[He strikes him boldly with, clenched fist. The client staggers, losing his hold on Virginia, who takes refuge with the three citizens.
Hortensius.Where is thine evidence?Galba(ironically). Ay, e'en thy wordWeighs naught with us free citizens of Rome.Marc.(hissing between his teeth). My wordshallweigh with you, ye coward curs!For lo! My word is—Appius! Ah—so!
[The mob shrinks backward at the name, and Marcus laughs in scorn.
(Vindictively.) I see it hath a little weight with you?"Free citizens of Rome!" Ye make me laugh.Oh! ay, I know ye'd mob me joyously,Stone me, or cast me from Tarpeian Rock,Save that—save that—yedarenot! AppiusWould leave not one small particle of this,His client, unavenged. Back, all of you!The maid is mine! Ye can not say me nay.One of the multitude.But if we threaten thee, or bear her off,And save her from thy most illegal movements,What then?Marc.What then? To Appius ClaudiusFor justice I would go!
[Murmurs of fear are heard on every side.
(With mocking smile). Lo! now he comesWithin the Forum.
[Even as he speaks the Chief of the Decemvirs enters. He is seated in a chair which is borne by four slaves.
Appius(frowning sombrely). What bodes this tumult? Who, yon lovely girl?Multitude.Justice! We would see justice, Appius!Appius.Silence! and let me hear one voice alone.Marcus, my client, speak, for I would haveAn explanation of this strange disturbance.Marc.Most noble Appius, I owned this girl,Born in my house full sixteen years ago,Of my slave-woman.Cam.(boldly). Liar! All men knowHer mother was free-born and wedded toVirginius, centurion and pleb.Appius.Gag yonder hag, or drag her hence—I'll haveNo withered woman's voice of spite exclaiming.Cam.Thy lictor shall not lay his hands upon me!My place is here. My voice shall speak for her,Nor fear thee, king of tyrants and despoilers!Long have I inwardly foreseen this day,And prayed the gods to change the hand of Fate.It seems my prayers are valueless. But still,Still there does yet remain to me—mycurse!And all shall feel its potency who dareTo lay a finger on Virginia.
[She faces Marcus Claudius with her arm extended and her manner menacing.
Thou, fool of fools, who ventured to polluteThe purest virgin breathing in this land,Because thou placed thy hand upon her flesh,Which is as perfect as her perfect soul,I curse thee—ay, and with a heavy curse,For that which thou hast done! Thy miseryShall soon exceed even thy trespasses,Which in themselves are countless as the stars.Be cursed, and live accursed and die accursed!And be my witnesses, O, all ye gods!
[She turns toward Appius—her attitude becomes calm, and majestic.
And as for thee—I fear thee not. My curseShall rest on thee according to thine actions.This much I have to say—thy tyrannyAnd rule of blood is waning to its close.Beware, nor haste thy doom before its time.Marc.(trembling). Seize on her, some of you, for she is mad.One of the multitude.Nay, she is gifted with strange prophecy.She voices Jove.
[A tumult now arises in the background. Icilius springs forward with a cry.
Icilius.Virginia! Turn to me!
[He faces Marcus Claudius, and with one blow strikes him down, then clasps Virginia in his arms.
Virginia(sobbing wildly). And hast thou come at last?Icilius(tenderly to her). Courage, dear heart!
[To Appius.
Now, as a free-born Roman, I demandAn explanation and a satisfaction!
[To Marcus, who essays to speak.
Silence, thou hound, ere I forget myselfAnd murder thee! Thine answer, Appius?Appius.Lictor, part thou the twain.Icilius.Thou canst not, lictor!In common manhood and as her betrothed,Thus do I hold to her against the world.Appius.Then, lictor, strike!Virginia.Now, intervene, ye gods!Icilius, my love! Oh! men of Rome,Have ye indeed forgot Lucretia?
[Swaying of the multitude. Appius Claudius rises in his car.
Appius.Be prudent, ye who do desire to seeFull justice. We must hark to every plea,And will to-morrow judge the case. Till then,Thou, Marcus, guard the maiden, since the manVirginius is absent from the town.
[A hissing protest from the multitude and a cry from Virginia follows this announcement. Icilius faces the Chief Decemvir with blazing eyes, and draws Virginia closer.
Icilius.Over my body only shall yon houndOf Hell seize on her. I am yet a manWith strength to shield or life to sacrificeFor that which is mine own. Sleep 'neath his roof?I'd sooner see her cold upon her bier,Or bound upon the wheel of Ixion,Enduring tortures of the damned themselves!With him? I'd rather cast her to a wolf,Who, merciful, would tear her into shredsAnd leave her pure, or o'er Tarpeia's Rock,And with mine eyes behold her perfect formShattered upon the kindly stones below,Ere Marcus Claudius lay hands on her.Marius.Ay, he is right; the maiden yet is free.The charge hath not been proven, Appius!Appius.So be it. We will acquiesce thus far,But lictors must be stationed as a guardAbout the house wherein she spends the night,Lest she escape and law be unfulfilled.Cor.(coming forward). I will go thither and attend this nightUpon her. Thou, Tiberius, returnHome with the slaves. To-morrow meet me here.Slave.Lady, thy lips are white and thou art ill.See, thou dost tremble.Cor.Woman, what of that?How canst thou weigh my pallor with her pain—The anguish in her eyes? What though I shakeAs with an ague? She herself is turnedTo stone with horror deeper than mine own.A living sorrow doth exceed a dead;Death to dishonor seemeth merciful.Herblow is heavy with the weight of dread,Minelight with hope. Did she not succor me?How can I fail her in her time of need?Appius.Lictors, take into custody yon man.Lest he do mischief.Icilius.By the almighty gods!Unhand me! I will kill thee, as a manWould kill a beast. Ah! foulest trick to seizeUpon me from the rear. Oh, God! Oh, God!
[He sinks helpless upon the stones at Virginia's feet, two lictors binding him firmly with cords. The storm now breaks, shrieking in maddest fury, the lightning playing over the hills of Rome.
Scene II—A Chamber in the Home of Virginius.
Midnight and darkness, save where the moonlight shimmers through the columns on the left. Virginia is discovered kneeling in the sea of radiance as though in prayer. A silence follows the rise of the curtain; then, low at first, but louder, clearer, gradually increasing in volume, a hymn breaks from her lips, she kneeling still.
Hymn to Diana.
O, thou virgin-goddess fair,Look upon me in my sorrow;Hear, oh, hear mine earnest prayer!Guard me from the fatal morrow!Purity is in thy breastWith thy silver moonbeams drest.Still my cheek is hot with shame,And my heart in anguish crying;Let me keep my spotless name,Waking, sleeping, living, dying!Chaste Dian, thy stainless gloryStill resounds in song and story.Mount thy ear within the blue,Waft a whisper to me only!Thou a heart hast, strong and true,Think upon the maiden lonely.Without thee it now would seemLove were nothing but a dream.
[Cornelia suddenly appears from out the gloom behind and puts her arms about Virginia's neck.
Cor.Love but a dream? Ah, no! The gods forfend!Virginia.Ah! Thou! [Turns and embraces her.Cor.No other than this broken heart;Yet is my soul untouched by human woe,As thine shall be untouched by human sin.Virginia.I see the face, with passion fiery,The full voluptuous lips and greedy eyes,I see and shudder.Cor.Marcus Claudius?Virginia.Nay, but the other.Cor.I am mystified.Virginia.None saw as I saw! He alone I fear,Who on the morrow will decide, dear God!—For Marcus—yet not Marcus—but himself;Allotmeas his own. (Wildly.) I saw his look,And felt his power! Marcus is the pawWherewith great Appius will seize his prey.(Laughs.) Virginia, his prey! He leered on me,And in the whitening of his clenchéd handI marked the clash and clangor of his soul.Dear gods! The feet of Night are leaden shod,And yet the precious moments speed too fast.Oh, Death! had I the courage that thou dostDemand, I'd summon thee. Methinks I hearE'en now the distant rustle of thy wings.And yet—thou tarriest—thou tarriest.Cor.Would Death might choose me out as willing prey!Virginia.Dear one, thy voice is weary like the world,Which is so old and heavy with its years;And yet thine eyes are bright, undimmed by tears.Cor.Bright with the pain that kills by slow degrees.Ah! for Apollo's pestilential dart,Or but to see the shears of AtroposFlash in Diana's beams.Virginia(softly). We loved her light,Thou—thou and I, when love was all in life,And those, our own, the twain, IciliusAnd brave Sicinius—"Ah, God! Ah, God!"Thus cried he, my beloved, as he sankProne at my feet, a tyrant's prisoner.
[Breaks from Cornelia's grasp and glides in anguish to the curtained doorway on the right.
Icilius! Icilius! Come to me!
[Enter a lictor—she shrinks back terrified.
Lictor.Lady, I must exhort thee to be prudent;Such cries will but confine thee e'en more straitThan thou art now confined. Silence is best.So ordered Appius, our gracious lord. [Exit lictor.Virginia(sobbing softly). I will be still! But I am so afraid,I, innocent, know nothing of the world.Life-bondage? Nay, methinks I am but mad.Severed fromhim! Ah! lay me in my grave,Rather than have my heart torn from my breast.
[Music is distantly heard.
Oh! If to pass in moonbeams from this lifeMid the pure notes of music stealing onInto my brain and sinking in my breast,Enveloping my soul; or to the soundOf rushing wind—that music of the godsSwept by Apollo's hand, or harking toThe distant murmur of the restless sea,Striking its pearly harp of mystic sounds,Echoed within the caves where maidens dwell,Nereides and Oceanides,With faces like the sheen of moonbeams, formsLike the white foam their sire, Neptune, makesWhen angered, with his trident! If to sleep,Sleeping, to dream, and dreaming, live againThe years that now lie white upon their bier.
[The moon vanishes behind a cloud.
Ah, me! I am so utterly alone!The moon hath veiled herself, the silence drearKnocks on my heart, unhidden enters in,Where once love and sweet innocence, in peaceDwelt, all unscarred by a despoiler's hand.It is grown cold! What was that sound I heard?I am so sunk in solitude, so wrappedIn vacant space, so chilled, I gasp for breath,Like drowning mariner; but for a handWarm, loving, to uplift me from this deathAmong the living, life among the dead!Cor.Virginia! Weep or pray, but do not so!Alas, Virginia, art thou turned to stone?
[Virginia, all unhearing, turns once more toward the columns where the moon again shines through.
Virginia(singing)."In the deep dream-light thy bark thou art guiding,Shifting thy garments, the clouds, as a sail.Rocked o'er celestial waves thou art riding,Hiding thy features behind a light veil.Dian, the spell of thy muteness cast o'er me.Calm the wild tumult which wars in my brain,E'er through my life may thine image, before me.Shining and constant as ever remain."
[A silence falls. Virginia steals up to Cornelia, who stands weeping alone.
My comfort hath not been denied me—see,The moonbeams bear the message from the sky.I hear a song which issues from the stars,A song of love and hope for a reunion;Re-born, we, who have loved and lost, shall liveAfar from sin amid the Blessed Isles,And walk together, soul with soul, and heartWith heart; no drop of passionate blood shall beLost in our death, but we shall throb with love,And laugh amid the light of suns to be.
[A pause. Softly a dim gray light steals through the columns; the moon is sinking slowly. Cornelia turns in sudden terror.
Farewell, immortal friend, go to thy rest;Thy kindly watch is o'er.Cor.Virginia, see!Now dawns the cruel day when thou—when thou—Ye gods have mercy on us twain this day! [Sobs wildly.Virginia(pointing to the east). It steals with faltering steps and blushing cheeks.Call it not cruel; it has wept for me.The dew is heavy.(Voice of lictor without.) See, it is the dawn.Look, comrades!Virginia(starting as from out a dream). Ah, Cornelia! Sure, I sleep.Is this my father's house? This four-walled cell,This prison, and am I Virginia?Could it have been but yesterday I wokeWithin this chamber from a happy dream.I dreamed ofhim, my love, Icilius,And woke still with his kiss upon my lips.I can recall the flood of morning light,A billowed sea of light upon the wall.I watched the changing pools and shifting waves,And smiled; the music of the fount without,In rising cadence, played within mine ears,And presently the stirring of the maidsAnd hum of spinning reached me and I rose,Glad, with the day. And now—Cornelia, touchMy cheek lest I be vanishing to air;Feel if my heart yet beats. Methinks I'm dead;Even this moment but a roving ghost.Cor.Courage, Virginia. Why, much hope is left!To-day thy father will return, and heWould place his soul in jeopardy for thee.Virginia.Courage, ay, courage! I am brave again.It is the dawn. Cornelia, we will seekThe outer court and wash our tears awayIn the cool fountain. Once again my cheekIs hot with spirit and my heart beats swiftWith hope and newborn trust in those I love.
[Exeunt the two, their arms wound round each other and Cornelia's lips pressed to Virginia's cheek.
Scene III—The Forum.
A multitude has gathered. Appius is in the judgment seat, with Marcus Claudius stationed beside him. Many women are weeping and the men appear silent and angry. Appius is surrounded by a guard of lictors. Cornelia and Tiberius are seated on the left in a car drawn by slaves. Near the center are gathered Galba, Hortensius, Horatius, and Marius.
Marius.This vast suspense weighs on me heavily;I would not see that gentle maiden wrongedFor all my world possessions! E'en the godsWould shriek with horror if yon slave of Dis,Young Marcus Claudius, should seize on her.Why doth she not appear?Hort.She and her father,Who hath returned, hot-foot, from camp to her,Tarry about the town, and every manThey meet they do address with exhortationsAnd prayers for justice and for witnesses,That this gross tale which men do know is falseShall be so proven. Yet all Rome is proneBeneath the foot of Appius and his nineVile colleagues. Fear is most tyrannical,Justice is dying, Mercy now is dead.Marius.Then God alone can help the wretched maid!Hor.(hotly). Nay, shall she be defiled and made a slave?Not while my hands are free, my body quickWith lifeblood, and my heart a man's. Why sheIs pure and frail as is the mountain snow.Happy the man who stands her champion.Happy Icilius, our young tribune!
[Enter Virginius in mean, plebeian garments and Virginia simply clothed in white, her dark hair loose. A murmur of sympathy and admiration greet their appearance, quickly suppressed. Enter from the other side Icilius, vainly struggling in the hands of armored soldiers. His hair is wild and greatly disheveled, his features white and drawn with agony.
Icilius.Virginia! Ah, my God! Virginia!Virginia.My Love! My Love! My Love!
[He stretches out his bound arms toward her, and in a moment with a cry she runs to him, regardless of the gazing world, and kneeling at his feet kisses with fervor the hands in bondage for her sake. Murmurs from the multitude.
Appius(rising to his feet, his face aflame). Back, girl! Back from him! Lictor, part the twain!
[Lictor unwillingly obeys, whereat Virginia rising slips away from him to her father's side. Virginius advances, with his hand uplifted, toward the judgment seat.
Virginius.Delay no longer in the trial ofThis matter. We demand in common justiceA hearing, and at once, O, Appius!Galba(aside to his friends). Mark yonder man upon the judgment-seat.Methinks 'tis he who coveteth the virgin,And Marcus but his instrument. Ah, see!The Chief is moved to acquiesce. MethinksHe fears this pleb as he once feared Sicinius.Appius(haughtily). And now begins the judgment. Silence, all!My client, Marcus Claudius, step forth.
[The man obeys. Virginia, shuddering, looks only at her father.
Appius.Repeat thy statement, Claudius, we wait.Marc.O, noble Chief, and all ye men of Rome,I but reiterate my words to-daySpoken in explanation of my courseOf action yesternoon. A woman cameUnto the house of Appius, one moonAgo, and came to perish on our hands.But ere she died she made a full confessionOf having served in early years the wifeOf this our citizen, Virginius,Who ignorantly hath been foully wronged,For whom we feel the deepest sympathy,And unto whom I now address myself.
[Turns to Virginius.
O, good centurion, this maid is notThy child in blood; but, as I said, was bornOf a slave woman in my house. Thy babeDied on the moment of its birth. Thou wertAway in service. Dost thou not recall?Virginius(in calm affirmative). Yea, that I do recall. (Aside.) Thou fiend of hell!Marc.(triumphantly). Has he not said? This slave, who did confessTo us the truth, declared that she had playedThe thief and crept most slyly to my house,Stolen the infant of my nurse and slippedOut, 'mid the night and gloom, which, friendly, hidHer dastard deed. Virginia is the babe,And, therefore, lawfully belongs to me.Icilius.Ye gods!Multitude.No proofs? No evidence?Marc.(proudly). My word!
[Much laughter and some hissing.
Appius.Silence! Virginius, speak, and be as briefAs the occasion will allow. Proceed.Virginius.Ye men of Rome! To you, and you alone,I speak in my defense, for lo! in youI see the qualities of common justice,Or faintest sense of mercy, which is rare—And less, indeed, unto the point in hand.For all these forty years I've lived in Rome,A Roman 'mongst the Romans, brave amongstThe brave, and serving, ere I came of age,My mother city. Have I shown myselfIn any manner base, corruptible,Or lying, either by my word or deed?Ye all are witnesses of me—each manCan see and know the truth as God can see.This is my babe, of me begotten, bornOf her whom I so loved—her mother. Lo!The very luster of her ebon hairBespeaks the woman who in honor boreVirginia. See! The tremble of her lip.I do not willingly display my fleshAnd blood to gaze of multitudes, but thatMy straits are desperate. Look upon her hand—The long, brown fingers are a copy trueOf these, though mine are knotted by the gripOf sword and the guiding of the plow.And now her eyes—Ah, no! I say too much.Ye gods of Heaven speak for me this day!
[He bows his head upon Virginia's shoulder.
Appius.He faints with sudden revelation fromThe gods of what is manifestly true.Virginius, thou art deluded, orA man, of old, deceptive.Virginia.'Tis a lie!He is Virginius, no more, no less!And 'tis enough, as Rome can witness to.Thou art not worthy to crawl on the groundAnd kiss the hand which hath these many yearsBattled for Rome! Thou canst but harm our flesh.His name and mine are unstained as the flameOn Vesta's altar.
[Turns to where Icilius is struggling vainly in the hands of the guard.
Peace, Icilius!Of what avail is aught to such as these?Small hope is left—and yet, O, Appius,Wert thou not born of woman? For the oneWho gave thee life, respect her sisters now.Let mercy dawn within thy hardened breast,Speak but one word—one word—and many livesWill leap and live again. Look down uponAnd honor this grey head, now bowed so low;The only stay and comfort in his ageWouldst tear from him? His years in solitudeWill roll away, a never-ending tide.Ye Romans, look upon your citizens,Protect your women—lest indignant JoveLightnings shall send upon you, or the shieldOf Mars be taken from its sanctuary.
[Icilius at this moment breaks from the grasp of the soldiers and leaps to Virginia's side. The girl lifts his bound hands and places them against her breast, raising her eyes to his.
Icilius! I heard a ringing laugh,And saw, as in a vision, a young child—Our flesh and blood—our souls' inheritor.I saw adorning me, in the strange dream,A wedding garland fresh, not clanging chains.O, if to die within thine arms! But stay!My father—see the workings of his face!He suffers. Father, we shall meet againIn the Elysian fields, when I am free!Appius.Fools! Cease your maudlin tragedy! Disperse!Come forward, slave, the judgment hath been passed.Cor.(starting). The judgment, and so soon!Tiberius(leaping from the car). It is not so!Virginia, stay awhile!Icilius(aside). Unbind my hands, Virginia!Virginia.The knot is hard and I am dazed. I tremble.Love, wilt thou sacrifice thy life for me?Icilius.Ah! some one loose me of these cursed bonds!
[He is seized by the soldiers and again forced from the young girl's side. Cornelia steps from her car, and coming forward kneels at the feet of Appius.
Cor.Lord Appius, behold a broken heart,But one with gentle blood from noble veinsForever fed. Though proud, I kneel to thee.O, loose her bonds—restore her liberty—And I my wealth, my house, and e'en my lifeShall give to thee or this thy servant here.Deep down into the dust I do inclineMyself, who am a lady of the bestAnd noblest line in Rome. I offer theeMy services, if thou wilt free the maidWho did befriend me in mine hour of need.Virginia.Cornelia! To me! Nay, it shall not be!Thou friend of friends, such sacrifice is vain.One kiss alone I ask of thee—one kiss—Then silence! See, Tiberius weeps for thee.
[Tiberius springs with a cry into Cornelia's arms. The two draw off together. The four citizens come forward.
Galba.O, Appius, we offer thee our livesTo do with as thou wilt—but loose the maid!Appius.Petitioners, ye gods, from every side?It shall not be, for she is Marcus' slave.The judgment has been passed, and I have spoken!
[A murmuring.
Make way! The master comes to take his slave!
[Confusion. Appius rises, his face ablaze with passion.
Make way, ye fools! I'll call my colleagues hereWith all their lictors. There will be bloodshed!Make way!Icilius.Ah! but to have my hands aboutHis throat, though for a moment, for a breath;Though for a heart-beat and, beyond me, Hell!Virginia(in a voice of agony). Father! My father!Virginius.Quiet, little girl!O, Appius, the final shred of hope,The weakened flame, is gone—forever gone.Before we part, indeed, one moment grantTo us aside, that I may speak with her.Appius.Haste, then, old pleb! Nor tarry long for tears.Virginius.Tears? What are they? My heart is dead and barren,My soul athirst for death. Tears mean no moreTo me than rain upon a broken stone.
[He leads the girl aside. All watch in breathless silence.
Virginia.O, Heavenly Powers above, deliver me,By whirlwind or by sword, from this dread place!Father, farewell! [Presses his hand to her lips.Virginius.Ah! Touch it not!
[Snatches a knife from a butcher.
Thus only can I make thee free, my daughter!
[He plunges it into her bosom and she falls back into the arms of Icilius, who has freed himself and leaps to her side with a cry. Tumult and swaying of the crowd.
(Brandishing knife.) With this blood, Appius! thy life and theeDevote I to perdition!
[Makes his way with the knife through the multitude. Icilius lays her body down, murmuring,"Virginia, by thy blood shall Rome be free!" [Exit.
[Camilla kneels as though stunned beside the prostrate body.
Tiberius.Ah me! Ah me! Virginia!
[Sinks beside her.
(Curtain.)
It rises again to show the collected army, with Virginius and Icilius at the head. Appius is about to leave the seat, his cloak around his head. Several lictors have fallen to the ground. Camilla still kneels beside the body, gazing vacantly before her. Virginia's dark hair falls like a shroud around her.
(Curtain.)
POEMS
POEMS
STEWARDSHIP.
THE SEA GULL.
MT. VERNON.
MY MOTHER.
THE CRADLE SONG.
OUT OF THE DARK.
NIOBE.
(Dedicated to the statue of Niobe, in the Uffizi Palace, Florence, Italy.)
TO THE GENIUS OF DEATH, BY CANOVA.
TO THE WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE.
BEATRICE TRIUMPHANT.
(To Beatrice Cenci, as she is depicted in Guido Reni's painting of St. Michael and the Dragon.)
THE CALL OF THE IRISH SEA.
THE LION OF LUCERNE.
SONNET TO NIAGARA FALLS.
THE LOST HEART.
(A Rondeau.)
IS HE NOT MINE?
TWO GIFTS.
THE MOONFLOWER.
THREE KISSES.
A SONG OF THE WEST.
TO ESTHER.
THE THRUSH.
THE LIGHT OF THE STAR.
THE MESSAGE OF THE PINES.
THE LOST SUNBEAM.
HERITAGE.
(To my Mother.)