GORDON (rises).

The Rhinegrave's still far off. Give but the orders,
This citadel shall close its gates upon him.
If then he will besiege us, let him try it.
But this I say; he'll find his own destruction
With his whole force before these ramparts, sooner
Than weary down the valor of our spirit.
He shall experience what a band of heroes,
Inspirited by an heroic leader,

Is able to perform. And if indeed
It be thy serious wish to make amend

For that which thou hast done amiss,-this, this
Will touch and reconcile the Emperor
Who gladly turns his heart to thoughts of mercy,
And Friedland, who returns repentant to him,
Will stand yet higher in his Emperor's favor,
Than e'er he stood when he had never fallen.

WALLENSTEIN (contemplates him with surprise, remains
silent awhile, betraying strong emotion).
Gordon-your zeal and fervor lead you far.
Well, well-an old friend has a privilege.
Blood, Gordon, has been flowing. Never, never
Can the Emperor pardon me: and if he could,
Yet I-I ne'er could let myself be pardon'd.
Had I foreknown what now has taken place,
That he, my dearest friend, would fall for me,
My first death-offering; and had the heart
Spoken to me, as now it has done-Gordon,
It may be, I might have bethought myself.
It may be too, I might not. Might or might not,
Is now an idle question. All too seriously
Has it begun, to end in nothing, Gordon!
Let it then have its course.

[Stepping to the window.

All dark and silent-at the Castle too

All is now hush'd-Light me, Chamberlain!

[The GROOM OF THE CHAMBER, who had entered during the last dialogue, and had been stand

ing at a distance and listening to it with Was it so late then,
visible expressions of the deepest interest, ad-

I should know that voice.
GORDON.

BUTLER.

What do you want here! when the Duke dismiss'd you!

GORDON.

vances in extreme agitation, and throws him- Your hand bound up and in a scarf?
self at the DUKE's feet.

And thou too! But I know why thou dost wish
My reconcilement with the Emperor.
Poor man! he hath a small estate in Cernihen,
And fears it will be forfeited because
He's in my service. Am I then so poor,
That I no longer can indemnify

BUTLER.

"Tis wounded.

That Illo fought as he were frantic, till
At last we threw him on the ground.
GORDON (shuddering).

Both dead?

BUTLER.

GORDON.

Is he in bed?

Ah, Butler!

My servants? Well! to no one I employ
Means of compulsion. If 'tis thy belief
That Fortune has fled from me, go! forsake me.
This night for the last time mayst thou unrobe me,
And then go over to thy Emperor.
Gordon, good night! I think to make a long
Sleep of it: for the struggle and the turmoil
Of this last day or two was great. May't please you!
Take care that they awake me not too early.
[Exit WALLENSTEIN, the GROOM OF THE CHAMBER There is no need of my arm.
lighting him. SENI follows, GORDON remains
on the darkened stage, following the DUKE
with his eye, till he disappears at the farther Have
end of the gallery: then by his gestures the old
man expresses the depth of his anguish, and
stands leaning against a pillar.

GORDON.

His heart still cleaves To earthly things: he's not prepared to step Into the presence of his God!

BUTLER (going).

God's merciful!
GORDON (holds him).

SCENE VI.

COUNTESS TERTSKY (with a light).

Her bed-chamber is empty; she herself

Is nowhere to be found! The Neubrunn too,
Who watch'd by her, is missing. If she should
Be flown-But whither flown? We must call up
Every soul in the house. How will the Duke
Bear up against these worst bad tidings? O
The next moment If that my husband now were but return'd

Grant him but this night's respite.
BUTLER (hurrying off).

May ruin all.

Burst the doors open.

BUTLER.

Home from the banquet!-Hark! I wonder whether
The Duke is still awake! I thought I heard
Voices and tread of feet here! I will go
And listen at the door. Hark! what is that?
"Tis hastening up the steps!

Does the world hang. For God's sake! to the Duke.
While we are speaking-

[Calling loudly. Butler! Butler! God!

COUNTESS.

Why, he is at the castle with my husband.
[BUTLER comes from the Gallery.

GORDON.

"Twas a mistake-"Tis not the Swedes-it is
The Imperialist's Lieutenant-General
Has sent me hither-will be here himself
Instantly.-You must not proceed.

Too late.

BUTLER.

He comes

[GORDON dashes himself against the wall.

GORDON.

O God of mercy!

COUNTESS.

What too late?

Who will be here himself? Octavio

In Egra? Treason! Treason!-Where's the Duke? [She rushes to the Gallery.

SCENE VIII.

(Servants run across the Stage full of terror. The whole Scene must be spoken entirely without pauses). SENI (from the Gallery).

[They rush over the body into the gallery-two
doors are heard to crash one after the other—
Voices deadened by the distance-Clash of
arms-then all at once a profound silence. |0 bloody frightful deed!

Thus to abuse the orders of thy Lord-
And stain thy Emperor's holy name with murder,
With bloody, most accursed assassination!
BUTLER (calmly).

Within the Duke lies murder'd-and your husband I've but fulfill'd the Emperor's own sentence. Assassinated at the Castle.

[The COUNTESS stands motionless. FEMALE SERVANT (rushing across the stage). Help! Help! the Duchess!

BURGOMASTER (enters).

What mean these confused Loud cries, that wake the sleepers of this house?

GORDON.

Your house is cursed to all eternity.

In your house doth the Duke lie murder'd!

BURGOMASTER (rushing out).

Fly! fly! they murder us all!

Heaven forbid!

FIRST SERVANT.

SECOND SERVANT (carrying silver plate).

That way! the lower

Passages are block'd up.

VOICE (from behind the Scene).

Make room for the Lieutenant-General!

O curse of kings,

OCTAVIO.

Infusing a dread life into their words,
And linking to the sudden transient thought
The unchangeable irrevocable deed.
Was there necessity for such an eager
Dispatch? Couldst thou not grant the merciful
A time for mercy? Time is man's good Angel.
To leave no interval between the sentence,
And the fulfilment of it, doth beseem
God only, the immutable!

BUTLER.

For what

Rail you against me? What is my offence?
The Empire from a fearful enemy
Have I deliver'd, and expect reward.
The single difference betwixt you and me
Is this: you placed the arrow in the bow;

I pull'd the string. You sow'd blood, and yet stand

[At these words the COUNTESS starts from her stupor, Astonish'd that blood is come up. I always collects herself, and retires suddenly.

VOICE (from behind the Scene).

Keep back the people! Guard the door!

SCENE IX.

To these enters OCTAVIO PICCOLOMINI with all his

Train. At the same time DEVEREUX and MACDONALD enter from the Corridor with the Halberdiers. -WALLENSTEIN's dead body is carried over the back part of the Stage, wrapped in a piece of crimson tapestry.

OCTAVIO (entering abruptly). It must not be! It is not possible! Butler! Gordon!

I'll not believe it. Say, No!

[GORDON, without answering, points with his hand to the Body of WALLENSTEIN as it is carried over the back of the Stage. OCTAVIO looks that way, and stands overpowered with horror. DEVEREUX (to BUTLER). Here is the golden fleece-the Duke's sword

Is it your order

MACDONALD.

BUTLER (pointing to OCTAVIO).

Here stands he who now

Hath the sole power to issue orders.
[DEVEREUX and MACDONALD retire with marks of
obeisance. One drops away after the other,
till only BUTLER, OCTAVIO, and GORDON
remain on the Stage.

OCTAVIO (turning to BUTLER).
Was that my purpose, Butler, when we parted?
O God of Justice!

To thee I lift my hand! I am not guilty

Of this foul deed.

The evil destiny surprised my brother
Too suddenly he could not think on them.

OCTAVIO.

Speak not of vengeance! Speak not of maltreatment!
The Emperor is appeased; the heavy fault
Hath heavily been expiated—nothing
Descended from the father to the daughter,
Except his glory and his services.

The Empress honors your adversity,

Takes part in your afflictions, opens to you
Her motherly arms! Therefore no farther fears;
Yield yourself up in hope and confidence
To the Imperial Grace!

COUNTESS (with her eye raised to heaven)
To the grace and mercy of a greater Master
Do I yield up myself. Where shall the body
Of the Duke have its place of final rest?
In the Chartreuse, which he himself did found
At Gitschin, rest the Countess Wallenstein;
And by her side, to whom he was indebted
For his first fortunes, gratefully he wish'd

He might sometime repose in death! O let him
Be buried there. And likewise, for my husband's
Remains, I ask the like grace. The Emperor
Is now proprietor of all our Castles.

This sure may well be granted us—one sepulchre
Beside the sepulchres of our forefathers!

[He reads the address, and delivers the letter to OCTAVIO with a look of reproach, and with an emphasis on the word.

To the Prince Piccolomini.

[OCTAVIO, with his whole frame expressive of sud den anguish, raises his eyes to heaven.

(The Curtain drops.)

BARRERE.

ACCEPT, as a small testimony of my grateful attach-
ment, the following Dramatic Poem, in which I have
endeavored to detail, in an interesting form, the fall
of a man, whose great bad actions have cast a dis- The tempest gathers—be it mine to seek
astrous lustre on his name. In the execution of the A
work, as intricacy of plot could not have been at-
tempted without a gross violation of recent facts, it
has been my sole aim to imitate the impassioned and
highly figurative language of the French Orators,
and to develop the characters of the chief actors on when last in secret conference we met,
a vast stage of horrors.

Yours fraternally,

friendly shelter, ere it bursts upon him.
But where? and how? I fear the Tyrant's soul-
Sudden in action, fertile in resource,
And rising awful 'mid impending ruins;
That fearless thwarts the elemental war,
In splendor gloomy, as the midnight meteor,

He scowl'd upon me with suspicious rage,
Making his eye the inmate of my bosom.
S. T. COLERIDGE.I know he scorns me-and I feel, I hate him-
Yet there is in him that which makes me tremble!
[Exit.

JESUS COLLEGE, September 22, 1794.

I mark'd him well. I met his eye's last glance;
It menaced not so proudly as of yore.
Methought he would have spoke-but that he dared The state is not yet purified: and though