Witches’ Kitchen.
A cauldron is seen boiling on a low hearth. Numbers of strange fantastic figures tumbling up and down in the smoke. A Mother-Cat-Ape[n8]sits beside the cauldron, taking off the scum, and keeping it from boiling over. An OldCat-Apebeside her warming himself with his young ones. Roof and walls are covered over with a strange assortment of furniture, and implements used by witches.
EnterFaustandMephistopheles.
Faust.
I cannot brook this brainless bedlam stuff!
And must it be that I shall cast my slough
In this hotbed of all unreasoned doing?
Shall an old beldam give me what I lack?
And can her pots and pans, with all their brewing,
Shake off full thirty summers from my back?
Woe’s me, if thou canst boast no better scheme!
My brightest hopes are vanished as a dream.
Has Nature then, and has some noble Spirit,
No balsam for the body to repair it?
Mephistopheles.
My friend, with your great sense I cannot but be smitten!
Nature, too, boasts a plan to renovate your age;
But in a wondrous volume it is written,
And wondrous is the chapter and the page.
Faust.
But I must know it.
Mephistopheles.
Good! the poorest man may try it,
Without or witch, or quack, or gold to buy it;
And yet it works a certain cure.
Go take thee with the peasant to the moor,
And straight begin to hew and hack;
Confine thee there, with patient mood,
Within the narrow beaten track,
And nourish thee with simplest food;
Live with the brute a brute, and count it not too low
To dung the corn-fields thine own hands shall mow;
Than this I know on earth no med’cine stronger,
To make, by fourscore years, both soul and body younger!
Faust.
I was not trained to this—was never made
To labour with the pick-axe and the spade;
Such narrow round of life I may not brook.
Mephistopheles.
Then you must look into another book,
And be content to take the witch for cook.
Faust.
But why this self-same ugly Jezebel?
Could you not brew the drink yourself as well?
Mephistopheles.
A precious pastime that indeed! meanwhile
I had built bridges many a German mile.
Not art, and science strict, are here enough,
But patience too, and perseverance tough.
A thoughtful soul toils on through many a silent year.
Time only makes the busy ferment clear,
Besides that the ingredients all
Are passing strange and mystical!
’Tis true the devil taught them how to do it,
But not the devil with his own hands can brew it.
[Looking at theCat-Apes.] Lo! what a tiny gay parade!
Here’s the man, and there’s the maid!
[Addressing them.] It seems that your good mother has gone out?
The Cat-Apes.
Up the chimney,
Went she out,
To a drinking bout!
Mephistopheles.
Is it her wont to gossip long without?
The Animals.
As long as we sit here and warm our feet.
Mephistopheles.[toFaust]
What think you of the brutes? are they not neat?
Faust.
I never saw such tasteless would-be-drolls!
Mephistopheles.
Pooh! pooh!—I know no greater delectation
On earth, than such a merry conversation.
[To the brutes.] Now let us hear, you pretty dolls,
What are you stirring there in the pot?
The Brutes.
Soup for beggars, hissing and hot,
Thin and watery, that’s the stew.
Mephistopheles.
Your customers will not be few.
The Father Cat-Ape.[comes up and fawns uponMephistopheles]
Come rattle the dice,
Make me rich in a trice,
Come, come, let me gain!
My case is so bad,
It scarce could be worse:
Were I right in my purse,
I’d be right in my brain!
Mephistopheles.
How happy would the apish creature be,
To buy a ticket in the lottery!
[Meanwhile the youngCat-Apeshave been playing with a large globe, and roll it forwards.
The Father Cat-Ape.
Such is the world,
So doth it go,
Up and down,
To and fro!
Like glass it tinkles,
Like glass it twinkles,
Breaks in a minute,
Has nothing within it;
Here it sparkles,
There it darkles,
I am alive!
My dear son, I say,
Keep out of the way!
If you don’t strive,
You will die, you will die!
It is but of clay,
And in pieces will fly!
Mephistopheles.
What make you with the sieve?
The Father Cat-Ape.[bringing down the sieve]
When comes a thief,
On the instant we know him.
[He runs off to theMother Cat-Ape,and lets her look through the sieve.]
Look through the sieve!
See’st thou the thief,
And fearest to show him?
Mephistopheles.[coming near the fire]
And this pot?
Father Cat-Ape and his Wife.
The silly sot!
He knows not the pot!
And he knows not
The kettle, the sot!
Mephistopheles.
You ill-bred urchin, you!
The Father Cat-Ape.
Come, sit thee down,
We’ll give thee a crown,
And a sceptre too!
[He obligesMephistophelesto sit down, and gives him a long brush for a sceptre.
Faust.[Who, whileMephistopheleswas engaged with the animals, had been standing before a mirror, alternately approaching it and retiring from it.]
What see I here? what heavenly image bright,
Within this magic mirror, chains my sight?
O Love, the swiftest of thy pinions lend me,
That where she is in rapture I may bend me!
Alas! when I would move one step more near,
To breathe her balmy atmosphere,
She seems to melt and disappear,
And cheats my longing eye.
Oh she is fair beyond all type of human!
Is’t possible; can this be simple woman?
There lies she, on that downy couch reposing,
Within herself the heaven of heavens enclosing!
Can it then be that earth a thing so fair contains?
Mephistopheles.
Of course: for when a god has vexed his brains
For six long days, and, when his work is done,
Says bravo to himself, is it a wonder
He should make one fair thing without a blunder?
For this time give thine eyes their pleasure;
I know how to procure you such an one,
Whence thou mayst drink delight in brimming measure,
And blest the man, for whom Fate shall decide,
To lead home such a treasure as his bride!
[Faustcontinues gazing on the mirror.Mephistophelesstretches himself on the arm-chair, and, playing with the brush, goes on as follows.]
Here, from my throne, a monarch, I look down:
My sceptre this: I wait to get my crown.
The Animals.[Who had in the interval been wheeling about with strange antic gestures, bring a crown toMephistopheles,with loud shouts.]
O be but so good,
With sweat and with blood,
Your crown to glue,
As monarchs do!
[They use the crown rather roughly, in consequence of which it falls into two pieces, with which they jump about.]
O sorrow and shame!
’Tis broken, no doubt:
But we’ll make a name,
When our poem comes out!
Faust.[gazing on the mirror]
Woe’s me! her beauty doth my wits confound.
Mephistopheles.[pointing to the Brutes]
And even my good brain is whirling round and round.
The Brutes.
And if we well speed,
As speed well we ought,
We are makers indeed,
We are moulders of thought.
Faust.[as above]
I burn, I burn! this rapturous glow
Consumes me sheer!—come, let us go!
Mephistopheles.[as above]
One must, at least, confess that they
Are honest poets in their way.
[The kettle, which had been neglected by the MotherCat-Apebegins to boil over: A great flame arises, and runs up the chimney. The Witch comes through the flame, down the chimney, with a terrible noise.
The Witch.
Ow! ow! ow! ow!
Thou damnèd brute! thou cursèd sow!
To leave the kettle and singe the frow!
Thou cursed imp, thou!
[Turning toFaustandMephistopheles.]
What’s this here now?
Who are you? who are you?
What’s here ado?
Ye are scouts! ye are scouts!
Out with the louts!
A fiery arrow
Consume your marrow!
[She plunges the ladle into the kettle, and spurts out flame onFaust, Mephistopheles,and the Brutes. These last whine.
Mephistopheles.[Who, in the meantime, had turned round the butt-end of the brush, now dashes in amongst the pots and glasses.]
In two! in two!
There lies the broth!
The glass and the kettle,
Shiver them both!
’Tis a jest, thou must know,
Thou carrion crow!
’Tis a tune to keep time,
To thy senseless rhyme.
[While the Witch, foaming with rage and fury, draws back.]
What! know’st me not? thou scrag! thou Jezebel!
Thy lord and master? thou should’st know me well.
What hinders me, in all my strength to come
And crush you and your cat-imps ’neath my thumb?
Know’st not the scarlet-doublet, mole-eyed mother?
Bow’st not the knee before the famed cock’s feather?
Use your old eyes; behind a mask
Did I conceal my honest face?
And when I come here must I ask
A special introduction to your Grace?
The Witch.
O my liege lord! forgive the rough salute!
I did not see the horse’s foot:
And where too have you left your pair of ravens?
Mephistopheles.
For this time you may thank the heavens
That you have made so cheap an escape;
’Tis some time since I saw your face,
And things since then have moved apace.
The march of modern cultivation,
That licks the whole world into shape,
Has reached the Devil. In this wise generation
The Northern phantom is no longer seen,
And horns and tail and claws have been.
And for my hoof, with which I can’t dispense,
In good society ’twould give great offence;
Therefore, like many a smart sprig of nobility,
I use false calves to trick out my gentility.
The Witch.[dancing]
Heyday! it almost turns my brain
To see Squire Satan here again!
Mephistopheles.
Woman, you must not call me by that name!
The Witch.
And wherefore not? I see no cause for shame.
Mephistopheles.
That name has had its station long assigned
With Mother Bunch; and yet I cannot see
Men are much better for the want of me.
The wicked one is gone, the wicked stay behind.
Call me now Baron, less than that were rude—
I am a cavalier like other cavaliers;
My line is noble, and my blood is good;
Here is a coat of arms that all the world reveres.
[He makes an indecent gesture.
The Witch.[laughing immoderately]
Ha! ha! now I perceive Old Nick is here!
You are a rogue still, as you always were.
Mephistopheles.[aside toFaust]
My friend, I give you here, your wit to whet,
A little lesson in witch-etiquette.
The Witch.
Now say, good sirs, what would you have with me?
Mephistopheles.
A glass of your restoring liquor,
That makes an old man’s blood run quicker:
And bring the best out from your bins;
With years the juice in virtue wins.
The Witch.
Most willingly. Here I have got a phial
Of which myself at times make trial:
’Tis now a pleasant mellow potion;
You shall not meet with a denial.
[Softly.] Yet if this worthy man drinks it without precaution,
His life can’t stand an hour against its strong infection.
Mephistopheles.
Leave that to me; he’s under my protection,
Ripe for the draught; no harm will come to him.
[TheWitch,with strange gestures, draws a circle and places many curious things within it; meanwhile the glasses begin to tinkle, and the kettle to sound and make music. She brings a large book, puts theCat-Apesinto the circle, and makes them serve as a desk to lay the book on, and hold the torches. She motions toFaustto come near.
Faust.[toMephistopheles]
Now say, what would she with this flummery?
These antic gestures, this wild bedlam-stuff,
This most insipid of all mummery,
I know it well, I hate it well enough.
Mephistopheles.
Pshaw, nonsense! come, give up your sermonising,
And learn to understand what a good joke is!
Like other quacks, she plays her hocus-pocus;
It gives the juice a virtue most surprising!
[He obligesFaustto enter the circle.
The Witch.[declaiming from the book with great emphasis]
Now be exact!
Of one make ten,
Then two subtract,
And add three then,
This makes thee rich.
Four shalt thou bate,
Of five and six,
So says the Witch,
Make seven and eight,
And all is done.
And nine is one,
And ten is none;
Here take and spell, if you are able,
The Witches’ multiplication table.
Faust.
This is a jargon worse than Babel;
Say, is she fevered? is she mad?
Mephistopheles.
O never fear! the rest is quite as bad;
I know the book, and oft have vexed my brains
With bootless labour on its rhymes and rules;
A downright contradiction still remains,
Mysterious alike for wise men and for fools.
My friend, the art is old and new;
Ancient and modern schools agree
With three and one, and one and three
Plain to perplex, and false inweave with true.
So they expound, discourse, dispute, debate;
What man of sense would plague him with their prate?
Men pin their faith to words, in sounds high sapience weening,
Though words were surely made to have a meaning.
The Witch.[Goes on reading from the book]
The soul to know
Beneath the show,
And view it without blinking;
The simple mind
The craft will find,
Without the toil of thinking.
Faust.
What flood of nonsense now she’s pouring o’er us?
She’ll split my skull with her insensate chatter.
I feel as if I heard the ceaseless clatter
Of thirty thousand idiots in a chorus.
Mephistopheles.
Enough, kind Sibyl; thanks for thy good will!
Now bring your jug here, and the goblet fill
With this prime juice, till it be brimming o’er.
My friend here is a man of high degrees,
And will digest the draught with ease.
He has swilled many a goodly glass before.
[TheWitch,with many ceremonies, pours the beverage into a cup. WhileFaustbrings it to his mouth a light flame arises.
Mephistopheles.
Come, quaff it boldly, without thinking!
The draught will make thy heart to burn with love.
Art with the Devil hand and glove,
And from a fire-spurt would’st be shrinking?
[TheWitchlooses the circle.Fauststeps out.
Mephistopheles.
Come quickly out; you must not rest.
The Witch.
I hope the swig will wonders work on thee!
Mephistopheles.
And you, if you have aught to beg of me,
Upon Walpurgis’ night make your request.
The Witch.
Here is a song! at times sung, you will find
It hath a wondrous working on your mind.
Mephistopheles.[toFaust]
Come, yield thee now to my desire;
Be meek for once, and own the bridle.
You must keep quiet, and let yourself perspire,
That through your inmost frame the potent juice may pierce.
When we have time to spare, I will rehearse
Some lessons on the art of being nobly idle;
And soon thy heart with ecstasy shall know,
How Cupid ’gins to stir, and boundeth to and fro.
Faust.[Turning again towards the mirror]
Indulge me with one glance!—one moment spare!
It was a virgin-form surpassing fair!
Mephistopheles.
No! No! with my good aid thou soon shalt see
The paragon of women bodily.
[Aside.] Anon, if this good potion does its duty,
He’ll see in every wench the Trojan beauty.
A Street.
Faust. Margaretpasses over.
Faust.
My fair young lady, may I dare
To offer you my escort home?
Margaret.
Nor lady I, good sir, nor fair,
And need no guide to show me home. [Exit.
Faust.
By heaven, this child is passing fair!
A fairer never crossed my view;
Of such a modest gentle air,
Yet with a dash of pertness too,
And girlish innocent conceit;
Her lips so red, her cheeks so bright,
Forget I could not, if I might.
How she casts down her lovely eyes
Deep graven in my heart it lies,
And how so smartly she replied,
And with a sharp turn stepped aside,
It was most ravishingly sweet!
EnterMephistopheles.
Faust.
Hark! you must get the girl for me!
Mephistopheles.
Which one?
Faust.
She’s just gone by.
Mephistopheles.
What! she?
She’s only now come from confession,
Where she received a full remission.
I slinked close by the box, and heard
The simple damsel’s every word;
’Tis a most guileless thing, that goes
For very nothing to the priest.
My power does not extend to those.
Faust.
Yet she is fourteen years of age at least.
Mephistopheles.
You speak like Jack the debauchee,
Who thinks each sweet flow’r grows for me;
As if his wish sufficed alone
To make each priceless pearl his own:
But ’tis not so; and cannot be.
Faust.
My good Sir Knight of pedantry,
Lay not thou down the law to me!
And this, for good and all, be told,
Unless, this very night, I hold
The sweet young maid in my embrace,
’Tis the last time that you shall see my face.
Mephistopheles.
Bethink thee!—what with here, and what with there,
The thing requires no little care.
Full fourteen days must first be spent,
To come upon the proper scent.
Faust.
Had I but seven good hours of rest,
The devil’s aid I’d ne’er request,
To mould this fair young creature to my bent.
Mephistopheles.
You speak as if you were a Frenchman born;
But though the end be good, we must not scorn
The means; what boots the mere gratification?
It is the best half of the recreation,
When, up and down, and to and fro,
The pretty doll, through every kind
Of fiddle-faddle sweet flirtation,
You knead out first, and dress up to your mind—
As many an Italian tale can show.
Faust.
I need no tricks to whet my zest.
Mephistopheles.
I tell thee plainly without jest,
As things stand here, we cannot win
The fort by hotly rushing in;
To gain fair lady’s favour, you
Must boldly scheme, and gently do.
Faust.
Fetch me something that breathed her air!
Her home, her chamber, plant me there!
A kerchief of her chaste attire!
A garter of my heart’s desire!
Mephistopheles.
That you may see how I would fain
Do all I can to ease your pain,
We shall not lose a single minute;
I know her room—thou shalt enjoy thee in it.
Faust.
And I shall see her?—have her?
Mephistopheles.
No!
She’ll be with a neighbour—better so.
Meanwhile, unhindered thou may’st go,
And on the hope of joys that wait thee,
Within her atmosphere may’st sate thee.
Faust.
Can we go now?
Mephistopheles.
No; we must wait till night.
Faust.
Go fetch a present for my heart’s delight. [Exit.
Mephistopheles.
Presents already! good!—a lover should not loiter!
I know some dainty spots of ground,
Where hidden treasures can be found;
I will go straight and reconnoitre. [Exit.
A small neat Chamber.
Margaret.[Plaiting and putting up her hair.]
I wonder who the gentleman could be,
That on the street accosted me to-day!
He looked a gallant cavalier and gay,
And must be of a noble family;
That I could read upon his brow—
Else had he never been so free. [Exit.
EnterFaustandMephistopheles.
Mephistopheles.
Come in—but softly—we are landed now!
Faust.[after a pause]
Leave me alone a minute, I entreat!
Mephistopheles.[looking round about]
Not every maiden keeps her room so neat. [Exit.
Faust.[looking round]
Be greeted, thou sweet twilight-shine!
Through this chaste sanctuary shed!
Oh seize my heart, sweet pains of love divine,
That on the languid dew of hope are fed!
What sacred stillness holds the air!
What order, what contentment rare!
[He throws himself on the old leathern armchair beside the bed.]
Receive thou me! thou, who, in ages gone,
In joy and grief hast welcomed sire and son.
How often round this old paternal throne,
A clambering host of playful children hung!
Belike that here my loved one too hath clung
To her hoar grandsire’s neck, with childish joy
Thankful received the yearly Christmas toy,
And with the full red cheeks of childhood pressed
Upon his withered hand a pious kiss.
I feel, sweet maid, mine inmost soul possessed
By thy calm spirit of order and of bliss,
That motherly doth teach thee day by day:
That bids thee deck the table clean and neat,
And crisps the very sand strewn at thy feet.
Sweet hand! sweet, lovely hand! where thou dost sway,
The meanest hut is decked in heaven’s array.
And here! [He lifts up the bed-curtain.]
O Heaven, what strange o’ermastering might
Thrills every sense with fine delight!
Here might I gaze unwearied day and night.
Nature! in airy dreams here didst thou build
The mortal hull of the angelic child;
Here she reposed! her tender bosom teeming
With warmest life, in buoyant fulness streaming,
And here, with pulse of gently gracious power,
The heaven-born bud was nursed into a flower!
And thou! what brought thee here? why now backshrinks
Thy courage from the prize it sought before?
What wouldst thou have? Thy heart within thee sinks;
Poor wretched Faust! thou know’st thyself no more.
Do I then breathe a magic atmosphere?
I sought immediate enjoyment here,
And into viewless dreams my passion flows!
Are we the sport of every breath that blows?
If now she came, and found me gazing here,
How for this boldfaced presence must I pay!
The mighty man, how small would he appear,
And at her feet, a suppliant, sink away!
Mephistopheles.[coming back]
Quick! quick! I see her—she’ll be here anon.
Faust.
Yes, let’s be gone! for once and all be gone!
Mephistopheles.
Here is a casket, of a goodly weight;
Its former lord, I ween, bewails its fate.
Come, put it in the press. I swear
She’ll lose her senses when she sees it there.
The trinkets that I stowed within it
Were bait meant for a nobler prey:
But child is child, and play is play!
Faust.
I know not—shall I?
Mephistopheles.
Can you doubt a minute?
Would you then keep the dainty pelf,
Like an old miser, to yourself?
If so, I would advise you, sir,
To spare your squire the bitter toil,
And with some choicer sport the hour beguile
Than looking lustfully at her.
I scratch my head and rub my hands that you—
[He puts the casket into the cupboard, and locks the door again.]
Come, let’s away!—
With this sweet piece of womanhood may do,
As will may sway;
And you stand there,
And gape and stare,
As if you looked into a lecture-room,
And there with awe
The twin grey spectres bodily saw,
Physics and Metaphysics! Come!
[Exeunt.
EnterMargaret,with a lamp.
Margaret.
It is so sultry here, so hot! [She opens the window.]
And yet so warm without ’tis not.
I feel—I know not how—oppressed;
Would to God that my mother came!
A shivering cold runs o’er my frame—
I’m but a silly timid girl at best!
[While taking off her clothes, she sings.]
There was a king in Thule,
True-hearted to his grave:
To him his dying lady
A golden goblet gave.
He prized it more than rubies;
At every drinking-bout
His eyes they swam in glory,
When he would drain it out.
On his death-bed he counted
His cities one by one;
Unto his heirs he left them;
The bowl he gave to none.
He sat amid his barons,
And feasted merrily,
Within his father’s castle,
That beetles o’er the sea.
There stood the old carouser,
And drank his life’s last glow;
Then flung the goblet over
Into the sea below.
He saw it fall, and gurgling
Sink deep into the sea;
His eyes they sank in darkness;
No bumper more drank he.
[She opens the cupboard to put in her clothes, and sees the casket.]
How came the pretty casket here? no doubt
I locked the press when I went out.
’Tis really strange!—Belike that it was sent
A pledge for money that my mother lent.
Here hangs the key; sure there can be no sin
In only looking what may be within.
What have we here? good heavens! see!
What a display of finery!
Here is a dress in which a queen
Might on a gala-day be seen.
I wonder how the necklace would suit me!
Who may the lord of all this splendour be?
[She puts on the necklace, and looks at herself in the glass.]
Were but the ear-rings mine to wear!
It gives one such a different air.
What boots the beauty of the poor?
’Tis very beautiful to be sure,
But without riches little weighs;
They praise you, but half pity while they praise.
Gold is the pole,
To which all point: the whole
Big world hangs on gold. Alas we poor!
A Walk.
Faustgoing up and down thoughtfully; then enterMephistopheles.
Mephistopheles.
By all the keen pangs of love! by all the hot blasts of hell!
By all the fellest of curses, if curse there be any more fell!
Faust.
How now, Mephisto? what the devil’s wrong?
I ne’er beheld a face one half so long!
Mephistopheles.
But that I am a devil myself, I’d sell
Both soul and body on the spot to hell!
Faust.
I verily believe you’ve got a craze!
Beseems it you with such outrageous phrase,
To rage like any bedlamite?
Mephistopheles.
Only conceive! the box of rare gewgaws
For Margaret got, is in a parson’s claws!
The thing came to the mother’s sight,
Who soon suspected all was not right:
The woman has got a most delicate nose,
That snuffling through the prayer-book goes,
And seldom scents a thing in vain,
If it be holy or profane.
Your jewels, she was not long in guessing,
Were not like to bring a blessing.
“My child,” quoth she, “ill-gotten gear
Ensnares the soul, consumes the blood;
We’ll give it to Mary-mother dear,
And she will feed us with heavenly food!”
Margaret looked blank—“’tis hard,” thought she,
“To put a gift-horse away from me;
And surely godless was he never
Who lodged it here, a gracious giver.”
The mother then brought in the priest;
He quickly understood the jest,
And his eyes watered at the sight.
“Good dame,” quoth he, “you have done right!
He conquers all the world who wins
A victory o’er his darling sins.
The Church is a most sharp-set lady,
And her stomach holds good store,
Has swallowed lands on lands already,
And, still unglutted, craves for more;
The Church alone, my ladies dear,
Can digest ill-gotten gear.”
Faust.
That is a general fashion—Jew,
And King, and Kaiser have it too.
Mephistopheles.
Then ring and ear-ring, and necklace, and casket,
Like a bundle of toad-stools away he bore;
Thanked her no less, and thanked her no more,
Than had it been so many nuts in a basket;
On heavenly treasures then held an oration,
Much, of course, to their edification.
Faust.
And Margaret?
Mephistopheles.
Sits now in restless mood,
Knows neither what she would, nor what she should;
Broods o’er the trinkets night and day,
And on him who sent them, more.
Faust.
Sweet love! her grief doth vex me sore.
Mephisto, mark well what I say!
Get her another set straightway!
The first were not so very fine.
Mephistopheles.
O yes! with you all things are mere child’s play.
Faust.
Quick hence! and match your will with mine!
Throw thee oft in her neighbour’s way.
Be not a devil of milk and water,
And for another gift go cater.
Mephistopheles.
Yes, gracious sir! most humbly I obey.
[ExitFaust.
Mephistopheles.
Such love-sick fools as these would blow
Sun, moon, and stars, like vilest stuff,
To nothing with a single puff,
To make their lady-love a show!
Martha’sHouse.
Martha.[alone]
In honest truth, it was not nobly done,
In my good spouse to leave me here alone!
May God forgive him! while he roams at large,
O’er the wide world, I live at my own charge.
Sure he could have no reason to complain!
So good a wife he’ll not find soon again. [She weeps.]
He may be dead!—Ah me!—could I but know,
By a certificate, that ’tis really so!
EnterMargaret.
Margaret.
Martha!
Martha.
What wouldst thou, dear?
Margaret.
My knees can scarcely bear me!—only hear!
I found a second box to-day
Of ebon-wood, just where the first one lay,
Brimful of jewels passing rare,
Much finer than the others.
Martha.
Have a care
You keep this well masqued from your mother—
’Twould fare no better than the other.
Margaret.
Only come near, and see! look here!
Martha.[decking her with the jewels]
Thou art a lucky little dear!
Margaret.
And yet I dare not thus be seen
In church, or on the public green.
Martha.
Just come across when you’ve an hour to spare,
And put the gauds on here with none to see!
Then promenade a while before the mirror there;
’Twill be a joy alike to thee and me.
Then on a Sunday, or a holiday,
Our riches by degrees we can display.
A necklace first, the drops then in your ear;
Your mother sees it not; and should she hear,
’Tis easy to invent some fair pretence or other.
Margaret.
But whence the pretty caskets came? I fear
There’s something in it not right altogether. [Knocking.]
Good God!—I hear a step—is it my mother?
Martha.[looking through the casement]
’Tis a strange gentleman. Come in!
EnterMephistopheles.
Mephistopheles.
I hope the ladies will not think me rude,
That uninvited thus I here intrude.
[ObservingMargaret,he draws back respectfully.]
I have commands for Mistress Martha Schwerdtlein.
Martha.
For me? what has the gentleman to say?
Mephistopheles.[softly to her]
Excuse my freedom. I perceive that you
Have visitors of rank to-day;
For this time I shall bid adieu,
And after dinner do myself the pleasure
To wait upon you, when you’re more at leisure.
Martha.[aloud]
Think, child! of all things in the world the last!
My Gretchen for a lady should have passed!
Margaret.
The gentleman is far too good;
I’m a poor girl—boast neither wealth nor blood.
This dress, these jewels, are not mine.
Mephistopheles.
’Tis not the dress alone that I admire;
She has a mien, a gait, a look so fine,
That speak the lady more than costliest attire.
Martha.
And now your business, sir? I much desire——
Mephistopheles.
Would God I had a better tale to tell!
Small thanks I should receive, I knew it well.
Your husband’s dead—his last fond words I bear.
Martha.
Is dead! the good fond soul! O woe!
My man is dead! flow, sorrow, flow!
Margaret.
Beseech thee, dearest Martha, don’t despair.
Mephistopheles.
Now hear my mournful story to the end.
Margaret.
I would not love a man on earth, to rend
Me thus with grief, when he might hap to die.
Mephistopheles.
Joy hath its sorrow, sorrow hath its joy;
Twin sisters are they, as the proverb saith.
Martha.
Now let me hear the manner of his death.
Mephistopheles.
Where Padua’s sacred turrets rise,
Above the grave of holy Antony,
On consecrated ground thy husband lies,
And slumbers for eternity.
Martha.
No further message? is this all?
Mephistopheles.
Yes! one request, and that not small.
For his soul’s peace, your good man wanted
Three hundred masses to be chanted.
This is the whole of my commission.
Martha.
What! not a jewel? not a coin?
No journeyman, however poor,
However wild, could make such an omission,
But in the bottom of his pouch is sure
To keep some small memorial for his wife,
And rather beg, and rather pine
Away the remnant of his life——
Mephistopheles.
Madam! for your hard case I greatly grieve,
But your good husband had no gold to leave.
His sins and follies he lamented sore—