 | Gregory VII |  |
SCENE III.
—Apartment in the Palace of Matilda, in Rome.Enter Matilda, and Agnes.
Agn.
Is it his custom to absent himself,
And pass long hours in solitary prayer?
Mat.
At times, he does so.
Agn.
In some oratory;
Some private chapel, or deep-foliaged grove,
He poureth out his soul?
Mat.
I have heard him, often.
Agn.
Heard him?
Mat.
No, madam! you mistake my words—
I have heard that Gregory doth this frequently.
'T is commonly known—or said.
Agn.
Then 't is most certain
Deep meditation holds him from our sight?
Mat.
Oh, madam! to speak truly, I am, indeed,
Most sick at soul, for much I fear his absence
Is fraught with peril. Where he is, I know not!
Agn.
How 's this? not know!—what peril should he dread?
47
Mat.
(aside).
Godfrey here!
And cased in armour underneath his robe!
Then danger and disaster fill the air.
Agn.
Your animosity, my lord, we know:
Your injuries we doubt.
Godf.
Doubt you the pain
Of a fond husband whom his wife deserts:
Who separates herself from all his love,
To kneel to a brazen idol, and believe
Its hisses heavenly music?
Mat.
Godfrey, forbear!
In mine own right, a princess of fair realms,
I do claim equal right over myself,
Once fair in your regard, and not made foul
By your now jaundiced eyes.
Godf.
Have I not cause
For all the jaundice which a pestilent wrong
Can pour into the blood?
Agn.
You trample down
All delicacy, my lord, in your fierce speech.
Mat.
Why com'st thou, Godfrey, to disturb me thus?
Godf.
I answer briefly: give thy signet to me,
In token of command!
Mat.
To command whom?
Godf.
The Tuscan armies.
Mat.
Never, Godfrey! wherefore—
Wherefore dost ask it?
Godf.
Gregory's fate is fixed
If you refuse.
Mat.
How fixed: where is he, then?
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Locked in a tower: I will not tell thee where.
Agn.
(aside).
Ah! is it thus?
[Exit hastily.
Mat.
What madness burns thy sense?
And think'st thou, then, by this atrocious threat
To cause me give thee means of execution!
The Tuscan armies are for Gregory!
Godf.
(solemnly).
Oh, wretched woman! once of soul so bright,
So holy, pure, and full of all sweet gifts,
That the corruption of the entire gross world
Changed not thine earthliest thought into itself,
But rather didst thou make an atmosphere
To freshen mortal nature, and make clear
The opening heavens, ascending higher and higher!
Oh, wretched woman! now behold thy state—
Polluted fanatic, lost to all shame!
Mat.
(aside, in agony).
His words sink down upon my brain like lead!
(Aloud).
Godfrey, no more!—cease these insulting taunts.
Godf.
More thou must hear!—why hast thou separated
Thyself from me; why hath this Gregory
That separation ratified;—why didst thou
Allure the Emperor's love?
Mat.
'T is false!
Godf.
(seizing her arm.)
'T is true!—thou didst it to obtain his power
For Gregory's use; and, failing, didst intrigue
To bring his Empress mother into Rome,
Enlarging thus the wing of the arch-fiend!
This is not all—s' death! thou shalt hear the rest:
Why hast thou, in thy palace-hall, reared up
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Why, but for prompt communication
By secret galleries, with the Vatican!
Mat.
Godfrey! thy curses—these opprobrious words
And vicious thoughts, keep for thy proper use:
To me they not apply, nor will I bear them!
Go, sir! and do your worst!
Godf.
(abstractedly, after a pause).
What is our life?—
Oh, Innocence! white-bosomed purity!
Sweet essence of the heart, and its best hopes;
Whose breath is of the heavens, whose path is peace;
Whose presence fills all places with a light;
Whose loss makes dark the sun, and poisons time;
Can man mistake thee, and can woman feign,—
Using thy pure divinity as a mask;
Or, from the depths of nature, tearing up
A power to hide the anguish and the crime
That blot thy vacant throne!
Mat.
Do you apostrophise
Man's victim, or man's conscience? If you seek
To force me to your will, or to my grave,
In neither shall you triumph.
Godf.
Am I defied?
Mat.
Utterly!
Godf.
And cursed: no spark of feeling left?
Mat.
I did not curse thee—and I do not now;
I but defied you utterly.
Godf.
(dejectedly).
With scorn
And placid hate.
Mat.
With neither. I have chosen
My part in life, and that will I fulfil!
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Amidst a struggle shaking now the arch
Of mortal time o'er the eternal gulph?
In the contention of mere temporal power
'Gainst spiritual and temporal, you have taken
No single-minded part; or if a part,
Then opposite to mine. A mighty cause
Hath driven us asunder, not my hate.
Godf.
(taking her hand).
Do you believe I love you?
Mat.
You once loved me—
That I believe: why you should love me still,
I do not know, nor can I have your love.
[Withdraws her hand.
Godf.
Ah, wherefore not? it is as fond as ever!
Mat.
Where hast thou hidden Gregory the Seventh?
Godf.
Ha!
Mat.
Prove thy love: I ask thee where he is?
Godf.
Sorceress! bewitched fool! 'tis the last time
That I will seek thee: he shall die like a dog!
The Emperor comes!—I'll mar the weak repentance,
And urge him—though I hate him for thy sake—
To vigorous action! I'll stir up all Rome,
And head a multitude that shall enforce
The imperial mandate against Gregory,
And justify his death; his dog-like death,
There, where he lies, held down as in a den,
And watched by men who thirst to see his blood!
Mat.
Go, take them by the hand then: I give mine
To uphold the Pontiff—to dethrone the King—
And load your jailor friends with their own chains!
[Exeunt, at opposite sides.
| Gregory VII | |