Carlos

“ CARLOS. What writes the queen to me? MARQUIS. Have you not read this instant? CARLOS. I? Oh yes. MARQUIS. What is't disturbs you now? CARLOS (reads the tablet again, delighted and fervently) . Angel of Heaven! I will be so,—I will be worthy of thee. Love elevates great minds. So come what may, Whatever thou commandest, I'll perform. She writes that I must hold myself prepared For a great enterprise! What can she mean? Dost thou not know? MARQUIS. And, Carlos, if I knew, Say, art thou now prepared to hear it from me? CARLOS. Have I offended thee? I was distracted. Roderigo, pardon me. ”

“ Yet once again, once only, place my image, As in days past, before thy tender soul, And to that idol make a sacrifice Thou canst not make to me. EBOLI. Oh, Carlos, cease! Too cruelly thou sportest with my feelings! CARLOS. Be nobler than thy sex! Forgive an insult! Do what no woman e'er has done before thee, And what no woman, after thee, can equal. I ask of thee an unexampled favor. Grant me—upon my knees I ask of thee Grant me two moments with the queen, my mother! ”

“ This hand has yet Two costly presents to bestow!—a crown— And Carlos' heart:—and both these gifts perchance Upon one mortal!—both on one—Oh, great And godlike gift-almost too much for one! How if you share the treasure, prince! A queen Knows naught of love—and she who truly loves Cares little for a crown! 'Twere better, prince, Then to divide the treasure—and at once— What says my prince? Have you done so already? Have you in truth? And do I know the blest one? CARLOS. Thou shalt. I will unfold myself to thee, To thy unspotted innocence, dear maid, Thy pure, unblemished nature. ”

“ CARLOS. And you, as mother! QUEEN. Mighty heavens! You rave! CARLOS. And is he even conscious of his treasure? Hath he a heart to feel and value yours? I'll not complain—no, no, I will forget, How happy, past all utterance, I might Have been with you,—if he were only so. But he is not—there, there, the anguish lies! He is not, and he never—never can be. Oh, you have robbed me of my paradise, Only to blast it in King Philip's arms! QUEEN. Horrible thought! CARLOS. Oh, yes, right well I know Who 'twas that knit this ill-starred marriage up. I know how Philip loves, and how he wooed. ”

“ QUEEN (endeavoring to collect herself) . Carlos, arise! We must not now unnerve each other thus. The mighty dead will not be honored now By fruitless tears. Tears are for petty sorrows! He gave himself for thee! With his dear life He purchased thine. And shall this precious blood Flow for a mere delusion of the brain? Oh, Carlos, I have pledged myself for thee. On that assurance did he flee from hence More satisfied. Oh, do not falsify My word. CARLOS (with animation) To him I'll raise a monument Nobler than ever honored proudest monarch, And o'er his dust a paradise shall bloom! ”

“ Carlos spoke more simply. "No! Then come to him now, my father, just as if you had never come before. You may not know that you are justified; you know well that you are weary and heavy laden. And to such he says, 'Come.' He says it with outstretched arms, with a heart full of love and tenderness. He is as willing to save you from sin and sorrow as you are this hour to save me from pain and death. ”

“ FERIA. Prince Carlos—— KING. Had a friend who died for him; For him! With me he might have shared an empire. How he looked down upon me! From the throne Kings look not down so proudly. It was plain How vain his conquest made him. His keen sorrow Confessed how great his loss. Man weeps not so For aught that's perishable. Oh, that he might But live again! I'd give my Indies for it! Omnipotence! thou bring'st no comfort to me: Thou canst not stretch thine arm into the grave To rectify one little act, committed With hasty rashness, 'gainst the life of man. The dead return no more. ”

“ CARLOS (seizing her hand with warmth) . Dear maiden! Can you hate eternally? Can injured love ne'er pardon? EBOLI (disengaging herself) . Prince! of what Would you remind me? CARLOS. Of your kindness, dearest! And of my deep ingratitude. Alas, Too well I know it! deeply have I wronged thee— Wounded thy tender heart, and from thine eyes, Thine angel eyes, wrung precious tears, sweet maid! But ah! 'tis not repentance leads me hither. EBOLI. Prince! leave me—I—— CARLOS. I come to thee, because Thou art a maid of gentle soul—because I trust thy heart—thy kind and tender heart. ”

“ He approaches him, holds out his hand, and assists him to rise. My son's not in his place; Carlos, arise! Come to thy father's arms! His love awaits thee. CARLOS (receives the embrace of the KING without any consciousness. Suddenly recollects himself, pauses and looks fixedly at him) . Thou smell'st of blood—no, I cannot embrace thee! ”

“ MARQUIS. Carlos! was I so scrupulous—so eager— When thou, a boy, didst shed thy blood for me? CARLOS (with emotion, and full of admiration) . Kind Providence! MARQUIS. Reserve thyself for Flanders! The kingdom is thy destiny—'tis mine To give my life for thee. CARLOS (takes his hand with deep sensibility) . No, no! he will not, Cannot resist a virtue so sublime. I will conduct thee to him, and together, Arm linked in arm, will we appear before him. Then thus will I address him: "Father, see, This is the way a friend acts towards his friend." Trust me, 'twill move him—it will touch his heart. ”

“ QUEEN. Confess, my Carlos, I have harshly read thee; It is but spoken, and waywardness, and pride, Attract you thus so madly to your mother! The heart you lavish on myself belongs To the great empire you one day shall rule. Look that you sport not with your sacred trust! Love is your high vocation; until now It hath been wrongly bent upon your mother: Oh, lead it back upon your future realms, And so, instead of the fell stings of conscience, Enjoy the bliss of being more than man. Elizabeth has been your earliest love, Your second must be Spain. ”

“ CARLOS remains still silent. And the queen desires To speak with you to-day—on weighty business. CARLOS. Nothing is weighty in this world to me. MERCADO. A charge the Marquis Posa left with her. CARLOS (looking up quickly) . Indeed! I come this instant. MERCADO. No, not yet, Most gracious prince! you must delay till night. Each avenue is watched, the guards are doubled You ne'er could reach the palace unperceived; You would endanger everything. CARLOS. And yet—— MERCADO. I know one means alone that can avail us. 'Tis the queen's thought, and she suggests it to you ”

“ Danger may arise And disappear around you, unperceived. You will not know it—of too little weight To chase the slumber from your angel brow. But 'twas not this, in sooth, that brought me hither, Prince Carlos—— QUEEN. What of him? How have you left him? MARQUIS. E'en as the only wise man of his time, In whom it is a crime to worship truth— And ready, for his love to risk his life, As the wise sage for his. ”

“ The king asked, “Where is she, Carlos?”
“She cannot come,” replied Carlos; “but, if your Highness wants me to, I’ll give you a trunk filled with gold in exchange for my life.”
“No,” said the king angrily: “what we want is the Goddess of the Sea. If you cannot show her to us, prepare to be hanged.”
Carlos touched the ring six times, and the beautiful Goddess of the Sea appeared. All were amazed to see a woman with curly hair, a star on her forehead, a moon on her throat, and wearing a white dress glistening with diamonds. “Carlos is an enchanter!” ”

“ CARLOS (taking his hand, and looking fixedly in his eyes) . The king gave you this letter? PAGE (with emotion) . Gracious prince, Have I deserved these doubts? CARLOS (reading the letter) . "This key unlocks The back apartments in the queen's pavilion, The furthest room lies next a cabinet Wherein no listener's foot dare penetrate; Here may the voice of love without restraint Confess those tender feelings, which till now The heart with silent looks alone hath spoken. The timid lover gains an audience here, And sweet reward repays his secret sorrow." ”

“ KING. Thou speakest like a dreamer. This high office Demands a man—and not a stripling's arm. CARLOS. It but demands a human being, father: And that is what Duke Alva ne'er hath been. KING. Terror alone can tie rebellion's hands: Humanity were madness. Thy soft soul Is tender, son: they'll tremble at the duke. Desist from thy request. CARLOS. Despatch me, sire, To Flanders with the army—dare rely E'en on my tender soul. The name of prince, The royal name emblazoned on my standard, Conquers where Alva's butchers but dismay. ”

“ CARLOS (turning to ALVA) . Then must I put it to your honor, sir, To yield my father for a while to me. A son, you know, may to a father's ear Unbosom much, in fulness of his heart, That not befits a stranger's ear. The king Shall not be taken from you, sir—I seek The father only for one little hour. KING. Here stands his friend. CARLOS. And have I e'er deserved To think the duke should be a friend of mine? KING. Or tried to make him one? I scarce can love Those sons who choose more wisely than their fathers. CARLOS. And can Duke Alva's knightly spirit brook To look on such a scene? ”

“ E'en in thy youth, fame's brimming chalice stood Full in thy grasp—thou flung'st the toy away. Which of us, then, must be the other's debtor, And which the creditor? Thou standest mute. Dost tremble for the trial? Art thou, then, Uncertain of thyself? MARQUIS. Carlos, I yield! Here is my hand. CARLOS. Is it mine own? MARQUIS. Forever— In the most pregnant meaning of the word! CARLOS. And wilt thou prove hereafter to the king As true and warm as to the prince to-day? ”

“ SCENE VIII. The PRINCESS, DON CARLOS. The PRINCESS has thrown herself upon an ottoman, and plays. CARLOS (rushes in; he recognizes the PRINCESS, and stands thunderstruck) . Gracious Heaven! Where am I? PRINCESS (lets her lute fall, and meeting him) What? Prince Carlos! yes, in truth. CARLOS. Where am I? Senseless error; I have missed The right apartment. PRINCESS. With what dexterous skill Carlos contrives to hit the very room Where ladies sit alone! CARLOS. Your pardon, princess! ”

“ He did not know that all the time they were falling on that heart like sparks of living fire; for Carlos, once so weak, had learned now to endure pain, both of mind and body, with brow and lip that "gave no sign." Passing tender was the love that had sprung up between those two, so strangely brought together. And now Carlos, by his own act, must sever that sweet bond--must leave his newly-found father in a solitude doubly terrible, where the feeble lamp of his life would soon go out in obscure darkness. ”

“ A youth scarce numbering three-and-twenty years. What thousands waste in riotous delights, Without remorse—the mind's more precious part— The bloom and strength of manhood—I have kept, Hoarding their treasures for the future king. What could unseat my Posa from my heart, If woman fail to do it? MARQUIS. I, myself! Say, could I love you, Carlos, warm as now, If I must fear you? CARLOS. That will never be. What need hast thou of me? What cause hast thou To stoop thy knee, a suppliant at the throne? Does gold allure thee? Thou'rt a richer subject Than I shall be a king! Dost covet honors? ”

“ With so many ghastlier terrors had the mind of Carlos grown familiar, that this one came to him in the guise of a relief. So "the sharpness of death" for him might mean no more than a dagger's thrust, after all! One moment here, the next in his Saviour's presence. Who that knew aught of the tender mercies of the Holy Office could do less than thank God on his bended knees for the prospect of such a fate!
"It is not death that I fear," he answered, looking at her steadily.
"But you may as well live; nay, you had better live. For you may repent, may save your unhappy soul. ”

“ Oh, this Eboli! She were an angel to me, and before Her glory would I bend me prostrate down, In reverence deep as thine, if she were not The mistress of thy secret. CARLOS. See how vain, How idle are thy fears! What proofs has she That will not stamp her maiden brow with shame? Say, will she purchase with her own dishonor The wretched satisfaction of revenge? MARQUIS. Ay! to recall a blush, full many a one Has doomed herself to infamy. CARLOS (with increased vehemence) . Nay, that Is far too harsh—and cruel! She is proud And noble; well I know her, and fear nothing. ”

“ Thus, in the morning of life, at little more than twenty-three years of age, perished Carlos, prince of Asturias. No one of his time came into the world under so brilliant auspices; for he was heir to the noblest empire in Christendom; and the Spaniards, as they discerned in his childhood some of the germs of future greatness in his character, looked confidently forward to the day when he should rival the glory of his grandfather, Charles the Fifth. But he was born under an evil star, which counteracted all the gifts of fortune, and turned them into a curse. ”

“ Carlos went on with passionate earnestness, "if by any deed of kindness, such as you have shown me, you could bring God's dear suffering servant so much comfort as a cup of cold water, truly your reward would be rich in heaven. For the day will come when that poor man will take his station in the court of the King of kings, and at the right hand of Christ, in great glory and majesty." ”

“ What compensation can the duke supply For a deserted and a childless age? Would'st thou be loved? Here in this bosom springs A fresher, purer fountain, than e'er flowed From those dark, stagnant, muddy reservoirs, Which Philip's gold must first unlock. KING. No more, Presuming boy! For know the hearts thou slanderest Are the approved, true servants of my choice. 'Tis meet that thou do honor to them. CARLOS. Never! I know my worth—all that your Alva dares— That, and much more, can Carlos. What cares he, A hireling! for the welfare of the realm That never can be his? ”