Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909.

The Hamadryad

Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864)

RHAICOS was born amid the hills wherefrom

Gnidos the light of Caria is discern’d,

And small are the white-crested that play near,

And smaller onward are the purple waves.

Thence festal choirs were visible, all crown’d,

With rose and myrtle if they were inborn;

If from Pandion sprang they, on the coast

Where stern Athenè raised her citadel,

Then olive was intwined with violets

Cluster’d in bosses, regular and large.

For various men wore various coronals;

But one was their devotion; ’twas to her

Whose laws all follow, her whose smile withdraws

The sword from Ares, thunderbolt from Zeus,

And whom in his chill caves the mutable

Of mind, Poseidon, the sea-king, reveres,

And whom his brother, stubborn Dis, hath pray’d

To turn in pity the averted cheek

Of her he bore away, with promises,

Nay, with loud oath before dread Styx itself,

To give her daily more and sweeter flowers

Than he made drop from her on Enna’s dell.

Rhaicos was looking from his father’s door

At the long trains that hastened to the town

From all the valleys, like bright rivulets

Gurgling with gladness, wave outrunning wave,

And thought it hard he might not also go

And offer up one prayer, and press one hand,

He knew not whose. The father call’d him in,

And said, ‘Son Rhaicos! those are idle games;

Long enough I have lived to find them so.’

And ere he ended sighed; as old men do

Always, to think how idle such games are.

‘I have not yet,’ thought Rhaicos in his heart,

And wanted proof.
‘Suppose thou go and help

Echeion at the hill, to bark yon oak

And lop its branches off, before we delve

About the trunk and ply the root with axe:

This we may do in winter.’
Rhaicos went;

For thence he could see farther, and see more

Of those who hurried to the city-gate.

Echeion he found there with naked arm

Swart-hair’d, strong-sinew’d, and his eyes intent

Upon the place where first the axe should fall:

He held it upright. ‘There are bees about,

Or wasps, or hornets,’ said the cautious eld,

‘Look sharp, O son of Thallinos!’ The youth

Inclined his ear, afar, and warily,

And cavern’d in his hand. He heard a buzz

At first, and then the sound grew soft and clear,

And then divided into what seem’d tune,

And there were words upon it, plaintive words.

He turn’d, and said, ‘Echeion! do not strike

That tree: it must be hollow; for some god

Speaks from within. Come thyself near.’ Again

Both turn’d toward it: and behold! there sat

Upon the moss below, with her two palms

Pressing it, on each side, a maid in form.

Downcast were her long eyelashes, and pale

Her cheek, but never mountain-ash display’d

Berries of colour like her lip so pure,

Nor were the anemones about her hair

Soft, smooth and wavering like the face beneath.

‘What dost thou here?’ Echeion, half-afraid,

Half-angry cried. She lifted up her eyes,

But nothing spake she. Rhaicos drew one step

Backward, for fear came likewise over him,

But not such fear: he panted, gasp’d, drew in

His breath, and would have turn’d it into words,

But could not into one.
‘O send away

That sad old man!’ said she. The old man went

Without a warning from his master’s son,

Glad to escape, for sorely he now fear’d,

And the axe shone behind him in their eyes.

Hamad.And wouldst thou too shed the most innocent

Of blood? No vow demands it; no god wills

The oak to bleed.
Rhaicos.Who art thou? whence? why here?

And whither wouldst thou go? Among the robed

In white or saffron, or the hue, that most

Resembles dawn or the clear sky, is none

Array’d as thou art. What so beautiful

As that gray robe which clings about thee close,

Like moss to stones adhering, leaves to trees,

Yet lets thy bosom rise and fall in turn,

As, touch’d by zephyrs, fall and rise the boughs

Of graceful platan by the river-side?

Hamad.Lovest thou well thy father’s house?
Rhaicos.Indeed

I love it, well I love it, yet would leave

For thine, where’er it be, my father’s house,

With all the marks upon the door, that show

My growth at every birthday since the third,

And all the charms, o’erpowering evil eyes,

My mother nail’d for me against my bed,

And the Cydonian bow (which thou shalt see)

Won in my race last spring from Eutychos.

Hamad.Bethink thee what it is to leave a home

Thou never yet hast left, one night, one day.

Rhaicos.No, ’tis not hard to leave it; ’tis not hard

To leave, O maiden, that paternal home,

If there be one on earth whom we may love

First, last, for ever; one who says that she

Will love for ever too. To say which word,

Only to say it, surely is enough …

It shows such kindness … if ’twere possible

We at the moment think she would indeed.

Hamad.Who taught thee all this folly at thy age?

Rhaicos.I have seen lovers and have learned to love.

Hamad.But wilt thou spare the tree?
Rhaicos.My father wants

The bark; the tree may hold its place awhile.

Hamad.Awhile! thy father numbers then my days?

Rhaicos.Are there no others where the moss beneath

Is quite as tufty? Who would send thee forth

Or ask thee why thou tarriest? Is thy flock

Anywhere near?
Hamad.I have no flock: I kill

Nothing that breathes, that stirs, that feels the air,

The sun, the dew. Why should the beautiful

(And thou art beautiful) disturb the source

Whence springs all beauty? Hast thou never heard

Of Hamadryads?
Rhaicos.Heard of them I have:

Tell me some tale about them. May I sit

Beside thy feet? Art thou not tired? The herbs

Are very soft; I will not come too nigh;

Do but sit there, nor tremble so, nor doubt.

Stay, stay an instant: let me first explore

If any acorn of last year be left

Within it; thy thin robe too ill protects

Thy dainty limbs against the harm one small

Acorn may do. Here’s none. Another day

Trust me; till then let me sit opposite.

Hamad.I seat me; be thou seated, and content.

Rhaicos.O sight for gods! ye men below! adore

The Aphroditè. Is she there below?

Or sits she here before me? as she sate

Before the shepherd on those heights that shade

The Hellespont, and brought his kindred woe.

Hamad.Reverence the higher Powers; nor deem amiss

Of her who pleads to thee, and would repay—

Ask not how much—but very much. Rise not;

No, Rhaicos, no! Without the nuptial vow

Love is unholy. Swear to me that none

Of mortal maids shall ever taste thy kiss,

Then take thou mine; then take it, not before.

Rhaicos.Hearken, all gods above! O Aphroditè!

O Herè! Let my vow be ratified!

But wilt thou come into my father’s house?

Hamad.Nay: and of mine I cannot give thee part.

Rhaicos.Where is it?
Hamad.In this oak.
Rhaicos.Ay; now begins

The tale of Hamadryad; tell it through.

Hamad.Pray of thy father never to cut down

My tree; and promise him, as well thou mayst,

That every year he shall receive from me

More honey than will buy him nine fat sheep,

More wax than he will burn to all the gods.

Why fallest thou upon thy face? Some thorn

May scratch it, rash young man! rise up; for shame!

Rhaicos.For shame I cannot rise. O pity me!

I dare not sue for love … but do not hate!

Let me once more behold thee … not once more,

But many days: let me love on … unloved!

I aimed too high: on my head the bolt

Falls back, and pierces to the very brain.

Hamad.Go … rather go, than make me say I love.

Rhaicos.If happiness is immortality,

(And whence enjoy it else the gods above?)

I am immortal too: my vow is heard:

Hark! on the left … Nay, turn not from me now,

I claim my kiss.
Hamad.Do men take first, then claim?

Do thus the seasons run their course with them?

Her lips were seal’d, her head sank on his breast.

’Tis said that laughs were heard within the wood:

But who should hear them?… and whose laughs? and why?

Savoury was the smell, and long past noon,

Thallinos! in thy house: for marjoram,

Basil and mint, and thyme and rosemary,

Were sprinkled on the kid’s well-roasted length,

Awaiting Rhaicos. Home he came at last,

Not hungry, but pretending hunger keen,

With head and eyes just o’er the maple plate.

‘Thou seest but badly, coming from the sun,

Boy Rhaicos!’ said the father. ‘That oak’s bark

Must have been tough, with little sap between;

It ought to run; but it and I are old.’

Rhaicos, although each morsel of the bread

Increased by chewing, and the meat grew cold

And tasteless to his palate, took a draught

Of gold-bright wine, which, thirsty as he was,

He thought not of until his father fill’d

The cup, averring water was amiss,

But wine had been at all times pour’d on kid,

It was religion.
He thus fortified

Said, not quite boldly, and not quite abashed,

‘Father, that oak is Zeus’s own; that oak

Year after year will bring thee wealth from wax

And honey. There is one who fears the gods

And the gods love—that one’
(He blushed, nor said

What one)
‘Has promised this, and may do more.

Thou hast not many moons to wait until

The bees have done their best; if then there come

Nor wax nor honey, let the tree be hewn.’

‘Zeus hath bestow’d on thee a prudent mind,’

Said the glad sire: ‘but look thou often there,

And gather all the honey thou canst find

In every crevice, over and above

What has been promised; would they reckon that?’

Rhaicos went daily; but the nymph as oft

Invisible. To play at love, she knew,

Stopping its breathings when it breathes most soft,

Is sweeter than to play on any pipe.

She play’d on his: she fed upon his sighs;

They pleased her when they gently waved her hair,

Cooling the pulses of her purple veins,

And when her absence brought them out, they pleased.

Even among the fondest of them all,

What mortal or immortal maid is more

Content with giving happiness than pain?

One day he was returning from the wood

Despondently. She pitied him, and said

‘Come back!’ and twined her ringers in the hem

Above his shoulder. Then she led his steps

To a cool rill that ran o’er level sand

Through lentisk and through oleander, there

Bathed she his feet, lifting them on her lap

When bathed, and drying them in both her hands.

He dared complain; for those who most are loved

Most dare it; but not harsh was his complaint.

‘O thou inconstant!’ said he, ‘if stern law

Bind thee, or will, stronger than sternest law,

O, let me know henceforward when to hope

The fruit of love that grows for me but here.’

He spake; and pluck’d it from its pliant stem.

‘Impatient Rhaicos! Why thus intercept

The answer I would give? There is a bee

Whom I have fed, a bee who knows my thoughts

And executes my wishes: I will send

That messenger. If ever thou art false,

Drawn by another, own it not, but drive

My bee away; then shall I know my fate,

And—for thou must be wretched—weep at thine.

But often as my heart persuades to lay

Its cares on thine and throb itself to rest,

Expect her with thee, whether it be morn

Or eve, at any time when woods are safe.’

Day after day the Hours beheld them blessed,

And season after season: years had past,

Blessed were they still. He who asserts that Love

Ever is sated of sweet things, the same

Sweet things he fretted for in earlier days,

Never, by Zeus! loved he a Hamadryad.

The nights had now grown longer, and perhaps

The Hamadryads find them lone and dull

Among their woods; one did, alas! She called

Her faithful bee: ’twas when all bees should sleep,

And all did sleep but hers. She was sent forth

To bring that light which never wintry blast

Blows out, nor rain nor snow extinguishes,

The light that shines from loving eyes upon

Eyes that love back, till they can see no more.

Rhaicos was sitting at his father’s hearth:

Between them stood the table, not o’erspread

With fruits which autumn now profusely bore,

Nor anise cakes, nor odorous wine; but there

The draft-board was expanded; at which game

Triumphant sat old Thallinos; the son

Was puzzled, vexed, discomfited, distraught.

A buzz was at his ear: up went his hand,

And it was heard no longer. The poor bee

Return’d, (but not until the morn shone bright)

And found the Hamadryad with her head

Upon her aching wrist, and showed one wing

Half-broken off, the other’s meshes marr’d,

And there were bruises which no eye could see

Saving a Hamadryad’s.
At this sight

Down fell the languid brow, both hands fell down,

A shriek was carried to the ancient hall

Of Thallinos: he heard it not: his son

Heard it, and ran forthwith into the wood.

No bark was on the tree, no leaf was green,

The trunk was riven through. From that day forth

Nor word nor whisper sooth’d his ear, nor sound

Even of insect wing; but loud laments

The woodmen and the shepherds one long year

Heard day and night; for Rhaicos would not quit

The solitary place, but moan’d and died.

Hence milk and honey wonder not, O guest,

To find set duly on the hollow stone.