WILLIAM & MARY

British Museum
Illustrations to Young'g Night Thoughts 

Songs and Ballads, Blake's Notebook, (E496) 

             William Bond
"I wonder whether the Girls are mad 
And I wonder whether they mean to kill
And I wonder if William Bond will die 
For assuredly he is very ill

He went to Church in a May morning                   
Attended by Fairies one two & three
But the Angels Of Providence drove them away
And he returnd home in Misery

He went not out to the Field nor Fold
He went not out to the Village nor Town           
But he came home in a black black cloud
And took to his Bed & there lay down

And an Angel of Providence at his Feet
And an Angel of Providence at his Head
And in the midst a Black Black Cloud      
And in the midst the Sick Man on his Bed

And on his Right hand was Mary Green
And on his Left hand was his Sister Jane
And their tears fell thro the black black Cloud
To drive away the sick mans pain 
                     
O William if thou dost another Love
Dost another Love better than poor Mary
Go & take that other to be thy Wife
And Mary Green shall her Servant be

Yes Mary I do another Love                          
Another I Love far better than thee
And Another I will have for my Wife
Then what have I to do with thee

For thou art Melancholy Pale
And on thy Head is the cold Moons shine               
But she is ruddy & bright as day
And the sun beams dazzle from her eyne

Mary trembled & Mary chilld
And Mary fell down on the right hand floor
That William Bond & his Sister Jane                    
Scarce could recover Mary more

When Mary woke & found her Laid
On the Right hand of her William dear
On the Right hand of his loved Bed
And saw her William Bond so near                       

The Fairies that fled from William Bond
Danced around her Shining Head
They danced over the Pillow white
And the Angels of Providence left the Bed

I thought Love livd in the hot sun Shine                 
But O he lives in the Moony light
I thought to find Love in the heat of day
But sweet Love is the Comforter of Night

Seek Love in the Pity of others Woe
In the gentle relief of anothers care               
In the darkness of night & the winters snow
In the naked & outcast Seek Love there"

To understand the reasoning of this poem I find it necessary to start from the end rather than from the beginning. In the last two verses Blake speaks openly of love, not the love of men and women for each other but the compassionate love that joins us together as the eternal brotherhood of humanity. This is not the love of passion or possession, but that of sharing in the joys and woes of the whole body of mankind. If William Bond is ill, it is with the sickness of directing his love according to the worldly principles of church doctrine or conventional norms.

The poem turns on the offer by Mary to be a servant rather than prevent William's love from being directed toward another woman. Mary as the earthly woman, like the moon lives by reflected light: 
"For thou art Melancholy Pale 
And on thy Head is the cold Moons shine" 
The heavenly woman like Jerusalem shines from her own internal light: 
"But she is ruddy & bright as day 
And the sun beams dazzle from her eyne"

If Mary will become the servant to William's wife or emanation, she not only is welcome to William's bed but becomes a vehicle for the fairies of imagination to dance around her head. Thus love is raised to another dimension, that of universal or inclusive love. 
"I thought Love livd in the hot sun Shine 
But O he lives in the Moony light 
I thought to find Love in the heat of day 
But sweet Love is the Comforter of Night

Seek Love in the Pity of others Woe
In the gentle relief of anothers care               
In the darkness of night & the winters snow
In the naked & outcast Seek Love there"

Love is no less in the 'Moony night' than in the 'hot sun Shine'. To find love one must offer oneself, and be willing to sacrifice to fulfil the need of another. As in the prayer of St Francis - in giving we recieve.

John.2
[1] And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
[2] And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
[3] And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
[4] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
[5] His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 
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