Behold her, in all her loveliness, and kneel down on the place where
she stood, and passionately kiss the earth her feet have touched.
Bless her in your love, and curse her in the anger of your hatred!
First love is passionate in its bliss, burning its agony, and agony
and bliss, fury and delight, are all pouring through your soul, and
giving you the baptism of pain, making of the youth a man.
"Tear love from my soul, and enable me to tread it under foot!" he
cries out fiercely, as he now rises from the place he had just
touched with his lips. "Root out these memories from my breast,
spirit of my mother! She to whom I here prayed, and swore fidelity,
has proved untrue. Strike blind the eyes of my soul, that they may
no longer see this horror! Make deaf my ears, that I may no longer
hear the sweet voice that sounds like heavenly music! What was it
she said, what were her words?
"'I will be thine, and love no other but thee!' she said. 'By my
mother's spirit, I swear to you that no other man shall lift this
veil from my face; I will be thine, alone!'
"It was music when she said it. It filled my heart with heavenly
joyousness. And now it proves to have been evil spirits only, who
had come up from the deep to deceive a poor heart! Oh, these
memories, they will follow me like a black shadow throughout life.
In wild merriment and conflict, I shall be able to hush them in the
noisy day; but, in the stillness of the night, they will come back
to charm--no, to tear my heart! O Masa, Masa, what have you done!"
Overwhelmed with his agony, he sank to the ground, and kissed again
and again the place where she had stood, and wept aloud.
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