Duke[whispers], Sköll, do not forget ... where are the others?
Sköll. Who knows?
Duke. But was there not a great feast to-night?
Sköll. Yes. But they flung us out just now.
Duke. Listen! And heed me well. As soon as that rascal has had enough and grovels in the dust, shout out with all thy might "Hail to King Widwolf!" Dost thou understand?
Sköll. Eh? Yes, indeed.
Anna Goldhair. Oh! dearest Lady, if I might speak I would beg thee to go. The sight of all the horrors that gather round us will shake thee sorely.
Queen. Who stays for me if I will not for him? And is it not fitting for an unhappy mother to protect the head of her child even with her own shattered arm? [To the youngPrince.] Listen, my darling. Thou must go. [ToAnna Goldhair.] Take him to my waiting-women. Without this sight his heart will all too soon burn with a thirst for blood.
The Young Prince. Ah, mother!
Queen. Nay, thou must. But nestle once again upon my breast, my dear one, so!
The Young Prince[running up toPrince Witte]. Please, thou strange man, be so good as to conquer for us!
Prince[smiling]. If thou art good, my Prince!... How clear their glances sparkle! From those eyes a world of sunshine bursts; alas, I am not worthy of it! [The youngPrinceandAnna Goldhairgo out.]
[TheChancellorand a train of nobles come up the steps. After them guards and two trumpeters. TheChancellormakes obeisance and asks theQueena question. TheQueenassents silently and mounts, holding by the balustrade, to the platform on which the throne stands, pushed to one side. TheChancellormakes a sign to the trumpeters, and they blow a signal, which echoes below, then he raises the sword, which a page brings upon a cushion.]
Chancellor. Illustrious Lady, honored Queen, as chancellor of thy appointed realm, I offer thee this sword whereon to take the oath: that in thy hand, so strong because so weak, what first prevailed as thy country's law, what now prevails, and what shall prevail again when violence and lust cease to clutch after our soul's sanctuaries,--that law on which we have relied, so mild it was, because created by a free and happy fatherland--will be forever new and vigorous.
Queen. I swear it on the iron sword of my kingdom, and on the runes carved thereupon; though nature has denied it to a woman to avenge a violated oath with her own hand, yet I will never rest in my grave unless all is fulfilled that I have spoken. I swore it solemnly, and on this sword I will announce and reavow to you, that whosoever conquers in this fight may claim me for his wife when he desires.... Speak now, ye who cursed my mourning and my sorrow's backward glance: do I fulfill your will with shuddering? Do I not give ye the King ye seek?
[The nobles strike their shields with their swords in token of approval.]
Chancellor. Now to you who stand prepared to ring the throne and kingdom with the sharpness of your swords; before the land submits itself to the victor, give answer who you are!
Duke. Thou knowest me well.
Chancellor. Who knows thee not? Flames spread before thee hither like a banner, the vulture knows thee that shrieks after carrion, the auk knows thee on the blood-furrowed sea; yet custom demands, the which thou knowest not, that thou shalt name thyself at this hour.
Duke. I am the Duke of Gotland!
Hans Lorbass[highly excited, pointing toPrince Witte]. He is the Duke of Gotland! [Great disturbance and amazement.]
Cölestin. We are groping here in a black riddle.
Chancellor[toPrince Witte]. Witness thyself.
Prince Witte. If there is a man here in whom dwells a spirit of sacrifice, a worship of the right, and not of power and bloody gain, to him I speak, as to a stem of that ancient race which still springs from Gotland's gods; I boldly say: "I am." But to that vicious misbegotten wight who cringes in the dust and worships tyranny if it but prosper him, to him I say: "No, I am not."
Chancellor. A lofty mind, bred in the bitterness which deep sorrow brings, speaks in thy words and gives them weight. But yet--we know not who stands before us as the Duke of Gotland.
Duke. It seems to me, my lords, that the sword will show.
Chancellor. True enough. If the Queen will.
[TheQueenbows her head in assent. TheChancellorgives a sign to the trumpeters and they blow a signal which is answered below in the court. The nobles make their obeisances to theQueenand go down the steps to the right and left.]
Hans Lorbass[meanwhile]. Remember that thrust I showed thee once: at the arm-joint where the leather is easily cut, thou canst--
Prince Witte[alarmed]. Where are the feathers?
Hans. How--what--? That witch-work to distract thee now? Here is thy sword, and there the foe! Play with him, tickle him, stroke his beard, till he weeps blood out of his mouth, till--
Prince. They are quite safe.
Hans. Master!
[Prince Wittegoes last behindDuke Widwolf,with a bow to theQueenin passing. She watches him in agitation and follows him with her eyes.]
Queen. How is the Prince?
Anna Goldhair. As children always are. At first he wept and tried to slip away. Then he lay still and had his playthings brought. Now he lies sprawling under a table, playing at dice, though he understands them not.
Queen. While we go to throw upon his life.
[TheQueen,Cölestin,theChancellor,Anna Goldhair,and the other women go out. The guards draw the curtains behind the throne. The applause of the people greeting theQueenrises from the court. Then silence.]
Sköll. Well, my heart's brother, so we are alone again.
[Hans Lorbasswithout noticingSköll,tries to pass theFirst GuardafterPrince Witte.]
First Guard. Back!
[Hanstries on the other side of the curtain.]
Second Guard. Back! The passage is forbidden.
Hans. I am the Prince's servant!
Second Guard. That may all be; but hast thou not seen--
Hans. I counsel thee, take off thy hands!
Sköll[takes hold of his arm soothingly]. Come, brother of my heart, be sensible, stay in thy seat; down below there is just a mob of women, and thou wouldst be no use at all.
Hans. True enough. [The drums sound.] The third call! Now is the time!
Sköll. Now I can put my hands in my pockets and let them break each other's necks; if I only had something to drink, then--[asHansclutches him by the arm in excitement at the first clash of swords sounding from below] Ouch! Whew! The devil, what a grip thou hast!
Hans[accompanying the movements below with dumb-show, which is accentuated by the noise of the crashing weapons]. There! That was a blow! Take that! [Alarmed.] Guard thyself! Ah, that was good! Now after him and strike!... He missed! [ToSköll,threateningly.] I thought thou didst laugh!
Sköll. What should I do?
Hans. I tell thee, thou brute beast, thou calf, thou knave, thou thief, as truly as I love thee as my brother, I will kill thee!
Sköll. Not so fierce!
Hans. There, which one of them drives the other in the corner, now? Eh?
Sköll. What?... I will stand above both sides and wait to see which one comes out ahead.
Hans. Ho, ho! How the rascal puffs! Yes, thou wilt learn to run, my fine fellow! Another blow! He struck him not! Now for thy life!--What is he thinking of? [Shrieks out.] My master bleeds!
Sköll. Ei, ei!
Hans. Wipe it off! Whisk it away! That little blood-letting but sharpens the anger, pricks the hate and--
Sköll. Look!
Hans. Now gather all thy powers together, master! And all my love for thee turn into fire and flame, that--
[Pause. Then a woman's shriek is heard, and the ringing fall of a man's body. A dull murmur of many voices follows.]
Sköll. That was a blow! [Shouting down.] Hail to King Wid--
Hans[seizes him like lightning and hurls him to the ground, then springs on the bench, waving his sword above his head and shouting.] Back from his body! You men below there, is there one that wears a sword and armor?
Voices. I!--I!--I!
Hans Lorbass. He will break through the lists with me and drive away this robber of Samland!
[Cries of rage, together with the crashing of the lists.Hans Lorbassstorms upon the guards, who retreat to one side, and dashes below. TheQueencomes upon the scene half unconscious, supported byAnna Goldhairand her other women. TheChancellorand other nobles.Sköllhas squeezed himself behind the corner pillar on the right.]
Cölestin[turning from theQueento a group of men who stand gazing down on the tumult below]. How goes it now?
Chancellor. That man whose summons hurled the brand of mutiny among us, look how great and small, man and woman crowd around him shouting and hustle the Duke to the door! There, he is gone!--the other left! Who was the devil?
[The uproar grows fainter and seems to lose itself in the distance.]
Cölestin. I know not whether he was a devil or an angel; for without his shriek of hate we should still be lying beneath the foot of tyranny, bleeding and weaponless as he who lies below.
[Chancellormotions to him, pointing towards theQueen,who has revived and is looking about her wildly.]
Queen. Where is the stranger? Why are you silent? I saw him fall ... did he not conquer?
A Messenger[comes hurrying up the steps]. Hail to our Queen! I bring glad tidings: the accursed Duke has fled upon a stolen horse. The people vent their long-stored spleen upon his rascally followers.
Sköll. Woe is me! Alas! [He slips behind the church door and disappears.]
Queen. And that youth who smiling received the sacrificial blow for you--think you his life so valueless that no one even remembers him as a poor reward? Why are you silent? Will no one speak?
Chancellor. We know not whether he is dead, or lives, though sorely wounded. In every thrust he far over-reckoned the reach of his sword. A more grievous trouble than this, my Lady Queen, avails to banish our rejoicing; a broken oath is here, an unatoned-for--
Cölestin. Look! What a sight!
[Hans Lorbasssupports the sorely woundedPrince Witteup the steps, lets him sink upon the bench to the left, and stands before him with drawn sword, like a guard.]
Hans. Away from here! Whoever loves his life, whether man or woman, comes not too near!
Queen[approaching him]. Not even I, my friend?
Hans[embarrassed, yielding]. Thou, Lady,--yes.
Queen[takes off her veil, and wipes the blood from the face of thePrince]. Send for physicians that he may be saved.
Hans. He is saved! If he were not, I'd spring in the very face of death for him,--I would spring down death's very throat; death and I, we know each other well.
Chancellor. Thou who breathest out spume and fire as carelessly as though hell itself had brought thee forth, I ask thee who thou art, thou unclean spirit, who hast dared to raise this pious people to revolt by thy furious onslaught, and taught them to poison for themselves and the ensuing race the holy fount of justice?
Hans. And I will answer thee: I myself am that justice. I bear it on my sword's point, I carry it here beneath my cap, I pour it forth in my master's name, who gave it for his glory and his happiness. [Signs of anger.] If ye believe it not, then listen trembling to the thousand toned joy that peals from far away like spring thunder quivering in the air, and sweeps throughout the land the joyous message of deliverance: we are free!
Chancellor. Speak, O Queen! Thy soldiers wait below. Methinks this servant of the defeated one has too much confidence,--he speaks as though he were instead our lord and victor.
Queen. Let him speak! He has the right! And even were he a thousand times defeated, this man who lies before us bleeding, if he recover and seek it from me, shall be our lord and conqueror. [Great confusion and excitement.]
Prince Witte[rousing from his unconsciousness and looking about him painfully]. There lies the heron! I have wrung his neck, I snatch my prize, my salvation ... [feeling on his head and in his breast with anxious dismay] where are the feathers?
Queen. What seekest thou, dear one?
Hans. Thou seest, O Queen, he speaks in fever. Do not listen, do not heed his words.
Prince. Hans, Hans!
Hans[close by him]. Take care what thou sayest.
Prince[whispers earnestly]. I will away from here ... [with a glance at theQueenhalf complainingly] I must away!
Hans. When thou canst.
A chamber in the castle. The two farther corners slope away from the front. In the left corner is a bay-window with a platform, to which steps lead up. Burning torches are stuck in the branches of the pillars which flank the steps. In the right corner is a fireplace. One can look beyond into an ante-chamber, and farther on, through a wide door-way whose curtains are drawn back, into a thickly planted garden, which at the end of its middle path shows a little of the surrounding wall. In the middle of the room is a table with seats about it. At the left in front is a couch with furs and cushions on it. At the right is the door to the sleeping apartments.
TheQueensits on the platform with her distaff before her, and gazes dreamily into the red glow, which shines through the window. Two old women sit spinning before the fire-place, in which a dying fire glimmers.Anna Goldhairand the youngPrinceon the steps of the platform. Through the drawn curtains plays the red evening light.
The Young Prince. Say, mother, will the father come soon?
Queen. Of course.
The Young Prince. Will he come before my bed-time?
Queen. I do not know.
The Young Prince. The wood is full of darkness, is it not?
Queen. Where our King goes, there is always light!... What, Anna, art thou eavesdropping? Must I blush before thee, because I voiced a cry out of my soul's longing, which envious time would smother?
Anna Goldhair. Beloved Queen.... I know well that I am too young; my little thoughts whisk twittering like swallows through my head,--
The Young Prince. And she pretends to me she is so wise!
Queen. Run, run, my child!
The Young Prince. I will get her by the hair first! [He tugs atAnna'shair.Anna Goldhairpushes him off laughing.] Just wait! [He runs from her to the spinning-women, and teases them.]
Anna Goldhair. But if thou hast need of any one to whisper to, in whose breast at the still evening-time to plunge thine overflowing soul--of anyone who if need were, could go for thee to her death as to a feast,--thou knowest, dearest Queen, I am that one!
Queen[caressing her]. Yes, deep in my heart I know that thou art mine. [She rises.] But if it be death here for any human being, I am that one!
Anna Goldhair[frightened]. What troubles thee, beloved Lady? [Three maidens, young and pretty, have entered shyly.]
Queen. It is nothing,--nothing!... Why, here! What seek you my children?... What not a word? Have you a favor to be granted, a complaint to make? If you cannot speak, why then you must go away again!
Anna Goldhair. Mistress forgive them. They are of thy train, and they have asked me to plead for them, lest their too eager speech should lose for them the favor they desire.
Queen. Well?
Anna Goldhair. Dear Mistress, there is an old custom that runs thus: when Easter-tide has come into the land, when the thorn bush grows faintly green, when the blue wave shines bluer, when our desire takes wing to sport among the flying things of spring,--that then, upon the coming of the first full moon, the night must be watched out with sport and dance. In a word they would sing.
Queen[smiling]. Ah, yes!... But tell me, dear children, if you knew it, then why did this custom vanish from the land so many years?
Anna Goldhair. We honored thy sorrow, my Queen.
Queen. Well, then, go out and dance and frolic and sing together all night long! Know you the song that you should sing?
[The maidens nod eagerly.]
Queen. Go out and drink the moonlight as it pours down through the branches; I think we little know how blessed we are.
[The maidens courtesy and kiss her hands and garments.]
Queen[as she turns away smiling]. Why are you old ones shivering? Why look you so strange? Is it cold? Then you must rake the fire!
One of the Old Women. Mistress, we spin our winding-sheets. Shall we not be cold?
Queen[drawing the youngPrinceto her]. Do not listen to them! [Cölestinenters.]
The Young Prince. Oh, Uncle Cölestin! [Runs to him.] What hast thou brought me, Uncle Cölestin?
Cölestin[lifting him up]. A great sandman, and a small goodnight!
Queen. The King is come? Thou wouldst announce him?
Cölestin. No, my Lady. We heard his horn in the distance, but it died away again. I come before thee a gloomy messenger. In the great hall beyond there waits the council of the realm....
Queen. Stop! You, my women, seek your rest; my son, to bed!
The Young Prince. And am I not to see the father again till morning? Ah, mother, please!
Queen. If thou canst not sleep, Anna shall take thee up and bring thee here. Is it well so, dear one?
The Young Prince. Yes.
Queen. And goodnight!
[ThePrince,Anna Goldhair,and the women go out.]
Queen. We are alone ... yet what a pity with too cool reason to chill the buds of the May evening, which plunges all the waking soul into sweet sickness.... But speak!
Cölestin. Lady, I know not how I shall begin. The words come stumbling from my lips. Thou knowest how we love him, and how, since thou hast given him thyself, there is no single life but stands prepared to serve him without a thought of self. And how does he reward us? He shuns our glance, a smouldering suspicion breaks out whenever we would speak in seriousness to him, and throws its shadows on us darkly. The people idolize him. They greet him, great and small, with clapping hands and waving kerchiefs,--why must we stand aloof? Is he ashamed of us?--or of himself? I know not. A mysterious sadness clouds his eye so falcon-bright, and even while our hearts still yearn upon him, he grows a stranger to us, who was never our friend.
Queen. It is your too easily wounded love complains of him.
Cölestin. If that danger--
Queen[without listening to him]. I see it, but I scarce can blame it. I blame no one. I have built for myself out of dreams and smiles a strong strong wall, outside of which you wait, thieves of my happiness--nay, my friend, look not so grieved!--and out of which you know not how to lure me, either by cunning or by clamor.
Cölestin. Still, hast thou never come upon that knowledge, deep within thy heart, which tells thee how in everything that is and was and needs must be throughout our lives, a never expiated wrong must weigh us down?
Queen. Never, my friend! In my soul there rings but one harp-tone, one voice, which says: be happy!
Cölestin. And thy oath, Lady?
Queen. My oath?
Cölestin. Didst thou not swear before us all and in the sight of heaven that he who hurled his rival to the earth, not he who lay there shameful in defeat, might dare approach thee as thy lord and king?
Queen. But tell me, my dear friend, did he not conquer?
Cölestin. What madness has so blurred events for thee?
Queen. I know he conquered, for he is here!
Cölestin. Here indeed he is, but with what right?
Queen. The right that raised for him in that dark hour when the cruel wound gaped in his throat, a faithful servant to avenge him; a servant whose brave shout and lifted blade have taught me this one thing: high above the right there stands the sword, and high above the sword stands love!
Cölestin. May this wisdom please the Omnipotent, and may he pity thee, and all of us!
Queen. It was not given to everyone to know it; but it has brought the King to me! Hark, do I hear a horn? How near it sounds! My King is coming! My King is here!
The Same.King Witte,theChancellorand other councillors and nobles.Hans Lorbassstands guard at the door, spear in hand, at ease.
King[embraces theQueenand kisses her on the forehead. Comes forward with her, but turns back irritably]. What do you want?
Chancellor. My lord, while thou didst tread the forest paths, following the hunt, a fierce onslaught of new trouble came swooping down upon our land.
King. Trouble, always trouble! Mouldy, gray and blear, it lives far longer than one's whole life! Must you, even in the daytime, din your night-song in my ears?
Chancellor. This time--
King[mocking]. "This time "--I wager the state will crack in pieces! [Turning to theQueen.] If they had naught at which to fear, I should have naught at which to laugh!
Queen. Dear one--!
King. Hush! It makes me glow with anger, only to look upon these gray countenances, gloomy as the grave, full of foreboding, heavy with woes, and yet with that little glint of malice in their half-lowered lids. Must I suck in these complaints that fall drop by drop upon me? I might lay about me recklessly--but what am I to dare it?
Queen. All art thou, all darest thou, all hearts bow before thee! Canst thou not guess their dumb entreaties, not understand their timid longings? Look, they give thee so much, they give with open hands; their love enfolds thee, blooms everywhere for thee to pluck! Go down among them, then, step into their hearts, and speak, I beg thee, graciously and kindly.
King[softened]. I will try, thanks to thee! Speak, as thou knowest me: why does this anger and this curse fall daily and hourly over me? My friends, mislike me not for my impatience, for one thing I know right well, that I stand deeply in your debt. And now, speak!
Chancellor. My lord, I speak--not trembling, for long necessity has wonted us to terrors as to daily bread--of the fate which I have long seen approaching, and which now stands thirsting for blood before us. Duke Widwolf--
King[starting]. Duke Widwolf!
Chancellor. Is mustering an army!
King[feigning calmness]. What then?
Chancellor. He makes his boast that when the ice on the northern sea has turned to sheeted foam, he will descend with full a hundred ships and fall upon us like an avenging spirit.
King. The avenging spirit is a worthy part for him to play.
Chancellor. Still thou knowest this once he serves a righteous cause.
King. What sayest thou?
Chancellor. Is not this realm, O King, forfeit to him as a reward of victory?
King. May the word choke thee! As a reward of victory? Oh, stands it so with you, my lords? Do you stare at me? What means the scorn that lurks in your eyes? Have I been here too long? Do you already rue your act?
Chancellor. We rue it not, my King!
King. Say yes, say yes! Why so much pains with one who lay in the dust, whom you so mercifully raised up that everyone might value me as he chose, not as he must? Was it that I should fawn upon you, stroke and caress and flatter you, and die, instead of that one death I owed you, a thousand daily deaths?
Chancellor. Thou hast seen no hatred in us. A reflection of thine own feeling has deluded thee.
Cölestin. And if thou hast heard the word guilt, it was but thus: let me be guilty with thee! [Queennods gratefully to him.]
King. Very fine! Quite beautiful! Accept my thanks! Hans! Come here and tell me what thou sayest to all this.
Hans Lorbass[comes forward boldly]. Lord Chancellor and Lord House Marshal, you nobles, councillors, and wise men all, who let yourselves be plagued with doubts like flea-bites,--if you permit it I will say one thing to you: between sin and punishment, between right and wrong, between hate and love, and good and bad, between sand and sea, and swamp and stone, between flesh of women and dead men's bones, between desire and possession, between field and furrow,--he goes, a man of men, straight through,--looking to neither right nor left!