Same as before. The elevator boy. Two chambermaids. A scrubwoman.
MUeLLER. proprietor of the hotel. The valet.
ELEVATOR BOY (enters, looks at GERARDO and at HELEN). Mr.--Mr. Gerardo!
(GERARDO does not move. Boy steps up to HELEN. Two chambermaids and a
scrubwoman, scrubber in hand, edge their way in hesitatively and step
up to HELEN.)
SCRUBWOMAN (after a pause). She's still alive.
GERARDO (jumps up, rushes to the door and runs into the proprietor.
Pulls him forward). Send for the police! I must be arrested! If I leave
now, I am a brute and if I remain, I am ruined, for it would be a
breach of contract. (Looking at his watch.) I still have a minute and
ten seconds left. Quick! I must be arrested within that time!
MUeLLER. Fritz, get the nearest policeman!
ELEVATOR BOY. Yes, Sir!
MUeLLER. Run as fast as you can! (Exit elevator boy. To GERARDO.) Don't
let it upset you, Mr. GERARDO. That kind of thing is an old story with
us here.
GERARDO (kneels down beside HELEN, takes her hand). Helen! She's still
alive! She's still alive! (To MUeLLER.) If I am arrested, it counts as a
legal excuse. How about my trunks?--Is the carriage at the door?
MUeLLER. Has been there the last twenty minutes, Sir. (Goes to the door
and lets in the valet who carries down one of the trunks.)
GERARDO (bending over HELEN). Helen!--(In an undertone.) It can't hurt
me professionally. (To MUeLLER.) Haven't you sent for a physician yet?
MUeLLER. The doctor has been 'phoned to at once. Will be here in just a
minute, I am sure.
GERARDO (putting his arms under HELEN'S and half raising her).
Helen!--Don't you recognize me, Helen?--Come now, the physician will be
here in just a moment!--Your Oscar, Helen!--Helen!
ELEVATOR BOY (in the open door). Can't find a policeman anywhere!
GERARDO (forgets everything, jumps up, lets HELEN fall back to the
floor). I must sing "Tristan" tomorrow! (Colliding with several pieces
of furniture, he rushes out through the centre door.)
ERNST HARDT
* * * * * *
TRISTRAM THE JESTER[A]
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
MARK, King of Cornwall
ISEULT of Ireland (MARK'S wife)
BRANGAENE, ISEULT'S lady
GIMELLA, ISEULT'S lady
PARANIS, ISEULT'S page
DUKE DENOVALIN
SIR DINAS of Lidan
SIR GANELUN
UGRIN, MARK'S jester
STRANGE JESTER, disguise of TRISTRAM of Lyonesse
STRANGE LEPER, disguise of TRISTRAM of Lyonesse
Also five Gaelic Barons. IWEIN, the King of the Lepers. The Lepers of
Lubin, a Herald, a young shepherd, the Executioner. Three guards in
full armor, the Strange Knight, Knights, Men-at-arms, grooms and a
group of the inhabitants of the town.
Dress and bearing of the characters have something of the chaste,
reserved manner of the princely statues in the choir of Naumburg
Cathedral.
Scene--The Castle of St. Lubin
[Footnote A: Permission Richard G. Badger, Boston.]
TRISTRAM THE JESTER (1907)
TRANSLATED BY JOHN HEARD, JR.
ACT I
ISEULT'S apartment at St. Lubin.--A curtain hung from the ceiling cuts
off one-third of the room. This third is raised one step above the rest
of the room. The background is formed by a double bay-window through
which may be seen the tops of some pine trees. In front of a couch, on
a small table, stands a large gold shrine in which rests the magic
brachet Peticru, a toy of jewels and precious metals. Beside it stands
a burning oil torch. The remaining two-thirds of the room are almost
empty. A table stands in the foreground; on the floor lies a rug on
which are embroidered armorial designs. In the middle and at both sides
are wide double doors. ISEULT sits on the couch before the shrine. She
is clad in a fur-trimmed robe. BRANGAENE loosens ISEULT'S hair which is
divided into two braids. The cold, gray light of dawn brightens
gradually; the rising sun falls on the tops of the trees, coloring them
with a flood of red and gold.
SCENE I
ISEULT (singing).
Brachet of safran and em'rald!
Oh, brachet of purple and gold
Once made by the mighty Urgan
In Avalun's wondrous wold.
Oh purple, and safran, and gold,
When cast in the dim of the night,
Have magical power to aid
All lovers in sorrowful plight!
Lord Tristram slew mighty Urgan,
Lord Tristram the loving, the true,
And pitying sorrowful lovers
He carried away Peticru.
Lord Tristram, the thoughtful and valiant,
Lord Tristram, the noble and high,
Has sent me this wondrous brachet
Lest weeping and grieving I die.
Lord Tristram, my friend, is unfaithful,
And God's wrath on him shall descend;
Though cruelly he has betrayed me,
My love even death cannot end.
Iseult with her hair of spun gold,
Where rubies and emeralds shine,
When the end of her life is at hand,
Round Tristram some charm can entwine.
--When Tristram too shall die....
[ISEULT stands up, extinguishes the light,
and, flooded by her hair, steps to the window.
BRANGAENE opens a chest from which she takes
robes, combs, a mirror, and several small
boxes. She prepares a small dressing table.]
ISEULT.
The light begins to filter through the land;
Behold, the trees with storm-bow'd tips drop down
A thousand drops into the moss below
That seem as many sparks, all cold and bright.
Each day is followed by another one,
And then another day, and after each
Comes night. Thus runs my life's long chain of beads,
All black and white, endless, and all the same.
[She turns and throws off her cloak.]
Give me my new white cloak, and comb my hair,
I pray, Brangaene.--O, it aches!
[BRANGAENE throws a cloak over her shoulders.
ISEULT sits down at the dressing table while
BRANGAENE combs her hair, dividing it into
strands and throwing it, as she combs it,
over ISEULT'S shoulder.]
BRANGAENE.
The comb
Slides like a keel. Its narrow teeth can find
No bottom, neither shore in this blond sea.
I never saw thy hair so full, Iseult,
Nor yet so heavy! See the golden gold.
ISEULT.
It aches--!
BRANGAENE.
And here it's damp as though last night
It secretly had dried full many tears.
ISEULT.
I wonder if Lord Tristram spent last night
By his new bride--and if he calls her all
Those sweetest names he made for me.
Perhaps
He sat upon her couch and told her tales
Of me that made them laugh--! I wonder too
If she be fair. Lord Tristram's new-wed bride!--
SCENE II
ISEULT turns quickly as her page comes in by the right hand door. He
carries a chess-board and sets it down on the table in the
foreground.
ISEULT.
Were then thy dreams too painfully like this life,
Paranis, that thou hast outstripped the sun
And now, with eyes all red and swollen, star'st
So heavily?
PARANIS.
Your pardon. Queen Iseult,
I could not sleep. Oh lady, what a night!
I tremble still!
ISEULT.
The night indeed was wild.
PARANIS.
Ay, like the sea the gale whips up. The wind
Swept all the covers from my bed and left
Me cold and trembling. Branches beat the wall
Above my head like demons of the storm.
The owls kept screaming in the groaning eaves
And whispered like lost souls in agony!
Hark! Hear him roar! Oh God, it's Husdent!
Oh listen to him roar. I never heard
A hound thus howl before!
ISEULT.
Peace, child. He cries
Thus every night since he has lost his lord.
PARANIS.
What? Every night and yet King Mark can sleep?
ISEULT.
King Mark can sleep as all good knights can sleep
At any time and any where, while we,
Poor souls, must like a beggar sue for sleep
As for an alms.
(To BRANGAENE.)
The mirror and the cloak.
PARANIS.
Pray tell me, Queen Iseult, why came we here
With good King Mark and left Tintagel's halls?
Why journeyed we to St. Lubin? The place
Is gloomy and an awful wood grows round
The castle walls. Oh 'tis an awful wood.
I am afraid, Iseult.
ISEULT.
Yea, boy, the wood
Is black and gloomy here. Give me some oil,
Brangaene, for my lips are parched and dried
From weeping all this never-ending night.
PARANIS (goes to the casement).
Above Tintagel, lo, the sky was blue;
The sun shone on a foreign ship that came
Across the seas and lay at anchor there
And made it look like gold. The ship came in
As we rode through the gate. I wish that I
Were at Tintagel once again and saw
That ship. For here black clouds obscure the sun
And hang close to the ground; they fly along
Like mighty ghosts. The earth smells damp and makes
Me shiver--Ugh--!
ISEULT (steps to the casement beside him and puts her arm
about his neck).
Nay, not today, for see,
The sun will shine and pour its golden rays
E'en o'er the Morois.
[She leans out until her head is overflowed
by the sunlight.]
Oh, it's very hot!
PARANIS (falling on his knees).
Oh Queen Iseult pray take the fairy dog
Into thy hands and it will comfort thee--
That wondrous brachet, Tristram's latest gift.
For, lo, since from Tintagel we have come
My heart is troubled by a wish to ask
Of thee a question, for Brangaene says
That when thou think'st of certain things thou weep'st
But I have never felt the like.
ISEULT.
Poor boy!
I lay awake the whole night through and yet
Not once did I take Petikru to me,
So ask, my child! What wouldst thou know!
Mine eyes
Are dry, for all my tears are spent, and gone.
[She has returned to the dressing table.]
PARANIS.
Is this the wood where thou and Tristram dwelt,
As people say, when ye had fled away?
ISEULT.
'Tis true this wood once sheltered us.
PARANIS (at the casement).
This wood?
This fearful wood? 'Twas here that thou, Iseult
Of Ireland, Iseult the Goldenhaired,
Took refuge with Lord Tristram like a beast
Hard pressed by dogs and men? There hang, perhaps.
Among the branches still some tattered shreds
From robes thou wor'st; and blood still tints the roots
Thou trod'st upon with bare and wounded feet!
'Twas here thou say'st? Within this wood?
ISEULT (rising).
Yes, child,
And this the castle--
[BRANGAENE takes the cloak from ISEULT'S
shoulders and helps her put on a loose
flowing garment. ISEULT'S hair is hidden
beneath a close-fitting cap.]
PARANIS (steps nearer, in great surprise).
Where ye fled from Mark's
Abom'nable decree? The castle makes
Me shudder and the wood that grows around.
BRANGAENE (quoting the decree).
"And if from this day on Lord Tristram dares
To show himself within my realm--he dies,
And with him dies Iseult of Ireland ..."
ISEULT (quoting).
"And witness here my name signed with my blood--"
[She goes to the table on the right and sets
up the chess-men. PARANIS sits on a cushion
at her feet. BRANGAENE clears the dressing
table.]
PARANIS. Is it since that day thou hast wept, my Queen?
ISEULT. Thou know'st my secret boy and yet canst ask!
BRANGAENE.
Inquire not too much, Paranis, lest
A deeper knowledge of such things consume
Thy soul, and leave in place a cinder-pile.
PARANIS.
There's more they say, yet I believe no more.
ISEULT.
And what do people say, Paranis?
PARANIS.
Why,
They say Lord Tristram, since he fled away
To save his life, and, ay, to save thine too.
Forgot thee. Queen Iseult, and thy great love
And wed another in a foreign land.
ISEULT.
They call her Isot of the Fair White Hands.
[A pause.]
PARANIS.
When I'm a man, and wear my gilded spurs
I'll love and serve thee with a truer love
Than Tristram did.
ISEULT.
How old art thou, my child?
PARANIS.
When I first came to serve thee as a page
Thirteen I was; that was a year ago.
I'm fourteen now, but when I dream, I dream
That I am older and I love thee then
In knightly fashion, and my sword is dull'd
And scarred by blows that it has struck for thee.
My heart beats high when I behold thy face;
My cheek burns hot or freezes ashen pale.
And then, at other times, I dream that I
Have died for thee, only to wake and weep
That I am still a child!
ISEULT.
Listen to me,
Paranis. Once, wandering, a gleeman came
Two years agone and sang a lay in Mark's
High hall; but, see! I said not it applied
To us, this song of his. A song it was
And nothing more. This lay told of a queen,
A certain queen whose page once loved her much,
With all the courtesy of Knighthood's laws;
Whose every glance was for his lady's face;
Whose cheeks alternately went hot and cold
When she was near. But when the King perceived
His changing color and his burning looks,
He slew the boy, and, tearing out his heart,
Now red, now pale, he roasted it, and served
It to his queen and told her 'twas a bird
His favorite hawk had slain that day.
PARANIS.
Tell me,
I pray, my lady, when a Knight has won
His spurs may he write songs?
ISEULT.
Ay, that he may.
PARANIS.
Since that is so, I'd rather sing than fight.
I'll go from court to court and sing in each
How Tristram was untrue to Queen Iseult!
I will avenge thy wrongs in songs instead
Of with the sword, and every one who hears
My words shall weep as thou, my queen, has wept.
I like the lay about that page's heart
Thou toldst me.
ISEULT.
Remember it, my child;
Brangaene knows the melody thereof.
And she shall teach it thee that thou mayst learn
The lay.
PARANIS (at the window).
The King's awake; I hear him call
His hounds.
ISEULT.
Then go, Paranis, bear to him
My morning and my wifely greeting; say
I rested well this night; that thou hast left
Me overjoyed and happy that the day
Is fair. Now haste thee, boy, for soon
The Gaelic barons through the gates shall ride
Coming to pay their homage to King Mark,
Delay not, child, and if the King shall grant
Thee spurs, with mine own hands I'll choose thee out
The finest pair, and deep my name shall stand
Engraved in the gold. Go greet the King.
[PARANIS kisses the hem of her robe and
goes.]
SCENE III
ISEULT.
Lord Tristram has kept true unto my name
At least--if not to me! 'Tis now the tenth
Year that I mourn for him! In countless nights
Of endless agony have I repaid
Those other nights of happiness and bliss.
Through age-long days now beggared of their joy
I have atoned for all the smiles of yore.
Unkindly have ye dealt with me, sweet friend!
Disloyal Tristram! God shall punish thee.
Not I.
[BRANGAENE kneels weeping beside her and
buries her face in ISEULT'S robes. ISEULT
raises her up.]
And thou, dear one, sweet sister, come!
My sorrow's past enduring! Help me, help!
At Lubin here the very walls have tongues;
At Lubin here the sombre forest moans;
At Lubin here old Husdent whimpers day
And night unceasingly. 'Twas at Lubin
I parted from him last, my dearest friend,
And to his parting vows I answered thus:
"Take, friend, this golden ring with em'rald stone,
And if in thy name one shall bring it me,
No dungeon walls, no castle gates, no bolts
Shall keep me far from thee." And he: "I thank
Thee, dearest lady, and I swear that if,
At any time, in any place, one calls
On me by thy sweet name I'll stand and wait
And answer in thy name by day or night."
And then--and then--he rode away!
BRANGAENE.
Iseult!
Iseult, my dearest, might I die, for I,
Wretch that I am, am most at fault,
Too ready for deceits and secret ways!
ISEULT.
Because I love a life, and better still
A death, that's great from savage unrestraint,
Such as I found in mighty Tristram's love,
'Tis not thy fault. And formerly when thou
Didst lend me thine own maiden smock to wear
Upon my bridal night with Mark, since mine
Was torn when I set foot on Cornish ground,
Thou didst fulfill what, as my guardian friend,
Thou hadst foreseen in earlier days. Weep not
Because I weep; Lord Tristram's treachery
Is his, not ours. For this it is I weep.
BRANGAENE.
Thou shouldst not say, he is not faithful still.
Dear sister. What know we of him or his?
ISEULT.
That he has married!
BRANGAENE.
Ay, her name's Iseult.
My name! I shudder when I think thereon.
And lo, his perjured tongue rots not, nor cleaves
Unto his teeth, nor does the name he calls
Her by choke in his throat and strangle him.
BRANGAENE.
Mark me, Iseult, I had not meant to speak,
But now I must: a servant of King Mark's
Spoke lately of that ship we saw sail in
And then cast anchor 'neath Tintagel's walls.
A merchant ship it is, he said, and hails
Direct from Arundland. Now send
And bid these merchants leave their ship and come,
That they may tell what they have seen or heard
Of Tristram and his fate.
PARANIS (runs in and leaps upon the window-sill).
Oh Queen, there come
Three Gaelic earls! Dinas of Lidan first.
BRANGAENE (hastening to his side).
Come then, Iseult, and from the casement here
Behold the faithful Dinas, Tristram's friend!
PARANIS.
The one in coat of mail who rides behind
Who is the man, Brangaene, canst thou see?
BRANGAENE.
Oh God! Denovalin, ill-omened bird
Of grim Tintagel.
ISEULT.
Arund? Didst thou say
A merchant ship sailed in from Arundland?
That great gold sail, Brangaene, came across
The ocean to Tintagel? What? A ship,
And merchant men from Arund? Speak, friend, speak!
Thou talk'st of Arund, and remain'st unmoved!
Brangaene, cruel, speak and say the men
Are on their way to me, or are now here!
Torture me not!
BRANGAENE.
Nay, hear me speak, Iseult;
I said a servant of King Mark's said this;
I know not whether it be true; to know
We must be back within Tintagel's walls.
ISEULT (in rising agitation).
Wait till we're back within Tintagel's walls?
Not see the merchants till we are gone back,
And linger thus for three whole days, say'st thou?
Nay, nay, Brangaene, nay I will not wait.
'Twas not for this ten never-ending years
I sat upon Tintagel's tower and watched
With anxious eyes the many ships sail o'er
The green expanse from sky to sky. 'Twas not
For this; that day by day Paranis went,
At my behest, down to the port, while I
Sat counting every minute, one by one,
Until he should return, and tell me tales
Of ships and lands indifferent as a fly's
Short life to me!--And now thou tellest me
A ship is here; a great gold sail lies moor'd
Hard by Tintagel's walls, a ship in which
Men live, and speak, and say when asked:
"Where come ye from!" "From Arundland we sail."
Go quick, Brangaene; to Tintagel send, I pray,
At once some swift and faithful messenger,
And bid him with all haste lead here to me
These merchants over night. I need both silks
And laces, samite and the snowy fur
Of ermines, and whatever else they have.
All that they have I'll gladly buy! Let them
But ride with speed!
BRANGAENE.
Ay, ride as peddlers do!
Yet will I send Gawain, since 'tis thy wish,
And with him yet another.
PARANIS.
Queen Iseult,
May I go with Gawain? I'll make them ride,
These merchant-men! I'll stick my dagger twixt
Their shoulder blades and prick them 'till from fear
They fairly fly to thee!
ISEULT.
Nay, rather, child,
Stay here with me; but help Brangaene find Gawain.
[BRANGAENE and PARANIS open the door at
the back of the stage but stand back on
either side to permit MARK and the three
Barons to enter.]
BRANGAENE.
The King!
SCENE IV
BRANGAENE and PARANIS go. MARK and the barons remain standing at some
distance from ISEULT. DENOVALIN remains in the background and during
this and the following scene stands almost motionless in the same spot.
MARK.
There stands Iseult, my queen,
All glorious as the summer day that shines
O'er all the world! Now welcome, my Iseult!
Now welcome to Lubin! These gallant lords
Are come to greet thee--Dinas, Ganelun,
Denovalin.--They have not seen thee now
For many months. And ye, my noble lords.
Is she not blonder than of yore?
[He glances at a locket that hangs about his
neck.]
For see!
This lock of hair Lord Tristram brought me once.
Behold it now, 'tis almost black next hers.
ISEULT.
I greet thee, Dinas, Lord of Lidan, friend,
Most loyal friend:--and thou. Lord Ganelun,
Most heartily, for many days have pass'd
Since last we met.
DINAS.
Ay, many days, Iseult.
ISEULT.
Hast thou forgot Tintagel's King and Queen?
'Twas not so once.
GANELUN.
I've been at Arthur's court
Nigh on two years, and there have taken part
In many deeds of high renown. 'Tis this
Has kept me from Tintagel and from home.
DINAS.
And I, fair Queen Iseult, am growing old;
I've left the saddle for the pillow's ease.
(Pointedly.)
I see the chess-board stands prepared and so,
If Mark permits, 'tis I who in his place
Will lead the crimson pawns today, as we
Were wont to do in former days. I love
The game but have no friend with whom to play.
MARK.
Ay, Dinas, good it is to have some one
Who loves us near us in our twilight years;
So play today with Goldenhaired Iseult.
Perchance it may amuse her too, for oft
She seemeth sad, and mourns as women do
Who have no children.--God forgive us both!
But come, my lords, first let us drink a pledge
Of greeting, and permit this man to make
His peace with my fair queen. I hate long feuds.
Come, friends, come, let us drink, for all this day
We'll spend together in good fellowship.
[He leaves the room with DINAS and GANELUN
by the door on the right. ISEULT and
DENOVALIN stand opposite each other, some
distance apart, silent and motionless.]
SCENE V
DENOVALIN (calmly and insinuatingly).
Am I a vulture, Queen Iseult, that thou
Art silent when I am within thy cage?
ISEULT (angrily).
My Lord Denovalin, how dar'st thou show
Thyself thus brazenly before me here?
DENOVALIN.
Harsh words the Queen Iseult is pleased to use!
ISEULT.
And I shall beg the King that he forbid
Thee to appear within a mile around
The castle with thy visor raised.
DENOVALIN.
King Mark
Is not my over-lord. I'm not his liege.
ISEULT.
And I tell thee, my Lord Denovalin,
Thy face is more abhorred by me than plague;
More hateful than dread leprosy! Away!
DENOVALIN.
More measured should'st thou be in thy reproof.
(Much moved.)
It was for thee I came today, harsh Queen!
ISEULT.
When last thou stoodst before my face, my Lord,
Naked I was, and men at arms prepar'd
The glowing pyre whereon thy jealousy
Had doomed my youthful body to be burned!
Calm wast thou then; no quiver moved thy face,
Untroubled by thy deed. Dost thou forget?
DENOVALIN.
And Tristram stood beside thee then, as he
Had stood, when I accused thee to King Mark,
And when I see him standing next to thee,
My eyes grow dim and all the world seems red
With blood. 'Twas him I saw, not thee, Iseult,
Else had I died of sorrow and of shame.
ISEULT.
What, _thou_? _Thou_ grieve! _Thou_ die of shame? The stones
Shall soften and shall melt ere thou, my lord,
Hast learned what pity means!
DENOVALIN.
Thou dost misjudge
Me, Queen Iseult, for when thy foot first touched
The Cornish strand as thou stepped'st from thy ship
And came to be the bride of Mark, I saw
Thee then, and by the Lord, a solemn oath
Of loyalty upon thy golden hair
To thee I swore! Oh thou wast wondrous fair!
ISEULT.
And I, my Lord, what evil did I thee?
DENOVALIN.
Thou loved'st Tristram.
ISEULT.
What? Denovalin,
When, by a miracle of God, I have
Escaped the fiery death which thou prepared'st;
When, with these tender hands of mine, I bore
Before my judges, and without a burn
The glowing iron, and with sacred oath
Have sworn, thou darest doubt Almighty God's
Decree, and dar'st accuse me still, and say
I love Lord Tristram with a guilty love?
This nephew of my wedded spouse! Of this
I'll make complaint unto my sponsors, Lord!
DENOVALIN (calmly).
Almighty God thou hast, perhaps, deceived,
But we, at least, Iseult, we must be frank,
Though enemies, and deal straightforwardly
With one another.
ISEULT.
Go, thou were-wolf!--Go!
DENOVALIN.
There was a time when I, too, heard the song
Of birds in spring-time; but the fragrant breath
Thy golden hair exhales,--that hair which I
Have seen flow rippling through Lord Tristram's hands--
Has made me hard and rough--a very beast!
I live pent up within my castle walls
As some old wolf! I sleep all day and ride
At night! Ay, ride until my steed comes home
With gasping nostril and with bloody flank,
And lies as dead when morning comes! My hounds
Fall dead along the road! And yet, may be,
That long before the earliest cock has crowed
I cry aloud upon thy name each day
Like one who swelters in his own life's blood!
Remember this, for hadst thou once, Iseult,
Beside me ridden ere the night grew dark,
Perchance this hatred of all living things
Had never got such hold upon my soul.
Remember this, throughout the many things
Which shall, ere evening, come to pass.
And evening comes to thee, Iseult,--to me,
To all! And so 'tis best thou understand
The secret of the past fairly to judge.
This is the peace I fain would have with thee.
ISEULT.
I am afraid--afraid--of thee!
DENOVALIN.
Thou shouldst
Not fear, Iseult, these words so seemingly
Devoid of sense!
(Changing the subject.)
At dawn today I rode
Along the Morois.
ISEULT.
Ay, since that's the road
That leads the straightest from thy lofty hall
To St. Lubin.--
DENOVALIN.
I met a quarry there!
A quarry wondrous strange! Shall I, Iseult,
Go bring it bound to thee?
ISEULT (in great anxiety).
I wish no fur,
Or pelts slain by thy hand, Denovalin--
DENOVALIN.
That I believe, Iseult, yet it might please King Mark.
(Breaking out passionately.)
It might be that once more
Thou felt'st the burning touch of death, all hot
And red. And if no safe retreat there were
For thee in Cornwall, save my castle walls,
And not a man in Cornwall stood to shield
Thy golden tresses from the hangman's hand
Except myself! If such the case what wouldst
Thou do if I said "come?"
ISEULT (wild with terror and despair).
If such the case,
Oh God of Bethlehem! If such the case
I'd fling my arms about the neck of Death,
And, clinging close to him, I'd spit at thee,
Denovalin! Those wrinkles, cold and hard,
About thy mouth on either side disgust
Me! Go, Denovalin! I loath thee! Go!
DENOVALIN.
I go, Iseult, for thou hast made thy choice;
Forget it not. Forget not, too, the pact
Of peace my soul has made with thine. Farewell!
I'll go and bid Lord Dinas come to play
At chess with thee. Play quickly, Queen Iseult,
Thy time is short, and short shall be thy game!
[He goes.]
SCENE VI
ISEULT.
Oh God, how bitter are his words! They cut
Like sharpen'd swords and burn like hissing flames!
What is his will? His speech, though witless, ay,
And senseless too, insults and threatens me.--
It warns me too--of what?--Oh God, I quake!
If but Brangaene came, or Dinas came!
They come not and this creeping fear--how hard
It grips my soul!--More Gaelic barons come--!
How often have I stood concealed here
And seen him come proud riding through the gate!
My friend that comes no more! How grand he was!
His lofty stature did o'ertop them all!
How nobly trod his steed!--Dear Tristram, friend.
Does thy new Isot's heart beat quick as mine
At but the thought of thy dear step?
(Kneels down in front of the little shrine.)
And thou,
Oh little brachet, thinks thy lord of me,
As I of him!--"For they who drink thereof
Together so shall love with every sense
Alive, yet senseless--with their every thought
Yet thoughtless too, in life, in death, for aye--.
Yet he, who once has known the wond'rous bliss
Of that intoxicating cup of love,
Spits out the draught disloyally, shall be
A homeless and a friendless worm--a weed
That grows beside the road." Oh Tristram, Lord.
DINAS enters. ISEULT rushes toward him.
Dinas of Lidan! Dearest friend, most true!
With what has this man threatened me? Of what,
Then, warned?--friend, speak, for round me whirls the world;
My brain is dizzy with each thought!
DINAS.
My Lord
Denovalin has bid me come to thee
To play at chess. He said thou wast in haste.
And has he, as Mark ordered him, made peace
With thee?
ISEULT.
Made peace with me! I told
Thee, Dinas, that he has stirred up the past
With gloomy words and threatened me. He spoke
Forebodingly of coming days--; I fear
His words and know not what is brewing o'er
My head!
DINAS.
Denovalin has threatened thee!
That bodes no good!
ISEULT.
What think'st thou, Dinas? Speak!
DINAS.
It makes me almost fear that I was not
Deceived this morn as through the mist I rode.
ISEULT.
Oh Dinas!
DINAS.
For I saw a man who rode
As secretly, and stole along the way
Concealed in the murky mists of dawn.
I--
ISEULT.
Dinas!
DINAS.
Tristram's in the land, Iseult!
ISEULT.
Oh Dinas, speak! (Softly.) My friend. Lord Tristram came
At dawn today--? The man who loved me so!
My dearest Lord--! Oh Dinas, Dinas, didst
(recovering herself)
Thou speak to him?
DINAS (sternly).
Twice called I him. He fled.
ISEULT.
Oh, why didst thou not call him in my name?
He would have stood thee answer then, for that
He swore to me he'd do, by day or night
At any place....
DINAS.
I called him in thy name,
And yet he fled away.
ISEULT.
He fled from thee?
(Angrily.)
It was not Tristram then! How dar'st thou speak
Such slander 'gainst my Lord!
DINAS.
I swore that I
Would be thy friend, and for thy sake, Iseult,
His friend. But now I say Lord Tristram broke
The oath he swore to thee, and on this day
Hath wronged thee grievously, Iseult.
ISEULT (heavily and brokenly).
The spouse
Of Isot of the Fair White Hands appeared
To thee, say'st thou, and broke his parting oath.
The last he swore to Iseult Goldenhaired?
PARANIS (enters in ill-suppressed excitement).
Lord Dinas, from King Mark I come. He bids
Thee come to him straightway with all despatch,
For in the name of justice calls he thee.
ISEULT.
Oh Dinas, Dinas, Tristram broke his oath--!
Lord Tristram broke his oath--!
DINAS.
And dost thou know,
My queen, that we must now attempt to ward
The consequences of King Mark's decree
And its fulfilment from thy head?
ISEULT (angrily).
How can
An alien woman's spouse affect my life?
DINAS.
I go to stem with all the strength I have
This current of perdition. Fare thee well.
[As DINAS goes out, three armed guards
step into the room and stand on either
side of the door.]
ISEULT.
And fare thee well, thou truest of the true!
(To the guards.)
And ye, what seek ye here?
GUARD.
King Mark has bid
Us guard thy door; thou may'st not go abroad
Till Mark has bid thee come.
PARANIS (falls on his knees).
Gawain lies bound;
Brangaene's cast into a prison cell,
And something awful's taking place within
The castle walls!--I know not what it is!
ISEULT.
Paranis, child, be still.
ACT II
The High Hall of St. Lubin Castle.--Bay windows. On the right, in the
background is a wide double-door. On the left, in the background, and
diagonally to it stands a long table surrounded by high-back chairs.
The chairs at either end of the table are higher than the others and
are decorated with the royal arms. Against the wall on the left stands
a throne.
Four Gaelic barons stand, or sit about the table. LORD GANELUN enters.
SCENE I
A BARON.
And canst thou tell us now. Lord Ganelun,
What's taking place that we are summoned here
In council while our legs are scarcely dry
From our long ride?
2D BARON.
A welcome such as this
I like not, Lords!
GANELUN.
I know no more than ye,
My lords, who are but lately come.
3D BARON.
And where
Is Mark, the King?
2D BARON.
Instead of greeting us
He sends a low born knave, and bids us wait
Within these dry and barren walls.
1ST BARON (stands up).
By God,
I feel a wish to mount my horse and ride
Away!
5TH BARON (entering).
Do ye, my Lords, know why King Mark
Lets Tristram's savage hound, old Husdent live?
It needed but a little that it caused
My death!
4TH BARON.
Just now?
5TH BARON.
As I rode by its cage
It leap'd against the bars, and made them shake
With such a noise that my affrighted horse
Uprear'd, and headlong sprang across the court.
GANELUN.
The hound is wolflike; none can go within
His cage. Three keepers has he torn to death.
5TH BARON.
A wild and dang'rous beast! I would not keep
The brute within my castle walls.
3D BARON (walks irritatedly to the window).
How this
Long waiting irks my soul, good friends!
1ST BARON.
So cold
A welcome have I never yet received,
And new the custom is!
GANELUN.
Have patience, sirs,
It seems King Mark and Lord Denovalin
Discuss in secret weighty things--
3RD BARON.
--And wish
To teach us how to wait!
GANELUN.
Nay, here's King Mark!
[Illustration: ERNST HARDT]
SCENE II
MARK and DENOVALIN enter; behind them comes a man-at-arms who closes
the door and stands against the wall beside it. MARK holds a parchment
in his hand, and, without noticing the barons, walks agitatedly to the
front of the stage. DENOVALIN goes behind the table and places himself
between it and the throne. The barons rise.
1ST BARON.
Does Mark no longer know us that he greets
Us not?
2D BARON.
And dost thou know, my Lord--?
MARK (turning angrily upon the baron).
Am I
A weak old man because my hair is gray,
Because my hands are wrinkled, ay, and hard,
Because at times my armor chafes my back?
Am I an old and sapless log? A man
Used up who shall forever keep his peace?
(Controlling himself.)
I crave your pardon, Lords, pray take your seats.
DINAS.
Thou badst me come to thee.
MARK.
Yes, Dinas, yes,
So take thy place.
(He controls his emotion with great difficulty
and speaks heavily.)
And ye, my noble friends,
Give ear. A great and careful reckoning shall
Take place 'twixt you and me. Your sanctioning word
I wish, for what I am about to do,
For yonder man has, with an evil lance,
Attacked me and he has so lifted me
Out of my saddle that my head doth swim,
And trembles from the shock, and so I pray
You to forgive the churlish greeting ye
Received; 'twas accident, not scorn. I bid
You welcome, one and all, most heartily.
3D BARON.
We greet thee, Mark.
GANELUN.
But tell us now what thing
So overclouds thy mind; thy welfare dwells
Close intertwined with ours.
DENOVALIN (unfolding the parchment).
And now, my Lords,
Are any of the witnesses not here
Who signed the contract and decree which Mark
Drew up with Tristram and with Queen Iseult!
1ST BARON.
'Tis then of this decree that thou wouldst speak?
3D BARON.
I signed.
4TH BARON.
And I.
5TH BARON.
And I.
MARK.
Three witnesses
There were, and ye are three. 'Tis good, my Lords,
That we are all assembled here.
[He speaks brokenly and with all the marks
of mental suffering and suppressed emotion.]
Ye know
How long I lived alone within these walls
With my good nephew Tristram and not once
Did any woman cross my threshold o'er.
5TH BARON.
And 'twas through us that things were changed; we cried
Upon thee for a son and heir.
2D BARON.
Iseult
Then came from Ireland to be thy Queen.
DENOVALIN (coldly, firmly, and in a loud voice).
Nobly escorted, in Lord Tristram's care!
MARK (softly).
I wooed Iseult, and much it pleased me then
To call this sweet and noble lady mine,
And so to honor her. But see, it was
But for a single day, then came this man
(Points to DENOVALIN.)
And spake to me and said: "Thy wife Iseult
And Tristram whisper in the dark!" And since
The speaking of that evil word, this world
Has turned to hell, and through my veins my blood
Has run like seething fire for her sake,
Who was my wife, and cried for her as though
She were not mine!
3D BARON.
But thou didst not believe
These evil words?
MARK.
No, never in my life
Did I fight off a foeman from myself
More fiercely than these words.
DENOVALIN (sternly).
But soon this man
Came back and said: "The hands of Queen Iseult
And Tristram's hands are locked when it is dark."
MARK.
And then I slunk about them like a wretch,
My lords; I spied upon their lips, their hands,
Their eyes! I watched them like a murderer;
I listened underneath their window-sills
At night to catch their dreaming words, until
I scorned myself for this wild wretchedness!
Nothing, nothing I found, and yet Iseult
From that time on was dearer than my God
And his Salvation!
GANELUN.
Yet thou ever held'st
Iseult in honor and esteem!
MARK.
Ay, that I did,
Friend Ganelun, but soon that man there came
And whispered in mine ear: "Art thou stone blind?
Thy nephew Tristram and thy Queen Iseult
Are sleeping in each other's arms by day
And night!" Oh God! Oh God! My Lords, I set
To work--and thought I'd caught the pair!--Poor fool!
(He hides his face.)
DINAS.
'Tis so; and thou badst build a mighty pyre
Of seasoned wood and well dried peat. But God
Almighty blew the fire out. They fled,
The twain together, to the Morois land.
MARK.
And then one night I stole upon them both.
(Lord Dinas knew of this alone, my Lords.)
Iseult was sleeping, and Lord Tristram slept
An arm's length scarce before me in the moss
All pale and wan, and breathed so heavily,
So wearily, like some hard hunted beasts.
(Groaning.)
Oh God, how easy was it then!--See what
Befell! There, 'twixt their bodies lay a sword,
All naked, ay, and sharp--
'Twas Morholl's sword!
--Then silently I took it, and I left
Mine own, and, like a fool, I wept at their
Great purity!
2D BARON.
Was Tristram so much moved
By this exchange of swords that he gave back
Thy wife Iseult?
MARK (violently).
And, God! I took her! See
His cunning counsel circumvented then
The red hot steel and made her innocence
Seem more apparent, and her hands shone white,
Unburned, and all unscarred like ivory
After the test! My nephew Tristram fled,
Exiled, and the decree that ye all know
Was sealed. So harken now, ye witnesses
Of the decree: if Tristram were to break
The bond and secretly, and in disguise
Return to Cornwall--
3d BARON.
God forbid!
4TH BARON.
Yet if
Lord Tristram should do this and break the bond,
And thus endanger both his life and Queen Iseult's--
5TH BARON.
If such the case they lied to thee,
King Mark, and unto God!
MARK.
They lied! They lied!
Ay, man, they lied to me and unto God!
And now I need no longer feel my way
Nor tap about me in the dark, nor bump
My soul against my blindness! Ay, they lied!
My bed was foul; my life a jest for knaves,
For they had lied. But then, behold, that man
There came,--Denovalin I hate thee!--came
And said Lord Tristram broke the bond--
[The Barons spring up.]
1ST BARON.
How so?
2D BARON.
What knows he?
3D BARON.
Speak, Denovalin!
GANELUN.
Thou say'st
Lord Tristram broke the bond that holds his life?
5TH BARON.
I'll not believe it!
4TH BARON.
Tristram wed, ye know,
The daughter of King Kark of Arundland.
3D BARON.
Denovalin must bring us proofs!
MARK.
Gently,
My Lords. Before the high tribunal shall
He speak. Go, call the Queen.
[The man-at-arms goes.]
DINAS.
King Mark,
Why dost thou hasten to believe this tale?
Remember, 'tis Denovalin who speaks.
MARK.
'Tis not a matter of belief, my friend,
I wish to know if for her sake he came;
To see her once again--no more. The rest
I know, and I know, too, the end of this;
This game that's played about my life, my blood.
Mine honor!
SCENE III
The guardsman announces the queen who enters the hall followed by
PARANIS. She remains in the background. The barons rise as she appears.
GUARDSMAN.
Place! Iseult the queen comes! Place!
ISEULT (quietly and gently).
Ye called me, sirs; now speak, for I am here.
MARK (takes an angry step toward her, checks himself, and stares at her
a moment. He speaks slowly and Without moving).
Lord Dinas, bid Iseult of Ireland draw near!
[ISEULT, without waiting for DINAS, steps
to the middle of the hall. MARK does not
move and speaks louder.]
Lord Dinas, bid Iseult of Ireland draw near!
And sit there by the board--there at the head
And facing me.
ISEULT.
And may I ask thee now
What this extraordinary custom is,
That twice thou dost repeat it, Mark? In mine
Own land of Ireland I never saw
A man thus treat his wife. So, if it suits
Thy will,--I'll stand!
[Neither MARK nor the barons move.
Anxiously.]
Will no one speak to me?
MARK.
My Lords, sit down.
[He walks in front of the table. PARANIS
kneels beside ISEULT, who lays her hand
upon his head as on the head of a dog.]
ISEULT.
Thou call'dst me, Mark, and bad'st
Me come in terms full stern and harsh--I came,
For 'tis my heartfelt duty to obey.
Since thou art good to me and kind. Thou know'st
This hall, these men, that stand around, awake
Full many a painful memory in my heart,
And so I crave a swift reply. What will
Ye of me here?
MARK (roughly).
Why was Gawain sent forth
In secret to Tintagel from Lubin?
ISEULT.
He went not secretly, but openly.
My Lord, and that because some merchant-men
Came to Tintagel from across the seas
With merchandise. I wished to bid them come
To me that I might choose me from their stock the wares
That pleased me and the many things I need.
MARK (scornfully).
The purchase must be made at once, I trow!
Since here, more than elsewhere, thou need'st such things.
'Tis true that fifteen beasts of burden stayed
Behind, all laden with thy things alone,
Unnoticed by a well beside the road,
Iseult, I recollect me now!
ISEULT.
Nay, Lord,
Yet St. Lubin brings me full many a sad
And weary hour. I, therefore, thought to gain
Some slight diversion and amusement too
To soothe my woe. Thou know'st the joy I have
Of mingled masses of bright colored things
Both strange and rare!
(Anxiously.)
The rustling silks; the gold--;
Th' embroidery of robes; the jewel's flash;--
Furs, chains and golden girdles, needles,
clasps! To see, and in my hands to hold such things
O'erjoys me much!--A childish whim, perhaps,
But thou thyself this pleasure oft procured'st
And sent the merchants to my bower. What
Wonder is it then that I myself should think
Of this same thing?
MARK.
'Tis so, I wronged thy thoughts,
For I myself have often brought such men
To thee. These peddlers and these mountebanks
Are famous friends! I see it now! They come
From far and wide; they travel much; they are
Both wise and cunning--apt, indeed, to serve
As messengers!
ISEULT.
Ay, Mark, thou didst me wrong.
But greater to Brangaene and Gawain!
I pray thee set them free; they but obeyed
My will.
MARK (angrily).
Bring forth the pair, and set them free
These go-betweens Brangaene and Gawain!
[The soldier goes.]
Tell now, my Lord Denovalin, thy tale,
And speak thy words distinctly, ay, and loud!
And ye, my Lords, I pray you, listen well;
A pretty tale!
[He crouches on the steps of the throne,
and stares at ISEULT. DENOVALIN steps
forward from behind the table.]
DENOVALIN.
I rode today at dawn,
And, coming through the Morois, saw, while yet
The mist was hanging in the trees, around
A curving of the road, a man who rode.
Full proud and straight he sat upon his steed,
But yet he seemed to wish that none should see
Him there, for carefully did he avoid
The clearer spots, and peering round about,
He listened and he keenly watched, then turned
Into a thicket when afar he heard
The hoof-beats of my horse. I followed him,
And soon I was as near as a man's voice
Will carry. Loud and haughtily I called
To him, but then he drove the spurs so deep
Into his steed that, like a wounded stag,
It sprang into the air and dashed away.
I followed close behind, and bade the man
In knightly and in manly honor stand.
He heeded not my words and fled away,
And then I cried aloud that he should stand,
And called him by Iseult the Goldenhaired.
ISEULT (passionately and firmly).
And at my name Lord Tristram stood.
(Anxiously.)
Did he
Not stand and wait?
(Imploringly.)
Oh, say that at that call
Lord Tristram stood!
(Passionately.)
And I will bless thy lips.
MARK (cries out in a muffled voice).
Iseult!
ISEULT.
I'll kiss thy hand, my Lord, and I--
DENOVALIN.
Who says, proud Queen Iseult, the man I saw
Was Tristram, noble Lord of Lyonesse?
ISEULT (her voice becomes proud and cold).
My Lord Denovalin, I'll kiss thy hands
If thou wilt say my husband's nephew stood
And bided you, for sorely would it vex
My heart if such a knight should flee from such
A man as thou! 'Twould shame me much, for know,
My Lord Denovalin, I scorn and hate
Thee as a cur!
DENOVALIN (suppressing his emotion).
If Tristram stood or fled
From me, I do not say.
ISEULT.
That vexes me
Indeed, for now, my Lords, I turn to you
With deeper and more serious complaints
Against Lord Tristram that so rashly he
Has broken Mark's decree, thus forcing me
To share a guilt of which my soul is clean!
MARK (crouches on the steps of the throne groaning).
Oh see how well her Irish tongue can twist
Her words to suit her will! Her words are smooth;
So smooth that when one grasps them they escape
The hand like shining, slippery, squirming snakes!
And she has subtle words, caressing words,
And words that set the mind on fire; hot words
That burn, and haughty ones that swell and puff
Like stallions' nostrils, and toss high their heads!
Oh she has words, and words, and many words
With which to frame her lies!
(He takes a step toward ISEULT. Angrily.)
And see her eyes!
Those wondrous eyes! Eyes for deceit! She has
Deceived me with those eyes and lips of hers since first
She set her foot upon the Cornish shore!
ISEULT (trembling with shame and anger).
Thy words are like the shame of women, Mark!
Like filthy hands! Irish I am, but there,
In word and deed, polite restraint prevails
And courteous measuredness; there fiery wrath
Becomes ne'er master of the man! And so
I was not taught in early youth to guard
Myself from drunkenness of wrath!
MARK.
O hark!
That was a sample of her haughty words!
Iseult the Goldenhaired of Ireland
Didst thou with thine own hand and blood sign this?
ISEULT.
Ay, Mark, I signed the bond.
(With closed eyes quoting.)
"And if from this
Day on Lord Tristram dares to show himself
Within my realm, he dies, and with him dies
Iseult of Ireland"--I signed my name
And wrote it with my blood.
MARK.
Denovalin
Most solemnly has pledged his head and soul
That he has seen my nephew Tristram, Lord
Of Lyonesse within my realm, and so,
If none stand forth to contradict, Iseult
Of Ireland shall die.
DINAS (stands up).
Denovalin
Has lied!
MARK.
Dinas of Lidan!
GANELUN.
Well said, good
Dinas!
DINAS.
I, too, did meet a man today
At early dawn whom I first held to be
Lord Tristram, nephew of King Mark.
Since from the east I rode and thou, my Lord
Denovalin, came through the Morois land
From thy good castle in the west, and since
Lubin stood as a central point between
Us both, Lord Tristram must have been two-fold
That in the east and in the west he crossed
My path, and at the self-same hour, the road
Of Lord Denovalin. This cannot be
And so one of the men was not the true
Lord Tristram; one of us was therefore wrong.
And if 'twas one, then why not both
My Lord Denovalin and I?
MARK.
Dinas,
Had I not known thee from thy youth I might
Have held thee guilty with Iseult! Has she
Ensnared thee too with perjured oaths and false
And lying countenance, that thou dost seek
To die for her so eagerly? Thy hair
Is gray like mine. Thou dreamest, man,
Denovalin has pledged his word that he
Has seen Lord Tristram! Ponder well ere thou
Take up his downflung glove.
2D BARON.
Yet Dinas may
Be right.
3D BARON.
I think so too.
5TH BARON.
There cannot be
Two Tristrams in the Morois wood.
DENOVALIN (springing up).
My Lords,
I've pledged my word! Take heed unto your tongues!
GANELUN.
It seems but right to me that Queen Iseult
Should not be put to death until the true
Lord Tristram, quick or dead, be found.
2D BARON.
Well said
Lord Ganelun!
3D BARON.
So think we all. King Mark!
ISEULT.
By God! my Lords, it is enough! ye sit
Discussing here in calm indifference
If I shall live or die, as though I were
An animal! My race is nobly sprung;
I will that ye bow down before my blood,
Since ye do not bow down to womanhood!
I will that ye permit me to return
To my apartments and that ye do not
Here keep me standing like a haltered beast!
King Mark may let me know your will when ye
Decide. And now I wish to go.
MARK (in swelling anger).
Oh hear her,
My Lords, hear her, does she not make one wish.
Groaning, to cast oneself before her feet;
To kiss her very shoes when she can find
Such noble sentiments and words! Behold
Her there! Is she not fuller than the whole
Wide world of smiles and tears. And when she laughed
With that fair mouth, entrancing and all pale,
Or silvery bright that God's whole world did dance
And sing in God's own hand, 'twas not on me
She smiled. And when upon her lowered lids
There trembled tears like drops of pearly dew
Upon a flower's brim, 'twas not for me
She wept! A phantom hovered over us
In all the sweet dark hours; 'twas for this ghost,
The phantom likeness of Lord Tristram's self,
She wept and smiled, true to her soul, though all
The while her soulless body lay all cold
Within mine arms deceiving me with smiles
And tears! She shall not die till Tristram can
Be found. Bethink you, Lords, the minutes that
Ye grant that mouth to smile! The minutes that
Ye grant those eyes to weep! Whom will it not
Deceive,--her laughter and her tears! Both you,
And me, and God! But I will change her smiles
To tears; her weeping to the bitter laugh
Of hideousness, that we at last may rest,
And be secure from all her woman's wiles!
And since she shall not die, then I will give her
As a gift! This surely is my kingly right,
For I am Mark, her lawful spouse and lord.
Today at noon, when in the sun her hair
Shall shine the brightest in the golden light
Unto the leprous beggars of Lubin
I'll give her as a gift!
DINAS.
Mark, art thou mad?
PARANIS.
The Queen! Oh help!
ISEULT (recovering herself).
'Tis nought; I'm better now.
GANELUN.
Thou speak'st a thing, in sorrow and in wrath,
A thing so terrible one fears to think
Thereon!
1ST BARON.
Bethink thee, Mark!
2D BARON.
Thou ravest, King.
4TH BARON.
Thou dost a most foul thing;--recall thy words!
MARK (crouches on the steps of the throne with
his back to the barons).
At mid-day shall the lepers of Lubin
Collect, and wait within the court.
DINAS.
Farewell,
King Mark, I'll stay with thee no more!
GANELUN.
I go
With thee.
1ST BARON.
And I.
2D BARON.
We leave thee, one and all!
MARK (turns his head, almost smiling).
Will no one stay with me?
DENOVALIN (stepping forward).
I will, King Mark.
MARK (springing up).
Oh, drive this man outside the walls, and bid
Him ride with speed! I feel a great
Desire to dip my hands in his foul blood
After this awful marriage feast! And if
A second time the Lord shall testify
'Gainst thee, Denovalin, then shalt thou die!
I swear it! Thou shalt die!
DENOVALIN (calmly).
My castle walls
Are high and strong, oh Mark!
ISEULT.
What loathsome brutes,
What wretched beasts lust makes of men!
Behold
Thyself, Oh Mark, thou that art wise and kind;
How deep consumed by lust! Thou wilt not let
Me live, but dost thy best to shame. That which
Thou lovest most, thou castest forth to be
A prey to vultures, and thou think'st the while
Thou hatest me! Oh Mark, how thou dost err
In thinking that thou hatest me! Behold,
I pity thee! And shall I now beseech,
And wring my hands, humbling myself to thee?
I do not know how women nobly born
Can live on through the loathsome leper test,
And will not think thereon, for 'tis enough
To make a woman die, yet, once again,
Before you all; before my God I swear,
And will repeat my solemn oath, and then,
When I have sworn it, He will send His help
Or let my flesh be torn between the dogs
And leprous human vultures of Lubin.
I swear that I have never thrilled with love
But for that man who elapsed me in his arms,
A maiden still, as clean and pure as snow
New-fallen on a winter's morn. This man,
And this man only, have I loved with all
The faith and passion of my womanhood.
I gave myself to him with all my soul;
My heart was full of dancing and of song;
My love was wreathed in smiles as some May-morn
Laughs softly on the mountain tops. This man
I loved; no other have I loved, though he
May grieve, and shame me, and deceive!--King Mark!
MARK (almost screaming).
Oh shield me, he that loves me, from her oaths!
DENOVALIN (turns calmly to ISEULT).
Lead back the Queen into her chamber, page!
ACT III
The Inner Courtyard of the Castle.--In the foreground at the left is
the Castle gate. In the background on the right, at the top of a broad
flight of steps, under an arcade of columns, stands the door of the
chapel. At the left of the gate entering the courtyard are some
buildings, behind which may be seen the high castle walls surmounted by
trees. The road from the Castle to the church is laid with carpets. In
the middle of the stage, on the right, stands a stone well. In the
background is a crowd of people held back by three armed guards. At the
foot of the steps, one on each side, stand two men-at-arms.
SCENE I
1ST GUARD.
Back, crowd not there! Stand back!
2D GUARD.
The children may
Stand in the front, but hold them. There crawls one!
1ST GUARD (pushing the child back into the crowd).
My little friend, get back! Now see, I'll make
A line upon the ground, and if thy toes,
But by a hair's breadth, cross that line again,
I'll drop my spear on them and they shall be
As flat as any barley cake.
[Laughter.]
1ST GIRL.
Ha, Ha!
2D GIRL.
Hast thou become a baker, oh Gilain!
1ST GUARD (lifting his mailed hand).
Ay, wench, would'st see me knead my dough?
[Laughter.]
A BOY.
Be still
I hear the crier's voice from down below!
A GIRL.
He's wandered up and down the streets since dawn
And called until my blood runs cold!
THE BOY.
Hush.
THE GIRL.
Hark!
VOICE OF THE CRIER (distant and ringing).
Today at noon, because King Mark has found
Her faithless and untrue, shall Queen Iseult
Be given to the lepers of Lubin,--
A gift to take or leave. And, furthermore,
Lord Tristram, who was once her paramour,
Transgressed King Mark's decree by entering
His realm. Whoever catches him and brings
Him quick or dead unto the King shall have
One hundred marks of gold for his reward.
'Tis good King Mark's decree that every one
Should hear and know these things that I have cried.
A CHILD.
Oh, I'm afraid! Will he come here, that man?
THE GIRL.
I know it all by heart, and still he cries!
A MAN.
Ay, let him cry!
ANOTHER MAN.
Lord Tristram, he's a fox;
To catch him they must have a good deep pit
Or else he'll scratch them so that all their lives
They'll think thereon.
A GIRL.
Tristram's a noble lord,
I'd shield him an I could.
A SECOND GIRL.
I want to see
The Queen close by.
A THIRD GIRL.
Ay, so do I!
A FOURTH GIRL.
I'll strew
Some flowers in her path as she goes past.
1ST GIRL.
My father made her once a pair of shoes
Of fine white satin, bound with golden clasps
And crimson 'broidery. He says her feet
Are delicate and small; as white and slim
As are the Virgin Mary's in the shrine
That stands within Tintagel's lofty church
Above the great high altar.
4TH GIRL.
Poor, poor soul!
OLD WOMAN.
Ay, let her see where those white feet of hers
Have carried her!
3D GUARD (to a boy who has climbed upon the wall).
Hey, thou! Come down! The wall
And rocks are full an hundred fathoms high,
So, if thou fall, thy howling will not help.
THE BOY.
I want to sit here when the lepers come!
ANOTHER BOY.
A good place that! I'll climb up too.
A FOURTH BOY.
I too!
1ST GUARD.
Now none of you may stay within the court
To stare when Queen Iseult is given o'er
Unto the lepers. Mark has granted this
Unto the Queen since 'twas her only wish.
Ye all must go into the church.
A MAN.
May none
Then stay without and watch the lepers?
ANOTHER MAN.
's wounds!
Why then I came for nothing, all this way!
A WOMAN (indignantly).
Oh shame, thou beast, would'st gloat and make a show
Of that which one scarce dares to think of? Fie!
For such foul thoughts thou shouldst be thrown
To Husdent to devour!
2D GUARD.
Stop wrangling, there!
A GIRL.
Poor Queen! I pity her!
A SECOND GIRL.
King Mark's too harsh!
A MAN.
She's made a cuckold of him, Girl!
OLD WOMAN.
And now
He's tossing her with those new horns of his!
YOUNG SHEPHERD.
Is then the Queen Iseult so wondrous fair
As she is said to be?
A GIRL.
Hast thou not seen
The Queen?
SHEPHERD.
No, never yet!
A GIRL.
He's never seen
The Queen?
A BOY.
Behold, here's one who never saw
Our Queen!
A VOICE.
Who is he?
1ST GUARD.
Speak, where wast thou, friend,
When Queen Iseult stood bound here to the stake?
A GIRL.
All naked in her wondrous beauty--
ANOTHER GIRL.
All
For her great love.
THE BOY.
We all did see her then.
SHEPHERD.
I've come since then from Toste in the hills.
A WOMAN.
Here, let this fellow stand in front, that he
May see the Queen's fair face before this swarm
Of vultures has devoured it.
1ST GUARD.
Come here;
If thou hast never seen the Queen thou may'st
Stand here beside the steps.
SHEPHERD.
I thank thee.
A SOLDIER (drawing him beside him).
Here!
A VOICE.
Here come the soldiers!
A CHILD.
Lift me, father.
A VOICE.
Hsh--!
SCENE II
Soldiers march past and enter the church. The church door stays open.
A GIRL.
I pray thee, Gilain, who will lead the Queen?
1ST GUARD.
The hangman and King Mark.
THE GIRL.
Poor soul!
OLD WOMAN.
Why weep'st
Thou, girl?
OLD MAN (as a crucifix is carried past).
Friends, cross yourselves. The crucifix!
SHEPHERD (leans forward so that he can see across the
courtyard into the castle).
Behold, she comes! My God, how beautiful--!
An angel--!
THE SOLDIER (as GIMELLA passes).
That, my friend, is but her maid
Gimella.
2D GUARD.
Back! Stand back! Thou shalt not push!
SHEPHERD.
Oh there! Behold, she is a fairy! Yea,
And she is fairer than Gimella far!
I'll fall upon my knees when she goes past.
She's wondrous fair, ay, fairer than a flower,
A lily--See--!
THE SOLDIER (as BRANGAENE goes by).
Stand up, thou knave, for that's
Brangaene. She's our lady's faithful maid.
SHEPHERD.
She too was fair! Can one imagine then,
There's any one more beautiful than she?
What wondrous women Mark has at his court!
Such ladies have I never seen--There dwell
None such in Toste! See--! This one--! Oh, God!
Oh, God! The sun has fall'n--! Its blinding rays--!
[Falls on his knees.]
[Illustration: A DAUGHTER OF THE PEOPLE]
KARL HAIDER
THE SOLDIER (softly).
That was the Queen!
[ISEULT walks past between MARK and the
hangman. She is draped in a purple cloak;
her feet are bare. PARANIS follows her.
Part of the crowd kneels down.]
SHEPHERD (staring).
Oh, Queen Iseult! Iseult
The Goldenhaired!
A GIRL.
Oh fairest, dearest one!
ANOTHER GIRL.
Oh Queen, smile down upon us once again!
[A rattling sound is heard. The Strange
Leper steps from behind one of the columns.
His bearded face is hidden by the hood of
his cloak. The crowd draws away shuddering,
the procession halts. The leper kneels
before ISEULT and bows so low that his
forehead almost touches her feet.]
A VOICE.
A leper, see!
A GIRL.
Oh Virgin Mary, help!
A 2D GIRL.
Whence came he here!
A 3D GIRL.
He had concealed himself!
MARK (slowly).
--Thou cam'st too soon my friend!
[The leper disappears sidewise under the
steps. The procession goes into the
church, from which an organ begins to
sound. The soldiers and the crowd follow
after.]
A GIRL (covering her face with her hands).
Oh, our poor Queen!
A 2D GIRL.
She was like alabaster, cold and white!
A 3D GIRL.
Not once along the awful way she raised
Her eyes!
A 4TH GIRL.
She did not wish to see!
THE 1ST GIRL.
Oh fie,
That Mark should shame her so!
THE 2D GUARD.
Make haste, ye must
Go in!
1ST GUARD (to the kneeling shepherd).
Wake up! Thou too must go within
The church. Now come!
SHEPHERD.
The sun fell down!
It grazed my eyes!
A GIRL.
I'll pray with all my heart
For our poor Queen!
A 2D GIRL.
We all will pray--and curse
The King!
3D GUARD.
Thou slut, be still, and hold thy tongue!
Make haste into the church--go in!
1ST GUARD.
I hear
The lepers coming! hark!
3D GUARD.
Here, girl, thou'st dropped
Thy kerchief!
[He picks it up.]
THE GIRL.
Thanks!
1ST GUARD (taking the old man by the arm).
Take hold of me, old man.
Make haste.
[The doors of the church close: the stage
remains empty for a few seconds. The music
of the organ swells, and a hymn is heard.
Then, by snatches, first distantly, then
nearer, the rythmical rattling of the lepers
resounds.]
SCENE III
The lepers enter the courtyard. They are a wild pack dressed in gaudy
rags, and rumpled, armless cloaks with hoods; carrying long staves and
crutches; with colored cloths bound about their sinister foreheads.
Their faces are sunburnt, their hair is snow-white and streams in the
wind. Some have their heads shaved. Their arms and feet are bare.
Altogether they present a motley appearance, though the hardships of
their life, as a band forced to live together, give them the aspect of
weather-beaten and dried chaff driven hither and thither by the wind.
They stand shyly and rock unsteadily on their dried and shrunken
legs--silent and restless. Like ghosts of the noonday, they try to hush
their voices throughout the scene.
IWEIN (is the first to enter; the others file past him).
Come quick! They've all gone in!
A LEPER.
Right here
The cat shall catch the bird!
A YOUNG LEPER (wearing a wreath, made of three or four
large red flowers, in his dark hair).
Heisa! Heisa!
IWEIN.
Speak softly, there, lest ye disturb the mass.
AN OLD LEPER (feeble, and supporting himself on a crutch,
in the tone of the town crier, almost singing).
Today shall Queen Iseult, our good King's spouse
Be given to us, the lepers of Lubin--
So cried the herald!--
YOUNG LEPER.
Brother, brother, dance
With me, for I'm the bridegroom--Ah!--
OLD LEPER (in the same tone).
Today
Shall Queen Iseult--
[Every time that the old leper begins to
speak he is silenced by the others.]
YOUNG LEPER (striking him).
Thou fool!
(To a fourth leper.)
Come dance!
4TH LEPER.
Be still!
At noon to eat raw turnips, then at night
To have the Queen to sleep with in the straw!
Ha, ha! It makes me laugh!
A REDHAIRED LEPER.
King Mark shall give
Us wine to celebrate our wedding feast!
YOUNG LEPER (dancing).
Oh, brother, come and dance with me!
A SIXTH LEPER.
I want
To look at her and then get drunk!
YOUNG LEPER.
Come, then,
And dance with me, my little brother, dance!
IWEIN (coming from the gate).
Be still, and stand in order by the steps,
That we may see her when the hangman brings
Her forth.
1ST LEPER (sits down on the ground).
I will not stand.
IWEIN.
Then crawl, thou toad!
7TH LEPER.
Iseult the Goldenhaired!--The lepers' bride,
And Queen!
(He laughs.)
REDHAIRED LEPER.
Well spoken, friend! We'll call her that!
OLD LEPER.
Today shall Queen Iseult--
8TH LEPER. She shall be mine
I' the morning of all holidays!
1ST LEPER.
And I
Will have her late at night.
REDHAIRED LEPER.
I'll take her first!
6TH LEPER.
Not so; Iwein shall have her first for he's
Our King!
YOUNG LEPER (to redhaired leper).
Who? Thou?
9TH LEPER.
Thou have her first? Who art
Thou, then, thou redhaired knave?
10TH LEPER (calling out loudly).
Here's one who says
He'll tame the Queen!
1ST LEPER.
Oh, break his jaw!
YOUNG LEPER.
I want
Her now, my friends; my loins burn and itch
For her!
REDHAIRED LEPER.
I'll beat you, cripples, and I'll make
You all more cripple than ye are,
Unless ye give her me to kiss and hug
For one full week at least!
IWEIN.
What crowest thou,
Redheaded rooster!--Ye shall all draw lots
For who shall have her after me!
11TH LEPER.
Ay, let's
Draw lots.
REDHAIRED LEPER.
Plague on you all!
4TH LEPER.
It's on us now!
Come, let's draw lots!
6TH LEPER.
Draw lots!
OLD LEPER.
But first of all
I'll make her mend my clothes.
4TH LEPER (tearing up a cloth).
I'll tear the lots!
1ST LEPER.
Here, put them in my cloak! Now come, and draw!
12TH LEPER.
Look yonder! There's another one.
REDHAIRED LEPER.
Where! Where?
[As they crowd around, the Strange Leper
steps from behind the column.]
6TH LEPER.
There, yonder, see--?
10TH LEPER.
Who is he?
9TH LEPER.
Look!
YOUNG LEPER (goes to the steps).
Who art
Thou!
IWEIN.
Speak! Art thou a leper too, as we?
OLD LEPER (to the stranger).
Today shall Queen Iseult, our good King's spouse--
REDHAIRED LEPER.
Be still, old fool!
IWEIN.
Wilt thou not answer me?
I am Iwein, the Lepers' King; what wouldst
Thou here?
[The Strange Leper throws money among them.]
1ST LEPER (leaping, with the rest, to seize the money).
Holla!
10TH LEPER.
He's throwing money! See!
STR. LEPER.
I am a leper from Karesh and wish
To dwell among you here at St. Lubin.
4TH LEPER.
Thou'st smelt the bird from far, good friend!
REDHAIRED LEPER.
We will
Admit no new companion to our band!
9TH LEPER.
Go home, we'll none of thee!
11TH LEPER.
Hast thou more gold?
STR. LEPER (holding up a purse).
Iwein shall have it and distribute it
Among you, if ye'll take me in.
12TH LEPER.
Ha! 's death!
Thou art a rich young varlet!
1ST LEPER.
Let him stay!
4TH LEPER.
I care not if there be one more or less!
IWEIN.
Come down to us. What is thy name?
[The Strange Leper comes down from the
steps.]
7TH LEPER.
How tall
Thou art! If Godwin dares to threaten me
Thou'lt punish him.
YOUNG LEPER.
And what's thy name?
STR. LEPER.
Why, call
Me then the Sad One, for that is my name.
IWEIN.
Then come, thou Sad One, take thy place.
They'll keep
Us not much longer waiting for our spouse.
6TH LEPER (to the stranger).
King Mark's a kind and gen'rous King to think
Of giving us a wife!
OLD LEPER (to the stranger).
The herald cried
That Queen Iseult of Ireland, King Mark's
Own spouse today should be--
IWEIN.
Fool, hold thy tongue!
Let's all together make a noise, and shake
Our clappers as a sign.
[They shake their rattles.]
12TH LEPER.
The door! The door!
YOUNG LEPER.
Be still! Be still! She's coming now!
IWEIN.
Be still.
SCENE IV
The door of the church is partially opened. The hangman leads ISEULT
out. The Strange Leper falls on his knees and bows deep to the ground.
YOUNG LEPER.
Let's fall upon our knees, Iwein!
[A few lepers kneel. The hangman takes
ISEULT'S crown and cloak away. She stands
there, draped only in her golden hair. Her
eyes are closed and she remains motionless.]
THE HANGMAN (kissing ISEULT'S foot).
Forgive
Me, Queen Iseult, for God's sweet sake!
[He goes back into the church. The door
closes and the organ sounds louder in the
silence.]
IWEIN.
We are
The lepers of Lubin, and thou, by Mark's
Decree, art now our bride. Come down that we--
[The Strange Leper, with a violent effort,
springs to his feet, and turns upon the
lepers.]
STR. LEPER.
Who spoke? Which one of you? Tell me, who spoke?
Scabs! Vultures! Curs, away! Be off! If one
Of you but speaks again I'll trample you
Beneath my feet and grind you in the dirt.
What wish ye here? Here's gold! Be off, ye curs!
[Only a few stoop to gather the gold he
throws among them.]
YOUNG LEPER (rushes at him; IWEIN holds him back).
Thou! Thou!
IWEIN.
Who art thou that insults us thus?
10TH LEPER.
Thou! Hold thy tongue, else will Iwein give thee
So sound a drubbing that thou shalt fall dead
Upon the ground!
8TH LEPER.
Iwein is strong!--He was
A mighty Lord!
STR. LEPER.
Will ye not go?
1ST LEPER.
Hark, thou,
This woman here is ours.
REDHAIRED LEPER (thrusting a stick into IWEIN'S hand).
Go, knock him down!
7TH LEPER.
Come on!
[The Strange Leper snatches the club from
the feeble leper so that he falls, knocks
IWEIN to the ground, and leaps into the
crowd dealing fierce blows right and left.
In his left hand he holds a sword which
he does not use. In the following scene,
also, the lepers' voices are hushed from
fear and surprise.]
STR. LEPER.
There lies Iwein! Be off, ye dogs!
OLD LEPER.
Ai! oh!
10TH LEPER.
He's killed Iwein!
4TH LEPER.
Lay hold of him!
7TH LEPER.
Thou, Red One, seize him by the throat--I'll leap
Upon him from behind!
[The Strange Leper knocks the Redhaired
Leper down.]