CON. But, Wickerd, though I have often heard of strange tales which I could not credit, yet there is one in our family so well attested, that I almost believe it. Shall I tell it you? ALL SOLDIERS. Do! do tell it, gentle Conrad. nearer. (MARTIN stops.) Who art thou! MAR. To warm myself at your fire. It is deadly cold. WIC. See there, ye cravens, your apparition is a WIC. And I will take t'other sup of Rhenish to poor benighted monk: sit down, father. (They place fence against the horrors of the tale. MARTIN by the fire.) By heaven, is Martin-our CON. It is about my own uncle and godfather, Albert Martin! Martin, how fares it with thee? We have of Horsheim. sought thee this whole night. wars. WIC. I have seen him-he was a gallant warrior. CON. Well! He was long absent in the Bohemian In an expedition he was benighted, and came to a lone house on the edge of a forest: he and his followers knocked repeatedly for entrance in vain. They forced the door, but found no inhabitants. FRANK. And they made good their quarters? CON. They did: and Albert retired to rest in an upper chamber. Opposite to the bed on which he threw himself was a large mirror. At midnight he was awaked by deep groans: he cast his eyes upon the mirror, and saw FRANK. Sacred Heaven! Heard you nothing? WIC. Ay, the wind among the withered leaves Go on, Conrad. Your uncle was a wise man. MAR. So have many others (vacantly.) CON. Yes, thy master. MAR. Did you see him too? MAR. No! my first master, Arnolf of Ebersdorf. MAR. He passed me but now in the wood, mounted upon his old black steed; its nostrils breathed smoke and flame; neither tree nor rock stopped him. He said, "Martin, thou wilt return this night to my service!" WIC. Wrap thy cloak around him, Francis; he is distracted with cold and pain. Dost thou not recollect me, old friend? MAR. Yes, you are the butler at Ebersdorf: you CON. That's more than grey hairs can make other have the charge of the large gilded cup, embossed folks. WIC. Ha! stripling, art thou so malapert? Though thou art Lord Henry's page, I shall teach thee who commands this party. with the figures of the twelve apostles. It was the favourite goblet of my old master. CON. By our Lady, Martin, thou must be distracted indeed, to think our master would intrust Wickerd ALL SOLDIERS. Peace, peace, good Wickerd: let with the care of the cellar. Conrad proceed. CON. Where was I? FRANK. About the mirror. CON. True. My uncle beheld in the mirror the reflection of a human face, distorted and covered with blood. A voice pronounced articulately, "It is yet time." As the words were spoken, my uncle discerned in the ghastly visage the features of his own father. SOLDIER. Hush! By St. Francis I heard a groan. (They start up all but WICKERD.) WIC. The croaking of a frog, who has caught cold in this bitter night, and sings rather more hoarsely than usual. MAR. I know a face so like the apostate Judas on that cup. I have seen the likeness when I gazed on a mirror. WIC. Try to go to sleep, dear Martin; it will relieve thy brain. (Footsteps are heard in the wood.) To your arms. (They take their arms.) Enter two MEMBERS of the Invisible Tribunal, muffled in their cloaks. CON. Stand! Who are you? 1 MEM. Travellers benighted in the wood. WIC. Are ye friends to Aspen or Maltingen? 1 MEM. We enter not into their quarrel: we are FRANK. Wickerd, thou art surely no Christian. friends to the right. (They sit down, and close round the fire.) CON. Well-my uncle called up his attendants, and they searched every nook of the chamber, but found nothing. So they covered the mirror with a cloth, and Albert was left alone: but hardly had he closed his eyes when the same voice proclaimed, "It is now too late ;" the covering was drawn aside, and he saw the figure FRANK. Merciful Virgin! It comes. (All rise.) CON. See yon figure coming from the thicket! Enter MARTIN, in the monk's dress, much disordered: his face is very pale and his steps slow. WIC. (levelling his pike.) Man or devil, which thou wilt, thou shalt feel cold iron. if thou budgest a foot Wic. Then are ye friends to us, and welcome to pass the night by our fire. 2 MEM. Thanks. (They approach the fire, and regard MARTIN very earnestly.) CON. Hear ye any news abroad? 2 MEM. None; but that oppression and villany are rife and rank as ever. WIC. The old complaint. 1 MEM. No! never did former age equal this in wickedness; and yet, as if the daily commission of enormities were not enough to blot the sun, every hour discovers crimes which have lain concealed for years. CON. Pity the Holy Tribunal should slumber in its office. 2 MEM. Young man, it slumbers not. When cri minals are ripe for its vengeance, it falls like the bolt of Heaven. MAR. (attempting to rise.) Let me be gone. 1 MEM. Even now, we heard a tale of a villain, who, ungrateful as the frozen adder, stung the bosom that had warmed him into life. MAR. Conrad, bear me off; I would be away from these men. CON. Be at ease, and strive to sleep. MAR. Too well I know-I shall never sleep again. 2 MEM. The wretch of whom we speak became, from revenge and lust of gain, the murderer of the master whose bread he did eat. WIC. Out upon the monster! 1 MEM. For nearly thirty years was he permitted to cumber the ground. The miscreant thought his crime was concealed; but the earth which groaned under his footsteps-the winds which passed over his unhallowed head-the stream which he polluted by his lips-the fire at which he warmed his bloodstained hands-every element bore witness to his guilt. MAR. Conrad, good youth-lead me from hence, and I will show thee where, thirty years since, I deposited a mighty bribe. [Rises. CON. Be patient, good Martin. WIC. And where was the miscreant seized? [The two MEMBERS suddenly lay hands on MARTIN, and draw their daggers; the Soldiers spring to their arms. 1 MEM. On this very spot. WIC. Traitors, unloose your hold! 1 MEM. In the name of the Invisible Judges. I charge ye, impede us not in our duty. [All sink their weapons, and stand motionless. MAR. Help! help! 1 MEM. Help him with your prayers! [He is dragged off. The scene shuts. ACT V.-SCENE I. The subterranean chapel of the Castle of Griefenhaus. It seems deserted, and in decay. There are four entrances, each defended by an iron portal. At each door stands a warder clothed in black, and masked, armed with a naked sword. During the whole scene they remain motionless on their posts. In the centre of the chapel is the ruinous altar, half sunk in the ground, on which lie a large book, a dagger, and a coil of ropes, beside two lighted tapers. Antique stone benches of different heights around the chapel. In the back scene is seen a dilapidated entrance into the sacristy, which is quite dark. Various Members of the Invisible Tribunal enter by the four different doors of the chapel. Each whispers something as he passes the Warder, which is answered by an inclination of the head. The costume of the Members is a long black robe, capable of muffling the face: some wear it in this manner; others have their faces uncovered, unless on the entrance of a stranger: they place themselves in profound silence upon the stone. benches. Enter COUNT RODERIC, dressed in a scarlet clonk of the same form with those of the other Members. He takes his place on the most elevated bench. ROD. Warders, secure the doors! (The doors are barred with great care.) Herald, do thy duty! [Members all rise-Herald stands by the altar. HER. Members of the Invisible Tribunal, who judge in secret, and avenge in secret, like the Deity. are your hearts free from malice, and your hands from blood-guiltiness? [All the Members incline their heads. ROD. God pardon our sins of ignorance, and preserve us from those of presumption. [Again the Members solemnly incline their heads. HER. To the east, and to the west, and to the north, and to the south, I raise my voice; wherever there is treason, wherever there is blood-guiltiness. wherever there is sacrilege, sorcery, robbery, or perjury, there let this curse alight, and pierce the marrow and the bone. Raise, then, your voices, and say with me, woe! woe, unto offenders! ALL. Woe! woe! [Members sit down. HER. He who knoweth of an unpunished crime, let him stand forth as bound by his oath when his hand was laid upon the dagger and upon the cord, and call to the assembly for vengeance ! EM. (rises, his face covered.) Vengeance! vengeance! vengeance! ROD. Upon whom dost thou invoke vengeance: ACCUSER. Upon a brother of this order, who is forsworn and perjured to its laws. the ROD. Relate his crime. Accu. This perjured brother was sworn, upon steel and upon the cord, to denounce malefactors to the judginent-seat, from the four quarters of heaven, though it were the spouse of his heart, or the son whom he loved as the apple of his eye; yet did he conceal the guilt of one who was dear unto him; he folded up the crime from the knowledge of the tribunal; he removed the evidence of guilt, and withdrew the criminal from justice. What does his perjury deserve ? ROD. Accuser, coule before the altar; lay thy hand upon the dagger aud the cord, and swear to the truth of thy accusation. Accu. (his hand on the altar.) I swear! ROD. Wilt thou take upon thyself the penalty of perjury, should it be found false ? ELDEST MEM. Our voice is, that the perjured brother merits death. ROD. How wilt thou stand before that throne, loaded with the guilt of a broken oath? The blood of the ROD. Accuser, thou hast heard the voice of the as- criminal be upon us and ours! sembly; name the criminal. Accu. George, Baron of Aspen. [A murmur in the assembly. A MEM. (suddenly rising.) I am ready, according to our holy laws, to swear, by the steel and the cord, that George of Aspen merits not this accusation, and that it is a foul calumny. Accu. Rash man! gagest thou an oath so lightly? MEM. I gage not lightly. I proffer it in the cause of innocence and virtue. Accu. What if George of Aspen should not himself deny the charge? MEM. Then would I never trust man again. Accu. Hear him, then, bear witness against himself (throws back his mantle.) ROD. Baron George of Aspen! GEO. The same-prepared to do penance for the crime of which he stands self-accused. ROD. Still, canst thou disclose the name of the criminal whom thou hast rescued from justice, on that condition alone, thy brethren may save thy life. GEO. Thinkest thou I would betray for the safety of my life, a secret I have preserved at the breach of my word? No! I have weighed the value of my obligation-I will not discharge it--but most willingly will I pay the penalty! ELDEST MEM. So be it, in the name of God! [He takes the dagger from the altar, goes slowly towards the back scene, and reluctantly enters the sacristy. ELDEST JUDGE (from behind the scene.) Dost thou forgive me? GEO. (behind.) I do! (He is heard to fall heavily.) [Re-enter the old judge from the sacristy. He lays on the altar the bloody dagger. ROD. Hast thou done thy duty? ELDEST MEM. I have. (He faints.) ROD. He swoons. Remove him. [He is assisted off the stage. During this four members enter the sacristy, and bring out a bier covered with a pall, which they place on the steps of the altar. A deep silence. ROD. Judges of evil, dooming in secret, and avenging in secret, like the Deity: God keep your thoughts from evil, and your hands from guilt. BER. I raise my voice in this assembly, and cry, Vengeance! vengeance! vengeance! ROD. Enough has this night been done-(he rises and brings BERTRAM forward.) Think what thou doest-George has fallen-it were murder to slay both mother and son. BER. George of Aspen was thy victim-a sacrifice ROD. Retire, George of Aspen, till the assembly to thy hatred and envy. I claim mine, sacred to juspronounce judgment. tice and to my murdered brother. Resume thy place! thou canst not stop the rock thou hast put in mo GEO. Welcome be your sentence-I am weary of your yoke of iron. A light beams on my soul. Woe to those who seek justice in the dark haunts of mystery and of cruelty! She dwells in the broad blaze of the sun, and Mercy is ever by her side. Woe to those who would advance the general weal by trampling upon the social affections! they aspire to be more than men-they shall become worse than tigers. I go: better for me your altars should be stained with my blood, than my soul blackened with your crimes. [Exit GEORGE, by the ruinous door in the back scene, into the sacristy. ROD. Brethren, sworn upon the steel and upon the cord, to judge and to avenge in secret, without favour and without pity, what is your judgment upon George of Aspen, self-accused of perjury, and resistance to the laws of our fraternity. [Long and earnest murmurs in the assembly. ROD. Speak your doom. ELDEST MEM. George of Aspen has declared himself perjured; the penalty of perjury is death! ROD. Father of the secret judges-Eldest among those who avenge in secret-take to thee the steel and the cord;-let the guilty no longer cumber the land. ELDEST MEM. I am fourscore and eight years old. My eyes are dim, and my hand is feeble; soon shall I be called before the throne of my Creator;-How shall I stand there, stained with the blood of such a man ! tion. ROD. Canst thou swear to the accusation? ROD. (apart to BERTRAM.) Whom dost thou mean BER. (his hand on the altar.) I lay my hand on the to call? [BERTRAM whispers. steel and the cord, and swear. ROD. This goes beyond me. (After a moment's ROD. Isabella of Aspen, thou hast heard thy accu- thought.) But be it so. Maltingen shall behold Aspen sation. What canst thou answer? humbled in the dust. (Aloud.) Brethren, the accuISA. That the oath of an accuser is no proof of guilt! ser calls for a witness who remains without: admit ROD. Hast thou more to say? him. [All muffle their faces, ISA. I have. ROD. Speak on. ISA. Judges invisible to the sun, and seen only by the stars of midnight! I stand before you, accused of an enormous, daring, and premeditated crime. I was married to Arnolf when I was only eighteen years old. Arnolf was wary and jealous; ever suspecting me without a cause, unless it was because he had injured me. How then should I plan and perpetrate such a deed? The lamb turns not against the wolf, though a prisoner in his den. ROD. Have you finished? ISA. A moment. Years after years have elapsed without a whisper of this foul suspicion. Arnolf left a brother! though common fame had been silent, natural affection would have been heard against mewhy spoke he not my accusation? Or has my conduct justified this horrible charge? No! awful judges, I may answer, I have founded cloisters, I have endowed hospitals. The goods that Heaven bestowed on me I have not held back from the needy. I appeal to you, judges of evil, can these proofs of innocence be downweighed by the assertion of an unknown and disguised, perchance a malignant accuser? BER. No longer will I wear that disguise (throws back his mantle.) Dost thou know me now? ISA. Yes; I know thee for a wandering minstrel, relieved by the charity of: my husband. Enter RUDIGER, his eyes bound or covered, leaning upon two members; they place a stool for him, and unbind his eyes. ROD. Knowest thou where thou art, and before whom? RUD. I know not, and I care not. Two strangers summoned me from my castle to assist, they said, at a great act of justice. I ascended the litter they brought, and I am here. ROD. It regards the punishment of perjury and the discovery of murder. Art thou willing to assist us? RUD. Most willing, as is my duty. ROD. What if the crime regard thy friend? ROD. Then canst thou not blame us for this deed of justice. Remove the pall. (The pall is lifted, beneath which is discovered the body of GEORGE pale and bloody. RUDIGER staggers towards it.) RUD. My George! my George! Not slain manly in battle, but murdered by legal assassins. Much, much may I mourn thee, my beloved boy; but not nownot now: never will I shed a tear for thy death till I have cleared thy fame.-Hear me, ye midnight murderers, he was innocent (raising his voice)—upright as the truth itself. Let the man who dares gainsay me lift that gage. If the Almighty does not strengthen these frail limbs, to make good a father's quarrel, I have a son left, who will vindicate the honour of Aspen, BER. No, traitress! know me for Bertram of Ebersdorf, brother to him thou didst murder. Call her accomplice, Martin. Ha! turnest thou pale? ISA. May I have some water?--(Apart.) Sacred or lay his bloody body beside his brother's. Heaven his vindictive look is so like [Water is brought. A MEM. Martin died in the hands of our brethren. ROD. Dost thou know the accuser, lady? ISA. (reassuming fortitude.) Let not the sinking of nature under this dreadful trial be imputed to the consciousness of guilt. I do know the accuser-know him to be outlawed for homicide, and under the ban of the empire: his testimony cannot be received. ELDEST JUDGE. She says truly. BER. (to RODERIC.) Then I call upon thee and William of Wolfstein to bear witness to what you know. ROD. Wolfstein is not in the assembly, and my place prevents me from being a witness. ROD. Rash and insensate! Hear first the cause. Hear the dishonour of thy house. ISA. from the sacristy.) Never shall he hear it till the author is no more! (RUDIGER attempts to rush towards the sacristy, but is prevented. ISABELLA enters wounded, and throws herself on GEORGE's body.) ISA. Murdered for me-for me! my dear, dear son! RUD. (still held.) Cowardly villains, let me loose! Maltingen, this is thy doing! Thy face thou wouldst disguise, thy deeds thou canst not! I defy thee to instant and mortal combat! ISA. (looking up.) No! no! endanger not thy life! Myself! myself! I could not bear thou shouldst know -Oh! (Dies.) RUD. Oh! let me go-let me but try to stop her BER. Then I will call another: meanwhile let the blood, and I will forgive all. accused be removed. ROD. Drag him off and detain him. The voice of ROD. Retire, lady. [ISABELLA is led to the sacristy. | lamentation must not disturb the stern deliberation of ISA. (in going off.) The ground is slippery-justice. Heavens! it is floated with blood! RUD. Bloodhound of Maltingen! Well beseems [Exil into the sacristy. thee thy base revenge! The marks of my son's lance are still on thy craven crest! Vengeance on the band place, which the Duke occupies.-Thou standest accused of having perverted the laws of our order; for that, being a mortal enemy to he House of Aspen, thou hast abused thy sacred authority to pander to thy ELDEST JUDGE. He must become a brother of our private revenge; and to this Wolfstein has been witorder, or die! ness. ROD. Chief among our circles, I have but acted according to our laws. DUKE. Thou hast indeed observed the letter of our statutes, and woe am I that they do warrant this night's bloody work! I cannot do unto thee as I I would, but what I can I will. Thou hast not in deed transgressed our law, but thou hast wrested and abused it: kneel down, therefore, and place thy bands betwixt mine. (RODERIC kneels as directed.) I degrade thee from thy sacred office (spreads his hands, as pushing RODERIC from him.) If after two days thou ROD. This man will never join us! He cannot put his hand into ours, which are stained with the blood of his wife and son: he must therefore die! (Murmurs in the assembly.) Brethren! I wonder not at your reluctance; but the man is powerful, has friends and allies to buckler his cause. It is over with us, and with our order, unless the laws are obeyed. (Fainter murmurs.) Besides, have we not sworn a deadly oath to execute these statutes? (A dead silence.) Take to thee the steel and the cord (to the eldest judge.) ELDEST JUDGE. He has done no evil-he was the darest to pollute Bavarian ground by thy footsteps, be companion of my battle-I will not! ROD. (to another.) Do thou-and succeed to the rank of him who has disobeyed. Remember your oath! (Member takes the dagger, and goes irresolutely forward; looks into the sacristy, and comes back.) MEM. He has fainted-fainted in anguish for his wife and his son; the bloody ground is strewed with his white hairs, torn by those hands that have fought for Christendom. I will not be your butcher.-(Throws down the dagger.) BER. Irresolute and perjured! the robber of my inheritance, the author of my exile, shall die! ROD. Thanks, Bertram. Execute the doom-secure the safety of the holy tribunal! [BERTRAM seizes the dagger, and is about to ALL. Hold! Hold ! [The Duke of BAVARIA, attended by many mem- it at the peril of the steel and the cord (RODERIC rises.) I dissolve this meeting (all rise.) Judges and condemners of others, God teach you knowledge of yourselves! (All bend their heads-Duke breaks his rod, and comes forward.) ROD. Lord Duke, thou hast charged me with treachery-thou art my liege lord-but who else dares maintain the accusation, lies in his throat. HEN. (rushing from the sacristy.) Villain! I accept thy challenge! ROD. Vain boy! my lance shall chastise thee in the lists-there lies my gage. DUKE. Henry, on thy allegiance, touch it not. (To RODERIC.) Lists shalt thou never more enter; lance shalt thou never more wield (draws his sword.) With this sword wast thou dubbed a knight; with this sword I dishonour thee I thy prince-(strikes him slightly with the flat of the sword)-I take from thee the degree of knight, the dignity of chivalry. Thou art no longer a free German noble; thou art honourless and rightless; the funeral obsequies shall be performed for thee as for one dead to knightly honour and to fair fame; thy spurs shall be hacked from thy heels; thy arms baffled and reversed by the common executioner. Go, fraudful and dishonoured, hide thy ROD. The Duke of Bavaria! I am lost. shame in a foreign land! (RODERIC shows a dumb exDUKE. (sees the bodies.) I am too late-the victims pression of rage.) Lay hands on Bertram of Ebersdorf. have fallen. as I live, he shall pay the forfeiture of his outlawry HEN. (who enters with the Duke.) Gracious Heaven! Henry, aid us to remove thy father from this charnelO George! house. Never shall he know the dreadful secret. Be it mine to soothe his sorrows, and to restore the honour of the House of Aspen. RUD. from the sacristy.) Henry-it is thy voicesave me! [HENRY rushes into the sacristy. DUKE. Roderic of Maltingen, descend from the seat which thou hast dishonoured-(RODERIC leaves his (Curtain slowly falls.) THE END. |