He who is not with me is against me. Your tender consciences! Unless they can slip out by a backdoor, by a puny proviso
TERTSKY (interrupting him).
He is stark mad-don't listen to him!
ILLO (raising his voice to the highest pitch).
Unless they can slip out by a proviso.-What of
the proviso? The devil take this proviso!
MAX. (has his attention roused, and looks again into the
paper).
What is there here then of such perilous import?
You make me curious-I must look closer at it.
TERTSKY (in a low voice to ILLO).
What are you doing, Illo? You are ruining us.
TIEFENBACH (to KOLATTO).
Ay, ay! I observed, that before we sat down supper, it was read differently.
Why, I seemed to think so too.
Set down the light. We mean not to undress
You may retire to sleep.
[Exit Valet. OCTAVIO paces, musing, across the
chamber; MAX. PICCOLOMINI enters unab
served, and looks at his father for some mo
ments in silence.
Art thou offended with me? Heaven knows
That odious business was no fault of mine.
"T is true, indeed, I saw thy signature.
What thou hadst sanction'd, should not, it might seem,
Have come amiss to me. But-'t is my nature
Thou know'st that in such matters I must follow
What do I care for that? Where there stand other My own light, not another's. names, mine can stand too.
OCTAVIO (goes up to him, and embraces him).
Follow it,
Before supper there was a certain proviso therein, O follow it still further, my best son! or short clause concerning our duties to the Em-To-night, dear boy! it hath more faithfully peror. Guided thee than the example of thy father.
BUTLER (to one of the Commanders).
For shame, for shame! Bethink you. What is the Declare thyself less darkly. main business here? The question now is, whether we shall keep our General, or let him retire. One must not take these things too nicely and over-scru- For after what has taken place this night. pulously. There must remain no secrets 'twixt us two. [Both seat themselves.
ISOLANI (to one of the Generals).
Did the Duke make any of these provisoes when Max. Piccolomini! what thinkest thou of he gave you your regiment? The oath that was sent round for signatures?
Or when he gave you the office of army-pur- I hold it for a thing of harmless import, veyancer, which brings you in yearly a thousand Although I love not these set declarations. pistoles!
The deeper cause thou hast to hate this light,
The more impatient cause have I, my son,
To force it on thee. To the innocence
From which thou hearest it at this present moment,
Doth warrant thee that it is no Priest's legend.
How mere a maniac they supposed the Duke!
What, he can meditate ?-the Duke ?-can dream
That he can lure away full thirty thousand
Tried troops and true, all honorable soldiers,
More than a thousand noblemen among them,
From oaths, from duty, from their honor lure them,
And make them all unanimous to do
A deed that brands them scoundrels?
With such a front of infamy, the Duke
Noways desires-what he requires of us
Bears a far gentler appellation. Nothing
He wishes, but to give the Empire peace.
And so, because the Emperor hates this peace,
Therefore the Duke-the Duke will force him to it.
All parts of the empire will he pacify,
And for his trouble will retain in payment
(What he has already in his gripe)-Bohemia !
Has he, Octavio, merited of us,
That we-that we should think so vilely of him?
What we would think is not the question here,
The affair speaks for itself-and clearest proofs !
Hear me, my son-'tis not unknown to thee,
In what ill credit with the court we stand.
But little dost thou know, or guess, what tricks,
What base intrigues, what lying artifices,
Have been employ'd-for this sole end-to sow
Mutiny in the camp! All bands are loosed—
Loosed all the bands, that link the officer
To his liege Emperor, all that bind the soldier
Affectionately to the citizen.
Lawless he stands, and threateningly beleaguers
The state he's bound to guard. To such a height
"Tis swoln, that at this hour the Emperor
Before his armies-his own armies-trembles;
Yea, in his capital, his palace, fears
The traitors' poniards, and is meditating
To hurry off and hide his tender offspring-
No! from his own troops hide and hurry them!
And wisdom of thy heart I could have trusted thee Not from the Swedes, not from the Lutherans-
With calm assurance-but I see the net
Preparing and it is thy heart itself
Alarms me for thine innocence-that secret,
[Firing his eye stedfastly on his son's face.
Which thou concealest, forces mine from me.
[MAX. attempts to answer, but hesitates, and casts
his eyes to the ground embarrassed.
OCTAVIO (after a pause).
Cease, cease! thou torturest, shatterest me. I know
That oft we tremble at an empty terror;
But the false phantasm brings a real misery
It is no phantasm. An intestine war,
Know, then, they are duping thee!-a most foul Of all the most unnatural and cruel,
With thee and with us all-nay, hear me calmly—
The Duke even now is playing. He assumes
The mask, as if he would forsake the army;
And in this moment makes he preparations
That army from the Emperor to steal,
And carry it over to the enemy!
That low Priest's legend I know well, but did not
Expect to hear it from thy mouth.
Will burst out into flames, if instantly
We do not fly and stifle it. The Generals
Are many of them long ago won over;
The subalterns are vacillating-whole
Regiments and garrisons are vacillating,
To foreigners our strong-holds are intrusted;
To that suspected Schafgotch is the whole
Force of Silesia given up: to Tertsky
Five regiments, foot and horse-to Isolani,
To Illo, Kinsky, Butler, the best troops.
That I must dash to earth, that I must shatter
A faith so specious! but I may not spare thee!
For this is not a time for tenderness.
Thou must take measures, speedy ones-must act.
I therefore will confess to thee, that all
Which I've intrusted to thee now-that all
Which seems to thee so unbelievable,
That-yes, I will tell thee-(a pause)-Max.! I had it all
From his own mouth-from the Duke's mouth I had it. MAX. (in excessive agitation).
Himself confided to me What I, 'tis true, had long before discover'd By other means-himself confided to me, That 't was his settled plan to join the Swedes'; And, at the head of the united armies, Compel the Emperor
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Gave I him a cause
To entertain a scruple of my honor?
MAX.
That he did not, evinced his confidence.
OCTAVIO.
Dear son, it is not always possible
Still to preserve that infant purity
Which the voice teaches in our inmost heart,
Still in alarum, for ever on the watch
Against the wiles of wicked men: e'en Virtue
Will sometimes bear away her outward robes
Soil'd in the wrestle with Iniquity.
This is the curse of every evil deed,
That, propagating still, it brings forth evil.
I do not cheat my better soul with sophisms:
I but perform my orders; the Emperor
Prescribes my conduct to me. Dearest boy,
Far better were it, doubtless, if we all
Obey'd the heart at all times; but so doing,
In this our present sojourn with bad men,
We must abandon many an honest object.
"Tis now our call to serve the Emperor;
By what means he can best be served-the heart
|May whisper what it will-this is our call!
It seems a thing appointed, that to-day
I should not comprehend, not understand thee.
The Duke, thou say'st, did honestly pour out
His heart to thee, but for an evil purpose;
And thou dishonestly hast cheated him
For a good purpose! Silence, I entreat thee-
My friend, thou stealest not from me-
Let me not lose my father!
OCTAVIO (suppressing resentment).
As yet thou know'st not all, my son. I have
Yet somewhat to disclose to thee. [After a pause.
Duke Friedland
Hath made his preparations. He relies
Upon his stars. He deems us unprovided,
And thinks to fall upon us by surprise.
Yea, in his dream of hope, he grasps already
The golden circle in his hand. He errs.
We ton have been in action-he but grasps
His evil fate, most evil, most mysterious!
O nothing rash, my sire! By all that's good Let me invoke thee-no precipitation!
With light tread stole he on his evil way,
And light tread hath Vengeance stole on after him.
Unseen she stands already, dark behind him—
But one step more-he shudders in her grasp!
Thou hast seen Questenberg with me.
As yet
Thou know'st but his ostensible commission:
He brought with him a private one, my son!
And that was for me only.
May I know it?
OCTAVIO (seizes the patent).
-In this disclosure place I in thy hands
The Empire's welfare and thy father's life.
Dear to thy inmost heart is Wallenstein:
A powerful tie of love, of veneration,
Hath knit thee to him from thy earliest youth.
Thou nourishest the wish.-O let me still
Anticipate thy loitering confidence!
The hope thou nourishest to knit thyself
Yet closer to nim―
The Emperor is no tyrant.
The deed alone he'll punish, not the wish.
The Duke hath yet his destiny in his power.
Let him but leave the treason uncompleted,
He will be silently displaced from office,
And make way to his Emperor's royal son.
An honorable exile to his castles
Will be a benefaction to him rather
Than punishment. But the first open step
What callest thou such a step? A wicked step Ne'er will he take; but thou mightest easily. Yea, thou hast done it, misinterpret him.
Nay, howsoever punishable vere
Duke Friedland's purposes, yet still the steps
Which he hath taken openly, permit
A mild construction. It is my intention
To leave this paper wholly unenforced
Till some act is committed which convicts him
Of a high-treason, without doubt or plea,
And that shall sentence him.
Duke Friedland sentenced and condemn'd!
Too soon, I fear, its powers must all be proved.
After the counter-promise of this evening,
It cannot be but he must deem himself
Secure of the majority with us;
And of the army's general sentiment
He hath a pleasing proof in that petition
Which tnou delivered'st to him from the regiments.
Add this too-I have letters that the Rhinegrave
Hath changed his route, and travels by forced marches
To the Bohemian Forests. What this purports,
Remains unknown; and, to confirm suspicion,
This night a Swedish nobleman arrived here.
I have thy word. Thou 'lt not proceed to action
Before thou hast convinced me-me myself.
Is it possible? Still, after all thou know'st,
Canst thou believe still in his innocence?
MAX. (with enthusiasm).
Thy judgment may mistake; my heart can not.
[Moderates his voice and manner.
These reasons might expound thy spirit or mine;
But they expound not Friedland-I have faith:
For as he knits his fortunes to the stars,
Even so doth he resemble them in secret,
Wonderful, still inexplicable courses!
Trust me, they do him wrong. All will be solved.
These smokes at once will kindle into flame-
The edges of this black and stormy cloud
Will brighten suddenly, and we shall view
The unapproachable glide out in splendor.
He was sorely frighten'd,
When it was told him he must to Vienna.
But the Count Altringer bade him take heart,
Would he but make a full and free confession.
OCTAVIO.
OCTAVIO and MAX. as before. To them the VALET OF Is Altringer then with your Lord? I heard
THE CHAMBER.
That he lay sick at Linz.
These three days past
He's with my master, the Lieutenant-General,
At Frauenberg. Already have they sixty
Small companies together, chosen men;
So early? From whom comes he then? Who is it? Respectfully they greet you with assurances,
That they are only waiting your commands.
[CORNET signifies his assent and obeisance, and is going.
Through the cloister wicket
The Capuchins, as usual, let me in.
Go, rest your limbs, and keep yourself conceal'd
I hold it probable, that yet ere evening
I shall dispatch you. The development
Of this affair approaches: ere the day,
That even now is dawning in the heaven,
|