قراءة كتاب The Saxons A Drama of Christianity in the North

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‏اللغة: English

The Saxons A Drama of Christianity in the North

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المؤلف:

Schoonmaker Edwin Davies

دار النشر: Project Gutenberg

الصفحة رقم: 4

class="i0">Its hand is here; its heart is in the north;
Its head far off an island in the sea;
Its blood is everywhere, in grass, in leaves;
Its flesh still fronts the dragon in these trees.

Fritz—And we, we men—

Rudolph— Our time has not yet come.

Fritz—Must be the feet and run, eh?

Rudolph— We must wait
Until the heart calls from the silent north.

Fritz—Wait?

Rudolph— You would have us—?

Fritz— If we are the hand,
For the hand strikes.

Rudolph— Without the head? No, Fritz;
We must delay our battle with the beast.
A new shield we will shape us on the heights;
Temper it in the flashes of the sky
And boss it with the terror of the grave.
Of mountain metal on the mountain tops,
New armor we will forge. Let the old shield
Lie here upon the plain, covering the dead.
Let the leaves cover it. And for the sword
That broken lies between the dragon's paws,
Val-father will reach down and put the hilt
Of some great Fafnir's-bane in Canzler's hand,
Canzler, in turn, in Oswald's when he weds,
And Oswald and the girl will pass it on
Down to the hand of that child—

Fritz— Canzler go?

Rudolph—Whom Woden shall bid seek the dragon's den,
And Siegfried of the North shall slay the snake.

Fritz—Canzler will not go. Canzler!

Rudolph— He will go.

Fritz—Canzler will lay him in the grave first.

Rudolph— Fritz,
Who calls the fairies?

Fritz— What of that?

Rudolph— Witchcraft.

Fritz—You mean that they will burn her?

Rudolph— Do they not
Burn witches in the city...? We can die;
We on our swords can perish; but the girl...?

(He goes off through the wood, leaving Fritz silent upon the bridge.)

Fritz— (To himself.)
Canzler will lay his sword upon her throat.

(With bowed head he walks on across the bridge. As he passes into the deeper shadows the white sheep's pelt lying in the bank at the roadside catches his eye. He goes curiously toward it, when, seeing the post, he glances up and stops suddenly. For a time he stands as one appalled.)

Rudolph!

Rudolph—Ho!

Fritz— Here!
(To himself.) This will break Canzler's heart.

(Rudolph reappears and joins Fritz, and the two stand in silence, Rudolph with his eyes fixed upon the crucifix, and Fritz with his eyes on Rudolph.)

Fritz—What do you think?

Rudolph— It was put up last night.

Fritz—You still think we should leave here?

Rudolph— Still think?

Fritz— Yes.

Rudolph—Can there be any doubt of what this means?
Almost its eyeballs gleam between the trees.

Fritz—And if we leave here, what?

Rudolph— We bear away
To some far mountain nest our eagle's egg.
We save our hope.

(Fritz points to the crucifix.)

Only proves what I say.
'Tis some poor burgher who refused to bow
And would not leave.

(Fritz goes toward the crucifix.)

And they have put it up
To mock us with the pains they will make us feel
If we don't bow.

Fritz— (Bending over the pelt.)
Knee prints. He has knelt here;
Knelt here and prayed—

(Coming back to the road.)

to Woden, do you think?
You know the hand that carved that?

(Rudolph goes closer and scrutinizes the crucifix.)

Your great sword,
Where is it now, Rudolph? the Fafnir's-bane
Val-father should reach down to Canzler's hand;
To whose hand will the chief's hand pass it now?
Out of the dragon's belly will he come,
Our Siegfried, with the great heart of the beast?
Our hope, our eagle's egg, where is it now?

Rudolph—It can't be.

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