xt75x63b0547 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt75x63b0547/data/mets.xml Dargan, Olive Tilford, 1869-1968. 1906  books b92-208-30909571 English C. Scribner's Sons, : New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Lords and lovers  : and other dramas / by Olive Tilford Dargan. text Lords and lovers  : and other dramas / by Olive Tilford Dargan. 1906 2002 true xt75x63b0547 section xt75x63b0547 





















LORDS AND LOVERS
AND OTHER DRAMAS

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LORDS AND



AND



OTHER



DRAMAS



BY



OLIVE TILFORD



DARGAN



     NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
        1906



LOVERS

 






C'ayriglt, 1906, by Charles Scribner's Sons

             All rights reserved


           Published, October, 1906



The Trot Press, Newo York


 
              CONTENTS


LORDS AND LOVERS:

   PART I                                1

   PART II                             71

THE SHEPHERD                           135

THE SIEGE                              207

 This page in the original text is blank.


 
















LORDS AND LOVERS

      PART I

 

      CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY

HENRY m, King of England
EARL OF ALBEMARLE
EARL OF PEMBROKE
RICHFORD, son to Pembroke, afterwards Earl
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
CARDINAL GUAILO
HUBERT DE BURGH, afterwards Earl of Kent
SIR ROLAND DE BORN
STEPHEN GODFREY, a soldier
GREGORY, a captain
BALDUR, GODRIC. soldiers
ORSON, a servant
GERSA, an officer under De Burgh
FRIAR SEBASTIAN
LORD GOLY
LORD DE VERE

MARGARET, a Scottish princes
ELEANOR, Countess of Albemare, wife of Albemarle
GLAIA, ward of De Burgh
ELDRA, servant to Glaia

Lords and ladies of the court, bishops, barons, priests, citizens, soldier., c.



TImE: 13th Century
SCENE: England


 

ACT I



SCENE 1. Room in the earl of Pembroke's castle. Pem-
    broke in bed. Rich/ord and Albemarle attending.

  Pem. The king has come
  Alb.                    He waits upon your grace
As a good servant; with demeanor speaks
True sorrow you are brought so low.
  Pem. [Stoutly]                 Ha! Low
  Alb. Sir, but in body. Pembroke's mounting mind
Can never be struck down.
  Pem.                  He's sad, you say
  Alb. In tears, your grace. He weeps more like a son
Than sovereign.
  Pem.        A son! Where is the son
Would weep for Pembroke
  Rich. Here, my dearest father!
Here are the tears would water thy affliction
Till it be washed from thy endangered body.
Here is the heart would give its younger blood
To make thine leap with health. Without you, sir,
I am no more than is the gaudy bloom
Of some stout tree the axe has brought to ground.
0, wilt forgive the many pains I've cost thee
  Pem. First touch my hand and swear by highest God
That you will serve the king.
  Rich.                   0, slight condition!
I take this noble hand that ne'er was raised
                          3

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



'Gainst country, throne or God, and by that God,
I vow to serve the king.
  Pem.              For the last time
I'll trust and pardon you. If you make black
Your soul with violation of this oath,
I, safe beyond the stars, shall know it not,
Nor die again to think on 't. Men, weep not
That ye lack sons, hut weep when your wives bear them!
Alb. I'll vouch for him, your grace.
  Pem.                           Thanks, Albemarle.
  Rich. Will you, my kindest father, say a word
To bring me to the graces of the king
  Pem. Ay, son.
  Rich.       Now, sir
  Pem.                Nay, I'm not dying yet,
And wish to keep my last words for his ears.
There's holy magic in the passing tongue
That stamps its truth unrasurable. So
Would I grave Henry's heart.
  Rich.                  But, sir-
  Pem.                          I'll wait
My hour. Who comes with him
  Alb.                       The legate, Gualo,
To-day arrived from Rome.
  Pem.                  And I not told
Already I am dead. These ears, that kings
Engaged, are now contracted to the worm
Permits no forfeiture. Well, well, his message
  Alb. The cardinal assures us that the pope
Will cast his power with Henry. Though he loves
This praying Louis, well he knows our right.
  Pem. The pope our friend I thank thee, Heaven!
England, take up thy heart! Thou yet mayst hope!
            [Enter bishop of Winchester]
  Win.            God save great Pembroke!



4

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Pem.                 He alone can do it.
Lord Albemarle, and my new-graced son,
Will 't please you walk within
  Alb.                     We are your servants.
         [Exeunt Richford and Albemarle, left]
  Pem. Now, Winchester
  Win.                  You sent for me, your grac
I have made haste.
  Pem.          Ay, you'd trot fast enough
To see me die.
  Win. Nay, sir, I hope you've called
Me to your service.
  Pem.           So I have, my lord.
A task unfinished I must leave to you.
Here is the key to yonder cabinet.
Pray you unlock it . . . and take out the packet
Your eye's now on.
  Win.           This, sir
  Pem.                    Ay, that is it.
'Twas Henry Second, grandsire of this Henry,
Gave me that packet. Sir, you know the tale
Of princess Adelais who journeyed here
As the betrothed of Richard, Henry's son.
Alack, she never was his bride. Some say
That Henry loved her . . . I know not . . . but she
Returned to France, her reason wandering.
"If she recover," said the king to me,
" Give her this packet; should she die, break seal
And learn what you shall do." She did not die,
Nor can I say she lives, so sad her state.
Her age was bare fifteen when she left England,
Her face a lily and her eyes a flood;
She now must be midway her fifth decade,
A time, I've heard, when subtle changes work
Within the mind. A beauteous soul! 0 God,



ce.



5

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Restore her now, or lift her e'en to thee!
. . . Take you the packet, and the king's command.
But first your oath. Deceit has sapped my faith
So oft I could believe the devil himself
Wears gown and mitre. Peter des Roches, will you
Be true
  Win. I swear by Heaven.
  Pem.                   That is done,
As well as 't can be done. Call in my son
And Albemarle.
  Win.       My lords!
          [Re-enter Richford and Albemarle]
  Pem.                Now let us talk
Of England. 0, this fleet, this fleet, rigged out
By warlike Constance in monk Louis' name!
I see it nearing now, leaping the waves,
On, on, and none to meet it! Cowards all.
What do ye here, ye three, loitering about
A sick man's bed A man almost a corpse.
I would not have a servant waste himself
To give me drink while England needs his sword.
  Rich. My father lord, we have our men abroad
Rousing the country for a stout defence.
To meet the French with our poor ships were madness;
But let them land we'll give them such a rap-
  Pem. What Land your enemy 0, fools and cowards!
  . . I've given my life for England. Now you'll cast
My heart-dear bargain into Louis' hand
As 'twere a snood slipped from an easy maid.
Fool man! to puff his days out jousting Fate,
Who waits but his bare death to start her mock
Of horrid pleasantries. Then does she make
Dice of the miser's bones, carousal cups
Of the ascetic's skull, a hangman's scoff
Of clerics' prayer-fed sons; and proudest sires,



6

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Who sentried their blue blood, peer back through dust
To see all Babylon pour to their line.
And now she'll bid my war-ghost eyes behold
The land held with my life become a field
For foes at holiday!
  Win. Compose yourself, your grace.
  Pem.    Gualo has come, but where is he will set
This power its task, and play it for this isle
I can not say that wisdom dies with me,
But I could wish more proof of sager mind
Than e'er I've had from this small audience.
Lord Bishop, you are left custodian
Of Henry's ripening youth.
  Win.                  Nor shall I fail
To be your worthy heir in this high duty,
For still I shall consult with your great spirit,
Praying your ghost be mover of my deeds.
  Pem. I've spoken to the king. He'll give you love
For love. But who shall be lord chancellor
There's little choice. And yet there's one, De Burgh,
If camp and field could spare him-
  Alb.                             Sir, a man
No older than our sons
  Pem.                By your good leave,
Age is no patent to respect and place
If virtue go not with it. Whitened hairs
Make honor radiant, but vice thereby
Is viler still. Ay, there are some
  Rich.                           Peace, father,
And save thy strength for us.
  Pem.                    Ah, son, I've been
A careless holder all my life, and still
With my last hour play spendthrift. Well, here be
Three friends of England-Gualo makes a fourth-
And trusting you I ease my bones to death.
[Enter attendant with a letter, which he gives to Pembroke]

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Pem. [After reading] De Burgh! 0 gallant soul!
                        Now am I young!
With forty ships he'll meet the fleet of France!
I live again, for courage is not dead!
Sinking] Nay-help-ah, I am gone. I'll hasten on
And plead in Heaven for his victory.
                           [Seems to die]
  Alb. Ah. . . dead
  Rich.             In truth.
  Win. I'll go and tell the king.
[Aside, going] My joyful tears he will translate to grief,
And think I weep a friend's death, not a foe's
Whose only act of friendship was to die. [Exit]
  Alb. How now, my lord Does your good purpose hold
  Rich. It has the falling sickness, Albemarle,
And now lies low as earth.
  Alb.                  Then set thy foot
Upon it that it rise no more.
  Rich.                  'Tis done.
  Alb. What fools are they who think that dying men
Speak oracles to pivot action on,
When death's decay so blurs each fading sense
They know but darkly of the world about,
And of realities all plain to us
Build visions substanceless to gull our faith.
Grant that they do take note of things unseen,
'Tis with their faces to another world,
And what they speak is strange and ill advice
To us whose work is still 'mong men of earth.
  Rich. You need not clear your way to me. I've not
A scruple in my soul would trip a gnat.
Speak out your heart.
  Alb.             You are great Pembroke now.
But Richford took an oath to serve the king.
  Rich. And he is Louis.



8

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Alb.                  Till we find hour fit
To cast his yoke and take a sovereign
Of our election.
  Rich.       Royal Albemarle!
  Alb. Here stand we then. De Burgh we count as dead.
Le Moine has orders to strike off his head
Soon as he's taken. Now we get the king
To Dover fort, on pretence to defend it.
There the besieging French will take him prisoner,
And ship him straight to Calais-or to Heaven.
  Pem. [Half rising] Devils! dogs! beasts!
                           Now these devoted bones
Will never lie at peace in English earth.
My country! Must the foreign foot be set
Once more upon thy neck, and thine own sons
Pour sulphur to thy wounds The king! the king!
What, vipers, do you hear Call in the king!
  Alb. We must not, sir.
  Pem.                 Ho, here! The king!
  [Rises from bed, starts forward and falls back speechless.
    Enter Henry, Gualo, Winchester, and attendants.
    Albemarle and Richford stand together. Pembroke
    dies pointing to them and gazing at the king]
  Hen. My lords, what does this mean
  Alb.                               This noble man
Wished much to say a word of grace for me
And his forgiven son. Alas, black death
Has stolen the balm that might have eased our way
Into your heart.
  Hen. Fear not, my lords. I'll trust you,
Even as he wished. [Kneels by bed]
                 0, Pembroke, couldst thou leave me



[Curtain]



9

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



SCENE 2. Before Dover castle. Night. Hubert de Burgh
                walking and listening.

  Hub. But forty ships! But forty slit-sailed drabs
Of storm and watery danger to meet all France
Fresh-winged upon the sea! And yet no word
Nor stir of help. Methinks were I the king,
Or Pembroke with his power in my mouth,
Each English road should be ablaze to-night
With swift flint-striking hoofs. Now to our shore
Puffs up the wave may prove oblivion's maw,
And drink these Dover cliffs as they were sands,
Yet England sleeps, with one lone heart at watch.
    [Sound of horse approaching] Nay, two, for Roland
                      comes.
          [Enter Roland de Born, dismounted]
  Rol.                  You, Hubert
  Hub.                              Ay.
You bring no aid
  Rol.          The king is powerless.
Pembroke is dead. The barons to covert slink,
Saying their loyalty binds them to fight
No farther than the shore. The bishops smirk
Beneath their mitres, roll their eyes and cry
" God and great Rome, deliver us! " which means
Deliver us to Louis, king of monks
And darling of the pope.
  Hub.               And Albemarle
  Rol. Stands by the king, and ready with his men
To meet the foe on land, but not a soul
Will send to sea.
  Hub.        Dissembler! Well he knows
A victory on the sea means England lost,
So many traitor hearts will league with France
And sell their country for one castle more.



10

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Rol. What now We've little time. 'Tis almost day.
The moon is down, and the raw, rising air
Sucks in approaching light. What must be done
  Hub. The Cinque Ports yield me forty ships.
                                          With these
I'll meet Le Moine.
  Rol.            0, Hubert, Hubert!
  Hub.                             Ay,
My men are all aboard and waiting me.
The garrison I leave to you. Hold it
For honor and the king, nor yield to save
So poor a thing as my unlucky head
Should I go foul at sea. You'll be the first
The victors will besiege.
  Rol.                My friend!
  Hub.                          Tut, man,
The sea's a good safe bed. Come in. Some wine
Will take the night-chill from your blood. In, in!
                 [Exeunt. Curtain]

SCENE 3. Within the castle. Stephen, Baldur, Godric, and
          other soldiers talking and drinking.
  Ste. [Draining his glass] As good liquor as ever wet
an oath since Noah was a vintner.
  Bal. Vintner An you put him in the trade the bishop
will have you up for it.
  Ste. A groat for your bishop, and that off your grandam's
eyes! I'm no little king Henry pulled to mincemeat by
his bishops and barons. "I'll take off your mitre," roars
he to his bishop. " An you take off my mitre, I'll clap on a
helmet, by the lord," says my bishop. "I'll have your
castle! " shouts he to his baron. " An you take my castle,
I'll give you London tower," says master baron. Ay,
and he would, with the keeper thrown in.



11

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Bal. And you too, if you bite not a bit from your
tongue.
  Ste. By the mass, I'll drink the king's ale, and I'll take
the king's money, but I'll fight for none but Hubert de
Burgh!
  God. And he for the king-so you.
  Ste. I care not how you make it. De Burgh is my
master. I'll fight for him and with him and after him,
but I'll wear a red sword for no bishop or baron or little
king Harry in Christendom!
  Bat. That may be so with more of us than you, but
stop your mouth with good ale and let words alone.
  Ste. And I'll go with him to the French court and pull
Louis off the king's stool!
    [Sings]
  Hear, boys, hear! 0, hear our captain call!
            We'll away, boys, away!
    For the love o' the sword and the love o' the money,
  We'll on to the wars, my brave fellows all,
    An they take our Jack they will leave our Johnny.
            Away, boys, away!
              [Enter Hubert and Roland]
  Hub. What cheer, my men A fair morning for brave
hearts. Can you keep this castle for me till I've had a
bout at sea
  A soldier. That we can, sir!
  Ste. I'll go with you, sir, by your leave. The castle will
wait for us, I give you my word, sir.
  Hub. You have seen the bottom of your glass too often
to-night, Stephen.
  Ste. God bless you, sir, there's where a soldier keeps
his oath to serve God and his country, and he can't look
it over too often. Take me wi' you, sir, and I'll prove
you who lifts his glass the highest will wave his sword the
longest. [Kneels] I was your father's soldier, sir, and
hope to die yours.



12

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Hub. Nay, I must leave trusty souls behind me. Let
those who love me least fight under my eye, but I'll trust
my good Stephen around the world.
  Ste. [Rising] Ay, sir! Rain arrows, hail bullets, we'll
keep the castle against all weather!
  Hub. [Presenting Roland] Then here's your brave cap-
tain. Follow him now, and farewell, good fellows-fare-
well, all!
       [Soldiers start out slauly, following Roland]
  An old soldier. [Turning] But you'll come again, sir
  Another. Ay, we'll see you back
  Another. An you come or come not, I kiss my sword to
you, Hubert de Burgh, the bravest knight in all England!
  Hub. Why, my hearts, would you start the liquor in
my eyes I go where there's brine enough. Twelve
hours' sail with fortune will bring me back-but if I come
not, remember your king!
                   [Exeunt soldiers]
They know 'tis death-they know 'tis death.
                             And what
Is that We are all guests in God's great house,
The Universe, and Death is but his page
To show us to the chamber where we sleep.
What though the bed be dust, to wake is sure;
Not birds but angels flutter at the eaves
And call us, singing.
                    [Enter Gersa]
                  Gersa, what success
  Ger. The bags are all aboard, sir.
  Hub. And portioned to every vessel
  Ger. Ay, sir.
  Hub. Well despatched
  Ger. The men heaved as though the sacks held all the
pope's treasury and they were to take their pay out of it.
  Hub. Yet they found the contents not so heavy as gold,
I hope.



13

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Ger. Nor so light as feathers, sir.
  Hub. But I pray they'll fly as well, and more to the
purpose. Aboard with you now. I'll not be long behind
you.
                     [Exit Gersa]
If this, my careful stratagem, should fail,
God help the friendless boy on England's throne!
Now Pembroke's noble strength must e'en to coffin;
And Isabel across the sea cares not,
But happier in a gentler husband's love
Takes little thought of John of England's heir,
Who has his father's beauty, not his heart,-
Just so much of that proud and guilty blood
As makes him kingly nor corrupts his own.
. . .But, come, my soul! Prepare thee for a world
Of rarer breath, lest thou too rudely go
To th' high conclave of spirits. Father
                [Enter friar Sebastian]
  Fr. Seb.                           Son,
Art ready for the sacrament
  Hub.                    I lack
A prayer of thine to make me so. Give me
Such blessing as you'd lay upon me were
Death couchant for my heart, and on my brow
Drop thou the holy unguent that doth fit
The body for the last touch of the soul.
  Fr. Seb. My love is to thy mortal frailty bound,
And first I'll bless thee as an earthly father,
Praying that thou mayst smite thine enemies.
                  [Re-enter Roland]
  Rol Your pardon, Hubert. Lady Albemarle
Is here, and begs for instant sight of you.
  Hub. My sister I will see her.
            [Exit Roland] Wait you, father.
The world must still intrude on Heaven's affairs.



14

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  [Exit friar through large folding doors rear as lady Albe-
    marle enters left]
  La. Alb. Brother! Is Glaia here
  Hub.                          She is. But why
This eagerness
  La. Alb. My lord says that you go
To meet the French. Is 't true
  Hub.                       In one hour's time
I count myself at sea.
  La. Alb.        Then what-O, where
Shall I hide Glaia
Hub. Hide Is 't evermore hide
That spotless maid, born but to be a star
To human eyes
  La. Alb.    Nay, born to be my shame,
And constant, killing fear!
  Hub.                She will be safe.
Roland de Born, who now will guard this castle,
Holds Glaia as the heart in his own body.
Ay, she is safe,-but if the danger nears,
She'll be conducted back to Greenot woods-
  La. Alb. Roland de Born What knows he
  Hub.                                    Only this,
That Glaia, weary of skies, rests foot on earth.
  La. Alb. He does not love her, Hubert Say not that!
  Hub. Thy daughter is so honored.
  La. Alb.                      No!
  Hub.                             She has
His noble love, and he my happy wish
That he may make her wife.
  La. Alb.               Then thou art false,
And I look on my grave.
  Hub.               What, Eleanor
  La. Alb. You know my place, and how I queen the
                          court,



15

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



A virtuous mark that lords point out to wives,
Bidding them walk as Albemarle's good dame.
Now let me take my seat on the lowest step,
And none too humble to mock me going up.
Hub. What 's this to do with Roland's love for Glaia
  La. Alb. 0, let them scorn! 'Tis nothing! But my
                      husband-
Brother, I never dreamed thy cruelty
Would give me to his vengeance.
  Hub.                       Cruelty
  La. Alb. 0, see me at his feet-bleeding and broken
  Hub. Not while I wear a sword! But how have I
Disturbed thee What have said I've threshed my words,
But find no devil in them.
  La. Alb.            0, this Roland,
If he wive Glaia must ferret out my shame
Pry her life ope who is she-whence she came-
Till all my secret blushes 'fore his eye.
  Hub. Though he learn all, thy honor in his breast
Is safe as gem that at earth's centre burns.
  La. Alb. Nav, I'll not live! You know not Albemarle!
He'll scourge me through the court in rags to match
My tattered virtue,-then the rack-fire-screws-
The Scotch boot-0, the world's not dear enough
To purchase so. I will not live!
  Hub.                       I swear
That Roland cares so much for Glaia's birth
As to be glad she's born. And at my word
He will receive her questionless and dumb,
Nor ever doubt, or weigh his promised faith.
  La. Alb. Why, is there such a man in all the world
  Hub. He sees her as one looks upon a rose,
And thinks not of the mould that bore it, or what
The tale that dews and winds could tell.
  La. Alb.                         'Tis strange.



16

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Hub. As strange as truth.
La. Alb.              I must-I do believe you
Hub. And bless his suit
  La. Alb.              Ay, let him wed her strait
What waits he for Let her be lost in him,
This rare, this unmatched wonder of a man,
And I will cast this shadow from my life,
Heave off the weight that seventeen years I 've borne,
And walk the lighter, for I've known what 'tis
To step high 'neath a load. 0, let them wed
As soon as may be, Hubert. Why not now
Hub. He waits to win her heart.
  La. Alb.                     Cares he for thati
You can command her, Hubert.



ght.



Hub.                      But will not.
She is a plant of Nature's tenderest love,
And must be won to bloom by softest airs,
Else shall we risk the gentle life and see
No buds unfold.
La. Alb.    I understand her not,
Nor try. She is a part of strangest days,
That like to burning dreams bewilder as
They scar the recollection. She's more kin
To those strange creatures of the wood that peeped
About my shelter when she lay a babe
Than to my blood. Yet she is mine-my daughter.
Hub. Will you not see her
  La. Alb.                No.
  Hub.                        You will find her up.
  La. Alb. Why should I see her Give a stranger's kiss,
And hear her stiffly say "Your ladyship"
If she would love me!
Hub.             Do not weep.
  La. Alb.                     You think
I do not suffer.



17



1.





 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Hub. I've no wish to think so.
  La. Alb. I'm nearly mad at times! But I must go.
  Hub. [Hesitating] How is-the princess
  La. Alb.                      Margaret 0, well,
But every day more full of starts and whims.
Last night the king was with us
  Hub.                          Ah, the king
  La. Alb. She gave him stinted welcome. Then my
                       lord
Came in with news of the advancing fleet,
And danger to the throne, concluding with
Your aim to put to sea, and at that point
She swooned quite prettily and pleased the king.
  Hub. She swooned
  La. Alb.         Most properly, the king being by
To know it was for him.
  Hub.               0-ay, for him!
  La. Alb. Who else I hope they'll soon be wed.
  Hub.                          Be wed
Henry is young.
  La. Alb. But old enough being king.
And Albemarle is pressing for the marriage.
'Tis now ten years since Margaret came from Scotland
To be his charge. A pretty child-do you
Remember But now grown from beauty, pale
And fanciful. You've seen the change
  Hub.                             To me
She never changes but to show herself
More beautiful.
  La. Alb. You have not seen it Pah!
Now I must go. Good brother, fare you well.
You've given me comfort. [Kisses him]
  Hub.                Farewell, Eleanor.
                        [Exit lady Albemarle]
Art gone, my sister, and no word of love



18

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



For one who looks on death It is the fear
That keeps so constant with her makes her hard
And unlike woman-unlike Margaret.
. . . Last night the king was with her-and she swooned.
But not for him. By Heaven, 'twas not for him!
        [Sits by table, boiang his head upon it]
O Margaret! Not one dear word Not one
               [Enter Margaret, veiled]
  Mar. Ah! [Steps toward him, throwing off her veil]
           Hubert
  Hub. [Starting up] Princess! Here You here
  Mar. Couldst think I'd let thee go till I had said
"God save thee " to thy face
Hub.                  You risk too much!
  Mar. Risk, Hubert
  Hub.             0, what have you done
  Mar.                                What done
  Hub. The king will think
  Mar.                   The king will think as I do,
That 'tis most natural to pay adieu
To friends.
  Hub.   But Albemarle
  Mar.                    Approves our friendship.
I do not understand.
  Hub. Yet you came veiled.
  Mar. 'Twas early-and the air was pricking chill.
I-thought-do you go soon
  Hub.                  That you should come!
  Mar. Soon, Hubert
  Hub.              Ay, at once.
  Mar.                        At once. Why then,
Farewell.
  Hub. Stay! Ah-I mean-why did you come
  Mar. My soul! I think I came that you might wish
Me back again. Was it so wrong of me



19

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Are we not friends And if I came in hope
To ease adieu with unction of a tear
I know none else would shed-
Hub.                      0, Margaret!
Pray God that I deserve this! Now I go
So light I'll hardly need my ship's good wings
To bear me.
  Mar. The earl doubts not your victory.
How many ships go with you
  Hub.                    All we have.
The ports hold not a single vessel from me.
  Mar. And the enemy's I hope they are enough
To make your victory noble.
  Hub.                  I've no doubt
They count up bravely.
  Mar.              Not too many, sir!
  Hub. The battle will not shame me.
  Mar.                           But how many
  Hub. As yet we have no word but rumor's.
  Mar.                                 Ahl!
Tell me you'll win.
  Hub.          Then help me by not doubting.
  Mar. I must not doubt-for if-I did-
  Hub.                                 What then
  Mar. Nay, I'll not stay to tell you. I must go.
I keep you from the battle and your fame.
You have forgiven me my morning ride
Faith, but you frowned!
  Hub.               I thought how many eyes
Were on the king's betrothed.
  Mar.                   Choose better words,
My friend. I am not yet the king's betrothed,
And I-had you the time-
  Hub.                    Nay, all my life
Is yours.

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



  Mar. Hear then. 1 will not weed the king.
  Hub. A princess can not choose.
  Mar.                         Then I'll not be
A princess!
  Hub.    Margaret!
  Mar.             A princess Nay,
I'll be no more a woman, if that means
To cage my soul in circle of a court
And fawn on turn-key humor for my life!
Scotland is lost to me. I'll not go there
-To meet my dangerous brother's wrath. No, no!
But there are forests-I can fly to them,
And dig my food from Nature's generous earth,
Thrive on her berries, drink from her clear streams,
Sleep 'neath the royal coverlet of her leaves,
And make some honest friends 'mong her kind creatures
That we call dumb because, forsooth, they speak
By eye and touch and gibber not as we!
. . .So silent, sir Come, will you not advise me . . .
There was a day before the day of kings
When maidens looked where'er their hearts had sped
And found them mates who had no need of crowns
To make them royal, and such a day the world
May see again, but I, alack, must breathe
The present time, and crave the help of state
And craft and gold to get me married! 0,
The judgment angel -gathering up our clay
Will know this period by its broken hearts!
. . .Hast not a word Now should I wed the king
  Hub. He is a gentle youth, and in your care
Would blossom brave in virtues.
  Afar.                     Nay-
  Hub.                               All hope
For this poor land lies in your grace.
  Mar.                          Ah, Hubert,



21

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



Where is there woman strong enough to save
Fair Henry from his flatterers Not here.
Wouldst cast me to the pool where he must drown
  Hub. Where canst thou hide thy beauty, Margaret
This is wild talk of forests. Where couldst flee
What land would shelter thee from England's love
And Scotland's rage My own-my Margaret-
Where could we go
  Mar. 0, Hubert, we
  Hub.              I'm mad.
Peace to thee, maiden. I go to my ships.
  Mar. Forgive me! I'll be gone.
                 [Re-enter Gersa]
  Hub.                  What! Not aboard
  Ger. Your pardon, sir. We have confirmed reports
The French outnumber us by triple count.
Eighty large ships, the double of our own,
Besides two score of galleons and small vessels
That in themselves would match us. And 'tis sure
Le Moine, the pirate, leads the fleet.
  Hub.                         Are all
Now ready
  Ger.    Ay, we wait for you.
  Hub.                      Grant me
A bare half hour-no-not so much. I shall
O'ertake you ere you reach your ship.
    [Exit Gersa. Hubert turns to Margaret and finds that
      she has fainted]
                                  My lady!
Is this, too, for the king
  Mar. [Reviving]    You shall not go!
  Hub. I must-and now. Let me but press your
                       hand-
  Mar. No, no, my lips! Hubert, let us be true.
Death watches now and will report all lies

 

LORDS AND LOVERS



To Heaven. Now I must see you go from me,
Out of my eyes as stars go from the sky,
And never, never see you come again,
Let me once hear you say you love me, Hubert,
And all the years that I must weep for thee
I'll keep the words as a sweet golden bell
To sound whene'er my ears want music.
Hub. Thou art the king's.
  Mar.                   Nay, I will lay my head
Upon the block, ere pillow it by his.
  Hub. Then we'll be mad together, Margaret.
To go one step in this is to go farthest.
Ah, yesterday I saw a knight I loved
Sink in his blood; but when he called the name
Of his dear bride, and died as it made sweet
His lips, I thought of you and envied him.
And now, so soon, his fortune is my own.
[Calls] Come, father! [To Margaret] Art afraid
  Mar.                        Ah, yes, afraid
That I may lose thee!
  Hub.            Is it hell, or Heaven
               [Re-enter friar Sebastian]
Good father, when two souls have kissed so close
They in each other lose the form of self,
And neither body knows its own again,
Wouldst join them mortally, that being one
They can not go amiss
  Fr. Seb.           If they be free,
My son, to take the vows.
Hub.                 Thou knowest us.
  Fr. Seb. I've blessed ye both as children.
  Mar.                                 I am free
By my soul's right, and though a princess born,
Here choose my lord.
Fr. Seb.         My daughter, thou art noble,

 

24          LORDS AND LOVERS

And must be written fair though envy keep
The beadroll of thy faults, but 'tis poor rank
Not thee stoops to this choice.
  Mar.                     I know it, father.
Though it should cost my fortune, name and place,
I'd give them all to be his wife one hour.
  Fr. Seb. Then, by my sacred vows, as I believe
Love is from Heaven, and 'tis God himself
Who fosters its sweet growth through all the blood
Till action, thought, yea, life, do hang upon it,
I'll bind ye in the dear eternal bonds,
And bless your union with the holy feast.
Come in with me. [Exit, rear]
  Hub. [Embracing her] 'Tis Heaven, Margaret!

                    [Curtain]


 

ACT II



SCENE 1. Within Dover castle. Same room as in act first.
            Enter Glaia followed by Eldra.

  Eld.