Volume 20 / Act 2 — 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.

Dinas. 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.

Dinas. 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?

Dinas. 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."

Dinas. 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!

Dinas. 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!

Dinas. 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!

Dinas. 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.

Dinas. '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!