”
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.
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.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v09 - Dra to Eme
If you displease him, he will, in accordance with his
rough habits, scarcely deign to look on you again with kindness.
Courage, my daughter. Above all things, remember what I have
taught you. ”
Nitetis wiped away a tear, and returned :—How shall I thank
you for all your kindness, Cresus, my second father, my pro-
tector and adviser! Oh, do not ever desert me! When the path
of my poor life passes through sorrow and grief, remain my
guide and protector, as you have been during this long journey
over dangerous mountain passes. Thank you, my father, thank
you a thousand times. )
With these words, the girl put her beautiful arms round the
old man's neck and kissed him like an affectionate daughter.
When she entered the court of the gloomy house, a
came towards her, followed by a train of Asiatic serving-women.
The leader, the chief eunuch, one of the most important Persian
court officials, was tall and stout. There was a sweet smile on
his beardless face; valuable rings hung from his ears; his arms
and legs, his neck, his long womanish garments, were covered
with gold ornaments, and his stiff artificial curls were surrounded
by a purple fillet, and sent forth a pungent odor. Boges, for
this was the eunuch's name, bowed respectfully to the Egyptian
and said, holding his fleshy hand covered with rings before his
mouth: - "Cambyses, the ruler of the world, sends me to meet
you, O queen, that I may refresh your heart with the dew of
his greetings. He further sends to you through me, his poorest
slave, the garments of Persian women, that you may approach
man
## p. 5094 (#266) ###########################################
5094
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
the gate of the Achæmenidæ in Median dress, as beseems the
wife of the greatest of rulers. These women your servants
await your commands. They will transform you from an Egyp-
tian emerald into a Persian diamond. ” Boges drew back, and
with a condescending movement of his hand allowed the host of
the inn to present the princess with a most tastefully arranged
basket of fruit.
Nitetis thanked both men with friendly words, entered the
house, and tearfully put off the robes of her home; the thick
plait, the mark of an Egyptian princess, was unfastened, and
strange hands clad her in Median fashion.
Meanwhile her companions commanded a meal to be prepared.
Nimble servants fetched chairs, tables, and golden utensils from
the wagon; the cooks bustled about, and were so ready and eager
to help each other that soon, as if by magic, a splendidly laid
table where nothing was wanting, down to the very flowers,
awaited the hungry travelers.
The same luxury had been displayed during the whole jour-
ney, for the sumpter-horses that followed the royal travelers
carried every imaginable convenience, from gold-woven water-
proof tents down to silver footstools, and the carts that accom-
panied them bore bakers, cooks, cup-bearers, carvers, men to
prepare ointment, wreath-winders, and hair-dressers.
Well-appointed inns were established at regular intervals along
the high-road. Here the horses that had fallen on the way were
replaced by fresh ones, shady trees offered a pleasant shelter
from the heat of the sun, and on the mountains the fires of the
inns protected the traveler from cold and snow.
The Persian inns, which resembled our post-houses, were first
established by Cyrus the Great, who sought to shorten the enor-
mous distances between the different parts of his realm by means
of well-kept roads. He had also organized a regular postal serv-
ice. At every station the riders with their knapsacks found
substitutes on fresh horses ready for instant departure, who, after
receiving the letters which were to be forwarded, galloped off
post-haste, and when they reached the next inn threw their
knapsacks to other riders who stood in readiness. These couriers
were called Angares, and were considered the swiftest horsemen
in the world.
When the company, who had been joined by Boges the
eunuch, rose from table, the door of the inn opened.
1
A long-
## p. 5095 (#267) ###########################################
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
5095
drawn sigh of admiration was heard, for Nitetis stood before the
Persians in the splendid Median court dress, proudly exultant in
the consciousness of her beauty, and yet suffused with blushes at
her friends' astonishment.
The servants involuntarily prostrated themselves in the Asiatic
manner, but the noble Achæmenidæ bowed low and reverently.
It was as if the princess had laid aside all shyness with the sim-
ple dress of her home, and assumed the pride and dignity of a
queen with the silken garments, heavy with gold and jewels, of
a Persian princess.
The deep respect which had just been shown her seemed to
please her. With a condescending movement of her hand she
thanked her admiring friends; then she turned to the chief
eunuch and said to him kindly but proudly:-“You have done
your duty. I am not dissatisfied with the robes and the slaves
you have provided for me. I shall duly praise your care to my
husband. Meanwhile, receive this golden chain as a sign of my
gratitude. ”
The powerful overseer of the king's wives kissed her hand
and silently accepted the gift. None of his charges had yet
treated him with such pride. All the wives whom Cambyses had
owned till now were Asiatics, and as they were acquainted with
the full power of the chief eunuch, they were accustomed to do
all they could to win his favor by means of flattery and submis-
sion.
Boges again bowed low to Nitetis; but without paying any
further attention to him, she turned to Cresus and said in a low
tone:-“I cannot thank you, my gracious friend, with word or
gift for what you have done for me; it will be owing to you
alone if my life at this court becomes, if not happy, at least
peaceful. ” Then she continued in a louder voice, audible to her
traveling companions:—“Take this ring, which has not left my
hand since our departure from Egypt. Its value is small, its
significance great. Pythagoras, the noblest of all the Greeks,
gave it to my mother when he came to Egypt to listen to the
wise teachings of our priests. She gave it to me when I left
home. There is a seven engraved on this simple turquoise.
This number, which is indivisible, represents the health of
body and soul, for nothing is less divisible than health. If but
a small portion of the body suffers, the whole body is ill; if
one evil thought nestles in our heart, the harmony of the soul is
## p. 5096 (#268) ###########################################
5096
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
.
1
disturbed. Whenever you look at this seven, let it remind you
that I wish you perfect enjoyment of bodily health, and the con-
tinuance of that benignity which makes you the most virtuous
and therefore the most healthy of men. No thanks, my father,
for I should remain in your debt though I should restore to
Cresus the wealth of Creesus. Gyges, take this Lydian lyre of
ivory, and when its strings give forth music, remember the
giver. To you, Zopyrus, I give this chain, for I have noticed
that you are the most faithful friend of your friends, and we
Egyptians put bonds and ropes into the fair hands of our god-
dess of love and friendship, beautiful Hathor, as a symbol of her
binding qualities. To you, Darius, the friend of Egyptian lore
and the starry firmament, I give for a keepsake this golden
ring, on which you will find the Zodiac engraved by a skillful
hand. Bartja, my dear brother-in-law, you shall receive the most
precious treasure I possess. Take this amulet of blue stone. My
sister Tachot put it round my neck when for the last time I
pressed a kiss upon her lips before we fell asleep. She told me
this talisman would bring sweet happiness in love to him who
wore it. She wept as she spoke, Bartja. I do not know what
she was thinking of, but I hope I am carrying out her wish
when I lay this treasure in your hand. Think that Tachot is
giving it to you through me her sister, and think sometimes of
the garden of Sais. ”
She had spoken in Greek till then. Now she turned to the
servants, who were waiting at a respectful distance, and said in
broken Persian : “You too must accept my thanks. You shall
receive a thousand gold staters. Boges,” she added, turning to
the eunuch, "I command you to see that the sum is distributed
not later than the day after to-morrow! Lead me to my car-
riage, Cresus! ”
The old man hastened to comply with her request. While he
conducted Nitetis to the carriage, she pressed his arm against
her breast and whispered, "Are you satisfied with me, my
father? ”
"I tell you, maiden,” returned the old man, you will be the
first at this court after the king's mother, for true regal pride
is on your brow, and you possess the art of doing great things
with small means. Believe me, a trifling gift, chosen as you can
choose, will cause greater pleasure to a nobleman than a heap
of gold flung down before him. The Persians are accustomed
1
3
.
1
## p. 5097 (#269) ###########################################
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
5097
to bestow and to receive costly gifts. They know how to enrich
one another. You will teach them to make each other happy.
How beautiful you are! Is that right, or do you desire higher
cushions ? But what is that! Do
you not see clouds of dust
rolling hither from the town? That must be Cambyses, who is
coming to meet you. Keep yourself upright, girl. Above all,
try to bear your husband's glance and return it. Few can bear
the fire of his
eye. If you succeed in meeting it without fear
or embarrassment, you have conquered. Courage, courage, my
daughter! May Aphrodite adorn you with her loveliest charms!
To horse, my friends! I think the King is coming to meet us. ”
Nitetis sat very erect in the golden carriage, and pressed her
hands on her heart. The cloud of dust came nearer and nearer.
Now bright sunbeams were reflected in the weapons of the
approaching host, and darted from the cloud of dust like light-
ning from a stormy sky. Now the cloud divided, and figures
could be distinguished; now the approaching procession vanished
behind the thick bushes at a turn of the road; and now, not a
hundred feet away, the galloping riders were seen distinctly as
they approached nearer and nearer.
The whole procession seemed to consist of a gay crowd of
horses, men, purple, gold, silver, and jewels. More than two
hundred riders, all on snow-white Nisæan steeds, whose bridles
and caparisons glittered with gold bells and buckles, feathers,
tassels, and embroidery, were followed by a man who was often
carried away by the powerful coal-black horse on which he rode,
but who generally proved to the unmanageable, foaming animal
that he was strong enough to tame its wildness. The rider,
whose knees pressed the horse so that the animal trembled and
panted, wore a garment with a scarlet and white pattern, which
was embroidered with silver eagles and falcons. His trousers
were of purple, his boots of yellow leather. He wore a golden
belt round his waist, in which was a short dagger-like sword,
whose hilt and sheath were incrusted with jewels. The rest of
his dress resembled Bartja's. His tiara also was surrounded by
the blue-and-white fillet of the Achæmenidæ. Thick jet-black
hair streamed from it. A thick beard of the same color covered
the whole lower portion of his hale, rigid face. His eyes were
even darker than his hair and beard, and glittered with a fire
that burned instead of warming. A deep red scar, caused by the
sword of a Massagetian warrior, marked the lofty brow, large
## p. 5098 (#270) ###########################################
5098
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
aquiline nose, and thin lips of the rider, His whole bearing
bore the stamp of great power and immoderate pride.
Nitetis could not turn her eyes from his form. She had
never seen any one like him. She thought she saw the essence
of all manliness in the intensely proud face. It seemed to her
as if the whole world, but especially she herself, had been cre-
ated to serve this man. She feared him, and yet her humble
woman's heart longed to cling to this strong man as the vine
clings to the elm. She did not know whether the father of all
evil, terrible Seth, or the giver of all light, great Ra, was to be
imagined in this form.
As light and shade alternate when the heavens are clouded at
noon, so did deep red and ashy pallor appear on her face. She
forgot the precepts of her fatherly friend; and yet when Camby-
ses forced his wild snorting steed to stand still by the side of her
carriage, she gazed breathlessly into the flashing eyes of the man,
for she knew that he was the King, though no one had told her.
The stern face of the ruler of half the world softened more
and more, the longer she, urged by a strange impulse, endured
his piercing glance. At last he waved his hand in welcome and
rode towards her companions, who had dismounted, and who
either prostrated themselves in the dust before the King, or stood
bowing low, in accordance with Persian custom, hiding their
hands in the sleeves of their garments.
Now he himself sprang from his horse. At the same time all
his followers swung themselves out of the saddle.
The carpet
bearers in his train spread, quick as thought, a heavy purple
carpet on the road, so that the King's foot should not touch the
dust. A few seconds later, Cambyses greeted his friends and
relations with a kiss.
Then he shook Crosus's hand, and ordered him to mount
again and accompany him to Nitetis as interpreter.
The highest dignitaries hastened up and helped the King to
mount. He gave the signal, and the whole procession moved on.
Cræsus rode beside Cambyses by the golden carriage.
“She is beautiful, and pleasing to my heart," cried the Per-
sian to his Lydian friend. "Now translate to me faithfully what
she says in answer to my questions, for I understand only Per-
sian, Babylonian, and Median. ”
Nitetis had understood his words.
Inexpressible joy filled
her heart, and before Cræsus could answer the King she said in
1
## p. 5099 (#271) ###########################################
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
5099
a low tone, in broken Persian, "How shall I thank the gods,
who let me find favor in your eyes? I am not ignorant of the
language of my lord, for this noble old man has instructed me
in the Persian language during our long journey. Pardon me if
I can answer in broken words only. My time for instruction
was short, and my understanding is only that of a poor ignorant
maiden. ”
The usually stern King smiled. His vanity was flattered by
Nitetis's eagerness to gain his approbation, and this diligence in
a woman seemed as strange as it was praiseworthy to the Per-
sian, who was used to see women grow up in ignorance and
idleness, thinking of nothing but dress and intrigue.
He therefore answered with evident satisfaction, "I am glad
that I can speak to you without an interpreter. Continue to try
to learn the beautiful language of my fathers. My companion
Croesus shall remain your teacher in the future. ”
“Your command fills me with joy,” said the old man, “for I
could not desire a more grateful or more eager pupil than the
daughter of Amasis. ”
«She confirms the ancient fame of Egyptian wisdom,” re-
turned the King; and I think that she will soon understand and
accept with all her soul the teachings of the magi, who will
instruct her in our religion. ”
Nitetis looked down. 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.
rough habits, scarcely deign to look on you again with kindness.
Courage, my daughter. Above all things, remember what I have
taught you. ”
Nitetis wiped away a tear, and returned :—How shall I thank
you for all your kindness, Cresus, my second father, my pro-
tector and adviser! Oh, do not ever desert me! When the path
of my poor life passes through sorrow and grief, remain my
guide and protector, as you have been during this long journey
over dangerous mountain passes. Thank you, my father, thank
you a thousand times. )
With these words, the girl put her beautiful arms round the
old man's neck and kissed him like an affectionate daughter.
When she entered the court of the gloomy house, a
came towards her, followed by a train of Asiatic serving-women.
The leader, the chief eunuch, one of the most important Persian
court officials, was tall and stout. There was a sweet smile on
his beardless face; valuable rings hung from his ears; his arms
and legs, his neck, his long womanish garments, were covered
with gold ornaments, and his stiff artificial curls were surrounded
by a purple fillet, and sent forth a pungent odor. Boges, for
this was the eunuch's name, bowed respectfully to the Egyptian
and said, holding his fleshy hand covered with rings before his
mouth: - "Cambyses, the ruler of the world, sends me to meet
you, O queen, that I may refresh your heart with the dew of
his greetings. He further sends to you through me, his poorest
slave, the garments of Persian women, that you may approach
man
## p. 5094 (#266) ###########################################
5094
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
the gate of the Achæmenidæ in Median dress, as beseems the
wife of the greatest of rulers. These women your servants
await your commands. They will transform you from an Egyp-
tian emerald into a Persian diamond. ” Boges drew back, and
with a condescending movement of his hand allowed the host of
the inn to present the princess with a most tastefully arranged
basket of fruit.
Nitetis thanked both men with friendly words, entered the
house, and tearfully put off the robes of her home; the thick
plait, the mark of an Egyptian princess, was unfastened, and
strange hands clad her in Median fashion.
Meanwhile her companions commanded a meal to be prepared.
Nimble servants fetched chairs, tables, and golden utensils from
the wagon; the cooks bustled about, and were so ready and eager
to help each other that soon, as if by magic, a splendidly laid
table where nothing was wanting, down to the very flowers,
awaited the hungry travelers.
The same luxury had been displayed during the whole jour-
ney, for the sumpter-horses that followed the royal travelers
carried every imaginable convenience, from gold-woven water-
proof tents down to silver footstools, and the carts that accom-
panied them bore bakers, cooks, cup-bearers, carvers, men to
prepare ointment, wreath-winders, and hair-dressers.
Well-appointed inns were established at regular intervals along
the high-road. Here the horses that had fallen on the way were
replaced by fresh ones, shady trees offered a pleasant shelter
from the heat of the sun, and on the mountains the fires of the
inns protected the traveler from cold and snow.
The Persian inns, which resembled our post-houses, were first
established by Cyrus the Great, who sought to shorten the enor-
mous distances between the different parts of his realm by means
of well-kept roads. He had also organized a regular postal serv-
ice. At every station the riders with their knapsacks found
substitutes on fresh horses ready for instant departure, who, after
receiving the letters which were to be forwarded, galloped off
post-haste, and when they reached the next inn threw their
knapsacks to other riders who stood in readiness. These couriers
were called Angares, and were considered the swiftest horsemen
in the world.
When the company, who had been joined by Boges the
eunuch, rose from table, the door of the inn opened.
1
A long-
## p. 5095 (#267) ###########################################
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
5095
drawn sigh of admiration was heard, for Nitetis stood before the
Persians in the splendid Median court dress, proudly exultant in
the consciousness of her beauty, and yet suffused with blushes at
her friends' astonishment.
The servants involuntarily prostrated themselves in the Asiatic
manner, but the noble Achæmenidæ bowed low and reverently.
It was as if the princess had laid aside all shyness with the sim-
ple dress of her home, and assumed the pride and dignity of a
queen with the silken garments, heavy with gold and jewels, of
a Persian princess.
The deep respect which had just been shown her seemed to
please her. With a condescending movement of her hand she
thanked her admiring friends; then she turned to the chief
eunuch and said to him kindly but proudly:-“You have done
your duty. I am not dissatisfied with the robes and the slaves
you have provided for me. I shall duly praise your care to my
husband. Meanwhile, receive this golden chain as a sign of my
gratitude. ”
The powerful overseer of the king's wives kissed her hand
and silently accepted the gift. None of his charges had yet
treated him with such pride. All the wives whom Cambyses had
owned till now were Asiatics, and as they were acquainted with
the full power of the chief eunuch, they were accustomed to do
all they could to win his favor by means of flattery and submis-
sion.
Boges again bowed low to Nitetis; but without paying any
further attention to him, she turned to Cresus and said in a low
tone:-“I cannot thank you, my gracious friend, with word or
gift for what you have done for me; it will be owing to you
alone if my life at this court becomes, if not happy, at least
peaceful. ” Then she continued in a louder voice, audible to her
traveling companions:—“Take this ring, which has not left my
hand since our departure from Egypt. Its value is small, its
significance great. Pythagoras, the noblest of all the Greeks,
gave it to my mother when he came to Egypt to listen to the
wise teachings of our priests. She gave it to me when I left
home. There is a seven engraved on this simple turquoise.
This number, which is indivisible, represents the health of
body and soul, for nothing is less divisible than health. If but
a small portion of the body suffers, the whole body is ill; if
one evil thought nestles in our heart, the harmony of the soul is
## p. 5096 (#268) ###########################################
5096
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
.
1
disturbed. Whenever you look at this seven, let it remind you
that I wish you perfect enjoyment of bodily health, and the con-
tinuance of that benignity which makes you the most virtuous
and therefore the most healthy of men. No thanks, my father,
for I should remain in your debt though I should restore to
Cresus the wealth of Creesus. Gyges, take this Lydian lyre of
ivory, and when its strings give forth music, remember the
giver. To you, Zopyrus, I give this chain, for I have noticed
that you are the most faithful friend of your friends, and we
Egyptians put bonds and ropes into the fair hands of our god-
dess of love and friendship, beautiful Hathor, as a symbol of her
binding qualities. To you, Darius, the friend of Egyptian lore
and the starry firmament, I give for a keepsake this golden
ring, on which you will find the Zodiac engraved by a skillful
hand. Bartja, my dear brother-in-law, you shall receive the most
precious treasure I possess. Take this amulet of blue stone. My
sister Tachot put it round my neck when for the last time I
pressed a kiss upon her lips before we fell asleep. She told me
this talisman would bring sweet happiness in love to him who
wore it. She wept as she spoke, Bartja. I do not know what
she was thinking of, but I hope I am carrying out her wish
when I lay this treasure in your hand. Think that Tachot is
giving it to you through me her sister, and think sometimes of
the garden of Sais. ”
She had spoken in Greek till then. Now she turned to the
servants, who were waiting at a respectful distance, and said in
broken Persian : “You too must accept my thanks. You shall
receive a thousand gold staters. Boges,” she added, turning to
the eunuch, "I command you to see that the sum is distributed
not later than the day after to-morrow! Lead me to my car-
riage, Cresus! ”
The old man hastened to comply with her request. While he
conducted Nitetis to the carriage, she pressed his arm against
her breast and whispered, "Are you satisfied with me, my
father? ”
"I tell you, maiden,” returned the old man, you will be the
first at this court after the king's mother, for true regal pride
is on your brow, and you possess the art of doing great things
with small means. Believe me, a trifling gift, chosen as you can
choose, will cause greater pleasure to a nobleman than a heap
of gold flung down before him. The Persians are accustomed
1
3
.
1
## p. 5097 (#269) ###########################################
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
5097
to bestow and to receive costly gifts. They know how to enrich
one another. You will teach them to make each other happy.
How beautiful you are! Is that right, or do you desire higher
cushions ? But what is that! Do
you not see clouds of dust
rolling hither from the town? That must be Cambyses, who is
coming to meet you. Keep yourself upright, girl. Above all,
try to bear your husband's glance and return it. Few can bear
the fire of his
eye. If you succeed in meeting it without fear
or embarrassment, you have conquered. Courage, courage, my
daughter! May Aphrodite adorn you with her loveliest charms!
To horse, my friends! I think the King is coming to meet us. ”
Nitetis sat very erect in the golden carriage, and pressed her
hands on her heart. The cloud of dust came nearer and nearer.
Now bright sunbeams were reflected in the weapons of the
approaching host, and darted from the cloud of dust like light-
ning from a stormy sky. Now the cloud divided, and figures
could be distinguished; now the approaching procession vanished
behind the thick bushes at a turn of the road; and now, not a
hundred feet away, the galloping riders were seen distinctly as
they approached nearer and nearer.
The whole procession seemed to consist of a gay crowd of
horses, men, purple, gold, silver, and jewels. More than two
hundred riders, all on snow-white Nisæan steeds, whose bridles
and caparisons glittered with gold bells and buckles, feathers,
tassels, and embroidery, were followed by a man who was often
carried away by the powerful coal-black horse on which he rode,
but who generally proved to the unmanageable, foaming animal
that he was strong enough to tame its wildness. The rider,
whose knees pressed the horse so that the animal trembled and
panted, wore a garment with a scarlet and white pattern, which
was embroidered with silver eagles and falcons. His trousers
were of purple, his boots of yellow leather. He wore a golden
belt round his waist, in which was a short dagger-like sword,
whose hilt and sheath were incrusted with jewels. The rest of
his dress resembled Bartja's. His tiara also was surrounded by
the blue-and-white fillet of the Achæmenidæ. Thick jet-black
hair streamed from it. A thick beard of the same color covered
the whole lower portion of his hale, rigid face. His eyes were
even darker than his hair and beard, and glittered with a fire
that burned instead of warming. A deep red scar, caused by the
sword of a Massagetian warrior, marked the lofty brow, large
## p. 5098 (#270) ###########################################
5098
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
aquiline nose, and thin lips of the rider, His whole bearing
bore the stamp of great power and immoderate pride.
Nitetis could not turn her eyes from his form. She had
never seen any one like him. She thought she saw the essence
of all manliness in the intensely proud face. It seemed to her
as if the whole world, but especially she herself, had been cre-
ated to serve this man. She feared him, and yet her humble
woman's heart longed to cling to this strong man as the vine
clings to the elm. She did not know whether the father of all
evil, terrible Seth, or the giver of all light, great Ra, was to be
imagined in this form.
As light and shade alternate when the heavens are clouded at
noon, so did deep red and ashy pallor appear on her face. She
forgot the precepts of her fatherly friend; and yet when Camby-
ses forced his wild snorting steed to stand still by the side of her
carriage, she gazed breathlessly into the flashing eyes of the man,
for she knew that he was the King, though no one had told her.
The stern face of the ruler of half the world softened more
and more, the longer she, urged by a strange impulse, endured
his piercing glance. At last he waved his hand in welcome and
rode towards her companions, who had dismounted, and who
either prostrated themselves in the dust before the King, or stood
bowing low, in accordance with Persian custom, hiding their
hands in the sleeves of their garments.
Now he himself sprang from his horse. At the same time all
his followers swung themselves out of the saddle.
The carpet
bearers in his train spread, quick as thought, a heavy purple
carpet on the road, so that the King's foot should not touch the
dust. A few seconds later, Cambyses greeted his friends and
relations with a kiss.
Then he shook Crosus's hand, and ordered him to mount
again and accompany him to Nitetis as interpreter.
The highest dignitaries hastened up and helped the King to
mount. He gave the signal, and the whole procession moved on.
Cræsus rode beside Cambyses by the golden carriage.
“She is beautiful, and pleasing to my heart," cried the Per-
sian to his Lydian friend. "Now translate to me faithfully what
she says in answer to my questions, for I understand only Per-
sian, Babylonian, and Median. ”
Nitetis had understood his words.
Inexpressible joy filled
her heart, and before Cræsus could answer the King she said in
1
## p. 5099 (#271) ###########################################
GEORG MORITZ EBERS
5099
a low tone, in broken Persian, "How shall I thank the gods,
who let me find favor in your eyes? I am not ignorant of the
language of my lord, for this noble old man has instructed me
in the Persian language during our long journey. Pardon me if
I can answer in broken words only. My time for instruction
was short, and my understanding is only that of a poor ignorant
maiden. ”
The usually stern King smiled. His vanity was flattered by
Nitetis's eagerness to gain his approbation, and this diligence in
a woman seemed as strange as it was praiseworthy to the Per-
sian, who was used to see women grow up in ignorance and
idleness, thinking of nothing but dress and intrigue.
He therefore answered with evident satisfaction, "I am glad
that I can speak to you without an interpreter. Continue to try
to learn the beautiful language of my fathers. My companion
Croesus shall remain your teacher in the future. ”
“Your command fills me with joy,” said the old man, “for I
could not desire a more grateful or more eager pupil than the
daughter of Amasis. ”
«She confirms the ancient fame of Egyptian wisdom,” re-
turned the King; and I think that she will soon understand and
accept with all her soul the teachings of the magi, who will
instruct her in our religion. ”
Nitetis looked down. 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.
