 | The Devil And The Lady |  |
Scene VII
Enter ANGULO, CAMPANO, BENEDICTANGULO
Most glorious luminary, round whose light,
Attracted by thy Majesty of Grace
We make our lowly revolutions,
Exert not thy centrifugal force upon me
But gently lead me to thee, by the power
Of thy centripetal might, that so I may
By due progression fall within thine arms!
CAMPANO
'Faith, 'tis a garrison well ‘curtainéd’!
And it hath much of ‘crown-work’!
STEPHANIO
So say I.
Ho! Madam, lower your colours!
ANGULO
Prithee, heed us
Nor shroud thyself in envious eclipse!
43
DEVIL
Right, Angulo! and, sooth, it gratifies
My woman's vanity to see ye stand thus,
Myself the centre of the circle which
My charms have bow'd unto my vassalage!
But there be those among you upon whom
My looks fall distantly, and those on whom
The soft expression of mine eyes emits
A nearer and more partial ray.
ANGULO
Nay, pardon me—
The radii of a circle are all equal
Unto each other, my good Amoret,
The centre of it equally remov'd
From any point in the periphery.
BENEDICT
Take heed not of the ungodly! I do come
To give thee ghostly consolation,
But find thee thus encircled with a crew
Of most ungracious sinners, led astray
By machinations of the evil one.
DEVIL
(aside)
True to a hair!
BENEDICT
Now, by our blessed Lady,
Hearken not to these fleshly minded men,
Vessels of wrath, the stumbling-blocks of life,
(Whom God requite hereafter for their deeds!)
But let us go and count our beads together.
I have a piece of the true cross, inclosed
In chrystal, which I'll show thee.
[Pulling DEVIL after him
STEPHANIO
Avast! avast! hi!
Get under weigh, my lads! what all at anchor?
Yare! yare! you see he's towing her away.
44
(to BENEDICT)
And so you think to carry it by sap;
We'll countermine you though. Halt, holy rascal!
BENEDICT
Ave Maria! what a speech was that!
Off, sinner! look ye! here's the blessed Virgin!
[Shewing her image
Woulds't thou impede the saving of a soul?
ANTONIO
Why, who art thou, who with thy raiséd forehead,
Curl'd lip, and archéd brow, woulds't beat us back,
Squinting thro' thy green leeky eyes, and shaking
Thy carroty locks, thus smoothly combed upon
Thine austere front—who treadest on this earth
As though thou wert not of it? who art thou?
BENEDICT
One that would hold no converse with thee. Off!
My soul rejects thee, sinner, and my hair
Doth bristle at thy gross impiety, like
Some baited Boar when blown on by the breathings
Of the rude dog.
ANTONIO
Thou hog in a high wind!
Thou barrel-bellied sanctity!
BENEDICT
Avaunt!
You excommunicated heretic!
ANTONIO
Oh! you tithe pig, and you would worm your way
With that demurity of countenance,
That frozen simulation of innocence
Into your neighbour's strongholds?
CAMPANO
Not so fast, sir,
We'll stick a cheval de frise within the breach
And beat him backward.
45
Warring planets!
Here's bullying Mars with front as red as fire.
Here's Mercury and he's the hottest o'ye
And also as they say, the prince of thieves
With this old crafty Saturn who exceedeth
The rest in bulk, and all at variance
For Venus—why, who'll square the difference?
STEPHANIO
The ship yaws.
DEVIL
Gentlemen, this is not fitting
That ye with noisy and contentious brawls
And dissonance of tongues should thus disturb
The sober, drowsy, stealthy-footed night,
And rudely wake her echoes, shaking thus
These peaceful dewdrops from the boughs above us.
Rather come in and, if ye be inclin'd
To exalt your voices, send them forth in songs,
Glees, catches, merry madrigals, and such like
'Till the roof totter o'er ye!
BENEDICT
Be it so.
'Tis good to be afflicted. I will enter.
ANTONIO
The Devil take the hindmost!
DEVIL
Well said, lawyer!
[Exeunt into the Cottage. Manet DEVIL
| The Devil And The Lady | |