Boris Godounoff - Scene the Eleventh
SCENE THE ELEVENTH.
Interior of the Kremlin Palace.
THE TSAR. THE TSAREVITCH. ( DRAWING A MAP .) THE TSAREVNA. THE TSAREVNA'S NURSE. SIMON GODOUNOFF SHOUISKY .
KSENIA .
My darling bridegroom, noble prince, not to me, thy bride, wert thou fated to belong, but to a dreary grave in a foreign land! Never shall I know peace again, but will ever mourn and weep for thee!
NURSE .
Ah, Tsarevna, a maiden weeps as easily as the dew falls; the sun comes out, and the dew is quickly dried. Another lord, fair and gracious, will come to woo thee, and thou, darling of our eyes, wilt love him, and wilt forget Prince Johann.
KSENIA .
Nay, nurse, nay. I shall ever remain faithful to the dead.
THE TSAR .
How now, Ksenia, how, my darling child?
Thou art in bridal years a widow made,
The bridegroom's death dost ever weep and mourn.
Alas, my child, the jealous fates denied
That I should be the maker of thy bliss
Perchance, for some offence against dear God,
I might not rear with love thy future weal:
But why the innocent be doomed to weep?.
And thou, my son, art busy? What is that?
THEODORE .
A map of Muscovy, our wide domains
In all their vast extent. Look, Moscow here,
Here Novgorod, here Astrachan, and here
The sea, and dense, unwinsome woods of Perm,
And here Siberia.
THE TSAR .
And what denotes
This winding line?
THEODORE .
That line the Volga marks
THE TSAR .
'Tis well. How sweet the fruit of learning is!
As from a point in heaven, we can scan
The whole empire, its borders, rivers, towns.
Be diligent, my son, for science gives
The slow results of swiftly flowing life.
The hour will come, and may be soon, when all
These regions wide, which thou, with finger deft,
Hast here on paper traced, shall fall beneath
Thy sway, and gladly own thee as their Tsar.
Be diligent, my son; the cares of rule
Shall thus be made the lighter and more clear.
Here comes good Godounoff, with his reports.
Ksenia, leave us and go into thy room!
Farewell, my child, the Lord abide with thee!
And now, what news, Simon, most trusty friend?
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
To-day, at dawn, Vassiely's steward came,
As well as Poushkin's servants, with reports.
THE TSAR .
What else?
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
From them I learned that yestermorn
Some messengers from Kracoff he received,
Who back returned in haste an hour later.
THE TSAR .
They have been seized?
SIMON GODOUNOFF
Our men are on their track.
THE TSAR .
And what of Shouisky?
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
Last night, among
Some other guests the Mieloslavskies came,
Young Saltikoff, Poushkin, and Butterlien.
They broke up late. But Poushkin stayed behind,
Was closeted alone with his sly host,
And they did long and earnest converse hold.
THE TSAR .
Bid hither Shouisky at once.
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
My sire,
He is already here.
THE TSAR .
Then, I will see him.
THE TSAR .
With Litva leagued! What means this friendship new?
The Poushkin house has ever been hostile,
Nor can I place my trust in Shouisky,
A shuffling, cunning rogue, but bold and false!
Myself I wished to speak with thee, good prince,
But, as it seems, thou wert already here;
And I would first hear what thou hast to say.
SHOUISKY .
My sire, it is my duty to impart
Intelligence most strange.
THE TSAR .
I pray, say on.
SHOUISKY .
But sire...
THE TSAR .
Methinks, the prince, my son, may hear
All that a Shouisky can know. Speak on.
SHOUISKY .
From Lithuania the news has come...
THE TSAR .
But say, dear prince, is not thy news the same
As that which Poushkin yesterday received?
SHOUISKY .
We are betrayed... I had believed, my sire,
The secret was as yet unknown to thee.
THE TSAR .
It matters not, good prince. I would compare
Thy news with mine, or else it will be hard
The truth to learn.
SHOUISKY .
I only know, a false
Pretender has late in Kracoff risen,
The King and nobles have declared for him.
THE TSAR .
And who may this new-fledged Pretender be?
SHOUISKY .
I cannot learn.
THE TSAR .
Where, then, the danger, prince?
SHOUISKY .
Without dispute, thy might is powerful;
Thy clemency, munificence, and zeal
The hearts of all thy slaves have fast enchained.
But, as thou knowest well, the stupid mob
Is fickle, mutinous, and easy gulled,
The victim light of each vain tale and hope,
The passing moment's easy, willing dupe,
To truth all deaf, indifferent to right,
The greedy picker-up of fabled lies.
The shameless quack can count upon their grace;
And should this paltry beggar's son succeed
To slip our watch and cross the borderland,
At once a crowd of gaping partisans
Will flock and hail the risen prince, Dmitry.
THE TSAR .
Dmitry!... how so?.. what dost thou say?... that boy!
Dmitry!... Tsarevitch, go!... Quickly leave us!
SHOUISKY .
He reddens and the storm will soon burst forth!
THEODORE .
Thou wilt permit, my sire?
THE TSAR .
I cannot; go!
Dmitry!
SHOUISKY .
I see, 'tis well, he nothing knows!
THE TSAR .
Listen, prince! Without delay fit measures take,
That Russia be from Litva close cut off
By serried lines of close ranged troops, and see
No soul the boundary doth cross, nor hare
From Poland hither scud, nor crow be let
From Kracoff fly. I charge thee, see to it.
SHOUISKY .
I go.
THE TSAR .
But stay! Thinkst not, this news of thine
Our langhter should provoke! Was ever time,
The buried dead were known to quit their graves,
And question with the Tsar, the lawful Tsar,
By all the people chosen as their prince,
With holy oil anointed by the church;
Must this, I ask, not move our mirth?... Well, what?
Say, why thou dost not laugh?
SHOUISKY .
I, sire?
THE TSAR .
Listen,
Vassiely, my dear prince! When first I learned
News of this boy's... that he had strangely died,
By means unknown and long before his time,
Then thou wert sent to make enquiries. Now,
By God's most holy name and by the cross,
I charge thee tell the truth, and say, if thou
Didst plainly recognise the murdered boy,
And if there was no juggling trick? Reply!
SHOUISKY .
I swear to thee...
THE TSAR .
Nay, Shouisky, swear not:
But say, it was the dead Tsarevitch?
SHOUISKY .
He!
THE TSAR .
Bethink thee, prince. I pardon promise thee,
Nor will I for thy former lie decree
Exile or other pain. But if to-day
Thou darest to trick me, then, by my son's head
I swear, a doom shall quickly visit thee,
Such doom, that Tsar Ivan himself shall turn
And quake with horror in his gloomy grave.
SHOUISKY .
No punishment, save thy displeasure dread,
I fear, nor dare I now before thee lie.
It cannot be I was so blind as not
To recognise the young Dmitry. Three days
I saw his body in cathedral laid,
And thither flocked in crowds the Uglitch folk
Around him lay the thirteen bodies dead
Of those the maddened mob to pieces tore.
With them decay had now its work begun,
Whilst still the prince's face was clear and fresh,
And smiling as in sleep that knows no care;
The ugly, gaping wound had yet not closed,
And save for that he bore no signs of death.
Nay, sire, there is no place for doubt. Dmitry
Sleeps in his grave.
THE TSAR .
Enough! You may depart.
'Twas hard to bear!... But now, I breathe again!
The while he spake, I felt the tingling blood
Suffuse my face and leave it then all pale.
For thirteen years that one and same sad shape,
That murdered child, has closely haunted me:
Yes, yes, it must be so; I understand.
But what is he, this threat'ning foe of mine?
What can he be to me? A shadow's name!
Can, then, a shadow don my royal robes,
A name my sons rob of their lawful rights?
Why, what a fool am I! There's naught to fear!
Blow but a breath, the phantom is dislimned!
And so, I am resolved; henceforth, no fear;
But naught must be unheeded or despised:
Uneasy weighs the crown of Monomach!
Interior of the Kremlin Palace.
THE TSAR. THE TSAREVITCH. ( DRAWING A MAP .) THE TSAREVNA. THE TSAREVNA'S NURSE. SIMON GODOUNOFF SHOUISKY .
KSENIA .
My darling bridegroom, noble prince, not to me, thy bride, wert thou fated to belong, but to a dreary grave in a foreign land! Never shall I know peace again, but will ever mourn and weep for thee!
NURSE .
Ah, Tsarevna, a maiden weeps as easily as the dew falls; the sun comes out, and the dew is quickly dried. Another lord, fair and gracious, will come to woo thee, and thou, darling of our eyes, wilt love him, and wilt forget Prince Johann.
KSENIA .
Nay, nurse, nay. I shall ever remain faithful to the dead.
THE TSAR .
How now, Ksenia, how, my darling child?
Thou art in bridal years a widow made,
The bridegroom's death dost ever weep and mourn.
Alas, my child, the jealous fates denied
That I should be the maker of thy bliss
Perchance, for some offence against dear God,
I might not rear with love thy future weal:
But why the innocent be doomed to weep?.
And thou, my son, art busy? What is that?
THEODORE .
A map of Muscovy, our wide domains
In all their vast extent. Look, Moscow here,
Here Novgorod, here Astrachan, and here
The sea, and dense, unwinsome woods of Perm,
And here Siberia.
THE TSAR .
And what denotes
This winding line?
THEODORE .
That line the Volga marks
THE TSAR .
'Tis well. How sweet the fruit of learning is!
As from a point in heaven, we can scan
The whole empire, its borders, rivers, towns.
Be diligent, my son, for science gives
The slow results of swiftly flowing life.
The hour will come, and may be soon, when all
These regions wide, which thou, with finger deft,
Hast here on paper traced, shall fall beneath
Thy sway, and gladly own thee as their Tsar.
Be diligent, my son; the cares of rule
Shall thus be made the lighter and more clear.
Here comes good Godounoff, with his reports.
Ksenia, leave us and go into thy room!
Farewell, my child, the Lord abide with thee!
And now, what news, Simon, most trusty friend?
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
To-day, at dawn, Vassiely's steward came,
As well as Poushkin's servants, with reports.
THE TSAR .
What else?
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
From them I learned that yestermorn
Some messengers from Kracoff he received,
Who back returned in haste an hour later.
THE TSAR .
They have been seized?
SIMON GODOUNOFF
Our men are on their track.
THE TSAR .
And what of Shouisky?
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
Last night, among
Some other guests the Mieloslavskies came,
Young Saltikoff, Poushkin, and Butterlien.
They broke up late. But Poushkin stayed behind,
Was closeted alone with his sly host,
And they did long and earnest converse hold.
THE TSAR .
Bid hither Shouisky at once.
SIMON GODOUNOFF .
My sire,
He is already here.
THE TSAR .
Then, I will see him.
THE TSAR .
With Litva leagued! What means this friendship new?
The Poushkin house has ever been hostile,
Nor can I place my trust in Shouisky,
A shuffling, cunning rogue, but bold and false!
Myself I wished to speak with thee, good prince,
But, as it seems, thou wert already here;
And I would first hear what thou hast to say.
SHOUISKY .
My sire, it is my duty to impart
Intelligence most strange.
THE TSAR .
I pray, say on.
SHOUISKY .
But sire...
THE TSAR .
Methinks, the prince, my son, may hear
All that a Shouisky can know. Speak on.
SHOUISKY .
From Lithuania the news has come...
THE TSAR .
But say, dear prince, is not thy news the same
As that which Poushkin yesterday received?
SHOUISKY .
We are betrayed... I had believed, my sire,
The secret was as yet unknown to thee.
THE TSAR .
It matters not, good prince. I would compare
Thy news with mine, or else it will be hard
The truth to learn.
SHOUISKY .
I only know, a false
Pretender has late in Kracoff risen,
The King and nobles have declared for him.
THE TSAR .
And who may this new-fledged Pretender be?
SHOUISKY .
I cannot learn.
THE TSAR .
Where, then, the danger, prince?
SHOUISKY .
Without dispute, thy might is powerful;
Thy clemency, munificence, and zeal
The hearts of all thy slaves have fast enchained.
But, as thou knowest well, the stupid mob
Is fickle, mutinous, and easy gulled,
The victim light of each vain tale and hope,
The passing moment's easy, willing dupe,
To truth all deaf, indifferent to right,
The greedy picker-up of fabled lies.
The shameless quack can count upon their grace;
And should this paltry beggar's son succeed
To slip our watch and cross the borderland,
At once a crowd of gaping partisans
Will flock and hail the risen prince, Dmitry.
THE TSAR .
Dmitry!... how so?.. what dost thou say?... that boy!
Dmitry!... Tsarevitch, go!... Quickly leave us!
SHOUISKY .
He reddens and the storm will soon burst forth!
THEODORE .
Thou wilt permit, my sire?
THE TSAR .
I cannot; go!
Dmitry!
SHOUISKY .
I see, 'tis well, he nothing knows!
THE TSAR .
Listen, prince! Without delay fit measures take,
That Russia be from Litva close cut off
By serried lines of close ranged troops, and see
No soul the boundary doth cross, nor hare
From Poland hither scud, nor crow be let
From Kracoff fly. I charge thee, see to it.
SHOUISKY .
I go.
THE TSAR .
But stay! Thinkst not, this news of thine
Our langhter should provoke! Was ever time,
The buried dead were known to quit their graves,
And question with the Tsar, the lawful Tsar,
By all the people chosen as their prince,
With holy oil anointed by the church;
Must this, I ask, not move our mirth?... Well, what?
Say, why thou dost not laugh?
SHOUISKY .
I, sire?
THE TSAR .
Listen,
Vassiely, my dear prince! When first I learned
News of this boy's... that he had strangely died,
By means unknown and long before his time,
Then thou wert sent to make enquiries. Now,
By God's most holy name and by the cross,
I charge thee tell the truth, and say, if thou
Didst plainly recognise the murdered boy,
And if there was no juggling trick? Reply!
SHOUISKY .
I swear to thee...
THE TSAR .
Nay, Shouisky, swear not:
But say, it was the dead Tsarevitch?
SHOUISKY .
He!
THE TSAR .
Bethink thee, prince. I pardon promise thee,
Nor will I for thy former lie decree
Exile or other pain. But if to-day
Thou darest to trick me, then, by my son's head
I swear, a doom shall quickly visit thee,
Such doom, that Tsar Ivan himself shall turn
And quake with horror in his gloomy grave.
SHOUISKY .
No punishment, save thy displeasure dread,
I fear, nor dare I now before thee lie.
It cannot be I was so blind as not
To recognise the young Dmitry. Three days
I saw his body in cathedral laid,
And thither flocked in crowds the Uglitch folk
Around him lay the thirteen bodies dead
Of those the maddened mob to pieces tore.
With them decay had now its work begun,
Whilst still the prince's face was clear and fresh,
And smiling as in sleep that knows no care;
The ugly, gaping wound had yet not closed,
And save for that he bore no signs of death.
Nay, sire, there is no place for doubt. Dmitry
Sleeps in his grave.
THE TSAR .
Enough! You may depart.
'Twas hard to bear!... But now, I breathe again!
The while he spake, I felt the tingling blood
Suffuse my face and leave it then all pale.
For thirteen years that one and same sad shape,
That murdered child, has closely haunted me:
Yes, yes, it must be so; I understand.
But what is he, this threat'ning foe of mine?
What can he be to me? A shadow's name!
Can, then, a shadow don my royal robes,
A name my sons rob of their lawful rights?
Why, what a fool am I! There's naught to fear!
Blow but a breath, the phantom is dislimned!
And so, I am resolved; henceforth, no fear;
But naught must be unheeded or despised:
Uneasy weighs the crown of Monomach!
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