Don Carlos: A Play

      PRINCESS EBOLI, MARQUIS POSA.

   EBOLI.
   For Heaven's sake let me leave this place——

   MARQUIS (leads her forward with dreadful earnestness).
                          Thou wretch!
   What has he said to thee?

   EBOLI.
                 Oh, leave me! Nothing.

   MARQUIS (with earnestness; holding her back by force).
   How much has he imparted to thee? Here
   No way is left thee to escape. To none
   In this world shalt thou ever tell it.

   EBOLI (looking at him with terror).
   Heavens! What would you do? Would you then murder me?

   MARQUIS (drawing a dagger).
   Yes, that is my resolve. Be speedy!

   EBOLI.
                      Mercy!
   What have I then committed?

   MARQUIS (looking towards heaven, points the dagger to her breast).
                  Still there's time—
   The poison has not issued from these lips.
   Dash but the bowl to atoms, all remains
   Still as before! The destinies of Spain
   Against a woman's life!

      [Remains doubtingly in this position.

   EBOLI (having sunk down beside him, looks in his face).
                Do not delay—
   Why do you hesitate? I beg no mercy—
   I have deserved to die, and I am ready.

   MARQUIS (letting his hand drop slowly—after some reflection).
   It were as cowardly as barbarous.
   No! God be praised! another way is left.

      [He lets the dagger fall and hurries out. The PRINCESS
      hastens out through another door.

      A Chamber of the QUEEN.
      The QUEEN to the COUNTESS FUENTES.

   What means this noisy tumult in the palace?
   Each breath to-day alarms me! Countess! see
   What it portends, and hasten back with speed.

      [Exit COUNTESS FUENTES—the PRINCESS EBOLI rushes in.

      The QUEEN, PRINCESS EBOLI.

   EBOLI (breathless, pale, and wild, falls before the QUEEN).
   Help! Help! O Queen! he's seized!

   QUEEN.
                     Who?

   EBOLI.
                        He's arrested
   By the king's orders given to Marquis Posa.

   QUEEN.
   Who is arrested? Who?

   EBOLI.
               The prince!

   QUEEN.
                      Thou ravest

   EBOLI.
   This moment they are leading him away.

   QUEEN.
   And who arrested him?

   EBOLI.
               The Marquis Posa.

   QUEEN.
   Then heaven be praised! it was the marquis seized him!

   EBOLI.
   Can you speak thus, and with such tranquil mien?
   Oh, heavens! you do not know—you cannot think——

   QUEEN.
   The cause of his arrest! some trifling error,
   Doubtless arising from his headlong youth!

   EBOLI.
   No! no! I know far better. No, my queen!
   Remorseless treachery! There's no help for him.
   He dies!

   QUEEN.
        He dies!

   EBOLI.
             And I'm his murderer!

   QUEEN.
   What! Dies? Thou ravest! Think what thou art saying?

   EBOLI.
   And wherefore—wherefore dies he? Had I known
   That it would come to this!

   QUEEN (takes her affectionately by the hand).
                  Oh, dearest princess,
   Your senses are distracted, but collect
   Your wandering spirits, and relate to me
   More calmly, not in images of horror
   That fright my inmost soul, whate'er you know!
   Say, what has happened?

   EBOLI.
                Oh, display not, queen,
   Such heavenly condescension! Like hot flames
   This kindness sears my conscience. I'm not worthy
   To view thy purity with eyes profane.
   Oh, crush the wretch, who, agonized by shame,
   Remorse, and self-reproach writhes at thy feet!

   QUEEN.
   Unhappy woman! Say, what is thy guilt?

   EBOLI.
   Angel of light! Sweet saint! thou little knowest
   The demon who has won thy loving smiles.
   Know her to-day; I was the wretched thief
   Who plundered thee.

   QUEEN.
              What! Thou?

   EBOLI.
                     And gave thy letters
   Up to the king?

   QUEEN.
            What! Thou?

   EBOLI.
                   And dared accuse thee!

   QUEEN.
   Thou! Couldst thou this?

   EBOLI.
                 Revenge and madness—love—
   I hated thee, and loved the prince!

   QUEEN.
                      And did
   His love so prompt thee?

   QUEEN.
   And who arrested him?

   EBOLI.
               I had owned my love,
   But met with no return.

   QUEEN (after a pause).
                Now all's explained!
   Rise up!—you loved him—I have pardoned you
   I have forgotten all. Now, princess, rise.

      [Holding out her hand to the PRINCESS.

   EBOLI.
   No, no; a foul confession still remains.
   I will not rise, great queen, till I——

   QUEEN.
                       Then speak!
   What have I yet to hear?

   EBOLI.
                The king! Seduction!
   Oh, now you turn away. And in your eyes
   I read abhorrence. Yes; of that foul crime
   I charged you with, I have myself been guilty.

      [She presses her burning face to the ground. Exit QUEEN.
      A long pause. The COUNTESS OLIVAREZ, after some minutes,
      comes out of the cabinet, into which the QUEEN entered, and
      finds the PRINCESS still lying in the above posture. She
      approaches in silence. On hearing a noise, the latter looks
      up and becomes like a mad person when she misses the QUEEN.

      PRINCESS EBOLI, COUNTESS OLIVAREZ.

   EBOLI.
   Heavens! she has left me. I am now undone!

   OLIVAREZ (approaching her).
   My princess—Eboli!

   EBOLI.
              I know your business,
   Duchess, and you come hither from the queen,
   To speak my sentence to me; do it quickly.

   OLIVAREZ.
   I am commanded by your majesty
   To take your cross and key.

   EBOLI (takes from her breast a golden cross, and gives it to the UCHESS).
                  And but once more
   May I not kiss my gracious sovereign's hand?

   OLIVAREZ.
   In holy Mary's convent shall you learn
   Your fate, princess.

   EBOLI (with a flood of tears).
              Alas! then I no more
   Shall ever see the queen.

   OLIVAREZ (embraces her with her face turned away).
                 Princess, farewell.

      [She goes hastily away. The PRINCESS follows her as far as
      the door of the cabinet, which is immediately locked after
      the DUCHESS. She remains a few minutes silent and motionless
      on her knees before it. She then rises and hastens away,
      covering her face.

      QUEEN, MARQUIS POSA.

   QUEEN.
   Ah, marquis, I am glad you're come at last!

   MARQUIS (pale, with a disturbed countenance and trembling voice,
     in solemn, deep agitation, during the whole scene).
   And is your majesty alone? Can none
   Within the adjoining chamber overhear us?

   QUEEN.
   No one! But why? What news would you impart?

      [Looking at him closely, and drawing back alarmed.

   And what has wrought this change in you? Speak, marquis,
   You make me tremble—all your features seem
   So marked with death!

   MARQUIS.
               You know, perhaps, already.

   QUEEN.
   That Carlos is arrested—and they add,
   By you! Is it then true? From no one else
   Would I believe it but yourself.

   MARQUIS.
                    'Tis true.

   QUEEN.
   By you?

   MARQUIS.
        By me?

   QUEEN (looks at him for some time doubtingly).
            I still respect your actions
   E'en when I comprehend them not. In this
   Pardon a timid woman! I much fear
   You play a dangerous game.

   MARQUIS.
                 And I have lost it.

   QUEEN.
   Merciful heaven!

   MARQUIS.
            Queen, fear not! He is safe,
   But I am lost myself.

   QUEEN.
               What do I hear?

   MARQUIS.
   Who bade me hazard all on one chance throw?
   All? And with rash, foolhardy confidence,
   Sport with the power of heaven? Of bounded mind,
   Man, who is not omniscient, must not dare
   To guide the helm of destiny. 'Tis just!
   But why these thoughts of self. This hour is precious
   As life can be to man: and who can tell
   Whether the parsimonious hand of fate
   May not have measured my last drops of life.

   QUEEN.
   The hand of fate! What means this solemn tone?
   I understand these words not—but I shudder.

   MARQUIS.
   He's saved! no matter at what price—he's saved!
   But only for to-day—a few short hours
   Are his. Oh, let him husband them! This night
   The prince must leave Madrid.

   QUEEN.
                   This very night?

   MARQUIS.
   All measures are prepared. The post will meet him
   At the Carthusian convent, which has served
   So long as an asylum to our friendship.
   Here will he find, in letters of exchange,
   All in the world that fortune gifts me with.
   Should more be wanting, you must e'en supply it.
   In truth, I have within my heart full much
   To unburden to my Carlos—it may chance
   I shall want leisure now to tell him all
   In person—but this evening you will see him,
   And therefore I address myself to you.

   QUEEN.
   Oh, for my peace of mind, dear marquis, speak!
   Explain yourself more clearly! Do not use
   This dark, and fearful, and mysterious language!
   Say, what has happened?

   MARQUIS.
                I have yet one thing,
   A matter of importance on my mind:
   In your hands I deposit it. My lot
   Was such as few indeed have e'er enjoyed—
   I loved a prince's son. My heart to one—
   To that one object given—embraced the world!
   I have created in my Carlos' soul,
   A paradise for millions! Oh, my dream
   Was lovely! But the will of Providence
   Has summoned me away, before my hour,
   From this my beauteous work. His Roderigo
   Soon shall be his no more, and friendship's claim
   Will be transferred to love. Here, therefore, here,
   Upon this sacred altar—on the heart
   Of his loved queen—I lay my last bequest
   A precious legacy—he'll find it here,
   When I shall be no more.

      [He turns away, his voice choked with grief.

   QUEEN.
                 This is the language
   Of a dying man—it surely emanates
   But from your blood's excitement—or does sense
   Lie hidden in your language?

   MARQUIS (has endeavored to collect himself, and continues
        in a solemn voice).
                  Tell the prince,
   That he must ever bear in mind the oath
   We swore, in past enthusiastic days,
   Upon the sacred host. I have kept mine—
   I'm true to him till death—'tis now his turn——

   QUEEN.
   Till death?

   MARQUIS.
          Oh, bid him realize the dream,
   The glowing vision which our friendship painted,
   Of a new-perfect realm! And let him lay
   The first hand on the rude, unshapened stone.
   Whether he fail or prosper—all alike—
   Let him commence the work. When centuries
   Have rolled away shall Providence again
   Raise to the throne a princely youth like him,
   And animate again a favorite son
   Whose breast shall burn with like enthusiasm.
   Tell him, in manhood, he must still revere
   The dreams of early youth, nor ope the heart
   Of heaven's all-tender flower to canker-worms
   Of boasted reason,—nor be led astray
   When, by the wisdom of the dust, he hears
   Enthusiasm, heavenly-born, blasphemed.
   I have already told him.

   QUEEN.
   Whither, marquis? Whither does all this tend?

   MARQUIS.
   And tell him further, I lay upon his soul the happiness
   Of man—that with my dying breath I claim,
   Demand it of him—and with justest title.
   I had designed a new, a glorious morn,
   To waken in these kingdoms: for to me
   Philip had opened all his inmost heart—
   Called me his son—bestowed his seals upon me—
   And Alva was no more his counsellor.

      [He pauses, and looks at the QUEEN for a few moments in silence.

   You weep! I know those tears, beloved soul!
   Oh, they are tears of joy!—but it is past—
   Forever past! Carlos or I? The choice
   Was prompt and fearful. One of us must perish!
   And I will be that one. Oh, ask no more!

   QUEEN.
   Now, now, at last, I comprehend your meaning,
   Unhappy man! What have you done?

   MARQUIS.
                     Cut off
   Two transient hours of evening to secure
   A long, bright summer-day! I now give up
   The king forever. What were I to the king?
   In such cold soil no rose of mine could bloom;
   In my great friend must Europe's fortune ripen.
   Spain I bequeath to him, still bathed in blood
   From Philip's iron hand. But woe to him,
   Woe to us both, if I have chosen wrong!
   But no—oh, no! I know my Carlos better—
   'Twill never come to pass!—for this, my queen,
   You stand my surety.
          [After a silence.
              Yes! I saw his love
   In its first blossom—saw his fatal passion
   Take root in his young heart. I had full power
   To check it; but I did not. The attachment
   Which seemed to me not guilty, I still nourished.
   The world may censure me, but I repent not,
   Nor does my heart accuse me. I saw life
   Where death appeared to others. In a flame
   So hopeless I discerned hope's golden beam.
   I wished to lead him to the excellent—
   To exalt him to the highest point of beauty.
   Mortality denied a model to me,
   And language, words. Then did I bend his views
   To this point only—and my whole endeavor
   Was to explain to him his love.

   QUEEN.
                    Your friend,
   Marquis! so wholly occupied your mind,
   That for his cause you quite forgot my own—
   Could you suppose that I had thrown aside
   All woman's weaknesses, that you could dare
   Make me his angel, and confide alone
   In virtue for his armor? You forget
   What risks this heart must run, when we ennoble
   Passion with such a beauteous name as this.

   MARQUIS.
   Yes, in all other women—but in one,
   One only, 'tis not so. For you, I swear it.
   And should you blush to indulge the pure desire
   To call heroic virtue into life?
   Can it affect King Philip, that his works
   Of noblest art, in the Escurial, raise
   Immortal longings in the painter's soul,
   Who stands entranced before them? Do the sounds
   That slumber in the lute, belong alone
   To him who buys the chords? With ear unmoved
   He may preserve his treasure:—he has bought
   The wretched right to shiver it to atoms,
   But not the power to wake its silver tones,
   Or, in the magic of its sounds, dissolve.
   Truth is created for the sage, as beauty
   Is for the feeling heart. They own each other.
   And this belief, no coward prejudice
   Shall make me e'er disclaim. Then promise, queen,
   That you will ever love him. That false shame,
   Or fancied dignity, shall never make you
   Yield to the voice of base dissimulation:—
   That you will love him still, unchanged, forever.
   Promise me this, oh, queen! Here solemnly
   Say, do you promise?

   QUEEN.
              That my heart alone
   Shall ever vindicate my love, I promise——

   MARQUIS (drawing his hand back).
   Now I die satisfied—my work is done.

      [He bows to the QUEEN, and is about to go.

   QUEEN (follows him with her eyes in silence).
   You are then going, marquis, and have not
   Told me how soon—and when—we meet again?

   MARQUIS (comes back once more, his face turned away).
   Yes, we shall surely meet again!

   QUEEN.
                    Now, Posa,
   I understand you. Why have you done this?

   MARQUIS.
   Carlos or I myself!

   QUEEN.
              No! no! you rush
   Headlong into a deed you deem, sublime.
   Do not deceive yourself: I know you well:
   Long have you thirsted for it. If your pride
   But have its fill, what matters it to you
   Though thousand hearts should break. Oh! now, at length,
   I comprehend your feelings—'tis the love
   Of admiration which has won your heart——

   MARQUIS (surprised, aside).
   No! I was not prepared for this——

   QUEEN (after a pause).
                      Oh, marquis!
   Is there no hope of preservation?

   MARQUIS.
                     None.

   QUEEN.
   None? Oh, consider well! None possible!
   Not e'en by me?

   MARQUIS.
            Not even, queen, by thee.

   QUEEN.
   You but half know me—I have courage, marquis——

   MARQUIS.
   I know it——

   QUEEN.
          And no means of safety?

   MARQUIS.
                       None

   QUEEN (turning away and covering her face).
   Go! Never more shall I respect a man——

   MARQUIS (casts himself on his knees before her in evident emotion).
   O queen! O heaven! how lovely still is life!

      [He starts up and rushes out. The QUEEN retires into her cabinet.

      DUKE ALVA and DOMINGO walking up and down in silence and separately.
      COUNT LERMA comes out of the KING's cabinet, and afterwards DON
      RAYMOND OF TAXIS, the Postmaster-General.

   LERMA.
   Has not the marquis yet appeared?

   ALVA.
                     Not yet.

      [LERMA about to re-enter the cabinet.

   TAXIS (enters).
   Count Lerma! Pray announce me to the king?

   LERMA.
   His majesty cannot be seen.

   TAXIS.
                  But say
   That I must see him; that my business is
   Of urgent import to his majesty.
   Make haste—it will admit of no delay.

           [LERMA enters the cabinet.

   ALVA.
   Dear Taxis, you must learn a little patience—
   You cannot see the king.

   TAXIS.
                Not see him! Why?

   ALVA.
   You should have been considerate, and procured
   Permission from the Marquis Posa first—
   Who keeps both son and father in confinement.

   TAXIS.
   The Marquis Posa! Right—that is the man
   From whom I bring this letter.

   ALVA.
                   Ah! What letter?

   TAXIS.
   A letter to be forwarded to Brussels.

   ALVA (attentively).
   To Brussels?

   TAXIS.
          And I bring it to the king.

   ALVA.
   Indeed! to Brussels! Heard you that, Domingo?

   DOMINGO (joining them).
   Full of suspicion!

   TAXIS.
             And with anxious mien,
   And deep embarrassment he gave it to me.

   DOMINGO.
   Embarrassment! To whom is it directed?

   TAXIS.
   The Prince of Orange and Nassau.

   ALVA.
                    To William!
   There's treason here, Domingo!

   DOMINGO.
                   Nothing less!
   In truth this letter must, without delay,
   Be laid before the king. A noble service
   You render, worthy man—to be so firm
   In the discharge of duty.

   TAXIS.
                 Reverend sir!
   'Tis but my duty.

   ALVA.
             But you do it well.

   LERMA (coming out of the cabinet, addressing TAXIS).
   The king will see you.
            [TAXIS goes in.
                Is the marquis come?

   DOMINGO.
   He has been sought for everywhere.

   ALVA.
                     'Tis strange!
   The prince is a state prisoner! And the king
   Knows not the reason why!

   DOMINGO.
                 He never came
   To explain the business here.

   ALVA.
                   What says the king?

   LERMA.
   The king spoke not a word.

      [A noise in the cabinet.

   ALVA.
                 What noise is that?

   TAXIS (coming out of the cabinet).
   Count Lerma!
                   [Both enter.

   ALVA (to DOMINGO).
          What so deeply can engage them.

   DOMINGO.
   That look of fear! This intercepted letter!
   It augurs nothing good.

   ALVA.
                He sends for Lerma!
   Yet he must know full well that you and I
   Are both in waiting.

   DOMINGO.
              Ah! our day is over!

   ALVA.
   And am I not the same to whom these doors
   Flew open once? But, ah! how changed is all
   Around me and how strange!

      [DOMINGO approaches the cabinet door softly, and remains
      listening before it.

   ALVA (after a pause).
                 Hark! All is still
   And silent as the grave!' I hear them breathe.

   DOMINGO.
   The double tapestry absorbs the sounds!

   ALVA.
   Away! there's some one coming. All appears
   So solemn and so still—as if this instant
   Some deep momentous question were decided.

      The PRINCE OF PARMA, the DUKES OF FERIA and MEDINA
      SIDONIA, with other GRANDEES enter—the preceding.

   PARMA.
   Say, can we see the king?

   ALVA.
                 No!

   PARMA.
                   Who is with him?

   FERIA.
   The Marquis Posa, doubtless?

   ALVA.
                   Every instant
   He is expected here.

   PARMA.
              This moment we
   Arrive from Saragossa. Through Madrid
   Terror prevails! Is the announcement true?

   Domingo.
   Alas, too true!

   FERIA.
            That he has been arrested
   By the marquis!

   ALVA.
            Yes.

   PARMA.
               And wherefore? What's the cause?

   ALVA.
   Wherefore? That no one knows, except the king
   And Marquis Posa.

   PARMA.
             And without the warrant
   Of the assembled Cortes of the Realm?

   FERIA.
   That man shall suffer, who has lent a hand
   To infringe the nation's rights.

   ALVA.
                     And so say I!

   MEDINA SIDONIA.
   And I!

   THE OTHER GRANDEES.
       And all of us!

   ALVA.
               Who'll follow me
   Into the cabinet? I'll throw myself
   Before the monarch's feet.

   LERMA (rushing out of the cabinet).
                 The Duke of Alva!

   DOMINGO.
   Then God be praised at last!

   LERMA.
                  When Marquis Posa
   Comes, say the king's engaged and he'll be sent for.

   DOMINGO (to LERMA; all the others having gathered round him,
        full of anxious expectation).
   Count! What has happened? You are pale as death!

   LERMA (hastening away).
   Fell villany!

   PARMA and FERIA.
           What! what!

   MEDINA SIDONIA.
                 How is the king?

   DOMINGO (at the same time).
   Fell villany! Explain——

   LERMA.
                The king shed tears!

   DOMINGO.
   Shed tears!

   ALL (together with astonishment).
          The king shed tears!

      [The bell rings in the cabinet, COUNT LERMA hastens in.

   DOMINGO.
                     Count, yet one word.
   Pardon! He's gone! We're fettered in amazement.

      PRINCESS EBOLI, FERIA, MEDINA SIDONIA, PARMA,
      DOMINGO, and other grandees.

   EBOLI (hurriedly and distractedly).
   Where is the king? Where? I must speak with him.
      [To FERIA.
   Conduct me to him, duke!

   FERIA.
                The monarch is
   Engaged in urgent business. No one now
   Can be admitted.

   EBOLI.
            Has he signed, as yet,
   The fatal sentence? He has been deceived.

   DOMINGO (giving her a significant look at a distance).
   The Princess Eboli!

   EBOLI (going to him).
              What! you here, priest?
   The very man I want! You can confirm
   My testimony!

      [She seizes his hand and would drag him into the cabinet.

   DOMINGO.
           I? You rave, princess!

   FERIA.
   Hold back. The king cannot attend you now.

   EBOLI.
   But he must hear me; he must hear the truth
   The truth, were he ten times a deity.

   EBOLI.
   Man, tremble at the anger of thy idol.
   I have naught left to hazard.

      [Attempts to enter the cabinet; ALVA rushes out, his eyes
      sparkling, triumph in his gait. He hastens to DOMINGO,
      and embraces him.

   ALVA.
                   Let each church
   Resound with high To Dennis. Victory
   At length is ours.

   DOMINGO.
             What! Ours?

   ALVA (to DOMINGO and the other GRANDEES).
                    Now to the king.
   You shall hereafter hear the sequel from me.

      A chamber in the royal palace, separated from a large fore-court
      by an iron-barred gate. Sentinels walking up and down. CARLOS
      sitting at a table, with his head leaning forward on his arms, as
      if he were asleep. In the background of the chamber are some
      officers, confined with him. The MARQUIS POSA enters, unobserved
      by him, and whispers to the officers, who immediately withdraw.
      He himself steps close up to CARLOS, and looks at him for a few
      minutes in silent sorrow. At last he makes a motion which awakens
      him out of his stupor. CARLOS rises, and seeing the MARQUIS, starts
      back. He regards him for some time with fixed eyes, and draws his
      hand over his forehead as if he wished to recollect something.

   MARQUIS.
   Carlos! 'tis I.

   CARLOS (gives him his hand).
            Comest thou to me again?
   'Tis friendly of thee, truly.

   MARQUIS.
                   Here I thought
   Thou mightest need a friend.

   CARLOS.
                  Indeed! was that
   Thy real thought? Oh, joy unspeakable!
   Right well I knew thou still wert true to me.

   MARQUIS.
   I have deserved this from thee.

   CARLOS.
                    Hast thou not?
   And now we understand each other fully,
   It joys my heart. This kindness, this forbearance
   Becomes our noble souls. For should there be
   One rash, unjust demand amongst my wishes,
   Wouldst thou, for that, refuse me what was just?
   Virtue I know may often be severe,
   But never is she cruel and inhuman.
   Oh! it hath cost thee much; full well I know
   How thy kind heart with bitter anguish bled
   As thy hands decked the victim for the altar.

   MARQUIS.
   What meanest thou, Carlos?

   CARLOS.
                 Thou, thyself, wilt now
   Fulfil the joyous course I should have run.
   Thou wilt bestow on Spain those golden days
   She might have hoped in vain to win from me.
   I'm lost, forever lost; thou saw'st it clearly.
   This fatal love has scattered, and forever,
   All the bright, early blossoms of my mind.
   To all the great, exalted hopes I'm dead.
   Chance led thee to the king—or Providence,—
   It cost thee but my secret—and at once
   He was thine own—thou may'st become his angel:
   But I am lost, though Spain perhaps may flourish.
   Well, there is nothing to condemn, if not
   My own mad blindness. Oh, I should have known
   That thou art no less great than tender-hearted.

   MARQUIS.
   No! I foresaw not, I considered not
   That friendship's generous heart would lead thee on
   Beyond my worldly prudence. I have erred,
   My fabric's shattered—I forgot thy heart.

   CARLOS.
   Yet, if it had been possible to spare
   Her fate—oh, how intensely I had thanked thee!
   Could I not bear the burden by myself?
   And why must she be made a second victim?
   But now no more, I'll spare thee this reproach.
   What is the queen to thee? Say, dost thou love her?
   Could thy exalted virtue e'er consult
   The petty interests of my wretched passion?
   Oh, pardon me! I was unjust——

   MARQUIS.
                   Thou art so!
   But not for this reproach. Deserved I one,
   I merit all—and then I should not stand
   Before you as I do.
          [He takes out his portfolio.
              I have some letters
   To give you back of those you trusted to me.

   CARLOS (looks first at the letters, then at the MARQUIS, in
       astonishment).
   How!

   MARQUIS.
      I return them now because they may
   Prove safer in thy custody than mine.

   CARLOS.
   What meanest thou? Has his majesty not read them?
   Have they not been before him?

   MARQUIS.
                   What, these letters!

   CARLOS.
   Thou didst not show them all, then?

   MARQUIS.
                      Who has said
   That ever I showed one?

   CARLOS (astonished).
                Can it be so?
   Count Lerma——

   MARQUIS.
           He! he told thee so! Now all
   Is clear as day. But who could have foreseen it?
   Lerma! Oh, no, he hath not learned to lie.
   'Tis true, the king has all the other letters.

   CARLOS (looks at him long with speechless astonishment).
   But wherefore am I here?

   MARQUIS.
                For caution's sake,
   Lest thou should chance, a second time, to make
   An Eboli thy confidant.

   CARLOS (as if waking from a dream).
                Ha! Now
   I see it all—all is explained.

   MARQUIS (goes to the door).
                    Who's there?

      DUKE ALVA. The former.

   ALVA (approaching the PRINCE with respect, but turning his
      back on the MARQUIS during the whole scene).
   Prince, you are free. Deputed by the king
   I come to tell you so.

      [CARLOS looks at the MARQUIS with astonishment.
      General silence.

               And I, in truth,
   Am fortunate to have this honor first——

   CARLOS (looking at both with extreme amazement, after a pause,
       to the DUKE).
   I am imprisoned, duke, and set at freedom,
   Unconscious of the cause of one or other.

   ALVA.
   As far as I know, prince, 'twas through an error,
   To which the king was driven by a traitor.

   CARLOS.
   Then am I here by order of the king?

   ALVA.
   Yes, through an error of his majesty.

   CARLOS.
   That gives me pain, indeed. But when the king
   Commits an error, 'twould beseem the king,
   Methinks, to remedy the fault in person.
   I am Don Philip's son—and curious eyes
   And slanderous looks are on me. What the king
   Hath done from sense of duty ne'er will I
   Appear to owe to your considerate favor.
   I am prepared to appear before the Cortes,
   And will not take my sword from such a hand.

   ALVA.
   The king will never hesitate to grant
   Your highness a request so just. Permit
   That I conduct you to him.

   CARLOS.
                 Here I stay
   Until the king or all Madrid shall come
   To lead me from my prison. Take my answer.

      [ALVA withdraws. He is still seen for some time
      lingering in the court and giving orders to the guards.

      CARLOS and MARQUIS POSA.

   CARLOS (after the departure of the DUKE, full of expectation and
       astonishment, to the MARQUIS).
   What means all this? Inform me, Roderigo—
   Art thou not, then, the minister?

   MARQUIS.
                     I was,
   As thou canst well perceive——
      [Going to him with great emotion.
                   O Carlos! Now

   I have succeeded—yes—it is accomplished—
   'Tis over now—Omnipotence be praised,
   To whom I owe success.

   CARLOS.
               Success! What mean you?
   Thy words perplex me.

   MARQUIS (takes his hand).
              Carlos! thou art saved—
   Art free—but I——
               [He stops short.

   CARLOS.
             But thou——

   MARQUIS.
                   Thus to my breast
   I press thee now, with friendship's fullest right,
   A right I've bought with all I hold most dear.
   How great, how lovely, Carlos, is this moment
   Of self-approving joy?

   CARLOS.
               What sudden change
   I mark upon thy features! Proudly now
   Thy bosom heaves, thine eyes dart vivid fire!

   MARQUIS.
   We must say farewell, Carlos! Tremble 'not,
   But be a man! And what thou more shalt hear,
   Promise me, not by unavailing sorrow,
   Unworthy of great souls, to aggravate
   The pangs of parting. I am lost to thee,
   Carlos, for many years—fools say forever.

      [CARLOS withdraws his hand, but makes no reply.

   Be thou a man: I've reckoned much on thee—
   I have not even shunned to pass with thee
   This awful hour—which men, in words of fear,
   Have termed the final one. I own it, Carlos,
   I joy to pass it thus. Come let us sit—
   I feel myself grown weary and exhausted.

      [He approaches CARLOS, who is in a lifeless stupor, and
      allows himself to be involuntarily drawn down by him.

   Where art thou? No reply! I must be brief.
   Upon the day that followed our last meeting
   At the Carthusian monastery the king
   Called me before him. What ensued thou knowest,
   And all Madrid. Thou hast not heard, however,
   Thy secret even then had reached his ears—
   That letters in the queen's possession found
   Had testified against thee. This I learned
   From his own lips—I was his confidant.

      [He pauses for CARLOS' answer, but he still
      remains silent.

   Yes, Carlos, with my lips I broke my faith—
   Guided the plot myself that worked thy ruin.
   Thy deed spoke trumpet-tongued; to clear thee fully
   'Twas now too late: to frustrate his revenge
   Was all that now remained for me; and so
   I made myself thy enemy to-serve thee
   With fuller power—dost thou not hear me, Carlos,

   CARLOS.
   Go on! go on! I hear thee.

   MARQUIS.
                 To this point
   I'm guiltless. But the unaccustomed beams
   Of royal favor dazzled me. The rumor,
   As I had well foreseen, soon reached thine ears
   But by mistaken delicacy led,
   And blinded by my vain desire to end
   My enterprise alone, I kept concealed
   From friendship's ear my hazardous design.
   This was my fatal error! Here I failed!
   I know it. My self-confidence was madness.
   Pardon that confidence—'twas founded, Carlos,
   Upon our friendship's everlasting base.

      [He pauses. CARLOS passes from torpid silence to
      violent agitation.

   That which I feared befell. Unreal dangers
   Alarmed your mind. The bleeding queen—the tumult
   Within the palace—Lerma's interference—
   And, last of all, my own mysterious silence,
   Conspired to overwhelm thy heart with wonder.
   Thou wavered'st, thought'st me lost; but far too noble
   To doubt thy friend's integrity, thy soul
   Clothed his defection with a robe of honor,
   Nor judged him faithless till it found a motive
   To screen and justify his breach of faith.
   Forsaken by thy only friend—'twas then
   Thou sought'st the arms of Princess Eboli—
   A demon's arms! 'Twas she betrayed thee, Carlos!
   I saw thee fly to her—a dire foreboding
   Struck on my heart—I followed thee too late!
   Already wert thou prostrate at her feet,
   The dread avowal had escaped thy lips—
   No way was left to save thee.

   CARLOS.
                   No! her heart
   Was moved, thou dost mistake, her heart was moved.

   MARQUIS.
   Night overspread my mind. No remedy,
   No refuge, no retreat was left to me
   In nature's boundless compass. Blind despair
   Transformed me to a fury—to a tiger—
   I raised my dagger to a woman's breast.
   But in that moment—in that dreadful moment—
   A radiant sunbeam fell upon my soul.
   "Could I mislead the king! Could I succeed
   In making him think me the criminal!
   However improbable, the very guilt
   Will be enough to win the king's belief.
   I'll dare the task—a sudden thunderbolt
   May make the tyrant start—what want I further?
   He stops to think, and Carlos thus gains time
   To fly to Brussels."

   CARLOS.
              And hast thou done this?

   MARQUIS.
   I have despatched a letter to Prince William,
   Saying I loved the queen, and had escaped
   The king's mistrust in the unjust suspicion
   Which falsely fell on thee—that I had found
   Means, through the monarch's favor, to obtain
   Free access to the queen. I added, further,
   That I was fearful of discovery—
   That thou hadst learned my secret, and hadst sped
   To Princess Eboli, with hopes through her
   To warn the queen—that I had made thee prisoner—
   And now that all seemed lost, I had resolved
   To fly to Brussels. This same letter I——

   CARLOS (interrupts him, terrified).
   Hast surely not intrusted to the post!
   Thou knowest that letters to Brabant and Flanders——

   MARQUIS.
   Are given to the king; and as things go
   Taxis would seem to have discharged his duty.

   CARLOS.
   Heavens! then I'm lost.

   MARQUIS.
                How lost? What meanest thou?

   CARLOS.
   And thou, alas! art lost together with me—
   This dreadful fraud my father ne'er will pardon.

   MARQUIS.
   This fraud! Thou'rt mad! Who will disclose it to him?

   CARLOS (regards him with a fixed look).
   Who! Dost thou ask? I will myself.

   MARQUIS.
                      Thou ravest!
   Stand back——

   CARLOS.
          Away! For heaven's sake hold me not.
   While I stay here, he's hiring the assassins.

   MARQUIS.
   Then is our time more precious—and we still
   Have much to say.

   CARLOS.
             What! Before all is finished?

      [He makes another effort to go. The MARQUIS holds him
      by the arm, and looks at him impressively.

   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.
   He's not without humanity,—my father.
   Yes, it will move him. With hot tears, his eyes
   Will overflow—and he will pardon us.

      [A shot is fired through the iron grating. CARLOS leaps up.

   Whom was that meant for?

   MARQUIS (sinking down).
                I believe—for me.

   CARLOS (falling to the earth with a loud cry of grief).
   O God of mercy!

   MARQUIS.
            He is quick—the king.
   I had hoped—a little longer—Carlos—think
   Of means of flight—dost hear me?—of thy flight.
   Thy mother—knows it all—I can no more.
                        [Dies.

      [CARLOS remains by the corpse, like one bereft of life.
      After some time the KING enters, accompanied by many GRANDEES;
      and starts, panic-struck, at the sight. A general and deep
      silence. The GRANDEES range themselves in a semi-circle round
      them both, and regard the KING and his SON alternately. The
      latter continues without any sign of life. The KING regards
      him in thoughtful silence.