THE MAID OF ORLEANS AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY BY GEORGE H. CALVERT NEW YORK P. pntnnm'G Gone 1874 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the ve.ir 1871, by GEORGE H. CALVERT, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington RIVRKSIDK, CAMBRIDGE. LANUE, LITTLE & Co., H. O. HOUKHTOX & COMPANY. ins TO 114 WOOSTMR STRFIT, N. PERSONS REPRESENTED. CHARLES VII., King of France. THE MAID OF ORLEANS. DUKE OF ALENCON, ) DUKE OF VENDO.ME, j Royal Dukn. DUCHESS OF ALENCON, AND DAUGHTER. COUNTESS OF LIGNY, AND DAUGHTER. COUNT DUNOIS, BASTARD OF ORLEANS. COUNT OF ARMAGNAC, COUNT GAUCOURT, LA HIRE, ^ French Common Jen. COARAZE. SAINTRAILLES, BAUDRICOURT, SIR BERTRAND DE POUSENGIS. ROYAL DUKE OF BEDFORD, English Viceroy in France. LORD TALBOT, LORD SUFFOLK, SIR WILLIAM BLUNT, )> English Commanders. SIR HERBERT HAMPTON, SIR HENRY CLIFFORD, CARDINAL WINCHESTER. ARCHBISHOP OF RHEIMS. BISHOP OF BEAUVAIS. ASSESSORS. OYSELEUR. BROTHERS ISAMBART AND MARTIN. FATHER, MOTHER, UNCLE, BROTHER, of the Maid. Two GENTLEMEN. Priests, Knights, Sergeants, Heralds, Citizens, Soldiers. "SCENE : France in the Fifteenth Century. 2OG21Q3 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. ACT I. SCENE I. Tiie Royal Residence at Chinon. THE COUNT OF ARMAGNAC, LA HIRE. ARMAGNAC. Is't true that Talbot's with the curst besiegers ? That it is true sharpens my daily pang For the besieged, the steadfast Orleanese. ARMAGNAC. La Hire, to you I speak as friend to friend : This King doth sorely try a proud allegiance That mine will bear the strain I cannot say. Allegiance voucheth vigor to command. Who would swear fealty to impotence ? 6 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr I. Can vassal bend the knee to lifeless lord? France bristles with perverse hostilities, Rebellions, feuds, invasions, sieges fierce ; The whole land quakes with war's mad violations ; The whole, save him round whom, for whom, 'gainst whom This bloody evolution boils and flares ; And he lolls stagnant on a lazy couch. Did we not see it, who'd believe 'tis so ? Had one reported*that but yesterday, On riding through the forest in a storm, He'd seen branch, bough and spray and leaf betossed Tumultuous by a sudden tempest's rage, All bending, shrieking, flying 'fore the wind, All save one oak, the tallest of the throng, And he stood motionless 'mid the loud whirl, No sign of writhing vigor in his limbs, I should have wondered first, and then exclaimed, That oak is dead, and doth usurp the room Which should resound with living: roots and trunk. Par Dieu, my noble earl of Armagnac, You utter not your feeling only, nor Just yours and mine. All of our nobles here Suffer as you do ; nay, nor gentleman SCENE 1.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. Nor roan upon this sorely smitten soil, Who feels a Frenchman throb within his breast, But shames him for the royal apathy, This heart-paralysis of France's power. Here comes Vendome, fresh from his Majesty. Enter VENDOME. Well, Duke, what are our cheeks to blush for next ? Mine blush no more : they pale with anger now. We're all the victims of imbecile fears. There are no Talbots, Salisburys, Bedforcls, Henrys There is no starving Orleans close besieged. The King and who should know'if he does not Talks cheerful by the hour and names them not. Good God ! that our dear France should be so Where is this martial damsel from Lorraine, The people whisper of so hopefully? Naught but a woman can arouse this sluggard. Out of his weakness we may build a strength. This rumor from Lorraine is in fulfillment Of ancient prophecies ; and prophecies Themselves oft speed their own accomplishment. 8 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ ACT I- VENDOME. With such a helmsman, naught but miracle Can save us from being quickly overborne By hateful flood of English conquerors. [Exeunt severally. SCENE II. On the edge of the forest of Domremy, near a fountain. THE MAID (on her knees). DIVINE ye must be, or ye would not speak Through loved seraphic figures clothed in light : Beings so beautiful come straight from heaven. The many years I've heard ye, yet, each hearing Thrills me with deeper awe. My life is changed. By your celestial tune I have been won Afar from this to live in the great thoughts You have awakened, and from year to year So nursed, they've filled me with a mighty future. Joan, O Joan ! can it be ? Ha ! there they arc ! VOICE (from above). Joan, chosen wast thou for thy aptness. Blest SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 9 Above all maidens is thy peerless portion To be the savior of thy country, wreckt But for thy pilotage. The time is come. Go to Sir Baudricourt at Vaucouleurs. He to the King will send thee, and the King Cohorts will marshal under thee, the siege To raise of Orleans. Thence thou'lt bring the King To Rheims, there to be crowned : and France is saved. [T/ie MAID falls prostrate on the ground. Enter the MAID'S MOTHER, not perceiving JOAN. Poor Joan ! they are seeking her to drive her into marriage. Such matches should not be. Mismatches we have too many, even where the will goes with them. Against the will, they're of the Devil. But Joan will not yield ; and then her father storms, and we all bend before his rage, excepting Joan. In common things you'd think she had no will, docile as is my wheel unto my hand. A strange dear child it is : where can she be? Enter JOAN'S FATHER, with her lover and the CURATE. Where is Joan ? [O THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT I. MOTHER. Ha ! there she is on the ground. Joan ! Joan ! [ The MAID raises herself on her knees. My dear child ! I feared thou had'st been struck by lightning. MAID. Mother, the sky is clear of clouds. A light, Brighter than lightning, streamed but now before me. FATHER {coming forward). Again these foolish visions. Joan, thou wast always dutiful : now thou troublest thy father's peace. How is it thou art suddenly so dogged ? Obey thy parents : we know best what is for thy good : we wish thee well married ; and here is Oliver, worthy of thee, and has some claim on thee. MAID (rising]. Dares he to say he has a claim on me? OLIVER (coming forward). Is not my love a claim, a love as strong As ever warmed the breast of man for woman ? MAID. I told thee 'twas in vain : it could not be. SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. \ 1 FATHER. I say, it shall be. What are \ve come to ? Shall green, unfurnished girls cry yea or nay against their parents' plans ? Make thee ready to be wedded to Oliver. MAID. Father, it cannot be : it must not be. FATHER. Barest thou disobey thy father's will ? I have two fathers : which shall I obey ? My earthly or my Heavenly Father's will ? My Heavenly Father CURATE. Joan, that will not stead thee Thy Heavenly Father speaks to thee through me. MAID. When thou'rt not by, can He not come to me ? Is his will reined by thee, or thine by Him ?' CURATE. How dost thou know if He does speak to thee ? 12 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. |Acr I. MAID. By twice the craft I know when thou dost speak ; By outward, and by inward finer sense. The world, is't not by unseen power governed ? Power is nowhere but in the invisible. All else is only plastic instrument. Joan, thou hast lost thy wits. What know'st thou of these high things? A senseless tingling in thy ears thou tak'st for angel voices. CURATE. Leave her to me. I'll find a happy hour To exorcise the Devil who now sits Master of spell-bound fancy in her brain. FATHER. Come, Oliver. She'll recover under the Curate's doc- toring : you'll have her better-minded in a week. [Exeitnt FATHER, CURATE, and OLIVER, MOTHER. O Joan, my child, my dearest child, wherefor Art thou so rooted in thy willfulness ? SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. MAID. Mother, I cannot otherwise. The things I have been used to, grow unwonted to me. My life is other than it was : 'tis now In new, great thoughts, deeds greater, that so fill, So swell my being, myself I know no more. A higher self I am, the servitor Of angels. MOTHER. O my child, how canst thou know ? The Curate says, they are temptations, speech Feigned by the Devil, these thy saintly voices. Mother, how can he know ? He has not heard them. Heard them have I ; the heads, woven of light, Have seen, whence issue their profound commands. Limits, God-planted, are there to disguise. Uplifting thoughts the Devil never prompts, Nor whets th' exalted soul to sacrifice. He moves us love ourselves, our lustful wants ; He tells where hidden treasure may be dug, Or flatters us with sensual heritage. Our souls, dear mother, are not of the Devil : Mine meets these voices with an answering glow, Lifts it to them with liveliest, warmest trust. 14 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr I. Within the best and deepest of my soul I feel, they come from God, are tuned to good. MOTHER. Thy looks, thy words, proclaim thee child no more : Thou'rt shot up to ripe woman in a day. Enter the MAID'S UNCLE. UNCLE. What is't I hear ? They'd wed thee 'gainst thy will ? MAID. Dear uncle, that they must not, cannot do. But I'm rejoiced you're come. To Vaucouleurs I must at once. UNCLE. Again thou'st heard them speak ? Within an hour; and hen.ce I go to-day. And thou'll go with me ? That I will, dear Joan. Thy voices speak to me through thee. In them I trust, because I've faith in thee. . SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 15 MOTHER. Brother, The Curate says they're from the Devil. Sister, Curates are not infallible. The promptings Of a sound heart, pure, innocent like hers, With heavenly will are more in unison, Than the dry hackneyed say of thousand curates. Most priestly words are too mechanical, Too emptied of the freer life, that they Should carry messages from the upper realms. Come, Joan ; 'tis two leagues hence to Little Bury, And I would be at home ere set of sun. Mother, O mother ! I must leave thee ; yea, I must ; must quit my home, my dear, dear home. These trees, this fountain, and my church, the church Which is another daily home to me, My flocks and meadows, and my happy comrades, All, all I leave forever. Ha ! Forever ? My brain seems trampled on by marching legions : Plainly as ere I heard thy tender voice, I hear the blows and cries of battling hosts : 1 6 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT I Now shouts of victory ; now silent joy ; Now shadows come : they pass away : again The clash of arms : now, what a jubilee. More shadows more, and deeper black, how black ! They fold me in ! There, there, they break again. O what a splendor ! what a glory ! Where, Where am I ? Mother ! come, mother ! [Exeunt ; the MAID, with an arm round her MOTHER'S neck. SCENE III. Vauconleurs. Head-quarters of the Military Com- mander, Sir Baudricourt. SIR BAUDRICOURT, two officers, and SIR BERTRAND DE Pous- ENGIS, a friend of SIR B. SIR BERTRAND. Captain, I fear to ask of news from Orleans. SIR BAUDRICOURT. Deep hearts have they, those manful Orleanese, That from them they can still clip drops of hope. Beleaguered, mined, bombarded, starved, and stormed, They yield them not, but supplicate for aid, Which never comes. SCENE III.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 17 SIR BERTRAND. Whence can it come? The King Has neither men nor means ; his chiefs rebellious, Allies faithless ; and as his enemies Grow hot, his friend of Burgundy grows cool. SIR BAUDRICOURT. Shrewd Burgundy goes ever with the strongest ; And that might we be had our King a will. A thoughtful, earnest will creates its means ; Kindles the cold, quickens the slow, spurs all. Armed men start from the earth at hearted cry ; Obedience follows will with votive smiles, And allies troop to its side with eager trust. But indolence, though regal, hath no will ; And from its rotting couch of luxury Looseness crawls forth upon the hapless land, Where nothing holds together, naught is tight And practicable ; and the nation sways From side to side, like to a drunken man, Whose limbs cannot obey a staggering mind. SIR BERTRAND. The people hereabout have nursed a rumor, Which was but vague and unregarded thin, Till wide despair hath fed it into plumpness: 1 8 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr A prophecy of Merlin, that should spring From rich Lorraine a maid to save dear France. SIR BAUDRICOURT. We must be near to drowning when we catch At mouldy straws. SIR BERTRAND. Good friend, this air we breathe Is the same air that ancient Merlin breathed, Fed by the earth and sun, same earth and sun That feed it now for us. Upon this air Not bodies only but'our souls are kept, Inbreathing aye a subtler, wiser life Than that which arms our eye to conquer space. Hereby so is our being interfused With the divine, that from the Source of all Monitions come, that make some natures prescient. Enter an ATTENDANT. ATTENDANT. Here is a peasant, sir, who begs to see you. SIR BAUDRICOURT. Admit him. SCENE III.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 19 Enter the MAID'S UNCLE. What's your want ? Sir Baudricourt, My niece, a peasant girl from Domremy, A pious, gentle child, hath, sir, a message She would herself deliver to your ear. SIR BAUDRICOURT. Know you its purport, and from whom it is ? The girl, sir, talks and looks and bears herself Like one inspired. For several years, she says, She has heard voices, seen at times the forms Of th' angels whence they issued. Yesterday They told her she's to be her country's savior SIR BAUDRICOURT. Sir Bertrand, here's old Merlin's Lorraine lady. SIR BERTRAND. Depend on't, this is something more than strange. 20 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT I. UNCLE. They ordered her to come at once to you ; They said that you would send her to the King, The King would give her men to raise the siege Of Orleans ; thence to Rheims, there to be crowned. SIR BERTRAND. What is the daily humor of her life ? UNCLE. A sheer exalted self-forgetful ness. So modest, all her doing is obedience, Now to her angel -voices, as before To father, mother, and the parish priest ; All ardent impulses so clean of self, Her hourly life seems but a supplement To other lives; her office helpfulness. Pardon me, sir; from the clear child I've caught Some of the glow of rapture. SIR BERTRAND. Is she here In Vaucouleurs ? UNCLE. She is. 'Tis not an hour I left her weeping, wringing of her hands, SCENE III.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 21 Because, she says, to-day, this very noon, The French are beaten in a fight near Orleans. SIR BERTRAND (taking out his tablets). The first, is't not, Sir Robert ? SIR BAUDRICOURT. Aye, of April. Good man, take back your niece to Domremy. Hard work on bread and water is a cure, The surest she can have for her disease. Sometimes such cracks i'th' brain are through the back Most quickly mended. Flagellation's smart Works wonders. SIR BERTRAND. Come, bring me to this maid. [Exeunt SIR BERTRAND and UNCLE. 22 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT I. SCENE IV. Public Square at Orleans. Men, women, children, sad, haggard, poorly dressed, some ragged. At the corner of the stage, a bureau for giving out rations. WOMAN (with basket or kettle, to the man serving in the bureau). Is that all you can give me to-day ? I had but half allowance yesterday. BUREAU. Our stock is low, grows daily less and less, and no hope for more. WOMAN. My two boys, one sixteen, the other fourteen, are on the walls, doing the duty of men. ist CITIZEN (to the bureau). Give her half of my share : such a mother must not starve. WOMAN. May God bless you and your children. {The man of the bureau gives her more.) This will go to double the strength of my soldier sons. Enter a Soldier. ist CITIZEN. What news bring'st thou ? SOLDIER. Bad news : more English are coming. ist CIT. And no French ? Where is the King ? 2d CIT. The King is no king: his seat is not the throne, but the lap of a mistress. ist CIT. If no succor comes, soon, we must starve or surrender. SCENE IV.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 23 YOUNG WOMAN (with infant in her arms, coming forward}. Surrender ! Rather than that thy sweet rosy flesh shall shrink upon thy bones, and thou grow pale and cold, clinging to my milkless breast. Ha ! he smiles and looks to heaven. Thou shall not die : thou shalt live, to fight for France. SOLDIER. Strange rumors there are of a Maid who* is to be the savior of Orleans. YOUNG WOMAN. Who has seen her? Whence comes she? ist CIT. From Heaven she must come ; for the earth and all who are on it have abandoned us. Enter a Citizen in haste. CITIZEN. To the walls ! To the walls ! The enemy are advancing on the west. ist CITIZEN. To arms ! to arms ! A moment since I was ripe for cold despair. The battling English re- warm my heart. Away with despondency ! Come, comrades ! We'll woo the King with our courage. From the blood we sow to-day we shall reap succor next week. Succor must come ; it must. On, then, comrades, once more to the walls ! Beat back the enemy, and then over his head we will look jubilant from our ramparts far away upon France, and hope. \Exit, followed by citizens shouting " To the walls ! to the walls ! " 24 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT I. SCENE V. Vaucouleurs. Head-quarters of Sir Baudricourt. SIR BAUDRKOURT aud two officers. To them cuter SIR BER- TRAND DE PoUSENGIS. SIR BERTRAND. Again I come, Sir Baudricourt, to pray, Admit this maid for one brief interview. SIR BAUDRICOURT. What will it boot ? A question this of faith, Of naught but faith. A sheer impertinence Is she to one who can't believe in her. It irks me, friend, to hear her even named ; The sight of her would anger me, extort Rude speech, belike, such as a gentleman Forbids his tongue when speaking to a woman. SIR BERTRAND. When first she came she was, to fullest heads An insolence, to most a disbelief. Within a short two weeks she's won them all ; SCENE V.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 2$ Won them, not by performing miracles, But by the wonder of her daily life, So simple, pure, and freshly serviceable, It cleanses thought to see and hear and know her. Enter.the MAID, suddenly. SIR BAUDRICOURT. What ho ! my sentinels ! MAID. Nor sentinels, Nor your strong bent can stay me. Keys I bear To unlock your closest orders. SIR BAUDRICOURT. Officers, Do you the duty those false watchmen weak Have failed to do. [ The two officers approach to seize her. She waves them back , they pause. By Heaven ! I'll break this charm. MAID. Tis not a charm, Sir Baudricourt. Wherefor To me hath fallen this signal part I know not. 26 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr I It saddens me more than it cheers. Obey I must what is above me. So, yourself. You speak and act from what to you cloth seem Pure self-impulsion ; but there is behind That impulse what is its far primal fount, A might unseen, which all your motions moves. Life, death, can you control them, you or I ? And yet they are controlled. Your instruments You choose : shall God not choose his own ? By men The world seems ruled : men are his instruments. The best, the freest human instruments Are they who on themselves think least, and burn The self to fuel flames shall light the way To fertile principles, deep truths, great causes. Pardon me ; I am startled at myself, My speech. I know me not. This friendly ground Scarce do I feel its pressure on my sole. I seem to skim the earth, to tread on air, Borne lightly forward by a will not mine, Which you nor I nor any one can baffle. Enter in haste a booted, spattered courier, and gives a package to SIR BAUDRICOURT, -who hurriedly opens it. SIR BAUDRICOURT. The King hath lost another battle. SCENE V.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 2J SIR BERTRAND. When ? SIR BAUDRICOURT. At noon the first of April. What of that? SIR BERTRAND. Have you forgotten how this maiden's uncle, The day he came to beg an interview, Told she was weeping then for battle lost? SIR BAUDRICOURT. Aye, aye, I do remember ; and you set The date upon your tablets. What tell they? SIR BERTRAND. Whate'er they tell is from my memory gone, But they will give full echo of that hour. Read their report. \ Takes out his tablets and gives them, SIR BAUDRICOURT (reads). " At noon the first of April." 'Tis strange ! SIR BERTRAND. The air can carry messages 28 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. |Acr I. Swifter than e'en a royal estafette. My friend, man's fullest knowledge is as yet Small fraction fine of what there is to draw From the deep quarries of the universe, The happy harvestings of rich futurity. SIR BAUDRICOURT. Further : the King bids me send him the maid. Send me at once. Dear Orleans is in tears. The ruthless English close their claws upon her. France is impatient to be saved. SIR BERTRAM). High maid, Myself and the good knight of Novelompont, Each with a trusty squire, we are to be Your escort and your guard. The way is long, And rough with clangers. Brave Sir Bertrand, thou Art one of those elected happiest men Who list to suck their sap from virtuous deeds. But, for the dangers of our coming journey, SCENE V.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 29 Give them no heed. They who commissioned me ' To this momentous work, hold in their hands Enough continuous pliant threads of life To steer us through this angry labyrinth. Let me be gone at once, Sir Baudricourt. Minutes weigh upon France like heaviest hours, So sleepless is the time with desolation. \Exeunt. ACT II. SCENE I. The Royal Residence at Chinon. King CHARLES VII., the royal Dukes of ALENCON a DOME, Count DUNOIS, bastard of Orleans, the Counts of ARMAG- NAC and of GAUCOURT, LA HIRE, BERTRAND DE TOUSENGIS. KING. I KNOW not, gentlemen, that I can put The purpose of this Council into words, And stay a smile from pertly wheeling them From dutiful intent of seriousness. The question is, shall we admit to-day, As active party to our consultation On plans of war and policy, a girl, That girl a peasantess, untutored, raw ; But still, a girl who makes pretension to Angelic guidance, and hath won the heart, Not solely of the ruder multitude, But sundry of the wisest men and women. SCENE I.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 3 1 ALENCON. My Liege, for one, were I disposed to smile, The guardian Angels of our France (if they Have not upflown to Heaven, deserting us, Wrath-lifted at our mad self-immolation), They, if they hover near, would with a blow, Aye, with a blow from their invisible hands, Smash on my lips such smile, a smile sardonic, While prostrate France gasps forth ensanguined groans. My Liege, lest something come to save us soon, We're lost, and must flee toward our southern coast, Flight ignominious, self-destructive, base. Admit this Maid : hear what she has to say : Hope springs fresh fountains in extremity. Your Majesty, the Duke of Alengon Thickens the blackness of the time o'ermuch. Methinks, gross as it is, unblenching swords Can cut a path to clearer distances. ALENON. Can Count Dunois hew him a track to Orleans Through th' English legions that enfold and clutch That sparkling royal gem ; and thus re-earn The lofty title that he wears? 32 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT II. DUNOIS. Most true, Orleans is our last hope. Give me the men, And I will pledge me here to raise its siege. ALENCON. Ha ! whence will swarm the needed men ? for French- men, Brave as they are, can't fight unfed, unclad. GAUCOURT. I have no faith, my Liege, in women-warriors. But let us see this Maid. She's beautiful, 'Tis said ; and beauty fires a Frenchman's heart. ARMAGNAC. Your Majesty, here is a gentleman, Sir Bertrand de Pousengis, who can tell, It may be, something of this peasant girl. KfNG. Sir Bertrand, speak what you have learnt or know. SIR BERTRAND. Your Majesty, this Maid of Domremy I have escorted all the perilous way SCENE I.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 33 From Vaucouleurs, enlisted by my faith, A faith, born when I first beheld her there, Fed daily by the beaming saintliness Of a demeanor, where a manlike force So quickened maiden tenderness, all hearts Were boldened by a wise activity, Her words and deeds falling upon the people A showered benediction from above. Amid the city's heated stir she shone Modest as moon new-hung in cloud-flecked sky. This fortnight past, threading the forest paths, Which had been weary both and dangerous, But for the constant light of her fair aspect And the sure prescience of her dispositions, She was the guardian of her harnessed guards, The comforter of th' oft discouraged escort. I claim some knowledge of the wondrous Maid. Through tangled travel was I at her side By day and night. I see a sudden smile, My lords, brighten your bronzed visages ; But know, that to my thought, not reverenced child. Nor sister sacred, nor soul's image of Divine perfection, could be flanked about By firmer rampart of high chastity, Than this poor peasant girl of Domremy, Her citadel an inward heavenliness. 3 34 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr II. I vow myself her servant knight, almost I'd said her worshipper, so good she is, So wise, so pure, so true. By Heaven, Sir Bertrand, You are a noble, chivalrous gentleman. Go bring your wondrous maiden to our presence. [Exil SIR BERTRAND. Dunois, take you my seat. [The KING descends from the throne, and DUNOIS seats him- self tkcreoti. She knows us not : We'll try her promptly at her first approach. GAUCOURT. Give her such shriving drench, my lord Dunois, That she shall need confessor never more. If her bragged angels be not forced to lay Their plumeless pinions drooping at my feet, And she to offer penance for her fraud, May I ne'er hark for bugle blast again. Reenter SIR BERTRAND with the MAID. Well. Shepherdess, what is your will with me ? SCENE I.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 35 MAID. Not unto you, Bastard of Orleans, is My homage owed. My Liege is here. [Kneeling before 1'ie KING. Great King. By that mysterious Wisdom which, through depths, To a frail mortal ken unfathomable, Chooses its instruments at times among The lowliest born, to you I'm sent that I Be your chief servant in extremity, Ordered, empowered, to raise the siege of Orleans, And then to lead you to be crowned at Rheims. KING. You speak not like a rustic peasant girl. MAID. I am a rustic peasant girl no more. Why me and not another they have sent At this distressful moment, that I know not. Of God's true purposes (in fostering which He useth angels, who in turn use us) Only by inward watch upon ourselves, And honest outward look, can we learn aught, Becoming quicker, better learners we, The deeper is our childlike innocence ; 36 THE MAID OF ORLEANS, [ACT IL For as with light He permeates the air, So does He interfuse with finer beam The souls of men clean passive to his will. [As the MAID in speaking these lines becomes rapt, looking up- ward, the KING steps a little back from her in astonishment and admiration. Some of the lords do the same KING. Your words are higher than I'm wont to hear. That you by instinct knew Dunois and me, Is much ; but I would hold a subtler proof Of the supernal friends you claim to have. MAID. Your Majesty shall be full satisfied. First bid these gentlemen to stand aloof. [ The KING and MAID go to one side, the lords to the other. ARMAGNAC. So many are the sins he hath to score, 'Twill easy be to guess at one or two. See, see : the King is startled turneth pale. She plies him further : why, he looks subdued. SCENE I.J THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 37 YEN DOME. He is by far too much subdued already. If she'll put life and courage into him, I shall believe she is by angels backed. KING {coming fortvard). This Maid hath plucked a secret from my heart, A secret, guarded with such lively watch, It never had been breathed to living ear, Or whispered of by lips until by hers. It frightens me to think this mystery could By any one be known except myself. Strange gifts she hath, more than are natural. I will consult the Bishops ; they will know. Meanwhile, Duke Alei^on, take charge of her ; And treat her as becomes your dignity. [Exeunt KING and lords, except ALENCON a^ of the life of Caesar's soul. It doth amaze and irk me every clay, 94 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr IV. To see men have so little heart for greatness, To see them unillumed by present splendor; But rather with their littleness they strive To cast eclipse upon the glow that lights them, Like creature moon upon creative sun. Must I recall what this rare Maid achieved ? Have all of you lost vision of that flag Whose vavvard gleam shone like a clove, from Heav'n New lighted, prophesying victory, While wonders grew about her as she wrought. Suffolk held forted Jargau in her path : She carried it by sudden bold assault ; Then steep Beaugency stormed ; and with Patay She quitted them for shameful Agincourt. ' But here she comes : the sight of her again Refills my soul with joyfulness and hope. Enter the MAID in light armor, and DUNOIS. Dear Maid, most glad I am to see the sun Glisten once more upon your healthy cheek. Pains that rack you are envious of us all. This rebel town hath held us here a week, Much longer than we hoped ; and yet, they say, 'Twill need another week to compass it. SCENE IV.) THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 95 MAID. My Liege, there needeth not the half a day. ARCHBISHOP. What fresh presumptuous arrogance is this? MAID. Presumptuous priest, who in thy darkened soul Harbor'st nor faith nor honesty KING. Dear Maid, Bethink thee, he's the reverend Lord Archbishop. MAID. Great King, my prompters, counselors, and guides, They know no lords on earth, but only souls ; Nor lords, nor magistrates, nor kings, nor priests, But only who is false and who is true. This false priest is a traitor too. ARCHBISHOP. How dar'st thou. And in this presence, give thy ribald tongue Such license of untruth. g6 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. \ ACT IV. MAID. Before the King, And all this company, I will proclaim Thy treason, if thou dost not come at once And hear me whisper to thee what I know. [The ARCHBISHOP approaches her in evident alarm. ARCHBISHOP. What can you know ? [After she has whispered in his ear, he starts, then sneaks away. DUNOIS. Like a whipt spaniel, see, Th' Archbishop sneaks away. Your Majesty, Shall we go summon this rebellious town ? [As she walks towards the back of iJie stage, the scenes open, and show the walls of Troyes, with citizens on them. Good citizens of Troyes, you are at heart, As in your speech, true Frenchmen. Here's your King, Your rightful, lawful, far-descended King. He comes in power, and in mercy too, To claim his own, which is, Frenchmen's allegiance. He offers you full pardon for yourselves, SCENE IV.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 97 Honorable exit for the garrison. You see our force of thousands, prompt to bridge The fosse and scale your walls. Spare us the need. Open your gates to brothers, not to foes. We do accept the King's most generous terms. We will unbar the gates and welcome him. [Exeunt citizens from the wails Most gracious King, let us now on again. Rheims waits for us, and France for regal Rheims. When you from Rheims shall march, rebellious towns Will ope their gates and shout triumphant welcomes To the crowned Majesty of rescued France. [ The curtain drops^ ACT V. SCENE I. Rheims. Jn front of the Cathedral. Enter two Gentlemen, meeting. FIRST GENTLEMAN. Too late you are to see the spectacle. SECOND GENTLEMAN. I feared so. FIRST GENTLEMAN. Coronation like to this Was never, nor will ever be, beheld. SECOND GENTLEMAN. So many bishops in their gorgeousness ? FIRST GENTLEMAN. The mitres I'd no time to count or think of, My eyes, all eyes, so clung, with ravishment, To the great personage. SCKN I.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 99 SECOND GENTLEMAN. And I too late To see him ! How was he attired ? FIRST GENTLEMAN. The King ? I hardly saw him. SECOND GENTLEMAN. What ! not see the King ? FIRST GENTLEMAN. The King, sir, was a puppet in that scene ; And such a scene ! where senses, feeling, thought, Each had a fresh extravagant delight. And she, a peasant girl from cottage hearth, Creator of it all ! By power of soul, With master's regnant intellect colleagued, France she has rescued ; crowned, installed the King ; Into the people national life rebreathed. As, high in martial panoply, she stood Beside the King, the many thousands there, That stretched the church with panting populousness, O'erjoyed its vasty spaces with their wonder, All bosoms heaving gratitudes to her, All eyelids glistening with acknowledgment. 100 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr V. SECOND GENTLEMAN. Where is she now ? FIRST GENTLEMAN Still in the church. I stayed But half an hour: I cared not witnessing The pomps of sacerdotal conjuration. They're coming out : stand we aside to see them. The church door opens ; '.hen through it enter the KING, the MAID, ALENCON, VENDOME, DUNOIS, the Father, Mother, Brother, and Squire of the MAID ; the Squire bearing her banner ; peo- ple following. MAID (falling on her knees). Most gracious King, I pray your Majesty, Th' anointed, ripened Majesty of France, Let now thy servant go, go to my home : My task is done. KING. Arise, great Maid of Orleans : [Lifting her up, The foremost subject of my grateful realm. By nature noblest 'mong the noble, thee I only can exalt in outward name, To mate thy inwardness, installing thee SCENE I.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. IQI In the first class of French nobility, Thee and thy kin, which solemnly I do, And here proclaim. And for escutcheon, thus : In field of azure, sword with hilt of gold, Blade argent, lifting on its point the crown : Two fleurs de-lis in pale. Dunois, thy sword : Nay, here's a fitter one : thine, noble Maid. Pierre d'Arc, kneel down. Rise, Sir Pierre. Alen^on, Note this : henceforth, the parish Domremy, As birthplace of the Maid of Orleans, is Exempt from tax for aye. \The MMT> falls on her Mother's neck. And, furthermore, 'Tis ordered, that from the King's treasury, Unto her parents annually be paid Two hundred crowns, the payment to begin The day the siege was raised of Orleans. For thee, dear Maid, not yet is done thy task ; Nor will it be, so long as France's soil Is bruised by hoof of English combatant. Illustrious as hath been thy warrior-work, 'Tis but begun. The King has yet to win His kingdom. Foes still swarm upon his land. 'Twere to desert us, did you quit us now. Thou art our inspiration, and all need Thy breath and presence for their constancy. IO2 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr V. Above our heads we could not miss that flag, Whose shimmer reddened Frenchmen's blood, and sped it With triple speed through every lifted arm. But, come to me anon, and we'll talk further. [Exeunt the KING, ALENCON, VENDOME, DUNOIS. 'Twas then a dream, a dream how sweet and sunny ! I never can be shepherdess again : I'm not mine own. -More blood, more sieges, battles. They give me hints of something great, but fearful, That's soon to be. Ah me ! Grant me more strength. [looking up. Come, father, mother, let us go and weep. \Exeunt, followed by the people, none of whom had gone with the KING. FIRST GENTLEMAN. {He follows her across the stage with Jiands uplifted.) With what rebounding ease she moves and mounts. The high should be on high, the low below ; Else action's wheels strain sighing in a slough, And keep no pace with life's loved- promptitudes. This present joyousness of sweet success Is solely due to quick conformity To reclamations of th' impending Will, SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 103 Against whose benison our daily fret Keeps us forever bruised and dislocate. In France's sour, self-wrought extremity, God hath unkinged a fruitless man-made King, And set above him this great woman-King, Blest with the gifts and secrets of command. She comes a heavenly apparition, lapped In human forces and appliances. Ever above infinitude's horizon Fresh truths are looming, freighted with new light, For those whose eyes and wishes see them shine. This is one of the brightest. Shall we go And bathe us deeper in its bracing beams ? [Exeunt. SCENE II. A room in the Royal Residence at Rheims. KING (alone). What a wild tenderness enraptures me ! This can but be the sudden burst to flame Of passion stored unconsciously away. And yet it seemed full flashed in that one moment. Her upward look of maiden holiness IO4 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V Shot into me a life, so absolute I felt no other feeling, had no thought, Nor even knew when the won crown enringed me. A partnership so close there is among The fiery constituents of our being, Each kindles each ; and sometimes all on one Throw the united pulsings of the soul, That but by this one is the man inflamed ; As I am now, and with a deepening thrill I never knew before. A triumph this She surely looked not for. Ha ! here she is. Enter the MAID. My Liege, I come because you summoned me. Is there a hope for me ? KING. As for us all. We all must to the war again ; and thou The foremost : this brave war is thine. 'Tis l.hou Hast made it what it is. Should I just now, Should all the Captains, throw our harness off, What wouldst thou deem ? And thou art worth us all, The shepherd thou of bold, victorious flocks. SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 105 Be not downcast. Who is so blest as thou ? Think with what thanks, joy, admiration, France And France's King inclose thee in their hearts. What still I'd do for thee thou canst not think. My Liege, for what you've done for all my kin I thank your Majesty. It is enough : I wish naught more for them or for myself. Thy modesty may be content with little ; Not so broad France. She'd have thee placed where she, Upgazing, can with every morn rethank thee, A visible sign to all of Christendom Of her great gratitude. First, then, a title. MAID. My gracious King, titles are not for me. KING. Who more deserves a regal title ? And, There's one would like to give thee such, the highest. Let me see : Orleans that's already claimed. Patay : that's it : the Duchess of Patay. 06 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V. MAID. The Maid of Orleans, that's the title, Sire, You've given me, and by that I would abide. KING. Thou art too good, too great, too beautiful, And still sb innocent thou know'st it not. But thou must let thy King give thee, dear Maid, Warm tokens of his gratitude, his love. {He puts his arm round her waist. MAID (starting away from him). Avaunt ! Is this the shape the tempter takes ? Com'st thou all hot from hell ? Back to thy home ! My soul is free, and stout for self-protection. I would unflesh me, and, bare skeleton, Stalk hideous through the world, rather than be A rounded thing to whet the lusts of men. O woman, woman ! how art thou beset ! Thy very tenderness is a decoy To snare thee. With thy soul's mobility, Thy pity and thy melting lovingness, They lime the twig to lock thy free-born feet, Using thy trustfulness to cheat thy heart ; Then loosen thee, a slave to thy low self, Deplumed, sad, lonely, withered, void, unsexed. SCENE II.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 107 O God ! I shudder at the wantonness Which strews the earth with outcasts beautiful ! Unwittingly I have affrighted thee. Maiden imagination so hath wrought, Thou seest black harms where smiling good was meant. MAID. I cannot blacken them, so deep are they With rot ingrained. I would, Sire, take my leave. [Going. KING. Nay, pause : thou must not part in this false mood. MAID. I pray your Majesty : I cannot stay. KINO. Your sovereign master then commands you stay. MAID. The King commands the subject, not the woman. I am myself sole master of myself. [Going. [Exit [OS THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V. SCENE III. The English Camp in Normandy. The DUKE OF BEDFORD, Lords TALBOT and SUFFOLK, and SIR HENRY CLIFFORD. BF.DFORD. Compiegne not yet submitted ? TALBOT. Nor, your Highness, Like to be. She has fought her way into it. BEDFORD. Ha ! Curses on her ? How she baffles us ! What is our lavish sinful ness, that we So deluged are with chastisement ? Who's here ? Enter a KNIGHT in haste, booted, with whip in hand. There lightens from thy face a good report. KNIGHT. My lord, 'tis rumored that the Maid is taken. [Stir and exclamations BEDFG-n. Only a rumor? SCENE III ] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. log KNIGHT. Yesterday, in Paris, This rumor lifted from our hearts their gloom. Quick mounting, I rode all the night to joy Herewith your Highness. But the shorter way Through Beauvais lies from sieged Compiegne. From thence Has nothing come ? Enter in haste from the other side another COURIER-KNIGHT. SECOND KNIGHT. She's taken, she's taken ! These eyes Saw her a prisoner. Your royal Highness, Here's a dispatch from John of Luxembourg, Count de Ligny, whose captive she now is. In a bold sortie from Compiegne, her corps Was crushed, and she by a Picard archer seized. [As the KNIGHT and the others carry on a lively talk, tht DUKE OF BEDFORD walks aside 'Tis much too big for instant measurement, This new event. And now to make the most Of such high-foaming fortune. Let me see. Ligny will hold her at a royal ransom : I IO THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr V. As kings now go, she's worth a score of kings. The consecration at historic Rheims Was worth a manful army to the French. Transformed it must be into desecration ; And that by proving her a sorceress. She had Charles crowned. Judge her the Devil's tool, And he's uncrowned in public sentiment. The general feeling is a mighty power. The Church must be our instrument to damn her. We've often been her sword : now she'll be ours. This interchange of help twixt Church and State Strengthens, for priest and king, despotic sway. The Church once vouched for her. But what of that ? For a proportioned end she'll eat her words As glib and heartily as e'er the wafer. At once about it Gentlemen, to-day Than yesterday we're stronger by a force Equal to fifty thousand men. Come then, Let's fall at once upon the hamstrung foe. [Exeunt all but CLIFFORD. I am ashamed to feel the joy I do. That Englishmen should shout and throw up caps, Because a woman is a prisoner ! A woman, aye, but with more than the strength SCENE IV.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 1 1 1 Of twenty thousand of the strongest men. There's something here not to be fathomed yet. By indirections, tools most seeming slight, Supremest will oft compasseth great ends. \Exit. SCENE IV. Picardy. A room in the Castle of the Duke of Ligny. THE MAID (reclining at first on a so/a). Time leaps along, and drops cr picks us up, As we had no more worth or dignity Than particles of dust upon his feet. But bits of dust are something to themselves And neighbors : each hath life, alliances, Dependencies ; and so have I, and warmth, Earth-warmth that hath instinctive shuddering dread Of being cooled and quenched untimely soon. My yearning loves reach out for earth's warm children. I find fresh mothers, sisters, everywhere, Who would be loved and clung to, not quick snatched From out my twining arms. In these few weeks This gentle, tender, radiant Countess Ligny 1 12 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr V. And her dear daughter have so planted them Deep in my heart, 'twill be an agony To part me from them. Enter the COUNTESS OF LIGNY. The MAID throws herself weep- ing info her arms. COUNTESS Still there is some hope. MAID. No, no : it must be as it is : it must. COUNTESS. The Count will let the French King ransom thee. MAID. He cannot, dares not : they are here too strong. Enter the DAUGHTER of the COUNTESS. DAUGHTER. Mother, a troop of horse are coming hither. They're still so far, I cannot make them out They come for me. SCENE IV.] THE MAW OF ORLEANS. I I 3 COUNTESS. They shall not take thee. Oh, My husband would not be so cruel. MAID. No: Not cruel, no : his hard necessity. How I shall miss my jailors. Prisoner Never had such, nor chains so tightly claspt, Your heart-strings interlinked with mine. But now My strong deliverers are at hand. [A bugle heard. Ha! There! [Clasps her head with her hands. COUNTESS. I know the sound : 'tis but my husband's bugle. MAID. Tis my death-knell ! COUNTESS (embracing her) . They shall not, shall not take thee. MAID. They will, and must, and should. You cannot strike 114 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Act V. And such a stroke and not be struck again. Think what a blow to England. France I've freed: Aye, freed dear France. So young, and yet so blest ! So greatly chosen, I must greatly bear. Enter a KNIGHT, attended by several troopers. KNIGHT. Madame, I bear a letter from the Count. [Gives a letter. COUNTESS (reads the letter). Too true, too true ! Oh ! cruel, cruel ! Oh ! Weep not for me. When this our hasty work Below is done, dear lady, we shall meet In the high homes of heaven. And thou, sweet child, When thy grand-children, in the far-off time, Shall gather round thy chair, to hear thee speak Of this sad day, they'll thank and love thee more, That thou wast tender to the Maid of Orleans. That name I've earned, and with it earned my death, Aye, greatly earned it. So then, let it come. Farewell, farewell ! We'll meet again. Forward. [To the KNIGHT. Exit. SCENE V.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 115 SCENE V. Rouen. A room in the Palace of the Duke of Bedford. The DUKE OF BEDFORD, CARDINAL WINCHESTER. Lord Cardinal Winchester, the case stands thus. She's doomed to death by great necessities ; And yet, a prisoner of war, I dare not Take openly her life. The Church must lend Fair countenance and fine machinery. CARDINAL. Your Highness is like many servile sinners, Who in their flaunting moods scoff at the Church And in extremity entreat her help. Your Eminence has reached so high a peak Of holy altitude, all things below, Like choughs to towering eagle in his sweep, Are subaltern to one so close to heaven ; And thence the life of petty, puny earthling Hath not a scruple's weight if the Church needs it. Il6 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V. CARDINAL. Your Highness speaks deeper than you do know. Any, the richest, highest life is naught, Weighed 'gainst the weal of holy Church. This life You seek so hungrily, doubly to me Is hateful, as I'm Roman and am English. The fine machinery is ready mounted. The University tutored by me Will damn her devil's imp, with strongest say. The grand Inquisitor sends deputy, One of the two who will preside. The other, Cauchon, a man so fit for such a lead, Nor coldest earth nor hottest hell could hatch A second, him to mate. A man of hates, Among them holy hates. Your Highness knows What holy hates can be ? It turns me pale To think of them : I've felt them. He's a Bishop ? CARDINAL. Bishop of Beauvais : would be more. Perhaps. These two preside : myself I guide the trial. Scores of Assessors there must be. I've taught Cauchon how to appoint them. Is not this Prompt, promising ? SCENE V.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. BEDFORD. Beyond my hope or thought. To work the wheels of worldly management Give me a topmost churchman. CARDINAL. Little else Have we to do : our guidance heavenward Is done by rote, through men's wide trustfulness. We then are one : she dies. BEDFORD. A speedy death CARDINAL. speedy, and by fire [Exeunt. I 1 8 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr V. SCENE VI. Rouen. ITu Maid's prison. The Maid in chains, lying on the floor. Enter brother ISAMBART, an Augustine Friar, in costume. ISAMBART. She sleeps. Sleep on : snatch yet some bliss on earth In thy clean paradise of lustrous dreams. These with their mystic, quick, disheveled light, Now lighten thee through battle's exultations To thy far, lowly, holy infancy. Chained, martyred, doomed, there lies the greatest she Of history, a goal, towards which, in distant times, Men's thoughts shall straining climb to compass her. [ The MAID shrieks What hast thou ? What wild pain so tortures thee ? MAID. Oh, the deep agony, to be awaked From heaven, and brought back to this hell ! Oh ! Oh ! ISAMBART. Dear Maid, what fiercest hell can do thee hurt ? SCENE VI.] THE MAID OF OKLEANS. \ 1C) Thou art an angel ? This flesh that yet doth cling About thy soul MAID (looking up}. See there they nod and smile, As they avouched thee. Brighter still ! Such smiles ! You promised me deliverance. O Heaven ! What ecstasy of look ! They beckon me And now they fade, they mount, smiling and beckoning. {She fails prostrate. ISAMBART. Rise, rise : This beckoning is Heaven's call to thee. \Sfie rises to her knees. Thy path is up, straight up to them. This is The swift deliverance promised. MAID. Hark ! their song ! It thrills me, lifts me, such a life there's in it ! I come, I come. ISAMBART. Aye, lifted thou wilt be To loftier, livelier life. What is earth's death ? Death's a foul name given to the lift supreme : Its worst, a momentary pang of birth. I2O THE MAID OF ORLEANS. |Acr V. Enter two Priests. FIRST PRIEST. The High Court Ecclesiastical summons to its pres- ence Joan of Arc, called the Maid of Orleans. We come to attend thee. I free thy limbs. [Removes the chains. ISAMBART. Father Vincent, give her some moments yet.. FIRST PRIEST They must be few, good brother Isambart. [Priests withdraw. MAID. Dear brother Isambart, 'tis they (pointing up) have sent thee To be my comforter. ISAMBART. . Thy comforter ? Oh, blessed lot ! that I can give some solace To her whose being hath been a fervent flow Of sanatory balm to million souls ; In whose great life there are such deeps, such dower, SCENE VI.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 121 Her lofty death will make sound hearts beat sounder Through the long lives of untold centuries. Good brother Isambart, thou art a priest The like of whom I've never- known till now. Were more as thou art, oh, the world were better. ISAMBART. Think not too well of me. When I'm near thee I'm brightened, straightened, cleansed. Oh, I could mount Upon the sacred pile, and with thee dare Thy baffled enemies, and rally thee To pardon thy inhuman torturers. MAID. Come, let us go : thou'st made me strong. I'll beard The tigers in their very den. ISAMBART. Think not Too harshly of them. They're what they must be. MAID. They cannot harm me. 122 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. FACT V ISAMBART. Harm thee ! Their worst hates, Revenges, angers, are no more to thee Than shadows of the transitory storm To th' everlasting sun's resplendency. {Exeunt SCENE VII. Rouen. Chamber of the Ecclesiastical Court. A longtable: in the centre sit CAUCHON, BISHOP OF BEAUVAIS, with mitre on, and the VICAR OF THE INQUISITOR, as chief judges ; on cither side of them ten or twelve Assessors. On one side, away from the table, BEDFORD and WINCHESTER are sealed together. BEAUVAIS. More wary we must be in questioning. By sudden subtleties she yesterday Outwitted our devices, and escaped. WINCHESTER. Let gentlemen keep aye before their minds The function of this Court, its purpose, end ; Which is, not to find innocent, but guilty. SCENE VII.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 123 AN ASSESSOR. If that's its end I cannot be a member. [Rues. ANOTHER ASSESSOR. Nor I. [Rises. BEAUVAIS. Begone : make room for better men. [Exeunt the two Assessors. WINCHESTER. Tis well you're purged of these two hypocrites. Enter a PRIEST. PRIEST. The prisoner's at the door. BEAUVAIS. Let her come in. Enter the MAID, ISAMBART following her. Joan, are you in a better mood to-day ? 1 34 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V MAID. What mood should be a woman in, alone, Allowed no counsel, badgered by a Court Packed for a predetermined doom of death ? WINCHESTER (rises in great excitement: to BEAUVAIS). Rather than hear such contumacious speech From this foul throat, tear out her tongue accursed. MAID (to WINCHESTER). Thy whetted tool is yet not sharp enough. Thyself, Lord Cardinal, the peer of kings, Hidden within thy soul's dark depths, hast thou No single ray of light, to beam and grow And save thee from thy terrible self-doom ? There's not a man on earth who is pure devil ; For thou, yes thou, must die ; and devils die not. WINCHESTER. Away ! I'll hear no more : I'll hear no more. [Rushes out. Commotion and whispering among the members of the Court, ISAMBART (aside) How she upswings me high above myself ! I shame me for my brother priests. Her words SCENE VII.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 135 Strike through them like the flint's compulsive flash Through powder, bursting their cold wrath in flame. AN ASSESSOR. Sometimes, I say not always, wast thou not, In weaker moments, prompted by the Evil One? Power o'er me he never had : no, never. From my live body tear the flesh: pluck out The heart within me : I will say naught else. My counsel hath been ever from on high. ANOTHER ASSESSOR. This is not right : this is not right. A trial Conducted thus is null. BEAUVAIS (in anger). Silence ! or go. And so you say (to the MAID) your voices were from heaven ? They were, they are : for now I hear one, and It bids me say to thee : Bishop, beware ! Thou call'st thyself my judge : beware ! beware ! 126 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V. BEAUVAIS (terrified}. Ha ! dost thou threaten me ? Dare'st thou, dare'st thou ? [ffe whispers to an ASSESSOR to question her. AN ASSESSOR. St. Michael, was he naked when you saw him ? MAID. God, hath he not wherewith to clothe his own ? ANOTHER ASSESSOR. Believest thou, thou'rt in a state of grace ? If I am not, I pray God make me so : And if I am, may I keep such blessed state. Wretched, most wretched, I should deem myself, If banished from the love and grace of God. Than that I'd rather die a hundred deaths. [ The members of the Court look at one another in dismay. After a pause and whisper ing, BEAUVAIS rises. The Court's adjourned : take her away. [Exit the MAID, accompanied by the two priests who brought her, ind followed by ISAMBART. [ The scene closes .] SCENE VIII.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. - 127 SCENE VIII. A Street in Rouen. Enter, meeting, the two Assessors who left the Court FIRST ASSESSOR. Is it true, is it true ? SECOND ASSESSOR. Too true, too true. FIRST ASSESSOR. OGodf A woman, tender, young ! and innocent As is the morning star that fades to heaven. SECOND ASSESSOR. To heaven doth she ascend within an hour. FIRST ASSESSOR. At this unmanly, fiendish murder, scream Furies for joy, and Death holds his hard sides At the rank bloody harvests herewith sown. 'Tis England's work, through Winchester and Bedford, 128 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [Acr V. Backed by the jealous Church ; and they have used A Frenchman's tiger-paw to light this fire, To light with embers brought from deepest hell. But 'twill first singe and then consume themselves. SECOND ASSESSOR. What a death ! what a death ! FIRST ASSESSOR. Her grandeur makes Sublime that which her butchers would have mean. What a great death ! 'Twill lift this peasantess Even above th' heroic heights she reached As the one warrior-Maid. For France she fought, And by great fighting France she saved ; now dies, " Martyr for France, for justice, truth, and right ; A Bishop for her murderer, and judges For executioners ; by one great nation Abandoned, by another burnt alive. The nation she has saved cannot save her : That she has beaten can do naught but kill her.' : ] For man her bright ascending figure looms A beacon and a blessing through all time. 1 These six lines are a free translation of a passage in an elo- quent oration delivered by M. Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, on the inauguration of a statue to the Maid at Orleans, May 8, 1856. SCENE IX.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS- 1 29 A fearful but most sacred duty's left : To see her once again, as she shall pass To the dread place of immolation. Shall We go? SECONI> ASSESSOR. Ready am I to go with you. [Extant. SCENE IX. Public Square in Rouen. In the rear a pile prepared. Soldiers around it. On either side of the pile, elevated platforms ; on one are seated the Bishop of Beauvais, the Inquisitor's Vicar, and the Assessors, on the other Cardinal Winchester and several Bishops ; Beauvais, Winchester, and the Bishops in robes and mitres ; below a motley crowd of people. Enter the two Assessors. FIRST ASSESSOR. Oh what a spectacle ! Heaven surely hath Far aims, permitting such a deed as this. Look there : that's the bad ruthless Cardinal. To do their proper function, prelates should 9 1 30 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. [ACT V Have happier, holier thoughts than other men, Fresh pulses from th' eternal love creative : What thoughts are theirs who sit in highest place To judge and burn a maiden innocent? In this black nook, shifted to earth from hell, Great Cardinal Winchester is ministering devil. Are heaven's sluices locked, that they ope not To shower, from streaming eyes of cherubim, A flood of tears, and drown this wickedness ? Oh, the blind arrogance of men, that they Would browbeat God. They snatch his mighty sceptre ; Then venture willfully to wield what is So laden with omnipotence, a turn, The slightest, from its flashing rectitude, Frights planets in their courses, and a wrench In human governance springs a rebound That fells the puny wielders to the damned. SECOND ASSESSOR. See there : she comes, she comes. FIRST ASSESSOR. A burst of light ! At such approach should not this darkness flee, Evanishing like gloom before the dawn ? SCENE IX.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. 131 Enter the MAID ; on either side of her, brothers ISAM BAR r and MARTIN ; soldiers following. Bishops sink out of sight : be seen no more ! MAID. O Rouen, Rouen ! must I die then here ? ISAMBART. No : thou shall not : thou wilt not, can'st not die. There is no death. Thou art brought here to be Released from earth, in one strong moment's pang. MAID. Thou say's t aright : 'tis so : thou say'st aright. ISAMBART. The earth is dark, but heaven is alight With love, that angels may behold and cheer, Then greet and welcome thee. Enter hurriedly OVSELEUR, and throws himself at her feet. Thou injured one ! Forgive, forgive me, oh, forgive me, angel ! False, false, I've been to thee. Canst pardon me My perfidy, my base deceit ? 132 THE MAID Of ORLEANS. [Acr V MAID. Rise up, False Oyseleur. Hast thou washed deep thy heart In warm repentance ? OYSELEUR. Oh, I have, I have. MAID. Then go in peace : God will forgive thee, too. [A SOLDIER seizes OYSELEUR. SOLDIER. Away, begone ! [T/imsts OYSELEUR out. BEAUVAIS. Joan, it is not yet too late. Confess here, publicly, thy voices were From demons, and thou shalt not mount the pile. MAID. I cannot say what is not. I believe, Nay, nay, I know my voices were from God. Angels hover incessant near to us, Peopling corporeal air with spiritual life. SCENE IX.] THE MAID OF ORLEANS. \ 33 Heaven enfolds the earth : from birth till death We're breathed on by the breath of viewless friends, Whose eyes caress us with benignant smiles. The world of spirits and the world of man Are one, held soul to soul by mutual links. Not one here, no, not one, but over him Hang angels, ready, at his cordial will, To aid him cleanse his soul : the channel this Of the Almighty's prescient ministry. Now, Heavenly Father, give me strength. And ye, My brothers, help me with your prayers. \She ascends the pile, accompanied by brother MARTIN. A VOICE (from the judges'" platform}. Executioner, do your duty. [ The executioner ties her to the stake, and then descends and lights the fire, MAID Bishop of Beauvais, this day's work is thine. Thee I forgive : may God : man never will. [ The BISHOP covers his face jaith his hands, in agony. The flame and smoke rise, brother MARTIN still on his knees beside her. MAID. Go down, go down, good brother. ["//< slmnly desffttds. 1 34 THE MAID OF ORLEANS. I ACT V FIRST .ASSESSOR. How terrible, how damnable, but how Sublime is this dread sight. Think that you saw The risen sun quick quenched in howling darkness. MAID (behind the smoke, with piercing cry). Jesus ! Jesus ! An English KNIGHT rushes from the crmvd, with hands uplifted. KNIGHT. We're lost, we're lost ! Doomed, doomed ! We've burnt a saint ! We shall be driven out of France driven out. [Above the smoke the MAID is seen to ascend, stretching out her hands in attitude of blessing. Angels just over her. See there, see : for the death we give to her, She gives to us the life of her high blessing, [Falls on his knees. As she ascends to her great place in heaven. [Others similarly touched, fall on their knees, some prostrate, exclaiming, O God ! have mercy on us ! mercy, mercy ! | The curtain falls.} UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. JAN 15 19$) UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000029384 5