《chastelard》

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chastelard- 第12部分


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Hear you; fair lords; I have a word to you;

There is one thing I would fain understand…

If I be queen or no; for by my life

Methinks I am growing unqueenly。  No man speak?

Pray you take note; sweet lord ambassador;

I am no queen:  I never was born queen;

Alack; that one should fool us in this wise!

Take up my crown; sir; I will none of it

Till it hath bells on as a fool's cap hath。

Nay; who will have it? no man take it up?

Was there none worthy to be shamed but I?

Here are enow good faces; good to crown;

Will you be king; fair brother? or you; my lord?

Give me a spinner's curch; a wisp of reed;

Any mean thing; but; God's love; no more gold;

And no more shame:  let boys throw dice for it;

Or cast it to the grooms for tennis…play;

For I will none。



MURRAY。

What would your highness have?



QUEEN。

Yea; yea; I said I was no majesty;

I shall be shortly fallen out of grace。

What would I have?  I would have leave to live;

Perchance I shall not shortly:  nay; for me

That have no leave to respite other lives

To keep mine own life were small praise enow。



MURRAY。

Your majesty hath power to respite men;

As we well wot; no man saith otherwise。



QUEEN。

What; is this true? 't is a thing wonderful…

So great I cannot be well sure of it。

Strange that a queen should find such grace as this

At such lords' hands as ye be; such great lords:

I pray you let me get assured again;

Lest I take jest for truth and shame myself

And make you mirth:  to make your mirth of me;

God wot it were small pains to you; my lords;

But much less honor。  I may send reprieve…

With your sweet leaves I may?



MURRAY。

Assuredly。



QUEEN。

Lo; now; what grace is this I have of you!

I had a will to respite Chastelard;

And would not do it for very fear of you:

Look you; I wist not ye were merciful。



MORTON。

Madam…



QUEEN。

My lord; you have a word to me?

Doth it displease you such a man should live?



MORTON。

'T were a mad mercy in your majesty

To lay no hand upon his second fault

And let him thrice offend you。



QUEEN。

Ay; my lord?



MORTON。

It were well done to muffle lewd men's mouths

By casting of his head into their laps:

It were much best。



QUEEN。

Yea; truly were it so?

But if I will not; yet I will not; sir;

For all the mouths in Scotland。  Now; by heaven;

As I am pleased he shall not die but live;

So shall ye be。  There is no man shall die;

Except it please me; and no man shall say;

Except it please me; if I do ill or well。

Which of you now will set his will to mine?

Not you; nor you I think; nor none of you;

Nor no man living that loves living well。

Let one stand forth and smite me with his hand;

Wring my crown off and cast it underfoot;

And he shall get my respite back of me;

And no man else:  he shall bid live or die;

And no man else; and he shall be my lord;

And no man else。  What; will not one be king?

Will not one here lay hold upon my state?

I am queen of you for all things come and gone。

Nay; my chief lady; and no meaner one;

The chiefest of my maidens; shall bear this

And give it to my prisoner for a grace;

Who shall deny me? who shall do me wrong?

Bear greeting to the lord of Chastelard;

And this withal for respite of his life;

For by my head he shall die no such way:

Nay; sweet; no words; but hence and back again。



'Exit MARY BEATON。'



Farewell; dear lords; ye have shown grace to me;

And some time I will thank you as I may;

Till when think well of me and what is done。





END OF THE FOURTH ACT。







ACT V。



CHASTELARD。





SCENE I。…Before Holyrood。  A crowd of people;

among them Soldiers; Burgesses; a Preacher; &c。





1ST CITIZEN。

They are not out yet。  Have you seen the man?

What manner of man?



2D CITIZEN。

Shall he be hanged or no?

There was a fellow hanged some three days gone

Wept the whole way:  think you this man shall die

In better sort; now?



1ST CITIZEN。

Eh; these shawm…players

That walk before strange women and make songs!

How should they die well?



3D CITIZEN。

Is it sooth men say

Our dame was wont to kiss him on the face

In lewd folk's sight?



1ST CITIZEN。

Yea; saith one; all day long

He used to sit and jangle words in rhyme

To suit with shakes of faint adulterous sound

Some French lust in men's ears; she made songs too;

Soft things to feed sin's amorous mouth upon…

Delicate sounds for dancing at in hell。



4TH CITIZEN。

Is it priest Black that he shall have by him

When they do come?



3D CITIZEN。

Ah! by God's leave; not so;

If the knave show us his peeled onion's head

And that damned flagging jowl of his…



2D CITIZEN。

Nay; sirs;

Take heed of words; moreover; please it you;

This man hath no pope's part in him。



3D CITIZEN。

I say

That if priest whore's friend with the lewd thief's cheek

Show his foul blinking face to shame all ours;

It goes back fouler; well; one day hell's fire

Will burn him black indeed。



A WOMAN。

What kind of man?

'T is yet great pity of him if he be

Goodly enow for this queen's paramour。

A French lord overseas? what doth he here;

With Scotch folk here?



1ST CITIZEN。

Fair mistress; I think well

He doth so at some times that I were fain

To do as well。



THE WOMAN。

Nay; then he will not die。



1ST CITIZEN。

Why; see you; if one eat a piece of bread

Baked as it were a certain prophet's way;

Not upon coals; now…you shall apprehend…

If defiled bread be given a man to eat;

Being thrust into his mouth; why he shall eat;

And with good hap shall eat; but if now; say;

One steal this; bread and beastliness and all;

When scarcely for pure hunger flesh and bone

Cleave one to other…why; if he steal to eat;

Be it even the filthiest feeding…though the man

Be famine…flayed of flesh and skin; I say

He shall be hanged。



3D CITIZEN。

Nay; stolen said you; sir?

See; God bade eat abominable bread;

And freely was it eaten…for a sign

This; for a sign…and doubtless as did God;

So may the devil; bid one eat freely and live;

Not for a sign。



2D CITIZEN。

Will you think thus of her?

But wherefore should they get this fellow slain

If he be clear toward her?



3D CITIZEN。

Sir; one must see

The day comes when a woman sheds her sin

As a bird moults; and she being shifted so;

The old mate of her old feather pecks at her

To get the right bird back; then she being stronger

Picks out his eyes…eh?



2D CITIZEN。

Like enough to be;

But if it be…Is not one preaching there

With certain folk about him?




1ST CITIZEN。

Yea; the same

Who preached a month since from Ezekiel

Concerning these twain…this our queen that is

And her that was; and is not now so much

As queen over hell's worm。



3D CITIZEN。

Ay; said he not;

This was Aholah; the first one of these;

Called sisters only for a type…being twain;

Twain Maries; no whit Nazarine? the first

Bred out of Egypt like the water…worm

With sides in wet green places baked with slime

And festered flesh that steams against the sun;

A plague among all people; and a type

Set as a flake upon a leper's fell。



1ST CITIZEN。

Yea; said he; and unto her the men went in;

The men of Pharaoh's; beautiful with red

And with red gold; fair foreign…footed men;

The bountiful fair men; the courteous men;

The delicate men with delicate feet; that went

Curling their small beards Agag…fashion; yea

Pruning their mouths to nibble words behind

With pecking at God's skirts…small broken oaths

Fretted to shreds between most dainty lips;

And underbreath some praise of Ashtaroth

Sighed laughingly。



2D CITIZEN。

Was he not under guard

For the good word?



1ST CITIZEN。

Yea; but now forth again。…

And of the latter said he…there being two;

The first Aholah; which interpreted…



3D CITIZEN。

But; of this latter?



1ST CITIZEN。

Well; of her he said

How she made letters for Chaldean folk

And men that came forth of the wilderness

And all her sister's chosen men; yea; she

Kept not her lip from any sin of hers

But multiplied in whoredoms toward all these

That hate God mightily; for these; he saith;

These are the fair French people; and these her kin

Sought out of England with her love…letters

To bring them to her kiss of love; and thus

With a prayer made that God would break such love

Ended some while; then crying out for strong wrath

Spake with a great voice after:  This is she;

Yea the lewd woman; yea the same woman

That gat bruised breasts in Egypt; when strange men

Swart from great suns; foot…burnt with angry soils

And strewn with sand of gaunt Chaldean miles;

Poured all their love upon her:  she shall drink

The Lord's cup of derision that is filled

With drunkenness and sorrow; great of sides

And deep to drink in till the dreg drips out:

Yea; and herself with the twain shards thereof

Pluck off her breasts; so said he。



4TH CITIZEN。

See that stir…

Are not they come?



3D CITIZEN。

There wants an hour of them。

Draw near and let us hearken; he will speak

Surely some word of this。



2D CITIZEN。

What saith he now?



THE PREACHER。

The mercy of a harlot is a sword;

And her mouth sharper than a flame of fire。





SCENE II。…In Prison。





CHASTELARD。

So here my time shuts up; and the last light

Has made the last shade in the world for me。

The sunbeam that was narrow like a leaf

Has turned a hand; and the hand stretched to an arm;

And the arm has reached the dust on the floor; and made

A maze of motes with paddling fingers。  Well;

I knew now that a man so sure to die

Could care so little; a bride…night's lustiness

Leaps in my veins as light fire under a wind:

As if I felt a kindling beyond death

Of some new joys far outside of me yet;

Sweet sound; sweet smell and
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