Chapter III: Act II: Scene IV

_A corner of the chapel in the feudal castle._

_The walls are draped in black in sign of mourning. The tall,
dust-laden windows of coloured glass admit a feeble, softly
tinted light. On a black dais, in a massive black coffin, lies
the body of LORENZO, Duke of Spadaro. At each corner of the
coffin is a huge wax candle. On the dais at the head of the
coffin, in the soft glow of the candles, stands DUKE LORENZO,
dressed entirely in black, his hand resting on the bier._

_From the courtyard of the castle comes at intervals the
whining and barking of hunting-dogs. Now and then a prolonged
and mournful blare of trumpets carries abroad the sad news
of the death of the Duke of Spadaro. In the intervals of
silence the solemn notes of an organ and the voice of a priest
can be heard at one side beyond the glass doors leading to
the other half of the chapel. Mass is being conducted there
uninterruptedly._

LORENZO. [_To the one lying in the coffin_] The whole neighbourhood has by now been informed of your death, Duke Lorenzo, and in tears is calling for vengeance on your murderer. Lie still, Signor. Those who loved you are now coming to pay their respects to your dust. The peasants will come, and your servants, and your inconsolable widow, Donna Francesca. But I beseech you, Lorenzo, lie quiet. I have already had the honour of running my sword through your unworthy heart, but if you stir, if you dare to speak or cry out, I will tear your heart clean from your breast and throw it to your hunting-dogs. In the name of our former friendship, I beseech you, Lorenzo, lie quiet. [_He arranges the shroud with tender solicitude and kisses the corpse on the forehead. At this moment in the corner of the chapel, in the folds of the black drapery, is heard a deep sigh and the plaintive tinkling of bells_] Who’s there? Oh, is that you, my little Ecco, hidden in the corner and softly tinkling your little bells? Who let you in?

ECCO. Why did you die, Lorenzo? Foolish Lorenzo! Why did you die?

LORENZO. I had to die, Ecco.

ECCO. Then I shall die with you, Lorenzo. Your servants use me ill. Your dogs’ teeth are sharp. All day I lay hid in the tower, waiting for the door of the chapel to open. Do not drive me away, Lorenzo.

LORENZO. You shall stay here, jester.

ECCO. What a long, white nose you have, Lorenzo. It must be embarrassing to have such a nose and to be compelled to hold it up like that. I would laugh if it were not so frightful.

LORENZO. That is death, Ecco. But hide yourself, some one is coming.

_ECCO conceals himself. Several PEASANTS enter and bow low at a
little distance from the coffin, not venturing to come nearer._

LORENZO. [_Impressively_] Duke Lorenzo, open your heart and return to life for a moment. Your good peasants have come to bid you farewell. Come nearer, my friends. Duke Lorenzo in his lifetime was a kind master, and now that he is dead he will not harm you. Draw nearer.

_The PEASANTS approach, though it is apparent that they are
still afraid._

FIRST PEASANT. God forgive you, Duke Lorenzo, as I forgive you. Many a time you and your hunters have trampled down my fields of grain, and what the hoofs of your horses left untouched your kind overseer took for himself, depriving me and my family of bread. Yet you were a good master, and I pray God to forgive you your sins.

LORENZO. [_To the one lying in the coffin_] Quiet, sir, quiet. I understand how it is with you: you cannot hear unmoved this bitter truth about your evil deeds. But do not forget that you are dead. Lie quiet, sir, lie quiet.

A PEASANT WOMAN. May God forgive you, Duke Lorenzo, as I forgive you. You took my little daughter from me for your ducal pleasure, and she was ruined. But you were young and handsome, and you were a good master to us. I pray God to forgive you your sins. [_She weeps._

LORENZO. [_To the one lying in the coffin_] Quiet, sir, quiet. I remember how you loved the blue corn-flowers amid the ripened grain. Does not this remind you of some one’s blue eyes, of some one’s golden hair?

SECOND PEASANT. On the very eve of your departure for Palestine, Duke Lorenzo, to deliver the Holy Sepulchre, my son was killed in your service. A poor service you rendered to the Lord, Duke Lorenzo, and you shall have no forgiveness either on earth or in heaven.

LORENZO. [_Setting his teeth_] Did you hear, sir? [_To the PEASANTS_] Return in peace to your homes, my friends. Duke Lorenzo has heard you, and he will humbly bear your every word to the throne of the Almighty.

_The PEASANTS withdraw._

LORENZO. [_To the one lying in the coffin_] Lorenzo, insane Lorenzo, what have you done to me?

_Enter SIGNOR CRISTOFORO, slightly tipsy. He kneels unsteadily
and for some time is silent. ECCO peeps from his hiding-place,
then conceals himself again._

LORENZO. He is listening, Signor Cristoforo.

CRISTOFORO. [_Swaying to and fro_] Duke di Spadaro! Lorenzo! Boy! How lonely I am without you. Forgive me, my poor boy. When your noble father and I returned from Palestine and you were born—and a little, red chap you were—I swore to your father that I would always protect you. And I have protected your wines. Pardon me, Lorenzo, but they drink like camels. To-day, however, having opened all the cellars, I knocked out the heads of the casks and slit all the skins and said: “Drink, you camels, you asses, you accursed sponges. I shall gird on my sword and go seek the murderer of my boy, of my dear Lorenzo.”

[_He wipes his eyes with his fist and staggers to his feet._

LORENZO. [_With dignity_] The Duke thanks you, Cristoforo. You are drunk, my old friend, but at your words the lips of his wound have opened and two crimson drops have welled up from the depths of his heart. They are yours, Cristoforo. Go.

_CRISTOFORO withdraws. ECCO creeps out, tinkling his bells._

ECCO. Have you nothing for me, Lorenzo? Give me at least one little drop of blood from your heart. I am tired of being ill-tempered and deformed.

LORENZO. I will give you more than that, Ecco. Come and kiss me.

ECCO. I am afraid.

LORENZO. He loved you, little coward.

ECCO. If you were alive, Lorenzo, I should be glad to kiss you, but I am afraid of corpses. Why did you die, Lorenzo? It was unkind of you. [_He seats himself on the floor, curling his legs under him as if getting ready for a long and interesting conversation_] You see, Lorenzo, we must go away. You look upon me as a jester and do not take me seriously, but once when you were playing with me you touched me with your sword, and now I am just as much a knight as you are, Lorenzo. So listen to me. Cease being dead, take your sword, and we will go away together like two knights.

LORENZO. [_Smiling_] Whither, my doughty knight?

ECCO. To the Lord God! [_With growing animation_] He knows you, Lorenzo, and, as for me, you will tell him that I am your brother, a little hunchback. And when he has sanctified our swords— Oh, oh, Lorenzo, there come your ruffians! I am afraid; I will hide myself.

_He conceals himself. A band of drunken, boisterous SERVANTS
come in, reeling and jostling one another. Several keep their
hats on._

LORENZO. [_Angrily_] Off with your hats, you villains! Lie quiet, sir, lie quiet.

PIETRO. Bah! He’s already beginning to stink. Whoever wishes can go and kiss his hand. I won’t.

MARIO. I’d rather kiss Donna Francesca. Of all the ladies I have seen, she pleases me best. You see, gentlemen, the inclination is inherited; my uncle kissed Duke Lorenzo’s mother, so I want to kiss his wife.

_Laughter._

LORENZO. I implore you, sir, be quiet. I see how the black blood surges in your wound, but it is another’s blood, Lorenzo.

MANUCCI. Pietro, you have stolen one of my golden spurs. To-morrow I shall flay you for it.

PIETRO. And I’ll lop off your nose.

LORENZO. Away with you, you villains; be off!

_He half draws his sword. The SERVANTS look about in fright._

PIETRO. Did you say that, Mario?

MARIO. Sh! I heard the voice of the dead Duke, old Henry. Let’s be off.

MANUCCI. I’ll have the hide of you yet.

MARIO. Come, let’s be off.

_They go out._

LORENZO. [_To the one lying in the coffin, contemptuously_] And these, sir, are your servants, to whom you intrusted your castle, your treasures, and your wife, the beautiful Donna Francesca. Let us have no charges of disloyalty or treason, unhappy Duke. Do not insult me with lying evasions nor stain your honourable grave with sin. [_Greatly agitated_] Be calm, sir, be calm. I hear Donna Francesca coming. I recognise her step, and I implore you, sir, in the name of God, lie quiet. Summon your strength, sir.

_Silence. The mournful notes of the requiem from behind the
wall grow louder. LORENZO, bending forward and laying his hand
upon his heart, awaits the appearance of DONNA FRANCESCA. She
enters alone, clad in deep mourning. She kneels. Silence.
During the following scene ECCO comes partly out from the black
drapery and weeps bitterly, softly tinkling his bells._

LORENZO. [_Unable to control himself_] I love you, Francesca.

FRANCESCA. [_In a low voice_] I love you, Lorenzo.

LORENZO. [_Sadly_] But you see that I am dead, Francesca.

FRANCESCA. To me, Lorenzo, you will always be alive.

LORENZO. [_Sadly_] You will forget me, Donna Francesca.

FRANCESCA. I shall never forget you, Lorenzo.

LORENZO. [_Sadly_] You are young, Donna Francesca.

FRANCESCA. In a single night my heart has grown old, Lorenzo.

LORENZO. [_Sadly_] Your face is beautiful, Donna Francesca. [_Gently reproachful_] Bitter tears have not dulled the bright gleam of your eyes, O Donna Francesca! Bitter tears have not washed the delicate roses from your cheeks, O Donna Francesca! Your black mourning does not conceal the grace and beauty of your form, O Donna Francesca, O Donna Francesca!

FRANCESCA. The light has gone out of my eyes, Lorenzo. My face has withered as a leaf withers at the cruel touch of the sirocco, and my form is bowed to the earth in bitter and overwhelming grief.

LORENZO. That is not true, Francesca.

FRANCESCA. I swear it, Lorenzo.

LORENZO. [_His voice trembling_] Lie still, sir, lie still. I see how your heart heaves, Lorenzo. I see how your tortured heart quivers at the pitiless words of love, and I pity you, Lorenzo. Go, Donna Francesca. Leave me with my dead friend. Your beautiful grief tears at our hearts, and I implore you in the name of God to leave us.

_DONNA FRANCESCA weeps._

LORENZO. [_In an agony of grief_] O Donna Francesca! O my love! O light of my youth! [_Covering his face with his hands, he weeps silently_] Draw nearer, Francesca. Kiss him. I will not look.

_FRANCESCA, sobbing convulsively, kisses the dead LORENZO._

LORENZO. [_Covering his face with his hands_] Kiss him more ardently, Donna Francesca, for you will never see him again. Kiss him more ardently. God placed a sword in my hand, and with it I punished the insane Lorenzo. But still he was a knight. He was a Knight of the Holy Ghost, Francesca. And now leave us.

_ECCO, frightened, conceals himself. DONNA FRANCESCA, in tears,
descends from dais, kneels again, and withdraws. Silence. The
last mournful strains of the funeral dirge are heard._

LORENZO. [_To the one lying in the coffin_] I thank you for obeying my behest and lying quiet. I saw how hard it was for you, and again I thank you, Lorenzo. Now we are alone—now and for ever. Let us go, Lorenzo; let us go into the unknown future.

_The stage is suddenly dark._

_Curtain._

SCENE V

_The same hall as in Scene I. It is toward evening. Through
the half-open window mountain peaks are seen glowing in the
last rays of the setting sun. A fire burns in the fireplace. A
number of candles are burning, but two SERVANTS, moving along
the wall, continue to light others. Silence._

PIETRO. Why have they ordered so many candles to be lighted? Is any one expected to-day? I have heard nothing of it.

MARIO. Hold your tongue, stupid. You talk as if you didn’t know.

PIETRO. [_Gruffly_] How should I know? They call me in when they need me, but as soon as anything goes wrong they shout: “Begone!”

MARIO. Everybody knows. The townspeople of Spadaro came up to the castle to-day. So they know, too. You’re the only one that hasn’t heard.

PIETRO. I don’t care to hear. Only tell me, why so many lights?

MARIO. Because Duke Lorenzo has so ordered.

PIETRO. But why did he so order?

MARIO. Because to-day Duke Lorenzo is expecting guests.

PIETRO. Well, I said myself that there were to be guests. You might have told me in the beginning.

MARIO. [_Sighing_] You’re stupid, Pietro. There will be no guests to-day. It’s only that Lorenzo expects them.

PIETRO. How can he expect them if they are not coming?

MARIO. He imagines that they are coming. Do you understand, stupidity? He only imagines it. Probably you, when you are drunk, imagine things also. Why did you cry out yesterday in your drunken sleep?

PIETRO. I dreamt that Signor Cristoforo was beating me with his cane.

MARIO. There, now. You see, don’t you?

PIETRO. Well, is the Duke, then, drunk? [_He laughs._

_PETRUCCIO, the overseer, enters._

PETRUCCIO. Lively, now, you lazybones, lively! You, there, Pietro, what are you yawning about?

MARIO. My dear Signor Petruccio, you are so wise that even Signor Cristoforo listens to you. Explain to this fool what has happened to our Duke.

PETRUCCIO. That, my fine fellows, is none of your affair.

PIETRO. There, you’ve got your explanation. Which of us is the fool now?

PETRUCCIO. [_Gazing at the ceiling_] Both of you. The Duke is simply indisposed. He has delirium.

PIETRO. But why so many lights?

PETRUCCIO. Because— Clear out!

_Enter CRISTOFORO. PIETRO bows low before him._

PETRUCCIO. Good evening, Signor.

CRISTOFORO. Ah, Petruccio, Petruccio, when will you become thin so that you may contain less wine?

PETRUCCIO. If I become any thinner I shall be like a long drain-pipe, which, letting everything flow through, contains naught.

CRISTOFORO. [_Threatening him with his finger_] Take care, take care, Signor Overseer. [_Sighs_] Well, drink all you like, Petruccio. No one is left to save the wine for. Poor Lorenzo, poor Lorenzo! Little did I think, when we returned from Palestine with his father, that so horrible a fate was in store for the proud family of the Dukes of Spadaro. What has come over him? Where hovers his immortal soul? I looked him in the eyes to-day with a gaze that might have pierced the head of a wine-cask, but he merely smiled at me and, in a voice that would have brought tears to the eyes of a heathen Turk, said gently: “Who are you? I don’t know you. Take off your mask, Signor.”

PETRUCCIO. Indeed, indeed! but that is amazing, Signor Cristoforo.

CRISTOFORO. “My boy,” I said to him, “Duke Lorenzo, just stop and think. If this were a mask, then what a horrible mask I should be wearing.” [_Wiping away his tears_] “My boy,” I said, “Duke Lorenzo, just touch with your finger this scar that I received in defending the Holy Sepulchre. Do masks have such scars?”

MARIO. Really, really! Holy Virgin!

CRISTOFORO. And Lorenzo put his finger on the scar and said: “What a wretched mask, Signor; it is apparently made of two pieces sewed together.” Poor Lorenzo, poor Lorenzo!

_ECCO appears and shrinks into a corner, making himself as
small as possible. He sighs deeply._

PETRUCCIO. You see that Ecco, too, is sad, Signor. It’s an ill thing in a house when the jester takes to sighing like a half-frozen dog. Man cannot live without laughter, Signor Cristoforo. When laughter dies the man dies too. Laugh, Ecco. Even if you utter no word, at least laugh, and you will cheer my soul.

ECCO. [_With a deep sigh_] I cannot, Signor Petruccio.

CRISTOFORO. Don’t you find my queer moustachios very amusing?

ECCO. [_With a deep sigh_] Very, Signor Cristoforo.

CRISTOFORO. Then why don’t you laugh?

ECCO. I cannot, Signor Cristoforo.

PETRUCCIO. There, you see for yourself. Laughter is dead. Poor Lorenzo!

CRISTOFORO. Yes. Poor Lorenzo!

_All the candles are now lighted and the SERVANTS withdraw._

PETRUCCIO. Mario, go tell Donna Francesca that the candles are lighted and all is in readiness—for the reception of the guests.

CRISTOFORO. What guests, pray, can there be, Signor Overseer?

PETRUCCIO. [_With a gesture of despair_] And you, Pietro, go and see that the drawbridge is lowered.

CRISTOFORO. What for?

PETRUCCIO. The Duke so ordered.

CRISTOFORO. Lorenzo? Why do you take orders from him?

PETRUCCIO. If, Signor Cristoforo, you had heard his voice and seen his gesture of command, you would have obeyed him too.

CRISTOFORO. I? Never.

ECCO. You would have obeyed, Signor Cristoforo, as I obeyed. What was I? A little, malicious dwarf found in the castle moat. When he so willed, I became his laughter. And what shall I now become? It is not for you to judge, gentlemen. I shall be whatever my master, Lorenzo, bids.

PETRUCCIO. His tears?

ECCO. [_Sighing_] No.

CRISTOFORO. His fears?

ECCO. [_Sighing_] No, his fire. I was his tears. I do not know, Signor Cristoforo, if I was his fears, but now I shall become his fire. He said to me, as he said to you: “Who are you, sir? I do not know you. Take off your mask.” And I fell to weeping, gentlemen, and replied: “Very well, Lorenzo. If you bid me, I will take off my mask.”

CRISTOFORO. No, Ecco, you were better when you smiled.

_Enter SIGNORA FRANCESCA with her suite of ladies and
gentlemen. They move silently and sadly about the hall,
embarrassed by its emptiness and the brilliant lights._

A GENTLEMAN. [_In a low voice_] It seems an eternity since I kissed you last, Leonora.

LEONORA. And it will be an eternity before you kiss me again, sir.

THE GENTLEMAN. How cruel you are, my goddess. As if one eternity were not enough.

DONNA FRANCESCA. I beg of you, ladies and gentlemen, to do me a favour. You are no doubt aware that the Duke, my husband, is somewhat indisposed. He is expecting guests, though none are invited, and since he will probably assume, my dear friends, that you are his guests, I beg of you not to express surprise or alarm. The Duke’s memory is somewhat impaired, so that he forgets even persons who are dear to him. Divert him, gently and cautiously, from his illusions. I count on your tact and kindness, my friends. Announce to Duke Lorenzo [_covering her face with her hands_] that the guests are arriving.

ECCO. [_Sighing_] I was his laughter. I was his tears. What shall I now become? [_He rises and starts to go out._

CRISTOFORO. Where are you going, Ecco?

ECCO. Where the will of my master may lead me.

FRANCESCA. Signor Petruccio, I trust that you have not forgotten the musicians. Have they learned the music that Duke Lorenzo composed for them?

PETRUCCIO. The musicians only await your instructions, madam.

VOICES. Silence! Silence! Duke Lorenzo! Duke Lorenzo!

_On the brilliantly illuminated staircase appears DUKE LORENZO.
He wears the same costume as at the ball, even to the torn
doublet, which exposes the spot of blood on his breast over his
heart. His face is very pale. He pauses and, looking radiantly
about the brilliantly lighted hall, bows with an air of
gracious hospitality._

LORENZO. I am delighted to welcome you, my dear guests. From this moment my castle is at your disposal. I am merely your servant. Petruccio, is the roadway lighted?

PETRUCCIO. It is lighted, sir.

LORENZO. Do not forget, my friend, that the whole night is watching us. We will show it, sir, what is meant by a bright and living fire. [_He comes down_] What charming masks! I am happy, my friends, to be honoured by your presence. I am infinitely charmed by your inexhaustible cleverness and wit. Who are you, sir? I do not know you. Please remove your mask, that I may extend to you a friendly greeting.

CRISTOFORO. [_On the verge of tears_] It is I, Lorenzo. I am Cristoforo. Do you not know me?

LORENZO. [_With touching candour_] Why, how should I know you, sir, when you wear so frightful a mask? I knew a Signor Cristoforo. He was my friend from the cradle, and I loved him, but you I do not know. Remove your mask, my dear sir, I beseech you.

CRISTOFORO. I were better thrown to the dogs. I can bear no more.

FRANCESCA. Signor Cristoforo!

LORENZO. What ails the gentleman? Why does his mask change so oddly? I am extremely sorry, sir, and I should be infinitely pleased to learn who you are, but, pardon me, I do not recognise you. And who is this funny fat gentleman with the red nose? What a comical mask!

PETRUCCIO. I have just had the honour, sir— I am Petruccio, your overseer.

LORENZO. You mean you are wearing the mask of Petruccio.

PETRUCCIO. Yes, the mask of Petruccio.

LORENZO. [_Laughing_] A bad bargain, my dear sir. You made a poor choice. My overseer is a great rascal and a knave, and his red nose did not come from praying.

CRISTOFORO. My poor boy!

LORENZO. Ah, now I think of it, has any one of you gentlemen seen a masker in red entwined with a serpent that stings her in the heart? Right in this spot. They say [_laughing_]—they say [_laughing_] that it is my heart. A capital joke! As if every one did not know that Lorenzo, Duke of Spadaro, has no serpent in his heart.

ONE OF THE GUESTS. [_Incautiously_] You have wounded yourself on something, Duke Lorenzo. There is blood on your doublet.

LORENZO. [_Eagerly_] Oh, that? Thereby hangs a very strange story, gentlemen. It sounds like a fairy-tale. While I was in the tower, some stranger who had concealed his face under a hideous mask, extinguished the light, fell upon me in the darkness, and stabbed me in the back. As you see, gentlemen, the dagger entered under the left shoulder-blade and came out here at the breast. It was a skilful, if treacherous, stroke. My heart was pierced straight through.

FRANCESCA. [_Endeavouring to distract LORENZO’S attention from the wound, which, throwing open his doublet, he eagerly displays_] Lorenzo!

LORENZO. See, ladies and gentlemen, what a master-stroke!

FRANCESCA. Look at me, Lorenzo. Why do you not smile upon me? I am sad when you do not smile. It is as if the sun had set for ever.

LORENZO. You are charming, Signora. I see only your supple figure and your tiny foot, but permit me, my divinity, to make so bold as to peep into your eyes— How they shine! Even through the openings of this ugly black mask I can see how beautiful they are. Who are you, madam? I do not know you.

FRANCESCA. God in heaven! Do you not recognise me, Lorenzo?

LORENZO. [_With the same touching candour as before_] Take off your mask, madam, I beseech you. Your question is a strange one. Take off your mask, madam, and I will greet you willingly and cordially. By your stature I should take you to be Signora Emilia; but no [_he shakes his head_], Signora Emilia is not so shapely. Who are you?

FRANCESCA. [_Weeping_] I am your wife, Lorenzo, your wife, Donna Francesca. My love, do you not remember that name—Francesca?

LORENZO. [_Knitting his brows_] Francesca? Did you say Francesca? Yes, that was my wife’s name. True, that was my wife’s name. But I have lost my wife. Have you not heard, madam? There is no Donna Francesca any more.

FRANCESCA. Remember how you loved me, Lorenzo. Look into my eyes. You said that among a thousand women you would recognise me by the eyes alone. Listen to my voice, Lorenzo—you are not looking at me.

LORENZO. [_Gently reproachful_] Your voice is tender and kind, my lady. I hear in it the utterance of a virgin heart. Why do you inflict this painful jest upon me? You are cruel, my dear lady. You should not mock Lorenzo or twist the dagger in his bosom. I have lost my wife. Her name was Donna Francesca, and I have lost her.

FRANCESCA. If you do not believe me, my love, at least give me leave to touch with my lips your blood-stained wound. By the tenderness of her kiss you will recognise your Francesca. [_She bends forward to kiss the wound._

LORENZO. [_With an expression of extreme pain and horror, thrusting her away_] What are you about, madam? You are drinking my blood. Have mercy on me, I beg of you. You have fastened yourself on my heart and you are drinking my blood. You hurt me. Leave me, pray.

_DONNA FRANCESCA weeps. LORENZO, shrinking from her with an
expression of suffering and extreme terror, tries to cover the
wound, but his hands tremble._

LORENZO. [_Covering the wound and making an effort to smile_] A bitter jest, my friends. You saw how this vampire fastened herself upon my heart?

CRISTOFORO. [_Angrily_] You are crazy, Lorenzo, this is your wife!

A GENTLEMAN. He has insulted you, Donna Francesca.

FRANCESCA. [_Ceases weeping and speaks angrily_] It is you who insult him, sir! Lorenzo, Duke of Spadaro, cannot insult a woman even though he be insane.

LORENZO. [_To PETRUCCIO, in a low voice_] What is the trouble, Signor? What has disturbed this charming masker?

PETRUCCIO. I do not know.

FRANCESCA. Call the musicians, Petruccio.

LORENZO. [_Joyfully_] Yes, yes, call the musicians.

FRANCESCA. [_Tenderly_] I beg you to be attentive, my dear Lorenzo. Signor Romualdo will now sing for us the charming song that you dedicated to me in the bright days of our love.

LORENZO. You are jesting again, madam. I never loved you.

FRANCESCA. [_Greatly distressed_] Do not listen to him, my friends. I beg you to be seated, Duke, and, if you will permit me, I will sit beside you. Signor Romualdo, show the Duke the song which he wrote with his own hand in the bright days of our love. Do you recognise your handwriting, my dear Lorenzo?

LORENZO. [_Courteously_] Show it to me, Signor. Yes, that is my writing, and a capital joke it is, too. [_Glancing at FRANCESCA_] But here is written: “To my love, to my bride, the charming Donna Francesca.” [_Suspiciously_] How did this sheet come into your hands, madam?

FRANCESCA. [_Hastily_] Signor Romualdo, I beg you to begin. We are listening.

_Strains of soft and beautiful music flooded with sunshine and
with the charm of youth and love._

ROMUALDO. [_Singing_] “My soul is an enchanted castle. I have lighted my castle with lights. I have lighted my castle with lights.”

LORENZO. [_Searching his memory_] I seem to have heard those words before. Continue, Signor.

ROMUALDO. [_Singing_] “And the sun entered my charming castle. The black shadows fled affrighted, and an infinite joy, the revellings of a bright and happy soul, gave wings to my thoughts, O Donna Francesca! O Donna Francesca!”

LORENZO. The singer speaks falsely, my friends. I never wrote that.

ROMUALDO. [_Singing_] “And on wings of fancy my flaming spirit ascended to heaven. And on wings of fancy my flaming spirit ascended to heaven.”

LORENZO. [_Rising and hailing ROMUALDO with an angry gesture_] Stop, singer. Do not listen to him, my friends. He lies. He is deceiving you. I remember the words. Luigi, you villain, obey me. If you err even in a single note I will have you hanged to-morrow from the castle walls. Attention, ladies and gentlemen. [_Through the windows the far-off mountain tops stand out from the darkness as if touched by the red glow of sunset. From somewhere behind the MUSICIANS comes the wild music that was played at the ball, but no one hears it_] Right, right, Luigi. [_Singing_] “I, the insane Lorenzo, have lighted up my tower and hither will come those whom I invited not. And the lights in the tower will go out, and my soul will be shrouded in darkness and will rejoice in thee, my lord, my master, ruler of the world—Satan.”

_Cries of indignation and horror. Many, terrified, leave their
places and crowd about the columns._

A VOICE. He is calling upon Satan.

SECOND VOICE. He says that Satan is lord of the world. Sacrilege! Sacrilege! Sacrilege!

CRISTOFORO. Awake, madman, you are the son of a crusader.

A LADY. [_To a gentleman_] Look, the sun is setting a second time!

VOICES. The sun! the sun! Look, the sun has appeared again!

CRISTOFORO. [_Stamping his foot_] Even though you are insane, even though you are my master, Duke Lorenzo, I throw down my gauntlet to you.

_The others seize him. The light outside grows stronger and
seems to be mixed with flame and blood. The mountains are no
longer visible._

VOICES. Look! Look! See what is happening to the sky.

FRANCESCA. Duke Lorenzo is mad, Signor Cristoforo, and cannot do you the honour of crossing swords with you, but in the name of his son, whom I bear in my bosom, I accept your challenge. [_She takes up the glove._

VOICES. The Duchess expects a son. Donna Francesca expects a son. Poor Lorenzo! Poor Lorenzo!

LORENZO. [_Recovering from a profound reverie_] What has happened? I thought I heard the sound of a naked sword. Who dares to draw his sword in the presence of Duke Lorenzo? I showed you honour, my friends, and invited you to my festival. You outrage my hospitality.

VOICES. Look! Something has happened to the sky. There is a fire somewhere. See, the heavens are ablaze! What has happened? There is a fire somewhere.

LORENZO. [_Looking through the window and speaking with elation_] That is the beginning of my holiday, my friends. To our joyful banquet will come one more guest. I commend him to your attention. His eyes are fire, his bright locks are clouds of gilded smoke, his voice is the roar of the impetuous flame that devours stone, and his godlike visage is flame and fire and boundless, pellucid light. Such a masker, ladies and gentlemen, you have never seen!

_The light outside becomes stronger. Frightened cries.
Commotion. Voices._

VOICES. Satan! Satan! He calls on Satan. See, the heavens are on fire, the earth is ablaze! Save yourselves! He is summoning Satan.

LORENZO. [_Raising his voice_] Who dares to speak here the foul name of Satan? I thought I heard a strange song. Some madman, deserving of curses and death, called out in tremulous prayer the name of Satan.

CRISTOFORO. It was you, Lorenzo. You are the vassal of Satan.

LORENZO. I? Oh, no, sir. You imagined it. These charming masks beget so many ridiculous misunderstandings. Some jester, assuming my voice and features, has long been deceiving you with a base falsehood.

CRISTOFORO. But you yourself called on the name of Satan.

LORENZO. Oh, no, my friends. [_Falling on his knees and speaking with solemnity_] He whom I have invited to my festival and who now deigns to appear—uncover, gentlemen—is the Lord God, the ruler of heaven and earth. On your knees, knights and ladies. [_Nearly all kneel. Several weep. Low exclamations_: “God in heaven! God in heaven!” _ECCO, the jester, rushes in, all ablaze, and runs frantically about the hall. The SERVANTS, shouting, pursue him_] To me, Ecco; I am here.

MARIO. Seize the villain. He has fired the tower.

PIETRO. He has strewn fire about, and the castle is burning on all sides. Save yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. In a moment the fire will seize upon the staircase.

MANUCCI. We must kill him. Strike him! Strike him!

LORENZO. [_To whose knees presses the blazing and almost blinded jester_] Back! Who dares touch the messenger of God? Back, sirs! [_He draws his sword._

ECCO. [_Trembling_] Is it you, Lorenzo? I am blinded. The fire has burned out my eyes. Do not drive me away, Lorenzo.

LORENZO. Brother, you shall greet our great Master along with me.

_The window-glass crashes. Above appear tongues of flame
commingled with volumes of black smoke. Panic and flight.
Shouts._

VOICES. Save yourselves! Save yourselves!

FRANCESCA. Fly, Lorenzo, fly!

LORENZO. Your heart has stopped beating, Ecco. Hold fast to life for at least a moment. He comes, Ecco.

ECCO. [_Trembling_] Is he coming? Do you see him?

LORENZO. I hear him, Ecco.

ECCO. I am dying, Lorenzo. But do you tell him that I am your little brother.

LORENZO. I will tell him.

ECCO. [_Growing calmer_] You know—they gave me some bells—I forgot to cut them off—I am dying, Lorenzo.

FRANCESCA. Fly, Lorenzo!

CRISTOFORO. Do you not see, madam, that he is mad? If you will permit me, I will take him in my arms, as I did when he was a child, and carry him away.

_He approaches LORENZO, but, encountering the point of his
sword, steps back._

LORENZO. Stand back, sir.

CRISTOFORO. Well, come on, then. [_He draws his sword._

FRANCESCA. Go, Signor Cristoforo. Do not dare to touch that which belongs to God alone.

CRISTOFORO. Well, be it so. But I shall not leave without you, my lady.

FRANCESCA. I leave you, Lorenzo. In the name of your unborn son, I leave you and renounce the happiness of dying with you. But I shall tell your son, Lorenzo, how the Almighty called you to himself, and he will bless your name.

_The fire breaks through everywhere._

CRISTOFORO. Quick, madam, quick!

FRANCESCA. Farewell, my Lorenzo; farewell, my beloved; farewell.

LORENZO. Farewell, Signora. I regret that you wear a mask. Your voice and your words remind me of Donna Francesca. I beg of you, Signora, bear to her my last farewell.

FRANCESCA. Farewell.

CRISTOFORO. Come! Away! Away!

_He takes DONNA FRANCESCA in his arms and, making his way
through the clouds of smoke, carries her out. There remain only
LORENZO and ECCO, the latter having fallen at LORENZO’S feet.
The fire spreads over everything. Outside the broken windows
and the ruined doors, in the midst of the black volumes of
smoke, appear the BLACK MASKERS. One can see their ineffectual
efforts to enter the castle, their silent struggle with the
fire, which lightly and buoyantly tosses them back. Again and
again they rush forward, only to fall back writhing with pain._

LORENZO. Up, Ecco, the Lord is coming. [_He touches ECCO, but the jester falls lifeless from him. The flames now completely surround them. The BLACK MASKERS have disappeared. The crackling and roaring of the triumphant fire is heard. Solemnly_] I greet thee, O Lord. While I still lay in the cradle my father touched me with his sword and consecrated me a Knight of the Holy Ghost. Do thou touch me, O Lord, if I am worthy of thy accolade. [_Falling on his knees_] But this truth, I aver, O Lord, is known to all people in the world: Lorenzo, Duke of Spadaro, has no serpent in his heart!

[_The fire envelops him. Everything falls in ruins._

_Curtain._

THE LIFE OF MAN

A DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS

WITH A PROLOGUE