Bermides
[aside, to Dr.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v09 - Dra to Eme
The dreaded moment was approaching.
She was henceforth to serve strange gods in place of the Egyp-
tian deities.
Cambyses did not observe her emotion, and continued:— "My
mother Cassandane shall initiate you in your duties as my wife.
I will conduct you to her myself to-morrow. I repeat what you
accidentally overheard: you please me.
Look to it that you
keep my favor.
We will try to make you like our country; and
because I am your friend I advise you to treat Boges, whom I
sent to meet you, graciously, for you will have to obey him in
many things, as he is the superintendent of the harem. ”
“He may be the head of the women's house,” returned Nite-
tis. But it seems to me that no mortal but you has a right to
command your wife. Give but a sign and I will obey, but con-
sider that I am a princess, and come from a land where weak
woman shares the rights of strong men; that the same pride fills
my breast which shines in your eyes, my beloved! I will gladly
obey you the great man, my husband and ruler; but it is as
## p. 5100 (#272) ###########################################
5100
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
impossible for me to sue for the favor of the unmanliest of men,
a bought servant, as it is for me to obey his commands. "
Cambyses's astonishment and satisfaction increased. He had
never heard any woman save his mother speak like this, and the
subtle way in which Nitetis unconsciously recognized and exalted
his power over her whole existence satisfied his self-complacency.
The proud man liked her pride. He nodded approvingly and
said, “You are right. I will have a special house prepared for
you.
I alone will command you. The pleasant house in the hang-
ing gardens shall be prepared for you to-day.
"I thank you a thousand times! ” cried Nitetis. "If you but
knew how you delight me by your gift! Your brother Bartja
told me much of the hanging gardens, and none of the splendors
of your great realm pleased us as much as the love of the king
who built the green mountain. ”
« To-morrow you will be able to enter your new dwelling.
Tell me how you and the Egyptians liked my envoys ? ”
“How can you ask! Who could become acquainted with noble
Croesus without loving him? Who could help admiring the excel-
lent qualities of the young heroes, your friends? They have
become dear to our house, especially your beautiful brother
Bartja, who won all hearts. The Egyptians are averse to stran-
gers, but whenever Bartja appeared among them a murmur of
admiration arose from the gaping throng.
At these words the King's face grew dark. He gave his horse
a heavy blow, so that it reared, turned its head, galloped in
front of his retinue, and in a few minutes reached the walls of
Babylon.
The walls seemed perfectly impregnable, for they were two
hundred cubits high, and their breadth was so great that two
carriages could easily pass each other. Two hundred and fifty
high towers surmounted and fortified this huge rampart. A
greater number of these citadels would have been necessary if
Babylon had not been protected on one side by impenetrable
marshes. The enormous city lay on both sides of the Euphrates.
It was
more than nine miles in circumference, and the walls
protected buildings which surpassed even the pyramids and the
temples of Thebes and Memphis in size.
Nitetis looked with astonishment at this huge gate; with joyful
emotion she gazed at the long wide street, which was festively
decked in her honor.
## p. 5101 (#273) ###########################################
5101
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
(1832-)
he period of political disorder and disturbance which fol-
lowed the revolution of 1868 in Spain was also a period of
disorder and decline for the Spanish stage. The drama -
throwing off the fetters of French classicism that paralyzed inspira-
tion at the beginning of the century — had revived for a time. But
after its rejuvenescence of the glories of the Golden Age of Spanish
literature, uniting a new beauty of form with truth to nature in the
Classic-Romantic School, it sank into a debasement hitherto unknown.
Meretricious sentiment, dullness, or buffoon-
ery, chiefly of foreign production, occupied
the scene before adorned by the imagina-
tion, the wisdom, and the wit, of a Zorilla,
a Tamayo, a Ventura de la Vega.
It was at this period of dramatic deca-
dence that Echegaray appeared to revive
once more the romantic traditions of the
Spanish stage, peopling it again with noble
and heroic figures, — in whom, however, the
chivalric spirit of the Middle Ages is at
times strangely joined to the casuistic mod-
ern conscience. The explanation of this is
José ECHEGARAY
perhaps to be found in part in the mental
constitution of the dramatist, in whom the
analytic and the imaginative faculties are united in marked degree,
and who had acquired a distinguished reputation as a civil engineer
long before he entered the lists as an aspirant for dramatic honors.
Born in Madrid in 1832, his earlier years were passed in Murcia, where
he took his degree of bachelor of arts, applying himself afterward
with notable success to the study of the exact sciences. Returning
to Madrid, after enlarging his knowledge of his profession of civil
engineer by practical study in various provinces of Spain, he was
appointed a professor in the School of Engineers, where he taught
theoretical and applied mathematics, finding time however for the
production of important scientific works, and for the study of polit-
ical economy and general literature. On the breaking out of the
revolution of 1868 he joined actively in the movement, taking office
under the new government as Director of Public Works, and holding
## p. 5102 (#274) ###########################################
5102
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
a ministerial portfolio. He took office a second time in 1872, and
later filled the post of Minister of Finance, which he resigned on the
proclamation of the Republic. Retiring from public life, he went to
Paris; and while there wrote, being then a little past forty, his first
dramatic work, The Check-Book,' a domestic drama in one act,
which was represented anonymously in Madrid two years later, when
the author for the third time held a ministerial portfolio.
(The Check-Book) was followed in rapid succession by a series of
productions whose titles, “La Esposa del Vengador' (The Avenger's
Bride), 'La Ultima Noche (The Last Night), En el Puño de la
Espada' (In the Hilt of the Sword), Como Empieza y Como Acaba'
(How it Begins and How it Ends), sufficiently indicate their charac-
ter. They are of unequal merit, but all show dramatic power of
a high order. But on the representation in 1877 of Locura o
Santidad ? (Madman or Saint ? ), the fame of the statesman and the
scientist was completely and finally eclipsed by that of the dramatist,
in whom the press and public of Madrid unanimously recognized
a new and vital force in the Spanish drama. In this tragedy the
keynote of Echegaray's philosophy is clearly struck. Moral perfec-
tion, unfaltering obedience to the right, is the end and aim of man;
and the catastrophe is brought about by the inability of the hero to
make those nearest to him accept this ideal of life. «Then virtue is
but a lie,” he cries, when the conviction of his moral isolation is
forced upon him; "and you, all of you whom I have most loved in
this world, perceiving what I regarded as divinity in your are only
miserable egoists, incapable of sacrifice, a prey to greed and the
mere playthings of passion! Then you are all of you but clay; you
resolve yourselves to dust and let the wind of the tempest carry you
Beings shaped without conscience or free-will are simply
atoms that meet to-day and separate to-morrow. Such is matter
then let it go! ”
But the punishment of sin, in Echegaray's moral code, is visited
upon the innocent equally with the guilty; and the guilty are never
allowed to escape the retributive consequences of their wrong-doing.
The pessimistic coloring of the picture would be at times unendur-
ably oppressive, were it not relieved and lightened by the moral
dignity of the hero. Echegaray's pessimism is, so to say, altruistic,
never egoistic; and the compensating sense of righteousness vindi-
cated rarely fails to explain, if not to justify, his darkest scenes.
Judged by the canons of art, Echegaray's dramatic productions
will be found to have many imperfections. But their defects are the
defects of genius, not of mediocrity, and spring generally from an
excess of imagination, not from poverty of invention or faulty insight.
The plot is often overweighted with an accumulation of incidents,
off! .
## p. 5103 (#275) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5103
and the means employed to bring about the desired end are often
lacking in verisimilitude. Synthetic rather than analytic in his
methods, and a master in producing contrasts, Echegaray captivates
the imagination by arts which the cooler judgment not seldom con-
demns. His characters too are not always inhabitants of the real
world, and not infrequently act contrary to the laws which govern it.
The secondary characters are too often carelessly drawn, sometimes
being mere shadowy outlines, while an altogether disproportionate
part of the development of the plot is intrusted to them.
On the other hand, in the world of the passions Echegaray treads
with secure step. Its labyrinthine windings, its depths and its heights,
are all familiar to him. Here every accent uttered is the accent of
truth; every act is prompted by unerring instinct. Nothing is false;
nothing is trivial; nothing is strained. The elemental forces of nature
seem to be at work, and the catastrophe results as inevitably from
their action as if decreed by fate.
The genius of Echegaray, which in its irregular grandeur and its
ethical tendency has been not inaptly likened by a Spanish critic to
that of Victor Hugo, rarely descends from the tragic heights on
which it achieved its first and its greatest triumphs; but that its
range has been limited by choice, not nature, is abundantly proved in
the best of his lighter productions, 'Un Critico Incipiente (An Embryo
Critic). Of his achievement in tragedy the culminating point was
reached -- after a second series of noteworthy productions, among
them Lo Que no Puede Decirse (What Cannot be Told), Mar Sin
Orillas' (A Shoreless Sea), and En el Seno de la Muerte) (In the
Bosom of Death) – in El Gran Galeoto' (The Great Galeoto), repre-
sented in 1881 before an audience which hailed its author as
“prodigy of genius, a second Shakespeare. Other notable works
followed, —'Conflicto entre Dos Deberes) (Conflict between Two
Duties), Vida Alegre y Muerte Triste' (A Merry Life and a Sad
Death), Lo Sublime en lo Vulgar) (The Sublime in the Common-
place); but El Gran Galeoto' has remained thus far its author's
supreme dramatic achievement. In its title is personified the evil
speaking which not always with evil intent, sometimes even with
the best motives, slays, with a venom surer than that of the adder's
tongue, the reputation which it attacks; turning innocence itself by
its contaminating power into guilt.
a
## p. 5104 (#276) ###########################################
5104
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
FROM (MADMAN OR SAINT? )
[Don Lorenzo, a man of wealth and position living in Madrid, has discovo
ered that he is the son, not as he and all the world had supposed, of the lady
whose wealth and name he has inherited, but of his nurse Juana, who dies
after she has revealed to him the secret of his birth. In consequence he
resolves publicly to renounce his name and his possessions, although by doing
so he will prevent the marriage of his daughter Inez to Edward, the son of
the Duchess of Almonte. The mother will consent to Don Lorenzo's renuncia-
tion of his possessions but not of his name, as this would throw a stigma on
Inez's origin. He refuses to listen either to the reasoning or to the entreaties
of his wife, the duchess, Edward, and Dr. Tomás. Finally they are per-
suaded that he is mad, and Dr. Tomás calls in a specialist to examine him.
The specialist, with two keepers, arrives at the house at the same time with
the notary, whom Don Lorenzo has sent for to make before him a formal act
of renunciation of his name and possessions. )
Don Lorenzo enters and stands listening to Inez
DºN
no
ON LORENZO [aside]—“Die,” she said !
Edward - You to die! No, Inez, not that; do not say
that.
Ines - And why not? If I do not die of grief — if happiness
could ever visit me again - I should die of remorse.
Lorenzo [asid) - "Of remorse! ” She! "If happiness could
ever visit her again! ” What new fatality floats in the air and
hangs threateningly above my head ? Remorse! I have surprised
another word in passing! I traverse rooms and halls, and I go
from one place to another, urged by intolerable anguish, and I
hear words that I do not understand, and I meet glances that I
do not understand, and tears greet me here and smiles there, and
one opposes me, and every one avoids me or watches me.
[Aloud. ) What is this? What is this?
Ines [hurrying to him and throwing herself into his arms] -
Father!
Lorenco - Inez! How pale you are! Why are your lips drawn
as if with pain? Why do you feign smiles that end in sighs! --
How lovely in her sorrow! And I am to blame for all!
Ines — No, father.
Lorenco - How cruel I am! Ah! you think it, although you
do not say it.
Edward - Inez is an angel. Rebellious thoughts can find no
place in her heart; but who that sees her can fail to think it and
to say it ?
## p. 5105 (#277) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5105
Lorenzo— No one; you are right.
Edward [with energy] - If I am right, then you are wrong.
Lorenzo - I am right also. There is something more pallid
than the pallid brow of a lovesick maiden; there is something
sadder than the sad tears that fall from her beautiful eyes; some-
thing more bitter than the smile that contracts her lips; some-
thing more tragic than the death of her beloved.
Edward (with scornful vchemence] — And what is that pallor,
what are those tears, and what the tragedies you speak of?
Lorenso — Insensate! [Seising him by the arm. ] The pallor
of crime, the tears of remorse, the consciousness of our own vile-
ness.
Edward — And it would be vile, and criminal, and a source of
remorse, to make Inez happy ?
Lorenso [despairingly] – It ought not to be so — but it would!
[Pause. ] And this it is that tortures me. This is the thought
that is driving me mad!
Ines — No, father, do not say that! Follow the path you have
marked out for yourself, without thought of me. What does it
matter whether I live or die ?
Lorenso— Inez!
Ines But do not vacillate — and above all, let no one see
that you vacillate; let your speech be clear and convincing as it
let not anger blind you. Be calm, be calm, father; I
implore it of you in the name of God.
Lorenzo What do you mean by those words ? I do not un-
derstand you.
Inez – Do I rightly know myself what I mean? There - I
am going. I do not wish to pain you.
Edward [to Lorenzo] -- Ah, if you would but listen to your
heart; if you would but silence the cavilings of your conscience.
Ines [to Edward] - Leave him in peace - come with me; do
not anger him, or you will make him hate you.
Lorenzo — Poor girl! She too struggles, but she too will con-
quer! [With an outburst of pride. ] She will show that she is
indeed my daughter!
is now;
[Inez and Edward go up the stage; passing the study door, Inez sces the
keepers and gives a start of horror. 1
Ines - What sinister vision affrights my gaze! -- No, father, do
not enter there.
IX--320
## p. 5106 (#278) ###########################################
5106
JOSE ECHEGARAY
Edward - Come, come, my Inez!
Ines [to her father] — No, no, I entreat you'
Lorenzo [approaching her] - Inez!
Ines — Those men there — look!
[Inez stretches out her hand toward the study; Don Lorenzo stands and fol-
lows her gaze.
At this moment the keepers, hearing her cry, show
themselves between the curtains. ]
Edward [leading Ines away] — At last!
Lorenso— Now I am more tranquil! The wound is mortal!
I feel it here in my heart! I thank thee, merciful God!
Dr. Tomás and Dr. Bermúdez enter and stop to observe Don Lorenzo.
Dr. Tomás -- There he is— sitting in the arm-chair.
Dr. Bermúde: — Unfortunate man!
Lorenzo [rising, aside] - Ah, miserable being! Still cherishing
impossible hopes. Impossible ? And what if they honestly be-
lieve that I – [Despairingly] Ah! If they loved me they would
not believe it. [Pause. ) Did I not hear Inez- the child of my
heart — speak of remorse? Why should she speak of remorse?
[Aloud, with increasing agitation. ] They are all wretches! They
would almost be glad that I should die. But no: I will not die
until I have fulfilled my duty as an honorable man; until I have
put the climax to my madness.
Dr. Tomás [laying his hand on Don Lorenzo's shoulder] -
Lorenzo
Lorenzo [turning, recognizes him and draws back angrily] –
He!
Dr. Tomás - Let me present to you Dr. Bermúdez, one of
my best friends. [Pause. Don Lorenzo regards both strangely. ]
Dr. Bermúdez [to Dr. Tomás, in a low voice] - See the effort
he makes to control himself; he is vaguely conscious of his con-
dition—there is not a doubt left on my mind.
Lorenzo—One of your best friends, one of your best friends —
Dr. Bermúdez [aside to Dr. Tomás] — The idea is escaping
him, and he is striving to retain it.
Lorenzo [ironically] - If he is one of your best friends, then
your loyalty is a guarantee for his.
## p. 5107 (#279) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5107
Dr.
Bermides [aside, to Dr. Tomás] — At last he has found
the word. But notice how unnatural is the tone of his voice.
[Aloud. ] I have come to be a witness, according to what Dr.
Tomás tells me, of a very noble action.
Lorenzo — And of an act of base treachery also.
Dr. Tomás - Lorenzo!
Dr. Bermúdez [aside, to Dr. Tomás) — Let him go on talking.
Lorenzo — And of an exemplary punishment.
Dr. Bermúdez [aside to Dr. Tomás] - A serious case, my
friend, a serious case.
Lorenzo [to Dr. Tomos] — Call everybody: those of the house-
hold and strangers alike. Let them assemble here, and here
await my orders, while I go to fulfill my duty yonder. What are
you waiting for?
Dr. Bermúdes [aside, to Dr. Tomás] - Let him have his way;
call them.
[Dr. Tomás rings a bell; a servant enters, to whom he speaks in a low
voice and who then goes out. ]
Lorenzo — It is the final trial; I could almost feel pity for the
traitors. Ah! I am sustained by the certainty of my triumph.
Be still, my heart. There they are - there they are.
I do not
wish to see them. To treat me thus who loved them so dearly!
- I do not wish, and yet my eyes turn toward them — seeking
them — seeking them!
no, no.
It cannot be!
Lorenzo — Inez! It cannot be! She!
My child!
(Hurries towards her with outstretched arms.
Inez runs to him. ]
Innes
Father!
[Dr. Bermúdez hastens to interpose, and separates them forcibly. ]
Dr. Bermudes — Come, come, Don Lorenzo; you might hurt
your daughter seriously.
Lorenzo (seizing him by the arm and shaking him violently] –
Wretch! Who are you to part me from my child ?
Dr. Tomás - Lorenzo!
Edward — Don Lorenzo!
Angela — My God!
## p. 5108 (#280) ###########################################
5108
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
(The women group themselves instinctively together, Inez in her mother's
arms, the duchess beside them. Dr. Tomás and Edward hasten to
free Bermúdez from Don Lorenzo's grasp. )
Lorenco [aside, controlling himself]-So! The imbeciles think
it is another access of madness! Ha, ha, ha! (Laughing with
suppressed laughter. All watch him. ]
Dr. Bermúdes [aside to Dr. Tomás]— It is quite clear.
Angela [aside]— Oh, my poor Lorenzo!
Ines [aside] - My poor father!
Lorenzo [aside]-Now you shall see how my madness will
end. Before I leave this house, with what pleasure will I turn
that doctor out of it. Courage! The coming struggle inspires
me with new strength. What! Is a man to be declared mad
because he is resolved to do his duty ? Ah, it cannot be!
Humanity is neither so blind nor so base as that. Enough! I
must be calm. Treachery has begun its work; then let the pun-
ishment begin too. [Aloud. ] The hour has come for me to per-
form a sacred duty, though a most painful one. It would be
useless to ask you to witness formalities which the law requires,
but which you would only find irksome. The representative of
the law awaits me in yonder room; and in obedience to another
and a higher law, I am going now to renounce a fortune which
is not mine, and a name which neither I nor my family can con-
scientiously bear longer. After this is done I will return here,
and with my wife, and - and my daughter — and let no one
seek to dissuade me from my purpose, for it would be in vain
I will leave this house which has been for me in the past the
abode of love and happiness, but which is to-day the abode of
treachery and baseness. Gentlemen [to Dr. Tomás and Dr. Ber-
múde), lead the way; I beg you to do so.
[All slowly enter the study. On the threshold Lorenzo casts a last look at
Inez. ]
Translation made for (A Library of the World's Best Literature,' by Mary J.
Serrano
## p. 5109 (#281) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5109
FROM THE GREAT GALEOTO)
[In the scenes which are here cited the poison of slander begins to work.
Don Severo, uttering the anonymous gossip of the world, has implanted in the
mind of his middle-aged brother Don Julian the first suspicion of the honor
of his young wife Teodora and the loyalty of his adopted son Ernest. Teo-
dora, who has been warned by Mercedes, Don Severo's wife, overhears the
accusing words of her brother-in-law, who is talking with her husband in an
inner apartment; and horror-struck, is about to fly from the room. ]
Julian [inside] - Let me go!
Mercedes (inside] - No, for Heaven's sake!
Julian — It is they. I will go!
Teodora (to Ernest] - Go! go!
Severo [to Ernest] - You shall give me satisfaction for this!
Ernest - I will not refuse it.
Enter Julian, pale and disordered; wounded and seemingly in a dying
condition, supported by Mercedes. Don Severo stations himself at the
right, Teodora and Ernest remain in the background.
Julian — Together! Where are they going? — Stop them!
They shun my presence! Traitors!
[He makes a movement as if to rush toward them, but his strength fails
him and he totters. ]
Severo [hurrying to his assistance] — No, no.
Julian — They deceived me — they lied to me! Wretches!
[ While he is speaking, Mercedes and Severo lead him to the arm-
chair on the right. ] There— look at them - she and Ernest!
Why are they together ?
Teodora and Ernest (separating] — No!
Julian - Why do they not come to me? Teodora!
Teodora (stretching out her arms, but without advancing] -
My Julian!
Julian - Here, on my heart ! [Teodora runs to Julian and
throws herself into his arms. He presses her convulsively to his
breast. Pause. ] You see! - You see! [To his brother. ] I know
that she deceives me! I press her in my arms
I press her in my arms- I right kill her
if I would — and she would deserve it - but I look at her - I
look at her and I cannot!
Teodora — Julian!
Julian - And he ? [Pointing to Ernest. ]
Ernest - Sir!
## p. 5110 (#282) ###########################################
5110
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
Julian — And I loved him! Be silent and come hither. [Ernest
advances. ] You see she is still mine. [Presses her closer. ]
Teodora - Yours - yours!
Julian - Do not act a part! Do not lie to me!
Mercedes - For God's sake! [Trying to calm him. ]
Severo - Julian!
Julian [to both] - Peace. Be silent. [To Teodora. ]
[To Teodora. ] I di-
vined your secret. I know that you love him. [Teodora and
Ernest try to protest, but he will not let them. ] Madrid knows it
too — all Madrid!
Ernest - No, father.
Teodora - No.
Julian — They would still deny it! When it is patent to all!
When I feel it in every fibre of my being, for the fever that
consumes me has illuminated my mind with its flame!
Ernest - All these fancied wrongs are the offspring of a fe-
vered imagination, of delirium! Hear me, sir -
Julian – You will lie to me again!
Ernest - She is innocent! [Pointing to Teodora. ]
Julian - I do not believe you.
Ernest — By my father's memory I swear it!
Julian - You profane his name and his memory by the oath.
Ernest — By my mother's last kiss —
Julian -- It is no longer on your brow.
Ernest — By all you hold most sacred, father, I swear it, I
swear it!
Julian — Let there be no oaths, no deceitful words, no pro-
tests.
Ernest — Well, then, what do you wish ?
Teodora — What do you wish ?
Julian - Deeds!
Ernest — What does he desire, Teodora ? What would he
have us do ?
Teodora — I do not know. What can we do, what can we do,
Ernest ?
Julian [watching them with instinctive distrust) - Ah, would
you deceive me to my very face? You are laying your plans
together, wretches! Do I not see it?
Ernest - These are the imaginings of fever.
Julian — Fever, yes! The fire of fever has consumed the
bandage with which you both blindfolded me, and at last I see
## p. 5111 (#283) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5111
clearly! And now why do you gaze on each other? why, trai-
tors ? Why do your eyes shine, Ernest ? Speak. Their bright-
ness is not the brightness of tears. Come nearer
nearer still.
[Draws Ernest to him, bends his head, and so forces him to his knees.
Don Julian thus remains between Teodora, who stands at his side,
and Ernest, who kneels at his feet. Don Julian passes his hand
over Ernest's eyes. ]
Julian - I was right - It is not with tears! They are dry!
Ernest - Pardon! — Pardon!
Julian — You ask my pardon? Then you confess your guilt.
Ernest --- No!
Julian - Yes!
Ernest — It is not that!
Julian — Then look into each other's eyes before me.
Severo— Julian!
Mercedes - Sir!
She was henceforth to serve strange gods in place of the Egyp-
tian deities.
Cambyses did not observe her emotion, and continued:— "My
mother Cassandane shall initiate you in your duties as my wife.
I will conduct you to her myself to-morrow. I repeat what you
accidentally overheard: you please me.
Look to it that you
keep my favor.
We will try to make you like our country; and
because I am your friend I advise you to treat Boges, whom I
sent to meet you, graciously, for you will have to obey him in
many things, as he is the superintendent of the harem. ”
“He may be the head of the women's house,” returned Nite-
tis. But it seems to me that no mortal but you has a right to
command your wife. Give but a sign and I will obey, but con-
sider that I am a princess, and come from a land where weak
woman shares the rights of strong men; that the same pride fills
my breast which shines in your eyes, my beloved! I will gladly
obey you the great man, my husband and ruler; but it is as
## p. 5100 (#272) ###########################################
5100
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
impossible for me to sue for the favor of the unmanliest of men,
a bought servant, as it is for me to obey his commands. "
Cambyses's astonishment and satisfaction increased. He had
never heard any woman save his mother speak like this, and the
subtle way in which Nitetis unconsciously recognized and exalted
his power over her whole existence satisfied his self-complacency.
The proud man liked her pride. He nodded approvingly and
said, “You are right. I will have a special house prepared for
you.
I alone will command you. The pleasant house in the hang-
ing gardens shall be prepared for you to-day.
"I thank you a thousand times! ” cried Nitetis. "If you but
knew how you delight me by your gift! Your brother Bartja
told me much of the hanging gardens, and none of the splendors
of your great realm pleased us as much as the love of the king
who built the green mountain. ”
« To-morrow you will be able to enter your new dwelling.
Tell me how you and the Egyptians liked my envoys ? ”
“How can you ask! Who could become acquainted with noble
Croesus without loving him? Who could help admiring the excel-
lent qualities of the young heroes, your friends? They have
become dear to our house, especially your beautiful brother
Bartja, who won all hearts. The Egyptians are averse to stran-
gers, but whenever Bartja appeared among them a murmur of
admiration arose from the gaping throng.
At these words the King's face grew dark. He gave his horse
a heavy blow, so that it reared, turned its head, galloped in
front of his retinue, and in a few minutes reached the walls of
Babylon.
The walls seemed perfectly impregnable, for they were two
hundred cubits high, and their breadth was so great that two
carriages could easily pass each other. Two hundred and fifty
high towers surmounted and fortified this huge rampart. A
greater number of these citadels would have been necessary if
Babylon had not been protected on one side by impenetrable
marshes. The enormous city lay on both sides of the Euphrates.
It was
more than nine miles in circumference, and the walls
protected buildings which surpassed even the pyramids and the
temples of Thebes and Memphis in size.
Nitetis looked with astonishment at this huge gate; with joyful
emotion she gazed at the long wide street, which was festively
decked in her honor.
## p. 5101 (#273) ###########################################
5101
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
(1832-)
he period of political disorder and disturbance which fol-
lowed the revolution of 1868 in Spain was also a period of
disorder and decline for the Spanish stage. The drama -
throwing off the fetters of French classicism that paralyzed inspira-
tion at the beginning of the century — had revived for a time. But
after its rejuvenescence of the glories of the Golden Age of Spanish
literature, uniting a new beauty of form with truth to nature in the
Classic-Romantic School, it sank into a debasement hitherto unknown.
Meretricious sentiment, dullness, or buffoon-
ery, chiefly of foreign production, occupied
the scene before adorned by the imagina-
tion, the wisdom, and the wit, of a Zorilla,
a Tamayo, a Ventura de la Vega.
It was at this period of dramatic deca-
dence that Echegaray appeared to revive
once more the romantic traditions of the
Spanish stage, peopling it again with noble
and heroic figures, — in whom, however, the
chivalric spirit of the Middle Ages is at
times strangely joined to the casuistic mod-
ern conscience. The explanation of this is
José ECHEGARAY
perhaps to be found in part in the mental
constitution of the dramatist, in whom the
analytic and the imaginative faculties are united in marked degree,
and who had acquired a distinguished reputation as a civil engineer
long before he entered the lists as an aspirant for dramatic honors.
Born in Madrid in 1832, his earlier years were passed in Murcia, where
he took his degree of bachelor of arts, applying himself afterward
with notable success to the study of the exact sciences. Returning
to Madrid, after enlarging his knowledge of his profession of civil
engineer by practical study in various provinces of Spain, he was
appointed a professor in the School of Engineers, where he taught
theoretical and applied mathematics, finding time however for the
production of important scientific works, and for the study of polit-
ical economy and general literature. On the breaking out of the
revolution of 1868 he joined actively in the movement, taking office
under the new government as Director of Public Works, and holding
## p. 5102 (#274) ###########################################
5102
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
a ministerial portfolio. He took office a second time in 1872, and
later filled the post of Minister of Finance, which he resigned on the
proclamation of the Republic. Retiring from public life, he went to
Paris; and while there wrote, being then a little past forty, his first
dramatic work, The Check-Book,' a domestic drama in one act,
which was represented anonymously in Madrid two years later, when
the author for the third time held a ministerial portfolio.
(The Check-Book) was followed in rapid succession by a series of
productions whose titles, “La Esposa del Vengador' (The Avenger's
Bride), 'La Ultima Noche (The Last Night), En el Puño de la
Espada' (In the Hilt of the Sword), Como Empieza y Como Acaba'
(How it Begins and How it Ends), sufficiently indicate their charac-
ter. They are of unequal merit, but all show dramatic power of
a high order. But on the representation in 1877 of Locura o
Santidad ? (Madman or Saint ? ), the fame of the statesman and the
scientist was completely and finally eclipsed by that of the dramatist,
in whom the press and public of Madrid unanimously recognized
a new and vital force in the Spanish drama. In this tragedy the
keynote of Echegaray's philosophy is clearly struck. Moral perfec-
tion, unfaltering obedience to the right, is the end and aim of man;
and the catastrophe is brought about by the inability of the hero to
make those nearest to him accept this ideal of life. «Then virtue is
but a lie,” he cries, when the conviction of his moral isolation is
forced upon him; "and you, all of you whom I have most loved in
this world, perceiving what I regarded as divinity in your are only
miserable egoists, incapable of sacrifice, a prey to greed and the
mere playthings of passion! Then you are all of you but clay; you
resolve yourselves to dust and let the wind of the tempest carry you
Beings shaped without conscience or free-will are simply
atoms that meet to-day and separate to-morrow. Such is matter
then let it go! ”
But the punishment of sin, in Echegaray's moral code, is visited
upon the innocent equally with the guilty; and the guilty are never
allowed to escape the retributive consequences of their wrong-doing.
The pessimistic coloring of the picture would be at times unendur-
ably oppressive, were it not relieved and lightened by the moral
dignity of the hero. Echegaray's pessimism is, so to say, altruistic,
never egoistic; and the compensating sense of righteousness vindi-
cated rarely fails to explain, if not to justify, his darkest scenes.
Judged by the canons of art, Echegaray's dramatic productions
will be found to have many imperfections. But their defects are the
defects of genius, not of mediocrity, and spring generally from an
excess of imagination, not from poverty of invention or faulty insight.
The plot is often overweighted with an accumulation of incidents,
off! .
## p. 5103 (#275) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5103
and the means employed to bring about the desired end are often
lacking in verisimilitude. Synthetic rather than analytic in his
methods, and a master in producing contrasts, Echegaray captivates
the imagination by arts which the cooler judgment not seldom con-
demns. His characters too are not always inhabitants of the real
world, and not infrequently act contrary to the laws which govern it.
The secondary characters are too often carelessly drawn, sometimes
being mere shadowy outlines, while an altogether disproportionate
part of the development of the plot is intrusted to them.
On the other hand, in the world of the passions Echegaray treads
with secure step. Its labyrinthine windings, its depths and its heights,
are all familiar to him. Here every accent uttered is the accent of
truth; every act is prompted by unerring instinct. Nothing is false;
nothing is trivial; nothing is strained. The elemental forces of nature
seem to be at work, and the catastrophe results as inevitably from
their action as if decreed by fate.
The genius of Echegaray, which in its irregular grandeur and its
ethical tendency has been not inaptly likened by a Spanish critic to
that of Victor Hugo, rarely descends from the tragic heights on
which it achieved its first and its greatest triumphs; but that its
range has been limited by choice, not nature, is abundantly proved in
the best of his lighter productions, 'Un Critico Incipiente (An Embryo
Critic). Of his achievement in tragedy the culminating point was
reached -- after a second series of noteworthy productions, among
them Lo Que no Puede Decirse (What Cannot be Told), Mar Sin
Orillas' (A Shoreless Sea), and En el Seno de la Muerte) (In the
Bosom of Death) – in El Gran Galeoto' (The Great Galeoto), repre-
sented in 1881 before an audience which hailed its author as
“prodigy of genius, a second Shakespeare. Other notable works
followed, —'Conflicto entre Dos Deberes) (Conflict between Two
Duties), Vida Alegre y Muerte Triste' (A Merry Life and a Sad
Death), Lo Sublime en lo Vulgar) (The Sublime in the Common-
place); but El Gran Galeoto' has remained thus far its author's
supreme dramatic achievement. In its title is personified the evil
speaking which not always with evil intent, sometimes even with
the best motives, slays, with a venom surer than that of the adder's
tongue, the reputation which it attacks; turning innocence itself by
its contaminating power into guilt.
a
## p. 5104 (#276) ###########################################
5104
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
FROM (MADMAN OR SAINT? )
[Don Lorenzo, a man of wealth and position living in Madrid, has discovo
ered that he is the son, not as he and all the world had supposed, of the lady
whose wealth and name he has inherited, but of his nurse Juana, who dies
after she has revealed to him the secret of his birth. In consequence he
resolves publicly to renounce his name and his possessions, although by doing
so he will prevent the marriage of his daughter Inez to Edward, the son of
the Duchess of Almonte. The mother will consent to Don Lorenzo's renuncia-
tion of his possessions but not of his name, as this would throw a stigma on
Inez's origin. He refuses to listen either to the reasoning or to the entreaties
of his wife, the duchess, Edward, and Dr. Tomás. Finally they are per-
suaded that he is mad, and Dr. Tomás calls in a specialist to examine him.
The specialist, with two keepers, arrives at the house at the same time with
the notary, whom Don Lorenzo has sent for to make before him a formal act
of renunciation of his name and possessions. )
Don Lorenzo enters and stands listening to Inez
DºN
no
ON LORENZO [aside]—“Die,” she said !
Edward - You to die! No, Inez, not that; do not say
that.
Ines - And why not? If I do not die of grief — if happiness
could ever visit me again - I should die of remorse.
Lorenzo [asid) - "Of remorse! ” She! "If happiness could
ever visit her again! ” What new fatality floats in the air and
hangs threateningly above my head ? Remorse! I have surprised
another word in passing! I traverse rooms and halls, and I go
from one place to another, urged by intolerable anguish, and I
hear words that I do not understand, and I meet glances that I
do not understand, and tears greet me here and smiles there, and
one opposes me, and every one avoids me or watches me.
[Aloud. ) What is this? What is this?
Ines [hurrying to him and throwing herself into his arms] -
Father!
Lorenco - Inez! How pale you are! Why are your lips drawn
as if with pain? Why do you feign smiles that end in sighs! --
How lovely in her sorrow! And I am to blame for all!
Ines — No, father.
Lorenco - How cruel I am! Ah! you think it, although you
do not say it.
Edward - Inez is an angel. Rebellious thoughts can find no
place in her heart; but who that sees her can fail to think it and
to say it ?
## p. 5105 (#277) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5105
Lorenzo— No one; you are right.
Edward [with energy] - If I am right, then you are wrong.
Lorenzo - I am right also. There is something more pallid
than the pallid brow of a lovesick maiden; there is something
sadder than the sad tears that fall from her beautiful eyes; some-
thing more bitter than the smile that contracts her lips; some-
thing more tragic than the death of her beloved.
Edward (with scornful vchemence] — And what is that pallor,
what are those tears, and what the tragedies you speak of?
Lorenso — Insensate! [Seising him by the arm. ] The pallor
of crime, the tears of remorse, the consciousness of our own vile-
ness.
Edward — And it would be vile, and criminal, and a source of
remorse, to make Inez happy ?
Lorenso [despairingly] – It ought not to be so — but it would!
[Pause. ] And this it is that tortures me. This is the thought
that is driving me mad!
Ines — No, father, do not say that! Follow the path you have
marked out for yourself, without thought of me. What does it
matter whether I live or die ?
Lorenso— Inez!
Ines But do not vacillate — and above all, let no one see
that you vacillate; let your speech be clear and convincing as it
let not anger blind you. Be calm, be calm, father; I
implore it of you in the name of God.
Lorenzo What do you mean by those words ? I do not un-
derstand you.
Inez – Do I rightly know myself what I mean? There - I
am going. I do not wish to pain you.
Edward [to Lorenzo] -- Ah, if you would but listen to your
heart; if you would but silence the cavilings of your conscience.
Ines [to Edward] - Leave him in peace - come with me; do
not anger him, or you will make him hate you.
Lorenzo — Poor girl! She too struggles, but she too will con-
quer! [With an outburst of pride. ] She will show that she is
indeed my daughter!
is now;
[Inez and Edward go up the stage; passing the study door, Inez sces the
keepers and gives a start of horror. 1
Ines - What sinister vision affrights my gaze! -- No, father, do
not enter there.
IX--320
## p. 5106 (#278) ###########################################
5106
JOSE ECHEGARAY
Edward - Come, come, my Inez!
Ines [to her father] — No, no, I entreat you'
Lorenzo [approaching her] - Inez!
Ines — Those men there — look!
[Inez stretches out her hand toward the study; Don Lorenzo stands and fol-
lows her gaze.
At this moment the keepers, hearing her cry, show
themselves between the curtains. ]
Edward [leading Ines away] — At last!
Lorenso— Now I am more tranquil! The wound is mortal!
I feel it here in my heart! I thank thee, merciful God!
Dr. Tomás and Dr. Bermúdez enter and stop to observe Don Lorenzo.
Dr. Tomás -- There he is— sitting in the arm-chair.
Dr. Bermúde: — Unfortunate man!
Lorenzo [rising, aside] - Ah, miserable being! Still cherishing
impossible hopes. Impossible ? And what if they honestly be-
lieve that I – [Despairingly] Ah! If they loved me they would
not believe it. [Pause. ) Did I not hear Inez- the child of my
heart — speak of remorse? Why should she speak of remorse?
[Aloud, with increasing agitation. ] They are all wretches! They
would almost be glad that I should die. But no: I will not die
until I have fulfilled my duty as an honorable man; until I have
put the climax to my madness.
Dr. Tomás [laying his hand on Don Lorenzo's shoulder] -
Lorenzo
Lorenzo [turning, recognizes him and draws back angrily] –
He!
Dr. Tomás - Let me present to you Dr. Bermúdez, one of
my best friends. [Pause. Don Lorenzo regards both strangely. ]
Dr. Bermúdez [to Dr. Tomás, in a low voice] - See the effort
he makes to control himself; he is vaguely conscious of his con-
dition—there is not a doubt left on my mind.
Lorenzo—One of your best friends, one of your best friends —
Dr. Bermúdez [aside to Dr. Tomás] — The idea is escaping
him, and he is striving to retain it.
Lorenzo [ironically] - If he is one of your best friends, then
your loyalty is a guarantee for his.
## p. 5107 (#279) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5107
Dr.
Bermides [aside, to Dr. Tomás] — At last he has found
the word. But notice how unnatural is the tone of his voice.
[Aloud. ] I have come to be a witness, according to what Dr.
Tomás tells me, of a very noble action.
Lorenzo — And of an act of base treachery also.
Dr. Tomás - Lorenzo!
Dr. Bermúdez [aside, to Dr. Tomás) — Let him go on talking.
Lorenzo — And of an exemplary punishment.
Dr. Bermúdez [aside to Dr. Tomás] - A serious case, my
friend, a serious case.
Lorenzo [to Dr. Tomos] — Call everybody: those of the house-
hold and strangers alike. Let them assemble here, and here
await my orders, while I go to fulfill my duty yonder. What are
you waiting for?
Dr. Bermúdes [aside, to Dr. Tomás] - Let him have his way;
call them.
[Dr. Tomás rings a bell; a servant enters, to whom he speaks in a low
voice and who then goes out. ]
Lorenzo — It is the final trial; I could almost feel pity for the
traitors. Ah! I am sustained by the certainty of my triumph.
Be still, my heart. There they are - there they are.
I do not
wish to see them. To treat me thus who loved them so dearly!
- I do not wish, and yet my eyes turn toward them — seeking
them — seeking them!
no, no.
It cannot be!
Lorenzo — Inez! It cannot be! She!
My child!
(Hurries towards her with outstretched arms.
Inez runs to him. ]
Innes
Father!
[Dr. Bermúdez hastens to interpose, and separates them forcibly. ]
Dr. Bermudes — Come, come, Don Lorenzo; you might hurt
your daughter seriously.
Lorenzo (seizing him by the arm and shaking him violently] –
Wretch! Who are you to part me from my child ?
Dr. Tomás - Lorenzo!
Edward — Don Lorenzo!
Angela — My God!
## p. 5108 (#280) ###########################################
5108
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
(The women group themselves instinctively together, Inez in her mother's
arms, the duchess beside them. Dr. Tomás and Edward hasten to
free Bermúdez from Don Lorenzo's grasp. )
Lorenco [aside, controlling himself]-So! The imbeciles think
it is another access of madness! Ha, ha, ha! (Laughing with
suppressed laughter. All watch him. ]
Dr. Bermúdes [aside to Dr. Tomás]— It is quite clear.
Angela [aside]— Oh, my poor Lorenzo!
Ines [aside] - My poor father!
Lorenzo [aside]-Now you shall see how my madness will
end. Before I leave this house, with what pleasure will I turn
that doctor out of it. Courage! The coming struggle inspires
me with new strength. What! Is a man to be declared mad
because he is resolved to do his duty ? Ah, it cannot be!
Humanity is neither so blind nor so base as that. Enough! I
must be calm. Treachery has begun its work; then let the pun-
ishment begin too. [Aloud. ] The hour has come for me to per-
form a sacred duty, though a most painful one. It would be
useless to ask you to witness formalities which the law requires,
but which you would only find irksome. The representative of
the law awaits me in yonder room; and in obedience to another
and a higher law, I am going now to renounce a fortune which
is not mine, and a name which neither I nor my family can con-
scientiously bear longer. After this is done I will return here,
and with my wife, and - and my daughter — and let no one
seek to dissuade me from my purpose, for it would be in vain
I will leave this house which has been for me in the past the
abode of love and happiness, but which is to-day the abode of
treachery and baseness. Gentlemen [to Dr. Tomás and Dr. Ber-
múde), lead the way; I beg you to do so.
[All slowly enter the study. On the threshold Lorenzo casts a last look at
Inez. ]
Translation made for (A Library of the World's Best Literature,' by Mary J.
Serrano
## p. 5109 (#281) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5109
FROM THE GREAT GALEOTO)
[In the scenes which are here cited the poison of slander begins to work.
Don Severo, uttering the anonymous gossip of the world, has implanted in the
mind of his middle-aged brother Don Julian the first suspicion of the honor
of his young wife Teodora and the loyalty of his adopted son Ernest. Teo-
dora, who has been warned by Mercedes, Don Severo's wife, overhears the
accusing words of her brother-in-law, who is talking with her husband in an
inner apartment; and horror-struck, is about to fly from the room. ]
Julian [inside] - Let me go!
Mercedes (inside] - No, for Heaven's sake!
Julian — It is they. I will go!
Teodora (to Ernest] - Go! go!
Severo [to Ernest] - You shall give me satisfaction for this!
Ernest - I will not refuse it.
Enter Julian, pale and disordered; wounded and seemingly in a dying
condition, supported by Mercedes. Don Severo stations himself at the
right, Teodora and Ernest remain in the background.
Julian — Together! Where are they going? — Stop them!
They shun my presence! Traitors!
[He makes a movement as if to rush toward them, but his strength fails
him and he totters. ]
Severo [hurrying to his assistance] — No, no.
Julian — They deceived me — they lied to me! Wretches!
[ While he is speaking, Mercedes and Severo lead him to the arm-
chair on the right. ] There— look at them - she and Ernest!
Why are they together ?
Teodora and Ernest (separating] — No!
Julian - Why do they not come to me? Teodora!
Teodora (stretching out her arms, but without advancing] -
My Julian!
Julian - Here, on my heart ! [Teodora runs to Julian and
throws herself into his arms. He presses her convulsively to his
breast. Pause. ] You see! - You see! [To his brother. ] I know
that she deceives me! I press her in my arms
I press her in my arms- I right kill her
if I would — and she would deserve it - but I look at her - I
look at her and I cannot!
Teodora — Julian!
Julian - And he ? [Pointing to Ernest. ]
Ernest - Sir!
## p. 5110 (#282) ###########################################
5110
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
Julian — And I loved him! Be silent and come hither. [Ernest
advances. ] You see she is still mine. [Presses her closer. ]
Teodora - Yours - yours!
Julian - Do not act a part! Do not lie to me!
Mercedes - For God's sake! [Trying to calm him. ]
Severo - Julian!
Julian [to both] - Peace. Be silent. [To Teodora. ]
[To Teodora. ] I di-
vined your secret. I know that you love him. [Teodora and
Ernest try to protest, but he will not let them. ] Madrid knows it
too — all Madrid!
Ernest - No, father.
Teodora - No.
Julian — They would still deny it! When it is patent to all!
When I feel it in every fibre of my being, for the fever that
consumes me has illuminated my mind with its flame!
Ernest - All these fancied wrongs are the offspring of a fe-
vered imagination, of delirium! Hear me, sir -
Julian – You will lie to me again!
Ernest - She is innocent! [Pointing to Teodora. ]
Julian - I do not believe you.
Ernest — By my father's memory I swear it!
Julian - You profane his name and his memory by the oath.
Ernest — By my mother's last kiss —
Julian -- It is no longer on your brow.
Ernest — By all you hold most sacred, father, I swear it, I
swear it!
Julian — Let there be no oaths, no deceitful words, no pro-
tests.
Ernest — Well, then, what do you wish ?
Teodora — What do you wish ?
Julian - Deeds!
Ernest — What does he desire, Teodora ? What would he
have us do ?
Teodora — I do not know. What can we do, what can we do,
Ernest ?
Julian [watching them with instinctive distrust) - Ah, would
you deceive me to my very face? You are laying your plans
together, wretches! Do I not see it?
Ernest - These are the imaginings of fever.
Julian — Fever, yes! The fire of fever has consumed the
bandage with which you both blindfolded me, and at last I see
## p. 5111 (#283) ###########################################
JOSÉ ECHEGARAY
5111
clearly! And now why do you gaze on each other? why, trai-
tors ? Why do your eyes shine, Ernest ? Speak. Their bright-
ness is not the brightness of tears. Come nearer
nearer still.
[Draws Ernest to him, bends his head, and so forces him to his knees.
Don Julian thus remains between Teodora, who stands at his side,
and Ernest, who kneels at his feet. Don Julian passes his hand
over Ernest's eyes. ]
Julian - I was right - It is not with tears! They are dry!
Ernest - Pardon! — Pardon!
Julian — You ask my pardon? Then you confess your guilt.
Ernest --- No!
Julian - Yes!
Ernest — It is not that!
Julian — Then look into each other's eyes before me.
Severo— Julian!
Mercedes - Sir!
