SCENE III.—North Transept of Canterbury Cathedral. On the right handa flight of steps leading to the Choir, another flight on the left,leading to the North Aisle. Winter afternoon slowly darkening. Lowthunder now and then of an approaching storm. MONKSheard chantingthe service. ROSAMUNDkneeling.
ROSAMUND.O blessed saint, O glorious Benedict,—These arm'd men in the city, these fierce faces—Thy holy follower founded Canterbury—Save that dear head which now is Canterbury,Save him, he saved my life, he saved my child,Save him, his blood would darken Henry's name;Save him till all as saintly as thyselfHe miss the searching flame of purgatory,And pass at once perfect to Paradise.[Noise of steps and voices in the cloisters.Hark! Is it they? Coming! He is not here—Not yet, thank heaven. O save him![Goes up steps leading to choir.BECKET (entering, forced along byJOHN OF SALISBURYandGRIM).No, I tell you!I cannot bear a hand upon my person,Why do you force me thus against my will?GRIM.My lord, we force you from your enemies.BECKET.As you would force a king from being crown'd.JOHN OF SALISBURY.We must not force the crown of martyrdom.[Service stops. MONKScome down from thestairs that lead to the choir.MONKS.Here is the great Archbishop! He lives! he lives!Die with him, and be glorified together.BECKET.Together?... get you back! go on with the office.MONKS.Come, then, with us to vespers.BECKET.How can I comeWhen you so block the entry? Back, I say!Go on with the office. Shall not Heaven be servedTho' earth's last earthquake clash'd the minster-bells,And the great deeps were broken up again,And hiss'd against the sun? [Noise in the cloisters.MONKS.The murderers, hark!Let us hide! let us hide!BECKET.What do these people fear?MONKS.Those arm'd men in the cloister.BECKET.Be not such cravens!I will go out and meet them.GRIMand others.Shut the doors!We will not have him slain before our face.[They close the doors of the transept. Knocking.Fly, fly, my lord, before they burst the doors![Knocking.BECKET.Why, these are our own monks who follow'd us!And will you bolt them out, and havethemslain?Undo the doors: the church is not a castle:Knock, and it shall be open'd. Are you deaf?What, have I lost authority among you?Stand by, make way![Opens the doors. EnterMONKSfrom cloister.Come in, my friends, come in!Nay, faster, faster!MONKS.Oh, my lord Archbishop,A score of knights all arm'd with swords and axes—To the choir, to the choir![Monks divide, part flying by the stairs on theright, part by those on the left. The rush ofthese last bearsBECKETalong with them someway up the steps, where he is left standing alone.BECKET.Shall I too pass to the choir,And die upon the Patriarchal throneOf all my predecessors?JOHN OF SALISBURY.No, to the crypt!Twenty steps down. Stumble not in the darkness,Lest they should seize thee.GRIM.To the crypt? no—no,To the chapel of St. Blaise beneath the roof!JOHN OF SALISBURY (pointing upward and downward).That way, or this! Save thyself either way.BECKET.Oh, no, not either way, nor any waySave by that way which leads thro' night to light.Not twenty steps, but one.And fear not I should stumble in the darkness,Not tho' it be their hour, the power of darkness,But my hour too, the power of light in darkness!I am not in the darkness but the light,Seen by the Church in Heaven, the Church on earth—The power of life in death to make her free![Enter the fourKNIGHTS. JOHN OF SALISBURYflies to the altar of St. Benedict.FITZURSE.Here, here, King's men![Catches hold of the last flying MONK.Where is the traitor Becket?MONK.I am not he! I am not he, my lord.I am not he indeed!FITZURSE.Hence to the fiend![Pushes him away.Where is this treble traitor to the King?DE TRACY.Where is the Archbishop, Thomas Becket?BECKET.Here.No traitor to the King, but Priest of God,Primate of England.[Descending into the transept.I am he ye seek.What would ye have of me?FlTZURSE.Your life.DE TRACY.Your life.DE MORVILLE.Save that you will absolve the bishops.BECKET.Never,—Except they make submission to the Church.You had my answer to that cry before.DE MORVILLE.Why, then you are a dead man; flee!BECKET.I will not.I am readier to be slain, than thou to slay.Hugh, I know well thou hast but half a heartTo bathe this sacred pavement with my blood.God pardon thee and these, but God's full curseShatter you all to pieces if ye harmOne of my flock!FITZURSE.Was not the great gate shut?They are thronging in to vespers—half the town.We shall be overwhelm'd. Seize him and carry him!Come with us—nay—thou art our prisoner—come!DE MORVILLE.Ay, make him prisoner, do not harm the man.[FITZURSElays hold of theARCHBISHOP'Spall.BECKET.Touch me not!DE BRITO.How the good priest gods himself!He is not yet ascended to the Father.FITZURSE.I will not only touch, but drag thee hence.BECKET.Thou art my man, thou art my vassal. Away![Flings him off till he reels, almost to falling.DE TRACY (lays hold of the pall).Come; as he said, thou art our prisoner.BECKET.Down![Throws him headlong.FITZURSE (advances with drawn sword).I told thee that I should remember thee!BECKET.Profligate pander!FITZURSE.Do you hear that? strike, strike.[Strikes off theARCHBISHOP'Smitre, and woundshim in the forehead.BECKET (covers his eyes with his hand).I do commend my cause to God, the Virgin,St. Denis of France and St. Alphege of England,And all the tutelar Saints of Canterbury.[GRIMwraps his arms about theARCHBISHOP.Spare this defence, dear brother.[TRACYhas arisen, and approaches, hesitatingly,with his sword raised.FITZURSE.Strike him, Tracy!ROSAMUND (rushing down steps from the choir).No, No, No, No!FlTZURSE.This wanton here. De Morville,Hold her away.DE MORVILLE.I hold her.ROSAMUND (held back byDE MORVILLE,and stretching out her arms).Mercy, mercy,As you would hope for mercy.FlTZURSE.Strike, I say.GRIM.O God, O noble knights, O sacrilege!Strike our Archbishop in his own cathedral!The Pope, the King, will curse you—the whole worldAbhor you; ye will die the death of dogs!Nay, nay, good Tracy. [Lifts his arm.FlTZURSE.Answer not, but strike.DE TRACY.There is my answer then.[Sword falls onGRIM'Sarm, and glances from it,woundingBECKET.GRIM.Mine arm is sever'd.I can no more—fight out the good fight—dieConqueror. [Staggers into the chapel of St. Benedict.BECKET (falling on his knees).At the right hand of Power—Power and great glory—for thy Church, O Lord—Into Thy hands, O Lord—into Thy hands!——[Sinks prone.DE BRITO.This last to rid thee of a world of brawls! (Kills him.)The traitor's dead, and will arise no more.FITZURSE.Nay, have we still'd him? What! the great Archbishop!Does he breathe? No?DE TRACY.No, Reginald, he is dead.(Storm bursts.) [Footnote:A tremendous thunderstorm actuallybroke over the Cathedral as the murderers were leaving it.]DE MORVILLE.Will the earth gape and swallow us?DE BRITO.The deed's done—Away![DE BRITO, DE TRACY, FITZURSE.rush out, crying'King's men!'DE MORVILLEfollows slowly.Flashes of lightning thro' the Cathedral.ROSAMUNDseen kneeling by the body ofBECKET.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE.
GALATIANS.SYNORIX,an ex-Tetrarch.SINNATUS,a Tetrarch.Attendant.Boy.Maid.PHOEBE.CAMMA,wife of Sinnatus, afterwards Priestess in the Temple ofArtemis.ROMANS.ANTONIUS,a Roman General.PUBLIUS.Nobleman.Messenger.
THE CUP.
ACT I.
SCENE I.—Distant View of a City of Galatia.As the curtain rises, Priestesses are heard singing in the Temple. Boydiscovered on a pathway among Rocks, picking grapes. A party of RomanSoldiers, guarding a prisoner in chains, come down the pathway andexeunt.
EnterSYNORIX (looking round).Singing ceases.SYNORIX.Pine, beech and plane, oak, walnut, apricot,Vine, cypress, poplar, myrtle, bowering inThe city where she dwells. She past me hereThree years ago when I was flying fromMy Tetrarchy to Rome. I almost touch'd her—A maiden slowly moving on to musicAmong her maidens to this Temple—O Gods!She is my fate—else wherefore has my fateBrought me again to her own city?—marriedSince—married Sinnatus, the Tetrarch here—But if he be conspirator, Rome will chain,Or slay him. I may trust to gain her thenWhen I shall have my tetrarchy restoredBy Rome, our mistress, grateful that I show'd herThe weakness and the dissonance of our clans,And how to crush them easily. Wretched race!And once I wish'd to scourge them to the bones.But in this narrow breathing-time of lifeIs vengeance for its own sake worth the while,If once our ends are gain'd? and now this cup—I never felt such passion for a woman.[Brings out a cup and scroll from under his cloak.What have I written to her?[Reading the scroll.'To the admired Gamma, wife of Sinnatus, the Tetrarch, one who yearsago, himself an adorer of our great goddess, Artemis, beheld you afaroff worshipping in her Temple, and loved you for it, sends you thiscup rescued from the burning of one of her shrines in a city thro'which he past with the Roman army: it is the cup we use in ourmarriages. Receive it from one who cannot at present write himselfother than 'A GALATIAN SERVING BY FORCE IN THE ROMAN LEGION.'[Turns and looks up to Boy.Boy, dost thou know the house of Sinnatus?BOY.These grapes are for the house of Sinnatus—Close to the Temple.SYNORIX.Yonder?BOY.Yes.SYNORIX (aside).That IWith all my range of women should yet shunTo meet her face to face at once! My boy,[Boy comes down rocks to him.Take thou this letter and this cup to Camma,The wife of Sinnatus.BOY.Going or gone to-dayTo hunt with Sinnatus.SYNORIX.That matters not.Take thou this cup and leave it at her doors.[Gives the cup and scroll to the Boy.BOY.I will, my lord. [Takes his basket of grapes and exit.EnterANTONIUS.ANTONIUS (meeting the Boy as he goes out).Why, whither runs the boy?Is that the cup you rescued from the fire?SYNORIX.I send it to the wife of Sinnatus,One half besotted in religious rites.You come here with your soldiers to enforceThe long-withholden tribute: you suspectThis Sinnatus of playing patriotism,Which in your sense is treason. You have yetNo proof against him: now this pious cupIs passport to their house, and open armsTo him who gave it; and once there I warrantI worm thro' all their windings.ANTONIUS.If you prosper,Our Senate, wearied of their tetrarchies,Their quarrels with themselves, their spites at Rome,Is like enough to cancel them, and throneOne king above them all, who shall be trueTo the Roman: and from what I heard in Rome,This tributary crown may fall to you.SYNORIX.The king, the crown! their talk in Rome? is it so?[ANTONIUSnods.Well—I shall serve Galatia taking it,And save her from herself, and be to RomeMore faithful than a Roman.[Turns and seesCAMMAcoming.Stand aside,Stand aside; here she comes![WatchingCAMMAas she enters with her Maid.GAMMA (to Maid).Where is he, girl?MAID.You know the waterfallThat in the summer keeps the mountain side,But after rain o'erleaps a jutting rockAnd shoots three hundred feet.CAMMA.The stag is there?MAID.Seen in the thicket at the bottom thereBut yester-even.GAMMA.Good then, we will climbThe mountain opposite and watch the chase.[They descend the rocks and exeunt.SYNORIX (watching her).(Aside.) The bust of Juno and the brows and eyesOf Venus; face and form unmatchable!ANTONIUS.Why do you look at her so lingeringly?SYNORIX.To see if years have changed her.ANTONIUS (sarcastically).Love her, do you?SYNORIX.I envied Sinnatus when he married her.ANTONIUS.She knows it? Ha!SYNORIX.She—no, nor ev'n my face.ANTONIUS.Nor Sinnatus either?SYNORIX.No, nor Sinnatus.ANTONIUS.Hot-blooded! I have heard them say in Rome.That your own people cast you from their bounds,For some unprincely violence to a woman,As Rome did Tarquin.SYNORIX.Well, if this were so,I here return like Tarquin—for a crown.ANTONIUS.And may be foil'd like Tarquin, if you followNot the dry light of Rome's straight-going policy,But the fool-fire of love or lust, which wellMay make you lose yourself, may even drown youIn the good regard of Rome.SYNORIX.Tut—fear me not;I ever had my victories among women.I am most true to Rome.ANTONIUS (aside).I hate the man!What filthy tools our Senate works with! StillI must obey them. (Aloud.) Fare you well. [Going.SYNORIX.Farewell!ANTONIUS (stopping).A moment! If you track this SinnatusIn any treason, I give you here an order[Produces a paper.To seize upon him. Let me sign it. (Signs it.) There'Antonius leader of the Roman Legion.'[Hands the paper toSYNORIX.Goes up pathway and exit.SYNORIX.Woman again!—but I am wiser now.No rushing on the game—the net,—the net.[Shouts of'Sinnatus! Sinnatus!'Then horn. Looking offstage.]He comes, a rough, bluff, simple-looking fellow.If we may judge the kernel by the husk,Not one to keep a woman's fealty whenAssailed by Craft and Love. I'll join with him:I may reap something from him—come uponherAgain, perhaps, to-day—her. Who are with him?I see no face that knows me. Shall I risk it?I am a Roman now, they dare not touch me.I will.EnterSINNATUS, HUNTSMENand hounds.Fair Sir, a happy day to you!You reck but little of the Roman here,While you can take your pastime in the woods.SlNNATUS.Ay, ay, why not? What would you with me, man?SYNORIX.I am a life-long lover of the chase,And tho' a stranger fain would be allow'dTo join the hunt.SlNNATUS.Your name?SYNORIX.Strato, my name.SlNNATUS.No Roman name?SYNORIX.A Greek, my lord; you knowThat we Galatians are both Greek and Gaul.[Shouts and horns in the distanceSINNATUS.Hillo, the stag! (ToSYNORIX.) What, you are all unfurnish'd?Give him a bow and arrows—follow—follow.[Exit, followed by Huntsmen.SYNORIX.Slowly but surely—till I see my way.It is the one step in the dark beyondOur expectation, that amazes us.[Distant shouts and horns.Hillo! Hillo![ExitSYNORIX.Shouts and horns.
SCENE II.—A Room in the Tetrarch's House.Frescoed figures on the walls. Evening. Moonlight outside. A couchwith cushions on it. A small table with flagon of wine, cups, plate ofgrapes, etc., also the cup of Scene I. A chair with drapery on it.
CAMMAenters, and opens' curtains of window.CAMMA.No Sinnatus yet—and there the rising moon.[Takes up a cithern and sits on couch. Plays and sings.'Moon on the field and the foam,Moon on the waste and the wold,Moon bring him home, bring him homeSafe from the dark and the cold,Home, sweet moon, bring him home,Home with the flock to the fold—Safe from the wolf'——(Listening.) Is he coming? I thought I heardA footstep. No not yet. They say that RomeSprang from a wolf. I fear my dear lord mixtWith some conspiracy against the wolf.This mountain shepherd never dream'd of Rome.(Sings.) 'Safe from the wolf to the fold'——And that great break of precipice that runsThro' all the wood, where twenty years agoHuntsman, and hound, and deer were all neck-broken!Nay, here he comes.EnterSINNATUSfollowed bySYNORIX.SINNATUS (angrily).I tell thee, my good fellow,My arrow struck the stag.SYNORIX.But was it so?Nay, you were further off: besides the windWent withmyarrow.SINNATUS.I am sureIstruck him.SYNORIX.And I am just as sure, my lord,Istruck him.(Aside.) And I may strike your game when you are gone.CAMMA.Come, come, we will not quarrel about the stag.I have had a weary day in watching you.Yours must have been a wearier. Sit and eat,And take a hunter's vengeance on the meats.SINNATUS.No, no—we have eaten—we are heated. Wine!CAMMA.Who is our guest?SINNATUS.Strato he calls himself.[CAMMAoffers wine toSYNORIX,whileSINNATUShelpshimself.SINNATUS.I pledge you, Strato. [Drinks.SYNORIX.And I you, my lord. [Drinks.SINNATUS (seeing the cup sent toCAMMA).What's here?CAMMA.A strange gift sent to me to-day.A sacred cup saved from a blazing shrineOf our great Goddess, in some city whereAntonius past. I had believed that RomeMade war upon the peoples not the Gods.SYNORIX.Most like the city rose against Antonius,Whereon he fired it, and the sacred shrineBy chance was burnt along with it.SINNATUS.Had you thenNo message with the cup?CAMMA.Why, yes, see here.[Gives him the scroll.SINNATUS (reads).'To the admired Camma,—beheld you afar off—loved you—sends you thiscup—the cup we use in our marriages—cannot at present write himselfother than'A GALATIAN SERVING BY FORCE IN THE ROMAN LEGION.'Serving by force! Were there no boughs to hang on,Rivers to drown in? Serve by force? No forceCould make me serve by force.SYNORIX.How then, my lord?The Roman is encampt without your city—The force of Rome a thousand-fold our own.Must all Galatia hang or drown herself?And you a Prince and Tetrarch in this province—SINNATUS.Province!SYNORIX.Well, well, they call it so in Rome.SINNATUS (angrily).Province!SYNORIX.A noble anger! but AntoniusTo-morrow will demand your tribute—you,Can you make war? Have you alliances?Bithynia, Pontus, Paphlagonia?We have had our leagues of old with Eastern kings.There is my hand—if such a league there be.What will you do?SINNATUS.Not set myself abroachAnd run my mind out to a random guestWho join'd me in the hunt. You saw my houndsTrue to the scent; and we have two-legg'd dogsAmong us who can smell a true occasion,And when to bark and how.SYNORIX.My good Lord Sinnatus,I once was at the hunting of a lion.Roused by the clamour of the chase he woke,Came to the front of the wood—his monarch maneBristled about his quick ears—he stood thereStaring upon the hunter. A score of dogsGnaw'd at his ankles: at the last he feltThe trouble of his feet, put forth one paw,Slew four, and knew it not, and so remain'dStaring upon the hunter: and this RomeWill crush you if you wrestle with her; thenSave for some slight report in her own SenateScarce know what she has done.(Aside.) Would I could move him,Provoke him any way! (Aloud.) The Lady Camma,Wise I am sure as she is beautiful,Will close with me that to submit at onceIs better than a wholly-hopeless war,Our gallant citizens murder'd all in vain,Son, husband, brother gash'd to death in vain,And the small state more cruelly trampled onThan had she never moved.CAMMA.Sir, I had onceA boy who died a babe; but were he livingAnd grown to man and Sinnatus will'd it, IWould set him in the front rank of the fightWith scarce a pang. (Rises.) Sir, if a state submitAt once, she may be blotted out at onceAnd swallow'd in the conqueror's chronicle.Whereas in wars of freedom and defenceThe glory and grief of battle won or lostSolders a race together—yea—tho' they fail,The names of those who fought and fell are likeA bank'd-up fire that flashes out againFrom century to century, and at lastMay lead them on to victory—I hope so—Like phantoms of the Gods.SINNATUS.Well spoken, wife.SYNORIX (bowing).Madam, so well I yield.SINNATUS.I should not wonderIf Synorix, who has dwelt three years in RomeAnd wrought his worst against his native land.Returns with this Antonius.SYNORIX.What is Synorix?SINNATUS.Galatian, and not know? This SynorixWas Tetrarch here, and tyrant also—didDishonour to our wives.SYNORIX.Perhaps you judge himWith feeble charity: being as you tell meTetrarch, there might be willing wives enoughTo feel dishonour, honour.CAMMA.Do not say so.I know of no such wives in all Galatia.There may be courtesans for aught I knowWhose life is one dishonour.EnterATTENDANT.ATTENDANT (aside).My lord, the men!SINNATUS (aside).Our anti-Roman faction?ATTENDANT (aside).Ay, my lord.SYNORIX (overhearing).(Aside.) I have enough—their anti-Roman faction.SINNATUS (aloud).Some friends of mine would speak with me without.You, Strato, make good cheer till I return.[Exit.SYNORIX.I have much to say, no time to say it in.First, lady, know myself am that GalatianWho sent the cup.CAMMA.I thank you from my heart.SYNORIX.Then that I serve with Rome to serve Galatia.That is my secret: keep it, or you sell meTo torment and to death. [Coming closer.For your ear only—I love you—for your love to the great Goddess.The Romans sent me here a spy upon you,To draw you and your husband to your doom.I'd sooner die than do it.[Takes out paper given him by Antonius.This paper sign'dAntonius—will you take it, read it? there!CAMMA.(Reads.) 'You are to seize on Sinnatus,—if——'SYNORIX. (Snatches paper.)No more.What follows is for no wife's eyes. O Camma,Rome has a glimpse of this conspiracy;Rome never yet hath spar'd conspirator.Horrible! flaying, scourging, crucifying———CAMMA.I am tender enough. Why do you practise on me?SYNORIX.Why should I practise on you? How you wrong me!I am sure of being every way malign'd.And if you should betray me to your husband———CAMMA.Willyoubetray him by this order?SYNORIX.See,I tear it all to pieces, never dream'dOf acting on it. [Tears the paper.CAMMA.I owe you thanks for ever.SYNORIX.Hath Sinnatus never told you of this plot?CAMMA.What plot?SYNORIX.A child's sand-castle on the beachFor the next wave—all seen,—all calculated,All known by Rome. No chance for Sinnatus.CAMMA.Why said you not as much to my brave Sinnatus?SYNORIX.Brave—ay—too brave, too over-confident,Too like to ruin himself, and you, and me!Who else, with this black thunderbolt of RomeAbove him, would have chased the stag to-dayIn the full face of all the Roman camp?A miracle that they let him home again,Not caught, maim'd, blinded him.[CAMMAshudders.(Aside.) I have made her tremble.(Aloud.) I know they mean to torture him to death.I dare not tell him how I came to know it;I durst not trust him with—my serving RomeTo serve Galatia: you heard him on the letter.Not say as much? I all but said as much.I am sure I told him that his plot was folly.I say it to you—you are wiser—Rome knows all,But you know not the savagery of Rome.CAMMA.O—have you power with Rome? use it for him!SYNORIX.Alas! I have no such power with Rome. All thatLies with Antonius.[As if struck by a sudden thought. Comes over to her.He will pass to-morrowIn the gray dawn before the Temple doors.You have beauty,—O great beauty,—and Antonius,So gracious toward women, never yetFlung back a woman's prayer. Plead to him,I am sure you will prevail.CAMMA.Still—I should tellMy husband.SYNORIX.Will he let you plead for himTo a Roman?CAMMA.I fear not.SYNORIX.Then do not tell him.Or tell him, if you will, when you return,When you have charm'd our general into mercy,And all is safe again. O dearest lady,[Murmurs of'Synorix! Synorix!'heard outside.Think,—torture,—death,—and come.CAMMA.I will, I will.And I will not betray you.SYNORIX (aside).(AsSINNATUSenters.) Stand apart.EnterSINNATUSandATTENDANT.SINNATUS.Thou art that Synorix! One whom thou hast wrong'dWithout there, knew thee with Antonius.They howl for thee, to rend thee head from limb.SYNORIX.I am much malign'd. I thought to serve Galatia.SINNATUS.Serve thyself first, villain! They shall not harmMy guest within my house. There! (points to door) there! this doorOpens upon the forest! Out, begone!Henceforth I am thy mortal enemy.SYNORIX.However I thank thee (draws his sword); thou hastsaved my life.[Exit.SINNATUS. (To Attendant.)Return and tell them Synorix is not here. [Exit Attendant.What did that villain Synorix say to you?GAMMA.Ishe—that—Synorix?SINNATUS.Wherefore should you doubt it?One of the men there knew him.CAMMA.Only one,And he perhaps mistaken in the face.SINNATUS.Come, come, could he deny it? What did he say?CAMMA.Whatshouldhe say?SINNATUS.Whatshouldhe say, my wife!He should say this, that being Tetrarch onceHis own true people cast him from their doorsLike a base coin.CAMMA.Not kindly to them?SINNATUS.Kindly?O the most kindly Prince in all the world!Would clap his honest citizens on the back,Bandy their own rude jests with them, be curiousAbout the welfare of their babes, their wives,O ay—their wives—their wives. What should he say?He should say nothing to my wife if IWere by to throttle him! He steep'd himselfIn all the lust of Rome. How shouldyouguessWhat manner of beast it is?CAMMA.Yet he seem'd kindly,And said he loathed the cruelties that RomeWrought on her vassals.SINNATUS.Did he,honestman?CAMMA.And you, that seldom brook the stranger here,Have let him hunt the stag with you to-day.SINNATUS.I warrant you now, he saidhestruck the stag.CAMMA.Why no, he never touch'd upon the stag.SINNATUS.Why so I said,myarrow. Well, to sleep.[Goes to close door.CAMMA.Nay, close not yet the door upon a nightThat looks half day.SINNATUS.True; and my friends may spy himAnd slay him as he runs.CAMMA.He is gone already.Oh look,—yon grove upon the mountain,—whiteIn the sweet moon as with a lovelier snow!But what a blotch of blackness underneath!Sinnatus, you remember—yea, you must,That there three years ago—the vast vine-bowersRan to the summit of the trees, and droptTheir streamers earthward, which a breeze of MayTook ever and anon, and open'd outThe purple zone of hill and heaven; thereYou told your love; and like the swaying vines—Yea,—with our eyes,—our hearts, our prophet hopesLet in the happy distance, and that allBut cloudless heaven which we have found togetherIn our three married years! You kiss'd me thereFor the first time. Sinnatus, kiss me now.SINNATUS.First kiss. (Kisses her.) There then. You talk almost as if itMight be the last.CAMMA.Will you not eat a little?SINNATUS.No, no, we found a goat-herd's hut and sharedHis fruits and milk. Liar! You will believeNow that he never struck the stag—a brave oneWhich you shall see to-morrow.CAMMA.I rise to-morrowIn the gray dawn, and take this holy cupTo lodge it in the shrine of Artemis.SINNATUS.Good!CAMMA.If I be not back in half an hour,Come after me.SINNATUS.What! is there danger?CAMMA.Nay,None that I know: 'tis but a step from hereTo the Temple.SINNATUS.All my brain is full of sleep.Wake me before you go, I'll after you—Aftermenow! [Closes door and exit.CAMMA (drawing curtains).Your shadow. Synorix—His face was not malignant, and he saidThat men malign'd him. Shall I go? Shall I go?Death, torture—'He never yet flung back a woman's prayer'—I go, but I will have my dagger with me.[Exit.
SCENE III.—Same as Scene I. Dawn.Music and Singing in the Temple.
EnterSYNORIXwatchfully, after himPUBLIUSandSOLDIERS.SYNORIX.Publius!PUBLIUS.Here!SYNORIX.Do you remember whatI told you?PUBLIUS.When you cry 'Rome, Rome,' to seizeOn whomsoever may be talking with you,Or man, or woman, as traitors unto Rome.SYNORIX.Right. Back again. How many of you are there?PUBLIUS.Some half a score.[Exeunt Soldiers and Publius.SYNORIX.I have my guard about me.I need not fear the crowd that hunted meAcross the woods, last night. I hardly gain'dThe camp at midnight. Will she come to meNow that she knows me Synorix? Not if SinnatusHas told her all the truth about me. Well,I cannot help the mould that I was cast in.I fling all that upon my fate, my star.I know that I am genial, I would beHappy, and make all others happy soThey did not thwart me. Nay, she will not come.Yet if she be a true and loving wifeShe may, perchance, to save this husband. Ay!See, see, my white bird stepping toward the snare.Why now I count it all but miracle,That this brave heart of mine should shake me so,As helplessly as some unbearded boy'sWhen first he meets his maiden in a bower.EnterCAMMA (with cup).SYNORIX.The lark first takes the sunlight on his wing,But you, twin sister of the morning star,Forelead the sun.CAMMA.Where is Antonius?SYNORIX.Not here as yet. You are too early for him.[She crosses towards Temple.SYNORIX.Nay, whither go you now?CAMMA.To lodge this cupWithin the holy shrine of Artemis,And so return.SYNORIX.To find Antonius here.[She goes into the Temple, he looks after her.The loveliest life that ever drew the lightFrom heaven to brood upon her, and enrichEarth with her shadow! I trust shewillreturn.These Romans dare not violate the Temple.No, I must lure my game into the camp.A woman I could live and die for. What!Die for a woman, what new faith is this?I am not mad, not sick, not old enoughTo doat on one alone. Yes, mad for her,Camma the stately, Camma the great-hearted,So mad, I fear some strange and evil chanceComing upon me, for by the Gods I seemStrange to myself.Re-enterCAMMA.CAMMA.Where is Antonius?SYNORIX.Where? As I said before, you are still too early.CAMMA.Too early to be here alone with thee;For whether men malign thy name, or no,It bears an evil savour among women.Where is Antonius? (Loud.)SYNORIX.Madam, as you knowThe camp is half a league without the city;If you will walk with me we needs must meetAntonius coming, or at least shall find himThere in the camp.CAMMA.No, not one step with thee.Where is Antonius? (Louder.)SYNORIX (advancing towards her).Then for your own sake,Lady, I say it with all gentleness,And for the sake of Sinnatus your husband,I must compel you.CAMMA (drawing her dagger).Stay!—too near is death.SYNORIX (disarming her).Is it not easy to disarm a woman?EnterSINNATUS (seizes him from behind by the throat).SYNORIX (throttled and scarce audible).Rome! Rome!SINNATUS.Adulterous dog!SYNORIX (stabbing him withCAMMA'Sdagger).What! will you have it?[CAMMAutters a cry and runs toSINNATUS.SINNATUS (falls backward).I have it in my heart—to the Temple—fly—Formysake—or they seize on thee. Remember!Away—farewell! [Dies.CAMMA (runs up the steps into the Temple, looking back).Farewell!SYNORIX (seeing her escape).The women of the Temple drag her in.Publius! Publius! No,Antonius would not suffer me to breakInto the sanctuary. She hath escaped.[Looking down atSINNATUS.'Adulterous dog!' that red-faced rage at me!Then with one quick short stab—eternal peace.So end all passions. Then what use in passions?To warm the cold bounds of our dying lifeAnd, lest we freeze in mortal apathy,Employ us, heat us, quicken us, help us, keep usFrom seeing all too near that urn, those ashesWhich all must be. Well used, they serve us well.I heard a saying in Egypt, that ambitionIs like the sea wave, which the more you drink,The more you thirst—yea—drink too much, as menHave done on rafts of wreck—it drives you mad.I will be no such wreck, am no such gamesterAs, having won the stake, would dare the chanceOf double, or losing all. The Roman Senate,For I have always play'd into their hands,Means me the crown. And Camma for my bride—The people love her—if I win her love,They too will cleave to me, as one with her.There then I rest, Rome's tributary king.[Looking down onSINNATUS.Why did I strike him?—having proof enoughAgainst the man, I surely should have leftThat stroke to Rome. He saved my life too. Did he?It seem'd so. I have play'd the sudden fool.And that sets her against me—for the moment.Camma—well, well, I never found the womanI could not force or wheedle to my will.She will be glad at last to wear my crown.And I will make Galatia prosperous too,And we will chirp among our vines, and smileAt bygone things till that (pointing toSINNATUS) eternal peace.Rome! Rome!EnterPUBLIUSandSOLDIERS.Twice I cried Rome. Why came ye not before?PUBLIUS.Why come we now? Whom shall we seize upon?SYNORIX (pointing to the body ofSINNATUS).The body of that dead traitor Sinnatus.Bear him away.Music and Singing in Temple.