All duties of obedience to withdraw,
Because thou wert an enemy and traitor.

w ALLexistein. And what did you determine?

Axis pressAde.
All our comrades
At Bruannau, Budweiss, Prague and Olmutz, have
Obey'd already; and the regiments here,
Tiefenbach and Toscano, instantly
Did follow their example. But—but we
Do not believe that thou art an enemy
And traitor to thy country, hold it merely
For lie and trick, and a trumped up Spanish story !
[Hith warmth.

Thyself shalt tell us what thy purpose is,
For we have found thee still sincere and true:
No mouth shall interpose itself betwixt
The gallant General and the gallant troops.

w"All existein. Therein I recognize my Pappenheimers.

Axspessa Dr.

And this proposal makes thy regiment to thee:
Is it thy purpose merely to preserve
In thy own hands this military sceptre,
Which so becomes thee, which the Emperor
Made over to thee by a covenant?
Is it thy purpose merely to remain
Supreme commander of the Austrian armies?—
We will stand by thee, General! and guarantee
Thy honest rights against all opposition.
And should it chance, that all the other regiments
Turn from thee, by ourselves will we stand forth
Thy faithful soldiers, and, as is our duty,
Far rather let ourselves be cut to pieces,
Than suffer thee to fall. But if it be
As the Emperor's letter says, if it be true,
That thou in traitorous wise wilt lead us over
To the enemy, which God in heaven forbid!
Then we too will forsake thee, and obey
That letter

wal. Lenstein.
Hear me, children :
ANSPESSADE.
Yes, or no!

There needs no other answer.

- All-exist-in.

Yield attention.

You're men of sense, examine for yourselves;
Ye think, and do not follow with the herd:
And therefore have I always shown you honour
Above all others, suffer'd you to reason;
Have treated you as free men, and my orders
Were but the echoes of your prior suffrage.—

Axis Pessa de.
Most fair and noble has thy conduct been
To us, my General With thy confidence
Thou hast honour'd us, and shown us grace and favour
Beyond all other regiments; and thou see'st
We follow not the common herd. We will
Stand by thee faithfully. Speak but one word—
Thy word shall satisfy us, that it is not
A treason which thou meditatest—that
Thou meanest not to lead the army over
To the enemy; more'er betray thy country.

wall. Exsteix. Me, me are they betraying. The Emperor

Hath sacrificed me to my enemies,
And I must fall, unless my gallant troops
Will rescue me. See? I confide in you.
And be your hearts my strong-hold! At this breast
The aim is taken, at this hoary head.
This is your Spanish gratitude, this is our
Requital for that murderous fight at Lutzen!
For this we threw the naked breast against
The halbert, made for this the frozen earth
Our bed, and the hard stone our pillow! never stream
Too rapid for us, nor wood too impervious:
With cheerful spirit we pursued that Mansfield
Through all the turns and windings of his flight;
Yea, our whole life was but one restless march;
And homeless, as the stirring wind, we travell'd
O'er the war-wasted earth. And now, even now,
That we have well nigh finish'd the hard toil,
The unthankful, the curse-laden toil of weapons,
With faithful indefatigable arm
Have roll'd the heavy war-load up the hill,
Behold! this boy of the Emperor's bears away
The honours of the peace, an easy prize!
He ll weave, forsooth, into his taxen locks
The olive branch, the hard-earn'd ornament
Of this grey head, grown grey beneath the helmet.
Axspessa de.
That shall he not, while we can hinder it!
No one, but thou, who hast conducted it
With fame, shall end this war, this frightful war.
Thou led stus out into the bloody field
of death; thou and no other shalt conduct us home,
Rejoicing to the lovely plains of peace—
Shalt share with us the fruits of the long toil–
wo-LLENst El N.
What? Think you then at length in late old age
To enjoy the fruits of toil: Believe it not.
Never, no never, will you see the end
Of the contest' you and me, and all of us,
This war will swallow up! War, war, not peace,
Is Austria's wish; and therefore, because I
Endeavour'd after peace, therefore 1 fall.
For what cares Austria, how long the war
Wears out the armies and lays waste the world?
She will but wax and grow amid the ruin,
And still win new domains.

The Emperor? Wilt not turn us into Swedes?
This is the only thing which we desire
To learn from thee.

wallenstein.

What care I for the Swedes? I hate them as I hate the pit of hell, And under Providence I trust right soon To chase them to their homes across their Baltic. My cares are only for the whole: I have A heart—it bleeds within me for the miseries And piteous groaning of my fellow Germans. Ye are but common men, but yet ye think With minds not common; ye appear to me Worthy before all others, that I whisper ye A little word or two in confidence' See now ! already for full fifteen years The war-torch has continued burning, yet No rest, no pause of conflict. Swede and German, Papist and Lutheran neither will give way To the other, every hand's against the other. Each one is party and no one a judge. Where shall this end? Where's he that will unravel This tangle, ever tangling more and more. It must be cut asunder. I feel that I am the man of destiny, And trust, with your assistance, to accomplish it.

SCENE i W. To these enter Butler.

Butleh (passionately). General! This is not right ! wal. LeNstein. What is not right? Butlett. It must needs injure us with all honest men. WALLENstrin. But what? but Left. It is an open proclamation Of insurrection. wAllenstein. Well, well—but what is it? BUT Left. Count Tertsky's regiments tear the Imperial Eagle From off the banners, and instead of it, Have rear'd aloft thy arms. ANspessade (abruptly to the Cuirassiers). Right about ! March wal, Lenstein. Cursed be this counsel, and accursed who gave it! [To the Cuirassiers, who are retiring. Halt, children, halt! There's some mistake in this; Hark!—I will punish it severely. Stop! They do not hear. (To illo). Go after them, assure them, And bring then back to me, cost what it may. [Illo hurries out. This hurls us headlong. Butler! Butler! You are my evil genius, wherefore must you Announce it in their presence? It was all In a fair way. They were half won, those madmen With their improvident over-readiness— A cruel game is Fortune playing with me. The zeal of friends it is that razes me, And not the hate of enemies.

SCENE W.

To these enter the Duchess, who rushes into the Chamber. Thekla and the Countess follow her.

duchess. O Albrecht! What hast thou done? wallenstein. And now comes this beside. countess. Forgive me, brother! It was not in my power. They know all. Duchess. What hast thou done? countess (to Tearsky). Is there no hope? Is all lost utterly? Tehrsky. All lost. No hope. Prague in the Emperor's hands, The soldiery have ta'en their oaths anew. cou N'Tess. That lurking hypocrite, Octavio ! Count Max. is off too? Teatsky. Where can he be? He's Gone over to the Emperor with his father. [Thekla rushes out into the arms of her mother, hiding her face in her bosom. duchess (enfolding her in her arms). Unhappy child and more unhappy mother! wallenstein (aside to Teatsky). Quick | Let a carriage stand in readiness In the court behind the palace. Scherfenberg Be their attendant; he is faithful to us; To Egra he'll conduct them, and we follow. [To Illo, who returns. Thou hast not brought them back? illo. Hear'st thou the uproar? The whole corps of the Pappenheimers is Drawn out: the younger Piccolomini, Their colonel, they require: for they affirm, That he is in the palace here, a prisoner; And if thou dost not instantly deliver him, They will find means to free him with the sword. [All stand amazed. Trotsky. What shall we make of this? wall, Enstein. Said I not so? O my prophetic heart" he is still here. He has not betray'd me—he could not betray me. I never doubted of it. countess. If he be Still here, then all goes well; for I know what [Embracing Tuen LA. Will keep him here for ever. terts KY. It can't be. His father has betray'd us, is gone over To the Emperor—the son could not have ventured To stay behind. rhekla (her eye fixed on the door). there he is"

SC h Ne Wi. To these enter Max. Piccolomixi.

MAY. Yes! here he is! I can endure no longer To creep on tiptoe round this house, and lurk In ambush for a favourable moment: This loitering, this suspense exceeds my powers. [Advancing to Therla, who has thrown herself into her mother's arms. Turn not thine eyes away. O look upon me! Confess it freely before all. Fear no one. Let who will hear that we both love each other. Wherefore continue to conceal it? Secrecy Is for the happy—misery, hopeless misery, Needeth no veil! Beneath a thousand suns It dares act openly. [He observes the Countrss looking on Therla with expressions of triumph. No, Lady: No! Expect not, hope it not. I am not come To stay: to bid farewell, farewell for ever. For this I come! T is over! I must leave thee! Thekla, I must—must leave thee! Yet thy hatred Let me not take with me. I pray thee, grant me One look of sympathy, only one look. Say that thou dost not hate me. Say it to me, Thekla! {Grasps her hand. O God! I cannot leave this spot—I cannot! Cannot let go this hand. O tell me, Thekla' That thou dost suffer with me, art convinced That I can not act otherwise. [Therla, avoiding his look, points with her hand to her father. Max. turns round to the Duke, whom he had not till then perceived. Thou here? It was not thou, whom here I sought. I trusted never more to have beheld thee. My business is with her alone. Here will I Receive a full acquittal from this heart– For any other I am no more concern'd. wallensteix. Think'st thou, that fool-like, I shall let thee go, And act the mock-magnanimous with thee? Thy father is become a villain to me; I hold thee for his son, and nothing more: Nor to no purpose shalt thou have been given Into my power. Think not, that I will honour That ancient love, which so remorselessly He mangled. They are now past by, those hours Of friendship and forgiveness. Hate and vengeance Succeed—"t is now their turn—I too can throw All feelings of the man aside—can prove Myself as much a monster as thy father! Max. (calmly). Thou wilt proceed with me, as thou hast power. Thou know'st, I neither brave nor fear thy rage. What has detain'd me here, that too thou know'st. [Taking Thekla by the hand. See, Duke! All–all would I have owed to thee, Would have received from thy paternal hand The lot of blessed spirits. This hast thou Laid waste for ever—that concerns not thee. Indifferent thou tramplest in the dust Their happiness, who most are thine. The god Whom thou dost serve, is no benignant deity.

Like as the blind irreconcileable
Fierce element, incapable of compact,
Thy heart's wild impulse only dost thou follow. "
wall. Exst El N.

Thou art describing thy own father's heart.
The adder! 0, the charms of hell o'erpower'd me
He dwelt within me, to my in most soul
Still to and fro he pass'd, suspected never?
On the wide ocean, in the starry heaven
Did mine eyes seek the enemy, whom I
In my heart's heart had folded : Had I been
To Ferdinand what Octavio was to me,
War had I ne'er denounced against him. No,
I never could have done it. The Emperor was
My austere master only, not my friend.
There was alreadw war 'twixt him and me
When he deliver'd the Commander's Staff
Into my hands; for there's a natural
Unceasing war 'twixt cunning and suspicion;
Peace exists only betwixt confidence
And faith. Who poisons confidence, he murders
The future generations.

MAx.

I will not Defend my father. Woe is me, I cannot! Hard deeds and luckless have ta'en place; one crime Drags after it the other in close link.

* I have here ventured to omit a considerable number of lines. 1 fear that I should not have done amiss, had I taken this liberty more frequently. It is, however, incumbent on me to give the original with a literal translation.

weh demen. die auf Dich vertraun, an Dich
Die sichre Hütte ihres Glückes lehnen,
Gelockt von Deiner geistlichen Gestalt.
Schnell unverhofft, bei narchulich stiller weile
Gahrts in dem tacksobes Feserschlunde, ladet
Sich aus mit tobender Gewalt, and weg
Treibt aber a:le Pflanzungen der Menschen
Der wilde Strom in trausender Zerstarung.

w-l-L-N-strix. Du schilderst deines Waters herr. Wie Du's Beschreibst, so its's in seinem Eingeweide, In dieser schwarzen Heuchlers Brust gestaltet. 0, mich hat Horiienkunst getaruscht: Mir sandte Der Abgrund den verflecktesten der Geister. Den Lagenkundigsten herauf, und stellt' ibn Als Freund an meine Seite. Wer vermag Der Horlie Macht zu widerstehn Ich zog Den Basilisken an fan meinem Busen, Mit meinem Herzblui nahrt ich ihn, er sog Sich schwelgend volt an meiner Liebe Bråsten. Ich hatte nimmer Arge, gegen ihn, Weit offen liess ich des Gedankens Thore. Und warf die Schlössel weiser worsicht weg, Am Sternenhimmel, etc.

Litto. At thaxstartox. Alas! for those who place their confidence on thee, against thee lean the seenre but of their fortune, allured by thy hospitable form. Suddenly, unexpectedly, in a moment still as night, there is a fermentation in the treacherous gulf of fire; it discharges itself with raging force, and away over all the plantations of men drives the wild stream in frightful devastation. wall oxstrux. Then art portraying thy father's heart; as thou describest, even so is it shaped in his entrails, in this black hypocrite's breast. 0, the art of bell has deceived me: The Abyss sent up to me the most potted of the spirits, the most skilful in lies, and placed him as a friend by my side. Who may withstand the power of beil + i took the basilisk to my bosom, with my beart's blood 1 nourished him ; he sucked himself glutfull at the breasts of my love. I never barboured evil towards him; wide open did I leave the door of my thoughts: I threw away the key of wise foresight. In the starry heaven, etc.—we find a difficulty in believing this to have bees written by S

But we are innocent: how have we fallen Into this circle of mishap and guilt? To whom have we been faithless? Wherefore must The evil deeds and guilt reciprocal Of our two fathers twine like serpents round us? Why must our fathers' Unconquerable hate rend us asunder, Who love each other? wallenstein, Max., remain with me. Go you not from me, Max." Hark! I will tell thee— How when at Prague, our winter-quarters, thou Wert brought into my tent a tender boy, Not yet accustom'd to the German winters; Thy hand was frozen to the heavy colours; Thou wouldst not let them go.— At that time did I take thee in my arms, And with my mantle did I cover thee; I was thy nurse, no woman could have been A kinder to thee; I was not ashaned To do for thee all little offices, IIowever strange to me; I tended thee Till life return'd; and when thine eyes first open'd, I had thee in my arms. Since then, when have I Alter'd my feelings towards thee! Many thousands Have I made rich, presented them with lands; Rewarded them with dignities and honours; Thee have I loved: my heart, my self, I gave To thee! They all were aliens: thou wert Our child and inmate." Max.' Thou canst not leave me; It cannot be; I may not, will not think That Max. can leave me. MAx. O my God! wALLenstein. I have Held and sustain'd thee from thy tottering childhood. what holy bond is there of natural love? What human tie, that does not knit thee to me? I love thee, Max." What did thy father for thee, Which I too have not done, to the height of duty? Go hence, forsake me, serve thy Emperor; lie will reward thee with a pretty chain Of gold; with his ram's fleece will he reward thee; For that the friend, the father of thy youth, For that the holiest feeling of humanity, Was nothing worth to thee. MAx. O God! how can I Do otherwise? Am I not forced to do it, My oath—my duty—honour— wallenstein. How? Thy duty? Duty to whom? Who art thout Max." bethink thee What duties mayst thou have? If I am acting A criminal part toward the Emperor, It is my crime, not thine. Dost thou belong To thine own self? Art thou thine own commander? Stand'st thou, like me, a freeman in the world, That in thy actions thou shouldst plead free agency?

* This is a poor and inadequate translation of the affectionate simplicity of the original—

Sie alle waren Fromdlinge, Du warst Das Kind des Hauses.

Indeed the whole speech is in the best style of Massinger. sic omnia

On me thou'rt planted, I am thy Emperor;
To obey me, to belong to me, this is
Thy honour, this a law of nature to thee!
And if the planet, on the which thou livest
And hast thy dwelling, from its orbit starts,
It is not in thy choice, whether or no
Thou "lt follow it. Unfelt it whirls thee onward
Together with his ring and all his moons.
With little guilt stepp'st thou into this contest;
Thee will the world not censure, it will praise thee,
For that thou heldst thy friend more worth to thee
Than names and influences more removed.
For justice is the virtue of the ruler,
Affection and fidelity the subject's.
Not every one doth it beseem to question
The far-off high Arcturus. Most securely
Wilt thou pursue the nearest duty—let
The pilot fix his eye upon the pole-star.

SCENE W II.
To these enter Neuw ANN.
wall, enstein.
What now?
NEUMANN.

The Pappenheimers are dismounted,
And are advancing now on foot, determined
With sword in hand to storm the house, and free
The Count, their colonel.

wallensteix (to Textsky). Have the cannon planted. I will receive them with chain-shot. [Exit Trotsky. Prescribe to me with sword in hand! Go Neumann' 'T is my command that they retreat this moment, And in their ranks in silence wait my pleasure. [Nkum ANN exit. Illo steps to the window. count Ess. Let him go, I entreat thee, let him go. illo (at the window).