SRLF UP; A Officers of Paolo's Company A Soldier A Drug-seller Bride of Giovanni, and Daugh- ter of Guido da Polentt. Tyrant of Ravenna Cousin to Giovanni Kinswoman to Francesca Daughter to Pulci Maid to Francesca A Blind and Aged Servant of the Malatesta A Peasant Girl Guests, Couriers, Soldiers, Customers of Pulci Servants, &c. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA SCENE. A gloomy Hall in the Malatesta Castle at Rimini, hung with weapons and instruments of the Chase ; GUESTS and CITIZENS assembled, with SOLDIERS, HUNTSMEN and RETAINERS; hounds held in leash. As the scene opens a trumpet is blown outside. Enter GIOVANNI hurriedly down a gallery to the Hall with papers in his hands He pauses on the steps. Gio. Peace to this house of Rimini henceforth ! Kinsmen, although the Ghibelline is fallen And lies out on the plains of Trentola, Still have we foes untrampled, wavering friends. Therefore, on victory to set a seal, 12 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA To-day I take to wife Ravenna's child, Daughter of great Polenta, our ally; Between us an indissoluble bond. Deep in affairs my brother I despatched, My Paolo who is indeed myself For scarcely have we breathed a separate thought To bring her on the road to Rimini. \_A noise of falling chains is heard. I hear them at the gates ; the chains have fallen. The doors at end of gallery are thrown open. Enter oiit of sunlight PAOLO, leading FRANCESCA by the hand, followed by LADIES and SQUIRES. Flowers are thrown over them. FRANCESCA bends low to GIOVANNI, who raises her itp. Rise up, Francesca, and unveil your face. \He kisses her on the forehead. Kinsmen, and you that follow with my brid^ Vou see me beat with many blows, death-pal PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 13 With gushing of much blood, and deaf with war- You see me, and I languish for a calm. I ask no great thing of the skies ; I ask Henceforth a quiet breathing, that this child, Hither all dewy from her convent fetched, Shall lead me gently down the slant of life. Here then I sheathe my sword ; and fierce must be That quarrel where again I use the steel. \A murmur of approbation. He turns to FRANCESCA. Tell me, Francesca; can you be content To live the quiet life which I propose? Where, though you miss the violent joys of youth, Yet will I cherish you more carefully Than might a younger lover of your years. FRANC. My lord, my father gave me to you : I Am innocent as yet of this great life ; My only care to attend the holy bell, To sing and to embroider curiously : And as through glass I view the windy world. 14 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Sweet is the stillness you ensure to me Whose days have been so still : and yet I fear To be found wanting in so great a house : I lack experience in such governing. So if at any time I seem to offend you, Will you impute it to my youth ! But I Shall never fail in duty willingly. Gio. I like that coldness in you, my Francesco, And to my cousin I will make you known. Widowed and childless, she has ruled till now This fort of soldiers, a rough hostelry, Which henceforth is your home ; since I remember She was my friend : has often cooled a rashness, Which I inherit : lean at first on her. Luc. Francesca, as your husband says, we two Have long been friends ; but friendship faints in love, And since through inexperience you may err, My place is near you ; to advise and guide Suits with my years. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 15 COSTANZA. O Lord of Rimini ! With sighs we leave her as we leave a child. Be tender with her, even as God hath been ! She hath but wondered up at the white clouds ; Hath just spread out her hands to the warm sun; Hath heard but gentle words and cloister sounds. [GIOVANNI bows to her. Gio. Friends, you will go with us to church; till then Walk where you please yet one word more be sure That, though I sheathe the sword, I am not tamed. What I have snared, in that I set my teeth And lose with agony ; when hath the prey Writhed from our mastiff-fangs? Luc. Giovanni, loose Francesca's hands the tears are in her eyes. Gio. Well, well, till church-time then. Paolo, stay! 16 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA [Exeunt LUCREZIA, GUESTS and RE- TAINERS; NITA and attendant LADIES remaining in the background. GIO- VANNI, PAOLO, and FRANCESCA come down. These delegates from Pesaro, Francesca, Expect my swift decision on the tax. Then will you think me negligent or cold If to my brother I confide you still, A moment and no more? [Exit GIOVANNI. FRANC. O, Paolo, Who were they that have lived within these walls? PAO. Why do you ask? FRANC. It is not sign nor souncf ; Only it seemeth difficult to breathe, It is as though I battled with this air. PAO. You are not sad? FRANC. What is it to be sad? Nothing hath grieved me yet but ancient woes, Sea-perils, or some long-ago farewell, PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 17 Or the last sunset cry of wounded kings. I have wept but on the pages of a book, And I have longed for sorrow of my own. PAO. Come nothing nearer than such far-off tears Or peril from the pages of a book And, therefore, sister, am I glad that you Are wedded unto one so full of shelter. Constant is he, and steel-true till the grave. For me to-night I must be gone. FRANC. To-night ! Ah, Paolo, go not away so soon ! You brought me hither leave me not at once, Not now PAO. Francesca ! FRANC. I am still a child. I feel that to my husband I could go Kiss him good-night, or sing him to his sleep, And there an end. PAO. Sister, I would that I i8 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA FRANC. Can we not pky together a brief while? Stay, then, a little ! Soon I shall be used To my grave place and duty but not yet. Stay, then, a little ! PAO. Here my brother comes. Enter GIOVANNI. Gio. Stand either side of me you whom I love. I'd have you two as dear now to each other As both of you to me. We are, Francesca, A something more than brothers fiercest friends ; Concordia was our mother named, and ours Is but one heart, one honour, and one death. Any that came between us I would kill. FRANC. Sir, I will love him : is he not my brother? [NiTA advances, with attendant LADIES. NITA. My lady, it draws late. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 19 Gio. Go with her, child. [Exeunt FRANCESCA, NITA and LADIES. Gio. \To PAOLO.] You have set a new seal on an ancient love, Bringing this bride. PAO. And having brought her, here My office ends. I'll say farewell to-night. Gio. This very night ! PAO. I'll go with you to church ; But from the after-feast I ask excuse. Gio. I do not understand. PAO. Brother, believe I do not hasten thus without deep cause. Gio. Is there such haste indeed ? PAO. Such haste indeed ! Gio. [Taking his hand^\ Come, Paolo, we two have never held A mystery between us tell me out ! Harsh am I, but to you was ever gentle. What is the special reason of your going ? 20 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA PAD. The troop for Florence which I mustered here Should spur at daybreak. Gio. There is no such haste. What are you holding from me ? PAO. Ah, enough ! Gio. What sudden face hath made this hall so dark? Come, then, 'tis natural walk to and fro And tell me ah ! some lady you beheld There at Ravenna in Francesca's train ! Was it not so ? PAO. Urge me no more to words. Gio. What woman draws you thus away from me ? PAO. No woman, brother, draws me from this house. Gio. You like not then my marriage .' but in- deed, No marriage can dissolve the bond between us. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 21 Here you are free as ever in the house Once more, what is the reason of your going ? PAO. Brother, 'tis nothing that hath chanced, but rather That which may chance if here I am detained. Gio. Darker and yet more dark. Now speak it out. PAO. I cannot. Gio. Paolo, this is an ill Beginning of my marriage, and I loathe That you should put me off. We three, I thought We three together tempt me not to rage ! And as your elder I command your stay, Your presence both at church and at the feast. You would affront Francesca publicly ? PAO. Giovanni, 'tis enough, I stay. Forgive me. Gio. Brother, this is our first and last dispute. Now leave me to these papers. [PAOLO is going.] Paolo, 22 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA You go with me heart-whole into this marriage ? Give me your hand again ! PAO. There is my hand. [Exit PAOLO. GIOVANNI unfolds papers and reads. Gio. " In Pesaro sedition ! Andrea Sarti Is urgent " Enter LUCREZIA. She touches him on the arm. Luc. Pardon me you sit alone. While there is time, I have stolen in on you To speak my dearest wishes for this marriage, And in a manner, too, old friend, farewell. Gio. Farewell ? Luc. And in a manner 'tis farewell. Gio. This marriage is political. Luc. No more ? Gio. And yet since I have seen Francesca, I Have fallen into a trance. It seems, indeed, That I am bringing into this dark air PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 23 pureness that shall purge these ancient halls. Luc. Watch, then, this pureness : fend it fear- fully. Gio. I took her dreaming from her convent trees. Luc. And for that reason tremble at her more ! Old friend, remember that we two are passed Into the grey of life : but O, beware This child scarce yet awake upon the world ! Dread her first ecstasy, if one should come That should appear to her half-opened eyes Wonderful as a prince from fairyland Or venturing through forests toward her face No do not stride about the room your limp Is evident the more come, sit by me As you were wont to sit. Youth goes toward youth. Gio. What peril can be here? In Rimini? Luc. I have but said and say, " Youth goes toward youth," 24 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA And she shall never prize, as I do still, Your savage courage and deliberate force, Even your mounded back and sullen gait. Gio. Lucrezia ! this is that old bitterness. Luc. Bitterness am I bitter ? Strange, O strange ! How else ? My husband dead and childless left, My thwarted woman - thoughts have inward turned, And that vain milk like acid in me eats. Have I not in my thought trained little feet To venture, and taught little lips to move Until they shaped the wonder of a word? I am long practised. O those children, mine ! Mine, doubly mine : and yet I cannot touch them, I cannot see them, hear them Does great God Expect I shall clasp air and kiss the wind For ever? And the budding cometh on, The burge*ving, the cruel flowering : PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 25 At night the quickening splash of rain, at dawn That muffled call of babes how like to birds ; And I amid these sights and sounds must starve I, with so much to give, perish of thrift ! Omitted by His casual dew ! Gio. Well, well, You are spared much : children can wring the heart. Luc. Spared ! to be spared what I was born to have ! I am a woman, and this very flesh Demands its natural pangs, its rightful throes, And I implore with vehemence these pains. I know that children wound us, and surprise Even to utter death, till we at last Turn from a face to flowers : but this my heart Was ready for these pangs, and had foreseen. O ! but I grudge the mother her last look Upon the coffined form that pang is rich 26 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Envy the shivering cry when gravel falls. And all these maimed wants and thwarted thoughts, Eternal yeanling, answered by the wind, Have dried in me belief and love and fear. I am become a danger and a menace, A wandering fire, a disappointed force, A psril do you hear, Giovanni ? O ! It is such souls as mine that go to swell The childless cavern cry of the barren sea. Or make that human ending to night-wind. Why have I bared myself to you? I know not, Unless, indeed, this marriage yes, this mar riage Near now, is't not? So near made me cry out. Ah ! she will bring a sound of pattering feet ! But now this message and those papers. I Must haste to see the banquet-table spread Your bride is yet so young. [Exit LUCREZIA. Gio. [.Reads.'] "Antonio PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 27 And Conti urge it is impolitic To lay another load " Youth goes toward youth ! " On murmuring Pesaro " in Rimini ! " Foresee revolt." Here in the house all's safe. Enter SERVANT, leading in blind ANGELA. SER. My Lord, blind Angela entreats that she Once more may touch you ere you go to church. Gio. Give me your hand, old nurse. \_He kneels J\ Will you not bless me ? You will not ? And your tears fall down on me ? ANG. My son, for are you not my very son ? I gave you milk : from me you sucked in life, And still my breast is thrilling from your lips. Gio. Well, well, then ! ANG. So that now my very flesh Must quail at the approach of woe to you. Gio. The drops stand on your forehead ! What is this ? 28 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA ANG. I never trembled for you till this hour. Gio. What is it that you fear ? \He kisses her hand. ANG. Now your lips touch And I begin to feel more surely, child. Ah ! but a juice too pure hath now been poured In a dark ancient wine : and the cup seethes. Gio. Speak clearer to me. ANG. Closer lay your head. Ne'er in the battle have I feared for you. What is the strange, soft thing which you have brought Into our life ? Gio. Francesca, do you mean ? Why do you clutch my arm ? What is't you see ? ANG. A kind of twilight struggles through my dark. Be near me ! Soon it seems that I shall know. Gio. Upon what scene are those blind eyes so fixed ? PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 29 ANG. A place of leaves : and ah ! how still it is ! She sits alone amid great roses. Gio. She ? ANG. Who is he that steals in upon your bride ? Gio. Angela ! ANG. And no sound in all the world ! Gio. What doth he there ? ANG. He reads out of a book. There comes a murmuring as of far-off things. Nearer he drew and kissed her on the lips. Gio. His face, mother, his face ? ANG. Tis dark again. Gio. His face ? that I may know him when we meet. ANG. His face was dim : a twilight struggles back. I see two lying dead upon a bier Slain suddenly, and in each other's arms. Gio. Are they those two that in the roses kissed ? ANG. Those two ! 30 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Gio. Then quickly tell me of him ! ANG. Ah ! Again 'tis dark. The twilight, as it seemed, With difficulty came, and might not stay. My son, art thou still here ? Gio. Why do your lips Move fast and yet no words find out their way ? What are they vainly shaping ? ANG. Who hath now Ta'en hold on me ? Gio. Speak, speak, then ! ANG. He shall be Not far to seek : yet perilous to find. Unwillingly he comes a wooing : she Unwillingly is wooed : yet shall they woo. His kiss was on her lips ere she was born. Gio. Who used thy mouth then, and so strangely spoke ? O, this is folly ! Yet it weighs me down \Trumpets are heard. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 31 ANG. What is that sound? Gio. My marriage trumpets ! ANG. Here Still let me sit, and hear the folk pass by. Enter from one side KINSMEN and RETAINERS, PAOLO at their head. GIOVANNI joins him, putting his arm round his neck. Gio. Paolo, shall we walk together still ? [Exit marriage procession of KINSMEN, &c., led by GIOVANNI and PAOLO. Meanwhile enter from the other side FRANCESCA, LUCREZIA, and attend- ant LADIES. FRANCESCA, in passing, pauses and offers trinket to ANGELA, who shudders, letting it fall. Exeunt all but ANGELA, who remains staring before her. CURTAIN ACT II SCENE. A Hal! in the Patace. A week elapses between Acts I, and II, GIOVANNI seated with papers; PAOLO, in armour, pacing up and down. Gio. You chafe to go ? PAO. I languish for the road, The open road, and chime of mailed feet. Gio. And still I marvel at such anxious haste. PAO. My troop is mustered now : six miles from hence I take command for Florence. Gio. Well, I'll urge Your stay no more ; yet I suspect no less. PAO. What ? Gio. That no soldier-business lures you hence. 36 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA PAO. Brother, again ! Gio. I'll laugh at you no more. \_He rises and speaks slowly* I have a deeper cause to wish your stay Than when I urged it last. PAO. A deeper cause ? Gio. I have been warned of peril to Francesca. PAO. Peril! Gio. Blind Angela in vision saw One stealing in upon my wife to woo her. Ah ! you, too, start ! I am not then the fool I call myself to be so burdened down You too it touches. PAO. 'Twas a moment's fear. Gio. \Taking his hand."] Such sympathy is ours so close are we, That what I suffer you straightway must feel. PAO. What manner, then, of man was he that wooed ? Gio. Ah, there ! his face was dim. O, Paolo 1 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 37 If but a moment I could see it clear, Look in his eyes as into yours, and know. Well, this is folly ! can be reasoned off And yet it troubles me. Now since I must Surely be absent on affairs, I could More easily Francesca leave behind If you were by her side. PAO. If I ? Gio. And whom Than my own brother could I better leave ? PAO. Ah, brother, such a charge I c.-nnot well Support. If this thing happened by some chance, I in the house, you absent 'tis a duty I would not willingly take up. Gio. See how You cool to me. PAO, Set me to any service ; Despatch me into peril ask my life. I'll give away my being and breath for you. 38 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Giovanni, you doubt not, you cannot doubt, My love ? Gio. I must not, else I should go mad, So dear you are to me. PAO. And he, this wooer, If he should wrong Francesca any way My dagger to his heart were swift as yours. Gio, I know that well. Enter FRANCESCA. Francesca, whence come you ? FRANC. From fostering garden flowers. Gio. Paolo Is set on going. I have urged, implored He has no answer, only he will go. Enter a SERVANT hurriedly. SER. A courier, sir, spurred out of Pesaro ! . So I expected ! I will come to him. [Exit GIOVANNI hurriedly and SERVANT. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 39 FRANC. \To PAOLO.] Will you not stay ? My hus- band wishes it My husband and your brother so he speaks Twice with each word. PAO. My brother and myself Have spoken of this, and yet you see I go. FRANC. If for his sake you will not stay, per- haps Even for mine you will a little linger. All here are kind to me, all grave and kind, But O, I have a fluttering up toward joy, Lightness and laughter, and a need of singing. You are more near my age you understand. Where are you vulnerable, Paolo ? You are so cased in steel is't here ? or here ? Lay that sad armour by that steel cuirass. See, then ! I will unloose it with my hands. I cannot loose it there's some trick escapes me. PAO. Francesca, think not I can lightly leave you 40 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA And go out from your face into the dark. Ah ! can you think it is not sweet to breathe That delicate air and flowery sigh of you, The stealing May and mystery of your spirit ? Am I not flesh and blood ? am I not young ? Is it easy, then, for youth to run from youth ? And yet from you I run. Or are we swift To fly delight ? And yet from you I fly. What shall I say ? FRANC. Sweet are your words, but dark. Is beauty to be dreaded, then, and shunned ? PAO. How shall I tell you and sow in you thoughts Which are not there as yet ? \JHe moves to go. FRANC. And you will go ? Will you not say farewell ? Will you not kiss My hand at least ? Why do you tremble, then ? Is even the touch of me so full of peril ? PAO. O ! of immortal peril ! PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 41 FRANC. But how strange ! You dread this little hand ? O, wonderful ! Your face is white, and yet you have killed men ! PAO. Francesca ! FRANC. Do you fear to look in my eyes, You so ensteeled and clanging in your stride? And you could crush my life out with your hand. O, this new peril that I have about me ! PAO. Child! FRANC. And this woe that comes from me to men ! And I can stay your going, can I not ? Look up ! and with a smile I'll bind you fast. PAO. Sister, I suffer ! now at last farewell ! \Exit PAOLO, tearing himself away. FRANC. {Running to a mirror.'] Where is the glass ? O, face unknown and strange ! Slight face, and yet the cause of woe to men ! Enter NITA. Nita, did any pass you on the stair ? 42 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA NITA. Lord Paolo came by me, all in steel. FRANC. Nita, he trembled to look up at me ! And when I nearer came all pale he grew. And when I smiled he suffered, as it seemed ; And then I smiled again : for it was strange. Is't wicked such sweet cruelty to use ? O ! and that bluer blue that greener green ! NITA. My Lady, there's no help. And for my sake Tall men have fought and lost bright blood for me. [She looks in the glass. We cannot choose ; our faces madden men ! FRANC. And yet, Nita, and yet can any tell How sorrow first doth come ? Is there a step, A light step, or a dreamy drip of oars ? Is there a stirring of leaves, or ruffle of wings ? For it seems to me that softly, without hand, Surely she touches me. NITA. O, such as you Are from their birth uplifted above sorrow. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 43 FRANC. But am I ? am I ? Has he left the house ? How far, then, hath he gone by now how far ? Surely 'tis natural to desire him back Most natural is it not most natural ? Say ! And yet my heart is wild NFTA. He is, my Lady, Your husband's brother. FRANC. O, I had not thought ! I had not thought ! I have sinned, and I am stained ! [She weeps. NITA. Lady, you have done nothing. Enter GIOVANNI, with ATTENDANTS; LUCREZIA, with LADIES, to whom she gives directions apart. GIOVANNI comes down to FRANCESCA. Gio. Could you not Prevail on him to stay? he will return. How beautiful you seem, Francesca, now, As though new- risen with the bloom of dreams ! 44 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA More difficult it grows to leave your side. I, like a miser, run my fingers through Your hair : yet tears are lately in your eyes ! What little grief perplexes you, my child ? FRANC. T cannot tell, but suffer me to seek The Lady Mother of the convent. Gio. Yet You shal 1 not stir alone. I have a fear. \_To ATTENDANTS. Follow your mistress, and escort her back. \_Exit FRANCESCA, NITA and escort. Lu- CREZIA dismisses LADIES and comes down to GIOVANNI. Gio. [Looking after FRANCESCA.] The peril, ah ! the peril ! Luc. What is this ? Gio. Sit, then, and listen. You first sowed in me The apprehension of Francesca's youth. Luc. O, I but said PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 45 Gio. Listen ! That very hour Blind Angela, that held me at her breast. Whose very flesh anticipates my fate, I found all shivering like a creature dumb. She clutched my arm, and then, as from the touch, There came a kind of twilight in her dark, And in that twilight with blind eyes she saw One stealing in upon my wife to woo her. Luc. Ah! Gio. In a place of leaves they sat and read. Nearer he drew, and kissed her on the lips. Again into her dark the twilight came, And they two lay together on a bier, Slain ere they knew, and in each other's arms. These images have so enthralled my brain I have lived since then in fever. Luc. But this shadow That wooed Francesca, and then died with her, Was nothing more discerned? Gio. The face was dim. *6 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Luc. But could she give no hint of form or voice ? Gio. I cried " How shall I know him ? " Then her lips, After a frantic striving, shaped these words " Unwillingly he comes a wooing ; she Unwillingly is wooed : yet shall they woo." Luc. Unwillingly ! This, as it seems, would point Gio. [Starting to his feet.'] Ah ! does the scent 'come to you ? Set me on ! Luc. [Sl0wly.~] To one who had dear reason not to woo To one who owed you much some ancient friend ! Gio. Fainter again ! I know of no such man. Hark back. Luc. Said she no more, then ? Gio. " He shall be Not far to seek, yet perilous to find ! " PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 47 [LUCREZIA starts. What, does the scent come stronger now ? You start, And your eyes glitter Luc. \_Going slowly to him and laying her hand on his shoulder^ Let us hunt this trail ! And yet you will mislike whither it leads. Gio. Nothing can hold me now. Luc. " Not far to seek " Points back to Rimini, this little town, To one, perhaps, mad for Francesca's face, That lurks about us. Gio. Wary now, yet swift ! Luc. Here at our gates, or nearer still. Gio. Say, say ! Luc. Perhaps, perhaps, within this very house. Gio. O barren restless woman, at what sight Do you give cry at last ? Luc. [Looking into his eyes.~\ Are you still eager ? 48 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Gio. I shut my eyes and I run into it. Luc. [Starting back."] That crouch as of a beast about to spring ! I dare not, will not, speak till you are calm. Gio. I am calm [bending his sword across his knee}. This steel is true that I can bend it Into a hoop ! Luc. O, then, if it should be One that had risen, eaten and drunk with you, Whose hand was daily in your own ! Gio. Is it ? Luc. Giovanni ! who shall set a shore tc love? When hath it ever swerved from death, or when Hath it not bumed away all barriers, Even dearest ties of mother and of son, Even of brothers ? Gio. \_Seizing her arm.~] Is it Paolo ? Luc. You stop the blood in my arm; release your hold. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 49 Gio. \Slowly releasing her armJ\ Ah, gradual nature ! let this thought com* slow ! Accustom me by merciful degrees To this idea, which henceforth is my home : I am strong yet cannot in one moment think it. Luc. [Softly.'} You speak as in a trance. Gio. Bring me not back ! Like one that walks in sleep, if suddenly I wake, I die. [ With a cry.~] Paolo ! Paolo ! Luc. Giovanni ! Gio. Paolo ! ah, no, not there ! Not there, where only I was prone to love ! Beautiful wast thou in the battle, boy ! We came from the same womb, and we have slept Together in the moonbeams ! I have grown So close to him, my very flesh doth tear ! Why, why, Lucrezia, I have lifted him Over rough places he was but a child, I So PAOLO AND FRANCESCA A child that put his hand in mine ! I reel My little Paolo ! [He swoms off. Luc. Help, help ! Ah, no ! I must not call the foam is on his lips, The veins outstand and yet I have a joy, A bitter joy ! I'll lay his head down here. \_She raises his face, and looks into it. Thou wast so rich now thou art poor as I ! His eyes unclose ! Master thyself ! GJ 3. \_Slowly opening his eyes.~\ At last ! As to a soul new-come the murk of hell Grows more accustomed, gradually light, So I begin to see amid this gloom. Let me explore the place and walk in it ! [He rises slowly to his feet. We must live on, Lucrezia we must still Pace slowly on, and set our teeth until Relief is sent. Luc. Can you stand now, Giovanni ? Gio. You are my friend, my solitary friend ! PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 51 Luc. Am I not lone as you are, without ties ? Childless and husbandless, yet bitter-true ! Gio. Be with me still if Paolo it is ! Henceforward let no woman bear two sons. Yet, wherefore should he go ? Luc. He feared, perhaps. Gio. He too, then, feared and went. Luc. Now he is gone, There's breathing time at least. Gio. Can I not bind Her beauty fast o'er which I 'gin to yearn ? Are there not drugs to charm the hearts of women ? Luc. Put her to sleep, and so ensure her faith Yet, then, she'll dream. Gio. If Paolo it is ! Luc. Lean upon me, Giovanni ; you are weak. [Exeunt both, slowly. 52 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA SCENE II. A Wayside Inn out of Rimini. View of Rimini in distance, towers flushed with sunset. Enter MARCO and other SOLDIERS, MIRRA and other GIRLS, a SERGEANT. A SOLDIER. What ! Are we all to say good-bye here, then? A GIRL. We can come no further out of Rimini. ANOTHER SOLDIER. We must all have a kiss before we go. ANOTHER GIRL. Ah ! you are ready to kiss us, and you are ready to go. SOLDIER. That is the soldier's life. GIRL. To love and go away? Yes, we know you. MAR. To love and go, and love again, to fight and love again, and go a good life. too. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 53 A GIRL. Listen to him ! He tells us he will love some one else. Well, we have all had a merry time. MAR. So we have ; but the world is large. Little Mirra here is not the first or the last. {They laugh. A SOLDIER. One last cup of wine all round. MAR. Come, Mirra, we'll drink together out of this cup. Here's your health, sweetheart, and many other lovers to you. A GIRL. Ah ! he knows life is short. Isn't he a pretty fellow ? MAR. [Sings."] O I love not, I, the long road and the march, With the chink, chink, chinking, and the parch. But I love the little town that springs in sight At the falling of the day, with many a light. It is sweet ! it is sweet (Chorus) Ha, ha ! Ha, ha ! 54 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA To clatter down the pebbly street, When the taverns all are humming, And the lads in front are drumming, And the windows fill with girls, All laughing, and all shaking down their curls. (Chorus) Ha, ha ! Ha, ha ! Then your armour's all unlaced, And your arm is round a waist : And she seems so much afraid, You could swear she was a maid SERGEANT. [Interrupting^ Come, lads, give the girls the slip : your duty ! We must start again. MIR. [Clinging to MARCO.] You will come back again, won't you, Marco ? MAR. May and may not, Mirra. Who can tell ? MIR. Because because A GIRL. Look at her she's crying ! Why, he was only playing with you. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 55 MIR. I know, I know. A GIRL. And they say his play has ended in some earnest. ANOTHER GIRL. Well, what then ? Fools must go their own way. MAR. Good-bye, girls : we have had a merry time. GIRLS. Good-bye, good-bye ! \_All exeunt. Enter CORRADO, VALENTINO, LUIGI and PAOLO. COR. Here's an inn the first since Rimini. Bring us some wine. PAO. How straight the road is from here to Rimini ! One can see the town at the end. VAL. Yes, and your brother's castle. \_Enter LANDLORD with wine.'] Come, Lord Paolo, some wine. Why so dull ? PAO. It is that old wound pains me. COR. [Drinking.~] Come, lad, out with it ! Is it a debt or a wench ? Let me talk with him. Goc* 56 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA wer to PAOLO.] I can advise you, Paolo. I have loved more, owed more, drunk more, and lived more. Confess to me ! Lui. Who would not to so easy a priest ? VAL. \To CORRADO.] Still staring down the road. COR. [ Whispering^ I have it, then. VAL. Corrado says that when a man sits down out- side an inn and refuses wine, and stares back along the road he came, he is in love. COR. Didn't you observe one of those girls as we passed them, crying ? Shame, Paolo ! and in your own town, too ! Lui. He doesn't hear us. COR. Well, here's a health to her, whoever she is ! Now, Paolo, let me speak to you. I have myself so often felt this give me a word. VAL. Pang! COR. Pang yes, pang J Lui. So often ? PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 57 COR. More times than I can count. Why, .man, I have thriven on pangs. There was the landlord's wife at Ancona ; there was the little black-eyed girl out of Florence. To look at me, you would scarcely suppose that I have left half the cities of Italy sighing behind me. I have suffered, and I have inflicted. There was Lui. O, Corrado ! Not these old stories. COR. Well, the fruit of all this ! You must know that love is a thing physical. It can be sweated out of a man by hard riding ; it evaporates from the body like any humour. VAL. Ha! ha! COR. My advice is this fill up, drink, and get to fighting quickly ; and if, after a bottle or so, you have taken a girl on your knee in the twilight Why Paolo ! consider you have left behind you, perhaps, another soldier for your brother's wars. You have dnne a brotherly act, ana 58 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA PAO. [Rising."] Corrado, we have been fast com- rades, and I think you know me ; but another word of this and there will be an end of talk between us you understand ? COR. O ! ho ! VAL. I tell you you see, it is one of those serious matters, where the spirit is more con- cerned than the flesh. Come, Paolo, let us have it! COR. Before he begins, I think it would be more fitting if we uncovered our heads, for the recitation is likely to be solemn. Lui. Come, come, we must be going ! COR. God send us another inn soon. \_Exeunt CORRADO and VALENTINO. Lui. Give me your hand, Paolo you know me. Tell me the trouble. PAO. I cannot, Luigi. Lui. Have you fallen out with your brother ? You and he were such friends. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 59 PAO. No. Lui. Is it the young wife that he has married, and now he seems more cold to you ? But this is natural at first. How can I help you ? PAO. No one can help me, Luigi. Lui. Up, and lead us on, then ! PAO. I will catch you in a moment. Lui. I am very sorry, Paolo. [Exit LUIGI. PAO. I have fled from her; have refused the rose, Although my brain was reeling at the scent. I have come hither as through pains of death ; I have died, and I am gazing back at life. Yet now it were so easy to return, And run down the white road to Rimini ! And might I not return ? [He starts up and looks at the towers, red with sunset."] Those battle- ments Are burning ! they catch fire, those parapets ! And through the blaze doth her white face look out 60 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Like one forgot, yet possible to save. Might I not then return ? Ah, no ! no ! no ! For I should tremble to be touched by her, And dread the music of her mere good-night. Howe'er I sentinelled my bosom, yet That moment would arrive when instantly Our souls would flash together in one flame, And I should pour this torrent in her ear And suddenly catch her to my heart. \_A drum is heard A drum ! O, there is still a world of men for a man ! I'll lose her lace in flashing brands, her voice In charging cries : I'll rush into the war ! [SOLDIERS pass across the stage. Seeing PAOLO, they cheer and call him by name then exeunt. He makes to follmv, then stops. I cannot go ; thrilling from Rimini, A tender voice makes all the trumpets mute. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 61 I cannot go from her : may not return. O God ! what is Thy will upon me ? Ah ! One path there is, a straight path to the dark. There, in the ground, I can betray no more, And there for ever am I pure and cold. The means ! No dagger blow, nor violence shown Upon my body to distress her eyes. Under some potion gently will I die ; And they that find me dead shall lay me dowc Beautiful as a sleeper at her feet. CURTAIN ACT III SCENE 1. The shop of PULCI, late evening. The walls and ceiling are hung with skins, sharks teeth, crucibles, wax figures, crystals, charms, &c. A counter, at which TESSA stands. As the scene opens figures are seen leaving the shop. Three PEASANT GIRLS and a LADY'S MAID remain. TESSA. I must ask you to choose quickly. It is past the hour for closing the shop. ist GIRL. And will this syrup keep Antonio faith- ful ? TESSA. Two drops of this in anything he drinks, given every seven days, and he will have no eyes but for you. ist GIRL. But will it keep his thoughts true while . am away ? 66 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA TESSA. Wherever he may be his thoughts will be for you. ist GIRL. Ah, but you don't know Antonio. He is so easily led off any face if it is fresh any fool with bright eyes. TESSA. These drops will keep even Antonio faith- ful. ist GIRL. I'll take it, then : it must be a wonderful syrup. \_Exit ist GIRL. TESSA. \To MAID.] And you ? MAID. I wondered how long I was to be made to wait for these common chattering wenches. I want another packet of that face-bloom for my mistress, and a darker shade. The other makes her appear hectic. TESSA. This, then, has a darker tinge. MAID. And you are to tell your father that the dye he sent withers her hair. He must add more oil. TESSA. I will tell him. Good-night. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 67 MAID. Good-night to you. \_Exit MAID. 2nd GIRL. \_Holding out charm.~\ What is this charm? TESSA. It will ensure you against ague, fever, or infection, and not only this, but against peril of any kind. It is worn round the neck, and at the approach of danger it will tremble and give you a sign. 2nd GIRL. O, I must have that. Will this money be enough to-day if I bring the rest next week ? TESSA. If the charm is not paid for soon it will lose its power. Take it, and remember. \_Exit 2nd GIRL. Now you quickly, please what do you want ? 3rd GIRL. I want a cure for love. Are they very expensive ? TESSA. We have some that will cure of love in a few hours; but these will cost you a great deal. 68 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 3d GIRL. It is terrible not to be able to sleep at nights. TESSA. Here is one that will bring you back sleep, and cure you entirely in a few weeks one that you could afford. 3rd GIRL. I don't think I want to be cured entirely and yet one never knows what one may come to when it grows late and there is music and dancing. It is hard to resist under the moon. TESSA. Come, now will you take it ? 3rd GIRL. [Taking phial.'] I think I'll have it, and take it very slowly. TESSA. There, then ! 3rd GIRL. There's money saved for six weeks. Ah, well! [Exit 3rd GIRL. TESSA, after barring up door, goes to glass. TESSA. Now I can play for awhile. [She puts some bloom on her face.~] O, but this bloom is beautiful ! And how it makes one's eyes PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 69 sparkle ! Now this red salve for the lips that is just what I lacked. My lips are too pale but now ! Where is that pencil ? Here. Shall I lengthen my eyebrows, curving them so ? No : I will only deepen them. There, then ! [She walks up and down before a glass, then sits dejectedly.'] Yet what is the use of all this? I am never seen, may not stir into the streets. And I want to be seen, and hear music and PUL. [Entering down the stairs with a lighted brazier.~\ Tessa ! TESSA. Yes, father. PUL. Have I not forbidden you to touch these powders? TESSA. Ah, but look at me, father. Am I always to stay shut up here, where no one comes but maids of fine ladies and girls from the shops ? PPL. My child, we must be patient a little 70 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA longer. Listen ! Soon we shall be rich, and then we will fly Rimini, and far from here we will have a palace \_A knockJ] Tessa, go to your room instantly. TESSA. [Lingering."] May I not stay and see who it is? PUL. It is only some lady's-maid. TESSA. No, father, I think it is a gentleman. PUL. Quickly ! Quickly ! [Exit TESSA. PULCI puts out light and lights a lamp ; he slowly unbars the door. Enter GIOVANNI, masked and cloaked. PULCI closes door after him. PUL. Has no one seen you enter, sir ? Gio. No one. PUL. Softly! What do you seek? Gio. Some dreamy potion That can enthral a woman's wandering heart And all her thought subdue to me. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 71 PUL. [Producing phial.~\ This poured In her night drink will woo her to your arms. One amorous night at least it will procure. Gio. One night ! what use of that ? Each day, each night Must she be mine. PUL. But one more drug I have ' [Searches for another phial. Gio. [Aside.'] I must beguile, it seems, my wedded wife, And lure into my arms what is my own. PUL. [Offering another phialJ] This, then, will purchase some infatuate days. Gio. Some days ! PUL. No tincture longer holds the blood. Gio. Here is a purse. [Throws purse of coins. PUL. Ah ! get you quickly gone. [As they approach the door a knock is heard. See ! I will slowly now unbar the door, 72 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA And whoso enters past him slip away Into the night. Gio. [Stops PULCI.] I must not meet a stranger. [Takes off mask. Hither ! look on my face. PUL. [Falling on his knees.~] Mercy, great Lord ! Take not my life this commerce after hours Is for my child. Gio. Hide me, and instantly. PUL. [Hiding him behind the arras.'] Here, then. [Another knock.~] And, sir, secrets of Rimini And unsuspected movings of your subjects You can o'erhear. I'll draw him on to speak Only stir not. [Unbars door; enter PAOLO."] Warily, sir. PAO. Old man Gio. Paolo's voice ! PAO. What is that sound? This business Is for no other ear but yours. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 73 PUL. If any stirred It was my child preparing her for bed. PAO. If any hear me, it were ill for him ! Old man, there is within this purse a calm Decline for thee to death, and quiet hours. Take it, and give me in exchange some drug That can fetch down on us the eternal sleep, Anticipating the slow mind of God. PUL. Is this thing for thyself, or for another ? PAO. 'Tis for myself ! PUL. I will not sell to murder. But unto any weary of their life I sell a painless issue out of it. Yet you are young ! PAO. Think you the old would die ? At any cost they would prolong the light. 'Tis we, in whose pure blood the fever takes, Newly inoculate with violent life, 'Tis we who are so mad to die. PUL. 'Tis true 74 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA I would not lose a moment of the sun. What hath so early ruined you ? PAO. Old sir, I am on my death-bed, and to you confess, Love, where to love is extreme treachery Love for another's wife. PUL. Nothing so strange. PAO. Yes, for she is my brother's wife my sister. Gio. [Aside.~\ Thou hast said it ! PAO. O, I cannot near her bide But infinite her lightest whisper grows. There's peril in the rustling of her dress. PUL. And are you, too, beloved ? PAO. She hath said no word, But should I stay, she would catch fire from me. PUL. Why all's before you yet you yield up breath. PAO. I cannot go from her ; I must not stay. To die is left ! PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 75 PUL. For such a drug the price PAO. Usher me to oblivion ! [Shows purse with gold. PUL. [Reaching down phial.] This drunk off Within an hour will terminate thy woe. PAO. [Taking phial which PULCI hands him.~\ Unbar the door ! How the night rushes in ! [Exit PAOLO. PUL. \To GIOVANNI.] I'll follow him. If suddenly he drink He must not fall and lie too near my door. [Exit PULCI. Gio. [Coming from behind arras."] All doubt at last is o'er ! He hath said it out ! Almost I had my dagger in his heart ! Yet sooner than betray, he is gone to death. [ Wildly.] I cannot have thee die, my Paolo ! Perhaps even now he drinks : even now the phial Touches his lips ah. brother, dash it down ! 76 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA How much, then, hast thou drunk? Not yet enough Not yet enough I know for death ? Which way Went he I'll follow him. \_Rushes to door, then pauses^] Yet, O my God ! It must be so ! How else? He is so bound To her, he cannot fly ! he must not stay ! He has gone out upon the only road. And this is my relief ! O dread relief ! Thus only am I pure of brother's blood ! I must be still while he goes out to die ! And yet be still while he who is most dear Drinks poison yet I must be very still ! Re-enter PULCI. PUL. I watched till he was mingled with the night. Gio. Tell me ! Is he that's gone so sure to die? PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 77 PUL. Within an hour, so potent is the drug ! \_Fawning on Gio.] You on more pleasant business came to me. We who are older at such madness laugh. Gio. I stifle here ! PUL. Tyrant of Rimini ! You will not kill me ? Gio. Till to-morrow night I stay my hand. Which way went he that fool? PUL. Straight on; he never turned until I lost him. [Exit GIOVANNI. Tessa! TESSA. [Rtmning tn.~\ Yes, father. PUL. Now you have your wish ; To-morrow must we run from Rimini. TESSA. To-morrow night the world then the bright world ! [PuLCi pours the gold out on the counter. 78 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA SCENE II. A lane outside the wall of the castle garden, postern door in the wall. Enter PAOLO. PAO. There is no other means : but ah, the pain ! Here is the garden where her lattice shines. Perchance she looks toward me now, and makes A music upon midnight with my name. Perchance she leans into the air and sighs. O ! now is she attired in purest white, Hanging above our heads ' twixt earth and heaven \ Life, life ! I cannot leave thee, for she lives. At least I must behold her before death ; And go straight from her face into the grave Straight from her touch at least into the ground. Much is permitted to a man condemned. I'll see her, hear her, touch her ere I die. [Exit PAOLO through postern door into the gardens. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 79 Enter two COURIERS hastily with torches. i st COUR. Which way now ? 2nd COUR. Stay, I arn out of breath. ist COUR. At such a moment, that Lord Malatesta cannot be found ! 2nd COUR. I must get my breath against this door. Have you the papers ? ist COUR. Here. Lately married, yet out of hit bed at this hour ! 2nd COUR. Ah, I wish I were back with ist COUR. Hush ! here is Carlo. Enter CARLO. Well, no sign of him ? CAR. None. And I am aguish, and these night dews ! ist COUR. Stay ! CAR. What ? ist COUR. Listen ! I tell you. 8o PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 2nd COUR. A step ! CAR. It is he, Lord Mala testa. Enter GIOVANNI slowly. CAR. Great lord, we have pursued you up and down. Here's news tliat will not stay. [Gives htm letter. Gio. Hold the torch nearer. [Reads. ,] "Tyrant of Rimini ! All Pesaro is risen against the tax kid on them. Our men are beaten behind the city walls the city itself declares for Cosimo. We wait but for you ; a noise of your coming a sight of you and the city will fall to us again. Linger not a moment. ANDREA." Carlo, muster every man within call. Then to the palace saddle my horse. Summon all in the house to follow you : rouse them from their beds ; they must ride with me instantly. [Exeunt CARLO and COURIERS. Enter run- ning two MESSENGERS from other side. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 81 A MESSENGER. Lord and tyrant of Rimini ! We are come on you none too soon we are ridden from the camp our horses stand there was no moment to write, but this by word of mouth : " Your gar- rison makes terms with the enemy : many are already gone over, and we fear for San Arcangelo and the whole province." Gio. Get a cup of wine, both of you, and be pre- pared to ride with me within the half-hour. I'll fall like thunder on Pesaro, and catch San Arcangelo with the wind of it. \_Exit one MESSENGER. Gio< VANNI to the other."] Stay you, sir ! and tell me more exactly as we hurry on. Where is Andrea now, then ? There is a vantage-ground just out of Pesaro, and there [Exeunt GIOVANNI and MESSENGER. 82 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA SCENE III. An Arbour in the Castle Gardens. Dawn beginning to break. Enter FRANCESCA with a book, NITA following with lamp. FRANC. I cannot sleep, Nita ; I will read here. Is it dawn yet ? [NiTA sets lamp down. NITA. No, lady : yet I see A flushing in the East. FRANC. How still it is ! NITA. This is the stillest time of night or day. FRANC. Know you why, Nita ? NITA. No, my lady. FRANC. Now Day in a breathless passion kisses night, And neither speaks. NITA. Shall I stay here ? FRANC. Ah, no ! Perhaps in the dawn silence I shall drowse. If not, I'll read this legend to myself. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 83 NITA. Is it a pretty tale ? FRANC. Pretty, ah no ! Nita ; but beautiful and passing sad. NITA. I love sad tales : though I am gay, I love Sometimes to weep. But is it of our time ? FRANC. It is an ancient tale of two long dead. NITA. O, 'tis a tale of love ! FRANC. Of love, indeed. But, Nita, leave me to myself : 1 think I would have no one stirring near me now. {Exit NITA. The light begins, but he is far away. [She walks to and fro. Better than tossing in that vacant room Is this cool air and fragrance ere the dawn. Where is the page which I had reached ? Ah, here ! Now let me melt into an ancient woe. [Begins to read. Enter PAOLO, softly, PAO. Francesca ! 84 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA FRANC. Paolo ! I thought you now Gone into battle dim, far, far away. PAO. And seems it strange that I should come, then? FRANC. No, It seems that it could not be otherwise. PAO. I went indeed; but some few miles from hence Turned, and could go no further. All this night About the garden have I roamed and burned. And now, at last, sleepless and without rest, I steal to you. FRANC. Sleepless and without rest ! PAO. It seemed that I must see your face again, Then nevermore ; that I must hear your voice, And then no more; that I must touch youi hand, Once. No one stirs within the house ; no one In all this world but you and I, Francesca. We two have to each other moved all night. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 85 FRANC. I moved not to you, Paolo. PAO. But night Guided you on, and onward beckoned me. What is that book you read ? Now fades the last Star to the East : a mystic breathing comes : And all the leaves once quivered, and were still. FRANC. It is the first, the faint stir of the dawn. PAO. So still it is that we might almost hear The sigh of all the sleepers in the world. FRANC. And all the rivers running to the sea. PAO. What is't you read ? FRANC. It is an ancient tale. PAO. Show it to me. Is it some drowsy page That reading low I might persuade your eyes At last to sleep ? FRANC. It is the history Of two who fell in love long years ago ; And wrongly fell. 86 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA PAO. How wrongly ? FRANC. Because she Already was a wife, and he who loved Was her own husband's dear familiar friend. PAO. Was it so long ago ? FRANC. So long ago. PAO. What were their famous and unlucky names ? FRANC. Men called him Launcelot, her Guene- vere. Here is the page where I had ceased to read. PAO. [Taking book.'] Their history is blotted with new tears. FRANC. The tears are mine : I know not why I wept. But these two were so glad in their wrong love : It was their joy ; it was their helpless joy. PAO. Shall I read on to you where you have paused ? PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 87 FRANC. Here is the place : but read it low and sweet. Put out the lamp ! [PAOLO puts out the lamp. PAO. The glimmering page is clear. \_Reading.~\ " Now on that day it chanced that Launcelot, Thinking to find the King, found Guenevere Alone ; and when he saw her whom he loved, Whom he had met too late, yet loved the more ; Such was the tumult at his heart that he Could speak not, for her husband was his friend, His dear familiar friend : and they two held No secret from each other until now ; But were like brothers born" my voice breaks off. Read you a little on. FRANC. \_Reading.~\ " And Guenevere, Turning, beheld him suddenly whom she Loved in her thought, and even from that hour When first she saw him ; for by day, by night, 88 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Though lying by her husband's side, did she Weary for Launcelot, and knew full well How ill that love, and yet that love how deep ! " I cannot see the page is dim : read you. PAO. [Reading.] " Now they two were alone, yet could not speak; But heard the beating of each other's hearts. He knew himself a traitor but to stay, Yet could not stir : she pale and yet more pale Grew till she could no more, but smiled on him. Then when he saw that wished smile, he came Near to her and still near, and trembled ; then Her lips all trembling kissed." FRANC. \_Drooping towards him.] Ah, Launce- lot ! \_He kisses her on the lips. CURTAIN ACT IV A Chamber in the Palace late evening of the second day after GIOVANNI'S departure. GIOVANNI discovered, stained as from hard riding. CARLO and RETAINERS attending him. Wine on table. Gio. The Lady Lucrezia is she in the house ? CAR. She is, sir. Gio. Tell her that I am returned, And ask some words with her. Well why, do you Stand bursting with some news that you must tell? What sudden thing has happened ? CAR. Nothing, sir. 92 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Gio. Nothing ? You then that huddle all to- gether, Like cattle against thunder what hath chanced ? AN ATTENDANT. I know of nothing, sir. and ATTEN. Nor I. 3rd ATTEN. Nor I. Gio. Leave me and take my message ! \_tixeunt CARLO and ATTENDANTS. Lies he so Quiet that none hath found him ? They are driven Out from the city and are fugitives. Ne'er did I strike and hew as yesterday, And that armed ghost of Paolo by me rode. \_He pours out wine and drinks. Enter LUCREZIA. Luc. So soon returned, Giovanni ? Gic. A few hours' Fast fighting ended it, Lucrezia. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 93 What news at home ? Luc. O, Paolo is returned ! Gio. Paolo returned ! What, from the grave ? Luc. The grave ? Gio. I left him dead, or going to his death. Luc. What do you mean ? Gio. I heard from his own mouth That he and she did for each other burn. Luc. He told you ? Gio. No, not me : but yet I heard. Luc. And you on the instant killed him ? Gio. No, he stole Away to die : I thought him dead : 'twere better. Now like a thief he creeps back to the house ! To her for whom I had begun to long So late in life that now I may not cease From longing ! Luc. Her that you must drug to kiss ! Will you not smell the potion in her sigh ? A few more drops, then what a mad caress ! 94 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Gio. He hath crept back like a thief into the house A thief a liar he feigned the will to die. Lucrezia, when old Angela foretold, I feared not him : when he was pointed at, I doubted still : even after his own words, Then, then had I forgiven him, for he Went out as to a grave. But now I am changed I will be wary of this creeping thing. O, I have no emotion now, no blood. No longer I postpone or fight this doom : I see that it must be, and I am grown The accomplice and the instrument of Fate, A blade ! a knife ! no more. Luc. He has been hert Since yestermorn. Gio. Yet I'll be no assassin, Or rashly kill : I have not seen them kiss. Til wait to find them in each other's arms, And stab them there enfolded and entwined, PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 95 And so to all men justify my deed. Vet how to find them where to kill is just ? Luc. Give out that this is no return, but merely An intermission of the war : that you Must ride back to the camp within the hour, And for some days be absent : he and she Will seize upon the dark and lucky hour To be together : watch you round the house, And suddenly take them in each other's arms. Gio. This plan commends itself to my cold heart. Luc. Here comes Francesca. Shall I stay, then? Gio. Stay ! Enter FRANCESCA. FRANC. Sir, you have asked for me. I did nol know You were so soon returned. Gio. Soldiers' returns 96 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Are sudden and oft unexpected. FRANC. Sir, How pale you are ! You are not wounded ? Gio. No ! A scratch perhaps. Give me some wine, Fran cesca, For suddenly I must be gone again. FRANC. I thought this broil was ended ? Gio. No ! not yet Some days I may be absent, and can go More lightly since I leave you not alone. To Paolo I commend you, to my brother. Loyal he is to me, loyal and true. He has also a gaiety of mind Which I have ever lacked : he is beside More suited to your yearr,, can sing and play, And has the art long hours to entertain. To him I leave you, and must go forthwith. \_He makes to go, then titrnf Come here, Francesca, kiss me yet not so, PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 97 Vou put your lips up to me like a child. FRANC. 'Tis not so long ago I was a child. [Seizing his arm. sir, is it -wise, is it well to go away ? Gio. What do you mean ? FRANC. I have a terror here. Gio. Can you not bear to part with me some hours ? FRANC. I dread to be alone : I fear the night And yon great chamber, the resort of spirits. 1 see men hunted on the air by hottnds . Thin faces of your house, with weary smiles. The dead who frown I fear not : but I fear The dead who smile ! The very palace rocks, Remembering at midnight, and I see Women within these walls immured alive Come starving to my bed and ask for food. Gib. Take some one then to sleep with you Lucrezia, Or little Nita else : lie not alone. 98 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA FRANC. [Still detaining him.~\ Yet go not, sir. Gio. What is it that you fear ? FRANC. Sir, go not, go not ! Gio. Child, I cannot stay For fancies, and at once I'll say farewell To both of you. I hear my courser fret. [Exit GIOVANNI. FRANC. [Looking after him, and turning slowly '.] Lucrezia, will you lie with me to-night ? Luc. I will, Francesca, if you'll have it so. FRANC. O, some one I can touch in the thick night ! What sound is that ? Luc. [Going to window. ~\ Your husband gal- loping Away into the dark [She looks from the window^ then turns~\ : now he is gone. I left young Paolo pacing up and down ; [Looking steadfastly at her. He seemed as faint for company as you. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 99 Say, shall I call him in as I go out ? He will help waste the tardy time. FRANC. [Quickly.] No, no ! Luc. Is there some little feud 'twixt you and him ? For when you meet words slowly come to you You scarce look in each other's eyes. FRANC. No feud. Luc. Remember, when Giovanni married you These two were to each other all in all ; And so excuse some natural jealousy Of you from him. FRANC. I think he means me well. Luc. Then shall I call him in ? FRANC. O, why so eager ? Where would all those about me drive me ? First My husband earnestly to Paolo Commends me ; and now you must call him in. [ Wildly] Where can I look for pity ? Lucrezia, You have no children ? ioo PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Luc. None. FRANC. Nor ever had ? Luc. Nor ever had. FRANC. But yet you are a woman. I have no mother : let me be your child To-night : I am so utterly alone ! Be gentle with me ; or if not, at least Let me go home ; this world is difficult. O, think of me as of a little child That looks into your face, and asks your hand. [LUCREZIA softly touches FRANCESCA'S hair.~\ Why do you touch my head ? Why do you weep ? I would not pain you. Luc. Ah, Francesca ! You Have touched me where my life is quivering most. I have no child : and yet if I had borne one I could have wished her hair had been this colour. FRANC. I am too suddenly cast in this whirl ! Too suddenly ! I had but convent thoughts. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 101 woman, woman, take me to you and hold me ! [She throws herself info LUCREZIA'S arms. Luc. [Clasping FRANCESCA to her.~\ At last the long ice melts, and O relief Of rain that rushes from me ! Child, my child ! 1 clasp you close, close do you fear me still ? Have you not heard love is more fierce than hate ? Roughly I grasp what I have hunted long. You cannot know how should you ? that you are More, so much more, to me than just a child. FRANC. I seem to understand a little. Luc. Close, I hold you close : it was not all in vain, The holy babble and pillow kissed all o'er ! O my embodied dream with eyes and hair ! Visible aspiration with soft hands ; Tangible vision ! O, art thou alive, Francesca, dost thou move and breathe ? Speak, speak ! 102 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Say human words out, lest thou vanish quite ! Your very flesh is of my sighs composed, Your blood is crimson with my passioning ! And now I have conceived and have brought forth ; And I exult in front of the great sun : And I laugh out with riches in my lap ! And you will deem me mad ! but do not. Sweet : I am not mad, only J am most happy. I'll dry my tears but O, if thou should'st die ? [Aside."} And ah my God ! FRANC. Why did you start ? Luc. \_Aside.~\ To stay him ! \To FRANCESCA, taking her hands, .] But I should be the shadow of a mother If here I ceased. Francesca, I well know That 'twixt bright Paolo and dark Giovanni You stand you hinted at some peril there. I ask to know no more : but take these words Be not in company with Paolo PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 103 To-night. [Aside.'] Giovanni must be found. My child, I have some business on the moment, but Within the hour I will return [Aside.] How find him ? And sleep with you [Aside."] I'll search all secret places. Kiss me. Remember, then ! \Aside^\ 'Tis not too late ! What meshes have I woven for what I love ? [Exit LUCREZIA. Enter NITA on the other side, with a lamp. NITA. Lady, shall I come in ? FRANC. Set the lamp here, Nita, and take some sewing : I am alone To-night, and you shall sit with me until Lucrezia is returned. What lamp is that ? NITA. It is the same I set you in the arbour That night you could not sleep. ' 104 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA FRANC. Yes, I remember. NITA. Are you unhappy, mistress ? FRANC. I am lonely, Nita, most lonely. NITA. That were easily Pardon the saying, mistress remedied. FRANC. And how ? NITA. If I myself were married young, Perhaps without my leave to some old man, And found a younger gallant in the house, I think I would not shun him. FRANC. Well, say on. NITA. No ! And I think I would maintain some show Of love to my grey husband : it is easy To keep in humour an old man a kiss A little look, a word will satisfy, And I would have my pleasure. FRANC. I have listened So far to you : you do not understand. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 105 O Nita, when we women sin, 'tis not By art ; it is not easy, it is not light ; It is an agony shot through with bliss : We sway and rock and suffer ere we fall. [She walks up and down. NITA. I scarcely understand, my lady. I Am ever gay, and this is a gay world ; And if we girls are prudent but a little, Tis easy to enjoy. [A knock. FRANC. Who knocked, then ? See ! NITA [Going to door and returning^ It is Lord Paolo who asks for you. FRANC. Tell him I cannot see him. Is he gone ? NITA. Yes, and so sad ! He sighed so [sighi\ t and he went. Shall I now call him back ? FRANC. No, no ! Sit down. [Speaking quickly.'} Tell me some story, Nita. NITA. Alas ! I cannot : io6 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Only the village talk I can repeat, And how FRANC. [Starting.] Listen ! What step is that without ? A sad step, and it goeth to and fro. Look out ! NITA. It is Lord Paolo, my lady. FRANC. [Quickly] Come from the windo\\ [Aside] O where tarries she, This new-found mother ? Tell me then this tale ! NITA. Lucia, my sister, has a lover whom She thought so true : but he the other night FRANC. Listen again ! PAD. [ Without] Francesca ! NITA. Tis his voice ! My lady, you are trembling ! FRANC. [Aside] Why did he Speak ? The sweet sound has floated to my brain. PAO. Francesca ! PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 107 FRANC. \_Aside.~] Soft it comes out of the night. Go to the window, Nita. What says he ? NITA. He does entreat he may come in to you A moment. Shall I answer ? FRANC. [ Walking to and fro and putting her hand to her heart^\ Let him come. NITA. I will go tell him. [Aside.] They'll not want me : I Can meet Bernardo now. {Exit NITA. FRANC. O voice too sweet ! And like the soul of midnight sending words ! Now all the world is at her failing hour, And at her faintest : now the pulse is low ! Now the tide turns, and now the soul goes home ! And I to Paolo am fainting back ! A moment but a moment then no more ! Enter PAOLO. PAO. I am by music led into this room, And beckoned sweetly : all the breezes die io8 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Round me, and in immortal ecstasy Toward thee I move : now am I free and gay - Light as a dancer when the strings begin. FRANC. What glow is on thy face, what sudden light ? PAO. It seems that I am proof against all perils. FRANC. And yet I fear to see thy air so glad. PAO. To-night all points of swords to me are dull. FRANC. And still I dread the bravery of your words. Kiss me, and leave me, Paolo, to-night. PAO. What do you fear ? FRANC. One watches quietly. PAO. Who ? FRANC. 1 know not : perhaps the quiet face Of God : the eternal Listener is near. PAO. I'll struggle now no more. Have I not fought Against thee as a foe most terrible ? PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 109 Parried the nimble thrust and thought of thee, And from thy mortal sweetness fled away, Yet evermore returned ? Now all the bonds Which held me I cast off honour, esteem, All ties, all friendships, peace, and life itself. You only in this universe I want. FRANC. You fill me with a glorious rashness. What! Shall we two, then, take up our fate and smile ? PAO. Remember how when first we met we stood Stung with immortal recollections. O face immured beside a fairy sea, That leaned dov/n at dead midnight to be kissed ! O beauty folded up in forests old ! Thou wast the lovely quest of Arthur's knights FRANC. Thy armour glimmered in a gloom of green. PAO. Did I not sing to thee in Babylon ? I io PAOLO AND FRANCESCA FRANC. Or did we set a sail in Carthage Bay ? PAO. Were thine eyes strange ? FRANC. Did I not know thy voice ? All ghostly grew the sun, unreal the air Then when we kissed. PAO. And in that kiss our souls Together flashed, and now they are one flame, Which nothing can put out, nothing divide. FRANC. Kiss me again ! I smile at what may chance. PAO. Again, and yet again ! and here and here. Let me with kisses burn this body away, That our two souls may dart together free. I fret at intervention of the flesh, And I would clasp you you that but inhabit This lovely house. FRANC. Break open then the door, And let my spirit out. Paolo, kill me ! Then kill thyself: to vengeance leave these weeds, And let our souls together soar away. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA in PAO. [Recoiling.'] You are too beautiful for human blow. [FRANCESCA starts. Why did you shiver and turn sudden cold ? FRANC. \_Stowfy.~\ I felt a wind pass over me. PAO. I too : Colder than any summer night could give. FRANC. A solitary wind : and it hath passed. PAO. [Embracing her."] Do you still fear ? FRANC. Ah, Paolo ! if we Should die to-night, then whither would our souls Repair ? There is a region which priests tell of Where such as we are punished without end. PAO. Were we together, what can punish us ? FRANC. Nothing ! Ah, think not I can love you less Only I fear. PAO. What can we fear, we two ? O God, Thou seest us Thy creatures bound Together by that law which holds the stars In palpitating cosmic passion bright; 112 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA By which the very sun enthrals the earth, And all the waves of the world faint to the moon Even by such attraction we two rush Together through the everlasting years. Us, then, whose only pain can be to part, How wilt Thou punish ? For what ecstasy Together to be blown about the globe ! What rapture in perpetual fire to burn Together ! where we are is endless fire. There centuries shall in a moment pass, And all the cycles in one hour elapse ! Still, still together, even when faints Thy sun, And past our souls Thy stars like ashes fall, How wilt Thou punish us who cannot part ? FRANC. I lie out on your arm and say youi name Paolo ! " " Paolo ! " PAO. " Francesca ! " \They slowly pass through the curtains. A pause. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 113 Enter NITA. NITA. Ah ! Where are my lady and Lord Paolo ? Gone out into the moonlight ! It is well For her to meet her lover when she choose : And I must run in from Bernardo's arms. Tis very late ! I'll sit and end this sewing I cannot work. \Walks up and down^ Where can my mistress be ? [NiTA touches abstractedly the strings of a mandolin. LUCREZIA enters hurriedly. Luc. \_AsideJ] O ! he is subtly hidden and where? and where ? I have set that on which now I cannot stay. Nita, you are alone ! Where is your mistress ? NITA. I cannot tell, my lady. Luc. Look in my eyes ! You left her ? 8 114 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA NITA. But a moment. Luc. And alone ? NITA. Lord Paolo Luc. [Seizing her arm.~\ Ah ! NITA. My lady, hurt me not Luc. Stammer the truth out ! NITA. He came to the door Luc. No further ? NITA. And she sighed out, " Let him come." Luc. And you left them together ? NITA. I went out Luc. Together then ! Now, now ! Quick, dry those tears For we must use our wit. NITA. And you, too, tremble ! Luc. And he Lord Malatesta ? NITA. Know you not He hath ridden off to the camp ? Luc. But might return J NITA. [Trembling.] O ! but he must not ! PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 115 Luc. Yet some accident NITA. There would be noise and stir at his return. Luc. You have heard no sound ? Remember fiercely ! Nothing ? I do not mean of hooves, nor armour chink You have heard not even a step? NITA. \_Tremb 'ling -.] What mean you ? No. Luc. Not even a soft step ? NITA. I am faint with fear* [She staggers. Luc. [Seizing her hand."] Which way went they, these two ? NITA. I cannot tell. Luc. This door is fast ! then through the curtains ? NITA. Yes. Luc. They seem to tremble still ! Come with me, quick ! NITA. I am faint. Ii6 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Luc. Come with me. [She drags her to the curtain. Ah ! whose hand is that ? [GIOVANNI, parting the curtains from the other side, comes slowly through. NITA. O, sir ! we had not thought you back so soon. Gio. Where is your mistress ? NITA. Sir, I cannot tell. Gio. Is it not time you dressed her all in white, And combed out her long hair as for a sleep ? NITA. ; Tis past the hour. Gio. You have a curl awry, And falling o'er your eyebrow bind it up. NITA. I cannot, sir. Gio. Well, leave us : when your mistress Is ready, I will call for you. [Exit NITA. There is a pause, in which GIOVANNI and LUCREZIA gaze at each other. PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 117 Luc. [ Going slowly up to him.'] O, sir ! I would beseech of you [She starts."] ah ! Giovanni, You have hurt your hand : there's blood upon it here. [Takes his hand and looks at it. Gio. 'Tis not my blood ! Luc. O, then Gio. " O, then ! " is all. [As in a frenzy."] And now their love that was so secret close Shall be proclaimed. Tullio, Carlo, Biagi ! They shall be married before all men. Nita ! Rouse up the house and bring in lights, lights, lights ! There shall be music, feasting and dancing. Wine shall be drunk. Candles, I say ! More lights! More marriage lights ! Where tarry they the while, The nuptial tapers ? Rouse up all the house ! Ii8 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA [All this while SERVANTS and others, half dressed, are continually rushing in with lights and torches. They stand whispering. Gio. [Slowly.'} Carlo, go through the curtains, and pass in To the great sleeping-chamber : you shall find Two there together lying : place them, then, Upon some litter and have them hither brought With ceremony. [Exeunt CARLO and Four SERVANTS. GIOVANNI paces to and fro. The curse, the curse of Cain ! A restlessness has come into my blood, And I begin to wander from this hour Alone for evermore. Luc. [Rushing to him.~\ Giovanni, say Quickly some light thing, lest we both go mad ! Gio. Be still ! A second wedding here begins, And I would have all reverent and seemly : PAOLO AND FRANCESCA 119 For they were nobly bora, and deep in love. Enter blind ANGELA, slowly. ANG. Will no one take my hand ? Two lately dead Rushed past me in the air. O ! Are there not Many within this room all standing still ? What are they all expecting ? Gio. Lead her aside : I hear the slow pace of advancing teet. Enter SERVANTS bearing in PAOLO and FRANCESCA dead upon a litter. Luc. Ah ! ah ! ah ! Gio. Break not out in lamentation ! \A pause . . . The SERVANTS set down the litter. Luc. \_Going to litter ^\ I have borne one child, and she has died in youth ! 120 PAOLO AND FRANCESCA Gio. [Going to litter ^\ Not easily have we three come to this "Ve three who now are dead. Unwillingly They loved, unwillingly I slew them. Now I kiss them on the forehead quietly. [He bends over the bodies and kisses them on the forehead. He is shaken. ,] Luc. What ails you now ? Gio. She takes away my strength I did not know the dead could have such hair. Hide them. They look like children fast asleep ! [ The bodies are reverently covered over^ t CURTAIN llll ll '''' '' r- Q Q fi