THE KING: It gives me
pleasure
when you speak like that.
World's Greatest Books - Volume 17 - Poetry and Drama
CHARLES (_coming out of the tomb_): You are dead men.
[_The great vault is lighted up by torches, and a band of
soldiers who have been hiding behind the pillars
surround the_ CONSPIRATORS.
CHARLES (_to a soldier_): Bring in the lady. (_To_ HERNANI)
What is your true name?
HERNANI: I will reveal it now that I must die.
Don Juan of Aragon, Duke of Segorbe,
Duke of Cardona, Marquis of Monroy,
Count Albatera, and Viscount of Gor,
And lord of scores of towns and villages
Whose names I have forgotten. You, no doubt,
Remember all of them, Charles of Castile,
For they belong to you now.
[_The soldier returns with_ DONA SOL. _She throws herself
at the emperor's feet_.
DONA SOL: Pardon him!
CHARLES: Rise, Duchess of Segorbe and Cardona.
Marquise of Monroy--and your other names, Don Juan?
HERNANI: Who is speaking thus--the king?
CHARLES: No. It is the emperor. He is a man
Different from the king (_turning to the astonished_ CONSPIRATORS);
and he will win
Your loyalty, my friends, and your good aid,
If God in His great mercy will but guide
His erring feet along the pathway trod
By Charlemagne. Don Juan of Aragon,
Forgive me, and receive now from my hands
A wife full worthy of you, Dona Sol.
[_The two lovers kneel at his feet. Taking from his neck
the Golden Fleece, he puts it on_ HERNANI.
THE SPECTATORS: Long live the emperor.
DON RUY GOMEZ: I have the horn.
ACT IV
SCENE--_A terrace by the palace of Aragon. It is midnight, and the
guests are departing from the marriage feast of_ HERNANI
_and_ DONA SOL.
DONA SOL: At last, my husband, we are left alone.
How glad I am the feast and noise is done--
Are over.
HERNANI: I, too, am weary of the loud, wild joy.
Happiness is a deep and quiet thing,
As deep and grave and quiet as true love.
DONA SOL: Yes, happiness and love are like a strain
Of calm and lovely music. Hernani,
Listen! (_The sound of a mountain horn floats on the air. _)
It is some mountaineer that plays
Upon your silver horn. [HERNANI _staggers back. _
HERNANI: The tiger comes!
The old, grey tiger! Look! In the shadows there!
DONA SOL: What is it frightens you?
[_The horn sounds again. _
HERNANI: He wants my blood! I cannot!
[DON RUY GOMEZ _enters, playing on the horn like a madman. _
DON RUY GOMEZ: So you have not kept your word.
"My life belongs to you. At any time
You wish to take it, sound upon this horn
And I will kill myself. " You are forsworn!
HERNANI: I have no weapon on me.
DON RUY GOMEZ (_offering a dagger and a phial_):
Which of these
Do you prefer?
HERNANI: The poison.
DONA SOL: Are you mad?
HERNANI: He saved my life at Aragon. I gave
My word of honour I would kill myself
When he desired.
[_He raises the phial to his lips, but his wife wrests it
from him. _
DONA SOL (_to her guardian_): Why do you desire
To kill my husband?
DON RUY GOMEZ: I have sworn no man
Shall marry you but me. I keep my oath!
[_With a wild gesture_ DONA SOL _drinks half of the
poison, and hands_ HERNANI _the rest. _
DONA SOL: You are two cruel men. Drink, Hernani,
And let us go to sleep!
HERNANI (_emptying the phial_): Kiss me, my sweet.
It is our bridal night.
DONA SOL (_falling beside him on the ground_): Fold me, my love,
Close in your arms. [_They die. _
DON RUY GOMEZ: Oh, I am a lost soul!
[_He kills himself. _
FOOTNOTES:
[I] Victor Hugo (see Vol. V, p. 122) occupies an anomalous
position among the great dramatists of the world. He is really a poet
with a splendid lyrical inspiration; but he combines this in his plays
with an acquired but effective talent for stage-craft. "Hernani" is the
most famous play in the European literature of the nineteenth century.
This is partly due to the fact that it was the first great romantic
drama given on the French stage. When it was produced, on February 25,
1830, there was a fierce battle in the theatre between the followers
of the new movement and the adherents of the classic school of French
playwriting. Little of the play itself was heard on the first night.
The voices of the players were drowned in a storm of denunciations
from the classicists, and counter-cheers from the romanticists. The
admirers of Victor Hugo won. "Hernani" is certainly the most romantic
of romantic dramas. The plot is striking, and full of swift and
astonishing changes, but the characters are not always true to life.
Nevertheless, "Hernani" is a fine, interesting, poetic melodrama, with
a rather weak last act. The gloomy scene with which it closes lacks
the inevitability of true tragedy. Had the play ended happily it would
undoubtedly have retained its popularity.
Marion de Lorme[J]
_Persons in the Drama_
MARION DE LORME
DIDIER
LOUIS XIII.
THE MARQUIS DE SAVERNY
THE MARQUIS DE NANGIS
THE COMTE DE GASSE
BRICHANTEAU
L'ANGELY, _the King's Jester_
ROCHEBARON LAFFEMAS
TOWN CRIER HEADSMAN TWO WORKMEN
SOLDIERS, OFFICIALS, _and a crowd of people_
ACT I
SCENE--_A street in Blois in 1638. Some officers are sitting in the
twilight outside a tavern, chatting, smoking, and drinking. They
rise up to welcome the_ COMTE DE GASSE.
BRICHANTEAU: You come to Blois to join the regiment?
We all condole with you. What is the news
From Paris?
GASSE: The duel has come in again. Richelieu
Is furious.
ROCHEBARON: That's no news. We duel here,
To pass the time away.
GASSE: But have you heard
Of the incredible, mysterious flight
Of Marion de Lorme?
BRICHANTEAU: We have some news,
Gasse, for you. Marion is here.
GASSE: At Blois? You jest! The Queen of Beauty? Marion
In a place like this?
BRICHANTEAU: Saverny was attacked
Last night by footpads. They were killing him,
When a man beat them off, and took our friend
Into a house.
GASSE: But Marion de Lorme?
BRICHANTEAU: It was her house. Saverny's rescuer
Was the young man with whom she is in love.
ROCHEBARON: What is the man like?
BRICHANTEAU: Ask Saverny that.
THE TOWN CRIER (_arriving with a crowd_):
"Ordinance. Louis, by the grace of God,
King of France and Navarre, unto all men,
To whom these presents come, greeting! We will,
Ordain, and rule, henceforward, that all men,
Nobles or commoners, who break the law
By duelling, whether one survive or two,
Shall be hanged by the neck till they are dead.
Such is our good pleasure. "
GASSE: Hang us like thieves.
[_Two officers of the town fix the edict to the wall, and
the_ CRIER _and the crowd depart. _ SAVERNY _enters.
The street grows dark. _
SAVERNY: Fair Marion de Lorme has left her house.
I cannot find her.
GASSE: What was the man like?
SAVERNY: I do not know. On entering the house
I recognised sweet Marion, and began
To speak to her. Before I could turn round
And thank the man to whom I owed my life,
He knocked the candle over. I withdrew,
Seeing I was not wanted. All I know
Is that his name is Didier.
ROCHEBARON: It smacks
Of vulgar origin. To think a man
With such a name should carry Marion off--
Marion, the queen of beauty and of love!
SAVERNY: There may be men with greater names, but none
With greater hearts. To leap from Marion's arms,
And fight with footpads for a stranger's life!
The thing's heroic! I owe Didier
A debt that I would pay, if need there was,
With all my blood. I wish he were my friend!
[L'ANGELY, _the King's jester--a mournful-looking
creature--comes and sits with the officers. He is
followed by a tall, pale, handsome young man. It
is_ DIDIER.
DIDIER: The Marquis of Saverny! So the fop
Called himself. Oh, the easy, impudent air
With which he spoke to Marie! And I saved
The creature's life. If I meet him again----
GASSE: Saverny!
DIDIER: Here's my man.
GASSE: Have you observed
The edict against duelling, on pain
Of hanging?
SAVERNY: Hanging? Hang a gentleman?
You jest! That is a punishment for serfs.
BRICHANTEAU: Well, read the edict underneath the lamp.
SAVERNY (_annoyed at_ DIDIER _for staring at him_):
Go, read it for me, pale face!
DIDIER: I?
SAVERNY: Yes, you.
DIDIER (_rising_): It is an ordinance that punishes
By gibbeting all squabbling noblemen.
Having done all you wanted, may I claim
A slight reward? Will you now fight with me?
SAVERNY: Certainly. Where?
DIDIER: Here. Who will lend a sword?
L'ANGELY: For this wild folly, take a fool's sword, friend,
And in exchange, bequeath to me, for luck,
The bit of rope that hangs you.
DIDIER (_taking his sword_): Now, marquis!
SAVERNY: Sir, at your service.
DIDIER: Guard!
[_As their swords clash,_ MARION DE LORME _appears. _
MARION (_seeing_ DIDIER _fighting_): Stop! Help! Help! Help!
[_In answer to her cries the town guard arrive. _
THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD: Down with your swords! What! Duelling beneath
The edict of the king! You are dead men.
[DIDIER _and_ SAVERNY _are disarmed and led away. _
MARION: What has he done?
[L'ANGELY _points to the edict: she reads it. _
Oh, when I called for help
Death came! Is there no way to rescue him?
The king is kind at heart, he will forgive----
L'ANGELY: But Richelieu will not! He loves red blood,
The scarlet cardinal, he loves red blood!
MARION: You frighten me! Who are you?
L'ANGELY: The king's fool.
MARION: Ah, Didier! If a woman's feeble hand
Can save you, mine shall do it! [_She departs_.
L'ANGELY (_picking up the sword he lent to_ Didier):
Ha! Ha! Ha!
It was not I that played the fool to-night!
ACT II
SCENE--_A hall in the castle of Chambord. _ KING LOUIS XIII. ,
_a grey-haired, weak-minded man, is sitting, pale and
sorrowful, in a chair of state. _ L'ANGELY _stands beside him. _
THE KING: Oh, it is miserable to be a king
That lives but does not govern. Richelieu
Is killing all my friends. I sometimes think
He wants their blood to dye his scarlet robes.
L'ANGELY: He works for France, sire----
THE KING: Yes, and for himself.
I hate him. Never did a king of France
Govern with so tyrannical a hand
As he now does. A single word from me
And all his pomp and splendour, all his power,
Would vanish. But I cannot say the word;
He will not let me. Come, amuse me, fool!
L'ANGELY: Is not life, sire, a thing of bitterness?
THE KING: It is. Man is a shadow.
L'ANGELY: And a king
The miserablest creature on this earth.
THE KING: It gives me pleasure when you speak like that.
I wish that I were dead. In all the world
You are the only man I ever found
Worth listening to. I often wonder why
You care to live. What are you? A poor fool--
A puppet that I jerk to make me laugh.
L'ANGELY: I live on out of curiosity.
The puppet of the king, I sit and watch
The antics of the puppet of the priest!
THE KING: Yes, that is what I am. You speak the truth.
Could Satan not become a cardinal,
And take possession of my very soul?
L'ANGELY: I think that's what has happened.
THE KING: He loves blood,
The cardinal! It was the Huguenots
Yesterday that he wanted to behead,
And now it is the duellists. Blood! Blood!
He cannot live unless he lives in blood.
[L'ANGELY _makes a sign. _ MARION DE LORME _and the_
MARQUIS DE NANGIS _enter. _
MARION: Pardon!
THE KING: For whom?
MARION: Didier.
NANGIS: And the Marquis of Saverny.
They are two boys of twenty years of age--
Two children--they were quarrelling, when some spies
Posted by Richelieu . . .
MARION: Pardon them, my king!
You will have pity on them. Two young boys,
Caught in a boyish quarrel! No blood shed.
You will not kill my Didier for that!
You will not! Oh, you will not!
THE KING (_wiping the tears from his eyes_): Richelieu
Has ordered that all duellists be hanged.
You make my head ache. Go. Leave me!
It must be so, for he has ordered it.
[L'ANGELY _signs to_ MARION _to hide herself in the dark
hall. She does so. _ NANGIS _goes out. _
THE KING (_yawning_): I wish they would not come and worry me.
Amuse me, L'Angely, for I am sad.
Can you not talk to me of death again?
That is a pleasant subject. Your gay talk
Alone enables me to bear with life.
L'ANGELY: Sire, I have come to say farewell to you.
THE KING: Farewell? You cannot leave me! Only death
Can end your service to a king.
L'ANGELY: 'Tis death
That ends it. You condemn me to be hanged,
Since you refuse to pardon those two boys.
For it was I who made them fight. I lent
My sword to Didier.
THE KING (_sadly_): Oh, my poor fool!
So they will break your neck as well! Farewell!
Life will be dull without you. When you die,
L'Angely, come and tell me how it feels,
If you can, as some dead men do return
In ghostly form to earth.
L'ANGELY (_to himself_): A pleasant task!
THE KING: No! It would frighten me if you came back.
You must not die. L'Angely, do you think
That I could master Richelieu, if I wished?
L'ANGELY: Try!
THE KING: Some paper!
[L'ANGELY _gives him some; he hurriedly scrawls a few
words, and hands the writing to the fool. _
I have pardoned all of you.
L'ANGELY (_running to_ MARION): Here is the pardon.
Thank the king for it.
THE KING (_as_ MARION _throws herself at his feet_):
I must not! Give the paper back to me!
Richelieu will be angry.
MARION (_thrusting the pardon in her bosom_): You must tear
My heart out ere you take it from me, sire!
THE KING (_lowering his eyes, dazzled by her beauty_):
Are you a sorceress? You frighten me!
Keep it and go!
MARION (_as she departs_): My Didier is saved!
THE KING: At last I have shown Cardinal Richelieu
That I am King of France--
L'ANGELY: Who in a fright
Made a mistake, and once did what was right!
ACT III
SCENE--_A field by the castle of Beaugenoy. A great gap has been made
in the outer wall, through which looms the castle-keep. Two
workmen are covering the gap with a vast black cloth. _
A WORKMAN: If they would hang the two young gentlemen
Outside the wall, the cardinal could see
The execution without breaking down
The ramparts in this way.
HIS MATE: Could he not come
Through the great gate?
A WORKMAN: What! In a litter borne
By four-and twenty men? No! Richelieu
Travels in greater state than any king.
He enters, like a conqueror, through the breach
Made in the castles of our noblemen.
He means to kill them all, they say.
HIS MATE: And now
He comes in his great litter through this wall,
To see these poor boys hanged? What cruelty!
A WORKMAN: Now come and see the gallows we have built.
[_As they depart,_ MARION _arrives at the castle gate. She
knocks, but before the door opens,_ LAFFEMAS,
RICHELIEU'S _agent, gallops up. _
MARION: An order from the king.
THE GATEKEEPER: You cannot pass.
LAFFEMAS: An order from the cardinal.
THE GATEKEEPER: Pass in.
MARION: I have a pardon for two prisoners!
LAFFEMAS: And I the document revoking it!
The cardinal is coming here to-night
To see the execution. It is fixed
For nine o'clock.
MARION: Then there is no more hope!
Oh, God! Oh, God! My Didier must die!
Nothing can save him!
LAFFEMAS: You can, Marion.
Yes, you can still! I will let Didier escape
If, Marion, you will----
MARION: No!
LAFFEMAS: Then he dies!
MARION: And if he lives, I lose him. (_A long silence. _)
He shall live.
[_She goes into the castle with_ LAFFEMAS. DIDIER _and_
SAVERNY _appear, guarded by the jailer and his men.
It is now night. _
THE JAILER (_in a whisper to_ SAVERNY): You can
escape. The Marquis of Nangis
Has made all preparations for the flight.
SAVERNY: For both of us?
THE JAILER: No; only you. And that
May cost me my own life.
SAVERNY: Well, save my friend.
THE JAILER: I cannot.
SAVERNY: Then I must remain with him.
(_To_ DIDIER) They will hang us, friend, to-night.
* * * * *
DIDIER: Are you sure,
Saverny, she is Marion de Lorme?
On your honour, are you sure?
SAVERNY: Yes, I am.
I cannot understand you, Didier.
Are you not proud to think that you have made
So great a conquest?
DIDIER: And I thought she was
As innocent as she was beautiful!
SAVERNY: She loves you. You should be content with that.
You will not die while Marion de Lorme
Lives. And I hope that she will not forget
I am your friend, but come and save me, too.
[_It grows darker_ SAVERNY _falls asleep. _ MARION
_comes out of the gate carrying a bundle, and
accompanied by_ DIDIER.
MARION: Put on these clothes. Richelieu has arrived;
Can you not hear the guns announcing him?
DIDIER: Raise your eyes! Raise your eyes, and look at me!
What sort of man, think you, am I? A fool,
Or libertine?
MARION (_trembling, as she fixes her eyes passionately
on his_): I love you Didier,
More than my life. Your eyes are terrible.
What have I done? Am I not your Marie?
DIDIER: Marie? Or Marion de Lorme?
MARION: Didier,
Forgive me! I--I--meant to tell you all.
I feared to lose you if you learnt my name.
You had redeemed me by your love. I longed
To raise all memories of my former self,
And live a new life with you, Didier.
For, oh, I love you, and I love you still,
Deeply and truly! Didier, be kind,
Or you will kill me!
DIDIER: How have you obtained
This favour for me? Why is Laffemas
Risking his neck by letting me escape?
MARION: Not now! I cannot tell you now!
Fly! Fly!
Hark, they are coming! Do not stop to speak.
Save yourself!
DIDIER: No; I have no wish to live!
Thank God, here is the headsman!
[_A_ HEADSMAN, _carrying his axe, appears with a crowd
of soldiers, officials, and_ SAVERNY.
MARION (_falling to the earth_): Didier!
SAVERNY: What a shame
To rob me of my sleep!
THE HEADSMAN (_grimly_): The time has come
To put you both to bed.
SAVERNY (_gaily_): A headsman! Good!
I like the axe much better than the rope.
DIDIER (_embracing him_): Good-bye, my friend!
MARION (_clinging to him_): And me! Didier, me!
Will you not say good-bye to me?
DIDIER (_wildly, as the soldiers drag him off_): No! No!
My heart is breaking! Oh, Marie, Marie!
I love you. I was wrong!
MARION: You pardon me?
DIDIER: I ask your pardon. Think of me sometimes.
Good-bye, my darling. [_He is dragged behind the wall. _
AN OFFICIAL (_catching_ MARION _in his arms as she falls_):
All hope is not lost.
Look, here is Richelieu! Go and plead with him.
[_The castle guns are fired. The cloth, hiding the great
breach in the wall, drops. The_ CARDINAL _comes
in his gigantic scarlet litter, borne by twenty-four
footguards. Scarlet curtains conceal him from the
shouting mob. _
MARION (_dragging herself on her knees to the litter_):
In the name of God, oh, my Lord Cardinal,
Pardon these two poor boys!
A VOICE (_from the litter_): No pardon!
[_The litter passes on, and the crowd surges through the
wall after it_.
