Act 3 — The Legend of the Ages[M]

Cain, flying from the presence of the Lord, Came through the tempest to a mountain land; And being worn and weary with the flight, His wife and children cried to him, and said: "Here let us rest upon the earth and sleep." And, folded in the skin of beasts, they slept. But no sleep fell on Cain; he raised his head, And saw, amid the shadows of the night, An eye in heaven sternly fixed on him. "I am too near," he said, with trembling voice. Rousing his weary children and worn wife, He fled again along the wilderness. For thirty days and thirty nights he fled. Silent and pale, and shuddering at a sound, He walked with downcast eyes, and never turned To look behind him. On the thirtieth day He came unto the shore of a great sea. "Here we will live," he said. "Here we are safe. Here on the lonely frontier of the world!" And, sitting down, he gazed across the sea, And there, on the horizon, was the eye Still fixed on him. He leaped up, wild with fear, Crying, "Oh, hide me! Hide me!" to his sons. And Jabal, the tent-maker, sheltered him Within his tent, and fastened down with stones The flapping skins. But Cain still saw the eye Burning upon him through the leathern tent. And Enoch said, "Come, let us build with stone, A city with a wall and citadel, And hide our father there, and close the gates." Then Tubalcain, the great artificer, Quarried the granite, and with iron bands Bound the huge blocks together, and he made A city, with a rampart like a hill Encircling it, and towers that threw a shade Longer than any mountain's on the plain. Deep in the highest and the strongest tower, Cain was enclosed. "Can the eye see you now?" His children asked him. "Yes, it is fixed on me," He answered. And with haggard face he crept Out of the tower, and cried unto his sons, "I will go down into the earth, and live Alone, within a dark and silent tomb. No one shall ever see my face again, And I will never look at anything." They made a vaulted tomb beneath the earth, And he was lowered into it; the hole Above his head was closed; but in the tomb Cain saw the eye still sternly fixed on him.

When John the Striker, lord of Lusace, died, Leaving his kingdom to his gentle niece, Mahaud, great joy there was in all the land; For she was beautiful, and sweet and young, Kind to the people, and beloved by them. But Sigismund, the German emperor, And Ladislas of Poland were not glad. Long had they coveted the wide domains Of John the Striker; and Eviradnus, The tall, white-haired Alastian warrior, Home from his battles in the Holy Land, Heard, as he wandered through the castle grounds, Strange talk between two strangers—a lute-player And troubadour—who with their minstrelsy Had charmed the lovely lady of Lusace. And she was taking them with her that night To Corbus Castle—an old ruined keep From which her race was sprung. Ere she was crowned, An ancient custom of the land required Mahaud to pass the night in solitude At Corbus, where her ancestors reposed, Amid the silence of the wooded hills On which the stronghold stands. Being afraid Of the ordeal, Mahaud took with her The two strange minstrels, so that they might make Music and mirth until she fell asleep. An old priest, cunning in the use of herbs, Came with her to the border of the wood, And gave her a mysterious wine to drink To make her slumber till the break of day, When all the people of Lusace would come And wake her with their shouts, and lead her forth To the cathedral where she would be crowned. To enter Corbus on this solemn night, Or linger in the woods encircling it, Was death to any man. Eviradnus Did not fear death. Opening the castle gate He strode into the chamber where Mahaud Would have to pass the night. Two long, dim lines Of armed and mounted warriors filled the hall, Each with his lance couched ready for the shock, And sternly silent. Empty panoplies They were, in which the lords of old Lusace Had lived and fought and died, since the red days When Attila, from whom their race was sprung, Swept over Europe. Now, on effigies Of the great war-horses they loved and rode, Their armoured image sat; and eyeless holes Gaped in their visors, black and terrible. Seizing the leader of this spectral host, Eviradnus dragged his clanging body down, And hid it; and then leaped upon the horse. And with closed visor, motionless mail and lance Clenched in his gauntlet, he appeared transformed Into an iron statue, like the rest, As through the open window came the sound Of lute-playing and laughter, and a song Sung by the troubadour, rang righ and clear: Come, and let us dream a dream! Mount with me, and ride away, By the winding moonlight stream, Through the shining gates of day! Come, the stars are bright above! All the world is in our scope. We have horses—joy and love! We have riches—youth and hope! Mount with me, and ride away, Through the greenness and the dew; Through the shining gates of day, To the land where dreams come true! "Look!" cried Mahaud, as she came in the hall With the two minstrels. "It is terrible! Sooner would I have lost my crown than come Alone at midnight to this dreadful place." "Does this old iron," said the troubadour, Striking the armour of Eviradnus, "Frighten you?" "Leave my ancestors in peace!" Exclaimed Mahaud. "A little man like you Must not lay hands on them." The troubadour Grew pale with anger, but the tall lute-player Laughed, and his blue eyes flamed upon Mahaud. "Now I must sleep," she said, "the priest's strange wine Begins to make me drowsy. Stay with me! Stay and watch over me all night, my friends." "Far have we travelled," said the troubadour, "In hopes to be alone with you to-night." And his dark face lightened with a grim smile, When, as he spoke, Mahaud fell fast asleep. "I'll take the girl," he cried to the lute-player, "And you can have the land! Are you content?" "Yes," said the lute-player, "but love is sweet." "Revenge is sweeter!" cried the troubadour. "'A little man like me!' Those were her words. Neither as queen nor empress shall she reign! I swore it when she flouted me. She dies!" "I cannot kill her," said the lute-player, "I love her." "So do I!" the other said. "I love her and hate her. If she lived, There would be war between us two. She dies! We love her; we must kill her." As he spoke The troubadour pulled at a ring, and raised A flagstone in the floor. "I know this place," He said. "A lord of Lusace had this trap Made for his enemies. 'Twill serve our need! Help me to lift her. All the land is yours." "Look!" screamed the lute-player. "Oh, God! Oh, God!" The troubadour turned round, and his knees shook. One of the iron images had leapt Down from its lifeless horse, and with drawn sword And clank of armour, it now drove at them. "King Ladislas and Emperor Sigismund!" It shouted in a terrible voice that fell Upon them like a judgment from on high. They grovelled at its iron feet, and shrieked, "Mercy! Oh, mercy!" And Eviradnus, Doffing his helmet and cuirass, exclaimed, "I am a man and not an iron ghost! It sickens me to see such cowardice In the two greatest conquerors of the age. Look! I have taken all my armour off; Meet me like men, and use what arms you will." "'Tis only an old man," said Ladislas. "Hold him in front, while I strike from behind." Eviradnus laid down his sword, to loose The last piece of his armour, and the Pole Ran at him with a dagger; with one hand The old man gripped the little king, and shook The life out of him. Then, as Sigismund Snatched up his sword, and left him still unarmed, Eviradnus stooped, and, seizing the dead king, He whirled him by the feet, like a huge club. Stricken with terror, Sigismund recoiled Into the open trap. Eviradnus Flung his strange weapon after him, and they fell, The living emperor, and the lifeless king, Into the dark abyss. Closing the stone, Eviradnus put on his mail, and set The hall in order. And when he had placed The iron image on its horse, the dawn Gleamed through the windows, and the noise And murmur of the people of Lusace Coming with branches of green broom to greet Their lady, filled the air. Mahaud awoke. "Where is my troubadour and lute-player?" She said. Eviradnus bent over her, His old grey eyes shining with tenderness. "Lady," he said, "I hope that you slept well?"

The high-priest said unto the King of Kings: "We need a temple to commemorate Your glorious victories." The King of Kings Called unto him the captives he had made, And bade them build the temple, and he asked: "Is there a man among you who can plan And raise this monument unto my fame?" "No," said they. "Kill a hundred of these slaves!" The King of Kings exclaimed. And this was done. One of the captives promised then to build A temple on the mountain looking down Upon the city of the King of Kings. Loaded with chains, the prisoners were dragged Along the streets and up the mountain track, And there they toiled with grim and angry eyes, Cutting a building in the solid rock. "'Tis but a cavern!" said the King of Kings. "We found a lion's lair," the captive said, "And fashioned it into your monument. Enter, O King of Kings, and see the work Your slaves have built for you!" The conqueror And captive entered. To a royal throne The King of Kings was led, that he might view The temple; and the builder flung himself Face downwards at his feet. Then, suddenly, The throne began to sink below the floor. "Where are we going?" said the King of Kings. "Down the deep pit into the inner hall!" The captive said. A sound like thunder rang Above them, and the King of Kings exclaimed: "What noise was that?" "The block of stone That covers in this pit," the captive said, "Has fallen in its place!" The King of Kings Groped in the darkness, and with trembling voice He asked: "Is there no way out of this pit?" "Surely," the captive said, "the King of Kings, Whose hands are swift like lightning, and whose feet Tread down all nations, can find out a way?" "There is no light, no sound, no breath of air!" Cried out the King of Kings. "Why is it dark And cold within the temple to my fame?" "Because," the captive said, "it is your tomb!"

The work of pacifying Brittany Was going on; and children, women, men, Fled from the revolutionary troops In wild disorder. Over a bare plain And up a hill, swept by the guns of France, They ran, and reached the shelter of a wood. There they re-formed—the peasant royalists. And then Jean Chouan, who was leading them, Cried: "Is there any missing?" "No," they said, Counting their numbers. "Scatter along the wood!" Jean Chouan cried again. The women caught Their babies to their breasts, and the old men Tottered beside the children. Panic, fear Possessed the broken, flying peasantry. Only Jean Chouan stayed behind to watch The movements of the enemy. He stood Silent in prayer below the sheltering hill; A tall, wild figure, with his long, loose hair Streaming upon the wind. And suddenly, A cry rang shrill and keen above the roar Of the French guns. A woman's cry it was; And, looking from the hill, Jean Chouan saw A woman labouring, with bare, torn feet, And haggard, terror-stricken face, to reach A refuge in the forest. Up the hill, Swep by the French artillery, she toiled, And the shells burst around her. "She is lost!" Jean Chouan murmured. "She will be destroyed Before she reaches shelter. Oh, the brutes, To mass their fire upon a woman's head!" Then on the height that overlooked the plain, Jean Chouan sprang, and stood against the sky, Fearless and proud, superb and motionless, And cried, "I am Jean Chouan!" The French troops Gazed for a moment in astonishment At his tall figure. "Yes, it is the chief!" They said to one another, as they turned Their guns upon him. "Save yourself!" he cried, "My sister, save yourself!" as, mad with fright, The woman stumbled onward. Like a pine Too strongly rooted in the rock to bend Or break beneath the fury of the storm, He towered amid the hurricane of death That roared and flamed around him. "I will wait Until you gain the forest!" he exclaimed. The woman hastened. Over the hill she crept, And staggered down the valley. "Is she safe?" Jean Chouan shouted, as a bullet passed Right through his body. Standing still erect, He waited, with a smile upon his lips, The answer. When some voices in the wood Cried, "Jeanne is safe. Return!" Jean Chouan said, "Ave Maria!" and then fell down dead.

"Kill him!" the mob yelled. "Kill him!" as they surged In fury round their prisoner. Unmoved And unafraid he stood: a constable Of Paris, captured by the Communards. His hands were black with gunpowder; his clothes Were red with blood. A simple, fearless man, Charged with the task of carrying out the law, He gave no quarter, and he asked for none. All the day he had fought against the mob That swept with sword and flame along the streets Of Paris, while the German conqueror Battened on France. A woman sprang at him, And shrieked, "You have been killing us!" "That's true," The man replied. "Come, shoot him here!" she screamed. "No! Farther on! At the Bastille!" "No! Here!" And while the crowd disputed, the man said: "Kill me just where you like; but kill me quick." "Yes!" cried the woman, "shoot him where he stands. He is a wolf!" "A wolf that has been caught," The prisoner said, "by a vile pack of curs!" "The wretch insults us!" yelled the furious mob. "Down with him! Death! Death! Death!" And with clenched fists They struck him on the face. An angry flame Gleamed in his eyes, but, silent and superb, He marched along the street amid the howls Of the ferocious, maddened multitude! God! How they hated him! To shoot him seemed Too light a sentence, as he calmly strode Over the corpses of their comrades strewn Along the street. "How many did you kill?" They shrieked at him. "Murderer! Traitor! Spy!" He did not answer; but the waiting mob Heard a small voice cry: "Daddy!" and a child Of six years' age ran from a house close by, And struggled to remain and clasped his knees, Saying, "He is my daddy. Don't hurt him! He is my daddy—" "Down with the cursed spy! Shoot him at once!" a hundred voices said; "Then we can get on with our work!" Their yells, The clangour of the tocsin, and the roar Of cannon mingled. 'Mid the dreadful noise, The child, still clinging to his father's knees, Cried, "I tell you he's my daddy. Let him go!" Pale, tearful, with one arm thrown out to shield His father, and the other round his leg, The child stood. "He is pretty!" said a girl. "How old are you, my little one?" The child Answered, "Don't kill my daddy!" Many men Lowered their eyes, and the fierce hands that gripped The prisoner began to loose their hold. "Send the kid to its mother!" one man cried, "And end this job!" "His mother died last month," The prisoner said. "Do you know Catherine?" He asked his little boy. "Yes," said the child, "She lives next door to us." "Then go to her," He said, in grave, calm, kindly tones. "No! No! I cannot go without you!" cried his son. "They're going to hurt you, daddy, all these men!" The father whispered to the Communards That held him. "Let me say good-bye to him, And you can shoot me round the corner-house; Or where you will!" They loosed their prisoner A moment, and he said unto his child: "You see, we're only playing. They are friends, And I am going for a walk with them. Be a good boy, my darling, and run home." Raising his face up to be kissed, the child Smiled through his tears, and skipped into the house. "Now," said his father to the silent mob, "Where would you like to shoot me; by this wall, Or round the corner?" Through the crowd of men, Mad with the lust for blood, a shudder passed, And with one voice they cried: "Go home! Go home!"