And murmurs over root and stone
    In a melodious undertone;
    Or as amid the noonday night
    Of sombre and wind-haunted pines,
    There runs a sound as of the sea;
    So from his bearded lips there came
    A melody without a name,
    A song, a tale, a history,
    Or whatsoever it may be,
    Writ and recorded in these lines.