SCENE VII.

To these enter ILLO and TERZKY.TERZKY.Our luck is on the turn. To-morrow comeThe Swedes—twelve thousand gallant warriors, Illo!Then straightwise for Vienna. Cheerily, friend!What! meet such news with such a moody face?ILLO.It lies with us at present to prescribeLaws, and take vengeance on those worthless traitorsThose skulking cowards that deserted us;One has already done his bitter penance,The Piccolomini: be his the fateOf all who wish us evil! This flies sureTo the old man's heart; he has his whole life longFretted and toiled to raise his ancient houseFrom a count's title to the name of prince;And now must seek a grave for his only son.BUTLER.'Twas pity, though! A youth of such heroicAnd gentle temperament! The duke himself,'Twas easily seen, how near it went to his heart.ILLO.Hark ye, old friend! That is the very pointThat never pleased me in our general—He ever gave the preference to the Italians.Yea, at this very moment, by my soul!He'd gladly see us all dead ten times over,Could he thereby recall his friend to life.TERZKY.Hush, hush! Let the dead rest! This evening's businessIs, who can fairly drink the other down—Your regiment, Illo! gives the entertainment.Come! we will keep a merry carnivalThe night for once be day, and 'mid full glassesWill we expect the Swedish avant-garde.ILLO.Yes, let us be of good cheer for to-day,For there's hot work before us, friends! This swordShall have no rest till it is bathed to the hiltIn Austrian blood.GORDON.Shame, shame! what talk is this,My lord field-marshal? Wherefore foam you soAgainst your emperor?BUTLER.Hope not too muchFrom this first victory. Bethink you, sirs!How rapidly the wheel of fortune turns;The emperor still is formidably strong.ILLO.The emperor has soldiers, no commander,For this King Ferdinand of HungaryIs but a tyro. Gallas? He's no luck,And was of old the ruiner of armies.And then this viper, this Octavio,Is excellent at stabbing in the back,But ne'er meets Friedland in the open field.TERZKY.Trust me, my friends, it cannot but succeed;Fortune, we know, can ne'er forsake the duke!—And only under Wallenstein can AustriaBe conqueror.ILLO.The duke will soon assembleA mighty army: all come crowding, streamingTo banners, dedicate by destinyTo fame, and prosperous fortune. I beholdOld times come back again! he will becomeOnce more the mighty lord which he has been.How will the fools, who've how deserted him,Look then? I can't but laugh to think of them,For lands will he present to all his friends,And like a king and emperor rewardTrue services; but we've the nearest claims.[To GORDON.You will not be forgotten, governor!He'll take from you this nest, and bid you shineIn higher station: your fidelityWell merits it.GORDON.I am content already,And wish to climb no higher; where great height is,The fall must needy be great. "Great height, great depth."ILLO.Here you have no more business, for to-morrowThe Swedes will take possession of the citadel.Come, Terzky, it is supper-time. What think you?Nay, shall we have the town illuminatedIn honor of the Swede? And who refusesTo do it is a Spaniard and a traitor.TERZKY.Nay! nay! not that, it will not please the duke——ILLO.What; we are masters here; no soul shall dareAvow himself imperial where we've the rule.Gordon! good-night, and for the last time takeA fair leave of the place. Send out patrolsTo make secure, the watchword may be altered.At the stroke of ten deliver in the keysTo the duke himself, and then you've quit foreverYour wardship of the gates, for on to-morrowThe Swedes will take possession of the citadel.TERZKY (as he is going, to BUTLER).You come, though, to the castle?BUTLER.At the right time.[Exeunt TERZKY and ILLO.

GORDON and BUTLER.GORDON (looking after them).Unhappy men! How free from all forebodingThey rush into the outspread net of murderIn the blind drunkenness of victory;I have no pity for their fate. This Illo,This overflowing and foolhardy villain,That would fain bathe himself in his emperor's blood.BUTLER.Do as he ordered you. Send round patrols,Take measures for the citadel's security;When they are within I close the castle-gateThat nothing may transpire.GORDON (with earnest anxiety).Oh! haste not so!Nay, stop; first tell me——BUTLER.You have heard already,To-morrow to the Swedes belongs. This nightAlone is ours. They make good expedition.But we will make still greater. Fare you well.GORDON.Ah! your looks tell me nothing good. Nay, Butler,I pray you promise me!BUTLER.The sun has set;A fateful evening doth descend upon us,And brings on their long night! Their evil starsDeliver them unarmed into our hands,And from their drunken dream of golden fortunesThe dagger at their hearts shall rouse them. Well,The duke was ever a great calculator;His fellow-men were figures on his chess-boardTo move and station, as his game required.Other men's honor, dignity, good name,Did he shift like pawns, and made no conscience ofStill calculating, calculating still;And yet at last his calculation provesErroneous; the whole game is lost; and low!His own life will be found among the forfeits.GORDON.Oh, think not of his errors now! rememberHis greatness, his munificence; think on allThe lovely features of his character,On all the noble exploits of his life,And let them, like an angel's arm, unseen,Arrest the lifted sword.BUTLER.It is too late.I suffer not myself to feel compassion,Dark thoughts and bloody are my duty now.[Grasping GORDON's hand.Gordon! 'tis not my hatred (I pretend notTo love the duke, and have no cause to love him).Yet 'tis not now my hatred that impels meTo be his murderer. 'Tis his evil fate.Hostile occurrences of many eventsControl and subjugate me to the office.In vain the human being meditatesFree action. He is but the wire-worked8puppetOf the blind Power, which, out of its own choice,Creates for him a dread necessity.What too would it avail him if there wereA something pleading for him in my heart—Still I must kill him.GORDON.If your heart speak to youFollow its impulse. 'Tis the voice of God.Think you your fortunes will grow prosperousBedewed with blood—his blood? Believe it not!BUTLER.You know not. Ask not! Wherefore should it happenThat the Swedes gained the victory, and hastenWith such forced marches hitherwards? Fain would IHave given him to the emperor's mercy. Gordon!I do not wish his blood,—but I must ransomThe honor of my word,—it lies in pledge—And he must die, or——[Passionately grasping GORDON's hand.Listen, then, and knowI am dishonored if the duke escape us.GORDON.Oh! to save such a man——BUTLER.What!GORDON.It is worthA sacrifice. Come, friend! Be noble-minded!Our own heart, and not other men's opinions,Forms our true honor.BUTLER (with a cold and haughty air).He is a great lord,This duke, and I am of but mean importance.This is what you would say! Wherein concerns itThe world at large, you mean to hint to me,Whether the man of low extraction keepsOr blemishes his honor—So that the man of princely rank be saved?We all do stamp our value on ourselves:The price we challenge for ourselves is given us.There does not live on earth the man so stationedThat I despise myself compared with him.Man is made great or little by his own will;Because I am true to mine therefore he dies!GORDON.I am endeavoring to move a rock.Thou hadst a mother, yet no human feelings.I cannot hinder you, but may some GodRescue him from you![Exit GORDON.BUTLER9(alone).I treasured my good name all my life long;The duke has cheated me of life's best jewel,So that I blush before this poor weak Gordon!He prizes above all his fealty;His conscious soul accuses him of nothing;In opposition to his own soft heartHe subjugates himself to an iron duty.Me in a weaker moment passion warped;I stand beside him, and must feel myselfThe worst man of the two. What though the worldIs ignorant of my purposed treason, yetOne man does know it, and can prove it, too—High-minded Piccolomini!There lives the man who can dishonor me!This ignominy blood alone can cleanse!Duke Friedland, thou or I. Into my own handsFortune delivers me. The dearest thing a man has is himself.

[A gothic and gloomy apartment at the DUCHESS FRIEDLAND's.THEKLA on a seat, pale, her eyes closed. The DUCHESS and LADYNEUBRUNN busied about her. WALLENSTEIN and the COUNTESS inconversation.WALLENSTEIN.How knew she it so soon?COUNTESS.She seems to haveForeboded some misfortune. The reportOf an engagement, in which had fallenA colonel of the imperial army, frightened her.I saw it instantly. She flew to meetThe Swedish courier, and with sudden questioning,Soon wrested from him the disastrous secret.Too late we missed her, hastened after her,We found her lying in his arms, all pale,And in a swoon.WALLENSTEIN.A heavy, heavy blow!And she so unprepared! Poor child! how is it?[Turning to the DUCHESS.Is she coming to herself?DUCHESS.Her eyes are opening——COUNTESS.She lives!THEKLA (looking around her).Where am I?WALLENSTEIN (steps to her, raising her up in his arms).Come, cheerly, Thekla! be my own brave girl!See, there's thy loving mother. Thou art inThy father's arms.THEKLA (standing up).Where is he? Is he gone?DUCHESS.Who gone, my daughter?THEKLA.He—the man who utteredThat word of misery.DUCHESS.Oh, think not of it!My Thekla!WALLENSTEIN.Give her sorrow leave to talk!Let her complain—mingle your tears with hers,For she hath suffered a deep anguish; butShe'll rise superior to it, for my TheklaHath all her father's unsubdued heart.THEKLA.I am not ill. See, I have power to stand.Why does my mother weep? Have I alarmed her?It is gone by—I recollect myself.[She casts her eyes round the room, as seeking some one.Where is he? Please you, do not hide him from me.You see I have strength enough: now I will hear him.DUCHESS.No; never shall this messenger of evilEnter again into thy presence, Thekla!THEKLA.My father——WALLENSTEIN.Dearest daughter!THEKLA.I'm not weak.Shortly I shall be quite myself again.You'll grant me one request?WALLENSTEIN.Name it, my daughter.THEKLA.Permit the stranger to be called to me,And grant me leave, that by myself I mayHear his report and question him.DUCHESS.No, never!COUNTESS.'Tis not advisable—assent not to it.WALLENSTEIN.Hush! Wherefore wouldst thou speak with him, my daughter?THEKLA.Knowing the whole, I shall be more collected;I will not be deceived. My mother wishesOnly to spare me. I will not be spared—The worst is said already: I can hearNothing of deeper anguish!COUNTESS and DUCHESS.Do it not.THEKLA.The horror overpowered me by surprise,My heart betrayed me in the stranger's presence:He was a witness of my weakness, yea,I sank into his arms; and that has shamed me.I must replace myself in his esteem,And I must speak with him, perforce, that he,The stranger, may not think ungently of me.WALLENSTEIN.I see she is in the right, and am inclinedTo grant her this request of hers. Go, call him.[LADY NEUBRUNN goes to call him.DUCHESS.But I, thy mother, will be present——THEKLA.'TwereMore pleasing to me if alone I saw him;Trust me, I shall behave myself the moreCollectedly.WALLENSTEIN.Permit her her own will.Leave her alone with him: for there are sorrows,Where of necessity the soul must beIts own support. A strong heart will relyOn its own strength alone. In her own bosom,Not in her mother's arms, must she collectThe strength to rise superior to this blow.It is mine own brave girl. I'll have her treatedNot as the woman, but the heroine.[Going.COUNTESS (detaining him).Where art thou going? I heard Terzky sayThat 'tis thy purpose to depart from henceTo-morrow early, but to leave us here.WALLENSTEIN.Yes, ye stay here, placed under the protectionOf gallant men.COUNTESS.Oh, take us with you, brother.Leave us not in this gloomy solitude.To brood o'er anxious thoughts. The mists of doubtMagnify evils to a shape of horror.WALLENSTEIN.Who speaks of evil? I entreat you, sister,Use words of better omen.COUNTESS.Then take us with you.Oh leave us not behind you in a placeThat forces us to such sad omens. HeavyAnd sick within me is my heart—These walls breathe on me like a churchyard vault.I cannot tell you, brother, how this placeDoth go against my nature. Take us with you.Come, sister, join you your entreaty! Niece,Yours too. We all entreat you, take us with you!WALLENSTEIN.The place's evil omens will I change,Making it that which shields and shelters for meMy best beloved.LADY NEUBRUNN (returning).The Swedish officer.WALLENSTEIN.Leave her alone with me.DUCHESS (to THEKLA, who starts and shivers).There—pale as death! Child, 'tis impossibleThat thou shouldst speak with him. Follow thy mother.THEKLA.The Lady Neubrunn then may stay with me.[Exeunt DUCHESS and COUNTESS.

THEKLA, THE SWEDISH CAPTAIN, LADY NEUBRUNN.CAPTAIN (respectfully approaching her).Princess—I must entreat your gentle pardon—My inconsiderate rash speech. How could!——THEKLA (with dignity).You have beheld me in my agony.A most distressful accident occasionedYou from a stranger to become at onceMy confidant.CAPTAIN.I fear you hate my presence,For my tongue spake a melancholy word.THEKLA.The fault is mine. Myself did wrest it from you.The horror which came o'er me interruptedYour tale at its commencement. May it please you,Continue it to the end.CAPTAIN.Princess, 'twillRenew your anguish.THEKLA.I am firm,—I will be firm. Well—how began the engagement?CAPTAIN.We lay, expecting no attack, at Neustadt,Intrenched but insecurely in our camp,When towards evening rose a cloud of dustFrom the wood thitherward; our vanguard fledInto the camp, and sounded the alarm.Scarce had we mounted ere the Pappenheimers,Their horses at full speed, broke through the lines,And leaped the trenches; but their heedless courageHad borne them onward far before the others—The infantry were still at distance, onlyThe Pappenheimers followed daringlyTheir daring leader——[THEKLA betrays agitation in her gestures. The officer pausestill she makes a sign to him to proceed.

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CAPTAIN.Both in van and flanksWith our whole cavalry we now received them;Back to the trenches drove them, where the footStretched out a solid ridge of pikes to meet them.They neither could advance, nor yet retreat;And as they stood on every side wedged in,The Rhinegrave to their leader called aloud,Inviting a surrender; but their leader,Young Piccolomini——[THEKLA, as giddy, grasps a chair.Known by his plume,And his long hair, gave signal for the trenches;Himself leaped first: the regiment all plunged after.His charger, by a halbert gored, reared up,Flung him with violence off, and over himThe horses, now no longer to be curbed,——[THEKLA, who has accompanied the last speech with allthe marks of increasing agony, trembles through her wholeframe and is falling. The LADY NEUBRUNN runs to her, andreceives her in her arms.NEUBRUNN.My dearest lady!CAPTAIN.I retire.THERLA.'Tis over.Proceed to the conclusion.CAPTAIN.Wild despairInspired the troops with frenzy when they sawTheir leader perish; every thought of rescueWas spurned; they fought like wounded tigers; theirFrantic resistance roused our soldiery;A murderous fight took place, nor was the contestFinished before their last man fell.THEKLA (faltering).And where—Where is—you have not told me all.CAPTAIN (after a pause).This morningWe buried him. Twelve youths of noblest birthDid bear him to interment; the whole armyFollowed the bier. A laurel decked his coffin;The sword of the deceased was placed upon it,In mark of honor by the Rhinegrave's self,Nor tears were wanting; for there are among usMany, who had themselves experiencedThe greatness of his mind and gentle manners;All were affected at his fate. The RhinegraveWould willingly have saved him; but himselfMade vain the attempt—'tis said he wished to die.NEUBRUNN (to THEKLA, who has hidden her countenance).Look up, my dearest lady——THEKLA.Where is his grave?CAPTAIN.At Neustadt, lady; in a cloister churchAre his remains deposited, untilWe can receive directions from his father.THEKLA.What is the cloister's name?CAPTAIN.Saint Catherine's.THEKLA.And how far is it thither?CAPTAIN.Near twelve leagues.THEKLA.And which the way?CAPTAIN.You go by TirschenreutAnd Falkenberg, through our advanced posts.THEKLAWhoIs their commander?CAPTAIN.Colonel Seckendorf.[THEKLA steps to the table, and takes a ring from a casket.THEKLA.You have beheld me in my agony,And shown a feeling heart. Please you, accept[Giving him the ring.A small memorial of this hour. Now go!CAPTAIN (confusedly).Princess——[THEKLA silently makes signs to him to go, and turns from him.The captain lingers, and is about to speak. LADY NEUBRUNN repeatsthe signal, and he retires.

THEKLA, LADY NEUBRUNN.THEKLA (falls on LADY NEUBRUNN's neck).Now gentle Neubrunn, show me the affectionWhich thou hast ever promised—prove thyselfMy own true friend and faithful fellow-pilgrim.This night we must away!NEUBRUNN.Away! and whither?THEKLA.Whither! There is but one place in the world.Thither, where he lies buried! To his coffin!NEUBRUNN.What would you do there?THEKLA.What do there?That wouldst thou not have asked, hadst thou e'er loved.There, that is all that still remains of him!That single spot is the whole earth to me.NEUBRUNN.That place of death——THEKLA.Is now the only placeWhere life yet dwells for me: detain me not!Come and make preparations; let us thinkOf means to fly from hence.NEUBRUNN.Your father's rageTHEKLA.That time is past—And now I fear no human being's rage.NEUBRUNN.The sentence of the world! The tongue of calumny!THEKLA.Whom am I seeking? Him who is no more.Am I then hastening to the arms—O God!I haste—but to the grave of the beloved.NEUBRUNN.And we alone, two helpless, feeble women?THEKLA.We will take weapons: my arm shall protect thee.NEUBRUNN.In the dark night-time?THEKLA.Darkness will conceal us.NEUBRUNN.This rough tempestuous night——THEKLA.Had he a soft bedUnder the hoofs of his war-horses?NEUBRUNN.Heaven!And then the many posts of the enemy!THEKLA.They are human beings. Misery travels freeThrough the whole earth.NEUBRUNN.The journey's weary length——THEKLA.The pilgrim, travelling to a distant shrineOf hope and healing doth not count the leagues.NEUBRUNN.How can we pass the gates?THEKLA.Gold opens them.Go, do but go.NEUBRUNN.Should we be recognized——THEKLA.In a despairing woman, a poor fugitive,Will no one seek the daughter of Duke Friedland.NEUBRUNN.And where procure we horses for our flight?THEKLA.My equerry procures them. Go and fetch him.NEUBRUNN.Dares he, without the knowledge of his lord?THEKLA.He will. Go, only go. Delay no longer.NEUBRUNN.Dear lady! and your mother?THEKLA.Oh! my mother!NEUBRUNN.So much as she has suffered too already;Your tender mother. Ah! how ill preparedFor this last anguish!THEKLA.Woe is me! My mother![Pauses.Go instantly.NEUBRUNN.But think what you are doing!THEKLA.What can be thought, already has been thought.NEUBRUNN.And being there, what purpose you to do?THEKLA.There a divinity will prompt my soul.NEUBRUNN.Your heart, dear lady, is disquieted!And this is not the way that leads to quiet.THEKLA.To a deep quiet, such as he has found,It draws me on, I know not what to name it,Resistless does it draw me to his grave.There will my heart be eased, my tears will flow.Oh hasten, make no further questioning!There is no rest for me till I have leftThese walls—they fall in on me—a dim powerDrives me from hence—oh mercy! What a feeling!What pale and hollow forms are those! They fill,They crowd the place! I have no longer room here!Mercy! Still more! More still! The hideous swarm,They press on me; they chase me from these walls—Those hollow, bodiless forms of living men!NEUBRUNN.You frighten me so, lady, that no longerI dare stay here myself. I go and callRosenberg instantly.[Exit LADY NEUBRUNN.

THEKLA.His spirit 'tis that calls me: 'tis the troopOf his true followers, who offered upThemselves to avenge his death: and they accuse meOf an ignoble loitering—they would notForsake their leader even in his death; they died for him,And shall I live?For me too was that laurel garland twinedThat decks his bier. Life is an empty casket:I throw it from me. Oh, my only hope;To die beneath the hoofs of trampling steeds—That is a lot of heroes upon earth

THEKLA, LADY NEUBRUNN, and ROSENBERG.NEUBRUNN.He is here, lady, and he will procure them.THEKLA.Wilt thou provide us horses, Rosenberg?ROSENBERG.I will, my lady.THEKLA.And go with us as well?ROSENBERG.To the world's end, my lady.THEKLA.But consider,Thou never canst return unto the duke.ROSENBERG.I will remain with thee.THEKLA.I will reward thee.And will commend thee to another master.Canst thou unseen conduct us from the castle?ROSENBERG.I can.THEKLA.When can I go?ROSENBERG.This very hour.But whither would you, lady?THEKLA.To—Tell him, Neubrunn.NEUBRUNN.To Neustadt.ROSENBERG.So; I leave you to get ready.[Exit.NEUBRUNN.Oh, see, your mother comes.THEKLA.Indeed! O Heaven!

THEKLA, LADY NEUBRUNN, the DUCHESS.DUCHESS.He's gone! I find thee more composed, my child.THEKLA.I am so, mother; let me only nowRetire to rest, and Neubrunn here be with me.I want repose.DUCHESS.My Thekla, thou shalt have it.I leave thee now consoled, since I can calmThy father's heart.THEKLA.Good night, beloved mother!(Falling on her neck and embracing her with deep emotion).DUCHESS.Thou scarcely art composed e'en now, my daughter.Thou tremblest strongly, and I feel thy heartBeat audibly on mine.THEKLA.Sleep will appeaseIts beating: now good-night, good-night, dear mother.(As she withdraws from her mother's arms the curtain falls).

Butler's Chamber.BUTLER, and MAJOR GERALDIN.BUTLER.Find me twelve strong dragoons, arm them with pikesFor there must be no firing—Conceal them somewhere near the banquet-room,And soon as the dessert is served up, rush all inAnd cry—"Who is loyal to the emperor?"I will overturn the table—while you attackIllo and Terzky, and despatch them both.The castle-palace is well barred and guarded,That no intelligence of this proceedingMay make its way to the duke. Go instantly;Have you yet sent for Captain DevereuxAnd the Macdonald?GERALDIN.They'll be here anon.[Exit GERALDIN.BUTLER.Here's no room for delay. The citizensDeclare for him—a dizzy drunken spiritPossesses the whole town. They see in the dukeA prince of peace, a founder of new agesAnd golden times. Arms, too, have been given outBy the town-council, and a hundred citizensHave volunteered themselves to stand on guard.Despatch! then, be the word; for enemiesThreaten us from without and from within.

BUTLER, CAPTAIN DEVEREUX, and MACDONALD.MACDONALD.Here we are, general.DEVEREUX.What's to be the watchword?BUTLER.Long live the emperor!BOTH (recoiling).How?BUTLER.Live the house of Austria.DEVEREUX.Have we not sworn fidelity to Friedland?MACDONALD.Have we not marched to this place to protect him?BUTLER.Protect a traitor and his country's enemy?DEVEREUX.Why, yes! in his name you administeredOur oath.MACDONALD.And followed him yourself to Egra.BUTLER.I did it the more surely to destroy him.DEVEREUX.So then!MACDONALD.An altered case!BUTLER (to DEVEREUX).Thou wretched manSo easily leavest thou thy oath and colors?DEVEREUX.The devil! I but followed your example;If you could prove a villain, why not we?MACDONALD.We've naught to do with thinking—that's your business.You are our general, and give out the orders;We follow you, though the track lead to hell.BUTLER (appeased).Good, then! we know each other.MACDONALD.I should hope so.DEVEREUX.Soldiers of fortune are we—who bids mostHe has us.MACDONALD.'Tis e'en so!BUTLER.Well, for the presentYou must remain honest and faithful soldiers.DEVEREUX.We wish no other.BUTLER.Ay, and make your fortunes.MACDONALD.That is still better.BUTLER.Listen!BOTH.We attend.BUTLER.It is the emperor's will and ordinanceTo seize the person of the Prince-Duke FriedlandAlive or dead.DEVEREUX.It runs so in the letter.MACDONALD.Alive or dead—these were the very words.BUTLER.And he shall be rewarded from the stateIn land and gold who proffers aid thereto.DEVEREUX.Ay! that sounds well. The words sound always wellThat travel hither from the court. Yes! yes!We know already what court-words import.A golden chain perhaps in sign of favor,Or an old charger, or a parchment-patent,And such like. The prince-duke pays better.MACDONALD.Yes,The duke's a splendid paymaster.BUTLER.All overWith that, my friends. His lucky stars are set.MACDONALD.And is that certain?BUTLER.You have my word for it.DEVEREUX.His lucky fortune's all passed by?BUTLER.Forever.He is as poor as we.MACDONALD.As poor as we?DEVEREUX.Macdonald, we'll desert him.BUTLER.We'll desert him?Full twenty thousand have done that already;We must do more, my countrymen! In short—We—we must kill him.BOTH (starting back)Kill him!BUTLER.Yes, must kill him;And for that purpose have I chosen you.BOTH.Us!BUTLER.You, Captain Devereux, and thee, Macdonald.DEVEREUX (after a pause).Choose you some other.BUTLER.What! art dastardly?Thou, with full thirty lives to answer for—Thou conscientious of a sudden?DEVEREUX.NayTo assassinate our lord and general——MACDONALD.To whom we swore a soldier's oath——BUTLER.The oathIs null, for Friedland is a traitor.DEVEREUX.No, no! it is too bad!MACDONALD.Yes, by my soul!It is too bad. One has a conscience too——DEVEREUX.If it were not our chieftain, who so longHas issued the commands, and claimed our duty——BUTLER.Is that the objection?DEVEREUX.Were it my own father,And the emperor's service should demand it of me,It might be done perhaps—but we are soldiers,And to assassinate our chief commander,That is a sin, a foul abomination,From which no monk or confessor absolves us.BUTLER.I am your pope, and give you absolution.Determine quickly!DEVEREUX.'Twill not do.MACDONALD.'Twont do!BUTLER.Well, off then! and—send Pestalutz to me.DEVEREUX (hesitates).The Pestalutz——MACDONALD.What may you want with him?BUTLER.If you reject it, we can find enough——DEVEREUX.Nay, if he must fall, we may earn the bountyAs well as any other. What think you,Brother Macdonald?MACDONALD.Why, if he must fall,And will fall, and it can't be otherwise,One would not give place to this Pestalutz.DEVEREUX (after some reflection).When do you purpose he should fall?BUTLER.This night.To-morrow will the Swedes be at our gates.DEVEREUX.You take upon you all the consequences?BUTLER.I take the whole upon me.DEVEREUX.And it isThe emperor's will, his express absolute will?For we have instances that folks may likeThe murder, and yet hang the murderer.BUTLER.The manifesto says—"alive or dead."Alive—'tis not possible—you see it is not.DEVEREUX.Well, dead then! dead! But how can we come at him.The town is filled with Terzky's soldiery.MACDONALD.Ay! and then Terzky still remains, and Illo——BUTLER.With these you shall begin—you understand me?DEVEREUX.How! And must they too perish?BUTLER.They the first.MACDONALD.Hear, Devereux! A bloody evening this.DEVEREUX.Have you a man for that? Commission me——BUTLER.'Tis given in trust to Major Geraldin;This is a carnival night, and there's a feastGiven at the castle—there we shall surprise them,And hew them down. The Pestalutz and LesleyHave that commission. Soon as that is finished——DEVEREUX.Hear, general! It will be all one to you—Hark ye, let me exchange with Geraldin.BUTLER.'Twill be the lesser danger with the duke.DEVEREUX.Danger! The devil! What do you think me, general,'Tis the duke's eye, and not his sword, I fear.BUTLER.What can his eye do to thee?DEVEREUX.Death and hell!Thou knowest that I'm no milksop, general!But 'tis not eight days since the duke did send meTwenty gold pieces for this good warm coatWhich I have on! and then for him to see meStanding before him with the pike, his murderer.That eye of his looking upon this coat—Why—why—the devil fetch me! I'm no milksop!BUTLER.The duke presented thee this good warm coat,And thou, a needy wight, hast pangs of conscienceTo run him through the body in return,A coat that is far better and far warmerDid the emperor give to him, the prince's mantle.How doth he thank the emperor? With revoltAnd treason.DEVEREUX.That is true. The devil takeSuch thankers! I'll despatch him.BUTLER.And would'st quietThy conscience, thou hast naught to do but simplyPull off the coat; so canst thou do the deedWith light heart and good spirits.DEVEREUX.You are right,That did not strike me. I'll pull off the coat—So there's an end of it.MACDONALD.Yes, but there's anotherPoint to be thought of.BUTLER.And what's that, Macdonald?MACDONALD.What avails sword or dagger against him?He is not to be wounded—he is——BUTLER (starting up).What!MACDONALD.Safe against shot, and stab, and flash! Hard frozen.Secured and warranted by the black artHis body is impenetrable, I tell you.DEVEREUX.In Ingolstadt there was just such another:His whole skin was the same as steel; at lastWe were obliged to beat him down with gunstocks.MACDONALD.Hear what I'll do.DEVEREUX.Well.MACDONALD.In the cloister hereThere's a Dominican, my countryman.I'll make him dip my sword and pike for meIn holy water, and say over themOne of his strongest blessings. That's probatum!Nothing can stand 'gainst that.BUTLER.So do, Macdonald!But now go and select from out the regimentTwenty or thirty able-bodied fellows,And let them take the oaths to the emperor.Then when it strikes eleven, when the first roundsAre passed, conduct them silently as may beTo the house. I will myself be not far off.DEVEREUX.But how do we get through Hartschier and Gordon,That stand on guard there in the inner chamber?BUTLER.I have made myself acquainted with the place,I lead you through a back door that's defendedBy one man only. Me my rank and officeGive access to the duke at every hour.I'll go before you—with one poinard-strokeCut Hartschier's windpipe, and make way for you.DEVEREUX.And when we are there, by what means shall we gainThe duke's bed-chamber, without his alarmingThe servants of the court? for he has hereA numerous company of followers.BUTLER.The attendants fill the right wing: he hates bustle,And lodges in the left wing quite alone.DEVEREUX.Were it well over—hey, Macdonald! IFeel queerly on the occasion, devil knows.MACDONALD.And I, too. 'Tis too great a personage.People will hold us for a brace of villains.BUTLER.In plenty, honor, splendor—you may safelyLaugh at the people's babble.DEVEREUX.If the businessSquares with one's honor—if that be quite certain.BUTLER.Set your hearts quite at ease. Ye save for FerdinandHis crown and empire. The reward can beNo small one.DEVEREUX.And 'tis his purpose to dethrone the emperor?BUTLER.Yes! Yes! to rob him of his crown and life.DEVEREUX.And must he fall by the executioner's hands,Should we deliver him up to the emperorAlive?BUTLER.It were his certain destiny.DEVEREUX.Well! Well! Come then, Macdonald, he shall notLie long in pain.[Exeunt BUTLER through one door, MACDONALD and DEVEREUXthrough the other.

A saloon, terminated by a gallery, which extends farinto the background.WALLENSTIN sitting at a table. The SWEDISH CAPTAINstanding before him.WALLENSTEIN.Commend me to your lord. I sympathizeIn his good fortune; and if you have seen meDeficient in the expressions of that joy,Which such a victory might well demand,Attribute it to no lack of good-will,For henceforth are our fortunes one. Farewell,And for your trouble take my thanks. To-morrowThe citadel shall be surrendered to youOn your arrival.[The SWEDISH CAPTAIN retires. WALLENSTEIN sits lost in thought,his eyes fixed vacantly, and his head sustained by his hand. TheCOUNTESS TERZKY enters, stands before him for awhile, unobservedby him; at length he starts, sees her and recollects himself.WALLENSTEIN.Comest thou from her? Is she restored? How is she?COUNTESS.My sister tells me she was more collectedAfter her conversation with the Swede.She has now retired to rest.WALLENSTEIN.The pang will softenShe will shed tears.COUNTESS.I find thee altered, too,My brother! After such a victoryI had expected to have found in theeA cheerful spirit. Oh, remain thou firm!Sustain, uphold us! For our light thou art,Our sun.WALLENSTEIN.Be quiet. I ail nothing. Where'sThy husband?COUNTESS.At a banquet—he and Illo.WALLENSTEIN (rises and strides across the saloon).The night's far spent. Betake thee to thy chamber.COUNTESS.Bid me not go, oh, let me stay with thee!WALLENSTEIN (moves to the window).There is a busy motion in the heaven,The wind doth chase the flag upon the tower,Fast sweep the clouds, the sickle11of the moon,Struggling, darts snatches of uncertain light.No form of star is visible! That oneWhite stain of light, that single glimmering yonder,Is from Cassiopeia, and thereinIs Jupiter. (A pause.) But nowThe blackness of the troubled element hides him![He sinks into profound melancholy, and looks vacantlyinto the distance.COUNTESS (looks on him mournfully, then grasps his hand).What art thou brooding on?WALLENSTEIN.MethinksIf I but saw him, 'twould be well with me.He is the star of my nativity,And often marvellously hath his aspectShot strength into my heart.COUNTESS.Thou'lt see him again.WALLENSTEIN (remains for awhile with absent mind, then assumes a liveliermanner, and turning suddenly to the COUNTESS).See him again? Oh, never, never again!COUNTESS.How?WALLENSTEIN.He is gone—is dust.COUNTESS.Whom meanest thou, then?WALLENSTEIN.He, the more fortunate! yea, he hath finished!For him there is no longer any future,His life is bright—bright without spot it was,And cannot cease to be. No ominous hourKnocks at his door with tidings of mishap,Far off is he, above desire and fear;No more submitted to the change and chanceOf the unsteady planets. Oh, 'tis wellWith him! but who knows what the coming hourVeiled in thick darkness brings us?COUNTESS.Thou speakest of Piccolomini. What was his death?The courier had just left thee as I came.[WALLENSTEIN by a motion of his hand makes signs to herto be silent.Turn not thine eyes upon the backward view,Let us look forward into sunny days,Welcome with joyous heart the victory,Forget what it has cost thee. Not to-day,For the first time, thy friend was to thee dead;To thee he died when first he parted from thee.WALLENSTEIN.This anguish will be wearied down12, I know;What pang is permanent with man? From the highest,As from the vilest thing of every day,He learns to wean himself: for the strong hoursConquer him. Yet I feel what I have lostIn him. The bloom is vanished from my life,For oh, he stood beside me, like my youth,Transformed for me the real to a dream,Clothing the palpable and the familiarWith golden exhalations of the dawn,Whatever fortunes wait my future toils,The beautiful is vanished—and returns not.COUNTESS.Oh, be not treacherous to thy own power.Thy heart is rich enough to vivifyItself. Thou lovest and prizest virtues in him,The which thyself didst plant, thyself unfold.WALLENSTEIN (stepping to the door).Who interrupts us now at this late hour?It is the governor. He brings the keysOf the citadel. 'Tis midnight. Leave me, sister!COUNTESS.Oh, 'tis so hard to me this night to leave thee;A boding fear possesses me!WALLENSTEIN.Fear! Wherefore?COUNTESS.Shouldst thou depart this night, and we at wakingNever more find thee!WALLENSTEIN.Fancies!COUNTESS.Oh, my soulHas long been weighed down by these dark forebodings,And if I combat and repel them waking,They still crush down upon my heart in dreams,I saw thee, yesternight with thy first wifeSit at a banquet, gorgeously attired.WALLENSTHIN.This was a dream of favorable omen,That marriage being the founder of my fortunes.COUNTESS.To-day I dreamed that I was seeking theeIn thy own chamber. As I entered, lo!It was no more a chamber: the ChartreuseAt Gitschin 'twas, which thou thyself hast founded,And where it is thy will that thou shouldst beInterred.WALLENSTEIN.Thy soul is busy with these thoughts.COUNTESS.What! dost thou not believe that oft in dreamsA voice of warning speaks prophetic to us?WALLENSTEIN.There is no doubt that there exist such voices,Yet I would not call themVoices of warning that announce to usOnly the inevitable. As the sun,Ere it is risen, sometimes paints its imageIn the atmosphere, so often do the spiritsOf great events stride on before the events,And in to-day already walks to-morrow.That which we read of the fourth Henry's deathDid ever vex and haunt me like a taleOf my own future destiny. The kingFelt in his breast the phantom of the knifeLong ere Ravaillac armed himself therewith.His quiet mind forsook him; the phantasmaStarted him in his Louvre, chased him forthInto the open air; like funeral knellsSounded that coronation festival;And still with boding sense he heard the treadOf those feet that even then were seeking himThroughout the streets of Paris.COUNTESS.And to theeThe voice within thy soul bodes nothing?WALLENSTEIN.Nothing.Be wholly tranquil.COUNTESS.And another timeI hastened after thee, and thou rann'st from meThrough a long suite, through many a spacious hall.There seemed no end of it; doors creaked and clapped;I followed panting, but could not overtake thee;When on a sudden did I feel myselfGrasped from behind,—the hand was cold that grasped me;'Twas thou, and thou didst kiss me, and there seemedA crimson covering to envelop us.WALLENSTEIN.That is the crimson tapestry of my chamber.COUNTESS (gazing on him).If it should come to that—if I should see thee,Who standest now before me in the fulnessOf life——[She falls on his breast and weeps.WALLENSTEIN.The emperor's proclamation weighs upon thee—Alphabets wound not—and he finds no hands.COUNTESS.If he should find them, my resolve is taken—I bear about me my support and refuge.[Exit COUNTESS.

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