_The_ EMPRESS, _the_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, _and several_
LADIES-IN-WAITING.
[THE EMPRESS _watches him disappear, and then
mounts the steps of the terrace to get a last
glimpse of him, and when he is out of sight
she cries aloud in her anguish, wringing her
hands._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Noble Sovereign, have courage.
EMPRESS
Ah, no, leave me. I am at the end of my strength!-----I
played the Empress, did I not, as long as my child was
here?----Now that he is gone, let me be a woman, let me
be his mother!----I shall never again see him whom you
have just taken away from me. Never, do you hear? I feel
it, I know it! Since we are above ordinary beings, may
Heaven be just to us and give us superhuman strength! Why
have we hearts like other people, and anguish which breaks
them?----Ah, the very beggar-women in rags in the street
are less miserable! No handsome spy comes to them, to make
their souls falter, and then flees-and after that their
children are not taken away from them!----Your Empress
would rather be a beggar, hungry and cold, but clasping
her little one to her breast-----Yes, a beggar I tell you,
who holds out her hand to passers-by as she sits on the
steps of a temple!----[_Sobbing, she throws herself on the
terrace steps._]
CURTAIN
ACT THREE.
[_Before the curtain rises, shots are heard.
It is nightfall in the Imperial Citadel at
Nanking, half battered-down by the_ TARTARS.
_Behind a huge wall with battlements are
heard the sound of trumpets and the shouts
of soldiers in the distance. At the back, to
the left is a bronze gate, heavily boarded
and surmounted by a black turret with a
three-tiered angular roof. In the middle of
the stage is a funeral pile of scaffolding
and fagots. At the back, to the right, the
crenellated wall continues; terraces are
visible and in the far distance the outline of
the palace stands out in relief against the
sky, yellow in the setting sun. On the top of
the wall, and over the gateway are Chinese
soldiers, who are firing their last shots at
the invisible besiegers._]
SCENE I
THE EMPRESS, _the_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, ARROW-BEARER, _the_
LADIES-IN-WAITING, CHINESE SOLDIERS.
[_Wounded men are lying in their own blood here and there
among the ruins. The_ EMPRESS _is in the middle of the
stage, accoutred like a warrior, helmeted, holding a weapon
in her bleeding hand. The_ FAITHFUL PRINCE _is on the top
of the rampart with the_ SOLDIERS. ARROW-BEARER, _mortally
wounded, lies in the foreground to the left._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_From the height of the ramparts giving
orders to cease fire_] Enough, my brave friends!----Stop
shooting down the fugitives----Let us keep our powder for
the final attack.
[_The soldiers cease firing._]
They have fled, once again we are saved!----
EMPRESS
Ah! Saved, yes!----Saved for a few minutes at least. We
have time to meditate before death. [_She sits on a stone.
To the_ LADIES-IN-WAITING _who flock about her._] Look now
to those who are suffering. I need nothing, only my hand is
bleeding, that does not matter----See what they need, go
to their aid; you have the poison in the tiny flasks, have
you not?
LADIES-IN-WAITING
[_Showing her the golden flasks which they carry in the
folds of their dress, on to each of which is attached a
little cup of jade._] We have them, noble Sovereign.
EMPRESS
That which they most desire, no doubt, is death----Pour
out the draught of the Great Deliverance for those who
are suffering the most----Be sparing with it, however,
for, alas! we have not enough for all. The contents of
the little cup of jade chained to the flask is sufficient
for one man, it is the proper dose. Go, my devoted maids,
bring them sleep. That is your duty in this hour. [_To_
CINNAMON.] And you, Cinnamon, remain near me, you shall
pour out my portion----Place your flask on the stone, very
near me, with my Imperial cup.
[CINNAMON _obeys. The other_ Ladies-in-Waiting _go among
the wounded, leaning over them and offering them the potion
in a low voice. In the distance firing is still heard._]
GOLDEN LOTUS
[_Very gently to_ ARROW-BEARER, _whom she approaches at
once_]
My lord, do you wish to die? Then I shall empty the cup
also soon after you----Do you wish to die?
ARROW-BEARER [_After a silence and as if in a trance_]
No, my fair trembling flower, my fair flower of the
lake!----Before you came to me, I wished it----Now I wish
it no longer. Let me remain for a little while among the
living, to cherish in my heart that word of love which you
have just spoken. Help those who are suffering more than I,
without a friend----and then you will return and I shall
rest my head on your knees before going to the Land of the
Shades.
GOLDEN LOTUS
It shall be as you command, dear lord----Be sure I will
return to you.
[_She goes to the assistance of the other
wounded, followed by the gaze of the dying_
ARROW-BEARER. _The soldiers in the foreground
add beams, fagots, and branches to the funeral
pile. A tumult is heard to the right, in the
wings, where more soldiers come on._]
EMPRESS
Who is there?
CAPTAIN OF SOLDIERS
It is our envoy Wan-tsi who has succeeded in approaching
our walls and will bring us the news from without. We have
thrown down the rope-ladder to him, and here he is.
EMPRESS
Ah!----Let him come. [_To the soldiers who stand behind her
and are adding to the fire._] Rest awhile my friends! There
is more than enough now to consume my body----Why do you
make the fire so large?
CAPTAIN
Why do we want so large a fire?----Faithful Prince will
tell your Majesty, when he presents our last request.
SCENE II
_The same, with the_ ENVOY WAN-TSI, _who approaches
the_ EMPRESS. _His shoes and the hem of his robe are
blood-stained. He prostrates himself._
EMPRESS
Arise, we have no further need of prostrations. We
are all equal here. There is but one rank now, that
which is conferred on all alike by the nobility of
sacrifice. [WAN-TSI _rises._] Now, speak----spare me
nothing----Besides I guess----
WAN-TSI
Ah, yes, all is over, Oh, my Sovereign. Only your Palace
still stands.
EMPRESS
But not for long!
WAN-TSI
The approaches to the walls have been abandoned. Perchance
they may permit us to live until to-night has ended.
EMPRESS
And the rest of the city, the western citadels?
WAN-TSI
Are in the hands of the Tartars. All alike!----This cast
off uniform of some enemy saved me----In the streets they
are burning, killing, and murdering. Several thousand women
have succeeded in throwing themselves into the river----The
others have been outraged, and strangled at the same time.
Blood flows along the pavement in streams like the water
of Heaven after a storm. Every gutter discharges itself
in the river like a great red fan. Down the whole length
of the street corpses are to be seen, their bodies still
warm, pouring blood through the gashes in their throats----
Noble Sovereign, on my way I climbed over thousands of
dead bodies, my feet became entangled in their long hair
trailing from the several heads----Oh Majesty, it is the
end. [_He kneels again._] And now forgive me for being the
messenger of misfortune.
EMPRESS
My brave and faithful messenger, I thank you! Arise, I
told you, and take your place among my last remaining
soldiers----
[WAN-TSI _rises and takes his place among the
soldiers, who still continue to add fuel to the
fire. To_ CINNAMON, _pointing to the flask and
the golden cup._]
Cinnamon, the hour has come.
CINNAMON
Oh Majesty, not yet. [_The other_ LADIES-IN-WAITING,
_scattered among the wounded, have heard the command and
silently come and take their places about their Sovereign._]
EMPRESS
Would you wish to have them take me alive? That man who has
seen, you have heard what he has just said.
TRANQUIL BEAUTY
But the palace is still standing.
PEARL
The army of the South may come to save us.
EMPRESS
To avenge us perhaps----later. But to save us-----child,
who think you could save us? [_To herself._] Ah, that
mysterious aid for which I have so foolishly hoped!----"The
Star," said the handsome lying spy, "the star which shall
watch over me so well when all shall bow before the triumph
of the Dragon." Child, who think you could save us?-----We
have no more powder, no more men, no water, nothing. We
have hurled down the stones of our ramparts; the gates give
way, the walls are crumbling----[_To_ CINNAMON] Give it to
me, the hour has come.
TRANQUIL BEAUTY
Sometimes when one believes all lost, fortune changes.
PEARL
Beloved sovereign, hasten not the irretrievable.
EMPRESS
The irretrievable would be to wait too long!
[_She makes an imperious sign to_ CINNAMON,
_who pours the poison into the cup. But an
uproar is heard from the summit of the rampart
to which the_ FAITHFUL PRINCE _has just
mounted again above the barricaded gate. Night
continues to fall_]
What is it now?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
A small body of Tartars has boldly come unarmed to the
very foot of the walls. One of them, whose manner is calm
and noble, says that he has been sent by the Emperor with
a last communication to your Majesty. He showed us, under
the light of a torch which we lit, the Imperial seal of the
Tsings, of a scroll of yellow silk.
EMPRESS
A communication? From the usurper to your Sovereign, a
communication? Is not the very idea an insult? Let these
bold men go away unharmed, but tell them to go at once.
[CINNAMON _gradually retires with her cup of poison._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Descending again from the ramparts and
approaching the_ EMPRESS _with an air of mystery._] The one
whose bearing is so dignified, I seem to have seen before.
EMPRESS
To have seen him. Where?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
[_Coming nearer and lowering his voice_] My sovereign,
I think----that unknown, who came the day of the
investiture----I am sure of it--It is he!
EMPRESS
[_Arising bewildered_] Why do you whisper?-----Prince,
you almost insult me with that tone of confidence, when
it concerns that man. You mean him who presented himself
fraudulently as our Viceroy of the South?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Yes.
EMPRESS
Very well then, have him brought here. Throw the
rope-ladder to him that he may appear before me. [_The
ladder is thrown from the top of the wall._]
Hide the poison, Cinnamon, and the golden flask as well. He
who is coming need not know.... Has the fire darkened my
face?
[_The newcomers appear at the top of the
rampart, the_ TARTAR EMPEROR _first, followed
by_ FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST _and three other
persons in Tartar soldiers' uniform, but
unarmed._]
SCENE III
_The_ TARTAR EMPEROR _and The_ EMPRESS
[_The_ EMPEROR _advances while the four men of his suite
remain in the rear. At a signal from the_ EMPRESS, _the_
LADIES-IN-WAITING _and all others on the stage retire to
the back._]
EMPEROR
[_Bending the knee before her, as on the Coronation day_]
Oh, Sovereign, oh, brave warrior, may the day dawn which
will brighten your dark destiny! [_He rises._]
EMPRESS [_Trembling_]
Oh, dispense with all vain formalities. The minutes
left to us are sparingly numbered----Drop the mask and
speak quickly. Who are you? A Tartar, alas! are you not?
Otherwise you would have been unable to break through their
ring of steel----A Tartar, say?
EMPEROR
Yes.
EMPRESS
A spy, then, when you came on my Coronation day? Nothing
but a spy, alas!
EMPEROR
No! One who risked his life that day, as he does again, to
save yours.
EMPRESS
My life is no longer of any importance, and the right to
save it belongs to none. At the Court of the Usurper who
reigns at Peking what position is I yours?----Secret agent
for venturesome missions? No, a great dignitary, then? Tell
me.
EMPEROR
Yes.
EMPRESS
And a Prince?
EMPEROR
What matters it what I am? Your Majesty is the chief
concern. Deign to listen to what the Emperor----
EMPRESS [_Interrupting_]
Where is your Emperor? At the head of his troops?
EMPEROR [_Embarrassed_]
Well----No, in his place over yonder. The rites, I need
scarcely tell you, do not permit him to leave it.
[_Throughout this dialogue the cannon is heard
incessantly in distant parts of the city._]
EMPRESS
The rites, ah, the rites! You see what attention I have
paid to the rites, I, the daughter of the Mings, the
daughter of Heaven and the Invisible----I am here in the
midst of my soldiers. I am fighting like them!----And it is
he, your phantom Emperor, who dares to send me a message?
EMPEROR
With a message of pardon one always dares----
EMPRESS
Say rather that a message of pardon is the last message
which may be sent when it is from him and concerns
me!----So the Tartars dare to offer pardon!----You have
just passed through my city of Nanking and you have seen?
It is glorious, is it not, their work?----
EMPEROR
Alas! yes, I have seen with horror,----but I can swear to
you by my life that such were not the orders which were
given by my Sovereign.
EMPRESS
Ah! a Sovereign then, who has not the force wherewith
to command obedience!----So others have told me that
before----I still hate him with that ineradicable
race-hatred which you know, to which now contempt is
added. Oh, that Emperor who smokes opium in his mummy's
palace, while his hordes of soldiers at their own free will
go through the provinces, leaving red tracks behind and
charnel-houses for the vultures!
And if the impossible were to happen and I were to
humiliate myself sufficiently to accept his pardon, who
would warrant me after all--since he is not obeyed? Amid
that army of wild beasts which was here awhile ago and will
return soon to shout for our death, who could enforce the
order of pardon of your phantom Emperor?----Who, I ask?
EMPEROR
I!
EMPRESS
You! [_More gently and in some agitation._] You! Perhaps in
very truth you might, for you seem to be one of those whom
one dare not disobey. Moreover you have the superb audacity
to reappear at this moment! But if the loyalty which I read
in your eyes does not deceive me, cease the game which you
are playing, and this time answer-----Who are you?
EMPEROR
Who am I? Up to now nothing! Inexistent as a vaporous
cloud! Nothing! But to-morrow perhaps everything, if you so
wish it. To-morrow everything and radiating at your side
like a sun in the blue ether----
EMPRESS [_Drawing back_]
Ah, you remember all too well my recent indulgence toward
your enigmas. Amid the perfume of incense, amid pomp and
luxury, I betrayed the weakness of a woman. To-day, no; you
find me stronger and more stern, precisely because I am
defeated, and know that I must die.
EMPEROR [_Bowing before her_]
Oh, Sovereign, never were you more sacred to me Do not be
offended by my words and for a short time still allow me my
mask and my mystery. Hear only this: A fortnight ago, when
I left that palace where I saw you in all your Imperial
splendour, I hastened to Peking to request of that Emperor
whom you hate that he would stop this horrible war. On the
way I learned that our Tartar armies were marching with
lightning speed, and I turned back as quick as my ship and
horses could take me, to give to them myself the order for
peace. I have the right to do so. See, here is the seal
which gives me full power in the name of Tsings. As you
have said, I am one of those whom men dare not disobey; at
least, not face to face, when I speak----I have learned now
how to give orders and to enforce them. Deign only to allow
your soldiers to give the signal for a truce, just to hoist
the flag on the tower, and not one of their heads shall
fall, I swear it----
EMPRESS
To make that offer to me, Prince, you must not be of the
Imperial blood----The Daughter of Heaven can never accept
the mercy of a Tartar!----
SCENE IV.
_The same,_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, A WATCHMAN, _the_ CAPTAIN _of
the_ SOLDIERS, _and the_ SOLDIERS.
WATCHMAN
[_Announcing from the height of a turret at the summit of
the ramparts_] An army, see, over there. The Tartars are
returning! Thousands and thousands of them. In the distance
they appear in the twilight like a long black trail----
FAITHFUL PRINCE
How far?
WATCHMAN
At the bend of the river, I can see their vanguard-----They
are marching along the avenue of Sitche-Men.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Let them come----It will be their last attack-----Only at
the bend of the river. Then we have still half an hour----
WATCHMAN
They are lighting their torches, and now I hear their
war-trumpets.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Be it so!----We shall be ready.
EMPEROR [_Imploring her with clasped hands_]
Sovereign!
_The_ EMPRESS [_As though ready to yield_]
For myself, no!----I have declared my intentions, that is
my last word!----[_Pointing to her_ SOLDIERS.] But all
these brave men, who are ready to drop with exhaustion,
with hunger and thirst----[_To_ FAITHFUL PRINCE] Ah, well,
for their sakes, yes, let us raise the flag of truce.
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Incredulously_]
The flag of truce!
EMPRESS
Yes, I have said so, oh, noble subject! I have said it!-My
death alone must be sufficient satisfaction for the enemy.
Since there is no more hope, of what avail is this final
slaughter? Let the signal be raised.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Not one of the warriors will yield.
EMPRESS
But if I command them!----Am I no longer their Empress?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Submissive to your every command, they refuse to obey that
one order.
EMPRESS [_To her_ SOLDIERS]
Can it be true----My friends, this instant I command it,
do you hear me?----Oh, spare me this excess of anguish,
my dear rebels!----You cannot wish that I should be
transported into the other world along the stream of your
blood----
[_The_ SOLDIERS _drop their heads and stand
motionless, holding their weapons._]
CAPTAIN OF SOLDIERS. [_After a silence_] Majesty, the
Prince has already answered for all of us! We emphatically
refuse to ask for a truce.
EMPRESS [_Turning towards the_ EMPEROR _in a sudden
exultation of triumph._] Ah, you see I am like your TARTAR
EMPEROR; I am not obeyed. Go tell him, report to your
master----and at the same time you may tell him that we
know how to die nobly in the palace of the Mings. Go, my
lord, you may take your leave.
EMPEROR [_Imploring more insistently_]
Sovereign, what if I now were to implore your pardon----the
right to remain here and die at your side?
EMPRESS
I grant the honour of dying at the side of the Empress,
only to those brave men--who are of my race, do you
understand?----and who have spilled their blood to defend
me. Go, my lord, I have commanded you.
[_Coming toward him, speaking very low and quickly, like a
desperate woman._] One more word, however----My son, who
is still in the keeping of the army of the South----My
son----since you seem to dare all and to have all power
will you try to save him?----But no----when it is the
mother who speaks in me I can no longer reason-----To
attempt that would mean to be a traitor to the master whom
you serve----
EMPEROR
I serve no master, I am above treason, free as the gods,
and answerable to my own conscience only. I will try----I
will live to try.
EMPRESS
Do so, and be this your reward----Later, among the clouds,
where all the dead meet and are at peace----my shades
shall not be hostile to yours-----Now go, my lord, our
last moments are necessary to us----[_To_ FAITHFUL PRINCE,
_making a sign to him to conduct the_ TARTAR EMPEROR.]
Prince, the audience is at an end.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
[_To the_ EMPEROR, _who hesitates, as if on the point of
making a decisive revelation_] Go, my lord. You have heard
our sovereign dismiss you.
[_He wants to lead him to that part of the wall
where he ascended_]
EMPRESS. [_Indicating the bronze gate, barricaded by
boards_] No, open that gate. We still have time. For the
last time, I desire that my palace be left as if I still
had liberty and power----Open it. [_The_ SOLDIERS _hasten
to take away the boards and open the two doors of the
gateway._] All honour must be accorded the messenger of
peace.
[_The_ SOLDIERS _kneel, the gong and the
trumpets are sounded._]
EMPEROR
Yes, messenger of peace, in spite of you yourself and in
all circumstance. [_Turning about, facing her and speaking
like one inspired._] The dragon will descend from the
height of the dark storm clouds----and in his claws he will
gently pick up, in her own despite, the beautiful phoenix
who wished to die----
[_He goes out, followed by the four_ TARTAR
_warriors. The_ Soldiers _barricade the gate
again with planks and stones._]
SCENE V.
_The same, without the_ EMPEROR _and the_ TARTARS.
The EMPRESS, [_as the_ LADIES-IN-WAITING _gather about
her._] Who is that man----who is so like a god?
PEARL
All of a tremble, we watched him from afar----
TRANQUIL BEAUTY
His eyes radiated noble love.
CINNAMON
Yet your Majesty, always so gentle to us, seemed very
haughty towards him.
EMPRESS. [_Without replying, dreamily repeats the
Coronation admonition._] Be attentive and anxious as if you
carried a vase filled to the brim with water, of which not
a drop must be spilled.
The WATCHMAN [_From the height of the turret over the
gate_] The torches of their vanguard can be seen at the
corner of the Avenue of the East-----The sound of their
artillery-wagons can be faintly heard----
EMPRESS
Already at the corner of the Avenue of the East!-----Death
is flying to us on wings [_She takes the cup full of poison
which_ CINNAMON _had hidden behind a stone_] The hour has
come!----[_To the_ LADIES-IN-WAITING _around her, pointing
to the pyre._] As soon as the potion has accomplished its
work, you will place me there, and when the flame mounts
higher and clearer, then your service to your Empress will
be terminated, you will empty the golden flask, to follow
me. [_She puts down the cup of poison which she was about
to raise to her lips._] Faithful Prince, I wish to say
good-bye to him----Call him.
[_During the preceding dialogue, the_ FAITHFUL
PRINCE, _at the back of the stage, a torch in
his hand, superintends a group of_ SOLDIERS,
_who are using crowbars and pickaxes._]
CINNAMON
Over yonder, is that not he?
[FAITHFUL PRINCE _orders the_ SOLDIERS _to
remove a rock, which hides a small bronze
door._]
EMPRESS
Ah, I knew----
PEARL
What is he doing?
EMPRESS
What must be done! He too, realising that the hour has come
for me to go to my last sleep, is preparing my couch. These
galleries beneath the earth lead to my tomb.
[_The bronze door opens._ PEARL _kneels and
hides her face._ GOLDEN LOTUS, _a little apart
from the group, is kneeling near_ ARROW-BEARER,
_and speaks tenderly to him, as she smooths his
forehead._]
This proud tomb, long ago hewn out secretly, is of no
use now. There rather, there in the beautiful flame
and the eddying smoke, my spirit will ascend to the
clouds----Nothing of me shall remain for the hands of the
Tartar to profane. In vain they will have surrounded me. I
shall escape them, in the air----
TRANQUIL BEAUTY [_Also kneeling_]
But Sovereign, since this tomb is secret and is
inviolable, at least permit your attendants to bury you
there, in magnificence.----Permit that, oh, well beloved
Sovereign;----That flame, oh, why that flame? No, no, it is
too horrible.
EMPRESS
Child, do you not know the history of our race? My
ancestor, defeated in this same place, defeated as I am,
killed himself----An hour later his tomb was violated, his
body was thrown into the street as food for the dogs and
the vultures----I have declared my will. Go call Faithful
Prince. He wastes his strength in a vain task, when he is
bleeding. See, the blood covers his robe. His wound has
reopened, he pays no heed to it. At least let him spare
time to bid me farewell----Go, it is my wish. [TRANQUIL
BEAUTY _rises and goes over to the PRINCE. During the
preceding dialogue, he has been ordering the_ SOLDIERS _to
light more torches and to carry them into the vault._]
TRANQUIL BEAUTY [_Advancing to_ FAITHFUL PRINCE]
Prince!----The Empress----
[FAITHFUL PRINCE _approaches the_ EMPRESS.]
SCENE VI.
_The_ EMPRESS, FAITHFUL PRINCE, TRANQUIL BEAUTY, _The_
CAPTAIN _of the_ SOLDIERS, _A_ WATCHMAN.
EMPRESS [_To_ FAITHFUL PRINCE]
Prince, I wish to bid you farewell. My last spoken word
must be to you, with my everlasting gratitude.
[_She raises the poison-cup to her lips._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_With a gesture as though to stop her._]
No, my Divine Empress, no. The hour of rest, alas! has
not come for you or for me. No, your hard task is not yet
completed!----
EMPRESS
My task, you say, is not yet completed? But the palace
is only a ruin. The gates are giving way, the walls are
crumbling----This time we can withstand the attack only ten
minutes----it is the end!----
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Alas, I know it all too well. There is no hope.
EMPRESS
Then let me go----the Tartars are returning. Listen, I too
begin to hear their war-trumpets. You would not have that
they should take your Empress alive, or even find her body
to throw to the crows.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Hear me, I entreat you!----[_He motions to_ VEILED-LIGHT,
_who has just appeared at the back. The_ EMPRESS _has set
down the cup on a stone._] We have deferred making known to
you the last heroic service which we purpose to demand----
Permit your Councillor to convey to you our unanimous
opinion.
VEILED-LIGHT [_Bending the knee_]
Oh, Majesty, 200,000 soldiers have died for you. The few
hundred, also, who remain here within our walls, are about
to sacrifice their lives at once. Do you wish them to
die for a lost cause. [_He motions to the_ CHIEF _of the
Soldiers to approach._] Deign to permit their chief to add
his prayers to ours.
_The_ CAPTAIN _of the_ SOLDIERS, [_After bending the knee._]
Proudly and without regret we give up our lives for our
Sovereign----May she too do what we have learned to expect
of her marvellous courage, a thousand times greater than
that of her humble defenders.
VEILED-LIGHT
Oh, Majesty, we must envy these men who are about to die so
gloriously. Our duty is otherwise; it is longer, it is more
terrible.
EMPRESS
Our duty longer and more terrible?----Then what do you
expect of me? Speak, what would you say. Your Empress will
obey you, but speak at once, I do not understand. [_She
takes again the golden cup._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE
What we must do, my beloved Sovereign, is to flee and live.
EMPRESS [_Violently_]
Ah, no! All that you have demanded of me I have done, but I
refuse to take flight like a coward.
VEILED-LIGHT
To flee, alas! yes. But to escape from the enemy, to
deprive them of the prize of war----and thus their success
will be but failure. Soon the blood of our heroes will
inspire other heroes. A new army will rally to the cause of
the Daughter of Heaven, and the war will begin again.
EMPRESS
And more blood will be spilt----and the ravaged country
will people the realm of the shades----No, no, enough of
death's----I fear to have my reign handed down as that of
a fatal and murderous Sovereign. All this blood! All this
blood spilled for me! It seems to me that my very hands are
red with it!
FAITHFUL PRINCE
The blood of your subjects is inexhaustible, and their
devotion is limitless.
EMPRESS [_Suddenly becoming very calm and as though
beseeching_]
But my courage is exhausted. [_Pointing to the Soldiers,
who are piling wood upon the fire._] I want to die with
them.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Live, that their death may not have been in vain. Live to
bring back our young Emperor, whom the Army of the South is
protecting for us. Live for us all and for him.
EMPRESS
My son! Oh, speak not that name. Do not, to influence me,
do not try to touch upon that string, that alone I forbid
you touch. At the very moment when you tore him from me,
I had an intuition that I should never see him again,
never again gaze upon his dear little face, his beautiful
eyes----I have courage to listen to all except when you
speak to me of him,----for then, do you not see, I become
again a mother, nothing but a mother, like other women,
and I have no longer, no longer the strength.-[_She turns
her head and begins to sob._] Oh, not to belong to one's
self, not even to be allowed to lay down on the roadside
the burden of one's life!----To be the impersonal idol of
a whole people, to be dealt with in accordance with their
will! To be a wretched fetish, whom all watch as carefully
as the tablets of their ancestors on the family altar!----
FAITHFUL PRINCE
You are the shining standard, the ever-radiant goddess,
toward whom we turn in our supreme distress----and you will
do what millions of your subjects demand of you, through
the mouths of these few brave men who are about to die.
THE WATCHMAN [_from the height of the turret,_] He hurls
himself against their vanguard, the man who was here just
now, the Messenger of peace----with the three others who
accompanied him. He hurls himself against their vanguard
as though to make them halt. Yes, he wishes them to stop,
that is it. And he seems to command like a master, and to
inspire them with fear.
EMPRESS [_To the_ Watchman]
So! Let not that man's name be mentioned again to me. And
you, poor Watchman, whose task is finished, you may come
down and join your brothers in arms, to die with them. Of
what concern to us now are the movements of the Tartars?
We are no longer of this world. [_To_ Faithful Prince] But
how, then, is what you asked of me possible?----Surrounded
on all sides, how and whither can we flee. Where can we
hide? Where?
[_The_ Soldiers, _having loosened the rock, are
standing in front of the bronze door, still
holding their crowbars and pickaxes. They have
an air of expectancy._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE
There in the tomb. On the cement lying all ready now to
seal the rocks we shall throw dust----as soon you shall
have entered.----
The EMPRESS [_After a silence, speaking slowly, submissive
and very melancholy_] In my grave entombed alive! Be it so!
And after that?----
FAITHFUL PRINCE
There is a subterranean passage, which passes through the
vaults where your father and your husband sleep. You know,
as I do, that its end opens out upon brushwood in the
country, at the foot of the Hill of Tortures.
EMPRESS
[_Quickly and breathlessly_] If it is not already
obstructed by the soil, yes! And all about the Hill of
Tortures the Tartars are encamped.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
We will wait until they are no longer there.
EMPRESS
And shall we have sufficient air in this vault, where sleep
our dead?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Yes, I believe so----but let us take this potion with us
which you wished to drink a while ago.
EMPRESS [_Very excitedly_]
And if the Tartars take us there, if they track us like
beasts of the night, hunted into their burrows? Remember
how they violated the tomb of my ancestor.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
It was not secret, like yours.
EMPRESS [_Still in great excitement_]
And, clothes wherewith to escape through the country where
the enemy roams at large? [_Pointing to her uniform._] Not
these, for sure?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Some taken from the enemy will serve admirably----The
ground must be covered with them.
EMPRESS
Rags torn from some festering corpse, is it thus you
would clothe your Empress!----So be it, even to that I
consent----But how can we live in the depths of that tomb?
Since we are not yet of the Shades, we must eat, you know
that. I divided my last grains of rice this morning with
you and my soldiers!----What then?
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Pointing to the tomb._]
The consecrated cakes there on the table of the dead.
EMPRESS
Horror and sacrilege!
VEILED-LIGHT
There is no sacrilege, when the safety of the Bright
Dynasty is at stake. The August Shades will come in person
to invite us to eat. Our sacrifice will make them indulgent
and favourable.
EMPRESS [_Slowly_]
And so I must be the one to live in the chill gloom with
no certainty of ever coming forth. I must be the one to
creep about like a ghost in the vaults peopled by phantoms,
groping my hands over the pious offerings shrivelling on
the altars of the dead----Aye, it is indeed more terrible
than dying here. But I accept it. Lead me on, I am resigned.
THE WATCHMAN [_From the top of the wall_]
The Tartars have stopped their march, a small group is
running toward us, unarmed, but carrying signs on long
poles. In spite of the darkness, it looks like a message
which grants pardon.
EMPRESS
Ha, a forced pardon----that would be more insulting still.
Bury me in my tomb, Prince, before they come.
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Pointing to_ VEILED-LIGHT]
Your Councillor and I will follow you into the tomb, and
perhaps two of these young girls if they feel brave enough
for the ordeal.
SCENE VII.
_The same, the_ LADIES-IN-WAITING.
EMPRESS
So here are my household, my court of death, and doubtless
my last retinue of mourners; just four persons! [_To the_
LADIES-IN-WAITING] Which two of you, my maidens, will have
the courage to follow me down those gloomy paths below?
LADIES-IN-WAITING [_Bowing_]
All of us, we are all ready. Your Majesty has but to deign
to name two of us.
EMPRESS [_After a pause_]
Tranquil Beauty, Cinnamon!
[TRANQUIL BEAUTY _and_ CINNAMON _approach the_ EMPRESS.]
All of you are dear to me, but I have called those who in
adversity have shown the bravest hearts. [_To the others._]
And you, my sweet flowers, so untimely faded, may the Water
of the Great Deliverance convey you easily beyond this
world through the peace of sleep.
PEARL
We have given it all to the wounded.
ANOTHER LADY
Our flasks are empty.
PEARL
The flames terrify us----but we know how to die, noble
Sovereign.
ANOTHER LADY
The Lake in the garden is deep, around the Isle of Jade.
PEARL
As soon as we have conducted your Majesty to the threshold
of the tomb we shall repair to the lake-side.
ANOTHER LADY
Deep in the mud, where we shall sleep tranquilly, The Lotus
will entwine us in her roots and we shall live again in her
flowers.
EMPRESS
[_To_ GOLDEN LOTUS, _who is seated to the left, holding in
her lap the dying_ ARROW-BEARER'S _head._] And you, Golden
Lotus?
GOLDEN LOTUS
Oh, Majesty, receive from here my last greeting-----To
leave him, to set down his head, forgive me if I have not
the courage----
[_The trumpets and gongs of the_ Tartars _are
heard without, with a shouting which grows
nearer and nearer._]
EMPRESS [_To_ ARROW-BEARER _and_ GOLDEN LOTUS]
Alas, poor lovers without a to-morrow, here is the marriage
gift from your Empress. [_She pours out some poison into
her golden cup and gives it to them._] Farewell, may you
be united in the clouds. [_To_ FAITHFUL PRINCE] Let us go,
Prince, show me the way. I am ready.
_The_ CHIEF _of the_ SOLDIERS [_advancing to_ FAITHFUL
PRINCE.]
Prince, speak for us.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Your Majesty, your soldiers ask one more favour of you.
EMPRESS
Is it then in my power still to do aught for them? All, all
that they ask I will give.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
You desired to know why they were piling so much wood on
the fire. It was for themselves. They want to die before
the entrance of the Tartars, and this is the last request
that they make, that you will set the torch to their
funeral pile.
[_The_ CHIEF _of the_ SOLDIERS _kneels, and
hands a lighted torch to the_ EMPRESS.]
EMPRESS [_Taking the torch and addressing the_ SOLDIERS.]
My well beloved soldiers, be assured that your Empress will
soon follow you into the land of the Shades. She accepts
your request that she should flee, only that she may try
to avenge you. But if happier days smile upon the Bright
Dynasty she will refuse to live them. Before you all, she
takes this solemn vow; When once her relentless task is
at an end, she will hasten to join you in the land of the
Shades----Oh, victims that are more than men, oh, conquered
ones that wear the halo of glory! Oh, my heroic army!----A
day shall come when the story of your sublime death shall
be engraved in letters of gold on the Imperial Jade, that
posterity may weep for you. [_She sets the torch to the
pile_] and that the brightness of your funeral pile may
dazzle the world for ever!----
[_The pile takes fire. The_ SOLDIERS _throw
themselves into the flame as they sing._]
_The_ SOLDIERS
Long live our King! Long and happy life to our King!
[_A cloud of black smoke envelopes them. The
sound of an approaching gong is heard at
regular intervals, and then the voice of a_
TARTAR HERALD.]
THE TARTAR HERALD [_outside, in the distance._] The Command
of the Emperor! Tremble and obey!
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Hastily to the_ CAPTAIN _of the
soldiers._] Let the rock be replaced as I told you. Block
it up quick and throw earth upon the cement, and a pile of
dust. [_The_ Captain _rejoins the few men who are standing
before the tomb, still holding their crowbars and pickaxes.
The_ EMPRESS, FAITHFUL PRINCE, VEILED-LIGHT, TRANQUIL
BEAUTY, _and_ CINNAMON _go towards the bronze door. The
other_ LADIES-IN-WAITING _follow, and kneel as they
approach the door._]
EMPRESS [_At the threshold of the tomb, addressing the four
who are to enter with her._] Go in before me. I will be
the last to pass through. My funeral is this!----And then
I wish to gaze for the last time upon my heroes and my
beautiful palace yonder, still standing out in relief. [_To
the kneeling_ LADIES] Arise, my cherished maidens. Do not
delay. The lake to which you go is not near by.
[_The_ LADIES-IN-WAITING _go out, hand-in-hand,
and as they disappear their sobs are heard.
The_ EMPRESS _sets foot on the threshold of the
door and then turns round like one inspired,
watching the flames of the pyre, which rises
higher and higher. She raises her arms as
though in an ecstasy._]
EMPRESS
See the glorious red flame! See the beautiful eddying
smoke. It is bright within my palace for the last time. And
I see them too, those noble souls, mounting ever higher and
higher in the dark whirling spirals of smoke!
SOLDIERS [_Singing in the flames_]
Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years.
EMPRESS [_To the_ SOLDIERS]
Go, my brave men!----Soar up on high, fly to the heaven of
your ancestors, ascend to the god of the clouds.
SOLDIERS [_More feebly_]
Ten thousand years, ten thousand years!
[_The_ TARTAR'S _gong is heard ever closer and closer._]
EMPRESS [_To the_ SOLDIERS]
I too am doomed like you, be sure of that! Only a little
later my soul will take flight. But already I am dead,
dead to all save vengeance, save the fury of battle, save
merciless hate. And now I must shut my door of bronze. [_To
the_ SOLDIERS _who hold the crowbars._] Cement it well, my
friends, to hide your Empress! Replace the heavy boulder.
Immure this living corpse in her tomb. [_She closes the
bronze door after her. The_ CAPTAIN _and the few men who
remain replace the rock, hastily piling cement and dust
upon it._]
_The Voice of the_ TARTAR HERALD [_now at the foot of the
wall_] The command of the Emperor! Tremble and obey! To all
without condition, pardon and liberty! Open your gates and
have no fear, the Emperor grants pardon to all.
_One of the_ SOLDIERS [_who is cementing the rock_] The
insult of your pardon comes too late. Before you can break
down our walls, we shall all be dead.
_Voice of_ TARTAR HERALD
Open and have no fear, our Emperor grants life to all.
ANOTHER SOLDIER
Nay, there shall not even be dead to receive your pardon,
nought but ashes!
Captain _of_ Soldiers [_as he finishes cementing the rock
against the door of the Imperial tomb_] Our beautiful
Phoenix, for want of power to spread her wings, has
vanished under the earth.
_The voices of the_ Soldiers [_becoming feebler in the
flames and smoke_] Ten thousand years to the Bright
Dynasty! Ten thousand years!
[_The flames and smoke envelope the entire
scene._]
CURTAIN
ACT FOUR.
First Tableau.
[_Before the curtain rises the shouts of the crowd
are heard, mingled with sound of gongs and bells. The
execution-ground under the ramparts of Peking. A colossal
grey wall with battlements, occupies the back of the stage,
and, on the left, disappears from view in the distance.
Chinese prisoners are attached to stakes all along the
wall, others are in the cangue, under a huge red signboard.
Here and there decapitated heads hang dripping from spikes.
There are bloodstains all over the ground. A noisy crowd
hurries along the front of the scene. The men wearing
modern Peking costume, long queues, blue cotton robes and
goat-skin tunics. The_ TARTAR _women, of lower-class,
wear a horn-like coiffure with large artificial flowers
in it. In the foreground, to the left, is the large tent
of the_ TARTAR GENERAL; _of greenish leather, with a
yellow roofing, surmounted by a silver bell-turret. It
is wide open. The interior is carpeted with the skins of
wild beasts; a circular table surrounds the central pole;
carpets, camp-stools, a little table, and a square banner
bearing the name of the_ GENERAL. _Guards and Soldiers,
with naked sabres. Camels are lying all around, among bales
of goods and arms. Carriages, palanquins._
_As the curtain rises, the crowd continues to shout wildly.
Vendors of hot drinks are walking about with copper
urns on their backs; barbers are ringing their bells;
blind conjurers are playing the flute, sweetmeat-pedlars
are striking gongs. The executioners in the immediate
foreground are wiping the dripping blades of their swords._]
SCENE I.
_The_ EXECUTIONERS, _the_ CROWD.
FIRST EXECUTIONER [_As he wipes his sword, speaking to two
young women standing near him_] Our arms are pretty tired,
my little beauties.
ONE WOMAN
Ah! But your arms look very strong, Master Executioner.
THE EXECUTIONER
Strong, well I don't say they are not. But all the same----
A FLOWER-PEDLAR
Imperial peonies, lotus of all kinds, every flower of the
season.
A FRUIT PEDLAR
Sweet as honey, red fruit of the mountains.
A TARTAR CHILD [_Approaching the_ EXECUTIONER.] Mr.
Executioner, do you have to strike very hard to cut off
their heads?
[_Some men carrying a bucket full of water
suspended on their shoulders, begin to swill
the ground with a large wooden ladle._]
EXECUTIONER
It requires skill, my little lamb----to find just the right
place----skill and force too, of course-----Ah! I can tell
you, our business is not learnt in a day----
A SWEETMEAT-PEDLAR
[_Ringing a small bell_] They have the flavour of
sugar-cane, the sweets that I have for sale.
FRUIT-VENDOR
Ay, ay! White as tallow, white as jade, my fresh melons.
TWO BEGGARS [_Playing guitars_]
Come listen to the legend of the King of the Dragons.
[_They sing in a very shrill voice._]
Near the Bamboo Lake,
Three owls, three owls.
SECOND EXECUTIONER
[_To some other women as he points to the prisoners tied
to stakes._] What, the second group there? Their turn will
come very soon. The Chief Executioner has given us a few
minutes' rest, and we've earned it well, haven't we? [_He
hails a pedlar of drinks and orders one for himself._]
HABERDASHER [_Striking a small bell_]
All the latest styles in my stock!----Look, young women,
look, young girls!
ONE TARTAR WOMAN [_To Another_]
Oh, I'm not one of those who take pleasure in seeing heads
cut off----and, besides, the sight is always the same. No,
it is their goddess whom I wish to see.
SECOND TARTAR WOMAN.
Their goddess?----their Empress?----Ah, and so do I. All of
us want to see their goddess. She is the one who interests
us the most.
THIRD TARTAR WOMAN
And do you suppose they will show her to you?
SECOND WOMAN
Why not? They are showing us all their generals and
princes, and all the rest of them----Prisoners are made to
be seen, that is why they were brought here to Peking.
THIRD WOMAN
Oh, yes, but she----it seems that while she was being
brought here, she was treated with every consideration
that could be shown to a queen. And the Emperor has had her
placed in the Forbidden City, you know; in his very Palace
indeed.
SECOND WOMAN
It is said that her eyes are so wonderful that ordinary
people like us cannot meet their gaze.
JASMINE-FLOWER
Yes, and I should be afraid to look at her! A woman who has
been dead--for she was dead for at least two moons, you
know!
SECOND WOMAN
Jasmine Flower believes everything that is told her.
JASMINE
Why, every one knows that she was dead----For two moons, I
tell you! She spent two moons in her grave.
FRUIT-VENDOR
Ay, ay, white as tallow, white as jade, new melon!
FIRST WOMAN
It is well known that bullets and grapeshot passed through
her as through a ghost. [_Seeing a_ CAPTAIN _of the_
SOLDIERS, _who is standing near._] There, ask Lee-Phuang,
who was there when she was taken. Isn't it true,
Lee-Phuang?
LEE-PHUANG
Oh, yes, I was a witness myself. The bullets could not
touch this goddess of theirs!
_Two subordinate_ OFFICERS
[_leading to the execution-ground a new group
of Chinese prisoners, with hands tied behind
them, among whom bringing up the rear, is the_
FAITHFUL PRINCE, _his garments all stained and
torn._]
Make room, make room!
[_The prisoners pass along to join the others
who are awaiting their turn to be beheaded at
the foot of the wall._]
LEE-PHUANG. [_To the_ WOMEN _who questioned him_] You see
the last one in the line, look at him, the one who walks
with so haughty an air? He is the greatest chief of the
Nanking rebels. His name is the Faithful Prince, he was the
right hand of the Goddess in battle, he was always at her
side.
HABERDASHER [_Striking his bell_]
All the latest styles in my stock! Look young women, have a
look, young girls!
SCENE II.
FAITHFUL PRINCE. _The_ TARTAR GENERAL
_The_ TARTAR GENERAL [_coming out of his tent and
saluting_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, _who brings up the rear of the
last group of condemned men._]
Enter here, noble captive. Look not over yonder. Each man
should die but once, and you would die each time you saw a
head fall. Is it not punishment enough for you to be the
last of all the victims?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Perhaps my presence may strengthen my poor soldiers, so
simple in their heroism.
TARTAR GENERAL
No, no, your suffering only adds to their pain-----Grant a
loyal enemy the great honour of passing the last minutes of
your glorious life in his tent. You are now above worldly
trivialities and implacable hates.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
The sword is not responsible, not even the executioner.
TARTAR GENERAL
Nor yet even the General!
[_The new prisoners are tied to the stake._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE
I bear no malice.
[_He enters the tent with the Tartar General._]
TARTAR GENERAL
And I make no boast. I know that the sages disapprove of
war and hold that the work of the conqueror amounts to no
more than the dust of ten thousand skeletons----
FAITHFUL PRINCE
And that those who triumph deserve no more than the honour
of a funeral.
TARTAR GENERAL
Yes, the glory of arms is indeed but the smoke of a fire!
[_They seat themselves on camp-stools, and rice wine
is served to them. Throughout the following dialogue
executions are in progress in the foreground, amid
the shouts of the crowd. Every minute the sword of an
executioner describes a circle in the air, and as each head
falls, it is hung up on the great wall of Peking. Deafening
shrieks and cries accompany the conversation of the two men
in the tent.]_
TARTAR GENERAL
Before passing from this world, have you not some mission
for your dear ones which you might desire carried out? I
would undertake it respectfully.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Beyond a doubt all who were dear to me have perished. I
thank you for your considerate offer.
TARTAR GENERAL
Have you no last desire?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
One only. To know the fate of our Empress. She was fighting
too in that dreadful battle where I was taken prisoner. Is
she alive or dead, free or captive?
TARTAR GENERAL
She is living, a captive only a fortnight since, and
yesterday was brought to Peking, not far from here in the
Forbidden City.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
She is not far from here, my Sovereign! Ah, if only the
gods, wearied with afflicting us, would permit----To know
that she is so near!----
TARTAR GENERAL
At the end of that battle which was so great an honour to
the defeated, she succeeded in escaping with a thousand
soldiers. But her retreat was cut off, and the Warrior
Empress would have been captured long before had not
contradictory orders hindering our movements, enabled
her to delay her capture from day to day. You would have
thought someone in great authority was watching over her
with wonderful solicitude, warning her of dangers or
endeavouring to turn them aside from her.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
May he live long happy days, and may his fame be
imperishable!
TARTAR GENERAL
Oh, when will this dreadful war cease, which is renewed and
has already soaked the soil of our country in the blood of
her sons?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
I fear it will never end until one of the two races has
been exterminated----Yet perhaps the hatred would be less
intense if the conquerors after their victory would treat
the defeated with more clemency. Let there not be so many
executions, so much bloodshed. Each soldier who can no
longer defend his life should be sacred.
TARTAR GENERAL
Pardon was offered to your soldiers if they would yield.
All refused.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Their heroism should be only an additional reason for
sparing them.
TARTAR GENERAL
What can be done? Our duty is to obey.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Not to the extent of a crime. A little stone can ofttimes
retard the course of a heavy chariot. We, the chieftains,
by sacrificing only our own lives could thereby save the
crowds.
TARTAR GENERAL
How could that be?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
By opposing unrighteousness. Do you remember? There was
once another war similar in every way to this. The city
was sacked, the command was given to the executioners to
cut off all heads as now. But a young officer, maddened by
grief at the thought of such carnage, found words wherewith
to beseech the general to be merciful, or at least to
restrict the number of executions, with the result that
he consented to limit the massacre to the length of time
which is required to burn a stick of incense. The incense
was lighted and the first head was about to fall, when the
young officer trembling with horror seized the stick,
reduced it to powder and ran to the executioner, crying
aloud "It is finished, it is finished. Pardon has been
declared." Then, since he had disobeyed, he immediately
dashed his head against a rock. The people erected a temple
in memory of this hero, which is still to be seen on a
high hill and whose steps have for many centuries been
constantly covered with fresh flowers.
TARTAR GENERAL [_Pensively_]
In memory of this hero the people erected a temple!----
SCENE III.
_The same, the_ CROWD, _then an_ OFFICER.
[_For the last few minutes the_ Crowd _has
been protesting more violently against the
slaughter. As a new group of prisoners is
brought to the place, the protest becomes more
insistent._]
THE CROWD
Enough! enough!
A VOICE
The Ministers of the Empire are a set of butchers!
A MAN [_Raising himself on the shoulders of his neighbours_]
Enough, enough! Death to the tigers!
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_In the tent, seeing the_ TARTAR GENERAL
_rise._] No doubt my time has come.
TARTAR GENERAL
No! No! Remain where you are, we shall be told.
ANOTHER MAN
Yes, death to the tigers!
[_He leans over and dips the end of his girdle
into the blood_] I am going to write it on this
wall. Death to the tigers!
[_He gets up on a stone, and begins to trace
some characters with the end of his girdle.
The_ GENERAL _comes out of the tent._]
AN OFFICER
Some men here at once!----Disperse this insolent
crowd!----Arrest the man who is writing.
TARTAR GENERAL [_Advancing quickly_]
Who dares to give orders without my consent?
THE OFFICER
My lord, when a riot is beginning, is it not my duty?
TARTAR GENERAL
You have no other duty than to obey. [_With a gesture he
dismisses the_ SOLDIERS, _who have advanced to seize the
man._] The executioners must be tired. Let their chief
give them leave to rest again.
OFFICER
For how many minutes?
TARTAR GENERAL
As long as my sword shall remain fixed here.
[_He plunges his sword into the ground._]
FAITHFUL PRINCE
[_In a whisper to the General._] Take care, my generous
enemy. Perhaps it may be thought that you are afraid.
TARTAR GENERAL
Of the living, no!----But of spectres, yes, it is true; I
am afraid of spectres.
[_They enter the tent together. The crowd,
whose excitement is increasing, moves away from
the execution-ground, thereby giving a full
view of the headless bodies which are lying
on the ground, and of the pools of blood. The
street-sellers re-commence their cries and
their music._]
FLOWER-VENDOR
Royal peonies, lotus of all kinds, every flower of the
season.
TARTAR GENERAL [_In his tent, to_ FAITHFUL PRINCE]
You see, I am compromising myself like the hero of your
legend, and yet no temple will be raised in my honour.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
But you do not hope to save those of my men who are still
alive?
General
Who knows, as long as their heads are on their
shoulders?----You heard the noise outside?-----The angry
crowd grew greater and greater. A short riot has often
delivered many victims. I may be compelled to yield. Heaven
grant it!
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Your noble generosity encourages me to ask a favour of you.
TARTAR GENERAL
It will be a great joy to me to grant it.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Before taking my place against that bloody wall, I would
greatly desire to have one hour's freedom, on my word of
honour----
TARTAR GENERAL
The word of a man such as you are is stronger than a chain
of iron on his feet, or a canque of cedar wood about his
shoulders----an hour, yes! Even an hour and a half, we
can wait----The use which you wish to make of it perhaps
I can imagine. You dream of seeing again your adored
Empress----There, alas! I am unable to aid you. May the
gods come to your assistance!----[_Offering him a robe
embroidered in gold, which is hanging from the tent-pole._]
One thing alone I can do for you. Consent to wear one of my
robes. It will be a safeguard for you.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
How could I dare?
TARTAR GENERAL
I beseech you----This garment will be to me the more
precious because it has protected you [_He passes the robe
to_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, _who no longer protests, then he
raises a curtain at the back to the tent._] Go that way,
Prince!----
[FAITHFUL PRINCE _goes out._]
SCENE IV.
_The_ GENERAL, _A_ Courier _from the_ EMPEROR, _An_
OFFICER, _The_ PRISONERS, _The_ CROWD.
[_There is a great stir in the crowd, which is shouting
wildly. In the distance trumpets are heard. The_ TARTAR
GENERAL, _coming out of his tent, speaks to an_ OFFICER.]
TARTAR GENERAL
What is that? The ceremonial salute. What is happening now?
_The_ OFFICER
A courier from the Emperor. [_The_ SOLDIERS _stand in
file on either side and bend the knee. The_ COURIER _is
on horseback, and is carrying over his shoulder a small
packet, wrapped in yellow silk._]
COURIER [_As he dismounts_]
An order from the Emperor! [_Two_ SOLDIERS _place a table
on which the letter is deposited, then the incense-sticks
are lighted. The_ TARTAR GENERAL _quickly dons his
ceremonial robe, salutes the message three times, and at
last takes it._]
TARTAR GENERAL [_To the_ COURIER, _after he has examined
the envelope_] Why does that order arrive so late? It was
sent at daybreak from the Forbidden City, and the distance
is not long.
COURIER
That is true, my lord. But ill-intentioned men were
posted at several places along my route. I had to take a
roundabout course, and my horse knocked over many people
before surmounting the obstacles.
TARTAR GENERAL [_In a low voice_]
May Heaven deliver our Emperor from the evil ones who
oppose his will!
COURIER [_also speaking low_]
May Heaven hear your prayer, for the well-being of the
people!
TARTAR GENERAL [_Opens the letter. In an aside after having
read it_] This saves many lives, without counting my
own----[_To the_ CROWD.] Order of the Emperor. All listen!
"This is my express will. I grant unconditional pardon to
all the captives of war, chiefs and soldiers, and give them
their entire liberty. Respect this."
[_He shows the Imperial seal._]
THE CROWD
Ten thousand years, ten thousand years to our Emperor.
[_The Soldiers at once set the prisoners free._]
TARTAR GENERAL [_To the_ CROWD]
Listen again. This order should have arrived in time to
save all the condemned. The obstacles set in the path of
the messenger are the cause of a misfortune which cannot be
repaired. Our master was disobeyed and is not responsible.
CROWD
Curse upon the unfaithful ministers! Death to the tigers!
[_The women also hasten to unchain the
prisoners, who draw near the General._]
ONE OFFICER [_In a whisper to another_]
What seditious cries our General permits!
SECOND OFFICER
Say rather he encourages them.
TARTAR GENERAL [_To the_ PRISONERS]
My friends, listen to wise advice. Do not remain long in
this accursed place. All around the mighty Dragon who has
freed you, wild beasts are shrieking, exasperated because
they have lost their prey.-----Go at once, do not lose a
moment. But do not escape by way of the country, you would
be too easily found. Disperse and wander through the great
city. In the Chinese Quarter the crowd will not betray you.
PRISONERS
We will follow your advice. May Heaven bestow its choicest
blessings upon you!
[_They bow and disperse. The_ GENERAL _takes
his sword, which he had stuck into the ground
and slowly replaces it in its scabbard._]
THE CROWD
Death to the tigers! Ten thousand years to our Emperor!
[_As the curtain is lowered the shouts of_
PEDLARS _are heard._]
THE FLOWER-SELLER
Royal peonies, Lotus of all kinds, every flower of the
season!
HABERDASHER
All the latest styles in my stock! Look, young women; have
a look, young girls!
Second Tableau
[_The great throne-room in the palace at Peking, entirely
decorated in red and gold. The throne is in the middle
of a dais, to which lead three staircases flanked by
incense-burners and emblems. Pillars of red laquer support
a lofty ceiling, on which are enormous writhing dragons
among red clouds; the largest standing out so clearly that
it looks ready to fall from heaven, holds in its jaws a
golden orb, just above the throne. The floor is covered
by a yellow carpet, with dragons more than fifty feet in
length woven into the design. On one side of the stage is a
marble chime, suspended by golden chains from a huge frame
work, whose feet are of gold and represent monsters and
whose upper angles are ornamented with golden phoenixes
spreading their wings toward the ceiling. Near the
principal entrance two EUNUCHS are holding dust-dispellers
of rhinoceros-hide. Preparations are being made for a
solemn audience, to commemorate the triumph of the_ TARTAR
ARMY. _Large blocks of porcelain, representing monsters,
are arranged in line on the carpet. They mark the places
where the various bodies of dignitaries are to stand and
to prostrate themselves. Persons in gala robes come and
go hurriedly. They are speaking in whispers, and walk
noiselessly, in respectful attitudes. They bow as they pass
the throne._]
SCENE I.
_Palace_, OFFICIALS, DIGNITARIES, _and_ MASTERS _of the_
CEREMONIES.
FIRST MASTER OF CEREMONIES
[_Placing in line one of the last blocks of porcelain_]
There, the eighteenth group of high literates will stand
there, facing the throne, but somewhat obliquely.
SECOND MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Everything seems to me in perfect order. We shall soon be
ready.
AN OFFICIAL
So they say, indeed. He has been downcast and melancholy
for several days, it seems as though each fresh victory of
his army affected him like a disaster.
THIRD OFFICER
Yes, no one would have supposed that he would demand so
elaborate a ceremony to celebrate his triumph.
FOURTH OFFICER
And have you heard the news? The prisoner is to make her
appearance here.
THIRD OFFICER
Who?
FOURTH OFFICER
Who? How can you ask? The great, the only one. She of whom
everyone speaks--the Ex-Empress of the rebels.
FIFTH OFFICER
Ah, the goddess! So now we are going to see her.
SIXTH OFFICER
And we can judge of her supernatural power----unless she
has lost it.
FOURTH OFFICER
Oh, power she still has. Yesterday evening, by order of the
Emperor, two eunuchs were decapitated simply for having
announced to her the death of her son without preliminary
forms.
THIRD OFFICER
And I know something, too, from the Governess of the
Palace----To-day the goddess deigned to speak, to request
mourning garments----So they searched the wardrobes of the
late Empress Regent for all that was most magnificent in
the way of white robes and shoes!
SCENE II.
_The same. The_ GRAND CHAMBERLAIN
GRAND CHAMBERLAIN [_Entering by a door at back_]
An order from the Emperor! [_All listen with bowed heads._]
Let the members of the Privy Council, Ministers, and
Dignitaries, robed in their costumes of state, meet in
silence in the galleries near the throne-room, ready to
enter when his Majesty strikes this gong three times. [_He
points to the large gong at the foot of the steps of the
throne._] Let no one be here, and guards at all the doors!
[_All bow and prepare to go out._]
SCENE III.
_The Same,_ A HERALD, _and the_ GRAND MASTER _of_
CEREMONIES.
The HERALD [_Appearing at the door and holding in his hand
a large lacquer signboard mounted on a golden handle._]
Silence!
_The_ GRAND MASTER.
[_Entering with_ FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST]
Let all depart! Close the doors. Here comes the Emperor.
[_All skurry out except the_ GRAND MASTER _and_
FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST, _who prostrate themselves
as the EMPEROR appears._]
SCENE IV.
_The_ EMPEROR, FOUNT, _the_ GRAND MASTER _of_ CEREMONIES.
EMPEROR [_In full regalia, his expression sombre_]
How many heads did you say had already fallen?
GRAND MASTER
Barely fifty, sire. Your General, as though with a
presentiment of the clemency of your Majesty, had proceeded
with audacious lack of energy.
EMPEROR
He shall be rewarded by Heaven and by me. As for the
grandees of my court who dared to stop my Courier, have
them found at once and dealt with by the executioner
to-morrow. Why do the gods permit that in my lofty
position, happiness should be almost unrealisable,
when murder is so easy? Now go! [_Indicating_
FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST] I wish to speak with my councillor.
[_The_ Grand Master _goes out._]
SCENE V.
EMPEROR, FOUNT.
EMPEROR [_To_ FOUNT, _who is still prostrate_]
Arise, friend, we are alone. You have already guessed my
project, have you not? I want her to come here, near me.
[_Pointing to the throne._] Pale and in the white of her
deep mourning as she is, I want her to come here, to sit
beside me on my throne----To-day, I am going to present her
to my people as my affianced bride. Let the Dignitaries of
my Court prostrate themselves before their Empress, at the
same time as before their Emperor----without her there is
neither Empire nor triumph for me----
FOUNT
She has consented?
EMPEROR
Alas, I do not know if she will agree. I have postponed
till now that meeting so full at once of charm and terror.
It is to-day and here that we shall see each other again
for the first time----May Heaven help me! You will say
that I am still a child; I wished to invest our supreme
moment with all magnificence. Ah, if only there were not
between us the death of her son, I should tremble less.
FOUNT
But you did all in your power to save him. Since your
conscience cannot reproach you, sire, it is better for your
plans that the child should be resting in peace among the
shades. To impose him upon your Tartars would have been
dangerous indeed-----Whereas now, the two Dynasties may
blend, another son be born, of your blood and hers.
EMPEROR
A son born to me by her! Oh, friend, be silent. The dreams
that are too beautiful, one must not speak of. [_He strikes
the gong lightly._] But come, the dreaded moment of seeing
her again has arrived. Come! [_To an_ Official _who enters
in response to the gong._] Let the prisoner be brought
here, with all the respect which I have commanded. Go!
[_Recalling the_ Official _as he is leaving._] Wait a
moment! [_To_ FOUNT, _who is going too._] No, her pride
would be offended at being ushered into my presence.
Rather, let her be the first to arrive, and I will follow,
appearing before her with the air of one vanquished,
begging pardon. [_To the waiting_ OFFICIAL.] As soon as I
leave, bring the Empress here and leave her alone. Now you
may go!
[_Exit the_ OFFICIAL _at the back._]
FOUNT [_as he goes out with the_ EMPRESS]
She loves you, sire. Have confidence. Who is the woman,
even though she be almost a goddess, who would not yield?
EMPEROR
She! Only she!----
FOUNT
But, as she loved you once----
EMPEROR
And to-day must she not hate me? How much blood has been
spilt by traitors despite my command! How has my decree of
pardon been intercepted or changed to a death warrant!----
The hate, the implacable hate of our two peoples ever
triumphs.
FOUNT
But how many lives you have saved!----And she must too know
that.
EMPEROR [_as he goes out_]
Oh, that hour whose memory still enchants my heart! That
hour there, in the garden of her palace, in the midst of
that crowd where we were so alone, when she gazed upon me,
when our souls were united in one supreme rapture----But
now at the thought of seeing her again, I tremble like a
guilty man.
[_Exit the_ EMPEROR, _with his councillor,
through a side door. Two eunuchs and two women
attendants conduct the_ EMPRESS _to the foot
of the throne, and after having prostrated
themselves retire, leaving her alone. She is in
white robes of mourning, her hands are tied by
a silken cord._]
SCENE VI
_The_ EMPRESS, _then_ FAITHFUL PRINCE
EMPRESS [_Soliloquising_]
Such consideration has been shown me that I am terrified,
more terrified than at torture and death. Why am I in his
palace, instead of in a prison?----What can he, what dares
he hope? What does he desire of me?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
[_In the dress of the_ TARTAR GENERAL, _running into the
room and prostrating himself at the feet of the EMPRESS_]
Oh! Heaven is merciful to grant me the opportunity once
again before my death to prostrate myself at the feet of my
adored Empress.
EMPRESS [_Calm but bewildered_]
You? You here?----Dear Prince----Have we then departed this
life? Is this our reunion beyond the grave? If not, whence
have you come, how, by what witchcraft have you passed
these dreadful walls?
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Still prostrated_] Boldness does not
count the cost, when there is no longer anything to
lose----And, beyond all doubt, the gods were with me----
Yes, I entered as if by witchcraft as you say, I passed
the walls and the guarded gates----One of his soldiers
acted as my guide----I gave him all the gold I had left.
Forgive me, I am weeping, I know not whether for joy or
grief. For joy it must be--since my only wish was for this
one privilege--to see Your Majesty for the last time, to
tell her on my knees of my passionate adoration----which
at the gates of death cannot be an offence----and above
all to offer her the wondrous gift, which will deliver her
from the conqueror's worst outrages. My mission as faithful
subject is now concluded by this last service, by the
glorious present which I have brought to my Empress.
EMPRESS
Poison! [_With a triumphant cry of deliverance._] Ah!----
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Offering her a dagger_] Poison, alas! I
was unable to bring. This is the best I can offer.
EMPRESS
Ah, well, that will answer the purpose. Kill me before He
comes!
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Rising and drawing back in horror_]
My well beloved sovereign!----Ask not that of your faithful
servant, who has always obeyed you. Do not command him to
do what is beyond his strength.
EMPRESS
You will not?----Then give it to me! I will strike myself.
I will make the attempt. I shall succeed.
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Noticing that her hands are tied_]
But your hands----To think that I had not seen!
EMPRESS
Ah! That is true.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
I May I untie them? Have we time?
EMPRESS
No, it will take too long. Hide the weapon in the fold of
my gown.
[_The Prince still hesitates._]
You do not dare? It is forbidden to touch your Sovereign!
Nay, but you may do so, your Empress now is as one already
dead.
FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Hiding weapon in her gown_]
But how will you be able to use it?
EMPRESS
_He_ will have them unbound, he before whom I shall soon
appear. And then is not one permitted to change one's mind
so near to death? I desired you to kill me before he came.
Now I prefer to see him again, the Emperor.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
To see him again? You know then who he is?
EMPRESS
Yes. Stay with me until he comes.
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Oh, no! I must not be found here.
EMPRESS
What matters it now, at the point we have reached?
FAITHFUL PRINCE
Because--over yonder--the last heads are falling. They
are calling for those that remain. It is time--my turn
is coming. They gave me one hour's liberty on my word of
honour. I do not want it to be thought that I have fled.
EMPRESS
Ah, yes! Then go, Prince. Farewell! I shall soon join
you--you and all my faithful ones. Tell those who are about
to die that I shall be with them soon----
[FAITHFUL PRINCE _hurries out._]
SCENE VII
_The_ EMPEROR. _The_ EMPRESS
[_The_ EMPEROR _enters and approaches her. The_ EMPRESS,
_her eyes lowered, stands motionless._]
EMPEROR
Daughter of Heaven, deign to raise your eyes to gaze upon
the heart-broken conqueror who bows before you. Deign to
look and to recognise him. Doubtless you will remember
him. But can you feel anything save utter hatred for him?
EMPRESS
[_Far away, her eyes still lowered._] To recognise him, I
do not need to hear his voice again nor to gaze upon his
face. The light has dawned upon my mind during the hours
of my captivity. Before I was brought in here, I knew full
well into whose presence I was coming.
[_A silence, during which the EMPEROR remains
bowed before her._]
EMPRESS
To the Daughter of the Mings, what message can the Tartar
Emperor have?
EMPEROR [_Seeing her hands bound with the silken cord_]
Oh! but your hands are tied! I ordered that to save you
from yourself. But now! [_He approaches, yet hesitates to
touch her hands. The_ EMPRESS _draws back, gazing at him
for the first time._] Oh! pardon----Before you, in the
depth of my grief, I had forgotten. I had almost dared to
touch your bruised hands. And yet you are more sacred to
me here than there in Nanking, in all your splendour. [_He
strikes the gong softly. An_ OFFICIAL _appears._]
EMPEROR [_To the_ OFFICIAL]
Let the Governess of the Palace come here at once! [_To
the_ GOVERNESS, _as she enters and prostrates herself._]
Untie the hands of the Empress, and then go.
[_The_ GOVERNESS _obeys and goes out. A pause._]
Your voice is no longer yours. Your eyes are no longer
yours. You stand here before me, yet your soul seems to be
at an infinite distance. I did not expect to find you so,
and you frighten me. The Majesty of death is upon you.
EMPRESS
They are calling to me from the Land of the Shades. Allow
me to cross the threshold soon, from you I can accept no
mercy. My faithful ones, my warriors, are wondering at my
delay in rejoining them, and my son is listening to catch
the echo of my footfall behind him on the dark path.
EMPEROR
Your son!----Ah! Your son! Who has mourned him more than
I, excepting only you? Ten of my couriers, my swiftest
horsemen, were sent at once, riding their horses night and
day, spurring them to death, leaving their corpses by the
roadside, in a frantic effort to arrive in time and avert
the evil which could not be repaired----
EMPRESS
What was achieved? Where is the body of my little son?
EMPEROR
It is now in an imperial hearse, making its slow way to the
north, preceded by funeral music, followed by a thousand
dignitaries in costumes of state befitting the rank of a
young sovereign.
EMPRESS
And where are they taking him, my son?
EMPEROR
To those inviolable forests where the Tartar Emperors
repose. There, in a vale, which the spade of men has never
touched, two leagues of dark cedars will envelope in their
silence, his tomb built all of porcelain.
EMPRESS
Will you grant me the favour to sleep near him?
EMPEROR [_Very gently, speaking like a child_]
But----in accordance with the custom of the Empresses, you
will yourself choose the site and scene in the forest and
will have the long marble avenues built----so that all may
be in readiness when your hour strikes.
EMPRESS
My hour _has sounded_--ah! many days ago. I heard it, but
my hands were tied and your guards were ever about me. Now
you will give me my last freedom, will you not? so that I
may join all the dead heroes who are awaiting me. To keep
me back would be unworthy of you, my noble enemy. You would
not do that!----
EMPEROR [_After a pause_]
Keep you back, you?----O! no, not I----But your
duty----Daughter of the Mings, you are incapable of failing
in your duty!
EMPRESS [_Excitedly at last_]
My duty! What duty? Already have I been decoyed by that
word. They urged me thereby to flee like a common woman
beset by fear. While all my brave defenders knew how
to die heroically, my soldiers, my princes, even my
ladies-in-waiting, I like a coward escaped through the
subterranean passages of my palace----to fulfil my duty! It
was the hour when my soldiers were falling by the thousand,
struck down by yours, when my walls were crumbling under
the assault of your armies----the draught of the Great
Deliverance had been brought me in a cup, and I was calm
as I am now--but smiling. I was about to raise the cup
to my lips, to pass beyond the reach of all, proud and
inviolable, in my imperial attire. The vaults beneath
the ground, the sleeping place of my ancestors, unknown
to your Tartars, stood open close at hand, and there was
still time to carry me down into them----But duty! Ah! my
duty, it appeared, was to flee, and I yielded----And until
the day when your soldiers took me captive, I wandered on
and on through the country, at the head of my defeated
troops----I, the Empress, the Invisible, desecrating my
majesty among all those thousands of men----marching before
them like some mad woman!----
EMPEROR
Say rather that you were the sublime heroine, the great
warrior-Empress, the goddess of battle, who braved arrows
and bullets, and will live on eternally in poetry and
history!
EMPRESS
I sought to justify my flight, that was all. I did all
I could, but none can ever atone for a cowardly action.
It was in my own palace that I should have met my death,
in the funeral fire lighted by my own hand, in which so
many heroes were consumed----My ashes should have mixed
with theirs. Duty, do you say? But do you believe that I
still belong to Earth? My cities are in ruins, my armies
annihilated, my son dead. And at this very moment I know
that one by one the heads of my few remaining soldiers
are falling into the dust beneath your high Tartar walls.
Then what duty remains, I ask you? [_She takes the dagger
from the fold of her robe and raises her hand to strike
herself._] Nothing, nothing but this! [_The Emperor rushes
towards her with a cry, seizes her wrist, takes the dagger,
and hurls it to the ground._] Ah! So you dare to touch me
now?
EMPEROR [_Bowing very low_]
Your pardon! Only listen to me. You may die afterwards
if you wish it, I promise you--but in some less terrible
way----without this bloodshed. I will even furnish you the
means, if you still wish it----
EMPRESS [_With sudden gentleness_]
In some less terrible way! Yes, that is what I desire. The
Potion of the Great Deliverance, we sovereigns are never
without it. You have it too, have you not?
EMPEROR
Night and day within easy reach, especially since you
began to risk your life hourly, in the thick of the
battle. I feared that I should be unable to capture alive
my beautiful Phoenix of War! Be assured, we have the
Deliverance. It is in this golden case, among the trinkets
at my girdle.
EMPRESS
And you will give it to me?
EMPEROR
Yes.
EMPRESS
You swear it?
EMPEROR
Yes. After you have listened to me, I shall have this
supreme courage. To refuse you would be unworthy of you and
of myself. But, after you have heard me, only afterwards----
EMPRESS
Well, speak, sire. In return for your promise, take the
last minutes in which my ears can hear, my eyes can see----
SCENE VIII.
_The same. An_ OFFICIAL
EMPEROR [_He strikes the gong gently, an_ OFFICIAL
_appears. To the_ OFFICIAL] Double the number of guards at
the gates. Instant death to any one who, for any reason
whatever, dares to open that door before I sound the gong
_Three Times!_ Is that understood? You may go!
[_The_ OFFICIAL _turns to go._]
Wait! [_Pointing to the incense-burners on the steps of the
throne._] Incense! Let the sticks be lighted at once! I
must have perfume in the air. [_The OFFICIAL hastily lights
the bundles of sticks and the smoke rises._] It is well, go!
[_The_ Official _makes his exit backward,
almost prostrate._]
SCENE IX.
The EMPEROR [_To the_ EMPRESS, _who is leaning against
the balustrade of the throne_] Alas! I can read obstinate
resolution in your eyes! You have determined to die, I know
it! I shall speak without hope. Will you grant me one last
favour?
EMPRESS
No doubt I shall. But what may it be?
EMPEROR [_Pointing to the throne_]
Let our last interview take place there! Once in your life,
though it be on a day which shall know no to-morrow, I wish
to see you seated upon the throne of the Tartar conquerors.
EMPRESS [_Very calmly and indifferently_]
Is it only that? If that will give you pleasure, I consent.
[_She begins to ascend the steps._] I mount but slowly:
I am crushed and fainting. The poison which you promised
lulls one to sleep, does it not? It does not sharpen and
distort the features, I hope. The Phoenix, even in the
agony of death would wish to retain some charm.
EMPEROR [_In the same mood_]
It is even better than you hope. It comes from the Western
Barbarians. Lustrous pearls under a thin leaf of gold.
One passes into space in a sudden sleep, an exquisite
intoxication----
EMPRESS [_Still far away_] Ah!----in a sleep--[_They have
reached the top of the steps. She half reclines across the
throne, which is almost as large as a divan. The_ EMPEROR
_remains standing._] Well, now----delay no longer, speak----
EMPEROR
It was not the prompting of a mere whim which urged me to
see you seated there. What we have to say is so solemn. The
interview of an Emperor and an Empress, power speaking to
power!----
At this height, raised above our earthly personalities, we
shall feel more conscious of our superhuman mission.
EMPRESS
Power speaking to power? I am no longer anything but a
captive, who counts for naught.
EMPEROR
You are sovereign and doubly sovereign now, mistress of the
destiny of China, arbiter of all. [_The_ EMPRESS _looks at
him as though deeply hurt._] Mistress of the destiny of
China, yes! Be not offended. I do not intend to speak of
your power over the Emperor----But, defeated and captive,
what does it matter? Are you not always the Daughter of
the Mings? Hundreds of millions of hearts bear secret
allegiance to you. The rebellion quelled to-day by my
soldiers will break out afresh to-morrow, will always be
renewed. You are the only being in the world who has the
power to still it for ever----and that takes away the right
to die----
EMPRESS [_Interrupting_]
The dead await me----I belong to them now----I hear their
voices calling to me to come----
EMPEROR
I want to tell you in the fewest words. But I feel as
though you were already gone, already cold. I press on
and I am all at a loss. It seems as if I were speaking to
a tombstone. Powers, you and I, I said, ah, yes, great
powers! Two rival lives of fabled emperors, of deified
heroes, growing feebler and feebler by centuries of
slavery to rites and forms, prisoners in an excess of
luxury; two dynasties that seemed doomed to an immortality
of mummyhood, have by some miracle produced you and me,
who are alive and young. As a result of our union, a new
China might arise, living like us, to dominate the world.
Together we might accomplish that holy mission for the
well-being and happiness of our races, and the eternal
glory of our two united names. But without you, no, I can
do nothing. I shall sink again into my gilded solitude, my
sickly idleness, my opium-drugged sleep. If you but knew
my youth, how isolated and lonely, spent in an apartment
decorated in black ebony! In the gloom of this palace, an
imaginative child, I outlined this glorious plan of union
with you. It haunted my brain. Then your son would have
been my son. It was like a child still that I set out on
that adventure to see you in your palace at Nanking. And as
I beheld, my man's will, which still floated in the midst
of dreams, was suddenly concentrated upon one definite
desire. Ah, what obstacles I overcame! First, I had to
escape from your palace; then to return here unhindered
within the terrible walls of the Yellow City; and then
to wrest the power from those grim evil-doers who had so
long tortured my youthful will and my reason. The war was
already at its height, hatred was enchained, the smell of
blood was in the air, and Chinese and Tartars were howling
like wild beasts. All this, you know full well, I was
unable to stop.
EMPRESS
I know.
EMPEROR
That I did all in my power to save your son--you believe
that, do you not?
EMPRESS
Now I believe it.
EMPEROR
My only reason for speaking of these things is that at
least you may not hate me.
EMPRESS [_Still calm and impersonal_]
I have no hate for you.
EMPEROR
The heads of your faithful soldiers which have just fallen
were sacrificed against my will. I had issued an order of
unconditional pardon. As to the Prince who left you a few
minutes ago. [_Smiling_]--for I see all, I the Phantom
Emperor, as you called me--yes, he who was speaking to
you in this very place and went so heroically to meet his
death, will be saved. You shall see him again!
EMPRESS
I thought you before now a great and generous enemy.
EMPEROR
Of my love I have not even dared to speak to you.
EMPRESS
I am grateful to you that you have kept our interview above
that level.
EMPEROR
Every word you utter falls upon me like the icy drops of
slow winter rain, and yet withal I must have the force to
proceed to the end. Listen to what I now shall say; it is
the last word I shall speak, after that you will be free.
Despite that dreadful war to the death between us, despite
that funeral procession which now slowly carries your son
to the forests of the Last Repose, I still indulged in the
beautiful dream of putting an end to ancient hates by means
of our marriage, of making one our two rival dynasties, of
giving to the great empire peace everlasting----
EMPRESS [_Interrupting_]
Ever since you asked me to be seated upon your throne, I
understood.
EMPEROR [_After a pause_]
And your reply?
EMPRESS
My reply is that, neither living nor dead, will I permit
the Emperor of the Tartars even to touch my hand. It is too
late; too many rivers of blood flow between us.
EMPEROR
Still one word, one last word. We are not alone at this
solemn historical hour, in this place which seems so empty
and silent. The shades of warriors and the illustrious
spirits of departed emperors are all about us, listening
anxiously for your decision. Your beloved dead are all
here, at peace with mine in the lofty harmony of heaven.
You are mistaken, they are not calling to you to join them;
they are commanding you to live for years to come, to aid
me in this great work of peace, of which I dream and which,
without you seated at my side on this throne, I shall be
powerless to carry out. You have not the right to decline
this duty! In the name of the thousands of invisible
spirits who surround us, I beg of you, Daughter of Heaven,
to live! [_A silence._] I have said all that I find
possible to say. I await your decision. I have finished.
EMPRESS [_Growing colder and more distant in her attitude,
pointing to the golden jewel-case attached to the Emperor's
girdle_] Then give it to me now!
EMPEROR [_In absolute despair_]
No, no! Give it to you with my own hands I cannot. Have
pity----I cannot! I cannot!
EMPRESS [_Severely_]
But your promise, sire, your imperial word of honour. Give
it to me!
[_The_ EMPEROR, _after another silence, kneels
before her, takes the golden box from his
girdle and hands it to her slowly, his face
turned downward to the ground._]
EMPRESS [_After opening the box, speaking gently, like
a child in a dream._] Yes, they are tiny, shining
pearls----And they will bring death, peace, nothingness.
[_She puts the pearls in her mouth, then throws the box
to the ground, and rises in exaltation. Triumphant and
dominating the room, she addresses the invisible spirits
of her forefathers._] Oh, my ancestors, behold me! Am I
not glorious? You see me in that place whence you of old
dominated the world, and it is upon your throne, usurped
by the Tartar, that I am about to die! Your daughter has
remained worthy of her race. Despite temptation more than
human, she has kept her word. Open wide before the portals
of death,--to receive her among you. [_Smiling and quite
gentle, she turns to the EMPEROR who is still kneeling._]
And now that my mission is accomplished, approach me,
sire. [_She takes his hand gently, to indicate that he may
rise and be seated._] For the second time in her life, the
Empress invites you to be seated in her presence, as once
before, over there, you remember, one morning in my palace
which is now no more----[_She seats herself on the throne
again._]
EMPEROR [_Dreamily_]
As once before, there in your garden on that
never-to-be-forgotten morning. All about us, the wonderful
flowers of distant lands were unfolding their petals, still
moist with the early dews----and the beautiful Imperial
Phoenix was brilliant in all her glory. [_He seats himself
on the throne near her, his head resting against the back._]
EMPRESS
To-day, the flames have swept away those flowers, and the
Phoenix is in agony, her wings burned in the fire of war.
But, on the threshold of the Great Beyond, she will confide
to you her deepest secret. Now it is your turn to listen.
[_The_ EMPEROR _raises his head and looks at her._] While
you were uttering those noble and magnificent words of
sacrifice----Oh! beneath my impassive mask, what a struggle
was mine on to be deaf to their appeal! And I should have
yielded, if the duty which you presented to me had been
only a painful duty. But it would have been too easy and
too sweet. For I loved you! [_The_ EMPEROR _arises_.] And,
living, I have no more the right to happiness, because it
was I who lighted that great funeral pyre of men's lives in
my palace.
EMPEROR [_Interrupting, exultantly_]
O my sovereign! O my beautiful, fading flower! To hear
that from your lips at the moment when they are about to
grow cold for ever! Oh! To be beloved by you, I could not
believe it possible. And now no aid can come from men or
gods.
EMPRESS
No aid? Do you think I would accept it? I have spoken only
because I know I am going to die. Aid! But did I not tell
you it was I who lighted the pyre, this hand which set to
it the flaming torch. And as they threw themselves into the
glowing furnace, dying for my son and for me, I cried out
my solemn vow: Soon I come to the Land of the Shades, I
come, I follow you. After that, if I were to live, to spend
a happy life with you----I should loathe myself. [_She
remains seated, the_ EMPEROR _kneels at her feet, resting
his head on the cushions of the throne._] In entering your
palace, I was afraid of myself, it was only myself that I
feared----for at no time did I hate that strange impostor
who appeared in my palace one day, never did I hate him
even when I knew not, when I did not understand. And in the
closed litter in which I was brought to Peking, at every
stage of that mournful journey my fears and my anguish
increased, according as the impression became stronger and
stronger, until at last I was convinced that you were the
Emperor! [_Suddenly terrified, she starts up._] You have
not deceived me? Tell me, it is indeed death which you have
given me? Oh, no, you could not have done that. You are too
noble to have led me into a trap----
EMPEROR
No, my sovereign, no, I have not deceived you. Death is
close to you, it is in your heart, inevitable death.
EMPRESS
Will it take long? How many minutes are still left to me?
EMPEROR
Minutes? Oh, scarcely seconds. You are on the point
of slipping away from me into nothingness. The frail
covering of gold leaf still protects you. As soon as that
dissolves----
EMPRESS
I shall suffer?
EMPEROR
No!
EMPRESS
Tell me how I shall pass away.
EMPEROR
You will hear a ringing in your brain as if the great
bell of honour were being sounded for you--and then a
dizziness--and suddenly will come eternal peace! [_He rises
and rends his garments._] O Gods, if you are capable of
compassion, look down upon me----have pity!
EMPRESS [_At first very slowly, pacing the platform of the
throne like one in a dream._] Whither am I going? Who can
tell me whither I am going, where I shall soon be? To the
dead? to the Shades, what can it matter how I use this last
flicker of my life, so soon to be extinguished? Now that
I have kept my word, at least this last moment belongs to
me, which to us is worth Eternity. [_To the_ EMPEROR.] Let
it be mine that I may give it to you! [_She seats herself
on the throne again._] Come close to me, my beloved, my
master, my God-----[_The_ EMPEROR _sits near her, at first
as with religious awe._] Come, I desire to rest my head on
your shoulder while I die----[The EMPEROR takes her in his
arms.] Do you not see that we are like two stars, separated
by a boundless abyss, but withal making desperate efforts
to flash their light to each other?----But now the abyss is
crossed and my mortal enemy is weeping tears for love in my
embrace. Let me rest against your breast, come closer, with
all your being, that I may pass away as though in you.
EMPEROR [_Embracing her more passionately_]
In me and with me, for I shall follow you, my beautiful
Phoenix, that would fly away beyond my reach----
EMPRESS
No! Remain on earth, live on to keep the love which I have
given you. Who else would remember me and pay the honours
to my spirit? In the valley of eternal silence, amid the
marble avenues, under the shade of the dark cedars, who
else would come to dream of my vanished beauty, that was
but for a day? Promise me you will stay. But come still
closer to me. If you do not fear the last breath of one who
is dying, press your lips against mine, my beloved, that I
may at least have known the rapture of your kiss----
EMPEROR [_Pressing his lips to hers desperately_] Oh! Even
your ashes would be lovely to me, even your body in decay.
Fear! you ask if I fear? Respect alone will unlock my
embrace--when I feel that the breath of life is no more.
EMPRESS [_Wandering, half drawing herself away_]
Ah! Yes--I hear the great bell sounding. It is the signal,
then? I am sinking----Hold me up, my beloved. Keep me from
sinking thus----into the abyss.
[_During an instant of silence, they remain
embraced. Then the_ EMPEROR _rouses himself,
cries aloud in his grief, and the dead body
falls back on the throne._]
SCENE X.
_The_ EMPEROR, _and then the_ CROWD.
[_The_ EMPEROR _descends the steps of the
throne, quickly, runs to the gong and strikes
three deep strokes. The doors are thrown open._
Dignitaries _and_ Officials _appear on the
threshold._]
The EMPEROR [_addressing the_ crowd, _who enter in robes
of state, and pointing to the dead_ Empress.]
Come, all dignitaries and great men of the Empire! Put
perfumes in the censers, keep on amber! Sound the marble
chimes, as for the gods. Pay homage to Your Empress! On
your knees, all, before The Daughter of Heaven!----
[_He kneels on the steps himself. The marble
chimes are sounded. The brilliant crowd fills
the throne-room, prostrating themselves before
the dead._]
THE END