In phantasy, imagination, all

The affluence of my soul which one day was
A Cræsus in creation-I plunged deep,
But, like an ebbing wave, it dash'd me back
Into the gulf of my unfathom'd thought.
I plunged amidst mankind-Forgetfulness
I sought in all, save where 'tis to be found,
And that I have to learn-my sciences,
My long pursued and super-human art,
Is mortal here- dwell in my despair-
And live-and live for ever.

Witch. It may be

That I can aid thee.

Manf. To do this thy power Must wake the dead,or lay me low with them. Do so-in any shape-in any hourWith any torture-so it be the last.

Witch. That is not in my province; but if thou

Wilt swear obedience to my will, and do My bidding, it may help thee to thy wishes. Manf. I will not swear.-Obey! and whom? the spirits

Whose presence 1 command, and be the slave Of those who served me-Never!

Witch. Is this all!

|

If I had never lived, that which I love
Had still been living; had I never loved,
That which I love would still be beautiful..
Happy and giving happiness. What is she?
What is she now?-a sufferer for my sins-
A thing I dare not think upon – or nothing.
Within few hours I shall not call in vain-
Yet in this hour I dread the thing I dare:
Until this hour I never shrunk to gaze
On spirit, good or evil-now I tremble,
And feel a strange cold thaw upon my heart;
But I can act even what I most abhor,
And champion human fears.-The night
approaches.
[Exit.

SCENE III.-The Summit of the JungfrauMountain.

Enter FIRST DESTINY.

The moon is rising broad, and round, and bright;

And here on snows, where never human foot
Of common mortal trod, we nightly tread,
And leave no traces; o'er the savage sea,
The glassy ocean of the mountain-ice,
We skim its rugged breakers, which put on

thee,

And pause ere thou rejectest.

Manf. I have said it.

Witch. Enough!-I may retire then-say! Manf. Retire! [The Witch disappears. Manf. (alone.) We are the fools of time and terror: Days

Steal on us and steal from us; yet we live,
Loathing our life, and dreading still to die.
In all the days of this detested yoke-
This vital weight upon the struggling heart,
Which sinks with sorrow, or beats quick
with pain,

Or joy that ends in agony or faintness-
In all the days of past and future, for
In life there is no present, we can number
How few-how less than few-wherein the
soul

Forbears to pant for death, and yet draws back

As from a stream in winter, though the chill
Be but a moment's. I have one resource
Still in my science-I can call the dead,
And ask them what it is we dread to be:
The sternest answer can but be the Grave,
And that is nothing-if they answer not-
The buried Prophet answer'd to the Hag
Of Endor; and the Spartan Monarch drew
From the Byzantine maid's unsleeping spirit
An answer and his destiny-he slew
That which he loved, unknowing what he
slew,

And died unpardon'd – though he call'd in aid
The Phyxian Jove, and in Phigalia roused
The Arcadian Evocators to compel
The indignant shadow to depose her wrath,
Or fix her term of vengeance - she replied
In words of dubious import, but ful fill'd.

Frozen in a moment- a dead whirlpool's

image;

A Voice without, singing.
The Captive Usurper,
Hurl'd down from the throne,
Lay buried in torpor,
Forgotten and lone;

I broke through his slumbers,
I shiver'd his chain,

I leagued him with numbers-
He's Tyrant again!

With the blood of a million he'll answer
my care,
With a nation's destruction-his flight and
despair.

Second Voice, without. The ship sail'd on, the ship sail'd fast, But I left not a sail, and I left not a mast; There is not a plank of the hull or the deck, And there is not a wretch to lament o'er

his wreck;

Save one, whom I held, as he swam, by the hair,

And he was a subject well worthy my care; A traitor on land, and a pirate at sea--But I saved him to wreak further havoc for me!

Of their own desolation.—
This work of a night,

This wreck of a realm-this deed of my doing

Forages I've done,and shall still be renewing!

Enter the Second and Third DESTINIES.
The Three.

Our hands contain the hearts of men,
Our footsteps are their graves;

We only give to take again

The spirits of our slaves!

First Dest. Welcome! - Where's Nemesis? Second Dest. At some great work; But what I know not,for my hands were full. Third Dest. Behold she cometh.

Enter NEMESIS.

First Dest. Say, where hast thou been? My sisters and thyself are slow to-night. Nem. I was detain'd repairing shatter'd thrones,

Marrying fools, restoring dynasties,
Avenging men upon their enemies,
And making them repent their own revenge;
Goading the wise to madness; from the dull
Shaping out oracles to rule the world
Afresh, for they were waxing out of date,
And mortals dared to ponder for themselves,
To weigh kings in the balance, and to speak
Of freedom, the forbidden fruit.-Away!
We have outstaid the hour-mount we
our clouds!
[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.-The Hall of Arimanes.—Arimanes on his Throne, a Globe of Fire, surrounded by the Spirits.

He gazeth—from his glance the sunbeams flee;

He moveth-earthquakes rend the world asunder.

Beneath his footsteps the volcanos rise; His shadow is the Pestilence; his path The comets herald through the crackling skies;

And planets turn to ashes at his wrath. To him war offers daily sacrifice; To him death pays his tribute; Life is his, With all its infinite of agoniesAnd his the spirit of whatever is!

Enter the DESTINIES and Nemesis. First Dest. Glory to Arimanes! on the earth

His power increaseth-both my sisters did His bidding, nor did I neglect my duty!

The necks of men, bow down before his Sec. Dest. Glory to Arimanes! we who bow

throne!

Third Dest. Glory toArimanes! – we await His nod!

Nem. Sovereign of Sovereigns! we are thine,

And all that liveth, more or less, is ours, And most things wholly so; still to increase Our power, increasing thine, demands our

care,

And we are vigilant-Thy late commands Have been fulfill'd to the utmost.

Enter MANFRED.

A Spirit. What is here? A mortal!-Thou most rash and fatal wretch,

Bow down and worship!

Second Spirit. I do know the manA Magian of great power, and fearful skill!

Third Spirit. Bow down and worship, slave! What, know'st thou not Thine and our Sovereign?—Tremble, and obey!

All the Spirits. Prostrate thyself, and thy Child of the Earth! or dread the worst. condemned clay, And yet ye see I kneel not. Manf. I know it;

Fourth Spirit. Twill be taught thee. Manf. Tis taught already;—many a On the bare ground, have I bow'd down night on the earth, my face,

And strew'd my head with ashes; I have

Manf. Bid him bow down to that which is above him,

The overruling Infinite-the Maker Who made him not for worship-let him kneel,

And we will kneel together.

The Spirits. Crush the worm!

Tear him in pieces!

First Dest. Hence! Avaunt! he's mine. Prince of the Powers invisible! this man Is of no common order, as his port And presence here denote: his sufferings Have been of an immortal nature, like Our own; his knowledge and his powers and will,

As far as is compatible with clay, Which clogs the etherial essence, have been such

As clay hath seldom borne; his aspirations
Have been beyond the dwellers of the earth,
And they have only taught him what we
know-

That knowledge is not happiness, and science
But an exchange of ignorance for that
Which is another kind of ignorance.
This is not all-the passions, attributes
Of earth and heaven, from which no power,
nor being,

Nor breath from the worm upwards is exempt,

Have pierced his heart; and in their con

By the power which hath broken
The grave which inthrall'd thee,
Speak to him who hath spoken,

Or those who have call'd thee!
Manf. She is silent,

And in that silence I am more than answer'd.
Nem. My power extends no further.
Prince of Air!

It rests with thee alone- command her voice.
Arim. Spirit—obey this sceptre!
Nem. Silent still!

She is not of our order, but belongs
To the other powers. Mortal! thy quest
is vain,

And we are baffled also.

Manf. Hear me, hear me Astarte! my beloved! speak to me: I have so much endured so much endure— Look on me! the grave hath not changed

thee more

Than I am changed for thee. Thou lovedst me
Too much, as I loved thee: we were not made
To torture thus each other, though it were
The deadliest sin to love as we have loved.
Say that thou loathest me not that I do bear
This punishment for both-that thou wilt be
One of the bless'd—and that I shall die;
For hitherto all hateful things conspire
To bind me in existence-in a life
Which makes me shrink from immortality—
A future like the past. I cannot rest.
I know not what I ask, nor what I seek:
I feel but what thou art-and what I am;
And I would hear yet once before I perish
The voice which was my music - Speak
to me!

For I have call'd on thee in the still night, Startled the slumbering birds from the hush'd boughs,

And woke the mountain-wolves, and made the caves

Acquainted with thy vainly echoed name, Which answer'd me-many things answer'd

me

Spirits and men-but thou wert silent all. Yet speak to me! I have outwatch'd the stars.

thee

Speak to me! I have wander'd o'er the earth And never found thy likeness-Speak to me! Look on the fiends around-they feel for me: I fear them not, and feel for thee alone-Speak to me! though it be in wrath;— but say

To be of all our vanities the motliest,
The merest word that ever fool'd the ear
From out the schoolman's jargon, I should
deem

The golden secret, the sought "Kalon," found,

And seated in my soul. It will not last,

[The Spirit of Astarte disappears. Nem. She's gone, and will not be recall'd; Her words will be fulfill'd. Return to the earth.

A Spirit. He is convulsed.-This is to be a mortal

And seek the things beyond mortality. Another Spirit. Yet, see, he mastereth himself and makes

His torture tributary to his will.
Had he been one of us, he would have made
An awful spirit.

Nem. Hast thou further question
Of our great sovereign, or his worshippers?
Manf. None.

Nem. Then for a time farewell. Manf. We meet then! Where? On the earth?

Even as thou wilt: and for the grace accorded I now depart a debtor. Fare ye well! [Exit Manfred.

(Scene closes.)

ACT III

once :

It hath enlarged my thoughts with a new

sense,

And I within my tablets would note down That there is such a feeling. Who is there?

Re-enter HERMAN.

Herm. My lord, the Abbot of St. Maurice

craves

To greet your presence.

Enter the ABBOT OF ST. MAURICE. Abbot. Peace be with Count Manfred! Manf. Thanks, holy father! welcome to these walls;

Thy presence honours them, and blesseth those

Who dwell within them.

Abbot. Would it were so, Count!But I would fain confer with thee alone. Manf. Herman, retire. What would my reverend guest?

Abbot. Thus, without prelude:— Age and zeal, my office,

And good intent, must plead my privilege; Our near, though not acquainted, neighbourhood

May also be my herald. Rumours strange,
And of unholy nature, are abroad,
And busy with thy name; a noble name
For centuries; may he who bears it now
Transmit it unimpair'd!

Manf. Proceed,-I listen.

Abbot. Tis said thou holdest converse with the things

Which are forbidden to the search of man; That with the dwellers of the dark abodes, The many evil and unheavenly spirits Which walk the valley of the shade of death, Thou communest. I know that with mankind,

Exchange thy thoughts,and that thy solitude Is as an anchorite's, were it but holy. Manf. And what are they who do avouch these things?

Abbot. My pious brethren the scared

I may have been, or am, doth rest between Heaven and myself.—I shall not choose a mortal

To be my mediator. Have I sinn'd Against your ordinances? prove and punish! Abbot. My son! I did not speak of punishment,

But penitence and pardon ;-with thyself The choice of such remains—and for the last, Our institutions and our strong belief Have given me power to smooth the path from sin

To higher hope and better thoughts; the first I leave to Heaven "Vengeance is mine

alone!"

So saith the Lord, and with all humbleness
His servant echoes back the awful word.
Manf. Old man! there is no power in
holy men,

Nor charm in prayer-nor purifying form
Of penitence—nor outward look-nor fast-
Nor agony-nor, greater than all these,
The innate tortures of that deep despair,
Which is remorse without the fear of hell,
But all in all sufficient to itself
Would make a hell of heaven - can exorcise
From out the unbounded spirit the quick sense
Of its own sins, wrongs, sufferance, and

revenge

Upon itself; there is no future pang
Can deal that justice on the self-condemn'd
He deals on his own soul.

Abbot. All this is well;
For this will pass away, and be succeeded
By an auspicious hope, which shall look up
With calm assurance to that blessed place,
Which all who seek may win, whatever be
Their earthly errors, so they be atoned:
And the commencement of atonement is
The sense of its necessity.-Say on-
And all our church can teach thee shall be
taught;

And all we can absolve thee, shall be pardon'd.

Manf. When Rome's sixth Emperor was
near his last,

The victim of a self-inflicted wound,
To shun the torments of a public death
From senates, once his slaves, a certain
soldier,

With show of loyal pity, would have staunch'd

The gushing throat with his officious robe; The dying Roman thrust him back and said Some empire still in his expiring glance, "It is too late-is this fidelity?"

Abbot. And what of this?

Manf. I answer with the Roman"It is too late!"

Abbot. It never can be so, To reconcile thyself with thy own soul, And thy own soul with Heaven. Hast thou no hope?

Yet shape themselves some phantasy onearth, To which frail twig they cling, like drowning men.

Manf. Ay-father! I have had those earthly visions

And noble aspirations in my youth,
To make my own the mind of other men,
The enlightener of nations; and to rise
I knew not whither-it might be to fall;
But fall, even as the mountain-cataract,
Which having leapt from its more dazzling
height,

Even in the foaming strength of its abyss,
(Which casts up misty columns that become
Clouds raining from there-ascended skies,)
Lies low but mighty still.-But this is past,
My thoughts mistook themselves.

Abbot. And wherefore so?

Manf. I could not tame my nature down; for he Must serve who fain would sway ́— and soothe and sue

And watch all time-and pry into all place-
And be a living lie-who would become
A mighty thing amongst the mean, and such
The mass are; I disdain'd to mingle with
A herd, though to be leader -- and of wolves.
The lion is alone, and so am I.

Abbot. And why not live and act with other men?

Manf. Because my nature was averse from life;

And yet not cruel; for I would not make,
But find a desolation:-like the wind,
The red-hot breath of the most lone Simoom,
Which dwells but in the desert, and sweeps

o'er

The barren sands which bear no shrubs to blast,

And revels o'er their wild and arid waves, And seeketh not, so that it is not sought, But being met is deadly; such hath been The course of my existence; but there came Things in my path which are no more. Abbot. Alas!

I'gin to fear that thou art past all aid From me and from my calling; yet so young, I still would

Manf. Look on me! there is an order Of mortals on the earth, who do become Old in their youth and die ere middle age, Without the violence of warlike death; | Some perishing of pleasure- some of studySome worn with toil- -some of mere weari

ness

Some of disease-and some insanity-
And some of wither'd, or of broken hearts;
For this last is a malady which slays
More than are number'd in the lists of Fate,
Taking all shapes, and bearing many names.
Look upon me! for even of all these things
Have I partaken; and of all these things,
One were enough; then wonder not that I