The works of Lord Byron A new, revised and enlarged edition, with illustrations. Edited by Ernest Hartley Coleridge and R. E. Prothero |
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 | The works of Lord Byron |  |
Scene II.
—The City.—Combats between the Besiegers and Besieged in the streets. Inhabitants flying in confusion.Enter Cæsar.
Cæs.
I cannot find my hero; he is mixed
With the heroic crowd that now pursue
The fugitives, or battle with the desperate.
What have we here? A Cardinal or two
That do not seem in love with martyrdom.
How the old red-shanks scamper! Could they doff
Their hose as they have doffed their hats, 'twould be
A blessing, as a mark the less for plunder.
But let them fly; the crimson kennels now
Will not much stain their stockings, since the mire
Is of the self-same purple hue.
With the heroic crowd that now pursue
The fugitives, or battle with the desperate.
What have we here? A Cardinal or two
That do not seem in love with martyrdom.
How the old red-shanks scamper! Could they doff
Their hose as they have doffed their hats, 'twould be
A blessing, as a mark the less for plunder.
But let them fly; the crimson kennels now
Will not much stain their stockings, since the mire
Is of the self-same purple hue.
517
He comes,
Hand in hand with the mild twins—Gore and Glory.
Holla! hold, Count!
Hand in hand with the mild twins—Gore and Glory.
Holla! hold, Count!
Arn.
Away! they must not rally.
Cæs.
I tell thee, be not rash; a golden bridge
Is for a flying enemy. I gave thee
A form of beauty, and an
Exemption from some maladies of body,
But not of mind, which is not mine to give.
But though I gave the form of Thetis' son,
I dipped thee not in Styx; and 'gainst a foe
I would not warrant thy chivalric heart
More than Pelides; heel; why, then, be cautious,
And know thyself a mortal still.
Arn.
And who
With aught of soul would combat if he were
Invulnerable? That were pretty sport.
Think'st thou I beat for hares when lions roar?
[Arnold rushes into the combat.
Cæs.
A precious sample of humanity!
Well, his blood's up; and, if a little 's shed,
'Twill serve to curb his fever.
[Arnold engages with a Roman, who retires towards a portico.
Arn.
Yield thee, slave!
I promise quarter.
Rom.
That's soon said.
Arn.
And done—
My word is known.
Rom.
So shall be my deeds.
[They re-engage. Cæsar comes forward.
Cæs.
Why, Arnold! hold thine own: thou hast in hand
A famous artisan, a cunning sculptor;
Also a dealer in the sword and dagger.
Not so, my musqueteer; 'twas he who slew
The Bourbon from the wall.
518
Aye, did he so?
Then he hath carved his monument.
Rom.
I yet
May live to carve your better's.
Cæs.
Well said, my man of marble! Benvenuto,
Thou hast some practice in both ways; and he
Who slays Cellini will have worked as hard
As e'er thou didst upon Carrara's blocks.
[Arnold disarms and wounds Cellini, but slightly: the latter draws a pistol, and fires; then retires, and disappears through the portico.
Cæs.
How farest thou? Thou hast a taste, methinks,
Of red Bellona's banquet.
Arn.
(staggers).
'Tis a scratch.
Lend me thy scarf. He shall not 'scape me thus.
Cæs.
Where is it?
Arn.
In the shoulder, not the sword arm—
And that 's enough. I am thirsty: would I had
A helm of water!
Cæs.
That's a liquid now
In requisition, but by no means easiest
To come at.
Arn.
And my thirst increases;—but
I'll find a way to quench it.
Cæs.
Or be quenched
Thyself.
Arn.
The chance is even; we will throw
The dice thereon. But I lose time in prating;
Prithee be quick.
[Cæsar binds on the scarf.
The dice thereon. But I lose time in prating;
Prithee be quick.
And what dost thou so idly?
Why dost not strike?
Why dost not strike?
519
Your old philosophers
Beheld mankind, as mere spectators of
The Olympic games. When I behold a prize
Worth wrestling for, I may be found a Milo.
Arn.
Aye, 'gainst an oak.
Cæs.
A forest, when it suits me:
I combat with a mass, or not at all.
Meantime, pursue thy sport as I do mine;
Which is just now to gaze, since all these labourers
Will reap my harvest gratis.
Arn.
Thou art still
A fiend!
Cæs.
And thou—a man.
Arn.
Why, such I fain would show me.
Cæs.
True—as men are.
Arn.
And what is that?
Cæs.
Thou feelest and thou see'st.
[Exit Arnold, joining in the combat which still continues between detached parties. The scene closes.
| The works of Lord Byron | |