ACT IV

The same. Night. The moon, shining in broadly at thewindow, discoversRavensbanealone,prostrate before the mirror. Raised on one arm to ahalf-sitting posture, he gazes fixedly at the vaguelyseen image of the scarecrow prostrate in the glass.RAVENSBANEAll have left me—but not thou. Rachel has left me; her eyeshave turned away from me; she is gone. And with her, the greatlight itself from heaven has drawn her glorious skirts,contemptuous, from me—and they are gone together. Dickon, hetoo has left me—but not thou. All that I loved, all thatloved me, have left me. A thousand ages—a thousand ages ago,they went away; and thou and I have gazed upon each other’sdesertedness. Speak! and be pitiful! If thou art I,inscrutable image, if thou dost feel these pangs thine own,show then self-mercy; speak! What art thou? What am I? Why arewe here? How comes it that we feel and guess and suffer? Nay,though thou answer not these doubts, yet mock them, mock themaloud, even as there, monstrous, thou counterfeitest mineactions. Speak, abject enigma!—Ah! with what vacant horror itlooks out and yearns toward me. Peace to thee! Thou poordelirious mute, prisoned in glass and moonlight, peace! Thoucanst not escape thy gaol, nor I break in to thee. Poorshadow, thou—[Recoiling wildly.]Stand back, inanity! Thrust not thy mawkish face in pitytoward me. Ape and idiot! Scarecrow!—to console me! Haha!—Aflail and broomstick! a cob, a gourd and pumpkin, to fuse andsublimate themselves into a mage-philosopher, who puffethmetaphysics from a pipe and discourseth sweet philanthropy toitself—itself, God! Dost Thou hear? Itself! For even such amI—I whom Thou madest to love Rachel. Why, God—haha! dostThou dwell in this thing? Is it Thou that peerest forthatme—fromme? Why, hark then; Thou shalt listen, andanswer—if Thou canst. Hark then, Spirit of life! Between therise and setting of a sun, I have walked in this world ofThine. I have gazed upon it, I have peered within it, I havegrown enamoured, enamoured of it. I have been thrilled withwonder, I have been calmed with knowledge, I have been exaltedwith sympathy. I have trembled with joy and passion. Power,beauty, love have ravished me. Infinity itself, like a dream,has blazed before me with the certitude of prophecy; and Ihave cried, “This world, the heavens, time itself, are mine toconquer,” and I have thrust forth mine arm to wear Thy shieldforever—and lo! for my shield Thou reachest me a mirror—andwhisperest: “Know thyself! Thou art—a scarecrow: a tinklingclod, a rigmarole of dust, a lump of ordure, contemptible,superfluous, inane!” Haha! Hahaha! And with such scarecrowsThou dost people a planet! O ludicrous! Monstrous! Ludicrous!At least, I thank Thee, God! at least, this breathing bathoscan laugh at itself. At least this hotch-potch nobleman ofstubble is enough of an epicure to turn his own gorge. Thouhast vouchsafed to me, Spirit,—hahaha!—to know myself. Mine,mine is the consummation of man—even self-contempt![Pointing in the glass with an agony of derision.]Scarecrow! Scarecrow! Scarecrow!THE IMAGE IN THE GLASS[More and more faintly.]Scarecrow! Scarecrow! Scarecrow![Ravensbane throws himself prone upon the floor, beneaththe window, sobbing. There is a pause of silence, andthe moon shines brighter.—Slowly then Ravensbane,getting to his knees, looks out into the night.]RAVENSBANEWhat face are you, high up through the twinkling leaves? Whydo you smile upon me with such white beneficence? Or why doyou place your viewless hand upon my brow, and say, “Becomforted”? Do you not, like all the rest, turn, aghast, youreyes away from me—me, abject enormity, grovelling at yourfeet? Gracious being, do you not fear—despise me? To youalone am I not hateful—unredeemed? O white peace of the world,beneath your gaze the clouds glow silver, and the herdedcattle, slumbering far afield, crouch—beautiful. The sloughshines lustrous as a bridal veil. Beautiful face, you areRachel’s, and you have changed the world. Nothing is mean, butyou have made it miraculous; nothing is loathsome, nothingludicrous, but you have converted it to loveliness, that eventhis shadow of a mockery myself, cast by your light, gives methe dear assurance I am a man. Yea, more, that I too, steepedin your universal light, am beautiful. For you are Rachel, andyou love me. You are Rachel in the sky, and the might of yourserene loveliness has transformed me. Rachel, mistress,mother, beautiful spirit, out of my suffering you have broughtforth my soul. I am saved!THE IMAGE IN THE GLASSA very pretty sophistry.[The moonlight grows dimmer, as at the passing of a cloud.]RAVENSBANEAh! what voice has snatched you from me?THE IMAGEA most poetified pumpkin!RAVENSBANEThing! dost thou speak at last? My soul abhors thee.THE IMAGEIamthy soul.RAVENSBANEThou liest.THE IMAGEOur Daddy Dickon and our mother Rickby begot and conceivedus at sunrise, in a Jack-o’-lantern.RAVENSBANEThou liest, torturing illusion. Thou art but a phantom in a glass.THE IMAGEWhy, very true. So art thou.Weare a pretty phantomin a glass.RAVENSBANEIt is a lie. I am no longer thou. I feel it; I am a man.THE IMAGEAnd prithee, what’s a man? Man’s but a mirror,Wherein the imps and angels play charades,Make faces, mope, and pull each other’s hair—Till crack! the sly urchin Death shivers the glass,And the bare coffin boards show underneath.RAVENSBANEYea! if it be so, thou coggery! if both of us be indeed butillusions, why, now let us end together. But if it be not so,then letmefor evermore be free of thee. Now is thetest—the glass![Springing to the fireplace, he seizes an iron cross-piecefrom the andirons.]I’ll play your urchin Death and shatter it. Let see whatshall survive![He rushes to strike the glass with the iron.Dickonsteps out of the mirror, closing the curtain.]DICKONI wouldn’t, really!RAVENSBANEDickon! dear Dickon! is it you?DICKONYes, Jacky! it’s dear Dickon, and I really wouldn’t.RAVENSBANEWouldn’t what, Dickon?DICKONSweep the cobwebs off the sky with thine aspiringbroomstick. When a man questions fate, ’tis bad digestion.When a scarecrow does it, ’tis bad taste.RAVENSBANEAt last,youwill tell me the truth, Dickon! Am Ithen—that thing?DICKONYou mustn’t be so sceptical. Of course you’re that thing.RAVENSBANEAh me despicable! Rachel, why didst thou ever look upon me?DICKONI fear, cobby, thou hast never studied woman’s heart andhero-worship. Take thyself now. I remarked to Goody Bess, thymother, this morning, as I was chucking her thy pate from thehay-loft, that thou wouldst make a Mark Antony or an Alexanderbefore night.RAVENSBANEThou, then, didst create me!DICKON[Bowing.]Appreciate the honour. Your lordship was designed for acorn-field; but I discerned nobler potentialities: the courtsof Europe and Justice Merton’ssalon. In brief, yourlordship’s origins were pastoral, like King David’s.RAVENSBANECease! cease! in pity’s name. You do not know the agony ofbeing ridiculous.DICKONNay, Jacky, all mortals are ridiculous. Like you, they wererummaged out of the muck; and like you, they shall return tothe dunghill. I advise ’em, like you, to enjoy the interim,and smoke.RAVENSBANEThis pipe, this ludicrous pipe that I forever set to my lipsand puff! Why must I, Dickon? Why?DICKONTo avoid extinction—merely. You see, ’tis just as yourfellow in there[Pointing to the glass.]explained. You yourself are the subtlest of mirrors, polishedout of pumpkin and pipe-smoke. Into this mirror the fairMistress Rachel has projected her lovely image, and thusprovided you with what men call a soul.RAVENSBANEAh! then, I have a soul—the truth of me? Mistress Rachelhas indeed made me a man?DICKONDon’t flatter thyself, cobby. Break thy pipe, andwhiff—soul, Mistress Rachel, man, truth, and this prettyworld itself, go up in the last smoke.RAVENSBANENo, no! not Mistress Rachel—for she is beautiful; and theimages of beauty are immutable. She told me so.DICKONWhat a Platonic young lady! Nevertheless, believe me,Mistress Rachel exists for your lordship merely in yourlordship’s pipe-bowl.RAVENSBANEWretched, niggling caricature that I am! All is lost tome—all!DICKON“Paradise Lost” again! Always blaming it on me. There’s thatgaunt fellow in England has lately wrote a parody on me when Iwas in the apple business.RAVENSBANE[Falling on his knees and bowing his head.]O God! I am so contemptible![Enter, at door back,Goody Rickby;her blacksmithgarb is hidden under a dingy black mantle withpeaked hood.]DICKONGood verse, too, for a parody![Ruminating, raises one arm rhetorically above Ravensbane.]“Farewell, happy fieldsWhere joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors; hail,Infernal world! and thou, profoundest Hell,Receive thy new possessor.”GOODY RICKBY[Seizing his arm.]Dickon!DICKONHullo! You, Bess!GOODY RICKBYThere’s not a minute to lose. Justice Merton and theneighbours have ended their conference at Minister Dodge’s,and are returning here.DICKONWhat! coming back in the dark? They ran away in the daylightas if the ghosts were after ’em.GOODY RICKBY[At the window.]I see their lanterns down the road.DICKONWell, let ’em come. We’re ready.GOODY RICKBYBut thou toldst me they had discovered—DICKONA scarecrow in a mirror. Well? The glass is bewitched;that’s all.GOODY RICKBYAll? Witchcraft is hanging—that’s all! Come, how shall themirror help us?DICKON’Tis very simple. The glass is bewitched. MistressRachel—mind you—shall admit it. She bought it of you.GOODY RICKBYYea, of me; ’twill be me they’ll hang.DICKONGood! then the glass is bewitched. The glass bewitches theroom; for witchcraft is catching and spreads like the small-pox.Ergo, the distorted image of Lord Ravensbane;ergo, the magicalaccompaniments of the ballad;ergo, the excited fancies of all thepersons in the room.Ergo, the glass must needs be destroyed, andthe room thoroughly disinfected by the Holy Scriptures.Ergo, Master Dickonson himself reads the Bible aloud, the guestsapologize and go home, the Justice squirms again in his merry deadpast, and his fair niece is wed to the pumpkin.RAVENSBANEHideous! Hideous!GOODY RICKBYYour grateful servant, Devil! But the mirror was bought ofme—of me, the witch. Wilt thou be my hangman, Dickon?DICKONWilt thou give me a kiss, Goody? When did ever thy Dickondesert thee?GOODY RICKBYBut how, boy, wilt thou—DICKONTrust me, and thy son. When the Justice’s niece is thydaughter-in-law, all will be safe. For the Justice willcherish his niece’s family.GOODY RICKBYBut when he knows—DICKONBut he shallnotknow. How can he? When the glass isdenounced as fraudulent, how will he, or any person, ever knowthat we made this fellow out of rubbish? Who, forsooth, but apoet—or a devil—wouldbelieve it? You mustn’t creditmen with our imaginations, my dear.RAVENSBANEMockery! Always mockery!GOODY RICKBYThen thou wilt pull me through this safe?DICKONAs I adore thee—and my own reputation.GOODY RICKBY[Hurrying away.]Till we meet, then, boy.DICKONStay, marchioness—his lordship!GOODY RICKBY[Turning.]His lordship’s pardon! How fares “the bottom of thy heart,”my son?DICKONMy lord—your lady mother.RAVENSBANEBegone, woman.GOODY RICKBY[Courtesying, laughs shrilly.]Your servant—my son![About to depart.]RAVENSBANEYe lie! Both of you! Ye lie—I was born of Rachel.DICKONTut, tut, Jacky; you mustn’t mix up mothers and prospectivewives at your age. It’s fatal.GOODY RICKBY[Excitedly.]They’re coming![Exit.]DICKON[Calling after her.]Fear not; if thou shouldst be followed, I will overtakethee.RAVENSBANEShe is coming; Rachel is coming, and I may not look uponher!DICKONEh? Why not?RAVENSBANEI am a monster.DICKONAnd born of her—Fie! fie!RAVENSBANEO God! I know not; I mock myself; I know not what to think.But this I know, I love Rachel. I love her, I love her.DICKONAnd shalt have her.RAVENSBANEHave her, Dickon?DICKONFor lover and wife.RAVENSBANEFor wife?DICKONFor wife and all. Thou hast but to obey.RAVENSBANEAh! who will do this for me?DICKONI!RAVENSBANEDickon! Wilt make me a man—a man and worthy of her?DICKONFiddlededee! I make over no masterpieces. Thy mistress shallbe Cinderella, and drive to her palace with her gilded pumpkin.RAVENSBANEIt is the end.DICKONWhat! You’ll not?RAVENSBANENever.DICKONHarkee, manikin. Hast thou learned to suffer?RAVENSBANE[Wringing his hands.]O God!DICKONItaught thee. Shall I teach thee further?RAVENSBANEThou canst not.DICKONCannot—ha! What if I should teach Rachel too?RAVENSBANERachel!—Ah! now I know thee.DICKON[Bowing.]Flattered.RAVENSBANEDevil! Thou wouldst not torment Rachel?DICKONNot if my lord—RAVENSBANESpeak! What must I do?DICKONNotspeak. Be silent, my lord, and acquiesce to all I say.RAVENSBANEI will be silent.DICKONAnd acquiesce?RAVENSBANEI will be silent.[EnterMinister Dodge,accompanied bySir CharlesReddington,Captain Bugby,theRev. Masters RandandTodd,and followed byJustice Merton,Richard,Mistress Merton,andRachel.Richard and Rachelstand somewhat apart, Rachel drawing close to Richardand hiding her face. All wear their outer wraps, and twoor three hold lanterns, which, save the moon, throw theonly light upon the scene. All enter solemn and silent.]MINISTER DODGELord, be Thou present with us, in this unholy spot.SEVERAL MEN’S VOICESAmen.DICKONFriends! Have you seized her? Is she made prisoner?MINISTER DODGEStand from us.DICKONSir, the witch! Surely you did not let her escape?ALLThe witch!DICKONA dame in a peaked hood. She has but now fled the house. Shecalled herself—Goody Rickby.ALLGoody Rickby!MISTRESS MERTONShe here!DICKONYea, mistress, and hath confessed all the damnable art, bywhich all of us have lately been so terrorized, and hislordship, my poor master, so maligned and victimized.RICHARDVictimized!JUSTICE MERTONWhat confessed she?MINISTER DODGEWhat said she?DICKONThis: It appeareth that, for some time past, she hathcherished revengeful thoughts against our honoured host,Justice Merton.JUSTICE MERTONSir! What cause—what cause—DICKONInasmuch as your worship hath ever so righteously condemnedher damnable faults, and threatened them punishment.MINISTER DODGEYea—well?DICKONThus, in revenge, she bewitched yonder mirror, and this verymorning unlawfully inveigled this sweet young lady intopurchasing it.SIR CHARLESMistress Rachel!MINISTER DODGE[To Rachel.]Didst thou purchase that glass?RACHEL[In a low voice.]Yes.MINISTER DODGEFrom Goody Rickby?RACHELYes.RICHARDSir—the blame was mine.RACHEL[Clinging to him.]O Richard!DICKONPardon, my friends. The fault rests upon no one here. Thewitch alone is to blame. Her black art inveigled this innocentmaid into purchasing the glass; her black art bewitched thisroom and all that it contained—even to these innocentvirginals, on which I played.MINISTER DODGEVerily, this would seem to account—but the image; thedamnable image in the glass?DICKONA familiar devil of hers—a sly imp, it seems, who wears tomortal eyes the shape of a scarecrow. ’Twas he, by means ofwhom she bedevilled this glass, by making it hishabitat.When, therefore, she learned that honour and happiness wereyours, Justice Merton, in the prospect of Lord Ravensbane asyour nephew-in-law, she commanded this devil to reveal himselfin the glass as my lord’s own image, that thus she might wreckyour family felicity.MINISTER DODGEInfamous!DICKONIndeed, sir, it was this very devil whom but now she stolehere to consult withal, when she encountered me, attendanthere upon my poor prostrate lord, and—held by the wrath in myeye—confessed it all.SIR CHARLESThunder and brimstone! Where is this accursed hag?DICKONAlas—gone, gone! If you had but stopped her.MINISTER DODGEI know her den—the blacksmith shop.SIR CHARLES[Starting.]Which way?MINISTER DODGETo the left.SIR CHARLESGo on, there.MINISTER DODGEMy honoured friend, we shall return and officially destroythis fatal glass. But first, we must secure the witch. Heavenshield, with her guilt, the innocent!THE MEN[As they hurry out.]Amen.SIR CHARLES[Outside.]Go on![Exeunt all but Richard, Rachel, Justice Merton,Mistress Merton, Dickon, and Ravensbane.]DICKON[To Justice Merton, who has importuned him, aside.]And reveal thy youthful escapades to Rachel?JUSTICE MERTONGod help me! no.DICKONSo then, dear friends, this strange incident is happilyelucidated. The pain and contumely have fallen most heavilyupon my dear lord and master, but you are witnesses, even now,of his silent and Christian forgiveness of your suspicions.Bygones, therefore, be bygones. The future brightens—withorange-blossoms! Hymen and Felicity stand with us here readyto unite two amorous and bashful lovers. His lordship isreticent; yet to you alone, of all beautiful ladies, MistressRachel—RAVENSBANE[In a mighty voice.]Silence!DICKONMy lord would—RAVENSBANESilence! Dare not to speak to her!DICKON[Biting his lip.]My babe is weaned.RACHEL[Still at Richard’s side.]Oh, my lord, if I have made you suffer—RICHARD[Appealingly.]Rachel!RAVENSBANE[Approaching her, raises one arm to screen his face.]Gracious lady! let fall your eyes; look not upon me. If Ihave dared remain in your presence, if I dare now speak oncemore to you, ’tis because I would have you know—O forgiveme!—that I love you.RICHARDSir! This lady has renewed her promise to be my wife.RAVENSBANEYour wife, or not, I love her.RICHARDZounds!RAVENSBANEForbear, and hear me! For one wonderful day I have gazedupon this, your world. The sun has kindled me and the moon hasblessed me. A million forms—of trees, of stones, of stars, ofmen, of common things—have swum like motes before my eyes;but one alone was wholly beautiful. That form was Rachel: toher alone I was not ludicrous; to her I also was beautiful.Therefore, I love her. You talk to me of mothers, mistresses,lovers, and wives and sisters, and you say men love these.What is love? The sun’s enkindling and the moon’s quiescence;the night and day of the world—theallof life, the all whichmust include both you and me and God, of whom you dream.Well then, I love you, Rachel. What shall prevent me?Mistress, mother, wife—thou art all to me!RICHARDMy lord, I can only reply for Mistress Rachel, that youspeak like one who does not understand this world.RAVENSBANEO God! Sir, and do you? If so, tell me—tell me before it betoo late—why, in this world, such a thing asIcan love andtalk of love. Why, in this world, a true man and woman,like you and your betrothed, can look upon this counterfeitand be deceived.RACHEL AND RICHARDCounterfeit?RAVENSBANEMe—on me—the ignominy of the earth, the laughing-stock ofthe angels!RACHELWhy, my lord. Are you not—RAVENSBANENo.JUSTICE MERTON[To Ravensbane.]Forbear! Not to her—DICKONMy lord forgets.RACHELAre you not Lord Ravensbane?RAVENSBANEMarquis of Oxford, Baron of Wittenberg, Elector of Worms,and Count of Cordova? No, I amnotLord Ravensbane. Iam Lord Scarecrow![He bursts into laughter.]RACHEL[Shrinking back.]Ah me!RAVENSBANEA nobleman of husks, bewitched from a pumpkin.RACHELThe image in the glass was true?RAVENSBANEYes, true. It is the glass of truth—thank God! Thank Godfor you, dear.JUSTICE MERTONRichard! Go for the minister; this proof of witchcraft needsbe known.[Richard does not move.]DICKONMy lord, this grotesque absurdity must end.RAVENSBANETrue, Dickon! This grotesque absurdity must end. The laugherand the laughing-stock, man and the worm, possess at least onedignity in common: both must die.DICKON[Speaking low.]Remember! if you dare—Rachel shall suffer for it.RAVENSBANEYou lie. She is above your power.DICKONStill, thou darest not—RAVENSBANEFool, I dare.[Turning to Rachel.]Mistress, this pipe is I. This intermittent smoke holds, inits nebula, Venus, Mars, the world. If I should breakit—Chaos and the dark! And this of me that now stands up willsink jumbled upon the floor—a scarecrow. See! I break it.[He breaks the pipe in his hands, and flings the piecesat Dickon’s feet in defiance; then turns, agonized, toRachel.]Oh, Rachel, could I have been a man—!DICKON[Picking up the pieces of pipe, turns to Rachel.]Mademoiselle, I felicitate you; you have outwitted thedevil.[Kissing his fingers to her, he disappears.]MISTRESS MERTON[Seizing the Justice’s arm in fright.]Satan!JUSTICE MERTON[Whispers.]Gone!RACHELRichard! Richard! support him.RICHARD[Sustaining Ravensbane, who sways.]He is fainting. A chair!RACHEL[Placing a chair, helps Richard to supportRavensbane toward it.]How pale; but yet no change.RICHARDHis heart, perhaps.RACHELOh, Dick, if it should be some strange mistake! Look! he isnoble still. My lord! my lord! the glass—[She draws the curtain of the mirror, just opposite whichRavensbane has sunk into the chair. At her cry, hestarts up faintly and gazes at his reflection, whichis seen to be a normal image of himself.]RAVENSBANEWho is it?RACHELYourself, my lord—’tis the glass of truth.RAVENSBANE[His face lighting with an exalted joy, startsto his feet, erect, before the glass.]A man![He falls back into the arms of the two lovers.]Rachel![He dies.]RACHELRichard, I am afraid. Was it a chimera, or a hero?Finis

RAVENSBANE

All have left me—but not thou. Rachel has left me; her eyeshave turned away from me; she is gone. And with her, the greatlight itself from heaven has drawn her glorious skirts,contemptuous, from me—and they are gone together. Dickon, hetoo has left me—but not thou. All that I loved, all thatloved me, have left me. A thousand ages—a thousand ages ago,they went away; and thou and I have gazed upon each other’sdesertedness. Speak! and be pitiful! If thou art I,inscrutable image, if thou dost feel these pangs thine own,show then self-mercy; speak! What art thou? What am I? Why arewe here? How comes it that we feel and guess and suffer? Nay,though thou answer not these doubts, yet mock them, mock themaloud, even as there, monstrous, thou counterfeitest mineactions. Speak, abject enigma!—Ah! with what vacant horror itlooks out and yearns toward me. Peace to thee! Thou poordelirious mute, prisoned in glass and moonlight, peace! Thoucanst not escape thy gaol, nor I break in to thee. Poorshadow, thou—

[Recoiling wildly.]

Stand back, inanity! Thrust not thy mawkish face in pitytoward me. Ape and idiot! Scarecrow!—to console me! Haha!—Aflail and broomstick! a cob, a gourd and pumpkin, to fuse andsublimate themselves into a mage-philosopher, who puffethmetaphysics from a pipe and discourseth sweet philanthropy toitself—itself, God! Dost Thou hear? Itself! For even such amI—I whom Thou madest to love Rachel. Why, God—haha! dostThou dwell in this thing? Is it Thou that peerest forthatme—fromme? Why, hark then; Thou shalt listen, andanswer—if Thou canst. Hark then, Spirit of life! Between therise and setting of a sun, I have walked in this world ofThine. I have gazed upon it, I have peered within it, I havegrown enamoured, enamoured of it. I have been thrilled withwonder, I have been calmed with knowledge, I have been exaltedwith sympathy. I have trembled with joy and passion. Power,beauty, love have ravished me. Infinity itself, like a dream,has blazed before me with the certitude of prophecy; and Ihave cried, “This world, the heavens, time itself, are mine toconquer,” and I have thrust forth mine arm to wear Thy shieldforever—and lo! for my shield Thou reachest me a mirror—andwhisperest: “Know thyself! Thou art—a scarecrow: a tinklingclod, a rigmarole of dust, a lump of ordure, contemptible,superfluous, inane!” Haha! Hahaha! And with such scarecrowsThou dost people a planet! O ludicrous! Monstrous! Ludicrous!At least, I thank Thee, God! at least, this breathing bathoscan laugh at itself. At least this hotch-potch nobleman ofstubble is enough of an epicure to turn his own gorge. Thouhast vouchsafed to me, Spirit,—hahaha!—to know myself. Mine,mine is the consummation of man—even self-contempt!

[Pointing in the glass with an agony of derision.]Scarecrow! Scarecrow! Scarecrow!

THE IMAGE IN THE GLASS[More and more faintly.]Scarecrow! Scarecrow! Scarecrow!

[Ravensbane throws himself prone upon the floor, beneaththe window, sobbing. There is a pause of silence, andthe moon shines brighter.—Slowly then Ravensbane,getting to his knees, looks out into the night.]

RAVENSBANEWhat face are you, high up through the twinkling leaves? Whydo you smile upon me with such white beneficence? Or why doyou place your viewless hand upon my brow, and say, “Becomforted”? Do you not, like all the rest, turn, aghast, youreyes away from me—me, abject enormity, grovelling at yourfeet? Gracious being, do you not fear—despise me? To youalone am I not hateful—unredeemed? O white peace of the world,beneath your gaze the clouds glow silver, and the herdedcattle, slumbering far afield, crouch—beautiful. The sloughshines lustrous as a bridal veil. Beautiful face, you areRachel’s, and you have changed the world. Nothing is mean, butyou have made it miraculous; nothing is loathsome, nothingludicrous, but you have converted it to loveliness, that eventhis shadow of a mockery myself, cast by your light, gives methe dear assurance I am a man. Yea, more, that I too, steepedin your universal light, am beautiful. For you are Rachel, andyou love me. You are Rachel in the sky, and the might of yourserene loveliness has transformed me. Rachel, mistress,mother, beautiful spirit, out of my suffering you have broughtforth my soul. I am saved!

THE IMAGE IN THE GLASSA very pretty sophistry.

[The moonlight grows dimmer, as at the passing of a cloud.]

RAVENSBANEAh! what voice has snatched you from me?

THE IMAGEA most poetified pumpkin!

RAVENSBANEThing! dost thou speak at last? My soul abhors thee.

THE IMAGEIamthy soul.

RAVENSBANEThou liest.

THE IMAGE

Our Daddy Dickon and our mother Rickby begot and conceivedus at sunrise, in a Jack-o’-lantern.

RAVENSBANEThou liest, torturing illusion. Thou art but a phantom in a glass.

THE IMAGEWhy, very true. So art thou.Weare a pretty phantomin a glass.

RAVENSBANEIt is a lie. I am no longer thou. I feel it; I am a man.

THE IMAGEAnd prithee, what’s a man? Man’s but a mirror,Wherein the imps and angels play charades,Make faces, mope, and pull each other’s hair—Till crack! the sly urchin Death shivers the glass,And the bare coffin boards show underneath.

RAVENSBANEYea! if it be so, thou coggery! if both of us be indeed butillusions, why, now let us end together. But if it be not so,then letmefor evermore be free of thee. Now is thetest—the glass![Springing to the fireplace, he seizes an iron cross-piecefrom the andirons.]I’ll play your urchin Death and shatter it. Let see whatshall survive![He rushes to strike the glass with the iron.Dickonsteps out of the mirror, closing the curtain.]

DICKONI wouldn’t, really!

RAVENSBANEDickon! dear Dickon! is it you?

DICKONYes, Jacky! it’s dear Dickon, and I really wouldn’t.

RAVENSBANEWouldn’t what, Dickon?

DICKONSweep the cobwebs off the sky with thine aspiringbroomstick. When a man questions fate, ’tis bad digestion.When a scarecrow does it, ’tis bad taste.

RAVENSBANEAt last,youwill tell me the truth, Dickon! Am Ithen—that thing?

DICKONYou mustn’t be so sceptical. Of course you’re that thing.

RAVENSBANEAh me despicable! Rachel, why didst thou ever look upon me?

DICKONI fear, cobby, thou hast never studied woman’s heart andhero-worship. Take thyself now. I remarked to Goody Bess, thymother, this morning, as I was chucking her thy pate from thehay-loft, that thou wouldst make a Mark Antony or an Alexanderbefore night.

RAVENSBANEThou, then, didst create me!

DICKON[Bowing.]Appreciate the honour. Your lordship was designed for acorn-field; but I discerned nobler potentialities: the courtsof Europe and Justice Merton’ssalon. In brief, yourlordship’s origins were pastoral, like King David’s.

RAVENSBANECease! cease! in pity’s name. You do not know the agony ofbeing ridiculous.

DICKONNay, Jacky, all mortals are ridiculous. Like you, they wererummaged out of the muck; and like you, they shall return tothe dunghill. I advise ’em, like you, to enjoy the interim,and smoke.

RAVENSBANEThis pipe, this ludicrous pipe that I forever set to my lipsand puff! Why must I, Dickon? Why?

DICKONTo avoid extinction—merely. You see, ’tis just as yourfellow in there[Pointing to the glass.]explained. You yourself are the subtlest of mirrors, polishedout of pumpkin and pipe-smoke. Into this mirror the fairMistress Rachel has projected her lovely image, and thusprovided you with what men call a soul.

RAVENSBANEAh! then, I have a soul—the truth of me? Mistress Rachelhas indeed made me a man?

DICKONDon’t flatter thyself, cobby. Break thy pipe, andwhiff—soul, Mistress Rachel, man, truth, and this prettyworld itself, go up in the last smoke.

RAVENSBANENo, no! not Mistress Rachel—for she is beautiful; and theimages of beauty are immutable. She told me so.

DICKONWhat a Platonic young lady! Nevertheless, believe me,Mistress Rachel exists for your lordship merely in yourlordship’s pipe-bowl.

RAVENSBANEWretched, niggling caricature that I am! All is lost tome—all!

DICKON“Paradise Lost” again! Always blaming it on me. There’s thatgaunt fellow in England has lately wrote a parody on me when Iwas in the apple business.

RAVENSBANE[Falling on his knees and bowing his head.]O God! I am so contemptible!

[Enter, at door back,Goody Rickby;her blacksmithgarb is hidden under a dingy black mantle withpeaked hood.]

DICKONGood verse, too, for a parody![Ruminating, raises one arm rhetorically above Ravensbane.]

“Farewell, happy fieldsWhere joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors; hail,Infernal world! and thou, profoundest Hell,Receive thy new possessor.”

GOODY RICKBY[Seizing his arm.]Dickon!

DICKONHullo! You, Bess!

GOODY RICKBYThere’s not a minute to lose. Justice Merton and theneighbours have ended their conference at Minister Dodge’s,and are returning here.

DICKONWhat! coming back in the dark? They ran away in the daylightas if the ghosts were after ’em.

GOODY RICKBY[At the window.]I see their lanterns down the road.

DICKONWell, let ’em come. We’re ready.

GOODY RICKBYBut thou toldst me they had discovered—

DICKONA scarecrow in a mirror. Well? The glass is bewitched;that’s all.

GOODY RICKBYAll? Witchcraft is hanging—that’s all! Come, how shall themirror help us?

DICKON’Tis very simple. The glass is bewitched. MistressRachel—mind you—shall admit it. She bought it of you.

GOODY RICKBYYea, of me; ’twill be me they’ll hang.

DICKONGood! then the glass is bewitched. The glass bewitches theroom; for witchcraft is catching and spreads like the small-pox.Ergo, the distorted image of Lord Ravensbane;ergo, the magicalaccompaniments of the ballad;ergo, the excited fancies of all thepersons in the room.Ergo, the glass must needs be destroyed, andthe room thoroughly disinfected by the Holy Scriptures.Ergo, Master Dickonson himself reads the Bible aloud, the guestsapologize and go home, the Justice squirms again in his merry deadpast, and his fair niece is wed to the pumpkin.

RAVENSBANEHideous! Hideous!

GOODY RICKBYYour grateful servant, Devil! But the mirror was bought ofme—of me, the witch. Wilt thou be my hangman, Dickon?

DICKONWilt thou give me a kiss, Goody? When did ever thy Dickondesert thee?

GOODY RICKBYBut how, boy, wilt thou—

DICKONTrust me, and thy son. When the Justice’s niece is thydaughter-in-law, all will be safe. For the Justice willcherish his niece’s family.

GOODY RICKBYBut when he knows—

DICKONBut he shallnotknow. How can he? When the glass isdenounced as fraudulent, how will he, or any person, ever knowthat we made this fellow out of rubbish? Who, forsooth, but apoet—or a devil—wouldbelieve it? You mustn’t creditmen with our imaginations, my dear.

RAVENSBANEMockery! Always mockery!

GOODY RICKBYThen thou wilt pull me through this safe?

DICKONAs I adore thee—and my own reputation.

GOODY RICKBY[Hurrying away.]Till we meet, then, boy.

DICKONStay, marchioness—his lordship!

GOODY RICKBY[Turning.]His lordship’s pardon! How fares “the bottom of thy heart,”my son?

DICKONMy lord—your lady mother.

RAVENSBANEBegone, woman.

GOODY RICKBY[Courtesying, laughs shrilly.]Your servant—my son![About to depart.]

RAVENSBANEYe lie! Both of you! Ye lie—I was born of Rachel.

DICKONTut, tut, Jacky; you mustn’t mix up mothers and prospectivewives at your age. It’s fatal.

GOODY RICKBY[Excitedly.]They’re coming![Exit.]

DICKON[Calling after her.]Fear not; if thou shouldst be followed, I will overtakethee.

RAVENSBANEShe is coming; Rachel is coming, and I may not look uponher!

DICKONEh? Why not?

RAVENSBANEI am a monster.

DICKONAnd born of her—Fie! fie!

RAVENSBANEO God! I know not; I mock myself; I know not what to think.But this I know, I love Rachel. I love her, I love her.

DICKONAnd shalt have her.

RAVENSBANEHave her, Dickon?

DICKONFor lover and wife.

RAVENSBANEFor wife?

DICKONFor wife and all. Thou hast but to obey.

RAVENSBANEAh! who will do this for me?

DICKONI!

RAVENSBANEDickon! Wilt make me a man—a man and worthy of her?

DICKONFiddlededee! I make over no masterpieces. Thy mistress shallbe Cinderella, and drive to her palace with her gilded pumpkin.

RAVENSBANEIt is the end.

DICKONWhat! You’ll not?

RAVENSBANENever.

DICKONHarkee, manikin. Hast thou learned to suffer?

RAVENSBANE[Wringing his hands.]O God!

DICKONItaught thee. Shall I teach thee further?

RAVENSBANEThou canst not.

DICKONCannot—ha! What if I should teach Rachel too?

RAVENSBANERachel!—Ah! now I know thee.

DICKON[Bowing.]Flattered.

RAVENSBANEDevil! Thou wouldst not torment Rachel?

DICKONNot if my lord—

RAVENSBANESpeak! What must I do?

DICKONNotspeak. Be silent, my lord, and acquiesce to all I say.

RAVENSBANEI will be silent.

DICKONAnd acquiesce?

RAVENSBANEI will be silent.

[EnterMinister Dodge,accompanied bySir CharlesReddington,Captain Bugby,theRev. Masters RandandTodd,and followed byJustice Merton,Richard,Mistress Merton,andRachel.Richard and Rachelstand somewhat apart, Rachel drawing close to Richardand hiding her face. All wear their outer wraps, and twoor three hold lanterns, which, save the moon, throw theonly light upon the scene. All enter solemn and silent.]

MINISTER DODGELord, be Thou present with us, in this unholy spot.

SEVERAL MEN’S VOICESAmen.

DICKONFriends! Have you seized her? Is she made prisoner?

MINISTER DODGEStand from us.

DICKONSir, the witch! Surely you did not let her escape?

ALLThe witch!

DICKONA dame in a peaked hood. She has but now fled the house. Shecalled herself—Goody Rickby.

ALLGoody Rickby!

MISTRESS MERTONShe here!

DICKONYea, mistress, and hath confessed all the damnable art, bywhich all of us have lately been so terrorized, and hislordship, my poor master, so maligned and victimized.

RICHARDVictimized!

JUSTICE MERTONWhat confessed she?

MINISTER DODGEWhat said she?

DICKONThis: It appeareth that, for some time past, she hathcherished revengeful thoughts against our honoured host,Justice Merton.

JUSTICE MERTONSir! What cause—what cause—

DICKONInasmuch as your worship hath ever so righteously condemnedher damnable faults, and threatened them punishment.

MINISTER DODGEYea—well?

DICKONThus, in revenge, she bewitched yonder mirror, and this verymorning unlawfully inveigled this sweet young lady intopurchasing it.

SIR CHARLESMistress Rachel!

MINISTER DODGE[To Rachel.]Didst thou purchase that glass?

RACHEL[In a low voice.]Yes.

MINISTER DODGEFrom Goody Rickby?

RACHELYes.

RICHARDSir—the blame was mine.

RACHEL[Clinging to him.]O Richard!

DICKONPardon, my friends. The fault rests upon no one here. Thewitch alone is to blame. Her black art inveigled this innocentmaid into purchasing the glass; her black art bewitched thisroom and all that it contained—even to these innocentvirginals, on which I played.

MINISTER DODGEVerily, this would seem to account—but the image; thedamnable image in the glass?

DICKONA familiar devil of hers—a sly imp, it seems, who wears tomortal eyes the shape of a scarecrow. ’Twas he, by means ofwhom she bedevilled this glass, by making it hishabitat.When, therefore, she learned that honour and happiness wereyours, Justice Merton, in the prospect of Lord Ravensbane asyour nephew-in-law, she commanded this devil to reveal himselfin the glass as my lord’s own image, that thus she might wreckyour family felicity.

MINISTER DODGEInfamous!

DICKONIndeed, sir, it was this very devil whom but now she stolehere to consult withal, when she encountered me, attendanthere upon my poor prostrate lord, and—held by the wrath in myeye—confessed it all.

SIR CHARLESThunder and brimstone! Where is this accursed hag?

DICKONAlas—gone, gone! If you had but stopped her.

MINISTER DODGEI know her den—the blacksmith shop.

SIR CHARLES[Starting.]Which way?

MINISTER DODGETo the left.

SIR CHARLESGo on, there.

MINISTER DODGEMy honoured friend, we shall return and officially destroythis fatal glass. But first, we must secure the witch. Heavenshield, with her guilt, the innocent!

THE MEN[As they hurry out.]Amen.

SIR CHARLES[Outside.]Go on!

[Exeunt all but Richard, Rachel, Justice Merton,Mistress Merton, Dickon, and Ravensbane.]

DICKON[To Justice Merton, who has importuned him, aside.]And reveal thy youthful escapades to Rachel?

JUSTICE MERTONGod help me! no.

DICKONSo then, dear friends, this strange incident is happilyelucidated. The pain and contumely have fallen most heavilyupon my dear lord and master, but you are witnesses, even now,of his silent and Christian forgiveness of your suspicions.Bygones, therefore, be bygones. The future brightens—withorange-blossoms! Hymen and Felicity stand with us here readyto unite two amorous and bashful lovers. His lordship isreticent; yet to you alone, of all beautiful ladies, MistressRachel—

RAVENSBANE[In a mighty voice.]Silence!

DICKONMy lord would—

RAVENSBANESilence! Dare not to speak to her!

DICKON[Biting his lip.]My babe is weaned.

RACHEL[Still at Richard’s side.]Oh, my lord, if I have made you suffer—

RICHARD[Appealingly.]Rachel!

RAVENSBANE[Approaching her, raises one arm to screen his face.]Gracious lady! let fall your eyes; look not upon me. If Ihave dared remain in your presence, if I dare now speak oncemore to you, ’tis because I would have you know—O forgiveme!—that I love you.

RICHARDSir! This lady has renewed her promise to be my wife.

RAVENSBANEYour wife, or not, I love her.

RICHARDZounds!

RAVENSBANEForbear, and hear me! For one wonderful day I have gazedupon this, your world. The sun has kindled me and the moon hasblessed me. A million forms—of trees, of stones, of stars, ofmen, of common things—have swum like motes before my eyes;but one alone was wholly beautiful. That form was Rachel: toher alone I was not ludicrous; to her I also was beautiful.Therefore, I love her. You talk to me of mothers, mistresses,lovers, and wives and sisters, and you say men love these.What is love? The sun’s enkindling and the moon’s quiescence;the night and day of the world—theallof life, the all whichmust include both you and me and God, of whom you dream.Well then, I love you, Rachel. What shall prevent me?Mistress, mother, wife—thou art all to me!

RICHARDMy lord, I can only reply for Mistress Rachel, that youspeak like one who does not understand this world.

RAVENSBANEO God! Sir, and do you? If so, tell me—tell me before it betoo late—why, in this world, such a thing asIcan love andtalk of love. Why, in this world, a true man and woman,like you and your betrothed, can look upon this counterfeitand be deceived.

RACHEL AND RICHARDCounterfeit?

RAVENSBANEMe—on me—the ignominy of the earth, the laughing-stock ofthe angels!

RACHELWhy, my lord. Are you not—

RAVENSBANENo.

JUSTICE MERTON[To Ravensbane.]Forbear! Not to her—

DICKONMy lord forgets.

RACHELAre you not Lord Ravensbane?

RAVENSBANEMarquis of Oxford, Baron of Wittenberg, Elector of Worms,and Count of Cordova? No, I amnotLord Ravensbane. Iam Lord Scarecrow![He bursts into laughter.]

RACHEL[Shrinking back.]Ah me!

RAVENSBANEA nobleman of husks, bewitched from a pumpkin.

RACHELThe image in the glass was true?

RAVENSBANEYes, true. It is the glass of truth—thank God! Thank Godfor you, dear.

JUSTICE MERTONRichard! Go for the minister; this proof of witchcraft needsbe known.[Richard does not move.]

DICKONMy lord, this grotesque absurdity must end.

RAVENSBANETrue, Dickon! This grotesque absurdity must end. The laugherand the laughing-stock, man and the worm, possess at least onedignity in common: both must die.

DICKON[Speaking low.]Remember! if you dare—Rachel shall suffer for it.

RAVENSBANEYou lie. She is above your power.

DICKONStill, thou darest not—

RAVENSBANEFool, I dare.[Turning to Rachel.]Mistress, this pipe is I. This intermittent smoke holds, inits nebula, Venus, Mars, the world. If I should breakit—Chaos and the dark! And this of me that now stands up willsink jumbled upon the floor—a scarecrow. See! I break it.

[He breaks the pipe in his hands, and flings the piecesat Dickon’s feet in defiance; then turns, agonized, toRachel.]Oh, Rachel, could I have been a man—!

DICKON[Picking up the pieces of pipe, turns to Rachel.]Mademoiselle, I felicitate you; you have outwitted thedevil.[Kissing his fingers to her, he disappears.]

MISTRESS MERTON[Seizing the Justice’s arm in fright.]Satan!

JUSTICE MERTON[Whispers.]Gone!

RACHELRichard! Richard! support him.

RICHARD[Sustaining Ravensbane, who sways.]He is fainting. A chair!

RACHEL[Placing a chair, helps Richard to supportRavensbane toward it.]How pale; but yet no change.

RICHARDHis heart, perhaps.

RACHELOh, Dick, if it should be some strange mistake! Look! he isnoble still. My lord! my lord! the glass—

[She draws the curtain of the mirror, just opposite whichRavensbane has sunk into the chair. At her cry, hestarts up faintly and gazes at his reflection, whichis seen to be a normal image of himself.]

RAVENSBANEWho is it?

RACHELYourself, my lord—’tis the glass of truth.

RAVENSBANE[His face lighting with an exalted joy, startsto his feet, erect, before the glass.]A man![He falls back into the arms of the two lovers.]Rachel![He dies.]

RACHELRichard, I am afraid. Was it a chimera, or a hero?

Finis

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