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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 GIFT OF 
 Joseph p. Loeb 
 
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 PIETRO OF SIENA
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
 ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 * MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 A DRAMA 
 
 BY 
 
 STEPHEN PHILLIPS 
 
 AUTHOR OF "ULYSSES" 
 "THE SIN OF DAVID," ETC. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1910 
 
 AH rights reserved
 
 Copyright, 1910, 
 By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up. electrotyped, and published Octobef, 1910. 
 
 :ii[oTtooot) ?3U38 
 
 J. S. Gushing Co. - Berwick & Smith Co. 
 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
 
 PR 
 
 CHARACTERS 
 
 PlETRO TORKIELLI 
 
 luigi gonzaga 
 Antonio 
 
 MONTANO 
 
 Anselmo 
 
 GlACOMO 
 
 An Kxecutioner 
 
 PULCI 
 
 Carlo 
 
 Gemma Gonzaga 
 
 fulvia tornielli 
 Caterina 
 
 ( Head of the ancient and exiled house 
 I of Tornielli 
 
 { Head of the rival and reigning house 
 \ of Gonzaga 
 Podesta of Siena 
 
 Boon Companion and Jackal to 
 
 Pietro 
 An Aged Warrior devoted to the 
 
 Tornielli 
 Jailor of the Stale Prison 
 
 'Personal friends of Luigi 
 
 Sister to Luigi 
 Sister to Pietro 
 An Aged Nurse devoted to Gonzaga 
 
 Officers, Messengers, etc. 
 
 The action of the play is confined to Siena and lies 
 .between the hours of sunset and sunrise. 
 
 ^45359
 
 ACT I 
 
 SUNSET
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 ACT I 
 
 Scene. — The great hall of the ancient palace 
 oj the Gonzaga. At either end stand armed 
 sentries. In the centre is the judgement chair. 
 On the rising of the curtain furious shouts are 
 heard without, and grow louder at times as 
 from an approaching multitude, and the 
 besieging army of Pietro. Luigi is dis- 
 covered striding to and fro in great perplexity. 
 His friend PuLCi is watching him earnestly. 
 The time is sunset. 
 
 PuLCi. Luigi, go forth, and show thyself 
 at last !
 
 4 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Still the gate holds ; though Pietro Tornielli 
 Three times in vain hath shaken it — Go 
 
 forth ! 
 He makes enough of clamour and of din; 
 Thou liest like a rat, unseen, unheard ; 
 Whom can we fight for, or for what? Go 
 forth ! 
 LuiGi. No, Pulci, no ! Pietro Tornielli 
 Advancing takes the wind from all my sails. 
 He cows me from afar, and quells my spirit, 
 I know not why or how ; but I am quelled. 
 Like English Richard before BoHngbroke. 
 It is not that he hath more wit than I, 
 It is not that he hath more will than I ; 
 Only that on this man success attends. 
 Where I am foiled and thwarted, he goes free.
 
 TIETRO OF SIENA 5 
 
 Such men there are, and what they will, 
 
 they grasp. [A louder uproar without. 
 
 PuLCi. This is the sophistry that fears 
 
 to act. 
 LuiGi. [Pausing.] Think with what in- 
 juries this man comes armed: 
 He comes not merely to supplant my rule, 
 To seat himself where I so long have sat, 
 But furious memory smoulders at his heart. 
 Did not our father bear his mother off. 
 And use her for his lust ? his father pined ; 
 And kept a dreadful silence till he died. 
 With all these memories this man comes 
 
 fraught, 
 And thunders an avenger at our gate. 
 
 [A sentinel rushes in from the left.
 
 6 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Sentinel. The gate has been surrendered ; 
 they swarm in ; 
 And hither are they making with loud cry! 
 [A cry louder and nearer. Enter Gemma 
 GoNZAGA, hurriedly and terrified, the 
 nurse Caterina limping behind. 
 Gemma. Luigi, what can I do in this 
 dark hour? 
 How aid and comfort ? Send me not away ! 
 For thou and I have grown together so 
 We may not be divided but with blood. 
 Your hopes, your thoughts are mine ; your 
 
 frailties mine. 
 Brother, let me be near thee in the storm. 
 I claim its lightnings and its thunder clasp. 
 Ah, send me not away ! I put my arms
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA ^ 
 
 About you as of old : now come what will. 
 
 [Sound as of door below broken open. 
 LuiGi. Sister, they come ! This scene is 
 not for thee : 
 Go then within and quietly ; I alone 
 Must sl;and upright against the towering 
 wave. 
 
 [Exit Gemma and Caterina. 
 [Soldiers enter and are drawn up along 
 the walls of the hall. Then enter the 
 Mayor Antonio, surrounded by citi- 
 zens of Siena, a Priest, and, lastly, 
 PiETRO, his sister Fulvia following him. 
 PiETRO. Luigi Gonzaga, I might well 
 have stormed 
 Siena gate with fiery memories
 
 8 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 And with the sword of vengeance sought thee 
 
 out. 
 Thy father with hot hps kissed out the soul 
 Of her that bore me, and my father broke 
 Down to the ground and wrapped in mortal 
 
 shame. 
 I say, Gonzaga, that I bear enough 
 Of private injury to spill thy blood. 
 On no such crimson errand am I sped, 
 But summoned by Siena's citizens, 
 Here to resume the sovereignty possessed 
 Erst by the Tornielli : and to purge 
 The city of thee and thy iniquities. 
 
 [He ascends the judgement chair, motioning 
 to Antonio. 
 Now read aloud the charges 'gainst this man.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 9 
 
 Antonio. [Reading]. "It is here charged 
 against thee, Luigi Gonzaga, that thou hast 
 taken bribes to set aside the course of justice, 
 whereof many instances can be proven. 
 Further : that thou hast surrounded thee with 
 a troop of desperate malcontents whom thou 
 hast paid and used for purposes of private 
 quarrel. Moreover, that two famous enemies 
 of thine thou hast by poison taken off, having 
 bidden them to supper here in this palace. 
 That thou hast ofifered to spare the life of 
 Paolo Gerli if his daughter would deliver 
 herself to thee for purposes of lust ; though 
 this man had been condemned by public 
 tribunal over which thou didst thyself 
 preside. And many other counts are here
 
 lo PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 set down against thee, but for the moment 
 let these suffice." 
 
 PiETRO. Luigi Gonzaga, what hast thou 
 to say ? 
 
 Luigi. All that is charged against me I 
 confess. 
 
 PiETRO. Then, for these violent ills a vio- 
 lent cure 
 Demand, and a swift, instant medicine — 
 I, Pietro Tornielli, summoned here 
 To adjudicate upon Siena's wrong, 
 Hereby pronounce upon thee doom of death ! 
 And since delays in these distracted streets 
 Were perilous : to-morrow thou shalt die. 
 
 [Writing.] I, Pietro Tornielli, called by the 
 people of Siena to heal the breach and woe of
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA ii 
 
 the city, do hereby commit Luigi Gonzaga, 
 sometime ruler of Siena, to prison this night 
 to the intent that at sunrise to-morrow he 
 may be executed. Given by me this day. 
 
 PlETRO TORNIELLI. 
 
 Luigi. ' At sunrise ! Ah, not death ! Ah, 
 not so soon ! 
 Let me' still watch the sun thro' prison bars, 
 And manacled behold the rising moon. 
 Ah, send me not from glory to the grave. 
 I promise in my cell I will not stir 
 All day, and will not speak even to myself, 
 Or murmur an angry word until my death ; 
 Ah, hold me. Sir, in prison till I die. 
 How can I trouble thee ; none breaks away 
 Or bursts that massy fortress. Can I lead
 
 12 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Rebellion, fettered fast and deep immured ? 
 Deliver me to long imprisonment ! 
 Or banish me an exile from the shore 
 Of Italy for ever : Let me roam 
 The limits of the world and utmost isles. 
 Only I pray thee let me breathe ! To go 
 For ever from the sun ! I care not what 
 Of heavy misery or imprisonment 
 Thou mayest inflict if only I may live. 
 
 [He breaks into sobs. 
 PiETRO. Luigi Gonzaga, freely thou hast 
 drunk 
 The purple cup of life ; now not to wince, 
 To beat the breast, befits thee in this hour. 
 Sweet was the draught, now fling the cup 
 away !
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 13 
 
 And having richly lived, so strongly die. 
 Bear him away. 
 
 LuiGi. Sir ! Sir ! 
 
 PiETRO. Bear him away ! 
 
 fLuiGi is taken of between two guards, four 
 others following. 
 
 PiETRO. [Rising.] Now for the moment 
 
 nothing more detains us. 
 Anselmo. [Coming fortvard.] Sir, this man 
 whom you have dispatched to die, 
 A sister has ; and though the rabble rise 
 Against the brother for his many crimes, 
 She may untouched through all Siena pass, 
 For she is beautiful and still and pure. 
 She is a greater peril than the man,
 
 14 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 And while she lives, thy throne will tremble 
 still. 
 PiETRO. Is she within the palace ? 
 An Attendant. Sir, she is. 
 
 PiETRO. Send for her hither. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 Anselmo. In this warrant add 
 
 To Luigi Gemma, to the brother's name 
 The sister ; so we root out the whole house, 
 No son nor daughter of Gonzaga lives 
 Save these; then make an end and sit secure. 
 [Enter Gemma escorted hy Attendants. 
 PiETRO. Art thou the sister of Gonzaga — 
 
 say ! 
 Gemma. I am, Sir. 
 PiETRO. He hath been so deeply charged
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 15 
 
 With public crime and private injury. 
 That I, called in to judge and to pronounce, 
 To prison have committed him, that he 
 May die to-morrow at sunrise. 
 
 Gemma. Ah, no ! 
 
 Ah, do not slay him. Wonderful has been 
 The love between us — and so soon to die ! 
 Why, he hath but a few brief hours to pray ; 
 To reconcile him with eternal God, 
 Only the transit of a summer night. 
 Oh, Sir, at least be merciful to me ! 
 And send me to him that I too may die. 
 Let me not wither out this hollow world 
 Alone ; but in that warrant add my name 
 To his ; for all his frailties I defend, 
 In all his acts I am associate.
 
 i6 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 I would give up the very ghost in me, 
 And my dear soul would put in pawn for him. 
 Then by the same blow let the sister fall ! 
 I crave to die with the first light of dawn. 
 Ah, separate us not, here I beseech thee ! 
 
 [She throws herself at his feet. 
 Anselmo. Enough ! By her own mouth 
 
 she merits death. 
 PiETRO. [With slow hesitation.] I cannot 
 — for the moment — well decide. 
 [Angry murmurs from Anselmo's troops. 
 That I have doomed her brother is no cause 
 Why her too I should doom ! Is it supposed 
 A maiden, but a year ago a child. 
 Could of his crimes and bribes be cognizant ? 
 I ask you all — were it not well to pause ?
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 17 
 
 To pause for a few hours, and hesitate 
 
 Finally to pronounce ? What thou hast said, 
 
 Anselmo, I doubt not is wise, but I 
 
 A little leisure must demand in this. 
 
 Lead her away ! [To Gemma.] Ere dawn 
 
 thou shalt receive 
 My judgement. [She is escorted within] Now, 
 Sirs, I should be alone. 
 [Exeunt all hut Anselmo, Girolamo, 
 FuLViA, and Montano. 
 Anselmo. Sir, if this foolish mercy to the 
 house 
 Which hath so deeply wronged you, be dis- 
 played, 
 I cannot pledge me for these faithful bands 
 
 That hitherto have followed your wild star, 
 c
 
 i8 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Sparing his sister's life, you but ascend 
 
 A trembling throne, for men who hated him 
 
 Will rally to her face as to a flag. 
 
 Ah, God ! 'tis the old weakness of the blood. 
 
 What stopped us at Ancona ? what made vain 
 
 The long siege of Perugia? Evermore 
 
 A woman's face hath foiled us. Now I speak 
 
 Once, and no more. Thy followers will fall off 
 
 Being again deceived ; much have they borne, 
 
 But more they will not bear. 
 
 [Sullen murmurs are heard. 
 
 Strike down the house, 
 
 Strike to the root and ere the night be passed. 
 
 [Exit Anselmo, who is acclaimed by the 
 
 troops awaiting him. 
 
 GiROLAMO. [Advancing.] Pietro Tornielli !
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 19 
 
 Thus saith Rome : 
 Let none of the Gonzaga house be spared ! 
 Nor man nor woman : end the pestilence 
 That brooded o'er Siena all these years. 
 If thou wouldst rule secure, blot out the brood 
 That are anathema to Holy Church ! 
 If a fair face can shake thee from thy seat, 
 Look not to Rome ! Rather be thou of Rome 
 Outlawed, accursed. So speak I, and depart. 
 [Exit GiROLAMO with attendant Priests. 
 FuLViA. [Approaching Pietro.] Brother, 
 
 what hath been said by Holy Church, 
 Or by Anselmo speaking for the State, 
 Is well, and well enough. I am a woman, 
 And cannot easily forget the shame 
 Wrought on our mother by their father ; now
 
 20 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Comes in revenge though late, and justice too. 
 
 These are his children, his; the man who 
 wronged 
 
 Her, and brought down our father to his grave. 
 
 He hath left issue luckily, for us 
 
 To dash our ire on, let his children die! 
 
 Not one, but both. Have we not waited long ? 
 
 Have I not in my pillow set my teeth 
 
 Through the grim night to stop these mem- 
 ories ? 
 But here they are delivered to our hands. 
 Hast thou forgot thy mother's desperate death, 
 Hast thou forgot the pining of thy Sire ? 
 Here with one blow we clear us before God 
 That she in that sea-tomb no longer toss 
 Unsatisfied ; nor he call from the ground.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 21 
 
 Art thou the victim of a passing face, 
 Art thou the helpless spoil of shadowed eyes ? 
 Art thou a man, or but a drifting leaf, 
 Unworthy to be served or followed or loved ? 
 If that pale face can turn thee from thy wrongs, 
 Or a low voice make all thy vengeance vain ? 
 I leave thee therefore to the blood of the dead. 
 This must thou expiate and swift and sure. 
 
 [Exit FuLviA. 
 
 PiETRO. Give me some wine, Montano ! 
 Oh, Montano, 
 The fever's in my blood and must have vent. 
 
 Montano. WTiat fever ? 
 
 PiETRO. For a face a moment since 
 
 Sprung like a sudden splendour on the dusk, 
 Now vanished ; for a voice that stole on us
 
 22 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Like Strings from planets dreaming in faint 
 
 skies, 
 With a low pleaded music ; for a form 
 Slight and a little bending over in dew. 
 This night, Montano, in this coming dark 
 I must possess her ; for I shall not sleep. 
 Knowing her breathing sweet so near to me, 
 Here in this palace ; no ! nor shall I drowse 
 Until I clasp her fast and kisses rain 
 Upon her lips, her eyes, her brow, her hair. 
 Montano. Sir, you well know I serve your 
 every mood, 
 But here, is not the game too perilous ? 
 Here on the very first night of your rule 
 To seize Gonzaga's sister, he meanwhile 
 Purposely prisoned — ah, so they will say —
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 23 
 
 So that he may not mar, nor intervene. 
 Let policy propose some slower way. 
 
 PiETRO. No ! No ! Such beauty must be 
 stormed, not snared, 
 Caught up and kissed into oblivion, 
 To saddle hoist, and through the world away. 
 
 MoNTANO. I scent a way by which she 
 might be won 
 And without force, and on this very night. 
 
 PiETRo. How ? how ? 
 
 MoNTANO. Her brother Luigi at sunrise 
 To-morrow, perishes ; now he to her 
 Is more than just a brother ; they have Hved 
 Even from the cradle a life intertwined. 
 Remember but the burning words of her ! 
 " I would give up the very ghost of me,
 
 24 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 And my dear soul would put in pawn for 
 him." 
 
 PiETRO. Well — well — 
 
 MoNTANO. The dawn will come soon, all 
 too soon 
 For her ; but were it breathed into her ear, 
 That for her beauty thou wouldst spare his life, 
 Would not her deep love to thy arms consent ? 
 As slowly all the sky grows lighter still. 
 And Luigi's blood is on the morning cloud, 
 Will she not for her brother give herself 
 To thee, and in thy clasp forget the dawn ? 
 
 PiETRO. See, see her ; with the nurse have 
 first a word. 
 That she may sound her warily. But haste ! 
 Darkness already closes on us two,
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 25 
 
 And if I have my will 'twill be ere dawn. 
 Speed, speed away, Montano, be thou swift ! 
 And I with every flower will fill the room, 
 With fume of liHes and raptures of the rose, 
 And odours that entice the drowsing brain, 
 And faf-oflF music melting on the soul. 
 At once away till thou hast news of her. 
 
 [Exit Montano. 
 Come, night, and falhng give her to my arms. 
 What fools are they that use thee but for sleep ; 
 Come and enfold us in the dark of bliss !
 
 ACT II 
 
 MIDNIGHT
 
 SCENE I 
 
 Scene. — Midnight. A dark part of the gar- 
 dens of the palace; various followers of 
 Anselmo assembled with torches. To them 
 enter Anselmo with four followers, also 
 carrying torches. 
 
 Anselmo. Comrades, to this dark garden, 
 
 and in night 
 I have swiftly summoned you : you all well 
 
 know 
 
 That I have followed Tornielli's star, 
 
 Howe'er it wavered in the heavens ; and you 
 
 How often have I led to the desperate breach, 
 
 29
 
 30 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Or to that timely charge which all decides. 
 
 And yet you can recall that oftentimes 
 
 Here were we foiled, or here : and this the 
 
 cause, 
 
 Ever a woman's face Pietro marred. 
 
 The weakness in his blood undid our toil. 
 
 Now at Siena, crown of all our hopes, 
 
 And destined to the TornieUi rule. 
 
 When vengeance is demanded, he falls short ; 
 
 And cannot Hft his hand against the face, 
 
 Too beautiful, of Luigi's sister. Him 
 
 Easily he condemned to die at dawn. 
 
 Yet he would not complete the task imposed. 
 
 He wavers through the night, and will not act. 
 
 Now none hath been more faithful to his star 
 
 Than I, but I that star will follow not
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 31 
 
 If at the supreme hour we must be fooled. 
 You as you please will act : but now no more 
 Lean upon me to lead you as of old. 
 A Soldier. I will speak bolder than our 
 
 Captain. What 
 If he sht>uld be persuaded by this girl 
 To spare the brother's life ? [Angry murmurs.] 
 
 How do we stand ? 
 Were ever soldiers on such errand fooled ? 
 I say that on this very night, perhaps, 
 While here we stand, she hath persuaded him 
 To cancel the decree of death at dawn. 
 So is our march, our battery, our spoil 
 Made vain for ever : who henceforth will trust 
 A ruler palpably to beauty weak, 
 At mercy of red lips and drooping eyes ?
 
 32 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Shall this man rule Siena ? Never man 
 
 In all Siena will to this consent. 
 
 Pietro Tornielli can fight well, 
 
 Is not in courage backward, but this fault 
 
 Will leave him unsupported and alone. 
 
 [Angry shouts and murmurs. 
 Anselmo. Friends, let us see what darkness 
 brings to light, 
 If then my apprehension be revealed, 
 Or worse, our comrades' fear ; at least at dawn 
 Let us assemble here : with knowledge then 
 We our own way can take, e'en tho' it be 
 To assault the palace and slay Pietro. Speak ! 
 Is this agreed ? [Shouts. All drawing swords. 
 Anselmo, 'tis agreed. 
 [The scene closes.]
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 33 
 
 SCENE II 
 
 Scene. — An inner room of the palace; with 
 a door communicating with a further room, 
 which is closed. A lamp is burning on 
 the table. The old nurse Caterina is 
 seated near the window with bowed head and 
 in deep grief. A knock is heard at the door. 
 She hobbles toward it, and opening it admits 
 
 MONTANO. 
 
 MoNTANO. Signora Caterina ? 
 Caterina. That is I. 
 
 MoNTANO. I see that you are broken 
 down with grief. 
 Give me your hand. [Be leads her to a seat. 
 
 The reason of these tears
 
 34 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Is easily guessed. Luigi Gonzaga dies 
 With the first flush of day. This is the cause ? 
 Caterina. Ah, sir, if my own son had then 
 
 to die 
 I could not suffer more. I have no son ; 
 But he took on him all the unborn child, 
 That never quickened in the might have been. 
 I have watched him as a gardener does a 
 
 flower, 
 And seen him slowly grow into his strength. 
 Ah, who can say I had not pangs from him. 
 What he hath done I know not to deserve 
 So swift a death ; only that he must die 
 I know. [She breaks again into sobs. 
 
 MoNTANO. You know not yet. I bring 
 
 a hope.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 35 
 
 Caterina. Oh, that he may be saved, may 
 be released ! 
 Sir, do not trifle with a soul so old, 
 Or play with cracking heart-strings ! 
 
 MoNTANO. I will not. 
 
 I come from Pietro Tornielli straight. 
 Where is your mistress ? 
 
 Caterina. Dumb, and as the dead, 
 
 Within she sits, fixed on the coming day. 
 MoNTANO. She, she alone can save him if 
 
 she will. 
 Caterina. [Stumbling to inner door.] Ah, 
 
 Gemma, Gemma ! 
 MoNTANO. [Taking her arm.] Peace, and 
 sit you down. 
 To you I'll tell the terms of his release.
 
 36 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 You then to her ; and she shall then decide. 
 Caterina. Terms ! but there are no terms 
 She will not give. 
 Life even ! 
 
 MoNTANO. Perhaps a harder thing is asked, 
 Caterina. Harder than life ! What is so 
 
 dear as breath ? 
 Montano. To a woman one thing only. 
 
 [A pause. 
 
 Caterina. Still I grope 
 
 In darkness. What can Gemma give more 
 
 dear 
 Than very life ? 
 Montano. More dear ? her very soul. 
 Caterina. I seem to guess more clearly 
 now. You mean —
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 37 
 
 MoNTANO. I mean — for the night passes, 
 and already 
 Is little time for words — Lord Tornielli 
 Will spare the life of Luigi but to hold 
 His sister in his arms this very night. 
 Am I now plain enough ? 
 
 Caterina. Aye — plain enough! 
 
 Had it been life — 
 
 MoNTANO. It is not life he asks. 
 
 Caterina. Oh, what a dreadful choice ! 
 
 MoNTANO. Yet on these terms, 
 
 And these alone can Luigi's life be spared. 
 
 Caterina. She will not do it, never, never, 
 never ! 
 
 MoNTANO. Still lay the chance before her: 
 see you how
 
 38 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Already the stars pale ; the time is short. 
 He from his dungeon watches how they pale. 
 You as a woman to another may, 
 With what authority and wisdom else 
 May prompt, disclose, and may at last per- 
 suade. 
 I'll leave you to her — then I will return 
 To know her verdict on her brother's life. 
 
 [Going, then returning. 
 Remember paling stars and coming sun ! 
 
 [Exit MONTANO. 
 
 Caterina. Ah, God ! must I, this old and 
 shrunken voice 
 Use to persuade her white soul to this act ? 
 She hath been filled with pity for the fallen. 
 Yet with that pity hath so loathed the cause.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 39 
 
 So innocent and yet so understanding, 
 
 She hath been so gentle to those sinners, yet 
 
 Sick with abhorrence but to think their sin. 
 
 But, Luigi, any sacrifice for thee ! 
 
 Gemma, my child, Gemma. [SJie goes to door. 
 
 I must have word 
 A moment with you. 
 [Enter Gemma white and with a fixed movement. 
 
 One has left me but 
 A moment, who brought word from Tornielli. 
 Gemma. No word can ever reach my ear 
 
 but one, 
 And that one "death," "death," "death" 
 
 for evermore. 
 Caterina. Gemma, sit here, and I will 
 
 kneel and lay
 
 40 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 My old face in your lap. 
 
 Gemma. As I how oft 
 
 Have laid my face, old nurse, down in your 
 
 lap, 
 Dreaming, to hear thee tell of fairyland. 
 But, ah, no fairyland is with us now ! 
 But life, how grey and cruel — ah, and 
 death! 
 Caterina. Do not start from me, nor 
 fall swooning down, 
 At that I have to say — Luigi — 
 
 Gemma. O listen ! 
 
 Do you not hear the stones down on him 
 falling ? 
 Caterina. It is not yet resolved that he 
 shall die.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 41 
 
 Gemma. What, what ! Have I gripped 
 your arm too fast ? Yet speak ! 
 This is some foolish comfort, shallow thought, 
 To ease me for a moment. Why, I heard 
 Pietro Tornielli — and to me 
 He spol£e — declare aloud the doom of death, 
 Caterina. He did so ; but he may repent 
 
 him yet. 
 Gemma. But what hath chanced in these 
 brief hours to change 
 A state decree ? How is he sudden white 
 Who then so black was, — hath he been 
 
 re-tried 
 All in a moment? Ah, toy not with hope. 
 Caterina. I tell you, Luigi's life may yet 
 be spared.
 
 42 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Gemma. By whom then, how ? Who holds 
 
 the scales so fine ? 
 Caterina. You ! 
 Gemma. [Starting up.] I ! How should I 
 
 save him ? 
 Caterina. Can you not 
 A little guess and save my speech o'er-rough ? 
 Did you not mark then Tornielli's glance ? 
 How in his speech he stumbled, while on you 
 His eyes were anchored? how, alarmed, his 
 
 host 
 Cried out against delay and for thy life ? 
 Gemma. [Passing her hand over her brow.] 
 
 Yes, I remember his eyes fixed on me. 
 Caterina. Now can you not conceive, and 
 realise ?
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 43 
 
 And I my face will turn away from you. 
 Gemma. Oh, now I see, and but this 
 
 moment since. 
 I have gulped down such a draught of this 
 
 world's cup 
 As leaves me shivering, and to wind exposed. 
 This was the plan, then ; like a beast, not man, 
 He would ensnare me for a fleshy hour, 
 Baiting the trap even with a brother's life. 
 You know, my Caterina, well you know 
 How I have loved my brother. If 'twere death, 
 That I would gladly suffer ; to expire, 
 And lose the sweet and music of this life, 
 All joy for ever to forego — for him, 
 Or if I must be stabbed, or poisoned — yes. 
 But this — not this ! He is not such a coward
 
 44 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 That he would put his Hfe into the scales 
 Against his sister's shame. I will not do it. 
 Oh, all the stars that muster in the heaven 
 Would cry on me with voices like to beams, 
 More awful in their silence to the soul. 
 I tell you, No, No ! And what more repels 
 My soul is this — a trap laid for my soul, 
 Again I say, baited with brother's blood ! 
 I hate this man, I hate the mind that thought 
 This business out, this trader of the dark. 
 This burning merchant for a maiden's soul. 
 What should I be, old Caterina, what 
 For ever and for ever ? They who went 
 To flame for faith, they went not for this cause. 
 And out of scorching flesh deserved the stars. 
 The girl who yields beneath a summer moon.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 45 
 
 That I can understand, but never a true woman 
 Made bargain with her body such as this. 
 There is my answer, now and for all time. 
 Caterina. Child, though I know what 
 
 sickens in your soul. 
 Still, when all's said or thought, is't not 
 
 enough 
 To bring back Luigi from the grave ? At dawn 
 Surely he dies. I as a woman speak. 
 Let this man vent his riot ; let the fool 
 Have his hot way, and suffer his embrace! 
 Yours is the laugh by daybreak, and for ever. 
 Think, then, of Luigi freed ! The world is 
 
 wrong, 
 None catch perfection ; save your brother's 
 
 life,
 
 46 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Spending an hour within those silly arms ! 
 What are his kisses, if the grave is foiled ? 
 Gemma. You, you persuade me to it? 
 You who nursed 
 Both of us ; why is it, then, that a nurse holds 
 Dearer the boy than the girl ? he must be 
 
 spared, 
 She never ! 
 
 Caterina. What you do you do not do. 
 Gemma. Ah, woman, but our bodies are 
 our souls ! 
 
 [Enter Montano. 
 MoNTANO. Ah, Signorina? Straightway 
 from my lord, 
 Pietro Tornielli, I have come. 
 In the strong hope that you will speak to him.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 47 
 
 Gemma. What use so to pretend, and 
 gloze the truth ? 
 You know well why this gentleman desires 
 To see me ; on this errand you are sent. 
 Take back my answer, then : I will not come. 
 I loved and love my brother, but he must die. 
 
 MoNTANO. Is he so well prepared ? And 
 can he launch 
 On such a voyage ? WTiat has been his life ? 
 His pubHc faults this day were charged on him: 
 None of them he denied. His private lusts 
 Are through Siena sounded pubhcly. 
 You, you alone cast his immortal soul 
 Before the conscious Judge, unripe and crude, 
 You, you alone can stay that dread assize. 
 
 [The hour strikes midnight.
 
 48 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 The night wears out : and hearken how the 
 
 gong 
 With solemn syllables divides the night ! 
 He hears them from the dungeon, stroke on 
 
 stroke. 
 What is thy hour to his eternity ? 
 Gemma. Dead mother, tell me ! 
 Caterina. She to whom you cry 
 
 Remember was his mother — 
 Gemma. I will come. 
 
 [She takes down an old dagger from the 
 wall and hides it in her bosom secretly. 
 Caterina. See, let me set this red rose 
 
 on your breast. 
 Gemma. Yes, yes, it is the colour of his 
 blood.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 49 
 
 [MoNTANO motions the way out and he 
 and Gemma exeunt. 
 Catertna, Oh, only for his life ! for the 
 boy's life ! 
 Virgin in heaven, forgive me if I sinned !
 
 SCENE III 
 
 Scene. — Another room in the palace; distant 
 music is heard, and various flowers are set 
 about. PiETRO, turning from giving di- 
 rections, meets Montano, who ushers in 
 Gemma, then immediately retires. 
 
 PiETRO. Ah, Signorina, you are come at 
 
 last! 
 Gemma. I have come as one adorned for 
 sacrifice, 
 Nothing omitted ; and this red flower see, 
 The symbol of a brother's blood ! 
 PiETRO. , You think 
 
 Too gravely. 
 
 50
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 51 
 
 Gemma. Oh, too gravely ? 
 PiETRO. We must take 
 
 What chance we can when beauty is the goal. 
 Gemma. You think, then, that this lure is 
 clever ? 
 
 PlETRO. No. 
 But by your face all right and wrong is 
 dimmed. 
 Gemma. This is the game ; the stakes, a 
 brother's life 
 And a girl's soul; w?"! these, then, you can 
 play. 
 PiETRO. I see my chance but as a gambler 
 
 sees. 
 Gemma. You play with loaded dice, and 
 human too.
 
 52 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Listen ! I have come here to give myself 
 To you to snatch a brother's life ; but think ! 
 Do I now for a moment give myself ? 
 I give you ice for fire, and snow for flame ; 
 Your touch I loathe, and shudder to be 
 
 touched ; 
 Your kisses have no sweetness but for him. 
 I but endure, and listen for the dawn ; 
 And when you clasp me to your breast, I 
 
 see 
 Behind your phantom face a rising sun. 
 You shadow ! murmur, kiss, do what you 
 
 will, 
 I have forgotten you for evermore ! 
 You ghost, with but the vantage of the grave, 
 O lover with cold murder on your lips,
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 53 
 
 Bridegroom whose gift is blood, whose dower 
 
 is death ! 
 Ah, what a tryst ! What moonlight ever saw 
 Such a forbidden rapture as is this ? 
 Then take me in your arms, but never me ! 
 Or kiss these lips where lips have ceased to 
 
 move. 
 Fool, can you understand in your wild blood 
 That never shall you reach me on these terms ? 
 How can you drink my beauty, if no soul 
 Makes the draught live ? You bargain for a 
 
 bHss, 
 But no bliss from a bargain ever came. 
 That bHss may be too sudden, may be slow, 
 Howe'er it come ; but it is thoughten wise, 
 Not planned, not calculated ; be it sin
 
 54 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Or fire of angels, not this way it comes, 
 Nor ever hath : now to thy hps I yield 
 My own, but with a cold laugh in my soul, 
 Or else in dreadful thought thy kiss I take. 
 Now thou art master ; thy brief hour demand ! 
 But had I loved thee, Pietro, not this way 
 Would I have clasped thee, but in sacred fire. 
 And then shouldst thou have tasted of deep 
 
 life; 
 Then not of flesh but of the endless soul. 
 But since this is so and this world endures, 
 
 [Taking the dagger from her breast. 
 
 Let Luigi die ! let him cease ! and I with him. 
 
 Pietro. [Snatching the dagger from her 
 
 hand.] Gemma Gonzaga, can you not 
 
 beheve
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 55 
 
 Your words have shaken into me a soul ? 
 What was a furious sport proposed, is now 
 The mighty meaning of a changed hfe. 
 Oh, it is true, most true, that I had planned 
 To use the seat of justice for thy lips. 
 So have I loved : not here nor there alone, 
 But everywhere pursuing my own prey. 
 So have I foiled my soldiers, and made vain 
 Cities besieged, for lure of some fair face. 
 But now your revelation breaks on me ; 
 Even your sneer subUme and starry scorn 
 Has taken from my feet the under-world. 
 I would be what you say I cannot be : 
 Not with the ape-like wooing as of old, 
 But as a spirit suing thee through stars.
 
 56 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Gemma, here I discard the " whence " we 
 
 came, 
 And I pursue the " whither " we are bound. 
 I'll lose thee not through too much lust of thee ; 
 Now if thou wouldst, I would not what I 
 
 dreamed. 
 I see a distant pleasure deeper far. 
 For — if you will, I'll wed you without pause ; 
 And with the Hght of children's faces we, 
 Not worse for this encounter, will deserve 
 The falling sunset and the coming star, 
 And you perhaps shall smilingly recall 
 This plunge for beauty which hath ended sweet. 
 Say, will you wed me — kiss me and speak not. 
 Gemma. I say no word but give to you my 
 
 Hps.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 57 
 
 But ah, my brother ! faint the dawn comes on, 
 But it is dawn. 
 
 PiETRO. [Sounding gong and writing.] Re- 
 lease on the instant Luigi Gonzaga, imprisoned 
 by my order in the prison of Faenza. 
 
 (Signed) Pietro Tornielli. 
 [A servant enters. 
 Ride with this and ride fast. 
 [Exit servant with the written order. 
 Now comes the golden morning on us two, 
 And never a drop of dew that she bestows 
 Is like unto that dew that falls from you. 
 Here is my fury ended and wild hours. 
 
 Gemma. I love you more than if your suit 
 had been 
 Pale, without fault, for I believe that he
 
 S8 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Who once has wrongly burned can change 
 
 that fire 
 Into a radiance but to spirits clear. 
 
 [He kisses her as the curtain descends.
 
 ACT III 
 
 SUNRISE
 
 SCENE I 
 
 Scene. — The prison of Faenza; Luigi alone. 
 The dawn is approaching. 
 
 Luigi. The dawn, the dawn ! Now when 
 all wakes to life, 
 I wake to death. When all revives, I die. 
 This freshness and the coming colour make 
 The faint grave worse. Oh, but to die at dawn ! 
 At midnight, yes ! but not when the world 
 
 stirs, 
 When the Creator reassures the earth,' 
 And reappears in balm out of the East. 
 Now I must give up life, now when the bird 
 
 6i
 
 62 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Resumes its carol and the old music makes, 
 Now must I go to silence ; never there 
 The twitter of the brown bird in the leaves, 
 Nor rustle of foliage there, nor flushing sky. 
 
 [He rises and walks restlessly to and fro. 
 Now the bright river-fish leaps to the light. 
 Now creatures of the field bestir them, and 
 
 speak 
 With mellow sound in twilight of the farm, 
 And shrilly Chanticleer proclaims the day. 
 Now the rose lifts her from a weight of dew. 
 Or raises her red bosom from the rain, 
 And many a pale flower from dark ground re- 
 vives. 
 Not far away, so little a space away. 
 Many a garden freshened by night's cloud.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 63 
 
 Suspires its various odours from the earth, 
 And Nature sighing from good sleep awakes. 
 The sea is conscious of the invisible orb, 
 Revisiting in glory her faint flood. 
 The stars are gone, and balm breaks on the 
 world. 
 
 [He sits again. 
 And in this moment I must yield my breath. 
 
 [Starting up again. 
 And now not only Nature shakes off sleep. 
 But now the labourer to the field repairs 
 To dig the sweet earth, or to clip the hedge, 
 Or through the furrow follow on the plough. 
 Now wakes the young wiie, and but half -awake 
 Kisses the dreaming babe beside her laid. 
 While all her deep heart murmurs in its ear.
 
 64 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 The soldier starts up to the trumpet-call ; 
 The shopman takes the shutter from the 
 
 shop, 
 And in the window carefully displays 
 His wares ; the trim girl unto market trips ; 
 And many a memory stares up at the sun. 
 And he who rides, and would the morning take, 
 To saddle springs, or he the morning dew 
 On foot meets gladly ; sweetly comes the day 
 To the sea-weary, watchers stung with brine ; 
 News of the absent to the bed is brought. 
 Letters from children in a world far-off. 
 And whether sad or sweet the world awake 
 Whirls with a million graves about the sun. 
 Life, life begins ! And I this hour must die. 
 
 [Still walking to and fro.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 65 
 
 And who knows that we cease who seem to 
 
 cease ? 
 If I must answer, ere the dawn is full, 
 For all my faults and folly, and to whom ? 
 Haled before him who made us, or to view 
 A heavy river rolling amid souls, 
 Or to remember in an outer dark ? 
 Life ! Hfe ! I cannot die, I dare not die, 
 And yonder cloud is slowly reddening ! 
 She, too, she comes not, though she heard my 
 
 fate ; 
 I am by all deserted and bereft. 
 O Gemma, sister, you, you then at least 
 Might for the last time round me throw your 
 
 arms. 
 Giving the extreme kiss before my doom ; 
 
 F
 
 66 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 But I must go to what I fear alone. 
 
 [A knock is heard at the door. Enter the 
 Jailor, accompanied by the Execu- 
 tioner and an Assistant. 
 Jailor. Luigi Gonzaga, are you now pre- 
 pared ? 
 Or will you see a priest, and in his ear 
 Confess and with a lighter bosom die ? 
 Luigi. Is not my sister here ? has she not 
 sent 
 A word, a little word ? I cannot think 
 That she will let me die in such a silence. 
 Jailor. She is not here, and she has sent 
 
 no word. 
 Luigi. Oh, but she might ! It is not yet 
 too late.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 67 
 
 Give me a little more of time to breathe ; 
 She would not let me perish who so long 
 Has grown with me and loved me : I but ask 
 A little space to see her once, or hear 
 Her voice : — is this unnatural ? If 'twere 
 One to whom passion drew me, even thus 
 Leave would be given, but my sister, sure 
 You'll not refuse to me a brief delay? 
 
 Jailor. I have no order, and I have no 
 leave 
 To grant delay : immediate is my task, 
 And theirs who now await you. 
 
 LuiGi. Grant me then 
 
 A cup of wine : this is allowed ; then, then 
 I'll make no more delay : a cup of wine, 
 The last cup !
 
 68 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Jailor. You shall have this ; but no more 
 Then can you tarry, or by force we bear you 
 To execution. [To Assistant.] Fetch a cup 
 of wine. [Exit Assistant. 
 
 LuiGi. I cannot think why Gemma all this 
 while 
 Holds off from me ; she surely, if none else, 
 Would say farewell ; ah, strange her silence is. 
 [Enter Assistant with cup of wine, which 
 he gives into the hands of LuiGi. 
 Now for the last time do I taste of thee, 
 Juice of the grape ; I drink my final cup. 
 
 [He drinks. 
 Ah, but the joy of life from this last draught 
 Runs stronger through my veins, and takes my 
 heart,
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 69 
 
 And now than ever more impossible 
 It seems to die; I cannot, will not cease, 
 With this red liquor dancing thro' my blood. 
 If you must kill me, it must be by force, 
 I'll not be tamely haled by you along. 
 But ah, can you not spare me a short while ; 
 Look, I have money ; you, all three of you. 
 Shall live at ease if only I may breathe ; 
 Then hide me in this dungeon, and give out 
 That I am dead, I will reward you well. 
 You have no grudge against me ; one of you 
 Hide me and take the price ! 
 
 Jailor. Seize him at once, 
 
 Bear him without, and as the law enjoins. 
 Do with him : we have heard enough of speech. 
 I will not lose my office for soft talk.
 
 70 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 EXECUTIONEP.. Nor I. 
 
 Assistant. Nor I. 
 
 Jailor. Then bear him quickly out ! 
 
 [They advance on Luigi and seize him, 
 when there is heard approaching the gal- 
 loping sound of a horse's hoofs. 
 Luigi. Listen ! a horse's hoofs, and here 
 they stop ! 
 
 [There is a commotion outside and a 
 Messenger rushes in, breathless, 
 with a paper. 
 Messenger. This from Pietro Tomielli, 
 straight 
 Dispatched. 
 
 Jailor. [Opening and reading] Gonzaga, you 
 are free forthwith.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 71 
 
 LuiGi. Free, free ! 
 
 Jailor. We have no further leave to keep 
 you; 
 There is the door — and there the world again. 
 LuiGi. But, but ! 
 
 Jailor. The reason of this freedom find 
 Without these walls; we have but to obey. 
 LuiGi. And yet I cannot — 
 
 [A further noise without, then Pulci and 
 Carlo rush into the prison, 
 Pulci. Luigi, you are freed. 
 
 So much we heard and from the horseman 
 learned. 
 
 [Exeunt the Executioner and Assistant. 
 Jailor. I wish you well, sir. What I said 
 I said
 
 72 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Because it is my office — fare you well. 
 
 LuiGi. But I am lost in this — farewell, 
 
 good fellow. [Exit Jailor. 
 
 And you two have no joy in those your eyes ; 
 We have been friends — how long ? Yet you 
 
 nm hither, 
 Bringing me hfe and news of liberty, * 
 
 With no wild word or clasp of sudden hand. 
 Nor steady grip, nor look of eye to eye. 
 Well, I am freed — ah, God ! — I should 
 
 rejoice ! 
 Thou soaring sun, I come to thee again 
 To revel in thy splendour ! I am given 
 Back once agaui to colour and the dew. 
 Well, let us quit this place ; come, come, my 
 
 friends.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 73 
 
 Yet, yet — again I say you seem to grieve 
 That I am snatched thus from the dismal 
 
 grave. 
 Is my Kfe hateful to you, thus restored ? 
 Speak, men, speak ! There is some lurking 
 
 cause 
 For such a funeral greeting from the tomb. 
 You, Carlo, if not Pulci, speak straight 
 
 out! 
 
 Carlo. Luigi, you cannot think we are not 
 glad. 
 We two of all Siena, to behold you 
 Now freed, and passing to the outer air. 
 Luigi. Yet still I say that something 
 lurks behind, 
 And I myself am not less guilty now
 
 74 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Than when committed — what my crimes 
 
 were then 
 Are now my crimes no less — yet I am freed. 
 
 PuLCi. Luigi, the prison door is open now 
 Because your sister, in the deep of night, 
 So is it said, for your sake yielded her 
 To Pietro Tornielli. 
 
 Luigi. Ah, my God ! 
 
 No, no, I'll not take life upon these terms. 
 I am shaken through all my being, I am 
 
 changed ; 
 Where once I cowered, now I cower no more. 
 She, she — she knew I would not have this 
 
 bargain. 
 Now I will put my freedom to some use. 
 Call up our friends, however few they be.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 75 
 
 And I will storm the palace and demand 
 My death. I'll ask it as a boon, as once 
 Life I demanded. Ah, I loathe to breathe, 
 And the great sun is blackening in the heaven. 
 Come with me, come ! 
 
 PuLCi. Some friends we have without 
 
 Already ; more will join us as we go. 
 
 LuiGi. On to the palace ! on ! And let 
 me die !
 
 SCENE II 
 
 Scene. — A hall in the palace of the Gonzaga. 
 
 There is a sound of mutiny outside, and as the 
 
 curtain rises Anselmo breaks in accompanied 
 
 by others of the troops, while sullen shouts are 
 
 heard from outside. 
 
 Anselmo. He is not here; he spends the 
 hours with her. 
 Sirs, let us force these doors and slay the man 
 Who has betrayed us for a woman's eyes. 
 My sword is drawn ! 
 
 Another. And mine. 
 
 Another. We'll follow you. 
 
 [Enter Pietro. 
 
 PiETRO. Now, sirs ! 
 
 76
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 77 
 
 Anselmo. Pietro Tornielli, we 
 
 Have heard a rumour thro' Siena flying 
 That not alone the sister's Hfe is spared, 
 But that, in hot desire for her, the brother 
 Too you have spared, whom we all heard 
 
 condemned 
 Out of your own mouth ! So, then, we must 
 
 fight, 
 And follow you through peril and through 
 
 death. 
 Only at last to be confronted thus ; 
 Our swords are nothing 'gainst a lady's 
 
 eyes. 
 Our faith is nothing 'gainst our leader's lust, 
 
 [Angry murmurs. 
 Our services as air against her kiss.
 
 78 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Thus then I speak, and speaking speak for 
 
 all — 
 Either we slay thee or we leave thee here 
 To riot and to passion and to wine. 
 But if I cannot for old memory 
 Plunge in thy heart this sword, I'll never draw 
 In such a cause again. I'll not be fooled, 
 
 [Angry shouts. 
 To fight and find all lost at last for lust. 
 So, Tornielli, fare you well for ever. 
 
 [He is about to exit when Luigi, after much 
 
 commotion, hursts into the hall, followed 
 
 by a retinue of followers. 
 
 Luigi. Now, Pietro Tornielh, face to face 
 
 We stand. I owe my freedom to your will ; 
 
 I am set free — no cause assigned, but freed.
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 79 
 
 Why then ? My sister's honour ! 
 
 [Pointing to his sister. 
 And do you think 
 That for the madness of a night with her 
 Whom I have worshipped Uke the blessed saint, 
 Whose very tears were holy water, her blood 
 The very wine we drink not if we sin — 
 You think I'll take my life for such a fee ? 
 Oh, I was craven, I deny it not ; 
 Here was the chance, then, here the basest lure 
 Ever proposed within a woman's ear — 
 She should submit to you and I go free ! 
 No, death a thousand times, and death again ! 
 I'll not contaminate the air henceforth. 
 And all shall cry " See, Luigi walks abroad 
 Freed by his sister's soil !" If you will fight,
 
 8o PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 Then let us fight and without pause, and 
 
 now ; 
 If not, I give myself again to death. 
 
 [A door is thrown open and Gemma comes 
 in, PiETRO taking her hand. 
 You, Gemma, though some may applaud this 
 
 act, 
 I loathe you for it and for evermore. 
 Ah ! but perhaps it was no martyrdom ! 
 Perhaps the sacrifice came easily. 
 Perhaps — 
 PrETRO. Enough is said. Now I will 
 
 speak. 
 Luigi Gonzaga, and Anselmo there, 
 It is most true that what you here have 
 
 charged 
 
 G
 
 PIETRO OF SIENA 8i 
 
 . Against me I did plan and did intend. 
 
 [Murmurs. 
 That fault is in my blood. But here I make 
 A holy oath, before all saints in heaven, 
 That she, this lady, stands by me untouched, 
 That she is pure as ever without spot. 
 Rather would she have killed me or herself 
 Than so submitted even for such a cause ; 
 But I, who have so played the game of love, 
 Am won to something nobler at the last : 
 To-day I make this lady my true wife. 
 
 Gemma. Luigi, I should have died ere this 
 I did. [Murmurs of astonishment. 
 
 Peetro. Her brother, who has thus refused 
 his life, 
 Knowing the truth will not refuse it more.
 
 82 PIETRO OF SIENA 
 
 A golden morning on us all descends, 
 And I foresee a golden morning wax 
 Into a deeper life between us two, 
 Bringing not bloodshed nor old enmity, 
 But on our houses and Siena peace. 
 
 Curtain
 
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