ACT III

The same Party enters.Rud.Twelve subsidies!Vane.O Rudyard, do not laughAt least!Rud.True: Strafford called the Parliament—'T is he should laugh!A Puritan.Out of the serpent's rootComes forth a cockatrice.Fien.—A stinging one,If that 's the Parliament: twelve subsidies!A stinging one! but, brother, where 's your wordFor Strafford's other nest-egg, the Scots' war?The Puritan.His fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.Fien.Shall be? It chips the shell, man; peeps abroad.Twelve subsidies!—Why, how now, Vane?Rud.Peace, Fiennes!Fien.Ah?—But he was not more a dupe than I,Or you, or any here, the day that PymReturned with the good news. Look up, friend Vane!We all believe that Strafford meant us wellIn summoning the Parliament.(Hampdenenters.)Vane.Now, Hampden,Clear me! I would have leave to sleep again:I 'd look the People in the face again:Clear me from having, from the first, hoped, dreamedBetter of Strafford!Hamp.You may grow one dayA steadfast light to England, Henry Vane!Rud.Meantime, by flashes I make shift to seeStrafford revived our Parliaments; before,War was but talked of; there 's an army, now:Still, we 've a Parliament! Poor Ireland bearsAnother wrench (she dies the hardest death!)—Why, speak of it in Parliament! and lo,'T is spoken, so console yourselves!Fien.The jest!We clamored, I suppose, thus long, to winThe privilege of laying on our backsA sorer burden than the King dares lay.Rud.Mark now: we meet at length, complaints pour inFrom every county, all the land cries outOn loans and levies, curses ship-money,Calls vengeance on the Star Chamber; we lendAn ear. "Ay, lend them all the ears you have!"Puts in the King; "my subjects, as you find,Are fretful, and conceive great things of you.Just listen to them, friends; you 'll sanction meThe measures they most wince at, make them yours,Instead of mine, I know: and, to begin,They say my levies pinch them,—raise me straightTwelve subsidies!"Fien.All England cannot furnishTwelve subsidies!Hol.But Strafford, just returnedFrom Ireland—what has he to do with that?How could he speak his mind? He left beforeThe Parliament assembled. Pym, who knowsStrafford ...Rud.Would I were sure we know ourselves!What is for good, what, bad—who friend, who foe!Hol.Do you count Parliaments no gain?Rud.A gain?While the King's creatures overbalance us?—There 's going on, beside, among ourselvesA quiet, slow, but most effectual courseOf buying over, sapping, leaveningThe lump till all is leaven. Glanville's gone.I 'll put a case; had not the Court declaredThat no sum short of just twelve subsidiesWill be accepted by the King—our House,I say, would have consented to that offerTo let us buy off ship-money!Hol.Most like,If, say, six subsidies will buy it off,The House ...Rud.Will grant them! Hampden, do you hear?Congratulate with me! the King's the king,And gains his point at last—our own assentTo that detested tax! All 's over, thenThere 's no more taking refuge in this room,Protesting, "Let the King do what he will,We, England, are no party to our shame:Our day will come!" Congratulate with me!(Pymenters.)Vane.Pym, Strafford called this Parliament, you say,But we 'll not have our Parliaments like thoseIn Ireland, Pym!Rud.Let him stand forth, your friend!One doubtful act hides far too many sins;It can be stretched no more, and, to my mind,Begins to drop from those it covered.Other Voices.Good!Let him avow himself! No fitter time!We wait thus long for you.Rud.Perhaps, too long!Since nothing but the madness of the Court,In thus unmasking its designs at once,Has saved us from betraying England. Stay—This Parliament is Strafford's: let us voteOur list of Grievances too black by farTo suffer talk of subsidies: or best,That ship-money 's disposed of long agoBy England: any vote that 's broad enough:And then let Strafford, for the love of it,Support his Parliament!Vane.And vote as wellNo war to be with Scotland! Hear you, Pym?We 'll vote, no war! No part nor lot in itFor England!Many Voices.Vote, no war! Stop the new levies!No Bishops' war! At once! When next we meet!Pym.Much more when next we meet! Friends, which of youSince first the course of Strafford was in doubt,Has fallen the most away in soul from me?Vane.I sat apart, even now under God's eye,Pondering the words that should denounce you, Pym,In presence of us all, as one at leagueWith England's enemy.Pym.You are a goodAnd gallant spirit, Henry. Take my handAnd say you pardon me for all the painTill now! Strafford is wholly ours.Many Voices.Sure? sure?Pym.Most sure: for Charles dissolves the ParliamentWhile I speak here.—And I must speak, friends, now!Strafford is ours. The King detects the change,Casts Strafford off forever, and resumesHis ancient path: no Parliament for us,No Strafford for the King!Come, all of you,To bid the King farewell, predict successTo his Scots' expedition, and receiveStrafford, our comrade now. The next will beIndeed a Parliament!Vane.Forgive me, Pym!Voices.This looks like truth: Strafford can have, indeed,No choice.Pym.Friends, follow me! He 's with the King.Come, Hampden, and come, Rudyard, and come, Vane!This is no sullen day for England, sirs!Strafford shall tell you!Voices.To Whitehall then! Come!

The same Party enters.

Rud.Twelve subsidies!

Vane.O Rudyard, do not laughAt least!

Vane.O Rudyard, do not laugh

At least!

Rud.True: Strafford called the Parliament—'T is he should laugh!

Rud.True: Strafford called the Parliament—

'T is he should laugh!

A Puritan.Out of the serpent's rootComes forth a cockatrice.

A Puritan.Out of the serpent's root

Comes forth a cockatrice.

Fien.—A stinging one,If that 's the Parliament: twelve subsidies!A stinging one! but, brother, where 's your wordFor Strafford's other nest-egg, the Scots' war?

Fien.—A stinging one,

If that 's the Parliament: twelve subsidies!

A stinging one! but, brother, where 's your word

For Strafford's other nest-egg, the Scots' war?

The Puritan.His fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

Fien.Shall be? It chips the shell, man; peeps abroad.Twelve subsidies!—Why, how now, Vane?

Fien.Shall be? It chips the shell, man; peeps abroad.

Twelve subsidies!—Why, how now, Vane?

Rud.Peace, Fiennes!

Fien.Ah?—But he was not more a dupe than I,Or you, or any here, the day that PymReturned with the good news. Look up, friend Vane!We all believe that Strafford meant us wellIn summoning the Parliament.

Fien.Ah?—But he was not more a dupe than I,

Or you, or any here, the day that Pym

Returned with the good news. Look up, friend Vane!

We all believe that Strafford meant us well

In summoning the Parliament.

(Hampdenenters.)

Vane.Now, Hampden,Clear me! I would have leave to sleep again:I 'd look the People in the face again:Clear me from having, from the first, hoped, dreamedBetter of Strafford!

Vane.Now, Hampden,

Clear me! I would have leave to sleep again:

I 'd look the People in the face again:

Clear me from having, from the first, hoped, dreamed

Better of Strafford!

Hamp.You may grow one dayA steadfast light to England, Henry Vane!

Hamp.You may grow one day

A steadfast light to England, Henry Vane!

Rud.Meantime, by flashes I make shift to seeStrafford revived our Parliaments; before,War was but talked of; there 's an army, now:Still, we 've a Parliament! Poor Ireland bearsAnother wrench (she dies the hardest death!)—Why, speak of it in Parliament! and lo,'T is spoken, so console yourselves!

Rud.Meantime, by flashes I make shift to see

Strafford revived our Parliaments; before,

War was but talked of; there 's an army, now:

Still, we 've a Parliament! Poor Ireland bears

Another wrench (she dies the hardest death!)—

Why, speak of it in Parliament! and lo,

'T is spoken, so console yourselves!

Fien.The jest!We clamored, I suppose, thus long, to winThe privilege of laying on our backsA sorer burden than the King dares lay.

Fien.The jest!

We clamored, I suppose, thus long, to win

The privilege of laying on our backs

A sorer burden than the King dares lay.

Rud.Mark now: we meet at length, complaints pour inFrom every county, all the land cries outOn loans and levies, curses ship-money,Calls vengeance on the Star Chamber; we lendAn ear. "Ay, lend them all the ears you have!"Puts in the King; "my subjects, as you find,Are fretful, and conceive great things of you.Just listen to them, friends; you 'll sanction meThe measures they most wince at, make them yours,Instead of mine, I know: and, to begin,They say my levies pinch them,—raise me straightTwelve subsidies!"

Rud.Mark now: we meet at length, complaints pour in

From every county, all the land cries out

On loans and levies, curses ship-money,

Calls vengeance on the Star Chamber; we lend

An ear. "Ay, lend them all the ears you have!"

Puts in the King; "my subjects, as you find,

Are fretful, and conceive great things of you.

Just listen to them, friends; you 'll sanction me

The measures they most wince at, make them yours,

Instead of mine, I know: and, to begin,

They say my levies pinch them,—raise me straight

Twelve subsidies!"

Fien.All England cannot furnishTwelve subsidies!

Fien.All England cannot furnish

Twelve subsidies!

Hol.But Strafford, just returnedFrom Ireland—what has he to do with that?How could he speak his mind? He left beforeThe Parliament assembled. Pym, who knowsStrafford ...

Hol.But Strafford, just returned

From Ireland—what has he to do with that?

How could he speak his mind? He left before

The Parliament assembled. Pym, who knows

Strafford ...

Rud.Would I were sure we know ourselves!What is for good, what, bad—who friend, who foe!

Rud.Would I were sure we know ourselves!

What is for good, what, bad—who friend, who foe!

Hol.Do you count Parliaments no gain?

Rud.A gain?While the King's creatures overbalance us?—There 's going on, beside, among ourselvesA quiet, slow, but most effectual courseOf buying over, sapping, leaveningThe lump till all is leaven. Glanville's gone.I 'll put a case; had not the Court declaredThat no sum short of just twelve subsidiesWill be accepted by the King—our House,I say, would have consented to that offerTo let us buy off ship-money!

Rud.A gain?

While the King's creatures overbalance us?

—There 's going on, beside, among ourselves

A quiet, slow, but most effectual course

Of buying over, sapping, leavening

The lump till all is leaven. Glanville's gone.

I 'll put a case; had not the Court declared

That no sum short of just twelve subsidies

Will be accepted by the King—our House,

I say, would have consented to that offer

To let us buy off ship-money!

Hol.Most like,If, say, six subsidies will buy it off,The House ...

Hol.Most like,

If, say, six subsidies will buy it off,

The House ...

Rud.Will grant them! Hampden, do you hear?Congratulate with me! the King's the king,And gains his point at last—our own assentTo that detested tax! All 's over, thenThere 's no more taking refuge in this room,Protesting, "Let the King do what he will,We, England, are no party to our shame:Our day will come!" Congratulate with me!

Rud.Will grant them! Hampden, do you hear?

Congratulate with me! the King's the king,

And gains his point at last—our own assent

To that detested tax! All 's over, then

There 's no more taking refuge in this room,

Protesting, "Let the King do what he will,

We, England, are no party to our shame:

Our day will come!" Congratulate with me!

(Pymenters.)

Vane.Pym, Strafford called this Parliament, you say,But we 'll not have our Parliaments like thoseIn Ireland, Pym!

Vane.Pym, Strafford called this Parliament, you say,

But we 'll not have our Parliaments like those

In Ireland, Pym!

Rud.Let him stand forth, your friend!One doubtful act hides far too many sins;It can be stretched no more, and, to my mind,Begins to drop from those it covered.

Rud.Let him stand forth, your friend!

One doubtful act hides far too many sins;

It can be stretched no more, and, to my mind,

Begins to drop from those it covered.

Other Voices.Good!Let him avow himself! No fitter time!We wait thus long for you.

Other Voices.Good!

Let him avow himself! No fitter time!

We wait thus long for you.

Rud.Perhaps, too long!Since nothing but the madness of the Court,In thus unmasking its designs at once,Has saved us from betraying England. Stay—This Parliament is Strafford's: let us voteOur list of Grievances too black by farTo suffer talk of subsidies: or best,That ship-money 's disposed of long agoBy England: any vote that 's broad enough:And then let Strafford, for the love of it,Support his Parliament!

Rud.Perhaps, too long!

Since nothing but the madness of the Court,

In thus unmasking its designs at once,

Has saved us from betraying England. Stay—

This Parliament is Strafford's: let us vote

Our list of Grievances too black by far

To suffer talk of subsidies: or best,

That ship-money 's disposed of long ago

By England: any vote that 's broad enough:

And then let Strafford, for the love of it,

Support his Parliament!

Vane.And vote as wellNo war to be with Scotland! Hear you, Pym?We 'll vote, no war! No part nor lot in itFor England!

Vane.And vote as well

No war to be with Scotland! Hear you, Pym?

We 'll vote, no war! No part nor lot in it

For England!

Many Voices.Vote, no war! Stop the new levies!No Bishops' war! At once! When next we meet!

Many Voices.Vote, no war! Stop the new levies!

No Bishops' war! At once! When next we meet!

Pym.Much more when next we meet! Friends, which of youSince first the course of Strafford was in doubt,Has fallen the most away in soul from me?

Pym.Much more when next we meet! Friends, which of you

Since first the course of Strafford was in doubt,

Has fallen the most away in soul from me?

Vane.I sat apart, even now under God's eye,Pondering the words that should denounce you, Pym,In presence of us all, as one at leagueWith England's enemy.

Vane.I sat apart, even now under God's eye,

Pondering the words that should denounce you, Pym,

In presence of us all, as one at league

With England's enemy.

Pym.You are a goodAnd gallant spirit, Henry. Take my handAnd say you pardon me for all the painTill now! Strafford is wholly ours.

Pym.You are a good

And gallant spirit, Henry. Take my hand

And say you pardon me for all the pain

Till now! Strafford is wholly ours.

Many Voices.Sure? sure?

Pym.Most sure: for Charles dissolves the ParliamentWhile I speak here.—And I must speak, friends, now!Strafford is ours. The King detects the change,Casts Strafford off forever, and resumesHis ancient path: no Parliament for us,No Strafford for the King!Come, all of you,To bid the King farewell, predict successTo his Scots' expedition, and receiveStrafford, our comrade now. The next will beIndeed a Parliament!

Pym.Most sure: for Charles dissolves the Parliament

While I speak here.

—And I must speak, friends, now!

Strafford is ours. The King detects the change,

Casts Strafford off forever, and resumes

His ancient path: no Parliament for us,

No Strafford for the King!

Come, all of you,

To bid the King farewell, predict success

To his Scots' expedition, and receive

Strafford, our comrade now. The next will be

Indeed a Parliament!

Vane.Forgive me, Pym!

Voices.This looks like truth: Strafford can have, indeed,No choice.

Voices.This looks like truth: Strafford can have, indeed,

No choice.

Pym.Friends, follow me! He 's with the King.Come, Hampden, and come, Rudyard, and come, Vane!This is no sullen day for England, sirs!Strafford shall tell you!

Pym.Friends, follow me! He 's with the King.

Come, Hampden, and come, Rudyard, and come, Vane!

This is no sullen day for England, sirs!

Strafford shall tell you!

Voices.To Whitehall then! Come!

Scene II.Whitehall.

CharlesandStrafford.Cha.Strafford!Strafford.Is it a dream? my papers, here—Thus, as I left them, all the plans you foundSo happy—(look! the track you pressed my handFor pointing out)—and in this very room,Over these very plans, you tell me, sir,With the same face, too—tell me just one thingThat ruins them! How 's this? What may this mean?Sir, who has done this?Cha.Strafford, who but I?You bade me put the rest away: indeedYou are alone.Straf.Alone, and like to be!No fear, when some unworthy scheme grows ripe,Of those, who hatched it, leaving me to looseThe mischief on the world! Laud hatches war,Falls to his prayers, and leaves the rest to me,And I 'm alone.Cha.At least, you knew as muchWhen first you undertook the war.Straf.My liege,Was this the way? I said, since Laud would lapA little blood, 't were best to hurry overThe loathsome business, not to be whole monthsAt slaughter—one blow, only one, then, peace,Save for the dreams. I said, to please you bothI 'd lead an Irish army to the West,While in the South an English ... but you lookAs though you had not told me fifty times'T was a brave plan! My army is all raised,I am prepared to join it ...Cha.Hear me, Strafford!Straf.... When, for some little thing, my whole designIs set aside—(where is the wretched paper?)I am to lead—(ay, here it is)—to leadThe English army: why? Northumberland,That I appointed, chooses to be sick—Is frightened: and, meanwhile, who answers forThe Irish Parliament? or army, either?Is this my plan?Cha.So disrespectful, sir?Straf.My liege, do not believe it! I am yours,Yours ever: 't is too late to think about:To the death, yours. Elsewhere, this untoward stepShall pass for mine; the world shall think it mine.But here! But here! I am so seldom here,Seldom with you, my King! I, soon to rushAlone upon a giant in the dark!Cha.My Strafford!Straf.[Examines papers awhile.]"Seize the passes of the Tyne!"But, sir, you see—see all I say is true?My plan was sure to prosper, so, no causeTo ask the Parliament for help; whereasWe need them frightfully.Cha.Need the Parliament?Straf.Now, for God's sake, sir, not one error more!We can afford no error; we draw, now,Upon our last resource: the ParliamentMust help us!Cha.I 've undone you, Strafford!Straf.Nay—Nay—why despond, sir, 't is not come to that!I have not hurt you? Sir, what have I saidTo hurt you? I unsay it! Don't despond!Sir, do you turn from me?Cha.My friend of friends!Straf.We 'll make a shift. Leave me the Parliament!Help they us ne'er so little and I 'll makeSufficient out of it. We 'll speak them fair.They 're sitting, that 's one great thing; that half givesTheir sanction to us; that 's much: don't despond!Why, let them keep their money, at the worst!The reputation of the People's helpIs all we want: we 'll make shift yet!Cha.Good Strafford!Straf.But meantime, let the sum be ne'er so smallThey offer, we 'll accept it: any sum—For the look of it: the least grant tells the ScotsThe Parliament is ours—their stanch allyTurned ours: that told, there 's half the blow to strike!What will the grant be? What does Glanville think?Cha.Alas!Straf.My liege?Cha.Strafford!Straf.But answer me!Have they ... Oh surely not refused us half?Half the twelve subsidies? We never lookedFor all of them. How many do they give?Cha.You have not heard ...Straf.(What has he done?)—Heard what?But speak at once, sir, this grows terrible![The King continuing silent.You have dissolved them!—I 'll not leave this man.Cha.'T was old Vane's ill-judged vehemence.Straf.Old Vane?Cha.He told them, just about to vote the half,That nothing short of all twelve subsidiesWould serve our turn, or be accepted.Straf.Vane!Vane! Who, sir, promised me, that very Vane ...O God, to have it gone, quite gone from me,The one last hope—I that despair, my hope—That I should reach his heart one day, and cureAll bitterness one day, be proud againAnd young again, care for the sunshine too,And never think of Eliot any more,—God, and to toil for this, go far for this,Get nearer, and still nearer, reach this heartAnd find Vane there![Suddenly taking up a paper, and continuing with aforced calmness.Northumberland is sick:Well, then, I take the army: Wilmot leadsThe horse, and he, with Conway, must secureThe passes of the Tyne: Ormond suppliesMy place in Ireland. Here, we 'll try the City:If they refuse a loan—debase the coinAnd seize the bullion! we 've no other choice.Herbert ...And this while I am here! with you!And there are hosts such, hosts like Vane! I go,And, I once gone, they 'll close around you, sir,When the least pique, pettiest mistrust, is sureTo ruin me—and you along with me!Do you see that? And you along with me!—Sir, you 'll not ever listen to these men,And I away, fighting your battle? Sir,If they—if She—charge me, no matter how—Say you, "At any time when he returnsHis head is mine!" Don't stop me there! You knowMy head is yours, but never stop me there!Cha.Too shameful, Strafford! You advised the war,And ...Straf.I! I! that was never spoken withTill it was entered on! That loathe the war!That say it is the maddest, wickedest ...Do you know, sir, I think within my heart,That you would say I did advise the war;And if, through your own weakness, or, what 's worse,These Scots, with God to help them, drive me back,You will not step between the raging PeopleAnd me, to say ...I knew it! from the firstI knew it! Never was so cold a heart!Remember that I said it—that I neverBelieved you for a moment!—And, you loved me?You thought your perfidy profoundly hidBecause I could not share the whisperingsWith Vane, with Savile? What, the face was masked?I had the heart to see, sir! Face of flesh,But heart of stone—of smooth cold frightful stone!Ay, call them! Shall I call for you? The ScotsGoaded to madness? Or the English—Pym—Shall I call Pym, your subject? Oh, you thinkI 'll leave them in the dark about it all?They shall not know you? Hampden, Pym shall not?(Pym, Hampden, Vane,etc., enter.)[Dropping on his knee.]Thus favored with your gracious countenanceWhat shall a rebel League avail againstYour servant, utterly and ever yours?So, gentlemen, the King 's not even leftThe privilege of bidding me farewellWho haste to save the People—that you styleYour People—from the mercies of the ScotsAnd France their friend?[ToCharles.]Pym's grave gray eyes are fixedUpon you, sir!Your pleasure, gentlemen.Hamp.The King dissolved us— 't is the King we seekAnd not Lord Strafford.Straf.Strafford, guilty tooOf counselling the measure.[ToCharles.](Hush ... you know—You have forgotten—sir, I counselled it)A heinous matter, truly! But the KingWill yet see cause to thank me for a courseWhich now, perchance ... (Sir, tell them so!)—he blames.Well, choose some fitter time to make your charge:I shall be with the Scots, you understand?Then yelp at me!Meanwhile, your MajestyBinds me, by this fresh token of your trust.[Under the pretence of an earnest farewell,StraffordconductsCharlesto the door, in such a manner as to hide his agitation from the rest: as the King disappears, they turn as by one impulse toPym,who has not changed his original posture of surprise.Hamp.Leave we this arrogant strong wicked man!Vane and others.Hence, Pym! Come out of this unworthy placeTo our old room again! He 's gone.[Strafford,just about to follow the King, looks back.Pym.Not gone![ToStrafford.]Keep tryst! the old appointment 'smade anew:Forget not we shall meet again!Straf.So be it!And if an army follows me?Vane.His friendsWill entertain your army!Pym.I' ll not sayYou have misreckoned, Strafford: time shows. PerishBody and spirit! Fool to feign a doubt,Pretend the scrupulous and nice reserveOf one whose prowess shall achieve the feat!What share have I in it? Do I affectTo see no dismal sign above your headWhen God suspends his ruinous thunder there?Strafford is doomed. Touch him no one of you![Pym, Hampden,etc., go out.Straf.Pym, we shall meet again!(LadyCarlisleenters.)You here, child?Lady Car.Hush—I know it all: hush, Strafford!Straf.Ah! you know?Well. I shall make a sorry soldier, Lucy!All knights begin their enterprise, we read,Under the best of auspices; 't is morn,The Lady girds his sword upon the Youth(He' s always very young)—the trumpets sound,Cups pledge him, and, why, the King blesses him—You need not turn a page of the romanceTo learn the Dreadful Giant's fate. Indeed,We' ve the fair Lady here; but she apart,—A poor man, rarely having handled lance,And rather old, weary, and far from sureHis Squires are not the Giant's friends. All' s one:Let us go forth!Lady Car.Go forth?Straf.What matters it?We shall die gloriously—as the book says.Lady Car.To Scotland? not to Scotland?Straf.Am I sickLike your good brother, brave Northumberland?Beside, these walls seem falling on me.Lady Car.Strafford,The wind that saps these walls can undermineYour camp in Scotland, too. Whence creeps the wind?Have you no eyes except for Pym? Look here!A breed of silken creatures lurk and thriveIn your contempt. You' ll vanquish Pym? Old VaneCan vanquish you. And Vane you think to fly?Rush on the Scots! Do nobly! Vane's slight sneerShall test success, adjust the praise, suggestThe faint result: Vane's sneer shall reach you there.—You do not listen!Straf.Oh,—I give that up!There' s fate in it: I give all here quite up.Care not what old Vane does or Holland doesAgainst me! 'T is so idle to withstand!In no case tell me what they do!Lady Car.But, Strafford ...Straf.I want a little strife, beside; real strife;This petty palace-warfare does me harm:I shall feel better, fairly out of it.Lady Car.Why do you smile?Straf.I got to fear them, child!I could have torn his throat at first, old Vane's,As he leered at me on his stealthy wayTo the Queen's closet. Lord, one loses heart!I often found it on my lips to say,"Do not traduce me to her!"Lady Car.But the King ...Straf.The King stood there, 't is not so long ago,—There; and the whisper, Lucy, "Be my friendOf friends!"—My King! I would have ...Lady Car.... Died for him?Straf.Sworn him true, Lucy: I can die for him.Lady Car.But go not, Strafford! But you must renounceThis project on the Scots! Die, wherefore die?Charles never loved you.Straf.And he never will.He' s not of those who care the more for menThat they 're unfortunate.Lady Car.Then wherefore dieFor such a master?Straf.You that told me firstHow good he was—when I must leave true friendsTo find a truer friend!—that drew me hereFrom Ireland,—"I had but to show myself,And Charles would spurn Vane, Savile, and the rest"—You, child, to ask me this?Lady Car.(If he have setHis heart abidingly on Charles!)Then, friend,I shall not see you any more.Straf.Yes, Lucy.There 's one man here I have to meet.Lady Car.(The King!What way to save him from the King?My soul—That lent from its own store the charmed disguiseWhich clothes the King—he shall behold my soul!)Strafford,—I shall speak best if you 'll not gazeUpon me: I had never thought, indeed,To speak, but you would perish too, so sure!Could you but know what 't is to bear, my friend,One image stamped within you, turning blankThe else imperial brilliance of your mind,—A weakness, but most precious,—like a flawI' the diamond, which should shape forth some sweet faceYet to create, and meanwhile treasured thereLet nature lose her gracious thought forever!Straf.When could it be? no! Yet ... was it the dayWe waited in the anteroom, till HollandShould leave the presence-chamber?Lady Car.What?Straf.—That IDescribed to you my love for Charles?Lady Car.(Ah, no—One must not lure him from a love like that!Oh, let him love the King and die! 'T is past.I shall not serve him worse for that one briefAnd passionate hope, silent forever now!)And you are really bound for Scotland then?I wish you well: you must be very sureOf the King's faith, for Pym and all his crewWill not be idle—setting Vane aside!Straf.If Pym is busy,—you may write of Pym.Lady Car.What need, since there 's your King to take your part?He may endure Vane's counsel; but for Pym—Think you he 'll suffer Pym to ...Straf.Child, your hairIs glossier than the Queen's!Lady Car.Is that to askA curl of me?Straf.Scotland—the weary way!Lady Car.Stay, let me fasten it.—A rival's, Strafford?Straf.[showing the George.]He hung it there: twine yours around it, child!Lady Car.No—no—another time—I trifle so!And there 's a masque on foot. Farewell. The CourtIs dull; do something to enliven usIn Scotland: we expect it at your hands.Straf.I shall not fail in Scotland.Lady Car.Prosper—ifYou 'll think of me sometimes!Straf.How think of himAnd not of you? of you, the lingering streak(A golden one) in my good fortune's eve.Lady Car.Strafford ... Well, when the eve has its last streakThe night has its first star.[She goes out.Straf.That voice of hers—You 'd think she had a heart sometimes! His voiceIs soft too.Only God can save him now.Be Thou about his bed, about his path!His path! Where 's England's path? Diverging wide,And not to join again the track my footMust follow—whither? All that forlorn wayAmong the tombs! Far—far—till ... What, they doThen join again, these paths? For, huge in the dusk,There 's—Pym to face!Why then, I have a foeTo close with, and a fight to fight at lastWorthy my soul! What, do they beard the King,And shall the King want Strafford at his need?Am I not here?Not in the market-place,Pressed on by the rough artisans, so proudTo catch a glance from Wentworth! They lie downHungry yet smile, "Why, it must end some day:Is he not watching for our sake?" Not there!But in Whitehall, the whited sepulchre,The ...Curse nothing to-night! Only one nameThey 'll curse in all those streets to-night. Whose fault?Did I make kings? set up, the first, a manTo represent the multitude, receiveAll love in right of them—supplant them so,Until you love the man and not the king—The man with the mild voice and mournful eyesWhich send me forth.—To breast the bloody seaThat sweeps before me: with one star for guide.Night has its first, supreme, forsaken star.

CharlesandStrafford.

Cha.Strafford!

Strafford.Is it a dream? my papers, here—Thus, as I left them, all the plans you foundSo happy—(look! the track you pressed my handFor pointing out)—and in this very room,Over these very plans, you tell me, sir,With the same face, too—tell me just one thingThat ruins them! How 's this? What may this mean?Sir, who has done this?

Strafford.Is it a dream? my papers, here—

Thus, as I left them, all the plans you found

So happy—(look! the track you pressed my hand

For pointing out)—and in this very room,

Over these very plans, you tell me, sir,

With the same face, too—tell me just one thing

That ruins them! How 's this? What may this mean?

Sir, who has done this?

Cha.Strafford, who but I?You bade me put the rest away: indeedYou are alone.

Cha.Strafford, who but I?

You bade me put the rest away: indeed

You are alone.

Straf.Alone, and like to be!No fear, when some unworthy scheme grows ripe,Of those, who hatched it, leaving me to looseThe mischief on the world! Laud hatches war,Falls to his prayers, and leaves the rest to me,And I 'm alone.

Straf.Alone, and like to be!

No fear, when some unworthy scheme grows ripe,

Of those, who hatched it, leaving me to loose

The mischief on the world! Laud hatches war,

Falls to his prayers, and leaves the rest to me,

And I 'm alone.

Cha.At least, you knew as muchWhen first you undertook the war.

Cha.At least, you knew as much

When first you undertook the war.

Straf.My liege,Was this the way? I said, since Laud would lapA little blood, 't were best to hurry overThe loathsome business, not to be whole monthsAt slaughter—one blow, only one, then, peace,Save for the dreams. I said, to please you bothI 'd lead an Irish army to the West,While in the South an English ... but you lookAs though you had not told me fifty times'T was a brave plan! My army is all raised,I am prepared to join it ...

Straf.My liege,

Was this the way? I said, since Laud would lap

A little blood, 't were best to hurry over

The loathsome business, not to be whole months

At slaughter—one blow, only one, then, peace,

Save for the dreams. I said, to please you both

I 'd lead an Irish army to the West,

While in the South an English ... but you look

As though you had not told me fifty times

'T was a brave plan! My army is all raised,

I am prepared to join it ...

Cha.Hear me, Strafford!

Straf.... When, for some little thing, my whole designIs set aside—(where is the wretched paper?)I am to lead—(ay, here it is)—to leadThe English army: why? Northumberland,That I appointed, chooses to be sick—Is frightened: and, meanwhile, who answers forThe Irish Parliament? or army, either?Is this my plan?

Straf.... When, for some little thing, my whole design

Is set aside—(where is the wretched paper?)

I am to lead—(ay, here it is)—to lead

The English army: why? Northumberland,

That I appointed, chooses to be sick—

Is frightened: and, meanwhile, who answers for

The Irish Parliament? or army, either?

Is this my plan?

Cha.So disrespectful, sir?

Straf.My liege, do not believe it! I am yours,Yours ever: 't is too late to think about:To the death, yours. Elsewhere, this untoward stepShall pass for mine; the world shall think it mine.But here! But here! I am so seldom here,Seldom with you, my King! I, soon to rushAlone upon a giant in the dark!

Straf.My liege, do not believe it! I am yours,

Yours ever: 't is too late to think about:

To the death, yours. Elsewhere, this untoward step

Shall pass for mine; the world shall think it mine.

But here! But here! I am so seldom here,

Seldom with you, my King! I, soon to rush

Alone upon a giant in the dark!

Cha.My Strafford!

Straf.[Examines papers awhile.]"Seize the passes of the Tyne!"But, sir, you see—see all I say is true?My plan was sure to prosper, so, no causeTo ask the Parliament for help; whereasWe need them frightfully.

Straf.[Examines papers awhile.]"Seize the passes of the Tyne!"

But, sir, you see—see all I say is true?

My plan was sure to prosper, so, no cause

To ask the Parliament for help; whereas

We need them frightfully.

Cha.Need the Parliament?

Straf.Now, for God's sake, sir, not one error more!We can afford no error; we draw, now,Upon our last resource: the ParliamentMust help us!

Straf.Now, for God's sake, sir, not one error more!

We can afford no error; we draw, now,

Upon our last resource: the Parliament

Must help us!

Cha.I 've undone you, Strafford!

Straf.Nay—Nay—why despond, sir, 't is not come to that!I have not hurt you? Sir, what have I saidTo hurt you? I unsay it! Don't despond!Sir, do you turn from me?

Straf.Nay—

Nay—why despond, sir, 't is not come to that!

I have not hurt you? Sir, what have I said

To hurt you? I unsay it! Don't despond!

Sir, do you turn from me?

Cha.My friend of friends!

Straf.We 'll make a shift. Leave me the Parliament!Help they us ne'er so little and I 'll makeSufficient out of it. We 'll speak them fair.They 're sitting, that 's one great thing; that half givesTheir sanction to us; that 's much: don't despond!Why, let them keep their money, at the worst!The reputation of the People's helpIs all we want: we 'll make shift yet!

Straf.We 'll make a shift. Leave me the Parliament!

Help they us ne'er so little and I 'll make

Sufficient out of it. We 'll speak them fair.

They 're sitting, that 's one great thing; that half gives

Their sanction to us; that 's much: don't despond!

Why, let them keep their money, at the worst!

The reputation of the People's help

Is all we want: we 'll make shift yet!

Cha.Good Strafford!

Straf.But meantime, let the sum be ne'er so smallThey offer, we 'll accept it: any sum—For the look of it: the least grant tells the ScotsThe Parliament is ours—their stanch allyTurned ours: that told, there 's half the blow to strike!What will the grant be? What does Glanville think?

Straf.But meantime, let the sum be ne'er so small

They offer, we 'll accept it: any sum—

For the look of it: the least grant tells the Scots

The Parliament is ours—their stanch ally

Turned ours: that told, there 's half the blow to strike!

What will the grant be? What does Glanville think?

Cha.Alas!

Straf.My liege?

Cha.Strafford!

Straf.But answer me!Have they ... Oh surely not refused us half?Half the twelve subsidies? We never lookedFor all of them. How many do they give?

Straf.But answer me!

Have they ... Oh surely not refused us half?

Half the twelve subsidies? We never looked

For all of them. How many do they give?

Cha.You have not heard ...

Straf.(What has he done?)—Heard what?But speak at once, sir, this grows terrible![The King continuing silent.You have dissolved them!—I 'll not leave this man.

Straf.(What has he done?)—Heard what?

But speak at once, sir, this grows terrible!

[The King continuing silent.

You have dissolved them!—I 'll not leave this man.

Cha.'T was old Vane's ill-judged vehemence.

Straf.Old Vane?

Cha.He told them, just about to vote the half,That nothing short of all twelve subsidiesWould serve our turn, or be accepted.

Cha.He told them, just about to vote the half,

That nothing short of all twelve subsidies

Would serve our turn, or be accepted.

Straf.Vane!Vane! Who, sir, promised me, that very Vane ...O God, to have it gone, quite gone from me,The one last hope—I that despair, my hope—That I should reach his heart one day, and cureAll bitterness one day, be proud againAnd young again, care for the sunshine too,And never think of Eliot any more,—God, and to toil for this, go far for this,Get nearer, and still nearer, reach this heartAnd find Vane there![Suddenly taking up a paper, and continuing with aforced calmness.Northumberland is sick:Well, then, I take the army: Wilmot leadsThe horse, and he, with Conway, must secureThe passes of the Tyne: Ormond suppliesMy place in Ireland. Here, we 'll try the City:If they refuse a loan—debase the coinAnd seize the bullion! we 've no other choice.Herbert ...And this while I am here! with you!And there are hosts such, hosts like Vane! I go,And, I once gone, they 'll close around you, sir,When the least pique, pettiest mistrust, is sureTo ruin me—and you along with me!Do you see that? And you along with me!—Sir, you 'll not ever listen to these men,And I away, fighting your battle? Sir,If they—if She—charge me, no matter how—Say you, "At any time when he returnsHis head is mine!" Don't stop me there! You knowMy head is yours, but never stop me there!

Straf.Vane!

Vane! Who, sir, promised me, that very Vane ...

O God, to have it gone, quite gone from me,

The one last hope—I that despair, my hope—

That I should reach his heart one day, and cure

All bitterness one day, be proud again

And young again, care for the sunshine too,

And never think of Eliot any more,—

God, and to toil for this, go far for this,

Get nearer, and still nearer, reach this heart

And find Vane there!

[Suddenly taking up a paper, and continuing with aforced calmness.

Northumberland is sick:

Well, then, I take the army: Wilmot leads

The horse, and he, with Conway, must secure

The passes of the Tyne: Ormond supplies

My place in Ireland. Here, we 'll try the City:

If they refuse a loan—debase the coin

And seize the bullion! we 've no other choice.

Herbert ...

And this while I am here! with you!

And there are hosts such, hosts like Vane! I go,

And, I once gone, they 'll close around you, sir,

When the least pique, pettiest mistrust, is sure

To ruin me—and you along with me!

Do you see that? And you along with me!

—Sir, you 'll not ever listen to these men,

And I away, fighting your battle? Sir,

If they—if She—charge me, no matter how—

Say you, "At any time when he returns

His head is mine!" Don't stop me there! You know

My head is yours, but never stop me there!

Cha.Too shameful, Strafford! You advised the war,And ...

Cha.Too shameful, Strafford! You advised the war,

And ...

Straf.I! I! that was never spoken withTill it was entered on! That loathe the war!That say it is the maddest, wickedest ...Do you know, sir, I think within my heart,That you would say I did advise the war;And if, through your own weakness, or, what 's worse,These Scots, with God to help them, drive me back,You will not step between the raging PeopleAnd me, to say ...I knew it! from the firstI knew it! Never was so cold a heart!Remember that I said it—that I neverBelieved you for a moment!—And, you loved me?You thought your perfidy profoundly hidBecause I could not share the whisperingsWith Vane, with Savile? What, the face was masked?I had the heart to see, sir! Face of flesh,But heart of stone—of smooth cold frightful stone!Ay, call them! Shall I call for you? The ScotsGoaded to madness? Or the English—Pym—Shall I call Pym, your subject? Oh, you thinkI 'll leave them in the dark about it all?They shall not know you? Hampden, Pym shall not?(Pym, Hampden, Vane,etc., enter.)[Dropping on his knee.]Thus favored with your gracious countenanceWhat shall a rebel League avail againstYour servant, utterly and ever yours?So, gentlemen, the King 's not even leftThe privilege of bidding me farewellWho haste to save the People—that you styleYour People—from the mercies of the ScotsAnd France their friend?[ToCharles.]Pym's grave gray eyes are fixedUpon you, sir!Your pleasure, gentlemen.

Straf.I! I! that was never spoken with

Till it was entered on! That loathe the war!

That say it is the maddest, wickedest ...

Do you know, sir, I think within my heart,

That you would say I did advise the war;

And if, through your own weakness, or, what 's worse,

These Scots, with God to help them, drive me back,

You will not step between the raging People

And me, to say ...

I knew it! from the first

I knew it! Never was so cold a heart!

Remember that I said it—that I never

Believed you for a moment!

—And, you loved me?

You thought your perfidy profoundly hid

Because I could not share the whisperings

With Vane, with Savile? What, the face was masked?

I had the heart to see, sir! Face of flesh,

But heart of stone—of smooth cold frightful stone!

Ay, call them! Shall I call for you? The Scots

Goaded to madness? Or the English—Pym—

Shall I call Pym, your subject? Oh, you think

I 'll leave them in the dark about it all?

They shall not know you? Hampden, Pym shall not?

(Pym, Hampden, Vane,etc., enter.)

[Dropping on his knee.]Thus favored with your gracious countenance

What shall a rebel League avail against

Your servant, utterly and ever yours?

So, gentlemen, the King 's not even left

The privilege of bidding me farewell

Who haste to save the People—that you style

Your People—from the mercies of the Scots

And France their friend?

[ToCharles.]Pym's grave gray eyes are fixed

Upon you, sir!

Your pleasure, gentlemen.

Hamp.The King dissolved us— 't is the King we seekAnd not Lord Strafford.

Hamp.The King dissolved us— 't is the King we seek

And not Lord Strafford.

Straf.Strafford, guilty tooOf counselling the measure.[ToCharles.](Hush ... you know—You have forgotten—sir, I counselled it)A heinous matter, truly! But the KingWill yet see cause to thank me for a courseWhich now, perchance ... (Sir, tell them so!)—he blames.Well, choose some fitter time to make your charge:I shall be with the Scots, you understand?Then yelp at me!Meanwhile, your MajestyBinds me, by this fresh token of your trust.

Straf.Strafford, guilty too

Of counselling the measure.[ToCharles.]

(Hush ... you know—

You have forgotten—sir, I counselled it)

A heinous matter, truly! But the King

Will yet see cause to thank me for a course

Which now, perchance ... (Sir, tell them so!)—he blames.

Well, choose some fitter time to make your charge:

I shall be with the Scots, you understand?

Then yelp at me!

Meanwhile, your Majesty

Binds me, by this fresh token of your trust.

[Under the pretence of an earnest farewell,StraffordconductsCharlesto the door, in such a manner as to hide his agitation from the rest: as the King disappears, they turn as by one impulse toPym,who has not changed his original posture of surprise.

Hamp.Leave we this arrogant strong wicked man!

Vane and others.Hence, Pym! Come out of this unworthy placeTo our old room again! He 's gone.[Strafford,just about to follow the King, looks back.

Vane and others.Hence, Pym! Come out of this unworthy place

To our old room again! He 's gone.

[Strafford,just about to follow the King, looks back.

Pym.Not gone!

[ToStrafford.]Keep tryst! the old appointment 'smade anew:Forget not we shall meet again!

[ToStrafford.]Keep tryst! the old appointment 's

made anew:

Forget not we shall meet again!

Straf.So be it!And if an army follows me?

Straf.So be it!

And if an army follows me?

Vane.His friendsWill entertain your army!

Vane.His friends

Will entertain your army!

Pym.I' ll not sayYou have misreckoned, Strafford: time shows. PerishBody and spirit! Fool to feign a doubt,Pretend the scrupulous and nice reserveOf one whose prowess shall achieve the feat!What share have I in it? Do I affectTo see no dismal sign above your headWhen God suspends his ruinous thunder there?Strafford is doomed. Touch him no one of you![Pym, Hampden,etc., go out.

Pym.I' ll not say

You have misreckoned, Strafford: time shows. Perish

Body and spirit! Fool to feign a doubt,

Pretend the scrupulous and nice reserve

Of one whose prowess shall achieve the feat!

What share have I in it? Do I affect

To see no dismal sign above your head

When God suspends his ruinous thunder there?

Strafford is doomed. Touch him no one of you!

[Pym, Hampden,etc., go out.

Straf.Pym, we shall meet again!(LadyCarlisleenters.)You here, child?

Straf.Pym, we shall meet again!

(LadyCarlisleenters.)

You here, child?

Lady Car.Hush—I know it all: hush, Strafford!

Lady Car.Hush—

I know it all: hush, Strafford!

Straf.Ah! you know?Well. I shall make a sorry soldier, Lucy!All knights begin their enterprise, we read,Under the best of auspices; 't is morn,The Lady girds his sword upon the Youth(He' s always very young)—the trumpets sound,Cups pledge him, and, why, the King blesses him—You need not turn a page of the romanceTo learn the Dreadful Giant's fate. Indeed,We' ve the fair Lady here; but she apart,—A poor man, rarely having handled lance,And rather old, weary, and far from sureHis Squires are not the Giant's friends. All' s one:Let us go forth!

Straf.Ah! you know?

Well. I shall make a sorry soldier, Lucy!

All knights begin their enterprise, we read,

Under the best of auspices; 't is morn,

The Lady girds his sword upon the Youth

(He' s always very young)—the trumpets sound,

Cups pledge him, and, why, the King blesses him—

You need not turn a page of the romance

To learn the Dreadful Giant's fate. Indeed,

We' ve the fair Lady here; but she apart,—

A poor man, rarely having handled lance,

And rather old, weary, and far from sure

His Squires are not the Giant's friends. All' s one:

Let us go forth!

Lady Car.Go forth?

Straf.What matters it?We shall die gloriously—as the book says.

Straf.What matters it?

We shall die gloriously—as the book says.

Lady Car.To Scotland? not to Scotland?

Straf.Am I sickLike your good brother, brave Northumberland?Beside, these walls seem falling on me.

Straf.Am I sick

Like your good brother, brave Northumberland?

Beside, these walls seem falling on me.

Lady Car.Strafford,The wind that saps these walls can undermineYour camp in Scotland, too. Whence creeps the wind?Have you no eyes except for Pym? Look here!A breed of silken creatures lurk and thriveIn your contempt. You' ll vanquish Pym? Old VaneCan vanquish you. And Vane you think to fly?Rush on the Scots! Do nobly! Vane's slight sneerShall test success, adjust the praise, suggestThe faint result: Vane's sneer shall reach you there.—You do not listen!

Lady Car.Strafford,

The wind that saps these walls can undermine

Your camp in Scotland, too. Whence creeps the wind?

Have you no eyes except for Pym? Look here!

A breed of silken creatures lurk and thrive

In your contempt. You' ll vanquish Pym? Old Vane

Can vanquish you. And Vane you think to fly?

Rush on the Scots! Do nobly! Vane's slight sneer

Shall test success, adjust the praise, suggest

The faint result: Vane's sneer shall reach you there.

—You do not listen!

Straf.Oh,—I give that up!There' s fate in it: I give all here quite up.Care not what old Vane does or Holland doesAgainst me! 'T is so idle to withstand!In no case tell me what they do!

Straf.Oh,—I give that up!

There' s fate in it: I give all here quite up.

Care not what old Vane does or Holland does

Against me! 'T is so idle to withstand!

In no case tell me what they do!

Lady Car.But, Strafford ...

Straf.I want a little strife, beside; real strife;This petty palace-warfare does me harm:I shall feel better, fairly out of it.

Straf.I want a little strife, beside; real strife;

This petty palace-warfare does me harm:

I shall feel better, fairly out of it.

Lady Car.Why do you smile?

Straf.I got to fear them, child!I could have torn his throat at first, old Vane's,As he leered at me on his stealthy wayTo the Queen's closet. Lord, one loses heart!I often found it on my lips to say,"Do not traduce me to her!"

Straf.I got to fear them, child!

I could have torn his throat at first, old Vane's,

As he leered at me on his stealthy way

To the Queen's closet. Lord, one loses heart!

I often found it on my lips to say,

"Do not traduce me to her!"

Lady Car.But the King ...

Straf.The King stood there, 't is not so long ago,—There; and the whisper, Lucy, "Be my friendOf friends!"—My King! I would have ...

Straf.The King stood there, 't is not so long ago,

—There; and the whisper, Lucy, "Be my friend

Of friends!"—My King! I would have ...

Lady Car.... Died for him?

Straf.Sworn him true, Lucy: I can die for him.

Lady Car.But go not, Strafford! But you must renounceThis project on the Scots! Die, wherefore die?Charles never loved you.

Lady Car.But go not, Strafford! But you must renounce

This project on the Scots! Die, wherefore die?

Charles never loved you.

Straf.And he never will.He' s not of those who care the more for menThat they 're unfortunate.

Straf.And he never will.

He' s not of those who care the more for men

That they 're unfortunate.

Lady Car.Then wherefore dieFor such a master?

Lady Car.Then wherefore die

For such a master?

Straf.You that told me firstHow good he was—when I must leave true friendsTo find a truer friend!—that drew me hereFrom Ireland,—"I had but to show myself,And Charles would spurn Vane, Savile, and the rest"—You, child, to ask me this?

Straf.You that told me first

How good he was—when I must leave true friends

To find a truer friend!—that drew me here

From Ireland,—"I had but to show myself,

And Charles would spurn Vane, Savile, and the rest"—

You, child, to ask me this?

Lady Car.(If he have setHis heart abidingly on Charles!)Then, friend,I shall not see you any more.

Lady Car.(If he have set

His heart abidingly on Charles!)

Then, friend,

I shall not see you any more.

Straf.Yes, Lucy.There 's one man here I have to meet.

Straf.Yes, Lucy.

There 's one man here I have to meet.

Lady Car.(The King!What way to save him from the King?My soul—That lent from its own store the charmed disguiseWhich clothes the King—he shall behold my soul!)Strafford,—I shall speak best if you 'll not gazeUpon me: I had never thought, indeed,To speak, but you would perish too, so sure!Could you but know what 't is to bear, my friend,One image stamped within you, turning blankThe else imperial brilliance of your mind,—A weakness, but most precious,—like a flawI' the diamond, which should shape forth some sweet faceYet to create, and meanwhile treasured thereLet nature lose her gracious thought forever!

Lady Car.(The King!

What way to save him from the King?

My soul—

That lent from its own store the charmed disguise

Which clothes the King—he shall behold my soul!)

Strafford,—I shall speak best if you 'll not gaze

Upon me: I had never thought, indeed,

To speak, but you would perish too, so sure!

Could you but know what 't is to bear, my friend,

One image stamped within you, turning blank

The else imperial brilliance of your mind,—

A weakness, but most precious,—like a flaw

I' the diamond, which should shape forth some sweet face

Yet to create, and meanwhile treasured there

Let nature lose her gracious thought forever!

Straf.When could it be? no! Yet ... was it the dayWe waited in the anteroom, till HollandShould leave the presence-chamber?

Straf.When could it be? no! Yet ... was it the day

We waited in the anteroom, till Holland

Should leave the presence-chamber?

Lady Car.What?

Straf.—That IDescribed to you my love for Charles?

Straf.—That I

Described to you my love for Charles?

Lady Car.(Ah, no—One must not lure him from a love like that!Oh, let him love the King and die! 'T is past.I shall not serve him worse for that one briefAnd passionate hope, silent forever now!)And you are really bound for Scotland then?I wish you well: you must be very sureOf the King's faith, for Pym and all his crewWill not be idle—setting Vane aside!

Lady Car.(Ah, no—

One must not lure him from a love like that!

Oh, let him love the King and die! 'T is past.

I shall not serve him worse for that one brief

And passionate hope, silent forever now!)

And you are really bound for Scotland then?

I wish you well: you must be very sure

Of the King's faith, for Pym and all his crew

Will not be idle—setting Vane aside!

Straf.If Pym is busy,—you may write of Pym.

Lady Car.What need, since there 's your King to take your part?He may endure Vane's counsel; but for Pym—Think you he 'll suffer Pym to ...

Lady Car.What need, since there 's your King to take your part?

He may endure Vane's counsel; but for Pym—

Think you he 'll suffer Pym to ...

Straf.Child, your hairIs glossier than the Queen's!

Straf.Child, your hair

Is glossier than the Queen's!

Lady Car.Is that to askA curl of me?

Lady Car.Is that to ask

A curl of me?

Straf.Scotland—the weary way!

Lady Car.Stay, let me fasten it.—A rival's, Strafford?

Lady Car.Stay, let me fasten it.

—A rival's, Strafford?

Straf.[showing the George.]He hung it there: twine yours around it, child!

Lady Car.No—no—another time—I trifle so!And there 's a masque on foot. Farewell. The CourtIs dull; do something to enliven usIn Scotland: we expect it at your hands.

Lady Car.No—no—another time—I trifle so!

And there 's a masque on foot. Farewell. The Court

Is dull; do something to enliven us

In Scotland: we expect it at your hands.

Straf.I shall not fail in Scotland.

Lady Car.Prosper—ifYou 'll think of me sometimes!

Lady Car.Prosper—if

You 'll think of me sometimes!

Straf.How think of himAnd not of you? of you, the lingering streak(A golden one) in my good fortune's eve.

Straf.How think of him

And not of you? of you, the lingering streak

(A golden one) in my good fortune's eve.

Lady Car.Strafford ... Well, when the eve has its last streakThe night has its first star.[She goes out.

Lady Car.Strafford ... Well, when the eve has its last streak

The night has its first star.[She goes out.

Straf.That voice of hers—You 'd think she had a heart sometimes! His voiceIs soft too.Only God can save him now.Be Thou about his bed, about his path!His path! Where 's England's path? Diverging wide,And not to join again the track my footMust follow—whither? All that forlorn wayAmong the tombs! Far—far—till ... What, they doThen join again, these paths? For, huge in the dusk,There 's—Pym to face!Why then, I have a foeTo close with, and a fight to fight at lastWorthy my soul! What, do they beard the King,And shall the King want Strafford at his need?Am I not here?Not in the market-place,Pressed on by the rough artisans, so proudTo catch a glance from Wentworth! They lie downHungry yet smile, "Why, it must end some day:Is he not watching for our sake?" Not there!But in Whitehall, the whited sepulchre,The ...Curse nothing to-night! Only one nameThey 'll curse in all those streets to-night. Whose fault?Did I make kings? set up, the first, a manTo represent the multitude, receiveAll love in right of them—supplant them so,Until you love the man and not the king—The man with the mild voice and mournful eyesWhich send me forth.—To breast the bloody seaThat sweeps before me: with one star for guide.Night has its first, supreme, forsaken star.

Straf.That voice of hers—

You 'd think she had a heart sometimes! His voice

Is soft too.

Only God can save him now.

Be Thou about his bed, about his path!

His path! Where 's England's path? Diverging wide,

And not to join again the track my foot

Must follow—whither? All that forlorn way

Among the tombs! Far—far—till ... What, they do

Then join again, these paths? For, huge in the dusk,

There 's—Pym to face!

Why then, I have a foe

To close with, and a fight to fight at last

Worthy my soul! What, do they beard the King,

And shall the King want Strafford at his need?

Am I not here?

Not in the market-place,

Pressed on by the rough artisans, so proud

To catch a glance from Wentworth! They lie down

Hungry yet smile, "Why, it must end some day:

Is he not watching for our sake?" Not there!

But in Whitehall, the whited sepulchre,

The ...

Curse nothing to-night! Only one name

They 'll curse in all those streets to-night. Whose fault?

Did I make kings? set up, the first, a man

To represent the multitude, receive

All love in right of them—supplant them so,

Until you love the man and not the king—

The man with the mild voice and mournful eyes

Which send me forth.

—To breast the bloody sea

That sweeps before me: with one star for guide.

Night has its first, supreme, forsaken star.

Scene I.Opposite Westminster Hall.SirHenry Vane,Lord Savile,Lord Hollandand others of the Court.Sir H. Vane.The Commons thrust you out?Savile.And what kept youFrom sharing their civility?Vane.Kept me?Fresh news from Scotland, sir! worse than the last,If that may be. All 's up with Strafford there:Nothing to bar the mad Scots marching hitherNext Lord's-day morning. That detained me, sir!Well now, before they thrust you out,—go on,—Their Speaker—did the fellow Lenthal sayAll we set down for him?Holland.Not a word missed.Ere he began, we entered, Savile, IAnd Bristol and some more, with hope to breedA wholesome awe in the new Parliament.But such a gang of graceless ruffians, Vane,As glared at us!Vane.So many?Sav.Not a benchWithout its complement of burly knaves;Your hopeful son among them: Hampden leantUpon his shoulder—think of that!Vane.I 'd thinkOn Lenthal's speech, if I could get at it.Urged he, I ask, how grateful they should proveFor this unlooked-for summons from the King?Holl.Just as we drilled him.Vane.That the Scots will marchOn London?Holl.All, and made so much of it,A dozen subsidies at least seemed sureTo follow, when ...Vane.Well?Holl.'T is a strange thing now!I 've a vague memory of a sort of sound,A voice, a kind of vast unnatural voice—Pym, sir, was speaking! Savile, help me out:What was it all?Sav.Something about "a matter"—No,—"work for England."Holl."England's great revenge"He talked of.Sav.How should I get used to PymMore than yourselves?Holl.However that may be,'T was something with which we had naught to do,For we were "strangers," and 't was "England's work"—(All this while looking us straight in the face)In other words, our presence might be spared.So, in the twinkling of an eye, beforeI settled to my mind what ugly bruteWas likest Pym just then, they yelled us out,Locked the doors after us, and here are we.Vane.Eliot's old method ...Sav.Prithee, Vane, a truceTo Eliot and his times, and the great Duke,And how to manage Parliaments! 'T was youAdvised the Queen to summon this: why, Strafford(To do him justice) would not hear of it.Vane.Say rather, you have done the best of turnsTo Strafford: he 's at York, we all know why.I would you had not set the Scots on StraffordTill Strafford put down Pym for us, my lord!Sav.Was it I altered Stafford's plans? did I ...(AMessengerenters.)Mes.The Queen, my lords—she sends me: follow meAt once; 't is very urgent! she requiresYour counsel: something perilous and strangeOccasions her command.Sav.We follow, friend!Now, Vane;—your Parliament will plague us all!Vane.No Strafford here beside!Sav.If you dare hintI had a hand in his betrayal, sir ...Holl.Nay, find a fitter time for quarrels—PymWill overmatch the best of you; and, think,The Queen!Vane.Come on, then: understand, I loatheStrafford as much as any—but his use!To keep off Pym, to screen a friend or two,I would we had reserved him yet awhile.

Scene I.Opposite Westminster Hall.

SirHenry Vane,Lord Savile,Lord Hollandand others of the Court.

Sir H. Vane.The Commons thrust you out?

Savile.And what kept youFrom sharing their civility?

Savile.And what kept you

From sharing their civility?

Vane.Kept me?Fresh news from Scotland, sir! worse than the last,If that may be. All 's up with Strafford there:Nothing to bar the mad Scots marching hitherNext Lord's-day morning. That detained me, sir!Well now, before they thrust you out,—go on,—Their Speaker—did the fellow Lenthal sayAll we set down for him?

Vane.Kept me?

Fresh news from Scotland, sir! worse than the last,

If that may be. All 's up with Strafford there:

Nothing to bar the mad Scots marching hither

Next Lord's-day morning. That detained me, sir!

Well now, before they thrust you out,—go on,—

Their Speaker—did the fellow Lenthal say

All we set down for him?

Holland.Not a word missed.Ere he began, we entered, Savile, IAnd Bristol and some more, with hope to breedA wholesome awe in the new Parliament.But such a gang of graceless ruffians, Vane,As glared at us!

Holland.Not a word missed.

Ere he began, we entered, Savile, I

And Bristol and some more, with hope to breed

A wholesome awe in the new Parliament.

But such a gang of graceless ruffians, Vane,

As glared at us!

Vane.So many?

Sav.Not a benchWithout its complement of burly knaves;Your hopeful son among them: Hampden leantUpon his shoulder—think of that!

Sav.Not a bench

Without its complement of burly knaves;

Your hopeful son among them: Hampden leant

Upon his shoulder—think of that!

Vane.I 'd thinkOn Lenthal's speech, if I could get at it.Urged he, I ask, how grateful they should proveFor this unlooked-for summons from the King?

Vane.I 'd think

On Lenthal's speech, if I could get at it.

Urged he, I ask, how grateful they should prove

For this unlooked-for summons from the King?

Holl.Just as we drilled him.

Vane.That the Scots will marchOn London?

Vane.That the Scots will march

On London?

Holl.All, and made so much of it,A dozen subsidies at least seemed sureTo follow, when ...

Holl.All, and made so much of it,

A dozen subsidies at least seemed sure

To follow, when ...

Vane.Well?

Holl.'T is a strange thing now!I 've a vague memory of a sort of sound,A voice, a kind of vast unnatural voice—Pym, sir, was speaking! Savile, help me out:What was it all?

Holl.'T is a strange thing now!

I 've a vague memory of a sort of sound,

A voice, a kind of vast unnatural voice—

Pym, sir, was speaking! Savile, help me out:

What was it all?

Sav.Something about "a matter"—No,—"work for England."

Sav.Something about "a matter"—

No,—"work for England."

Holl."England's great revenge"He talked of.

Holl."England's great revenge"

He talked of.

Sav.How should I get used to PymMore than yourselves?

Sav.How should I get used to Pym

More than yourselves?

Holl.However that may be,'T was something with which we had naught to do,For we were "strangers," and 't was "England's work"—(All this while looking us straight in the face)In other words, our presence might be spared.So, in the twinkling of an eye, beforeI settled to my mind what ugly bruteWas likest Pym just then, they yelled us out,Locked the doors after us, and here are we.

Holl.However that may be,

'T was something with which we had naught to do,

For we were "strangers," and 't was "England's work"—

(All this while looking us straight in the face)

In other words, our presence might be spared.

So, in the twinkling of an eye, before

I settled to my mind what ugly brute

Was likest Pym just then, they yelled us out,

Locked the doors after us, and here are we.

Vane.Eliot's old method ...

Sav.Prithee, Vane, a truceTo Eliot and his times, and the great Duke,And how to manage Parliaments! 'T was youAdvised the Queen to summon this: why, Strafford(To do him justice) would not hear of it.

Sav.Prithee, Vane, a truce

To Eliot and his times, and the great Duke,

And how to manage Parliaments! 'T was you

Advised the Queen to summon this: why, Strafford

(To do him justice) would not hear of it.

Vane.Say rather, you have done the best of turnsTo Strafford: he 's at York, we all know why.I would you had not set the Scots on StraffordTill Strafford put down Pym for us, my lord!

Vane.Say rather, you have done the best of turns

To Strafford: he 's at York, we all know why.

I would you had not set the Scots on Strafford

Till Strafford put down Pym for us, my lord!

Sav.Was it I altered Stafford's plans? did I ...

(AMessengerenters.)

Mes.The Queen, my lords—she sends me: follow meAt once; 't is very urgent! she requiresYour counsel: something perilous and strangeOccasions her command.

Mes.The Queen, my lords—she sends me: follow me

At once; 't is very urgent! she requires

Your counsel: something perilous and strange

Occasions her command.

Sav.We follow, friend!Now, Vane;—your Parliament will plague us all!

Sav.We follow, friend!

Now, Vane;—your Parliament will plague us all!

Vane.No Strafford here beside!

Sav.If you dare hintI had a hand in his betrayal, sir ...

Sav.If you dare hint

I had a hand in his betrayal, sir ...

Holl.Nay, find a fitter time for quarrels—PymWill overmatch the best of you; and, think,The Queen!

Holl.Nay, find a fitter time for quarrels—Pym

Will overmatch the best of you; and, think,

The Queen!

Vane.Come on, then: understand, I loatheStrafford as much as any—but his use!To keep off Pym, to screen a friend or two,I would we had reserved him yet awhile.

Vane.Come on, then: understand, I loathe

Strafford as much as any—but his use!

To keep off Pym, to screen a friend or two,

I would we had reserved him yet awhile.

Scene II.Whitehall.

TheQueenandLadyCarlisle.Queen.It cannot be.Lady Car.It is so.Queen.Why, the HouseHave hardly met.Lady Car.They met for that.Queen.No, no!Meet to impeach Lord Strafford? 'T is a jest.Lady Car.A bitter one.Queen.Consider! 'T is the HouseWe summoned so reluctantly, which nothingBut the disastrous issue of the warPersuaded us to summon. They 'll wreak allTheir spite on us, no doubt; but the old wayIs to begin by talk of grievances:They have their grievances to busy them.Lady Car.Pym has begun his speech.Queen.Where 's Vane?—That is,Pym will impeach Lord Strafford if he leavesHis Presidency; he 's at York, we know,Since the Scots beat him: why should he leave York?Lady Car.Because the King sent for him.Queen.Ah—but ifThe King did send for him, he let him knowWe had been forced to call a Parliament—A step which Strafford, now I come to think,Was vehement against.Lady Car.The policyEscaped him, of first striking ParliamentsTo earth, then setting them upon their feetAnd giving them a sword: but this is idle.Did the King send for Strafford? He will come.Queen.And what am I to do?Lady Car.What do? Fail, madam!Be ruined for his sake! what matters how,So it but stand on record that you madeAn effort, only one?Queen.The King awayAt Theobald's!Lady Car.Send for him at once: he mustDissolve the House.Queen.Wait till Vane finds the truthOf the report: then ...Lady Car.—It will matter littleWhat the King does. Strafford that lends his armAnd breaks his heart for you!(Sir H.Vaneenters.)Vane.The Commons, madam,Are sitting with closed doors. A huge debate,No lack of noise; but nothing, I should guess,Concerning Strafford: Pym has certainlyNot spoken yet.Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]You hear?Lady Car.I do not hearThat the King 's sent for!Vane.Savile will be ableTo tell you more.(Hollandenters.)Queen.The last news, Holland?Holl.PymIs raging like a fire. The whole House meansTo follow him together to WhitehallAnd force the King to give up Strafford.Queen.Strafford?Holl.If they content themselves with Strafford! LaudIs talked of, Cottington and Windebank too.Pym has not left out one of them—I wouldYou heard Pym raging!Queen.Vane, go find the King!Tell the King, Vane, the People follow PymTo brave us at Whitehall!(Savileenters.)Sav.Not to Whitehall—'T is to the Lords they go: they seek redressOn Strafford from his peers—the legal way,They call it.Queen.(Wait, Vane!)Sav.But the adage givesLong life to threatened men. Strafford can saveHimself so readily: at York, remember,In his own county: what has he to fear?The Commons only mean to frighten himFrom leaving York. Surely, he will not come.Queen.Lucy, he will not come!Lady Car.Once more, the KingHas sent for Strafford. He will come.Vane.Oh doubtless!And bring destruction with him: that 's his way.What but his coming spoilt all Conway's plan?The King must take his counsel, choose his friends,Be wholly ruled by him! What 's the result?The North that was to rise, Ireland to help,—What came of it? In my poor mind, a frightIs no prodigious punishment.Lady Car.A fright?Pym will fail worse than Strafford if he thinksTo frighten him.[To theQueen.]You will not save him then?Sav.When something like a charge is made, the KingWill best know how to save him: and 't is clear,While Strafford suffers nothing by the matter,The King may reap advantage: this in question,No dinning you with ship-money complaints!Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]If we dissolve them, who will pay the army?Protect us from the insolent Scots?Lady Car.In truth,I know not, madam. Strafford's fate concernsMe little: you desired to learn what courseWould save him: I obey you.Vane.Notice, too,There can't be fairer ground for taking fullRevenge—(Strafford 's revengeful)—than he 'll haveAgainst his old friend Pym.Queen.Why, he shall claimVengeance on Pym!Vane.And Strafford, who is heTo 'scape unscathed amid the accidentsThat harass all beside? I, for my part,Should look for something of discomfitureHad the King trusted me so thoroughlyAnd been so paid for it.Holl.He 'll keep at York:All will blow over: he 'll return no worse,Humbled a little, thankful for a placeUnder as good a man. Oh, we 'll dispenseWith seeing Strafford for a month or two!(Straffordenters.)Queen.You here!Straf.The King sends for me, madam.Queen.Sir,The King ...Straf.An urgent matter that imports the King![ToLadyCarlisle.]Why, Lucy, what 's in agitation now,That all this muttering and shrugging, see,Begins at me? They do not speak!Lady Car.'Tis welcome!For we are proud of you—happy and proudTo have you with us, Strafford! You were stanchAt Durham: you did well there! Had you notBeen stayed, you might have ... we said, even now,Our hope 's in you!Vane.[ToLadyCarlisle.]The Queen would speak with you.Straf.Will one of you, his servants here, vouchsafeTo signify my presence to the King?Sav.An urgent matter?Straf.None that touches you,Lord Savile! Say, it were some treacherousSly pitiful intriguing with the Scots—You would go free, at least! (They half divineMy purpose!) Madam, shall I see the King?The service I would render, much concernsHis welfare.Queen.But his Majesty, my lord,May not be here, may ...Straf.Its importance, then,Must plead excuse for this withdrawal, madam,And for the grief it gives Lord Savile here.Queen.[Who has been conversing withVaneandHolland.]The King will see you, sir![ToLadyCarlisle.]Mark me: Pym's worstIs done by now: he has impeached the Earl,Or found the Earl too strong for him, by now.Let us not seem instructed! We should workNo good to Strafford, but deform ourselvesWith shame in the world's eye.[ToStrafford.]His MajestyHas much to say with you.Straf.Time fleeting, too![ToLadyCarlisle.]No means of getting them away? And She—What does she whisper? Does she know my purpose?What does she think of it? Get them away!Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]He comes to baffle Pym—he thinks the dangerFar off: tell him no word of it! a timeFor help will come: we 'll not be wanting then.Keep him in play, Lucy—you, self-possessedAnd calm![ToStrafford.]To spare your lordship some delayI will myself acquaint the King.[ToLady Carlisle.]Beware![TheQueen,Vane,Holland,andSavilego out.Straf.She knows it?Lady Car.Tell me, Strafford!Straf.Afterward!This moment 's the great moment of all time.She knows my purpose?Lady Car.Thoroughly: just nowShe bade me hide it from you.Straf.Quick, dear child,The whole o' the scheme?Lady Car.(Ah, he would learn if theyConnive at Pym's procedure! Could they butHave once apprised the King! But there 's no timeFor falsehood, now.) Strafford, the whole is known.Straf.Known and approved?Lady Car.Hardly discountenanced.Straf.And the King—say, the King consents as well?Lady Car.The King 's not yet informed, but will not dareTo interpose.Straf.What need to wait him, then?He 'll sanction it! I stayed, child, tell him, long!It vexed me to the soul—this waiting here.You know him, there 's no counting on the King.Tell him I waited long!Lady Car.(What can he mean?Rejoice at the King's hollowness?)Straf.I knewThey would be glad of it,—all over once,I knew they would be glad: but he 'd contrive,The Queen and he, to mar, by helping it,An angel's making.Lady Car.(Is he mad?) Dear Strafford,You were not wont to look so happy.Straf.Sweet,I tried obedience thoroughly. I tookThe King's wild plan: of course, ere I could reachMy army, Conway ruined it. I drewThe wrecks together, raised all heaven and earth,And would have fought the Scots: the King at onceMade truce with them. Then, Lucy, then, dear child,God put it in my mind to love, serve, dieFor Charles, but never to obey him more!While he endured their insolence at RiponI fell on them at Durham. But you 'll tellThe King I waited? All the anteroomIs filled with my adherents.Lady Car.Strafford—Strafford,What daring act is this you hint?Straf.No, no!'T is here, not daring if you knew? all here![Drawing papers from his breast.Full proof; see, ample proof—does the Queen knowI have such damning proof? Bedford and Essex,Brooke, Warwick, Savile (did you notice Savile?The simper that I spoilt?), Saye, Mandeville—Sold to the Scots, body and soul, by Pym!Lady Car.Great heaven!Straf.From Savile and his lords, to PymAnd his losels, crushed!—Pym shall not ward the blowNor Savile creep aside from it! The CrewAnd the Cabal—I crush them!Lady Car.And you go—Strafford,—and now you go?Straf.—About no workIn the background, I promise you! I goStraight to the House of Lords to claim these knaves.Mainwaring!Lady Car.Stay—stay, Strafford!Straf.She 'll return,The Queen—some little project of her own!No time to lose: the King takes fright perhaps.Lady Car.Pym 's strong, remember!Straf.Very strong, as fitsThe Faction's head—with no offence to Hampden,Vane, Rudyard, and my loving Hollis: oneAnd all they lodge within the Tower to-nightIn just equality. Bryan! Mainwaring![Many of his Adherents enter.The Peers debate just now (a lucky chance)On the Scots' war: my visit 's opportune.When all is over, Bryan, you proceedTo Ireland: these dispatches, mark me, Bryan,Are for the Deputy, and these for Ormond:We want the army here—my army, raisedAt such a cost, that should have done such good,And was inactive all the time! no matter,We 'll find a use for it. Willis ... or, no—you!You, friend, make haste to York: bear this, at once ...Or,—better stay for form's sake, see yourselfThe news you carry. You remain with meTo execute the Parliament's command,Mainwaring! Help to seize these lesser knaves,Take care there 's no escaping at backdoors:I 'll not have one escape, mind me—not one!I seem revengeful, Lucy? Did you knowWhat these men dare!Lady Car.It is so much they dare!Straf.I proved that long ago; my turn is now.Keep sharp watch, Goring, on the citizens!Observe who harbors any of the broodThat scramble off: be sure they smart for it!Our coffers are but lean.And you, child, too,Shall have your task; deliver this to Laud.Laud will not be the slowest in my praise:"Thorough," he 'll cry!—Foolish, to be so glad!This life is gay and glowing, after all:'T is worth while, Lucy, having foes like mineJust for the bliss of crushing them. To-dayIs worth the living for.Lady Car.That reddening brow!You seem ...Straf.Well—do I not? I would be well—I could not but be well on such a day!And, this day ended, 't is of slight importHow long the ravaged frame subjects the soulIn Strafford.Lady Car.Noble Strafford!Straf.No farewell!I 'll see you anon, to-morrow—the first thing.—If She should come to stay me!Lady Car.Go—'t is nothing—Only my heart that swells: it has been thusEre now: go, Strafford!Straf.To-night, then, let it be.I must see Him: you, the next after Him.I 'll tell you how Pym looked. Follow me, friends!You, gentlemen, shall see a sight this hourTo talk of all your lives. Close after me!"My friend of friends!"[Straffordand the rest go out.Lady Car.The King—ever the King!No thought of one beside, whose little wordUnveils the King to him—one word from me,Which yet I do not breathe!Ah, have I sparedStrafford a pang, and shall I seek rewardBeyond that memory? Surely too, some wayHe is the better for my love. No, no—He would not look so joyous—I 'll believeHis very eye would never sparkle thus,Had I not prayed for him this long, long while.

TheQueenandLadyCarlisle.

Queen.It cannot be.

Lady Car.It is so.

Queen.Why, the HouseHave hardly met.

Queen.Why, the House

Have hardly met.

Lady Car.They met for that.

Queen.No, no!Meet to impeach Lord Strafford? 'T is a jest.

Queen.No, no!

Meet to impeach Lord Strafford? 'T is a jest.

Lady Car.A bitter one.

Queen.Consider! 'T is the HouseWe summoned so reluctantly, which nothingBut the disastrous issue of the warPersuaded us to summon. They 'll wreak allTheir spite on us, no doubt; but the old wayIs to begin by talk of grievances:They have their grievances to busy them.

Queen.Consider! 'T is the House

We summoned so reluctantly, which nothing

But the disastrous issue of the war

Persuaded us to summon. They 'll wreak all

Their spite on us, no doubt; but the old way

Is to begin by talk of grievances:

They have their grievances to busy them.

Lady Car.Pym has begun his speech.

Queen.Where 's Vane?—That is,Pym will impeach Lord Strafford if he leavesHis Presidency; he 's at York, we know,Since the Scots beat him: why should he leave York?

Queen.Where 's Vane?—That is,

Pym will impeach Lord Strafford if he leaves

His Presidency; he 's at York, we know,

Since the Scots beat him: why should he leave York?

Lady Car.Because the King sent for him.

Queen.Ah—but ifThe King did send for him, he let him knowWe had been forced to call a Parliament—A step which Strafford, now I come to think,Was vehement against.

Queen.Ah—but if

The King did send for him, he let him know

We had been forced to call a Parliament—

A step which Strafford, now I come to think,

Was vehement against.

Lady Car.The policyEscaped him, of first striking ParliamentsTo earth, then setting them upon their feetAnd giving them a sword: but this is idle.Did the King send for Strafford? He will come.

Lady Car.The policy

Escaped him, of first striking Parliaments

To earth, then setting them upon their feet

And giving them a sword: but this is idle.

Did the King send for Strafford? He will come.

Queen.And what am I to do?

Lady Car.What do? Fail, madam!Be ruined for his sake! what matters how,So it but stand on record that you madeAn effort, only one?

Lady Car.What do? Fail, madam!

Be ruined for his sake! what matters how,

So it but stand on record that you made

An effort, only one?

Queen.The King awayAt Theobald's!

Queen.The King away

At Theobald's!

Lady Car.Send for him at once: he mustDissolve the House.

Lady Car.Send for him at once: he must

Dissolve the House.

Queen.Wait till Vane finds the truthOf the report: then ...

Queen.Wait till Vane finds the truth

Of the report: then ...

Lady Car.—It will matter littleWhat the King does. Strafford that lends his armAnd breaks his heart for you!

Lady Car.—It will matter little

What the King does. Strafford that lends his arm

And breaks his heart for you!

(Sir H.Vaneenters.)

Vane.The Commons, madam,Are sitting with closed doors. A huge debate,No lack of noise; but nothing, I should guess,Concerning Strafford: Pym has certainlyNot spoken yet.

Vane.The Commons, madam,

Are sitting with closed doors. A huge debate,

No lack of noise; but nothing, I should guess,

Concerning Strafford: Pym has certainly

Not spoken yet.

Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]You hear?

Lady Car.I do not hearThat the King 's sent for!

Lady Car.I do not hear

That the King 's sent for!

Vane.Savile will be ableTo tell you more.

Vane.Savile will be able

To tell you more.

(Hollandenters.)

Queen.The last news, Holland?

Holl.PymIs raging like a fire. The whole House meansTo follow him together to WhitehallAnd force the King to give up Strafford.

Holl.Pym

Is raging like a fire. The whole House means

To follow him together to Whitehall

And force the King to give up Strafford.

Queen.Strafford?

Holl.If they content themselves with Strafford! LaudIs talked of, Cottington and Windebank too.Pym has not left out one of them—I wouldYou heard Pym raging!

Holl.If they content themselves with Strafford! Laud

Is talked of, Cottington and Windebank too.

Pym has not left out one of them—I would

You heard Pym raging!

Queen.Vane, go find the King!Tell the King, Vane, the People follow PymTo brave us at Whitehall!

Queen.Vane, go find the King!

Tell the King, Vane, the People follow Pym

To brave us at Whitehall!

(Savileenters.)

Sav.Not to Whitehall—'T is to the Lords they go: they seek redressOn Strafford from his peers—the legal way,They call it.

Sav.Not to Whitehall—

'T is to the Lords they go: they seek redress

On Strafford from his peers—the legal way,

They call it.

Queen.(Wait, Vane!)

Sav.But the adage givesLong life to threatened men. Strafford can saveHimself so readily: at York, remember,In his own county: what has he to fear?The Commons only mean to frighten himFrom leaving York. Surely, he will not come.

Sav.But the adage gives

Long life to threatened men. Strafford can save

Himself so readily: at York, remember,

In his own county: what has he to fear?

The Commons only mean to frighten him

From leaving York. Surely, he will not come.

Queen.Lucy, he will not come!

Lady Car.Once more, the KingHas sent for Strafford. He will come.

Lady Car.Once more, the King

Has sent for Strafford. He will come.

Vane.Oh doubtless!And bring destruction with him: that 's his way.What but his coming spoilt all Conway's plan?The King must take his counsel, choose his friends,Be wholly ruled by him! What 's the result?The North that was to rise, Ireland to help,—What came of it? In my poor mind, a frightIs no prodigious punishment.

Vane.Oh doubtless!

And bring destruction with him: that 's his way.

What but his coming spoilt all Conway's plan?

The King must take his counsel, choose his friends,

Be wholly ruled by him! What 's the result?

The North that was to rise, Ireland to help,—

What came of it? In my poor mind, a fright

Is no prodigious punishment.

Lady Car.A fright?Pym will fail worse than Strafford if he thinksTo frighten him.[To theQueen.]You will not save him then?

Lady Car.A fright?

Pym will fail worse than Strafford if he thinks

To frighten him.[To theQueen.]You will not save him then?

Sav.When something like a charge is made, the KingWill best know how to save him: and 't is clear,While Strafford suffers nothing by the matter,The King may reap advantage: this in question,No dinning you with ship-money complaints!

Sav.When something like a charge is made, the King

Will best know how to save him: and 't is clear,

While Strafford suffers nothing by the matter,

The King may reap advantage: this in question,

No dinning you with ship-money complaints!

Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]If we dissolve them, who will pay the army?Protect us from the insolent Scots?

Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]If we dissolve them, who will pay the army?

Protect us from the insolent Scots?

Lady Car.In truth,I know not, madam. Strafford's fate concernsMe little: you desired to learn what courseWould save him: I obey you.

Lady Car.In truth,

I know not, madam. Strafford's fate concerns

Me little: you desired to learn what course

Would save him: I obey you.

Vane.Notice, too,There can't be fairer ground for taking fullRevenge—(Strafford 's revengeful)—than he 'll haveAgainst his old friend Pym.

Vane.Notice, too,

There can't be fairer ground for taking full

Revenge—(Strafford 's revengeful)—than he 'll have

Against his old friend Pym.

Queen.Why, he shall claimVengeance on Pym!

Queen.Why, he shall claim

Vengeance on Pym!

Vane.And Strafford, who is heTo 'scape unscathed amid the accidentsThat harass all beside? I, for my part,Should look for something of discomfitureHad the King trusted me so thoroughlyAnd been so paid for it.

Vane.And Strafford, who is he

To 'scape unscathed amid the accidents

That harass all beside? I, for my part,

Should look for something of discomfiture

Had the King trusted me so thoroughly

And been so paid for it.

Holl.He 'll keep at York:All will blow over: he 'll return no worse,Humbled a little, thankful for a placeUnder as good a man. Oh, we 'll dispenseWith seeing Strafford for a month or two!

Holl.He 'll keep at York:

All will blow over: he 'll return no worse,

Humbled a little, thankful for a place

Under as good a man. Oh, we 'll dispense

With seeing Strafford for a month or two!

(Straffordenters.)

Queen.You here!

Straf.The King sends for me, madam.

Queen.Sir,The King ...

Queen.Sir,

The King ...

Straf.An urgent matter that imports the King![ToLadyCarlisle.]Why, Lucy, what 's in agitation now,That all this muttering and shrugging, see,Begins at me? They do not speak!

Straf.An urgent matter that imports the King!

[ToLadyCarlisle.]Why, Lucy, what 's in agitation now,

That all this muttering and shrugging, see,

Begins at me? They do not speak!

Lady Car.'Tis welcome!For we are proud of you—happy and proudTo have you with us, Strafford! You were stanchAt Durham: you did well there! Had you notBeen stayed, you might have ... we said, even now,Our hope 's in you!

Lady Car.'Tis welcome!

For we are proud of you—happy and proud

To have you with us, Strafford! You were stanch

At Durham: you did well there! Had you not

Been stayed, you might have ... we said, even now,

Our hope 's in you!

Vane.[ToLadyCarlisle.]The Queen would speak with you.

Straf.Will one of you, his servants here, vouchsafeTo signify my presence to the King?

Straf.Will one of you, his servants here, vouchsafe

To signify my presence to the King?

Sav.An urgent matter?

Straf.None that touches you,Lord Savile! Say, it were some treacherousSly pitiful intriguing with the Scots—You would go free, at least! (They half divineMy purpose!) Madam, shall I see the King?The service I would render, much concernsHis welfare.

Straf.None that touches you,

Lord Savile! Say, it were some treacherous

Sly pitiful intriguing with the Scots—

You would go free, at least! (They half divine

My purpose!) Madam, shall I see the King?

The service I would render, much concerns

His welfare.

Queen.But his Majesty, my lord,May not be here, may ...

Queen.But his Majesty, my lord,

May not be here, may ...

Straf.Its importance, then,Must plead excuse for this withdrawal, madam,And for the grief it gives Lord Savile here.

Straf.Its importance, then,

Must plead excuse for this withdrawal, madam,

And for the grief it gives Lord Savile here.

Queen.[Who has been conversing withVaneandHolland.]The King will see you, sir![ToLadyCarlisle.]Mark me: Pym's worstIs done by now: he has impeached the Earl,Or found the Earl too strong for him, by now.Let us not seem instructed! We should workNo good to Strafford, but deform ourselvesWith shame in the world's eye.[ToStrafford.]His MajestyHas much to say with you.

Queen.[Who has been conversing withVaneandHolland.]The King will see you, sir!

[ToLadyCarlisle.]Mark me: Pym's worst

Is done by now: he has impeached the Earl,

Or found the Earl too strong for him, by now.

Let us not seem instructed! We should work

No good to Strafford, but deform ourselves

With shame in the world's eye.[ToStrafford.]His Majesty

Has much to say with you.

Straf.Time fleeting, too![ToLadyCarlisle.]No means of getting them away? And She—What does she whisper? Does she know my purpose?What does she think of it? Get them away!

Straf.Time fleeting, too!

[ToLadyCarlisle.]No means of getting them away? And She—

What does she whisper? Does she know my purpose?

What does she think of it? Get them away!

Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]He comes to baffle Pym—he thinks the dangerFar off: tell him no word of it! a timeFor help will come: we 'll not be wanting then.Keep him in play, Lucy—you, self-possessedAnd calm![ToStrafford.]To spare your lordship some delayI will myself acquaint the King.[ToLady Carlisle.]Beware!

Queen.[ToLadyCarlisle.]He comes to baffle Pym—he thinks the danger

Far off: tell him no word of it! a time

For help will come: we 'll not be wanting then.

Keep him in play, Lucy—you, self-possessed

And calm![ToStrafford.]To spare your lordship some delay

I will myself acquaint the King.[ToLady Carlisle.]Beware!

[TheQueen,Vane,Holland,andSavilego out.

Straf.She knows it?

Lady Car.Tell me, Strafford!

Straf.Afterward!This moment 's the great moment of all time.She knows my purpose?

Straf.Afterward!

This moment 's the great moment of all time.

She knows my purpose?

Lady Car.Thoroughly: just nowShe bade me hide it from you.

Lady Car.Thoroughly: just now

She bade me hide it from you.

Straf.Quick, dear child,The whole o' the scheme?

Straf.Quick, dear child,

The whole o' the scheme?

Lady Car.(Ah, he would learn if theyConnive at Pym's procedure! Could they butHave once apprised the King! But there 's no timeFor falsehood, now.) Strafford, the whole is known.

Lady Car.(Ah, he would learn if they

Connive at Pym's procedure! Could they but

Have once apprised the King! But there 's no time

For falsehood, now.) Strafford, the whole is known.

Straf.Known and approved?

Lady Car.Hardly discountenanced.

Straf.And the King—say, the King consents as well?

Lady Car.The King 's not yet informed, but will not dareTo interpose.

Lady Car.The King 's not yet informed, but will not dare

To interpose.

Straf.What need to wait him, then?He 'll sanction it! I stayed, child, tell him, long!It vexed me to the soul—this waiting here.You know him, there 's no counting on the King.Tell him I waited long!

Straf.What need to wait him, then?

He 'll sanction it! I stayed, child, tell him, long!

It vexed me to the soul—this waiting here.

You know him, there 's no counting on the King.

Tell him I waited long!

Lady Car.(What can he mean?Rejoice at the King's hollowness?)

Lady Car.(What can he mean?

Rejoice at the King's hollowness?)

Straf.I knewThey would be glad of it,—all over once,I knew they would be glad: but he 'd contrive,The Queen and he, to mar, by helping it,An angel's making.

Straf.I knew

They would be glad of it,—all over once,

I knew they would be glad: but he 'd contrive,

The Queen and he, to mar, by helping it,

An angel's making.

Lady Car.(Is he mad?) Dear Strafford,You were not wont to look so happy.

Lady Car.(Is he mad?) Dear Strafford,

You were not wont to look so happy.

Straf.Sweet,I tried obedience thoroughly. I tookThe King's wild plan: of course, ere I could reachMy army, Conway ruined it. I drewThe wrecks together, raised all heaven and earth,And would have fought the Scots: the King at onceMade truce with them. Then, Lucy, then, dear child,God put it in my mind to love, serve, dieFor Charles, but never to obey him more!While he endured their insolence at RiponI fell on them at Durham. But you 'll tellThe King I waited? All the anteroomIs filled with my adherents.

Straf.Sweet,

I tried obedience thoroughly. I took

The King's wild plan: of course, ere I could reach

My army, Conway ruined it. I drew

The wrecks together, raised all heaven and earth,

And would have fought the Scots: the King at once

Made truce with them. Then, Lucy, then, dear child,

God put it in my mind to love, serve, die

For Charles, but never to obey him more!

While he endured their insolence at Ripon

I fell on them at Durham. But you 'll tell

The King I waited? All the anteroom

Is filled with my adherents.

Lady Car.Strafford—Strafford,What daring act is this you hint?

Lady Car.Strafford—Strafford,

What daring act is this you hint?

Straf.No, no!'T is here, not daring if you knew? all here![Drawing papers from his breast.Full proof; see, ample proof—does the Queen knowI have such damning proof? Bedford and Essex,Brooke, Warwick, Savile (did you notice Savile?The simper that I spoilt?), Saye, Mandeville—Sold to the Scots, body and soul, by Pym!

Straf.No, no!

'T is here, not daring if you knew? all here!

[Drawing papers from his breast.

Full proof; see, ample proof—does the Queen know

I have such damning proof? Bedford and Essex,

Brooke, Warwick, Savile (did you notice Savile?

The simper that I spoilt?), Saye, Mandeville—

Sold to the Scots, body and soul, by Pym!

Lady Car.Great heaven!

Straf.From Savile and his lords, to PymAnd his losels, crushed!—Pym shall not ward the blowNor Savile creep aside from it! The CrewAnd the Cabal—I crush them!

Straf.From Savile and his lords, to Pym

And his losels, crushed!—Pym shall not ward the blow

Nor Savile creep aside from it! The Crew

And the Cabal—I crush them!

Lady Car.And you go—Strafford,—and now you go?

Lady Car.And you go—

Strafford,—and now you go?

Straf.—About no workIn the background, I promise you! I goStraight to the House of Lords to claim these knaves.Mainwaring!

Straf.—About no work

In the background, I promise you! I go

Straight to the House of Lords to claim these knaves.

Mainwaring!

Lady Car.Stay—stay, Strafford!

Straf.She 'll return,The Queen—some little project of her own!No time to lose: the King takes fright perhaps.

Straf.She 'll return,

The Queen—some little project of her own!

No time to lose: the King takes fright perhaps.

Lady Car.Pym 's strong, remember!

Straf.Very strong, as fitsThe Faction's head—with no offence to Hampden,Vane, Rudyard, and my loving Hollis: oneAnd all they lodge within the Tower to-nightIn just equality. Bryan! Mainwaring![Many of his Adherents enter.The Peers debate just now (a lucky chance)On the Scots' war: my visit 's opportune.When all is over, Bryan, you proceedTo Ireland: these dispatches, mark me, Bryan,Are for the Deputy, and these for Ormond:We want the army here—my army, raisedAt such a cost, that should have done such good,And was inactive all the time! no matter,We 'll find a use for it. Willis ... or, no—you!You, friend, make haste to York: bear this, at once ...Or,—better stay for form's sake, see yourselfThe news you carry. You remain with meTo execute the Parliament's command,Mainwaring! Help to seize these lesser knaves,Take care there 's no escaping at backdoors:I 'll not have one escape, mind me—not one!I seem revengeful, Lucy? Did you knowWhat these men dare!

Straf.Very strong, as fits

The Faction's head—with no offence to Hampden,

Vane, Rudyard, and my loving Hollis: one

And all they lodge within the Tower to-night

In just equality. Bryan! Mainwaring!

[Many of his Adherents enter.

The Peers debate just now (a lucky chance)

On the Scots' war: my visit 's opportune.

When all is over, Bryan, you proceed

To Ireland: these dispatches, mark me, Bryan,

Are for the Deputy, and these for Ormond:

We want the army here—my army, raised

At such a cost, that should have done such good,

And was inactive all the time! no matter,

We 'll find a use for it. Willis ... or, no—you!

You, friend, make haste to York: bear this, at once ...

Or,—better stay for form's sake, see yourself

The news you carry. You remain with me

To execute the Parliament's command,

Mainwaring! Help to seize these lesser knaves,

Take care there 's no escaping at backdoors:

I 'll not have one escape, mind me—not one!

I seem revengeful, Lucy? Did you know

What these men dare!

Lady Car.It is so much they dare!

Straf.I proved that long ago; my turn is now.Keep sharp watch, Goring, on the citizens!Observe who harbors any of the broodThat scramble off: be sure they smart for it!Our coffers are but lean.And you, child, too,Shall have your task; deliver this to Laud.Laud will not be the slowest in my praise:"Thorough," he 'll cry!—Foolish, to be so glad!This life is gay and glowing, after all:'T is worth while, Lucy, having foes like mineJust for the bliss of crushing them. To-dayIs worth the living for.

Straf.I proved that long ago; my turn is now.

Keep sharp watch, Goring, on the citizens!

Observe who harbors any of the brood

That scramble off: be sure they smart for it!

Our coffers are but lean.

And you, child, too,

Shall have your task; deliver this to Laud.

Laud will not be the slowest in my praise:

"Thorough," he 'll cry!—Foolish, to be so glad!

This life is gay and glowing, after all:

'T is worth while, Lucy, having foes like mine

Just for the bliss of crushing them. To-day

Is worth the living for.

Lady Car.That reddening brow!You seem ...

Lady Car.That reddening brow!

You seem ...

Straf.Well—do I not? I would be well—I could not but be well on such a day!And, this day ended, 't is of slight importHow long the ravaged frame subjects the soulIn Strafford.

Straf.Well—do I not? I would be well—

I could not but be well on such a day!

And, this day ended, 't is of slight import

How long the ravaged frame subjects the soul

In Strafford.

Lady Car.Noble Strafford!

Straf.No farewell!I 'll see you anon, to-morrow—the first thing.—If She should come to stay me!

Straf.No farewell!

I 'll see you anon, to-morrow—the first thing.

—If She should come to stay me!

Lady Car.Go—'t is nothing—Only my heart that swells: it has been thusEre now: go, Strafford!

Lady Car.Go—'t is nothing—

Only my heart that swells: it has been thus

Ere now: go, Strafford!

Straf.To-night, then, let it be.I must see Him: you, the next after Him.I 'll tell you how Pym looked. Follow me, friends!You, gentlemen, shall see a sight this hourTo talk of all your lives. Close after me!"My friend of friends!"[Straffordand the rest go out.

Straf.To-night, then, let it be.

I must see Him: you, the next after Him.

I 'll tell you how Pym looked. Follow me, friends!

You, gentlemen, shall see a sight this hour

To talk of all your lives. Close after me!

"My friend of friends!"

[Straffordand the rest go out.

Lady Car.The King—ever the King!No thought of one beside, whose little wordUnveils the King to him—one word from me,Which yet I do not breathe!Ah, have I sparedStrafford a pang, and shall I seek rewardBeyond that memory? Surely too, some wayHe is the better for my love. No, no—He would not look so joyous—I 'll believeHis very eye would never sparkle thus,Had I not prayed for him this long, long while.

Lady Car.The King—ever the King!

No thought of one beside, whose little word

Unveils the King to him—one word from me,

Which yet I do not breathe!

Ah, have I spared

Strafford a pang, and shall I seek reward

Beyond that memory? Surely too, some way

He is the better for my love. No, no—

He would not look so joyous—I 'll believe

His very eye would never sparkle thus,

Had I not prayed for him this long, long while.

Scene III.The Antechamber of the House of Lords.

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