University of Virginia Library

ACT IV.

High Mountain.
Bold, jagged, rocky summit. A cloud moves on, rests against the rock, and sinks down on a projecting flat. The cloud opens. Faustus steps out.
Faustus.

[A seven-league boot stamps down. Another follows instantly. Mephistopheles descends. The boots stride hastily on.
Mephistopheles
(to Faustus).
Aye! well stepped out! But what could be the freak
That led you to descend upon this peak?
Was there no place, then, to alight upon
But yawning wilderness and horrid stone?
I know the objects round. I know them well.
Where we are standing was the floor of Hell.

Faustus.
Still the same foolish legends, evermore,
On every subject! Will you ne'er give o'er?

Mephistopheles
(earnestly).
When long ago, down from the upper sky,
The Lord had banished us—and I know why—
To the far depths, where in the centre glow
Fires everlasting, round and round that throw
Red restless flames, we found that we had got
Into a place too crowded, and too hot.
The Devils got sick, and feeling ill at ease
In their new prison, began to cough and sneeze.
With sulphur-stench and acid Hell boiled o'er—
Foul vapour—then more foul it grew and more,
Till the smooth crust was parched and burst asunder;
And topsy-turvy Science tells with wonder,
How to earth's surface rose what had been under.
We made our way out of the red-hot caves
Into pure air—are Princes who were Slaves.
An open secret—mystery well concealed,
And only to the latter times revealed.

Faustus.
To me the mountain mass is nobly dumb:
I ask not, whence uprisen? or wherefore come?
Nature,—that in herself is all in all,—
When her pure will first shaped the round earth's ball,
Formed depth and summit for her own delight,
Heaped rock on rock, linked height to mountain height;
Moulded and led, as 'twere, with gentlest hand,
The hill-side slope to meet the level land.
Then came soft green and growth. She doth not seek
For her delight wild ferment or mad freak.

Mephistopheles.
Aye! so you say, and think it clear as light;
But he, who then was present, must be right.
Why, I myself was by when flames upwreathed
From the abyss, and sulphurous vapour breathed;
When Moloch's hammer, linking rock to rock,
Struck chips in thousands from the rough old block,
And scattered, as he forged the mountain chain,
Huge granite fragment-splinters o'er the plain.
Masses of foreign substance load the land;
How whirled down there, no man can understand.
Philosophers—they can make nothing of it;
They've thought and thought; but what does thinking profit?
There lies the rock, your theorists defying—
There lies the rock—there must they leave it lying.
The common people—they alone receive,
And with faith, not to be disturbed, believe
The plain broad fact. In their undoubting creed
'Tis Miracle. 'Tis Satan's work indeed.
Doubt never troubles them—the shrewd old judges.
Propt on the crutch of faith, my pilgrim trudges,
Limping with pious foot o'er devil-ridges
To devil-stones, devil-chapels, devil-bridges.

Faustus.
'Tis after all not unamusing to
See Nature from a Devil's point of view.

Mephistopheles.

Faustus.
There did. A mighty project lured me on—
Guess what it was.

Mephistopheles.
That easily is done.
We'll fancy a Metropolis,
—The heart and kernel of which is
A sewer and sink of nastiness;
The dense spot where his food the burgher seeks;
Lanes crooked, narrow gables; slender peaks;
The crowded market-place—kale, turnips, leeks;
Shambles, where flies on joints well fattened,
Making themselves at home, have battened.
Thither at any hour repair,
Activity and stench are there,
Enough for you, if anywhere.
—Then come wide squares, and streets, that claim
Distinction from their very name;
And spreading, where no gate confines,
The suburbs flow in boundless lines.
There how delightful is the roar
And roll of coaches evermore;
The bustling motion, in and out,
And to and fro, and round about,
And out and in, they heave and drive—
A swarming ant-hill all alive.
There let me ride, or on the car
Of splendid state be seen from far—
Alone, aloft, admired, revered,
By hundred thousands gazed on, feared.

Faustus.
Small pleasure from such source should I derive.
We seek to make men happy as they may
Be made, and happy each in his own way;
Would mould the manners, educate the mind:
And our reward for all is that we find
We have made rebels.

Mephistopheles
(in continuation, disregarding Faustus's remark).
—Then would I build me up a place of pleasure
For the sweet moments of a prince's leisure.
Wood, hill and valley, lawn, and meadow ground
Are all within the sumptuous garden's bound.
By verdant walls the long strait pathways drawn
Thro' formal shades to reach the velvet lawn;
Cascades that roll with regulated shock
In channels carved from rock to answering rock;
Water, in all diversity of dyes,
Taught artificially to fall and rise,
A stately column soars, and, breaking, sheds
Swift down the sides thin, tiny, tinkling threads.
Then would I have, in many a close recess,
Lodges, with ladies there, all loveliness!
Pass countless hours,—and let no care intrude—
In that delicious social solitude.
Ladies, do you mark me?—ladies. Womankind
Comes always as a plural to my mind.

Faustus.
Degenerate—modern—base!—Abandon all
That makes life life?—A vile Sardanapal!

Mephistopheles.
Could but a man make out what you're about,
It must be something quite sublime, no doubt.
You have of late been wandering thro' the air—
Near the moon. Don't you wish that you were there?

Faustus
(earnestly).
No, doubtless, No. Our own earth is a place
That for bold enterprise gives ample space.
Something may still be done that in the event
Will waken in the world astonishment.
Within me lives a power that must succeed
In earnest, active, energetic deed.

Mephistopheles.
Aye, and the Fame that such achievement wins!
This comes of communing with Heroines.

Faustus.
Dominion, Power, Possession, is my aim;
The Fact is all,—an idle breath the Fame!

Mephistopheles.
Yet Poets will arise to sing thy story,
Tell times to come thy grandeur and thy glory,
With folly kindling folly.

Faustus.
What know you
Of this or anything that Man desires?
Thy nature, adverse, cross-grained, bitter, sharp,
What can it do but criticise and carp?
How can it know what Man—true Man—requires?

Mephistopheles.
Well, have your will and way. I give up mine.
Communicate this notable design.

Faustus
(with earnestness).
I had been gazing on the mighty sea,
That, tower on tower, swelled up exultingly;
Then did it fall, and its wide waves expand,
As laying siege to you flat breadth of strand.
Sickness of heart I felt. Resentment strong,
Keen indignation at imagined wrong,
The pang, that to behold oppression gives
To freedom's instinct that within us lives,
Wrath at the usurpation of the wave,
And sympathy with what it would enslave,
Came o'er my spirit; and the frenzied mood
Worked like a fever through my human blood.
‘Can it be chance?’ I said. ‘Can it be chance?’
I said, and eyed the waves with sharper glance.
A moment motionless, then, from the goal,
Their late-won conquest, back the recreants roll.
The hour returns; again begins their play.

Mephistopheles
(to the Audience).
'Tis nothing new; I've seen them every day
A hundred thousand years roll the same way.

Faustus
(continues vehemently).

[Drums are heard from behind on the right.
Mephistopheles.
How easy 'tis!—Hear you the drums afar?

Faustus.
What?—war? The prudent has no love for war.

Mephistopheles.
Why, war or peace, the prudent man still sees
In all that comes but opportunities.
We plan, watch, catch each favouring chance, and, now,
Súch smiles, or never—Faustus, seize it thou!

Faustus.
Speak out at once; spare me this riddling stuff.

Mephistopheles.
I saw it long ago, and plain enough.
The kind good Kaiser is perplexed with care.
You know him. You remember when we were
Amusing him. Into his hand we played
False riches; and the show of riches made
All seem as nothing to him. The effect
Was self-indulgence, indolence, neglect.
Young to the throne he came, and he thought good
To reason 'gainst all reason, and conclude
That 'twas not out and out impossible
But Power and Pleasure might together dwell;
And thus, that it was his prerogative
To rule a kingdom and at ease to live.

Faustus.
A grievous error. None can both unite.
To rule must be the ruler's sole delight.
If high resolves and fixed his bosom fill,
Yet none may look into that sovereign will.
Scarce to the trustiest breathes he his intent
In the close ear: accomplished, the event
Startles the world into astonishment.
The Ruler's power still rests on what first made
Man's power to rule. Indulgences degrade.
Ruler o'er men must never cease to be
Man highest, worthiest.

Mephistopheles.
No such man is he.
Oh! what a life of luxury was his!
With the realm falling by no slow degrees
To anarchy, still the prince takes his ease.
Everywhere, high and low, each warred with other;
'Twas brother plundering, chasing, slaughtering brother.
Castles with castles, towns with towns pursued,
And guilds with nobles—an eternal feud.
Chapter and churchman against bishop rose;
Men looked but on each other and were foes.
Merchants and travellers at the very gates
Of cities lost, and none to tell their fates.
Life—to such daring heights had rapine gone—
Was but defensive war. So things moved on.

Faustus.
Say you moved on? They staggered, limped, fell, rose,
And stumbled and rolled helpless down. Sad close!

Mephistopheles.
And such a state of things need no one blame.
Each had his chance of winning in the game;
Each wished to be a somebody, and each
The object of his wishes now might reach.
Boys would be men, and sober men went mad.
At last the thing was felt to be too bad:
The better classes, that, too long inert
Had slumbered, rose this evil to avert,
Determined that such state of things should cease;
Let Him be Lord, they say, who gives us Peace.
The Kaiser cannot, will not. Choose we then
A ruler. Let another Kaiser reign,
Make each man's rights secure, and animate,
As with a better soul, the sinking state,
Till renovated Earth see blessings spread
From land to land, and Peace with Justice wed.

Faustus.
This has a priestlike twang.

Mephistopheles.
Aye, priests they were;
The well-fed belly made they their prime care.
Aye,—insurrection was their interest.
The people rose, the priests the Rising blest;
And now our Emperor—our old friend whom
We so amused and rendered happy—is come,
Perhaps, to his last battle-field.

Faustus.
I grieve
For him—so good, so open-hearted.

Mephistopheles.
We' have
An eye to him. While there is life there is
Hope. But first let us get him out of this.
He is caught and caged here in the narrow valley.
Saved once is saved for ever. My advice
Is, never give up. Who knows what on the dice—
Turn but the luck, and friends around him rally.

[They ascend the middle range of mountains, and view the arrangement of the army in the valley. Trumpets and warlike music from below.
Mephistopheles.
Well chosen the position is.
We join. The victory is his.

Faustus.
We?—join?—What there to do?—Repeat
Illusion? sleight of hand? deceit?—

Mephistopheles.

Faustus.
You have seen much in your time.—Win a battle now.

Mephistopheles.
No; you will. Generalissimo art thou
On this occasion.

Faustus.
I command? You flatter.
—Command? Why, I know nothing of the matter—
Am in the art of war a very novice.

Mephistopheles.
Not the worse General. Assume the office;
Let the staff think for you, and the General
Is safe. For some short time back, I could snuff
War in the wind, and saw what must befall.
I've formed a military council of
The original elemental mountain stuff
Of the primitive mountain-man, in the unmixed power
Of his rude natural self. Fortunate He,
Who scrapes together, in a lucky hour,
Such customers!

Faustus.
But who are those I see
Yonder, and bearing arms? Thou hast, I trow,
Roused all the mountaineers up?

Mephistopheles.
Not quite so;
But in the manner of Herr Peter Squenze,
Of all the rubbish there the quintessence.

[Enter ‘The Three Mighty Men,’ Mephistopheles's Bullies.
Mephistopheles.
There come my Highland lads—in age, arms, clothing
Differing—the rascals are alike in nothing;—
And, though I say it, who should not have said it,
They are the very boys to do me credit.
(To the Audience.)
There's not a child on earth but loves
Gorget, and greaves, and gauntlet-gloves;
And though the rags be allegorical,
Yet will they be the better liked by all.

Raufebold
(a Youth, gaily dressed, lightly armed).
Look straight into my eyes;—aye, if you dare!
Into your jaws, my lad, I thrust my fist;
And if you run away, 'tis I that twist
My hand into the flying coward's hair.

Habebald
(a Man, well-armed, richly dressed).
In blows and bluster time's but thrown away—
Plunder's the word, and Pillage. Beg, steal, borrow.
I make my own of all I find to-day,
And for a fresh instalment call to-morrow.

Haltefast
(an Old Man, in armour, otherwise naked).
But little is in that way won—
‘Easily got, easily gone!’
To take's not bad; but to hold fast
Is the one way to make it last.
The Old Man's hand is very slow
What it once clutches to let go;
And my advice is, getting all you can,
Give it to keep for you to the Old Man.

[All descend to lower ground.
Promontory. Drums and warlike music from beneath. The Kaiser's tent.
Kaiser. General in command. Trabants.
General.
Placed as we were, we could not risk attack:
Our plan of leading the whole army back
To this convenient ground was duly weighed.
I have good hope the choice will turn out well.

Emperor.
That's as it may be. The event will tell.
But I dislike this yielding—this half flight.

General.
Prince, only cast your eyes upon the right.
Could we idealise the thought of War,
This would appear the very station for
Our army. Sloping hills, to hostile powers
A check; and a protecting wall to ours;
Half by the undulating plain concealed.—
No cavalry will venture up that field.

Emperor.
I can but praise. Along that gentle slope
Our soldiers' genius will have ample scope.

General.
In front on the flat meadows see you there
Our phalanx burning for the fight? The gleam
Of pikes and lances glimmers thro' the air,
In sunlight o'er the morning's breezy steam.
Now glooms the mighty square in the wavering light
Of the fresh dawn; thousands there all aglow
For the coming action! Prince, this is a sight
The power of multitudes in mass to show:
On them I reckon with no doubtful hope,
The enemy's lines to scatter and break up.

Kaiser.
Never before was it my chance to see
The brilliant sight: thus ranged, it seems to me,
The army's strength must more than doubled be.

General.
Sire, of our Left I need say nothing now;
Stout heroes occupy the steep crag's brow,
And bright with gleaming arms the rocky pile
Guards the close entrance of the deep defile.
There will the foe seek first to force their way.
—Raw in the bloody game of battle they,
And, broken there, will fall an easy prey.

Kaiser.
There march my lying kinsfolk! There they go!
See, uncles, cousins, brothers, join the foe.
In arms against us;—they, who robbed the throne
Of everything; made everything their own;
Deprived, encroaching more and more each hour,
The Crown of honour, and the Sword of power.
Their Discord made the kingdom desolate;
Their Union is a plot against the state.
The wavering crowd, unknowing right or wrong,
Where the stream hurries them are borne along.

General.
A faithful man, for information sent,
Runs down the rocks—I trust for good event.

First Spy.
Safely went we up the country,
Safely back have made our way,
And but little favourable
Of our mission can we say.
Many proffered thee allegiance,
But they added, things were then
Such, that, for their own protection,
They must keep at home their men.

Kaiser.
Self-seekers, they! the doctrine of that sect
Rests not on friendship, gratitude, respect.
A neighbour's house on fire, self-interest
Some danger to their own might well suggest.

General.
The Second comes. He moves down heavily,
Every limb shaking—weary man is he.

Second Spy.
Unarranged and undirected
First we found the Outbreak's course—
On a sudden a new Kaiser
Starts up—leads the rebel force.
Now 'tis plan and pre-arrangement—
Crowds behind his banner sweep,
And their leader they all follow—
Follow, as sheep follows sheep

Kaiser.
He comes, this Rival Kaiser! Welcome be
His coming!—this is glorious gain for me.
Now for the first time am I Emperor!
Never till now was life worth living for!
Only as soldier armed I breast and brow—
Buckler and helm have higher purpose now:
At every fête, however bright and fair,
One thing I missed—the danger absent there.
You said, ‘With the safe Ring-game be content;’
My blood leaped—I breathed Lance and Tournament.
Had you not held me back from arms, 'twere mine
Ere now in high heroic deeds to shine.
When mirrored in the Realm of Fire I stood,
What self-reliance then! what fortitude!
Against me pressed the elemental glow—
A show, in seeming, but a glorious show—
In turbid dreams of fame and victory won
I have lived too long. Be, what I dreamed of, done!

[Heralds are sent with a challenge to the Anti-Kaiser.
[Enter Faustus (in armour, with half-closed helmet) The ‘THREE MIGHTY MEN,’ armed and clothed as before described.
Faustus.
We come, I trust unblamed. Precaution here
Can do no harm, though needless it appear.
A thoughtful and imaginative race
High in the Mountains have their dwelling-place,
And secrets strange the Rocks to them have shown,
By Nature traced in cyphers of her own.
Spirits, that long have left the lowlands, still
Cling even more fondly to the lonely hill.
'Mong labyrinthine chasms, where in rich wreaths
Of noble gas metallic fragrance breathes,
In silence there, they sort, and sift, and sever,
Combine, create, and seek the new for ever.
With soft and silent hand of gentlest power,
—The strength serene of mind's creative hour,—
Build swiftly up transparent shapes, and see
In crystal and its calm eternity,
As in a waveless mirror, imaged forth
The stirrings of the agitated earth.

Kaiser.
This have I heard, and can suppose to be,
But of what moment is it, friend, to me?

Faustus.
The Norcian necromancer guards thee now:
In him a fast and faithful friend hast thou.
Have you no recollection of the day
When, 'mid the brush-wood crackling near, he lay,
And tongues of fire were panting for their prey?
Round the poor Sabine dry twigs heaped, and, fixed
Between them, sulphur-rods and pitch were mixed.
Hope none in man, or god, or devil, remains,—
You, with your mandate, burst the burning chains.
This was at Rome, and pledged since then to thee,
No other thought, no other care hath he.
He watches still the safety of thy throne:
Explores the stars, the depths, for thee alone.
For this he bade us hither speed. Strange might
Dwells in the Mountains. Nature Infinite
Works there, is all in all, fearless and free.
This is what stupid Priests call Sorcery!

Kaiser.
On festal day, when to the palace proud,
Guest pours on guest, and courtiers courtiers crowd,
We greet with joy the thousands that pour in,
Smiles round them to diffuse and smiles to win;
But higher welcome give we to the Brave
Who, when above us ominously wave
The scales of Destiny, and ills impend,
In that disastrous twilight comes—a friend.
Yet, in this lofty moment, be implored,
Draw back the strong hand from the eager sword:
The awful moment, the dread now revere,
For or against me arming thousands here.
Man's self is MAN, and His be Crown and Throne,
Whose title is by Higher prowess shown;
And be the spectre that defying stands,
Calls himself ‘Kaiser,’ ‘Liege Lord of our Lands,’
‘Duke of the Army,’ and would seize our Crown,
With my own hand back to his hell thrust down!

Faustus.
Great though the gain were, glorious though the strife,
It is not for the Prince to peril life.
Shines not the helm with crest and plumage gay?
It guards the Head, the Spirit's strength, and stay.
What without Head were Limbs? Should It repose,
They sink in languor down and with it doze;
If It be wounded, they will sympathise;
Restore Its health, and they in vigour rise;
The arm's strong right the arm is swift to wield,
And lifts to screen the skull a ready shield;
Well doth the eager sword its duty know,
Wards strongly off, and then returns the blow;
The foot is happy too to aid the Head,
And, stamping on his neck, treads down the Dead.

Kaiser.
You speak my passionate mind; so would I treat
His proud head, trampling it beneath my feet.

[Heralds who have been sent with the Kaiser's challenge to the Anti-Kaiser return.
Heralds.
Little profit, less of honour,
Did you from our mission gain;
They received your noble challenge,
With derision and disdain.
‘Like the valley's feeble echo,
Faint your Kaiser's voice of power;
But in village tales remembered,
“There was once an emperor.”’

Faustus
(to the Kaiser).
Beside thee stands a firm and faithful host,
And what has happened is what they wished most.
The foe draws near; with burning ardour, thine
Wait but the word for onset. Give the sign—
Now is the Fortunate Moment.

Kaiser
(to the General).
To command
I yield all claim, and, Prince, into thy hand
That duty do I give.

General.
Then, march on, Right!
The foeman's Left, that now ascends the hill,
Before our young men's loyal ardour will
Be soon dashed back in ignominious flight.

Faustus
(pointing to Raufebold, one of Mephistopheles's ‘Three,’ the right-hand man of the ‘Three’).
Permit this merry fellow, then,
To mix himself among your men;
His spirit its own zeal will give
To all your soldiers, in them live.

Raufebold
(coming forward).
If they dare to look át me with face unabashed,
Their cheeks shall be shattered, their jaw-bones be smashed.
The scoundrel that turns his back to escape,
Shall have head and scalp dangling down neck and down nape.
[Sings.

[Exit.
General.
The Phalanx of the Centre follow slow!
And in full force deliberate meet the foe!
—Already to the Right there's shrinking back,
Their plan is all deranged by our attack.

Faustus
(pointing to Habebald, who stands between Raufebold and Haltefast).
Permit this man of mine, too, to obey
Your orders; and work with you through the day.

Habebald
(comes forward, singing out).
‘In the Emperor's army true soldier is Courage,
And helpers good are Plunder and Forage.
Let Forage and Plunder and Courage too
Keep the mock Emperor's tent in view!
We'll strip it clean when the rascal's gone;
I'll head the Phalanx and lead it on.’

Eilebeute
(sutler-woman sidling up to Habebald).
He with me did never wive,
—For this we two the fonder thrive.
[Sings.

[Exeunt Habebald and Eilebeute.
General.
Upon our Left, as I expected,
Their Right is in full force directed.
But man to man, oh! with what rage
Among the rocks they now engage,
To win the pass, and to defend.

Faustus
(beckoning to Haltefast, the left-hand man of the ‘Three’).
Sir, may I ask you to attend
To this man?—see his powerful arm:
Add strength to strength. 'Twill do no harm.

Haltefast.
For the Left wing take thou no care—
'Tis safe enough while I am there.
[Sings.

[Exit.
Mephistopheles
(coming from above).
Leaning forward in the distance,
From each jagged rocky gorge,
Weaponed men for bold resistance,
Hither seem their way to urge.
Swords they wield; and helm and shield,
Behind us frown a dense dead wall:
All waiting for the wink of the Director
Upon the foe to fall.
[Aside, to the knowing.
Now, as to where they come from, one and all,
Ask me no questions, and—Yet 'twere as wéll you
Knew it. Then keep the secret, and I'll tell you.
I have lost no time in the matter. I have taken
My officers from armour-halls forsaken,
Have cleaned out corridors and chambers dusty
Of their old iron warriors dim and rusty,
Where—horse and foot—in the proud attitude
Of rulers, lording it o'er earth, they stood.
Once were they Knights, Kings, Kaisers in their mail-shells,
And now are nothing more than empty snail-shells.
I'll tell you another secret. Many a spectre
Hath got into these spoils of old-world strife,
Acting the Mediæval to the life.
Some tiny devil-fry have for the nonce
Stuck themselves in—I hope 'twill do for once.
[Aloud.
Hark! how they clink and clatter—with what pother
The tin-plates dash, clash, crash on one another!
Banners round banner-staffs are flapping free,
That for the air of earth had longed impatiently.
Look well on them—would it not seem to be,
A People of old times in war-array,
Uprisen to mingle in this modern fray?

[Fearful trumpet-sounds from above; the enemy waver.
Faustus.
The whole horizon darkles,
Save for a red and boding light
Portentously that sparkles.
Stained as with blood are sword and spear;
And wood, and rock, and atmosphere,
And heaven, and earth, are mingling in the fight.

Mephistopheles.
The right flank's holding firm: the giant frame
Of Raufbold there works out his bloody game

Kaiser.
I saw one arm uplifted; as I gazed
Twelve were distinctly by one impulse raised.
This cannot sure be Natural or Right?

Faustus.
Think of the cloud-streaks floating by the sea,
In dawnlight, on the coasts of Sicily;
Where mists peculiar give to all men's sight,
Raised midway above earth, and mirrored bright
—Strange apparition—Cities to and fro
Waving, and Gardens rising, sinking there,
As picture after picture breaks the air.

Kaiser.
The thing looks doubtful and suspicious, though.
See you not lightnings from the spear-tops play?
And of our phalanx, how on every lance,
Along its bright edge flamelets glide and glance?
Spirits, I fear.

Faustus.
Sire! suffer me to say,
Of Spirit-natures—natures past away—
You see the trace. The Dioscuri here,
Familiar friends, to every seaman dear,
Propitious meteors, a last parting ray
Flash ere they vanish. These are friendly gleams.

Kaiser.
But why should I be thus among the dreams
Of guardian Nature?—have for my own share
This gathering of all things odd and rare?
To whom is all this due?

Mephistopheles.
To him alone,
The mighty Master—him, who to his own
Prefers thy safety—bears thee in his heart;
His is true gratitude, and his the art
That bids the marvels of all nature rise,
To pour confusion on thy enemies.

Kaiser
(thoughtfully).
They led me forth in state—and round me pressed
Crowds in congratulation and applause.
I now was something, and I wished to test
To my own self the something that I was;
And so it happed, without much thought, that there
I chose to exert my high prerogative,
And bade on that white beard the cool fresh air
To breathe once more—in mercy bade him live.
Thus for the priests I spoiled their holiday,
And little love since then for me have they.
And—can it be, that after many a year
Fruits of such accidental act appear?

Faustus.
The impulse of a generous breast
In kind act unawares expressed
Brings rich reward of interest.
Look up to the sky. If rightly I divine,
He sends us an intelligible sign.

Kaiser.
An Eagle sweeps thro' heaven's blue height;
A threatening Griffin dogs his flight.

Faustus.
Attend! the sign is favourable.
Seen in the light of the Ideal,
The Griffin monster is—a Fable;
Thy type—the royal bird—is Real.

Kaiser.
Now, in wide-spread circles see them,
In the air wheel round and round;
Darting now at one another,
Head and neck, and breast, they wound.

Faustus.
Rascal Griffin! see him! hear him,
Tugged and torn, with wail and shriek,
Now to save his lion-carcase,
The high tree-top's refuge seek.

Kaiser.
Would all were, as I behold it
In this symbol strange unfolded!

Mephistopheles
(towards the right).

Kaiser
(to Faustus on the left).

[Pause. Two Ravens appear.
Mephistopheles.
My two Ravens come to me!
What may now their message be?
I fear me, it goes ill with us.

Kaiser.
Loathsome birds! still ominous
Of evil! Wherefore do they steer
With black sails hither, from the shock
Of warring men on yonder rock?
—Evil-boding birds! Why here?

Mephistopheles
(to the Ravens).
Come to me nearer, yet more near;
Come, take your seats, one at each ear;
Whom you protect need feel no fear,—
Your counsel is so shrewd and clear;
And the event is still what you predict.

Faustus
(to the Kaiser).
Have you not heard of Doves that come
From far lands to their brood, their home?
Like them, our Ravens here. No doubt
There is a difference. The Dove,
Brings embassies of peace and love.
War has its Ravens to send out.

Mephistopheles.
—And now the message tells of our distress.
See round the rampart rock how foemen press!
The heights are theirs! and, could they gain
The Pass, to guard the Rock were vain.

Kaiser.
So I am trapped by you at last,
Caught in the net around me cast;
I shuddered from the hour you came.

Mephistopheles.
Courage, we yet may win the game,—
It is not yet played out: the luck
May turn—have patience—keep up pluck.
The hardest tug is just before
The moment that the fight is o'er.
I've trusty messengers to send
For aid on which we may depend;
Give me your order for it, and
Command me that I may command.

General
(who has in the meantime come up).
You have allied yourself with these strange men;
Through the whole time it has been giving me pain.
No lasting good comes of these juggling tricks;
I do n't see why I should at this stage mix
Myself up with them,—I see nothing, in
Which I could now aid. You let them begin
The battle; they may end it. I give back
The staff to you.

Kaiser.
Keep it for better hours,
That Fortune may have yet in store for us.
I shudder, thinking of the villainous
Fellow, and his intimacy with those black
Foul carrion birds, his privy counsellors.
(To Mephistopheles.)
Give you the baton? that would scarcely do!—
For it, I fancy, you're not just the man;
But make your orders. Do the best you can
For us. My whole dependence is on you.

[Exit with General.
Mephistopheles, Faustus.
Mephistopheles.
—The stupid piece of stick!—much good may it do him,
Give power and honour and protection to him!
Something of a cris-cross was on the baton,
But little luck 'twould bring to us with thát on.

Faustus.
What is to do?

Mephistopheles.
Just nothing. All is done.
[Addresses the Ravens.
Swart serviceable Cousins, good at need,
To the great lake among the mountains speed!
Greet the Undinés in their solitudes,
And beg from them a show of phantom floods.
Perfect illusion this. Thro' female art
What is, from what makes it so seem, they part.
How they do this is difficult to tell,—
Women such secrets as they wish, keep well!

[Pause.
Faustus.
Why, our black friends, to judge by the event,
Can flatter ladies to their hearts' content;
Your cousins must have more than courtier's skill,
So soon to win the women to their will.
Already, see! 'tis dripping, drizzling down,
And now from many a tall rock's dry bald crown,
The full free waters rapidly gush out.
All's over with their victory, not a doubt.

Mephistopheles.
Strange greeting this! What will come next?
The boldest climbers are perplexed.

Faustus.
Already gurgling hill-top springs unite
With the strong rush of waters from below.
Now swell they to a river bold and bright,
Now, o'er the smooth rock spread in widening flow,
Race down its sides in thousand threads of light:
Precipitated thence with foam and flash,
From ledge to ledge into the valley dash.
Where now the hero's strength? where shield or helm?
Down come the waters wild, o'erpower, o'erwhelm.
Even I—I cannot see unterrified
The inundation spreading far and wide.

Mephistopheles.

[Exeunt Ravens.
[All is done as described.
Mephistopheles.
Darkness thick upon the foemen—
Wandering fires of doubtful omen—
Steps, that know not where to light,
In the misdirecting night—
Lightning flashes everywhere
Blinding with their sudden glare.
So far the effect is marvellously fine,
And now for Music in the Terror-line.

Faustus.
The hollow spoils of the old armouries
Are all alive and active in the breeze.
There they go bang,
Clatter and clang.
Clash of Diabolic glee,
Dissonant exceedingly.

Mephistopheles.

[War tumult in the orchestra—at last passing into clear military music.
The Anti-Kaiser's tent. Throne. Rich furniture. Habebald, Eilebeute, Trabants.
Eilebeute.
We're first then from the field of fight.

Habebald.
Aye, swift as any raven's flight.

Eilebeute.
What treasure-heaps are here to win!
Where shall we finish? where begin?

Habebald.
There's so much everywhere to catch;
I know not what I first shall snatch.

Eilebeute.
This tapestry will match me quite,
My bed's so cold and hard at night.

Habebald.
A steel club hanging from the shelf.
—I've long been wishing one myself.

Eilebeute.
A long red robe with golden seams!
—Like one I've often seen in dreams.

Habebald
(taking the weapon which he refers to).
With this a Man's business soon is done—
Knock him down dead—and then move on.
(To Eilebeute.)
You've been picking up so much
Mere rags! How could you think of such?
Throw all this rubbish out again;
Have at the pay-chest of the men!

Eilebeute.
It is too heavy; I have got
No strength to lift it from the spot.

Habebald.
Duck down there—lose no time—I'll pack
And bundle it upon your back.

Eilebeute.
What pain! I hear my sinews crack;
The heavy load will break my back.

[The chest falls and springs open.
Habebald.
See there! a heap of red gold lies—
Swift to it! sweep away the prize.

Eilebeute
(stoops down).
Into my lap, aye! throw it swift.
With what we've got we'll make a shift.

Habebald.
Now you've enough—away with you!
[Eilebeute stands up.
Your apron's torn—the coins drop through.
Where'er you go, and where you stand,
You're sowing gold-seed o'er the land.

[Enter Trabants of our Emperor.
Trabant.
What! here upon this holy ground!
Pillaging Cæsar's treasure found!

Habebald.
We lavished life and limb in fight.
To share the booty is our right;
'Tis prize of war—our customed due—
Remember, we are Soldiers too.

Trabant.
Soldiers!—scarce so in our belief.
Soldiers! what, Soldier too and Thief!
None near our Emperor's person dear,
But honest soldiers suffered here!

Habebald.
Pillage with us may be the name—
Yours, Contribution—'tis the same;
On others' means alike we live,
'Tis all one trade—'tis ‘give,’ still ‘give.’
(To Eilebeute.)
Off with your booty!—off—keep clear
Of these folks—we've no welcome here.

[Exeunt Habebald and Eilebeute.
First Trabant.
You did not hit him going out:
The rascal! What were you about?

Second Trabant.
I do not know—all strength forsook
My arm; so spectral was their look.

Third Trabant.
A something bad came o'er my sight;
It glimmered—I saw nothing right.

Fourth Trabant.
For my part, I do not know what
To say—the whole day was so hot.
Such clinging heat, so terrible:
And this one stood, and that one fell.
On groped we, hitting at the foe,
A man was down at every blow.
My ear hummed, hissed, whizzed, and there was
Before my eyes a wavering gauze.
And on it went; and here are we,
And know not how it came to be.

[Exeunt.
Kaiser. Princes. Chancellor.
[Enter the Kaiser and four Princes.
Kaiser.
Well, be it as it may be, thén the day at last is ours.
In hurried flight the scattered foe along the lowland pours.
Here stands the traitor's empty throne, with tapestry hung round;
The Anti-Kaiser's treasure see, where it usurps the ground.
And here in honoured pomp we stand, guarded by our own bands,
The Kaiser, waiting to receive the envoys of his lands.
From all sides happy tidings come—the people's discords cease,
Everywhere exultation is—the Empire all at peace.
And if it be that in our aid the arts of Magic wrought,
Yet We it was, and only We, in very truth that fought.
The chances of the hour must still in battle's scale be thrown;
From heaven there falls a shower of blood, from heaven a meteor-stone—
Strange sounds from rocky caverns rise. Our swelling hearts rejoice.
The Enemy is smit with fear by that portentous voice.
The Conquered lasting scorn abides; the happy Victor boasts,
And praises in his hour of pride the favouring God of hosts;
All voices now chime in with him, there needs no mandate—‘Lord
We give Thee thanks, we praise Thee,’ ís from thousand throats outpoured.
Then comes, alas! and not till then, the better hour apart,
When, all alone, the conqueror looks in on his own heart.
A youthful prince will waste his day, misled by mirth and power—
Years come, and then we feel the deep importance of the hour.
Therefore, delaying not the act, will I now bind me down,
With you Four Worthies, evermore, for Household, Court, and Crown.
(To the first.)
The army's well-placed station, Prince, hath tested well thy skill,
And, in the crisis of the day, thine was the guiding will;
Work, therefore, as befits the time, when peace is now restored,
Hereditary Marshal, rise—to Thee I give the Sword.

Hereditary Marshal.
Now in the centre of the realm the army's faith is shown,
Soon at the Empire's bounds to guard thy person and thy throne.
When thy paternal town is thronged at splendid festival,
Then be it granted me to range the Banquet in the Hall.
Before Thee bear I the bright Sword, or hold it up beside
Thy princely steps—the bright Sword still in peace or war thy pride!

Kaiser
(to the second).
Thou who high courtesy with valour dost unite,
High Chamberlain be thou,—the duties are not light.
First be thou of all the servants of the household—over all:
Sorry servants do I find them, evermore in strife and brawl.
Now in this high post of honour let thy fair example teach
Honour meet to lord and subject—courtesy to all and each.

High Chamberlain.
Thy high thought to express in act, and show with fitting grace
Distinction ever to the best—forbearance to the base;
Without one touch of seeming show or shadow of disguise—
Type of the Emperor's dignity to move in all men's eyes,
The heart within at peace, and thús diffusing its own calm,
And Cæsar's presence, who approves and knows me as I am,—
High boon is this; but on bold wing should Fancy, far away,
Move onward to that feasts of feasts, that long-expected day:
When thou goest to the table, the lordly Ewer of Gold
I reach to thee—and in that hour for thee the Rings I hold,
When the Imperial Hand would séek refreshment and delight,
Rejoicing in the water, as I gladden in thy sight.

Kaiser.
Too serious cares unfit me now for all festivity;
But to begin with cheerfulness is best—so let it be.
(To the third.)
Thee I choose as the Chief Butler, and from henceforth unto thee,
Chase, and poultry-yard, and homestead, farm, and farmyard subject be.
To myself the choice reserving of such dish as I love best;
As each month in its succession brings them. See them fitly drest.

Chief Butler.
Fasting strict be mine for ever, till before my lord is placed,
Each month, in its due succession still, the dish that meets his taste.
All whose service is in kitchen shall with me in union here,
Still anticipate the seasons—make the distant climate near;
But thy simple tastes are better pleased by meats that strengthening are,
Than by those before their season forced, or hither brought from far.

Kaiser
(to the fourth).
As ordering of feasts must nów our only topic be,
Young hero, into Cupbearer I metamorphose thee.
Chief Cupbearer from this day forth, an anxious duty thine,
That richly stored our cellar be with best of generous wine;
But thine own course in festive hour still temperately steer,
Nor tempted be to overstep the bounds of sober cheer.

Cupbearer.
Youth, Prince—if you in youth full confidence repose—
To manhood's strength and státure in a moment grows;
And such great change shall this high office work in me,
To bear me meetly when that feast of crowning joy shall be.
Then shall the Emperor's buffet shine with silver and with gold,
From cups and vases glittering there in splendour manifold;
But for thyself shall I select the brightest cup and best:
The Venice glass that virtue hath unknown to all the rest.
Joy lurks in the bright Venice glass that in the wine creates
A finer flavour; thus it cheers and not inebriates.
In such a treasure as this cup one may too much confide:
Prince! your own temperance is still a safer guard and guide.

Kaiser.
These gifts, in seriousness conferred, the Kaiser's word makes sure;
Yet written witness should there be, and formal signature.
And lo! for this the fitting man comes at the hour most fit.
[Addresses the Archbishop, who enters.
To the supporting keystone when the vaulted arch is knit,
The builder then hath framed his work for ages infinite.
Thou seest these princes four; with thém our solemn compact made
Foundation firm of governance for House and Court has laid;
But what the Empire as a whole concerns, and thus demands
Counsel of weight, ye princely five, I place it in your hands.
Possession of far-spreading Lands should still your rank evince:
Land is—it ought to be—one gréat distinction of a Prince;
Therefore of your dominions now do I enlarge the bounds,
And of these traitors give to you the confiscated grounds;
To you, my faithful friends, these lands in full and free domain,
I give and grant, with ample power to hold and to maintain,
By purchase to extend, or by barter to increase,
All right of their old owners for evermore to cease.
And o'er the lands I give to-day, and that already yours,
The fullest rights of sovereignty this grant to you secures;
—You to decide, in courts of law, such pleas as may arise;
From your tribunal no appeal to other judgment lies.
With tribute, taxes, tithes, and toll, safe-conduct, duty-wine,
Mintage, and salt, and royalties of mountain and of mine.
I have raised you, that my gratitude may be to all men shown,
In rank next to the majesty of the Imperial Throne.

Archbishop.
I, in the name of all, give deep-felt thanks to thee.
Thou strengthenest us, and thus thyself wilt henceforth stronger be.

Kaiser.
To you, Five princes, higher honours yet I give.
I live, and for my kingdom's sake still should I wish to live!
Yet are there feelings linked with the far past,
That their own sadness on the spirit cast:
The chain of my high ancestors past from the earth, to whom
I pass from the brisk stir of life, brings thoughts that have their gloom.
I, too, must part from you, my friends, and when, in His good hour,
I shall have gone, then be it yours to name the Emperor:
On the high altar raise him up, there crowned in solemn form;
And thus in perfect peace shall end, what heretofore was storm.

Archbishop
(as Chancellor).
With lowly gesture, and with hearts where próud feelings have birth,
Bending before thee princes stand, the mightiest of the earth.
As long as the true blood stirs the full veins, we still
Shall be a body ever moved by impulse of thy will.

Kaiser.
And, finally, what we to-day have done, we would make fast
By writing, that to future times as solemn proof may last.
Princes, I give you in your lands dominion full and free,
With only this condition, that they undivided be,
And that however you incréase the lands that we bestow,
They to the eldest son shall still invariably go.

Archbishop
(as Chancellor).
This, to ourselves, and to the realm, a most important measure,
To parchment I shall now confide, as Chancellor, with pleasure:
That it be written fair and sealed, the Chancery will make sure;
To give effect to it, you add the holy signature.

Kaiser.
And now this council I dismiss, that each one of you may
Ponder collectedly upon the acts of this great day.

[Exeunt Temporal Princes.
(The Archbishop remains and speaks in a pathetic tone.)
Archbishop.
The Chancellor has gone! the Bishop still is here!
An earnest warning spirit has forced him to your ear;
He sees thee with a father's heart, a father's love and fear.

Kaiser.
What mean you? Speak! Why tremble in this hour of happy cheer?

Archbishop.
In a sad hour, with bitter pangs, do I behold, alas!
Thy crowned and consecrated head in league with Satanas.
Your crown has been secured to you, 'twould so seem, 'gainst all hope,
But with no blessing from on high, no sanction from the Pope.
Upon thy sinful land ere long in judgment he will sit,
And with his holy lightnings strike, annihilating it.
He hath not, how could he forget that strange portentous deed
Of yours, the day that you were crowned, and the magician freed;
When from the diadem, to áll good Christians grief and dread,
The first beam of its mercy glanced on that accursed head?
Beat on thy breast in penitence! Oh! think of thy soul's health,
And give some little to the Church of all that demon-wealth.
Where, listening to the prince of lies, you sinned,—oh! chiefly there,
'Twere fitting to atone for sin, and evil done repair.
My counsel take—'tis for your sáke I chiefly speak, believe it—
That very spot, why should you nót to pious uses give it?
Oh! sanctify the broad hill-space where thy tent stood, and where
The evil spirits, aiding thee, in battle active were;
And give the mountain and the wood, that league on league extends,
And the pasture-land beginning just where the wood-land ends;
Bright lakes alive with fish, and bróoks that from the mountain's crown
Wind numberless along the slopes, then to the vale leap down;
And the broad vale, oh! dedicate, with meadow-land and plain.
Repentance thus expressed finds grace, and never pleads in vain.

Kaiser.
Thinking upon my heavy crime, such terrors on me seize,
I leave it to yourself to fix at will the boundaries.

Archbishop.
First, then, be the polluted land, defiled by magic art,
For ever to the service of the Highest set apart.
Already I in spirit see the stately walls aspire,
Already feel the morning sun's first rays light up the choir.
The rising structure to a cross enlarges and extends;
Believers see with joy the nave that lengthens and ascends;
The faithful thro' rich portals stream, borne on with burning zeal,
And over vale, and over hill, is heard the bell's first peal;
From towers, that heavenward point and strive, rings the far-echoed sound,—
There, kneeling down, the penitent a better life hath found.
And at the dedication day—oh! would that it were now—
And kneeling in that church—thy gift—such penitent wert thou.

Kaiser.
Oh! may this pious work avail to-day,
To praise the Lord, and put my sin away!
Already, in the thought sublime, above myself I feel.

Archbishop.
I, as the Chancellor, arrange formality and seal.

Kaiser.
Prepare the fitting document, purporting to secure
This to the Church, and I'll with joy affix my signature.

Archbishop
(takes leave, but immediately returns).
And to the work, as it proceeds, must thou too dedicate
Land-dues, benevolences large, and tribute, rent, and rate
For ever. To support the staff with money you should aid;
The bursar and the auditor must not be underpaid.
That the building may go quickly on, you cannot, sure, withhold,
From the plunder of the enemy, an offering of gold.
We also shall have need—the thing admits not of disguise—
Of foreign timber, lime, and slate, and of them large supplies.
The Carriage will cost nothing: we'll have orators addressing
The crowd, to preach ‘who serves the Church may reckon on her blessing.’

[Exit.
Kaiser.
Grievous and heavy is the sin wherewith I've burthened me;
These odious sorcerers bring me tó a sad extremity.

Archbishop
(returns again with a deep obeisance).
Pardon me, Sire. The sea-shore óf the realm to that bad man
Has been conveyed; yet will he fáll under the Church's ban,
Unless, repentant, to the Church from all that land you give
Tithes, contributions, rents and rates, and dues derivative.

Kaiser
(vexed).
The land! Call you that ‘land,’ o'erflowed by ocean vast?

Archbishop.
Where patience and good title are, possession comes at last.
For us may your all-gracious word inviolate remain!

[Exit.
Kaiser
(alone).
What will he next, perhaps, demand?—The realm o'er which I reign?