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Article THIS TAPESTRY-WEAVER OF BEAUVAIS. ← Page 5 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
This Tapestry-Weaver Of Beauvais.
Care or Compunction weeps a tear ! Throughout the gold , I see a thousand forms , dawning and fading like hues in heated steel : — there Fancy detects the assassin with his knife—there , the Bondsman snaps his chain—there , is the Headsman—there , the Civil War ! These are the shades that haunt the despot ' s crown ; that wear him waking , and screech to him in his sleep . A nation ' s groan is pent up in its
round . It is a living thing that eats into the brain of the possessor , making him mad and drunk for blood and power ! " The miser ' s money-bag ! Another monster—all throat . Could its owner have put the sun itself within this bag , the world for him had been in darkness—perpetual night had cast a pall upon creation—the fruits of earth had withered in the bud , and gloom and misery been
universal ; whilst he , the thrifty villain ! smugly lived in gloom , and in his very baseness found felicity . ' And yet , what was the worth of all this bag contained ? Though it was stuffed with wealth , it was hung about
ivith fears . As its owner plunged his hand into the heap , he would start as though he felt the gripe of death were hidden there to grasp him . He was almost blind within a world of beauty : —his eye saw no images save those painted by gold ; his ears heard not , save when the metal tinkled ; his tongue was dumb , if it spoke not of wealth ; the glittering pieces were to him the children of his heart ancl soul—dull offspring of
the foulest appetites ; yet he hugged them to his bosom—he hugged them , ancl , in his dying hour , they turned to snakes , and stung him in the embrace ! This is the miser's , money-bag—the abode of reptiles , the sepulchre of the soul ! " The sword ! — Ceremony sanctifies it . Some kingly words are spoken—a trumpet is blown ; straightway the sword is ennobled !
" The lawyer ' s gown!—the masquerading dress of Common Sense . There is a living instinct in its web : let Golden Villany come under it , ancl with a thought it flows and spreads , and gives an ample shelter to the thing it covers ; let Poor Knavery seek it , and it shrinks and curtains up , and leaves the trembling victim naked to the court !"
Thus , in his graver moments , would old Schatten preach to his hearers ; then , with a thought , he would break from the solemn discourse , and make merriment of the self-same objects . Thus , like a skilful juggler , he would hold the conqueror ' s laurel , that hardy plant , to his lipsj ancl with a puff blow it into dust ; he would change the diadem into a huge snake , fat ivith poison , monstrous and uglyand
, make his audience laugh at its contortions . The money-bag he ivould ravel into a shroud ; he would melt the sword into drops of blood , and turn the lawyer ' s gown into a net of steel . Whilst these tricks made him a favourite with the young and gay , his learning , and the thousand
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
This Tapestry-Weaver Of Beauvais.
Care or Compunction weeps a tear ! Throughout the gold , I see a thousand forms , dawning and fading like hues in heated steel : — there Fancy detects the assassin with his knife—there , the Bondsman snaps his chain—there , is the Headsman—there , the Civil War ! These are the shades that haunt the despot ' s crown ; that wear him waking , and screech to him in his sleep . A nation ' s groan is pent up in its
round . It is a living thing that eats into the brain of the possessor , making him mad and drunk for blood and power ! " The miser ' s money-bag ! Another monster—all throat . Could its owner have put the sun itself within this bag , the world for him had been in darkness—perpetual night had cast a pall upon creation—the fruits of earth had withered in the bud , and gloom and misery been
universal ; whilst he , the thrifty villain ! smugly lived in gloom , and in his very baseness found felicity . ' And yet , what was the worth of all this bag contained ? Though it was stuffed with wealth , it was hung about
ivith fears . As its owner plunged his hand into the heap , he would start as though he felt the gripe of death were hidden there to grasp him . He was almost blind within a world of beauty : —his eye saw no images save those painted by gold ; his ears heard not , save when the metal tinkled ; his tongue was dumb , if it spoke not of wealth ; the glittering pieces were to him the children of his heart ancl soul—dull offspring of
the foulest appetites ; yet he hugged them to his bosom—he hugged them , ancl , in his dying hour , they turned to snakes , and stung him in the embrace ! This is the miser's , money-bag—the abode of reptiles , the sepulchre of the soul ! " The sword ! — Ceremony sanctifies it . Some kingly words are spoken—a trumpet is blown ; straightway the sword is ennobled !
" The lawyer ' s gown!—the masquerading dress of Common Sense . There is a living instinct in its web : let Golden Villany come under it , ancl with a thought it flows and spreads , and gives an ample shelter to the thing it covers ; let Poor Knavery seek it , and it shrinks and curtains up , and leaves the trembling victim naked to the court !"
Thus , in his graver moments , would old Schatten preach to his hearers ; then , with a thought , he would break from the solemn discourse , and make merriment of the self-same objects . Thus , like a skilful juggler , he would hold the conqueror ' s laurel , that hardy plant , to his lipsj ancl with a puff blow it into dust ; he would change the diadem into a huge snake , fat ivith poison , monstrous and uglyand
, make his audience laugh at its contortions . The money-bag he ivould ravel into a shroud ; he would melt the sword into drops of blood , and turn the lawyer ' s gown into a net of steel . Whilst these tricks made him a favourite with the young and gay , his learning , and the thousand