The Piccolomini, Friedrich Schiller [best e book reader android .txt] 📗
- Author: Friedrich Schiller
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commissioned me to do. I told them You had determined on our daughter's marriage, And wished, ere yet you went into the field, To show the elected husband his betrothed.
WALLENSTEIN. And did they guess the choice which I had made?
DUCHESS. They only hoped and wished it may have fallen Upon no foreign nor yet Lutheran noble.
WALLENSTEIN. And you--what do you wish, Elizabeth?
DUCHESS. Your will, you know, was always mine.
WALLENSTEIN (after a pause).
Well, then,-- And in all else, of what kind and complexion Was your reception at the court?
[The DUCHESS casts her eyes on the ground, and remains silent. Hide nothing from me. How were you received?
DUCHESS. O! my dear lord, all is not what it was. A canker-worm, my lord, a canker-worm Has stolen into the bud.
WALLENSTEIN.
Ay! is it so? What, they were lax? they failed of the old respect?
DUCHESS. Not of respect. No honors were omitted, No outward courtesy; but in the place Of condescending, confidential kindness, Familiar and endearing, there were given me Only these honors and that solemn courtesy. Ah! and the tenderness which was put on, It was the guise of pity, not of favor. No! Albrecht's wife, Duke Albrecht's princely wife, Count Harrach's noble daughter, should not so-- Not wholly so should she have been received.
WALLENSTEIN. Yes, yes; they have taken offence. My latest conduct They railed at it, no doubt.
DUCHESS.
O that they had! I have been long accustomed to defend you, To heal and pacify distempered spirits. No; no one railed at you. They wrapped them up, O Heaven! in such oppressive, solemn silence! Here is no every-day misunderstanding, No transient pique, no cloud that passes over; Something most luckless, most unhealable, Has taken place. The Queen of Hungary Used formerly to call me her dear aunt, And ever at departure to embrace me----
WALLENSTEIN. Now she omitted it?
DUCHESS (wiping away her tears after a pause).
She did embrace me, But then first when I had already taken My formal leave, and when the door already Had closed upon me, then did she come out In haste, as she had suddenly bethought herself, And pressed me to her bosom, more with anguish Than tenderness.
WALLENSTEIN (seizes her hand soothingly).
Nay, now collect yourself. And what of Eggenberg and Lichtenstein, And of our other friends there?
DUCHESS (shaking her head).
I saw none.
WALLENSTEIN. The ambassador from Spain, who once was wont To plead so warmly for me?
DUCHESS.
Silent, silent!
WALLENSTEIN. These suns then are eclipsed for us. Henceforward Must we roll on, our own fire, our own light.
DUCHESS. And were it--were it, my dear lord, in that Which moved about the court in buzz and whisper, But in the country let itself be heard Aloud--in that which Father Lanormain In sundry hints and----
WALLENSTEIN (eagerly).
Lanormain! what said he?
DUCHESS. That you're accused of having daringly O'erstepped the powers intrusted to you, charged With traitorous contempt of the emperor And his supreme behests. The proud Bavarian, He and the Spaniards stand up your accusers-- That there's a storm collecting over you Of far more fearful menace than the former one Which whirled you headlong down at Regensburg. And people talk, said he, of----Ah!
[Stifling extreme emotion.
WALLENSTEIN.
Proceed!
DUCHESS. I cannot utter it!
WALLENSTEIN.
Proceed!
DUCHESS.
They talk----
WALLENSTEIN. Well!
DUCHESS.
Of a second----
(catches her voice and hesitates.)
WALLENSTEIN.
Second----
DUCHESS.
Most disgraceful Dismission.
WALLENSTEIN.
Talk they?
[Strides across the chamber in vehement agitation.
Oh! they force, they thrust me With violence, against my own will, onward!
DUCHESS (presses near him in entreaty). Oh! if there yet be time, my husband, if By giving way and by submission, this Can be averted--my dear Lord, give way! Win down your proud heart to it! Tell the heart, It is your sovereign lord, your emperor, Before whom you retreat. Oh! no longer Low trickling malice blacken your good meaning With abhorred venomous glosses. Stand you up Shielded and helmed and weaponed with the truth, And drive before you into uttermost shame These slanderous liars! Few firm friends have we-- You know it! The swift growth of our good fortune It hath but set us up a mark for hatred. What are we, if the sovereign's grace and favor Stand not before us!
SCENE III.
Enter the Countess TERZKY, leading in her hand the Princess THEKLA,
richly adorned with brilliants.
COUNTESS, TEKLA, WALLENSTEIN, DUCHESS.
COUNTESS. How sister? What, already upon business?
[Observing the countenance of the DUCHESS. And business of no pleasing kind I see, Ere he has gladdened at his child. The first Moment belongs to joy. Here, Friedland! father! This is thy daughter.
[THEKLA approaches with a shy and timid air, and bends herself as
about to kiss his hand. He receives her in his arms, and remains
standing for some time lost in the feeling of her presence.
WALLENSTEIN. Yes! pure and lovely hath hope risen on me, I take her as the pledge of greater fortune.
DUCHESS. 'Twas but a little child when you departed To raise up that great army for the emperor And after, at the close of the campaign, When you returned home out of Pomerania, Your daughter was already in the convent, Wherein she has remained till now.
WALLENSTEIN.
The while We in the field here gave our cares and toils To make her great, and fight her a free way To the loftiest earthly good; lo! mother Nature Within the peaceful, silent convent walls, Has done her part, and out of her free grace Hath she bestowed on the beloved child The god-like; and now leads her thus adorned To meet her splendid fortune, and my hope.
DUCHESS (to THEKLA). Thou wouldst not now have recognized thy father, Wouldst thou, my child? She counted scarce eight years When last she saw your face.
THEKLA.
O yes, yes, mother! At the first glance! My father has not altered. The form that stands before me falsifies No feature of the image that hath lived So long within me!
WALLENSTEIN.
The voice of my child!
[Then after a pause. I was indignant at my destiny, That it denied me a man-child, to be Heir of my name and of my prosperous fortune, And re-illume my soon-extinguished being In a proud line of princes. I wronged my destiny. Here upon this head, So lovely in its maiden bloom, will I Let fall the garland of a life of war, Nor deem it lost, if only I can wreath it, Transmuted to a regal ornament, Around these beauteous brows.
[He clasps her in his arms as PICCOLOMINI enters.
SCENE IV.
Enter MAX. PICCOLOMINI, and some time after COUNT TERZKY, the
others remaining as before.
COUNTESS. There comes the Paladin who protected us.
WALLENSTEIN. Max.! Welcome, ever welcome! Always wert thou The morning star of my best joys!
MAX.
My general----
WALLENSTEIN. Till now it was the emperor who rewarded thee, I but the instrument. This day thou hast bound The father to thee, Max.! the fortunate father, And this debt Friedland's self must pay.
MAX.
My prince! You made no common hurry to transfer it. I come with shame: yea, not without a pang! For scarce have I arrived here, scarce delivered The mother and the daughter to your arms, But there is brought to me from your equerry [6] A splendid richly-plated hunting dress So to remunerate me for my troubles-- Yes, yes, remunerate me,--since a trouble It must be, a mere office, not a favor Which I leaped forward to receive, and which I came with grateful heart to thank you for. No! 'twas not so intended, that my business Should be my highest best good fortune!
[TERZKY enters; and delivers letters to the DUKE, which he
breaks open hurriedly.
COUNTESS (to MAX.). Remunerate your trouble! For his joy, He makes you recompense. 'Tis not unfitting For you, Count Piccolomini, to feel So tenderly--my brother it beseems To show himself forever great and princely.
THEKLA. Then I too must have scruples of his love: For his munificent hands did ornament me Ere yet the father's heart had spoken to me.
MAX Yes; 'tis his nature ever to be giving And making happy.
[He grasps the hand of the DUCHESS with still increasing warmth.
How my heart pours out Its all of thanks to him! O! how I seem To utter all things in the dear name--Friedland. While I shall live, so long will I remain The captive of this name: in it shall bloom My every fortune, every lovely hope. Inextricably as in some magic ring In this name hath my destiny charm-bound me!
COUNTESS (who during this time has been anxiously watching the DUKE,
and remarks that he is lost in thought over the letters). My brother wishes us to leave him. Come.
WALLENSTEIN (turns himself round quick, collects himself, and speaks
with cheerfulness to the DUCHESS). Once more I bid thee welcome to the camp, Thou art the hostess of this court. You, Max., Will now again administer your old office, While we perform the sovereign's business here.
[MAX. PICCOLOMINI offers the DUCHESS his arm; the COUNTESS
accompanies the PRINCESS.
TERZKY (calling after him). Max., we depend on seeing you at the meeting.
WALLENSTEIN. And did they guess the choice which I had made?
DUCHESS. They only hoped and wished it may have fallen Upon no foreign nor yet Lutheran noble.
WALLENSTEIN. And you--what do you wish, Elizabeth?
DUCHESS. Your will, you know, was always mine.
WALLENSTEIN (after a pause).
Well, then,-- And in all else, of what kind and complexion Was your reception at the court?
[The DUCHESS casts her eyes on the ground, and remains silent. Hide nothing from me. How were you received?
DUCHESS. O! my dear lord, all is not what it was. A canker-worm, my lord, a canker-worm Has stolen into the bud.
WALLENSTEIN.
Ay! is it so? What, they were lax? they failed of the old respect?
DUCHESS. Not of respect. No honors were omitted, No outward courtesy; but in the place Of condescending, confidential kindness, Familiar and endearing, there were given me Only these honors and that solemn courtesy. Ah! and the tenderness which was put on, It was the guise of pity, not of favor. No! Albrecht's wife, Duke Albrecht's princely wife, Count Harrach's noble daughter, should not so-- Not wholly so should she have been received.
WALLENSTEIN. Yes, yes; they have taken offence. My latest conduct They railed at it, no doubt.
DUCHESS.
O that they had! I have been long accustomed to defend you, To heal and pacify distempered spirits. No; no one railed at you. They wrapped them up, O Heaven! in such oppressive, solemn silence! Here is no every-day misunderstanding, No transient pique, no cloud that passes over; Something most luckless, most unhealable, Has taken place. The Queen of Hungary Used formerly to call me her dear aunt, And ever at departure to embrace me----
WALLENSTEIN. Now she omitted it?
DUCHESS (wiping away her tears after a pause).
She did embrace me, But then first when I had already taken My formal leave, and when the door already Had closed upon me, then did she come out In haste, as she had suddenly bethought herself, And pressed me to her bosom, more with anguish Than tenderness.
WALLENSTEIN (seizes her hand soothingly).
Nay, now collect yourself. And what of Eggenberg and Lichtenstein, And of our other friends there?
DUCHESS (shaking her head).
I saw none.
WALLENSTEIN. The ambassador from Spain, who once was wont To plead so warmly for me?
DUCHESS.
Silent, silent!
WALLENSTEIN. These suns then are eclipsed for us. Henceforward Must we roll on, our own fire, our own light.
DUCHESS. And were it--were it, my dear lord, in that Which moved about the court in buzz and whisper, But in the country let itself be heard Aloud--in that which Father Lanormain In sundry hints and----
WALLENSTEIN (eagerly).
Lanormain! what said he?
DUCHESS. That you're accused of having daringly O'erstepped the powers intrusted to you, charged With traitorous contempt of the emperor And his supreme behests. The proud Bavarian, He and the Spaniards stand up your accusers-- That there's a storm collecting over you Of far more fearful menace than the former one Which whirled you headlong down at Regensburg. And people talk, said he, of----Ah!
[Stifling extreme emotion.
WALLENSTEIN.
Proceed!
DUCHESS. I cannot utter it!
WALLENSTEIN.
Proceed!
DUCHESS.
They talk----
WALLENSTEIN. Well!
DUCHESS.
Of a second----
(catches her voice and hesitates.)
WALLENSTEIN.
Second----
DUCHESS.
Most disgraceful Dismission.
WALLENSTEIN.
Talk they?
[Strides across the chamber in vehement agitation.
Oh! they force, they thrust me With violence, against my own will, onward!
DUCHESS (presses near him in entreaty). Oh! if there yet be time, my husband, if By giving way and by submission, this Can be averted--my dear Lord, give way! Win down your proud heart to it! Tell the heart, It is your sovereign lord, your emperor, Before whom you retreat. Oh! no longer Low trickling malice blacken your good meaning With abhorred venomous glosses. Stand you up Shielded and helmed and weaponed with the truth, And drive before you into uttermost shame These slanderous liars! Few firm friends have we-- You know it! The swift growth of our good fortune It hath but set us up a mark for hatred. What are we, if the sovereign's grace and favor Stand not before us!
SCENE III.
Enter the Countess TERZKY, leading in her hand the Princess THEKLA,
richly adorned with brilliants.
COUNTESS, TEKLA, WALLENSTEIN, DUCHESS.
COUNTESS. How sister? What, already upon business?
[Observing the countenance of the DUCHESS. And business of no pleasing kind I see, Ere he has gladdened at his child. The first Moment belongs to joy. Here, Friedland! father! This is thy daughter.
[THEKLA approaches with a shy and timid air, and bends herself as
about to kiss his hand. He receives her in his arms, and remains
standing for some time lost in the feeling of her presence.
WALLENSTEIN. Yes! pure and lovely hath hope risen on me, I take her as the pledge of greater fortune.
DUCHESS. 'Twas but a little child when you departed To raise up that great army for the emperor And after, at the close of the campaign, When you returned home out of Pomerania, Your daughter was already in the convent, Wherein she has remained till now.
WALLENSTEIN.
The while We in the field here gave our cares and toils To make her great, and fight her a free way To the loftiest earthly good; lo! mother Nature Within the peaceful, silent convent walls, Has done her part, and out of her free grace Hath she bestowed on the beloved child The god-like; and now leads her thus adorned To meet her splendid fortune, and my hope.
DUCHESS (to THEKLA). Thou wouldst not now have recognized thy father, Wouldst thou, my child? She counted scarce eight years When last she saw your face.
THEKLA.
O yes, yes, mother! At the first glance! My father has not altered. The form that stands before me falsifies No feature of the image that hath lived So long within me!
WALLENSTEIN.
The voice of my child!
[Then after a pause. I was indignant at my destiny, That it denied me a man-child, to be Heir of my name and of my prosperous fortune, And re-illume my soon-extinguished being In a proud line of princes. I wronged my destiny. Here upon this head, So lovely in its maiden bloom, will I Let fall the garland of a life of war, Nor deem it lost, if only I can wreath it, Transmuted to a regal ornament, Around these beauteous brows.
[He clasps her in his arms as PICCOLOMINI enters.
SCENE IV.
Enter MAX. PICCOLOMINI, and some time after COUNT TERZKY, the
others remaining as before.
COUNTESS. There comes the Paladin who protected us.
WALLENSTEIN. Max.! Welcome, ever welcome! Always wert thou The morning star of my best joys!
MAX.
My general----
WALLENSTEIN. Till now it was the emperor who rewarded thee, I but the instrument. This day thou hast bound The father to thee, Max.! the fortunate father, And this debt Friedland's self must pay.
MAX.
My prince! You made no common hurry to transfer it. I come with shame: yea, not without a pang! For scarce have I arrived here, scarce delivered The mother and the daughter to your arms, But there is brought to me from your equerry [6] A splendid richly-plated hunting dress So to remunerate me for my troubles-- Yes, yes, remunerate me,--since a trouble It must be, a mere office, not a favor Which I leaped forward to receive, and which I came with grateful heart to thank you for. No! 'twas not so intended, that my business Should be my highest best good fortune!
[TERZKY enters; and delivers letters to the DUKE, which he
breaks open hurriedly.
COUNTESS (to MAX.). Remunerate your trouble! For his joy, He makes you recompense. 'Tis not unfitting For you, Count Piccolomini, to feel So tenderly--my brother it beseems To show himself forever great and princely.
THEKLA. Then I too must have scruples of his love: For his munificent hands did ornament me Ere yet the father's heart had spoken to me.
MAX Yes; 'tis his nature ever to be giving And making happy.
[He grasps the hand of the DUCHESS with still increasing warmth.
How my heart pours out Its all of thanks to him! O! how I seem To utter all things in the dear name--Friedland. While I shall live, so long will I remain The captive of this name: in it shall bloom My every fortune, every lovely hope. Inextricably as in some magic ring In this name hath my destiny charm-bound me!
COUNTESS (who during this time has been anxiously watching the DUKE,
and remarks that he is lost in thought over the letters). My brother wishes us to leave him. Come.
WALLENSTEIN (turns himself round quick, collects himself, and speaks
with cheerfulness to the DUCHESS). Once more I bid thee welcome to the camp, Thou art the hostess of this court. You, Max., Will now again administer your old office, While we perform the sovereign's business here.
[MAX. PICCOLOMINI offers the DUCHESS his arm; the COUNTESS
accompanies the PRINCESS.
TERZKY (calling after him). Max., we depend on seeing you at the meeting.
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