EVIL
Dansberg.Icelin.Gorm.
Dansberg.Icelin.Gorm.
Dansberg.
Icelin.
Gorm.
A Forest.EnterCount Dansberg,led in by his granddaughter,Icelin.
A Forest.
EnterCount Dansberg,led in by his granddaughter,
Icelin.
Dansberg.It was a very merry story. Ha, ha, ha!
Icelin(looking back). He comes not.
Dansberg.Icelin(looking back). He comes not.“Be wed,” says he, “but give me dinner.
Be wed and hang’d then”—so the old man said
When we had bound him in his chair with kerchiefs,
And starved him for some two days. Icelin!
Icelin.And starved him for some two days. Icelin!Well?
Dansberg.You do not listen. “Go marry and be hang’d,”
He shouted. Ha, ha, ha! He could not move.
You are not listening.
Icelin.You are not listening.Could he not call the servants?
Dansberg.High in the wind-rockt turret we had bound him.
The careless servants thought him sick, and she
His nurse. And so we wrung the writing from him
And got us married. Oh the merry jest!
Ha, ha, ha. Hough, hough, hough.
Icelin.Ha, ha, ha. Hough, hough, hough.A devil’s trick.
Dansberg.Yes, was it not a very clever trick?
Icelin.I say, an evil trick.
Dansberg.Why, so say I—
A very able trick. When we were wed
The old man curst us till he laugh’d himself,
And then he blest us. She was beautiful,
Your grandmother.
Icelin.Your grandmother.I am like her.
Dansberg.Icelin.Your grandmother.I am like her.Yes, yes, yes.
She was a crimson-mouthèd piece of snow.
Her lips would often bleed, so red they were—
Altho’ her skin so white.
Icelin.Altho’ her skin so white.You say so?—Why,
My lips are bleeding.
Dansberg.My lips are bleeding.Then you’re thinking evil.
Her lips would bleed when she had evil thoughts.
Hough, hough.
Icelin.Hough, hough.Were you a page, then, when you wedded?
Dansberg.My age?
Icelin.Dansberg.My age?A page.
Dansberg.Icelin.Dansberg.My age?A page.Yes, yes. So I became
Lord of these valleys.
Icelin.Lord of these valleys.Had you been more noble
My blood had been the richer.
Dansberg.My blood had been the richer.Who is richer?
Icelin.Was it because you were not nobler born
The old man would not let you wed her?
Dansberg.The old man would not let you wed her?Hough.
My birth was good enough.
Icelin.My birth was good enough.Yet Gorm is noble.
Dansberg.What, what! An evil child—a cunning child!
Icelin.I am a woman.
Dansberg.Icelin.I am a woman.You are not sixteen.
Icelin.But that is woman.
Dansberg.Hough, hough, a wicked child!
Gorm is a scheming knave and you a child.
I say a child, a child, a child. Look you,
You first shall murder me ere you marry Gorm.
Do you not see I tremble? When I tremble
I’m angry. Hough hough, hough.
Icelin.I’m angry. Hough hough, hough.What would you say then
If we should play a trick on you?
Dansberg.If we should play a trick on you?A trick!
What Jansen there!—Where’s Jansen?
Icelin.What Jansen there!—Where’s Jansen?Lagging after.
Dansberg.Then I will wait for him.
(He sits down on a log.)
Dansberg.Then I will wait for him.Tell me, where are we?
We should be near the castle gate; and yet
I feel too many dead leaves on the sward.
Icelin.The storm that blew last night has blown them here.
Dansberg.There should be wind upon this vision’d height.
Icelin.There is no wind.
Dansberg.Icelin.There is no wind.Yes, yes, there is no wind.
What is the rustling that I hear?
Icelin.What is the rustling that I hear?The trees.
Dansberg.There are not many near the castle gate.
Icelin.There are not many, but they make the sound.
Dansberg.Is it the oak-tree or the fir?
Icelin.Dansberg.Is it the oak-tree or the fir?The fir.
Dansberg.I think I feel a something over my head.
Icelin.Great clouds have come and settled in the sky.
Dansberg.Is’t rain or tempest, think you?
Icelin.Dansberg.Is’t rain or tempest, think you?Storm, I think.
Dansberg.Between the greater clouds what do you see?
Icelin.Patches of blue. (She smiles.)
Dansberg.Icelin.Patches of blue. (She smiles.)And in the patches, what?
Icelin.Enamels of pale pearl.
Dansberg.Icelin.Enamels of pale pearl.Beneath the clouds,
What is there?
Icelin.What is there?Nothing.
Dansberg.Icelin.What is there?Nothing.Tut, you are a woman,
And note not anything. Under those great clouds,
Are there no ragged runners on the wind?
Icelin.I think I see them.
Dansberg.Icelin.I think I see them.Being sunset now,
What colour’d splendours are there? What great shades?
Icelin.The clouds are rosy.
Dansberg.Icelin.The clouds are rosy.Faugh, you’re blind. Look, look.
Do not the curling thunders heap the sun?—
Or does he rip them and stare out with rage
Upon the east?
Icelin.Upon the east?The sun is sinking.
Dansberg.Icelin.Upon the east?The sun is sinking.But say;
Beneath the clouds the wild swans trail along,
And kestrels, soaring to the vantage point,
Slide down upon the storm-wind—do they not?
Icelin.I see some things like sparrows in the sky.
Dansberg.What do you see then?
Icelin.Dansberg.What do you see then?The winding of the river,
And the blue mountains on the verge.
Dansberg.And the blue mountains on the verge.At this hour
Hills are not blue. Say, is there light?
Icelin.Hills are not blue. Say, is there light?’Tis light.
Dansberg.I feel that it is dark. Is it not cold?
Icelin.Not very cold.
Dansberg.Icelin.Not very cold.I feel that it is cold.
I feel as if we were in some great forest,
And that you do not see the things you say.
The ground is soft and all the dead leaves crack
Beneath the feet. Where are we?
Icelin.Beneath the feet. Where are we?Just at the gate.
Dansberg.Roars not the river at his hundred eyots?
What colour is the foam?
Icelin.What colour is the foam?As white as snow.
Dansberg.You lie, you lie; you see it not, you lie!
The storm-flood sweeps the river, and its foam
Runs tawny as the sand.
Icelin.Runs tawny as the sand.I do not lie.
Dansberg.Come, lead me home. These two hours I have walkt,
And all my blood is water. I am old—
So old and blind. I wonder, is the fire lit,
This autumn evening, and my supper ready?
Hough, hough. Where is my stick—my stick?
(She takes the stick from beside him.)
Icelin.Hough, hough. Where is my stick—my stick?Say, then,
When shall I marry Gorm?
Dansberg.When shall I marry Gorm?Hough, hough, hough, hough.
Let us go in and think o’t.
Icelin.Let us go in and think o’t.Tell me now.
Dansberg.Then give me first your arm to help me rise. (Rises.)
A good girl—so. Your arm is thin but firm—
Thinner but firmer than your mother’s. Tut!
Poor daughter, daughter. Dead, dead, dead, so long!
When that my blindness first did seize upon me,
How she would run to me to help me on,
And kiss me oft that saw her not—until
I felt the hot tears on my hand. I chid her;
Telling her not to weep that was not blind,
As I that had no eyes could have no tears:
And thus I cheer’d her. But at last she died.
And my old falcon died, and my old horse;
And last of all the dog. But Jansen lives.
Jansen, Jansen!—where is he?
Icelin.Jansen, Jansen!—where is he?He is coming.
Dansberg.I do not hear him. It is bitter chill.
We should be at the gate, but that I feel
As walking in a wood. I think I smell
The ground-ferns and damp mosses, and the scent
Of puff-balls on the rotting trees. Hark there!
I hear the bull-frogs croaking.
Icelin.I hear the bull-frogs croaking.I don’t hear them.
Dansberg.You’re deaf. There are no bull-frogs near the castle.
Icelin.Ah, yes. It is two silly ravens croaking.
Dansberg.Raymond, you say?
Icelin.Dansberg.Raymond, you say?Ravens.
Dansberg.Icelin.Dansberg.Raymond, you say?Ravens.Ravens! ravens!
O God! The ravens of my house! O God!
Give me a stone—my stick—they visit us—
When we must die.
(He falls sitting on a log.)
When we must die.Jansen, Jansen, I say.
Icelin.See, there he comes.
Dansberg.Icelin.See, there he comes.You lazy rascal,
How dare you lag so?
(EnterGorm.)
How dare you lag so?His gait is strange. Look, child,
What ails him? Is he drunk? Oh, oh, ’tis Gorm.
I know him by his breathing.
(IcelinleavesDansbergand goes toGorm.They whisper together.Dansbergsits trembling.)
Icelin.I know him by his breathing.You’re late.
Gorm.Icelin.I know him by his breathing.You’re late.I have run.
Icelin.We shall be miss’d.
Gorm.Icelin.We shall be miss’d.It is not done?
Icelin.Gorm.Icelin.We shall be miss’d.It is not done?Not done!
No; but to be done.
Gorm.No; but to be done.I hoped to find it done.
Icelin.Ye gods! what I alone?
Gorm.Icelin.Ye gods! what I alone?Why not? ’tis easy.
Icelin.Are you so pale?
Gorm.Icelin.Are you so pale?Pale? me!
Icelin.Gorm.Icelin.Are you so pale?Pale? me!A man like you!
Gorm.Like who?
Icelin.Gorm.Like who?Are you a man and pale?
Gorm.Icelin.Gorm.Like who?Are you a man and pale?I’m not.
It is the twilight.
Icelin.It is the twilight.Do you stagger too?
Are you afraid?
Gorm.Are you afraid?I, Gorm, afraid! A soldier!
Icelin.A soldier and my love.
Gorm.Icelin.A soldier and my love.Your love indeed!
Icelin.You think I am too young to be your love?
Gorm.You are divine!
Icelin.Gorm.You are divine!What shall we do with him?
Gorm.Aye, what?
Icelin.Gorm.Aye, what?The thing I told you—tie him here.
Gorm.What, all night long?
Icelin.Gorm.What, all night long?No matter.
Gorm.Icelin.Gorm.What, all night long?No matter.He will die.
Icelin.I’m sick of walking with him. And besides
He will not let me wear my mother’s clothes
That are in lavender.
Gorm.That are in lavender.Tush!
Icelin.Gorm.That are in lavender.Tush!Her jewels, too.
Gorm.I thought that you’d have done it; and I came
To end the jest and win his thanks—and you.
Icelin.I want his wealth for you.
Gorm.Icelin.I want his wealth for you.He will die soon.
Icelin.He lives for ever.
Gorm.Icelin.He lives for ever.That is true.
Icelin.Gorm.Icelin.He lives for ever.That is true.I want it—
Now.
Gorm.No, no. no. Hush, he will hear us.
Icelin.Gorm.No, no. no. Hush, he will hear us.Never.
And he is maudlin too.
Gorm.And he is maudlin too.I madden for you.
Fie, what is this upon my lips? Not blood?
Icelin.And on your face. My lips bleed often thus.
Gorm.Oh, oh.
Icelin.Gorm.Oh, oh.You know the way home after this?
Gorm.Oh, yes.
Icelin.Gorm.Oh, yes.That’s right then. We have nought to do
But wait and watch him.
(Dansberg rises.)
Dansberg.But wait and watch him.How their whisperings run
Like hissing of live snakes. Where am I then?
I must be cunning. If I could find my stick
I could escape. I think they look not this way.
Icelin.Nay, let him be. You need not fear my lips—
’Tis but a little bleeding.
Dansberg.’Tis but a little bleeding.Now is the time.
Quick now! Sneak off!
(He knocks against a tree.)
Quick now! Sneak off!A tree. Pest on these leaves,
They crackle so. Again.
(He knocks against another tree.)
They crackle so. Again.A wood, a wood!
O this means murder!
Gorm.O this means murder!Poor old man!
Icelin.The fool!—Stand still there!
Dansberg.Icelin.The fool!—Stand still there!Yes, good daughter, yes.
Hough, hough. I would but stroll—hough, hough, hough—
But stroll a little.
Icelin.Stroll then very little—
There is a pit there.
Dansberg.There is a pit there.Then I’ll not stroll far,
Believe me. Hough, hough, hough.
Icelin(toGorm). I brought him here
Because I know the pit. Let’s wait a little.
I’ll hear him shriek first.
(She goes toDansberg.)
I’ll hear him shriek first.When shall I marry Gorm?
Dansberg.I am too old to set myself against you.
Yet your young life I would not give to him—
My daughter’s daughter. Hough. But lead me home.
Enough the jest. To-morrow I will grant it.
I am too old, too old to struggle with you.
The cold is bitter in this mildewy wood,
And my feet numb. Why will you linger still?
Am I not blind?
Icelin.Am I not blind?Then I may marry him?
Dansberg.Icelin.Am I not blind?Then I may marry him?Yes.
Icelin.And may I have my mother’s silks you keep
In lavender?
Dansberg.Hough, hough, hough. You wicked girl!
She was an angel, and you shall not have them—
Hough, hough—at least until I’ve sorted them.
(She slaps him.)
Icelin.Sort that then!
Dansberg.Icelin.Sort that then!Someone strikes me.
Icelin.Dansberg.Icelin.Sort that then!Someone strikes me.That, again!
Dansberg.Someone has struck me! Shame!—a poor old man!
Icelin.Let your cheeks burn for it then.
Dansberg.Icelin.Let your cheeks burn for it then.You struck me, sir.
You cowardly dog.
Gorm.You cowardly dog.Hold, Icelin.
Icelin.Gorm.You cowardly dog.Hold, Icelin.I am sick
At sight of him. It was I who struck you.
Dansberg.At sight of him. It was I who struck you.Yes.
’Twas she who struck me.
Icelin.’Twas she who struck me.And I will again.
Dansberg.Then I will turn to you my other cheek,
You have not struck yet.
Icelin.You have not struck yet.There, then!
Dansberg.Icelin.You have not struck yet.There, then!See, O God!
Gorm.She is a wolf.
Dansberg.Gorm.She is a wolf.God is not blind as I am.
(A pause.)
My daughter’s daughter struck me. Therefore I know
That she would kill me. Kill me, then, and quickly,
That I may go to God with branded cheeks
To plead compassion for me—for I’ve done
Sins in this world. But who would punish me—
More—after this? Now let me die. I wait.
(Silence. A gust of wind blows through the forest.)
Come, kill me then. I am no coward. Hush!
No answer. What if they have left me here
To die in th’ wood? And yet I dare not move.
She said there is a pit beside me close,
Where I might fall. If I could find my stick,
I could escape, perhaps, and follow them.
(He gropes for his stick.)
(A second gust of wind blows through the forest.)
Oh, evil, evil! She has hid it—O!—
I hear a sigh that shudders thro’ the air.
’Tis night. I have no eyes and yet can see
The night. Oh, it is night for me for ever.
Night, night and age, and endless weight of silence,
Save but for far low voices faintly heard.
Great age, great age! and bright scenes long ago,
Seen like the sunshine at a cavern’s mouth
To one endungeon’d there for ever. Ah!
That vision too must end.
(A third gust of wind.)
Sigh, shuddering Wind
Sigh, shuddering WindSigh for the old man sightless. Sigh, O Wind,
Sigh for the old man sightless. Sink and die,
And pass away.
Icelin.And pass away.Let’s push him now.
Gorm.Icelin.And pass away.Let’s push him now.Enough!
Have you no heart?
Icelin.Have you no heart?A heart? What is a heart?
I have a lump of ice here in my breast
That freezes me. Except for you—for you.
(She kissesGorm.)
You tremble! Do you tremble?
Gorm.You tremble! Do you tremble?Yes, I tremble.
Icelin.Are you a coward?
Gorm.Yes, a coward. See!
Dansberg.Help! Jansen there! They murder me! Hough, hough.
I cannot shout, for when I shout I cough.
Help, help! Hough, hough.
(He staggers to and fro.)
Icelin.Help, help! Hough, hough.Come, father, here’s my arm.
Why do you shout?
Dansberg.Why do you shout?I shout because I die.
Icelin.I am your daughter.
Dansberg.Icelin.I am your daughter.Are you my daughter, ’Linde?
My daughter’s spirit?
Icelin.My daughter’s spirit?Yes.
Dansberg.Icelin.My daughter’s spirit?Yes.I know your voice!
(She leads him toward the pit.)
No! You are not my daughter. Your arm’s too thin!
Help, God! Make me a miracle now to save me,
Since man will not; or I will cry aloud
There is no God in all this black, black world.
Send me a flash to light me out of this,
Here where I stagger thus in solid night,
Like some dumb creature in the huntsman’s pit.
Send fiery-urgent lightnings to mine aid,
Revealing Heaven, until this forest stands,
Each tree a flaming angel for a torch.
Oh! oh! the air is full of murder!—Not yet,
O Death, not yet! I am too young to die!
See, Heaven, my heart is beating still with blood.
When that the heart is bloodless, ’twill be time
To die!
Icelin.Come, father, come; why do you shriek
So much?
Dansberg.I shriek because I die.
Gorm.Beware!
There is a pit there!
Dansberg.There is a pit there!Oh, He answers not!
In my youth’s days I did forget Him; now
In this mine age He hath forgotten me.
(A pause.)
Away! God or no God, I’ll save myself!
(He runs forward wildly and falls into the pit.)
(Silence.)
Icelin.Down there. Down. Down. Mark now, I pushed him not.
He ran from me and fell. You saw it. I knew
That he would die like this. You called me child.
Am I so young then? I am no child—a woman!
See with what skill I’ve brought you to your fortune.
Now I shall wear those silks and damascenes,
And all these lands be yours. Thus, with this kiss
I seal it.
Gorm.Away!
Icelin.Gorm.Away!What?
Gorm.Icelin.Gorm.Away!What?Wolf!
Icelin.Gorm.Icelin.Gorm.Away!What?Wolf!What?
Gorm.Icelin.Gorm.Icelin.Gorm.Away!What?Wolf!What?Wolf, wolf, wolf!
Your teeth are white but pointed like a wolf’s.
Your face is white but both your lips are red—
So bleeding red! I have my sword—away!
Or I will stab you! Even by this light
There’s blood upon your lips—and some of it
Burns on me now. Your race’s blood is poison—
His, yours, and all your race’s. You’re a witch;
A wolf, a witch, a witch! I have my sword—
So follow not! A witch, a witch, a witch!
Your blood is poison and your heart is ice!
(He flies into the forest.)
(Icelinremains standing. The ravens perch on the boughs above her head.)
(She shrieks.)
Icelin.My blood is poison and my heart is ice!
A witch, a wolf, a witch, a wolf, a witch!
My teeth are pointed like a wolf’s. A witch!
My face is white, my lips are bleeding red,
My blood is poison, and my heart is ice.
A witch, a wolf, a witch, a wolf, a witch,
A wolf! I follow then! I will devour you!
I’ll follow you about the world—and eat you!
(She bounds into the forest afterGorm.The ravens follow her.)