Edmund Ironside - Act 4. Scene 3
To them — Enter E DMUND , C EFRID , K ENELM , British Lords.
EDMUND.
'Tis enough, my Friends,
These were the virtues of your great forefathers.
Thus did they cherish, in their constant bosoms,
The sacred flame of Truth and Loyalty.
Yet check this wild extreme.
CEFRID.
Worth great as thine
Demands such grief.
EDMUND.
Affection's servent pause
Delights the heart that's conscious of desert.
Yes, I have done my duty; lov'd thee, Britain,
With all a Patriot's warmth. O righteous Heaven!
If e'er with arrogance I spurn'd the injur'd,
Or screen'd the base, or bow'd to private ends
My Crown's due dignity, — be this the moment
For retribution! Let the hand of Denmark
Fulfil thy great decrees!
KENELM.
No, guiltless King!
If goodness gains the victory, 'tis thine.
EDMUND.
The praise of Man is all but superficial!
To Man our actions speak, our thoughts to Heaven.
Before the eye of dread omniscience, Vice
Drops her concealing mask. Yet, sure, Deceit
Herds not with wretches, who appear to stand
On the dread brink of vast eternity!
Here Edmund stands, and swears, by all his hopes,
No unrepented guilt lies cold at heart,
To make him shudder at death's near approach.
CANUTUS.
Does not each soldier seem to wish the peril,
To save his King?
EDMUND.
My generous Friends, farewell!
Prince, in performance of my oath, I come.
Yet e'er I join in combat, for my country,
I claim these just conditions: If I fall,
Rule her with clemency and royal justice.
Seize not the honours of her antient Nobles
To deck thy Danish Captains, but observe
The laws of Alfred, Britain's glorious boast.
Remember, conquest is the gist of Fortune;
But well to use that conquest, proves the Hero.
CANUTUS.
If ever tyranny deform my reign,
May I be infamous in ev'ry age!
Hear this, ye Host of Heav'n! — I now demand,
For my brave Danes, security from wrong,
If thou succeed'st.
EDMUND.
Me too, ye Angels hear!
And favour me, as I sincerely swear
To guard them from contempt and injury.
CANTUTUS.
The guiltles blood, spilt by thy faithless Sire,
Still unaton'd, hangs like a murky cloud
Portending ill to Britain.
EDMUND.
Nam'st thou this;
When blacker crimes obscure the Danish annals?
But let our vain recriminations end,
We meet not here to talk of former woes,
But, by our blood, to terminate them all.
My soul ill brooks delay.
CANUTUS.
Not worse than mine,
Come — list thy arm; away with childish parley;
EDMUND.
A moment stop: the unoffending Fair
And helpless Infant, fragile innocent,
Alike, from friend and foe, demand protection.
Denmark, by her who gave thee birth, I charge thee
Kindly to treat my Son and heart-lov'd Queen.
CANUTUS.
They shall be sacred. Come, ye Danish Heroes,
From Thor to Swayne, my Sire, be present now:
Now string my nervous arm.
EDMUND.
Immortal Power!
That guid'st the rapid car of Victory,
Thou great Disposer of terrestrial good,
To thee I trust my cause.
KENELM.
Amazing scene!
TURKILL.
The British King retires, our's is the conquest.
CEFRID.
Would I had licence to rebuke thy falsehood,
Presumptuous Dane! A Briton never yields.
'Twas but a skillful feint. See, how he turns
With renovated strength; he shakes his plume:
He forms a magic circle with his sword,
Nor dares your King invade it.
KENELM.
Glorious struggle:
See how they pant and toil. Their eager souls
Seem to look out, and sparkle at their eyes.
Oh! that they both might live!
HAROLD.
Canutus yields.
He lists his hand, as if intending parley.
Be kind to Denmark, Heaven!
CANUTUS.
A moment slay:
A supernat'ral horror overwhelms me.
Thrice have I aim'd a mortal stroke, and thrice
My arm grew nerveless — my chill soul recoil'd.
Oh! Edmund; virtue keeps thy person sacred.
EDMUND.
Delay not thus. The prize of Life and Empire
Is undecided still.
CANUTUS.
So shall it slay,
In admiration of thy peerless worth
I cancel former hatred.
EDMUND.
Would to Heaven,
We both had sprung from British Parentage!
Then, by thy virtues charm'd, I would have held thee
My dearest Friend; but 'twere unseemly now.
CANUTUS.
Art thou determin'd then? Still burns the fire
Of enmity? Must it be quench'd with blood?
The spacious world affords us ample room
For both to conquer.
EDMUND.
But, content with Britain,
I seek not to invade another's right.
To guard the Empire of my Ancestors,
From all assailants, is my sole ambition.
CANUTUS.
'Tis hard for souls like mine, that fiercely burn
To be alone the darling of renown,
To tell the world, a rival's worth is greater.
Yet such I do, O most divine of men!
The great, the dread, Canutus owns with tears,
He'd give his glory to be lov'd like thee.
EDMUND.
Art thou sincere?
CANUTUS.
Nay, think not I deceive,
My soul's too proud to learn hypocrisy.
Nor think my breast so petrisied, by war,
That nought of social duties touch my soul.
My strength thou hast not conquer'd, but my heart,
A far more noble victory is thine.
EDMUND.
Persuasions on thy tongue. O that thy hand
Had ne'er been famous in the feats of arms!
My murder'd Britons, my unhappy Father, —
By thee unhappy made — in mournful pomp
Rise to my view, and steel my yielding bosom.
CANUTUS, ( dropping his Sword )
Be then my foe. 'Twere sacrilege in me,
To lift my arm 'gainst virtue I adore.
Has not Canutus equal cause for hatred?
Ost has thy falchion thinn'd his lov'd associates,
Yet he foregoes it all — intreats thy friendship.
His stubborn soul is humbled to entreaty,
And art thou calious still?
EDMUND.
Say, wond'rous Man!
On what foundation shall we build our love?
For, like a fabrick, by some madman rais'd,
Unfounded love falls into speedy ruin.
CANUTUS.
Taught, by thy worth, to think ambition poor,
No more I'd claim thy Crown, did not the Danes
Here interpose and urge the waste of blood
Their fathers spilt to gain it. And can I
Resign the whole of what their valour won?
The goodly land affords sufficient space
For thee, brave Prince, and Denmark: let us share it.
The Mercian, Southern, and West-Saxon realms,
Shall be thy portion; and to me assign
The Eastern Province, and Northumbria,
Where long my ancestors have fix'd their homes.
Let war no more appear to spoil the fruits
Of toiling industry, but, in her stead,
Let Dane and Briton meet, in social trust,
And lose each trace of former enmity.
EDMUND.
The realm is thine. Dost thou, indeed, propose
This free partition? Gen'rous — noble Foe!
To treat thee still with scorn, would indicate
A brutal disposition. Take my hand,
Pledge of my heart and earnest of my love.
CANUTUS.
Th' unworthy many, from mean selfishness,
Derive their trivial friendships, quickly spent:
They that love praise, seek out a parasite;
Villain with villain mates, and fool with fool;
Soon fix'd, soon sated. These, the brave and wise,
With pity viewing, form no strict attachment,
Till they, embrace like me, a fellow soul!
EDMUND.
In mute amaze our wond'ring squadrons stand,
Musing what this portends. O great Canutus!
The generous heart disclaims all selfish bliss,
Let us to them impart our happiness,
And feel redoubled bliss, beholding their's.
CANUTUS.
Britons and Danes, names once proverbial us'd
To note eternal hate, approach with joy,
Your Kings are foes no more.
EDMUND.
Too long, my Friends,
Hath surly discord frown'd. Indulgent Heav'n
At length admits of Peace, nor must I scorn
The gentle visitant. We, as your Champions,
Toiling, have found each other's worth the same;
Prelude to fair accord. The Western parts,
Late bow'd to alien masters, shall be mine;
The Eastern, Denmark's. Friends, are ye content!
Or must we war?
ALL .
Content! Content! Peace! Peace!
EDMUND.
Companions, Chiefs, in arduous battle prov'd,
Attest my words. With transport I declare
Canutus mine and Britain's Friend.
CANUTUS.
Oh! Turkill,
My heart hath caught that word. Auspicious day!
Edmund, Canutus craves from thee a boon,
By far more rich than Empire.
EDMUND.
What? demand it.
CANUTUS.
Thy lovely Step-dame, Emma: Now to tell,
How long — how well we've lov'd, — what strange events
Nipt, e'er their bloom, our infant joys, were vain.
Suffice to say, the dignified Enchantress
Rejects my vows, 'till authoriz'd by thee.
EDMUND.
This day, propitious to the social duties,
Shall, in our Castle, see all rites perform'd — —
This day, to one, her peer in excellence,
Shall Edmund give his Father's beauteous Queen.
Bring ev'ry grace, and each connubial virtue,
And guard, ye heavenly powers, the Happy Pair!
EDMUND.
'Tis enough, my Friends,
These were the virtues of your great forefathers.
Thus did they cherish, in their constant bosoms,
The sacred flame of Truth and Loyalty.
Yet check this wild extreme.
CEFRID.
Worth great as thine
Demands such grief.
EDMUND.
Affection's servent pause
Delights the heart that's conscious of desert.
Yes, I have done my duty; lov'd thee, Britain,
With all a Patriot's warmth. O righteous Heaven!
If e'er with arrogance I spurn'd the injur'd,
Or screen'd the base, or bow'd to private ends
My Crown's due dignity, — be this the moment
For retribution! Let the hand of Denmark
Fulfil thy great decrees!
KENELM.
No, guiltless King!
If goodness gains the victory, 'tis thine.
EDMUND.
The praise of Man is all but superficial!
To Man our actions speak, our thoughts to Heaven.
Before the eye of dread omniscience, Vice
Drops her concealing mask. Yet, sure, Deceit
Herds not with wretches, who appear to stand
On the dread brink of vast eternity!
Here Edmund stands, and swears, by all his hopes,
No unrepented guilt lies cold at heart,
To make him shudder at death's near approach.
CANUTUS.
Does not each soldier seem to wish the peril,
To save his King?
EDMUND.
My generous Friends, farewell!
Prince, in performance of my oath, I come.
Yet e'er I join in combat, for my country,
I claim these just conditions: If I fall,
Rule her with clemency and royal justice.
Seize not the honours of her antient Nobles
To deck thy Danish Captains, but observe
The laws of Alfred, Britain's glorious boast.
Remember, conquest is the gist of Fortune;
But well to use that conquest, proves the Hero.
CANUTUS.
If ever tyranny deform my reign,
May I be infamous in ev'ry age!
Hear this, ye Host of Heav'n! — I now demand,
For my brave Danes, security from wrong,
If thou succeed'st.
EDMUND.
Me too, ye Angels hear!
And favour me, as I sincerely swear
To guard them from contempt and injury.
CANTUTUS.
The guiltles blood, spilt by thy faithless Sire,
Still unaton'd, hangs like a murky cloud
Portending ill to Britain.
EDMUND.
Nam'st thou this;
When blacker crimes obscure the Danish annals?
But let our vain recriminations end,
We meet not here to talk of former woes,
But, by our blood, to terminate them all.
My soul ill brooks delay.
CANUTUS.
Not worse than mine,
Come — list thy arm; away with childish parley;
EDMUND.
A moment stop: the unoffending Fair
And helpless Infant, fragile innocent,
Alike, from friend and foe, demand protection.
Denmark, by her who gave thee birth, I charge thee
Kindly to treat my Son and heart-lov'd Queen.
CANUTUS.
They shall be sacred. Come, ye Danish Heroes,
From Thor to Swayne, my Sire, be present now:
Now string my nervous arm.
EDMUND.
Immortal Power!
That guid'st the rapid car of Victory,
Thou great Disposer of terrestrial good,
To thee I trust my cause.
KENELM.
Amazing scene!
TURKILL.
The British King retires, our's is the conquest.
CEFRID.
Would I had licence to rebuke thy falsehood,
Presumptuous Dane! A Briton never yields.
'Twas but a skillful feint. See, how he turns
With renovated strength; he shakes his plume:
He forms a magic circle with his sword,
Nor dares your King invade it.
KENELM.
Glorious struggle:
See how they pant and toil. Their eager souls
Seem to look out, and sparkle at their eyes.
Oh! that they both might live!
HAROLD.
Canutus yields.
He lists his hand, as if intending parley.
Be kind to Denmark, Heaven!
CANUTUS.
A moment slay:
A supernat'ral horror overwhelms me.
Thrice have I aim'd a mortal stroke, and thrice
My arm grew nerveless — my chill soul recoil'd.
Oh! Edmund; virtue keeps thy person sacred.
EDMUND.
Delay not thus. The prize of Life and Empire
Is undecided still.
CANUTUS.
So shall it slay,
In admiration of thy peerless worth
I cancel former hatred.
EDMUND.
Would to Heaven,
We both had sprung from British Parentage!
Then, by thy virtues charm'd, I would have held thee
My dearest Friend; but 'twere unseemly now.
CANUTUS.
Art thou determin'd then? Still burns the fire
Of enmity? Must it be quench'd with blood?
The spacious world affords us ample room
For both to conquer.
EDMUND.
But, content with Britain,
I seek not to invade another's right.
To guard the Empire of my Ancestors,
From all assailants, is my sole ambition.
CANUTUS.
'Tis hard for souls like mine, that fiercely burn
To be alone the darling of renown,
To tell the world, a rival's worth is greater.
Yet such I do, O most divine of men!
The great, the dread, Canutus owns with tears,
He'd give his glory to be lov'd like thee.
EDMUND.
Art thou sincere?
CANUTUS.
Nay, think not I deceive,
My soul's too proud to learn hypocrisy.
Nor think my breast so petrisied, by war,
That nought of social duties touch my soul.
My strength thou hast not conquer'd, but my heart,
A far more noble victory is thine.
EDMUND.
Persuasions on thy tongue. O that thy hand
Had ne'er been famous in the feats of arms!
My murder'd Britons, my unhappy Father, —
By thee unhappy made — in mournful pomp
Rise to my view, and steel my yielding bosom.
CANUTUS, ( dropping his Sword )
Be then my foe. 'Twere sacrilege in me,
To lift my arm 'gainst virtue I adore.
Has not Canutus equal cause for hatred?
Ost has thy falchion thinn'd his lov'd associates,
Yet he foregoes it all — intreats thy friendship.
His stubborn soul is humbled to entreaty,
And art thou calious still?
EDMUND.
Say, wond'rous Man!
On what foundation shall we build our love?
For, like a fabrick, by some madman rais'd,
Unfounded love falls into speedy ruin.
CANUTUS.
Taught, by thy worth, to think ambition poor,
No more I'd claim thy Crown, did not the Danes
Here interpose and urge the waste of blood
Their fathers spilt to gain it. And can I
Resign the whole of what their valour won?
The goodly land affords sufficient space
For thee, brave Prince, and Denmark: let us share it.
The Mercian, Southern, and West-Saxon realms,
Shall be thy portion; and to me assign
The Eastern Province, and Northumbria,
Where long my ancestors have fix'd their homes.
Let war no more appear to spoil the fruits
Of toiling industry, but, in her stead,
Let Dane and Briton meet, in social trust,
And lose each trace of former enmity.
EDMUND.
The realm is thine. Dost thou, indeed, propose
This free partition? Gen'rous — noble Foe!
To treat thee still with scorn, would indicate
A brutal disposition. Take my hand,
Pledge of my heart and earnest of my love.
CANUTUS.
Th' unworthy many, from mean selfishness,
Derive their trivial friendships, quickly spent:
They that love praise, seek out a parasite;
Villain with villain mates, and fool with fool;
Soon fix'd, soon sated. These, the brave and wise,
With pity viewing, form no strict attachment,
Till they, embrace like me, a fellow soul!
EDMUND.
In mute amaze our wond'ring squadrons stand,
Musing what this portends. O great Canutus!
The generous heart disclaims all selfish bliss,
Let us to them impart our happiness,
And feel redoubled bliss, beholding their's.
CANUTUS.
Britons and Danes, names once proverbial us'd
To note eternal hate, approach with joy,
Your Kings are foes no more.
EDMUND.
Too long, my Friends,
Hath surly discord frown'd. Indulgent Heav'n
At length admits of Peace, nor must I scorn
The gentle visitant. We, as your Champions,
Toiling, have found each other's worth the same;
Prelude to fair accord. The Western parts,
Late bow'd to alien masters, shall be mine;
The Eastern, Denmark's. Friends, are ye content!
Or must we war?
ALL .
Content! Content! Peace! Peace!
EDMUND.
Companions, Chiefs, in arduous battle prov'd,
Attest my words. With transport I declare
Canutus mine and Britain's Friend.
CANUTUS.
Oh! Turkill,
My heart hath caught that word. Auspicious day!
Edmund, Canutus craves from thee a boon,
By far more rich than Empire.
EDMUND.
What? demand it.
CANUTUS.
Thy lovely Step-dame, Emma: Now to tell,
How long — how well we've lov'd, — what strange events
Nipt, e'er their bloom, our infant joys, were vain.
Suffice to say, the dignified Enchantress
Rejects my vows, 'till authoriz'd by thee.
EDMUND.
This day, propitious to the social duties,
Shall, in our Castle, see all rites perform'd — —
This day, to one, her peer in excellence,
Shall Edmund give his Father's beauteous Queen.
Bring ev'ry grace, and each connubial virtue,
And guard, ye heavenly powers, the Happy Pair!
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