Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

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!

MEM. (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.

ROD. Relate his crime.

Accu. This perjured brother was sworn, upon the steel and upon the cord, to denounce malefactors to the judgment-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, come before the altar; lay thy hand upon the dagger and 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?

Accu. I will.

ROD. Brethren, what is your sentence?

[The Members confer a moment in whispers-a silence.

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!

ROD. Retire, George of Aspen, till the assembly pronounce judgment.

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 favor 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

ELDEST MEM. Our voice is, that the perjured land.

brother merits death.

ELDEST MEM. I am fourscore and eight years old.

ROD. Accuser, thou hast heard the voice of the My eyes are dim, and my hand is feeble; soon shall assembly; 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 it not lightly. I proffer it in the cause of innocence and virtue.

I be called before the throne of my Creator ;-How shall I stand there, stained with the blood of such a man?

ROD. How wilt thou stand before that throne, loaded with the guilt of a broken oath? The blood of the criminal be upon us and ours!

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 to thy hatred and envy. I claim mine, sacred to justice and to my murdered brother. Resume thy place-thou canst not stop the rock thou hast put in motion.

ROD. Isabella of Aspen, thou hast heard thy accusation. What canst thou answer?

ISA. That the oath of an accuser is no proof of guilt!

ROD. Hast thou more to say!
ISA. I have.

ROD. Speak on.

ISA. Judges invisible to the sun, and seen only by the stars of midnight! I stand before you, aecused 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 me-why 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

ROD. (resumes his seat.) Upon whom callest thou these proofs of innocence be down-weighed by the for vengeance ?

[blocks in formation]

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.

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 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

ROD. Knowest thou why thou art called to their be received.

presence?

ISA. No.

ROD. Speak, accuser.

BER. I impeach thee, Isabella of Aspen, before this awful assembly, of having murdered, privily and by poison, Arnolf of Ebersdorf, thy first husband.

ROD. Canst thou swear to the accusation? BER. (his hand on the altar.) I lay my hand on the steel and the cord, and swear.

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. BER. Then I will call another: meanwhile let the accused be removed. ROD. Retire, lady.

[ISABELLA is led to the sacristy

Isa. (in going off.) The ground is slippery life! Myself! myself! I could not bear thou Heavens! it is floated with blood! shouldst know-Oh! (Dies.)

[Exit into the sacristy. ROD. (apart to BERTRAM.) Whom dost thou mean to call? [BERTRAM whispers. ROD. This goes beyond me. (After a moment's thought.) But be it so. Maltingen shall behold Aspen humbled in the dust. (Aloud.) Brethren, the accuser calls for a witness who remains without: admit him. [All muffle their faces.

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? RUD. I will hold him no longer so. ROD. What if thine own blood? RUD. I would let it out with my poniard. 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 now-not 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 honor of Aspen, or lay his bloody body beside his brother's.

ROD. Rash and insensate! Hear first the cause. Hear the dishonor 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!

RUD. Oh! let me go-let me but try to stop her blood, and I will forgive all.

ROD. Drag him off and detain him. The voice of lamentation must not disturb the stern deliberation of justice.

RUD. Bloodhound of Maltingen! Well beseems thee thy base revenge! The marks of my son's lance are still on thy craven crest! Vengeance on the band of ye!

[RUDIGER is dragged off to the sacristy. ROD. Brethren, we stand discovered! What is to be done to him who shall descry our mystery? ELDEST JUDGE. He must become a brother of our order, or die!

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 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 irreso lutely 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 doomsecure the safety of the holy tribunal!

[BERTRAM seizes the dagger, and is about to rush into the sacristy, when three loud knocks are heard at the door.

ALL. Hold! Hold!

[The Duke of BAVARIA, attended by many
members of the Invisible Tribunal, enters,
dressed in a scarlet mantle trimmed with
ermine, and wearing a ducal crown.-He
carries a rod in his hand.-All rise.—A
murmur among the members, who whisper
to each other, "The Duke," "The Chief,"
&c.

ROD. The Duke of Bavaria! I am lost.
DUKE. (sees the bodies.) I am too late-the vic-

Isa. (looking up.) No! no! endanger not thy tims have fallen.

HEN. (who enters with the Duke.) Gracious Heaven ! O George!

RUD. (from the sacristy.) Henry-it is thy voice -save me! [HENRY rushes into the sacristy.

DUKE. Roderic of Maltingen, descend from the seat which thou hast dishonored-(RODERIC leaves his place, which the Duke occupies.)-Thou standest accused of having perverted the laws of our order; for that, being a mortal enemy to the house of Aspen, thou hast abused thy sacred authority to pander to thy private revenge; and to this Wolfstein has been witness.

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 dishonor thee-I thy

ROD. Chief among our circles, I have but acted prince-(strikes him slightly with the flat of the 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 would, but what I can I will. Thou hast not indeed transgressed our law, but thou hast wrested and abused it: kneel down, therefore, and place thy hands 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 darest to pollute Bavarian ground by thy footsteps, be 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.)

sword)—I take from thee the degree of knight, the dignity of chivalry. Thou art no longer a free German noble; thou art honorless and rightless; the funeral obsequies shall be performed for thee as for one dead to knightly honor and to fair fame; thy spurs shall be hacked from thy heels; thy arms baffled and reversed by the common executioner. Go, fraudful and dishonored, hide thy shame in a foreign land! (RODERIC shows a dumb expression of rage.) Lay hands on Bertram of Ebersdorf: as I live, he shall pay the forfeiture of his outlawry. Henry, aid us to remove thy father from this charnel-house. Never shall he know the dreadful secret. Be it mine to soothe his sorrows, and to restore the honor of the House of Aspen.

(Curtain slowly falls.)

THE END.

INDEX.

A.

"ABBOT," Verses from the, 691-2.
Abercorn, Marquis of, suggestion of, re-
garding a passage in Marmion, 85, n.;
dedication of "The Lady of the Lake"
to, 183.

Marchioness of, 105, n.
Abercromby, Sir Ralph, tribute to the
memory of, 105.

Achaius, King of Scotland, 169, n.
Adam, Right Hon. William, a specimen

of minstrel recitation obtained from,
553.

Addison, his criticism on Chevy Chase,
539, 540.

Adolphus, J. L., Esq. extracts from his
"Letters on the Author of Waverley,"
391, n.; 516, n.; 527, n.; 535.
"AHRIMAN," 716.

Albania, a poem, extract from, 613.
Albyn's Anthology, SONGS written for,
660, 661. 675, 676.

Alexander III. "the last Scottish king of
the pure Celtic race," 542.
Alexandre, Mons., the ventriloquist,
"LINES ADDRESSED TO," 713.
"ALICE BRAND," 213. 254, n.
"ALLEN-A-DALE," 323.

Alvanley, Lady, 654, n.

Ambition, personification of, 277.
"Ancient Mariner," Coleridge's, 559.
474.

"ANCIENT GAELIC MELODY," 679.
Ancram Moor, battle of, 597.
Anglo-Saxons, poetry of, 682.
Angus, Archibald, sixth Earl of, called
"Bell-the-Cat," 130. 143. 171.
Angus, seventh Earl of, 40. 74. 194. 244.
"AN HOUR WITH THEE," 720.
"Annual Review," the critical notices
from, 16. 32. 53.

ANNE OF GEIRSTEIN, Verses from, 724.
Anthony Now Now, 555.
"ANTIQUARY, "Verses from the, 662-5.
Anxiety, effect of, in giving acuteness to
the organs of sense, 297. 356.
Arbuthnot, Sir William, 662, n.; 704, n.
Aram, Eugene, remarkable case of, 361.
Archers, English, 126. 169. 462. 498. 729.
730.

Ardoch, Roman camp at, 263.

Argentine, Sir Giles de, 422. 465. 500.
ARIOSTO, Translation from, 674.
"Armin and Elvira," 560.
Arran, Earl of (1569), 600, n.
Island of, 448. 489.

Arthur, King, 154. 385. 392. 411.
Arthur's Seat, 704.

Artornish Castle, 469.
Ascetic religionists, 249.
Ascham's

411.

Schoolmaster," note from,

Ashton, Lucy, Song of, 678.
"As Lords their laborers' hire delay,"
715.

"ASPEN, THE HOUSE OF, a tragedy,"

796.

Athole, John de Strathbogie, Earl of
(temp. Rob. I.), 480.

David de Strathbogie, Earl of
(1335), 222, n.
"AUCHINDRANE, or the Ayrshire trage-
dy," 770.

Ayr, loyalty of the men of, rewarded by
King Robert Bruce, 458, n.

B.

BAILLIE, JOANNA, letter to, on Rokeby,
353. Prologue to her " Family Le-
gend," 639. Dedication to her of
Macduff's Cross," 738.

105. 524, n.; 729, n.
Balfour of Burley, epitaph on, 666.
BALLAD, THE ANCIENT, ESSAY ON
IMITATIONS OF," 555.
"BALLADS, IMITATIONS OF," 574.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Blackwater, Battle of, in Ireland, 367.
"BLACK KNIGHT'S SONG, THE," 683.
Blackwood's Magazine, 551, n.; critical
notices from, 408. 513, 536.

Blair, Right Honorable Robert, Lord
President of the Court of Session, death
of, 269.
Rit-"BLONDEL, THE BLOODY VEST," Song
of, 717.

FROM THE GERMAN," 609.
and Poems, ancient, very
few manuscript records of discovered,
543. Printed in Garlands, ib.
Collections of, by Pepys, 543.
The Duke of Roxburgh, ib. An anony-
mous editor, ib. Miller and Chapman,
544. James Watson, ib. Allan Ram-
say, ib. Dr. Percy, ib. Evans, 548.
David Herd, 549. Pinkerton, ib.
son, ib. Scott (the Border Minstrelsy),
550. Sir J. G. Dalzell, ib. Robert
Jamieson, ib. Motherwell, 551. Fin-
lay, ib. Kinloch, ib. C. K. Sharpe,
ib. Charles Leslie, ib. Péter Buchan,
ib. And Rev. C, H. Hartshorne, 552.
Ballantyne, Mr. James, Border Minstrel-
sy, the first work printed by him, 550.
570. Letters from Scott to, 236. 238.
292. 306. 310. 313. 322. 354. His re-
marks on John Kemble's retirement
from the Edinburgh stage, 671, n.
Constable's sobriquets of, 713.
Mr. John, 665.
Bangor, the Monks of, 672.
"BANNATYNE CLUB, THE," 711.
Bannatyne, George, compiler of ancient
MSS., 711.

Bannerman, Miss Anne, her "Tales of
Superstition and Chivalry," 559.
Bannockburn, Battle of, 460; stanza 18
to end of the poem. See also notes, pp.
495. 501.

Bansters, what, 549, n.
Barbauld, Mrs., 565.
"BARD'S INCANTATION, THE," writ-
ten under the threat of invasion, 1804,
632.

"BAREFOOTED FRIAR, THE," 681.
Barnard Castle, 296, 306. 356, 360.
Barrington, Shute, Bishop of Durham,

524.

"BATTLE OF SEMPACH," 619.
Beacons, 32. 68.

Bealach-nam-bo, Pass of, 209. 253.
Beal' an Duine, skirmish at, 233. 267.
Beattie, Mr., of Mickledale, 13.

Dr., lines from, on the power of
fancy, 305, n.
Bellenden, 36. 71.

Sir James, 599, n.
Belrinnes, Ballad of, 550.
Bell-Rock Lighthouse, lines on visiting,
645.

Beltane-tree, the, 589. 593.
Ben-an Mountain, 187.
Benledi, 185.
Benvenue, 187.
Benvoirlich, 184.

Beresford, Field-marshal Lord, tribute to,
282, 283. His training the Portuguese
troops, 291.

642.

Blood of which party first shed, an augury
of success in battle, 212. 254.
Blood-hound, or Sluith-hound, 59. 186.
240. 482.

"Blue-blanket," the, 704, n.

[ocr errors][merged small]

Bohun, Sir Henry de, his encounter with
King Robert Bruce, 460. 496.
"BOLD DRAGOON, or the Plain of Bada-
jos," 642.

Bolero, a Spanish dance, 287.
Bonaparte, Napoleon, allusions to in
"The Vision of Don Roderick," 277.
281, 282. And in "The Field of Wa-
terloo," 504-511, passim. Apostro-
phe to the period of his fall, 455, 456.
642.

Bond of Alliance, or feud stanching,
betwixt the clans of Scott and Kerr
(1529), 57.

"Bonnets of Bonny Dundee," SONG to
the air of, 759.

"BORDER BALLAD," 689.
Borderers, English, excommunication of,
by the Bishop of Durham (1498), 248.
Disorderly conduct of those who attend-
ed the Protector Somerset, 74. Custom
of hanging up a glove in a church as a
challenge, 377.

Scottish, moss-troopers after the
union of the crowns, 59. Religion, 60.
Speed in collecting large bodies of horse,
68. Places of their herdsmen's refuge,
ib. March-treason, 72. Form of Oath,
ib. Instances of the cruelty which oc-
casionally attended their warfare, 69.
Regulations in 1648, 73. Friendly in-
tercourse with the English, 74. Foot-
ball play, ib. Pursuit of marauders
called the hot-trod, 75. Robbers quell-
ed by K. James V., 247. Manner of
carrying on depredations, 363. Taste
for poetry and music, 542.
Borough-moor of Edinburgh, 168.
Bothwell, Adam Hepburn, Earl of (temp.
Jac. IV.), 167.

Francis Stewart, Earl of (temp.

Jac. VI.), 244.

James Hepburn, Earl of (temp.

Mary), 74. 118.

"BOTHWELL CASTLE," 628.
Bowhill, 52, n.

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »