Chapter VI: Act FOUR: First Tableau

[_Before the curtain rises the shouts of the crowd are heard, mingled with sound of gongs and bells. The execution-ground under the ramparts of Peking. A colossal grey wall with battlements, occupies the back of the stage, and, on the left, disappears from view in the distance. Chinese prisoners are attached to stakes all along the wall, others are in the cangue, under a huge red signboard. Here and there decapitated heads hang dripping from spikes. There are bloodstains all over the ground. A noisy crowd hurries along the front of the scene. The men wearing modern Peking costume, long queues, blue cotton robes and goat-skin tunics. The_ TARTAR _women, of lower-class, wear a horn-like coiffure with large artificial flowers in it. In the foreground, to the left, is the large tent of the_ TARTAR GENERAL; _of greenish leather, with a yellow roofing, surmounted by a silver bell-turret. It is wide open. The interior is carpeted with the skins of wild beasts; a circular table surrounds the central pole; carpets, camp-stools, a little table, and a square banner bearing the name of the_ GENERAL. _Guards and Soldiers, with naked sabres. Camels are lying all around, among bales of goods and arms. Carriages, palanquins._

_As the curtain rises, the crowd continues to shout wildly. Vendors of hot drinks are walking about with copper urns on their backs; barbers are ringing their bells; blind conjurers are playing the flute, sweetmeat-pedlars are striking gongs. The executioners in the immediate foreground are wiping the dripping blades of their swords._]

SCENE I.

_The_ EXECUTIONERS, _the_ CROWD.

FIRST EXECUTIONER [_As he wipes his sword, speaking to two young women standing near him_] Our arms are pretty tired, my little beauties.

ONE WOMAN

Ah! But your arms look very strong, Master Executioner.

THE EXECUTIONER

Strong, well I don't say they are not. But all the same----

A FLOWER-PEDLAR

Imperial peonies, lotus of all kinds, every flower of the season.

A FRUIT PEDLAR

Sweet as honey, red fruit of the mountains.

A TARTAR CHILD [_Approaching the_ EXECUTIONER.] Mr. Executioner, do you have to strike very hard to cut off their heads?

[_Some men carrying a bucket full of water
suspended on their shoulders, begin to swill
the ground with a large wooden ladle._]

EXECUTIONER

It requires skill, my little lamb----to find just the right place----skill and force too, of course-----Ah! I can tell you, our business is not learnt in a day----

A SWEETMEAT-PEDLAR

[_Ringing a small bell_] They have the flavour of sugar-cane, the sweets that I have for sale.

FRUIT-VENDOR

Ay, ay! White as tallow, white as jade, my fresh melons.

TWO BEGGARS [_Playing guitars_]

Come listen to the legend of the King of the Dragons.

[_They sing in a very shrill voice._]

Near the Bamboo Lake,
Three owls, three owls.

SECOND EXECUTIONER

[_To some other women as he points to the prisoners tied to stakes._] What, the second group there? Their turn will come very soon. The Chief Executioner has given us a few minutes' rest, and we've earned it well, haven't we? [_He hails a pedlar of drinks and orders one for himself._]

HABERDASHER [_Striking a small bell_]

All the latest styles in my stock!----Look, young women, look, young girls!

ONE TARTAR WOMAN [_To Another_]

Oh, I'm not one of those who take pleasure in seeing heads cut off----and, besides, the sight is always the same. No, it is their goddess whom I wish to see.

SECOND TARTAR WOMAN.

Their goddess?----their Empress?----Ah, and so do I. All of us want to see their goddess. She is the one who interests us the most.

THIRD TARTAR WOMAN

And do you suppose they will show her to you?

SECOND WOMAN

Why not? They are showing us all their generals and princes, and all the rest of them----Prisoners are made to be seen, that is why they were brought here to Peking.

THIRD WOMAN

Oh, yes, but she----it seems that while she was being brought here, she was treated with every consideration that could be shown to a queen. And the Emperor has had her placed in the Forbidden City, you know; in his very Palace indeed.

SECOND WOMAN

It is said that her eyes are so wonderful that ordinary people like us cannot meet their gaze.

JASMINE-FLOWER

Yes, and I should be afraid to look at her! A woman who has been dead--for she was dead for at least two moons, you know!

SECOND WOMAN

Jasmine Flower believes everything that is told her.

JASMINE

Why, every one knows that she was dead----For two moons, I tell you! She spent two moons in her grave.

FRUIT-VENDOR

Ay, ay, white as tallow, white as jade, new melon!

FIRST WOMAN

It is well known that bullets and grapeshot passed through her as through a ghost. [_Seeing a_ CAPTAIN _of the_ SOLDIERS, _who is standing near._] There, ask Lee-Phuang, who was there when she was taken. Isn't it true, Lee-Phuang?

LEE-PHUANG

Oh, yes, I was a witness myself. The bullets could not touch this goddess of theirs!

_Two subordinate_ OFFICERS

[_leading to the execution-ground a new group
of Chinese prisoners, with hands tied behind
them, among whom bringing up the rear, is the_
FAITHFUL PRINCE, _his garments all stained and
torn._]

Make room, make room!

[_The prisoners pass along to join the others
who are awaiting their turn to be beheaded at
the foot of the wall._]

LEE-PHUANG. [_To the_ WOMEN _who questioned him_] You see the last one in the line, look at him, the one who walks with so haughty an air? He is the greatest chief of the Nanking rebels. His name is the Faithful Prince, he was the right hand of the Goddess in battle, he was always at her side.

HABERDASHER [_Striking his bell_]

All the latest styles in my stock! Look young women, have a look, young girls!

SCENE II.

FAITHFUL PRINCE. _The_ TARTAR GENERAL

_The_ TARTAR GENERAL [_coming out of his tent and saluting_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, _who brings up the rear of the last group of condemned men._]

Enter here, noble captive. Look not over yonder. Each man should die but once, and you would die each time you saw a head fall. Is it not punishment enough for you to be the last of all the victims?

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Perhaps my presence may strengthen my poor soldiers, so simple in their heroism.

TARTAR GENERAL

No, no, your suffering only adds to their pain-----Grant a loyal enemy the great honour of passing the last minutes of your glorious life in his tent. You are now above worldly trivialities and implacable hates.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

The sword is not responsible, not even the executioner.

TARTAR GENERAL

Nor yet even the General!

[_The new prisoners are tied to the stake._]

FAITHFUL PRINCE

I bear no malice.

[_He enters the tent with the Tartar General._]

TARTAR GENERAL

And I make no boast. I know that the sages disapprove of war and hold that the work of the conqueror amounts to no more than the dust of ten thousand skeletons----

FAITHFUL PRINCE

And that those who triumph deserve no more than the honour of a funeral.

TARTAR GENERAL

Yes, the glory of arms is indeed but the smoke of a fire! [_They seat themselves on camp-stools, and rice wine is served to them. Throughout the following dialogue executions are in progress in the foreground, amid the shouts of the crowd. Every minute the sword of an executioner describes a circle in the air, and as each head falls, it is hung up on the great wall of Peking. Deafening shrieks and cries accompany the conversation of the two men in the tent.]_

TARTAR GENERAL

Before passing from this world, have you not some mission for your dear ones which you might desire carried out? I would undertake it respectfully.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Beyond a doubt all who were dear to me have perished. I thank you for your considerate offer.

TARTAR GENERAL

Have you no last desire?

FAITHFUL PRINCE

One only. To know the fate of our Empress. She was fighting too in that dreadful battle where I was taken prisoner. Is she alive or dead, free or captive?

TARTAR GENERAL

She is living, a captive only a fortnight since, and yesterday was brought to Peking, not far from here in the Forbidden City.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

She is not far from here, my Sovereign! Ah, if only the gods, wearied with afflicting us, would permit----To know that she is so near!----

TARTAR GENERAL

At the end of that battle which was so great an honour to the defeated, she succeeded in escaping with a thousand soldiers. But her retreat was cut off, and the Warrior Empress would have been captured long before had not contradictory orders hindering our movements, enabled her to delay her capture from day to day. You would have thought someone in great authority was watching over her with wonderful solicitude, warning her of dangers or endeavouring to turn them aside from her.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

May he live long happy days, and may his fame be imperishable!

TARTAR GENERAL

Oh, when will this dreadful war cease, which is renewed and has already soaked the soil of our country in the blood of her sons?

FAITHFUL PRINCE

I fear it will never end until one of the two races has been exterminated----Yet perhaps the hatred would be less intense if the conquerors after their victory would treat the defeated with more clemency. Let there not be so many executions, so much bloodshed. Each soldier who can no longer defend his life should be sacred.

TARTAR GENERAL

Pardon was offered to your soldiers if they would yield. All refused.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Their heroism should be only an additional reason for sparing them.

TARTAR GENERAL

What can be done? Our duty is to obey.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Not to the extent of a crime. A little stone can ofttimes retard the course of a heavy chariot. We, the chieftains, by sacrificing only our own lives could thereby save the crowds.

TARTAR GENERAL

How could that be?

FAITHFUL PRINCE

By opposing unrighteousness. Do you remember? There was once another war similar in every way to this. The city was sacked, the command was given to the executioners to cut off all heads as now. But a young officer, maddened by grief at the thought of such carnage, found words wherewith to beseech the general to be merciful, or at least to restrict the number of executions, with the result that he consented to limit the massacre to the length of time which is required to burn a stick of incense. The incense was lighted and the first head was about to fall, when the young officer trembling with horror seized the stick, reduced it to powder and ran to the executioner, crying aloud "It is finished, it is finished. Pardon has been declared." Then, since he had disobeyed, he immediately dashed his head against a rock. The people erected a temple in memory of this hero, which is still to be seen on a high hill and whose steps have for many centuries been constantly covered with fresh flowers.

TARTAR GENERAL [_Pensively_]

In memory of this hero the people erected a temple!----

SCENE III.

_The same, the_ CROWD, _then an_ OFFICER.

[_For the last few minutes the_ Crowd _has
been protesting more violently against the
slaughter. As a new group of prisoners is
brought to the place, the protest becomes more
insistent._]

THE CROWD

Enough! enough!

A VOICE

The Ministers of the Empire are a set of butchers!

A MAN [_Raising himself on the shoulders of his neighbours_]

Enough, enough! Death to the tigers!

FAITHFUL PRINCE [_In the tent, seeing the_ TARTAR GENERAL _rise._] No doubt my time has come.

TARTAR GENERAL

No! No! Remain where you are, we shall be told.

ANOTHER MAN

Yes, death to the tigers!

[_He leans over and dips the end of his girdle
into the blood_] I am going to write it on this
wall. Death to the tigers!

[_He gets up on a stone, and begins to trace
some characters with the end of his girdle.
The_ GENERAL _comes out of the tent._]

AN OFFICER

Some men here at once!----Disperse this insolent crowd!----Arrest the man who is writing.

TARTAR GENERAL [_Advancing quickly_]

Who dares to give orders without my consent?

THE OFFICER

My lord, when a riot is beginning, is it not my duty?

TARTAR GENERAL

You have no other duty than to obey. [_With a gesture he dismisses the_ SOLDIERS, _who have advanced to seize the man._] The executioners must be tired. Let their chief give them leave to rest again.

OFFICER

For how many minutes?

TARTAR GENERAL

As long as my sword shall remain fixed here.

[_He plunges his sword into the ground._]

FAITHFUL PRINCE

[_In a whisper to the General._] Take care, my generous enemy. Perhaps it may be thought that you are afraid.

TARTAR GENERAL

Of the living, no!----But of spectres, yes, it is true; I am afraid of spectres.

[_They enter the tent together. The crowd,
whose excitement is increasing, moves away from
the execution-ground, thereby giving a full
view of the headless bodies which are lying
on the ground, and of the pools of blood. The
street-sellers re-commence their cries and
their music._]

FLOWER-VENDOR

Royal peonies, lotus of all kinds, every flower of the season.

TARTAR GENERAL [_In his tent, to_ FAITHFUL PRINCE]

You see, I am compromising myself like the hero of your legend, and yet no temple will be raised in my honour.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

But you do not hope to save those of my men who are still alive?

General

Who knows, as long as their heads are on their shoulders?----You heard the noise outside?-----The angry crowd grew greater and greater. A short riot has often delivered many victims. I may be compelled to yield. Heaven grant it!

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Your noble generosity encourages me to ask a favour of you.

TARTAR GENERAL

It will be a great joy to me to grant it.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Before taking my place against that bloody wall, I would greatly desire to have one hour's freedom, on my word of honour----

TARTAR GENERAL

The word of a man such as you are is stronger than a chain of iron on his feet, or a canque of cedar wood about his shoulders----an hour, yes! Even an hour and a half, we can wait----The use which you wish to make of it perhaps I can imagine. You dream of seeing again your adored Empress----There, alas! I am unable to aid you. May the gods come to your assistance!----[_Offering him a robe embroidered in gold, which is hanging from the tent-pole._] One thing alone I can do for you. Consent to wear one of my robes. It will be a safeguard for you.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

How could I dare?

TARTAR GENERAL

I beseech you----This garment will be to me the more precious because it has protected you [_He passes the robe to_ FAITHFUL PRINCE, _who no longer protests, then he raises a curtain at the back to the tent._] Go that way, Prince!----

[FAITHFUL PRINCE _goes out._]

SCENE IV.

_The_ GENERAL, _A_ Courier _from the_ EMPEROR, _An_ OFFICER, _The_ PRISONERS, _The_ CROWD.

[_There is a great stir in the crowd, which is shouting wildly. In the distance trumpets are heard. The_ TARTAR GENERAL, _coming out of his tent, speaks to an_ OFFICER.]

TARTAR GENERAL

What is that? The ceremonial salute. What is happening now?

_The_ OFFICER

A courier from the Emperor. [_The_ SOLDIERS _stand in file on either side and bend the knee. The_ COURIER _is on horseback, and is carrying over his shoulder a small packet, wrapped in yellow silk._]

COURIER [_As he dismounts_]

An order from the Emperor! [_Two_ SOLDIERS _place a table on which the letter is deposited, then the incense-sticks are lighted. The_ TARTAR GENERAL _quickly dons his ceremonial robe, salutes the message three times, and at last takes it._]

TARTAR GENERAL [_To the_ COURIER, _after he has examined the envelope_] Why does that order arrive so late? It was sent at daybreak from the Forbidden City, and the distance is not long.

COURIER

That is true, my lord. But ill-intentioned men were posted at several places along my route. I had to take a roundabout course, and my horse knocked over many people before surmounting the obstacles.

TARTAR GENERAL [_In a low voice_]

May Heaven deliver our Emperor from the evil ones who oppose his will!

COURIER [_also speaking low_]

May Heaven hear your prayer, for the well-being of the people!

TARTAR GENERAL [_Opens the letter. In an aside after having read it_] This saves many lives, without counting my own----[_To the_ CROWD.] Order of the Emperor. All listen! "This is my express will. I grant unconditional pardon to all the captives of war, chiefs and soldiers, and give them their entire liberty. Respect this."

[_He shows the Imperial seal._]

THE CROWD

Ten thousand years, ten thousand years to our Emperor.

[_The Soldiers at once set the prisoners free._]

TARTAR GENERAL [_To the_ CROWD]

Listen again. This order should have arrived in time to save all the condemned. The obstacles set in the path of the messenger are the cause of a misfortune which cannot be repaired. Our master was disobeyed and is not responsible.

CROWD

Curse upon the unfaithful ministers! Death to the tigers!

[_The women also hasten to unchain the
prisoners, who draw near the General._]

ONE OFFICER [_In a whisper to another_]

What seditious cries our General permits!

SECOND OFFICER

Say rather he encourages them.

TARTAR GENERAL [_To the_ PRISONERS]

My friends, listen to wise advice. Do not remain long in this accursed place. All around the mighty Dragon who has freed you, wild beasts are shrieking, exasperated because they have lost their prey.-----Go at once, do not lose a moment. But do not escape by way of the country, you would be too easily found. Disperse and wander through the great city. In the Chinese Quarter the crowd will not betray you.

PRISONERS

We will follow your advice. May Heaven bestow its choicest blessings upon you!

[_They bow and disperse. The_ GENERAL _takes
his sword, which he had stuck into the ground
and slowly replaces it in its scabbard._]

THE CROWD

Death to the tigers! Ten thousand years to our Emperor!

[_As the curtain is lowered the shouts of_
PEDLARS _are heard._]

THE FLOWER-SELLER

Royal peonies, Lotus of all kinds, every flower of the season!

HABERDASHER

All the latest styles in my stock! Look, young women; have a look, young girls!

Second Tableau

[_The great throne-room in the palace at Peking, entirely decorated in red and gold. The throne is in the middle of a dais, to which lead three staircases flanked by incense-burners and emblems. Pillars of red laquer support a lofty ceiling, on which are enormous writhing dragons among red clouds; the largest standing out so clearly that it looks ready to fall from heaven, holds in its jaws a golden orb, just above the throne. The floor is covered by a yellow carpet, with dragons more than fifty feet in length woven into the design. On one side of the stage is a marble chime, suspended by golden chains from a huge frame work, whose feet are of gold and represent monsters and whose upper angles are ornamented with golden phoenixes spreading their wings toward the ceiling. Near the principal entrance two EUNUCHS are holding dust-dispellers of rhinoceros-hide. Preparations are being made for a solemn audience, to commemorate the triumph of the_ TARTAR ARMY. _Large blocks of porcelain, representing monsters, are arranged in line on the carpet. They mark the places where the various bodies of dignitaries are to stand and to prostrate themselves. Persons in gala robes come and go hurriedly. They are speaking in whispers, and walk noiselessly, in respectful attitudes. They bow as they pass the throne._]

SCENE I.

_Palace_, OFFICIALS, DIGNITARIES, _and_ MASTERS _of the_ CEREMONIES.

FIRST MASTER OF CEREMONIES

[_Placing in line one of the last blocks of porcelain_] There, the eighteenth group of high literates will stand there, facing the throne, but somewhat obliquely.

SECOND MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Everything seems to me in perfect order. We shall soon be ready.

AN OFFICIAL

So they say, indeed. He has been downcast and melancholy for several days, it seems as though each fresh victory of his army affected him like a disaster.

THIRD OFFICER

Yes, no one would have supposed that he would demand so elaborate a ceremony to celebrate his triumph.

FOURTH OFFICER

And have you heard the news? The prisoner is to make her appearance here.

THIRD OFFICER

Who?

FOURTH OFFICER

Who? How can you ask? The great, the only one. She of whom everyone speaks--the Ex-Empress of the rebels.

FIFTH OFFICER

Ah, the goddess! So now we are going to see her.

SIXTH OFFICER

And we can judge of her supernatural power----unless she has lost it.

FOURTH OFFICER

Oh, power she still has. Yesterday evening, by order of the Emperor, two eunuchs were decapitated simply for having announced to her the death of her son without preliminary forms.

THIRD OFFICER

And I know something, too, from the Governess of the Palace----To-day the goddess deigned to speak, to request mourning garments----So they searched the wardrobes of the late Empress Regent for all that was most magnificent in the way of white robes and shoes!

SCENE II.

_The same. The_ GRAND CHAMBERLAIN

GRAND CHAMBERLAIN [_Entering by a door at back_]

An order from the Emperor! [_All listen with bowed heads._] Let the members of the Privy Council, Ministers, and Dignitaries, robed in their costumes of state, meet in silence in the galleries near the throne-room, ready to enter when his Majesty strikes this gong three times. [_He points to the large gong at the foot of the steps of the throne._] Let no one be here, and guards at all the doors!

[_All bow and prepare to go out._]

SCENE III.

_The Same,_ A HERALD, _and the_ GRAND MASTER _of_ CEREMONIES.

The HERALD [_Appearing at the door and holding in his hand a large lacquer signboard mounted on a golden handle._] Silence!

_The_ GRAND MASTER.

[_Entering with_ FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST]

Let all depart! Close the doors. Here comes the Emperor.

[_All skurry out except the_ GRAND MASTER _and_
FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST, _who prostrate themselves
as the EMPEROR appears._]

SCENE IV.

_The_ EMPEROR, FOUNT, _the_ GRAND MASTER _of_ CEREMONIES.

EMPEROR [_In full regalia, his expression sombre_]

How many heads did you say had already fallen?

GRAND MASTER

Barely fifty, sire. Your General, as though with a presentiment of the clemency of your Majesty, had proceeded with audacious lack of energy.

EMPEROR

He shall be rewarded by Heaven and by me. As for the grandees of my court who dared to stop my Courier, have them found at once and dealt with by the executioner to-morrow. Why do the gods permit that in my lofty position, happiness should be almost unrealisable, when murder is so easy? Now go! [_Indicating_ FOUNT-IN-THE-FOREST] I wish to speak with my councillor.

[_The_ Grand Master _goes out._]

SCENE V.

EMPEROR, FOUNT.

EMPEROR [_To_ FOUNT, _who is still prostrate_]

Arise, friend, we are alone. You have already guessed my project, have you not? I want her to come here, near me. [_Pointing to the throne._] Pale and in the white of her deep mourning as she is, I want her to come here, to sit beside me on my throne----To-day, I am going to present her to my people as my affianced bride. Let the Dignitaries of my Court prostrate themselves before their Empress, at the same time as before their Emperor----without her there is neither Empire nor triumph for me----

FOUNT

She has consented?

EMPEROR

Alas, I do not know if she will agree. I have postponed till now that meeting so full at once of charm and terror. It is to-day and here that we shall see each other again for the first time----May Heaven help me! You will say that I am still a child; I wished to invest our supreme moment with all magnificence. Ah, if only there were not between us the death of her son, I should tremble less.

FOUNT

But you did all in your power to save him. Since your conscience cannot reproach you, sire, it is better for your plans that the child should be resting in peace among the shades. To impose him upon your Tartars would have been dangerous indeed-----Whereas now, the two Dynasties may blend, another son be born, of your blood and hers.

EMPEROR

A son born to me by her! Oh, friend, be silent. The dreams that are too beautiful, one must not speak of. [_He strikes the gong lightly._] But come, the dreaded moment of seeing her again has arrived. Come! [_To an_ Official _who enters in response to the gong._] Let the prisoner be brought here, with all the respect which I have commanded. Go! [_Recalling the_ Official _as he is leaving._] Wait a moment! [_To_ FOUNT, _who is going too._] No, her pride would be offended at being ushered into my presence. Rather, let her be the first to arrive, and I will follow, appearing before her with the air of one vanquished, begging pardon. [_To the waiting_ OFFICIAL.] As soon as I leave, bring the Empress here and leave her alone. Now you may go!

[_Exit the_ OFFICIAL _at the back._]

FOUNT [_as he goes out with the_ EMPRESS]

She loves you, sire. Have confidence. Who is the woman, even though she be almost a goddess, who would not yield?

EMPEROR

She! Only she!----

FOUNT

But, as she loved you once----

EMPEROR

And to-day must she not hate me? How much blood has been spilt by traitors despite my command! How has my decree of pardon been intercepted or changed to a death warrant!---- The hate, the implacable hate of our two peoples ever triumphs.

FOUNT

But how many lives you have saved!----And she must too know that.

EMPEROR [_as he goes out_]

Oh, that hour whose memory still enchants my heart! That hour there, in the garden of her palace, in the midst of that crowd where we were so alone, when she gazed upon me, when our souls were united in one supreme rapture----But now at the thought of seeing her again, I tremble like a guilty man.

[_Exit the_ EMPEROR, _with his councillor,
through a side door. Two eunuchs and two women
attendants conduct the_ EMPRESS _to the foot
of the throne, and after having prostrated
themselves retire, leaving her alone. She is in
white robes of mourning, her hands are tied by
a silken cord._]

SCENE VI

_The_ EMPRESS, _then_ FAITHFUL PRINCE

EMPRESS [_Soliloquising_]

Such consideration has been shown me that I am terrified, more terrified than at torture and death. Why am I in his palace, instead of in a prison?----What can he, what dares he hope? What does he desire of me?

FAITHFUL PRINCE

[_In the dress of the_ TARTAR GENERAL, _running into the room and prostrating himself at the feet of the EMPRESS_] Oh! Heaven is merciful to grant me the opportunity once again before my death to prostrate myself at the feet of my adored Empress.

EMPRESS [_Calm but bewildered_]

You? You here?----Dear Prince----Have we then departed this life? Is this our reunion beyond the grave? If not, whence have you come, how, by what witchcraft have you passed these dreadful walls?

FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Still prostrated_] Boldness does not count the cost, when there is no longer anything to lose----And, beyond all doubt, the gods were with me---- Yes, I entered as if by witchcraft as you say, I passed the walls and the guarded gates----One of his soldiers acted as my guide----I gave him all the gold I had left. Forgive me, I am weeping, I know not whether for joy or grief. For joy it must be--since my only wish was for this one privilege--to see Your Majesty for the last time, to tell her on my knees of my passionate adoration----which at the gates of death cannot be an offence----and above all to offer her the wondrous gift, which will deliver her from the conqueror's worst outrages. My mission as faithful subject is now concluded by this last service, by the glorious present which I have brought to my Empress.

EMPRESS

Poison! [_With a triumphant cry of deliverance._] Ah!----

FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Offering her a dagger_] Poison, alas! I was unable to bring. This is the best I can offer.

EMPRESS

Ah, well, that will answer the purpose. Kill me before He comes!

FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Rising and drawing back in horror_]

My well beloved sovereign!----Ask not that of your faithful servant, who has always obeyed you. Do not command him to do what is beyond his strength.

EMPRESS

You will not?----Then give it to me! I will strike myself. I will make the attempt. I shall succeed.

FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Noticing that her hands are tied_]

But your hands----To think that I had not seen!

EMPRESS

Ah! That is true.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

I May I untie them? Have we time?

EMPRESS

No, it will take too long. Hide the weapon in the fold of my gown.

[_The Prince still hesitates._]

You do not dare? It is forbidden to touch your Sovereign! Nay, but you may do so, your Empress now is as one already dead.

FAITHFUL PRINCE [_Hiding weapon in her gown_]

But how will you be able to use it?

EMPRESS

_He_ will have them unbound, he before whom I shall soon appear. And then is not one permitted to change one's mind so near to death? I desired you to kill me before he came. Now I prefer to see him again, the Emperor.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

To see him again? You know then who he is?

EMPRESS

Yes. Stay with me until he comes.

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Oh, no! I must not be found here.

EMPRESS

What matters it now, at the point we have reached?

FAITHFUL PRINCE

Because--over yonder--the last heads are falling. They are calling for those that remain. It is time--my turn is coming. They gave me one hour's liberty on my word of honour. I do not want it to be thought that I have fled.

EMPRESS

Ah, yes! Then go, Prince. Farewell! I shall soon join you--you and all my faithful ones. Tell those who are about to die that I shall be with them soon----

[FAITHFUL PRINCE _hurries out._]

SCENE VII

_The_ EMPEROR. _The_ EMPRESS

[_The_ EMPEROR _enters and approaches her. The_ EMPRESS, _her eyes lowered, stands motionless._]

EMPEROR

Daughter of Heaven, deign to raise your eyes to gaze upon the heart-broken conqueror who bows before you. Deign to look and to recognise him. Doubtless you will remember him. But can you feel anything save utter hatred for him?

EMPRESS

[_Far away, her eyes still lowered._] To recognise him, I do not need to hear his voice again nor to gaze upon his face. The light has dawned upon my mind during the hours of my captivity. Before I was brought in here, I knew full well into whose presence I was coming.

[_A silence, during which the EMPEROR remains
bowed before her._]

EMPRESS

To the Daughter of the Mings, what message can the Tartar Emperor have?

EMPEROR [_Seeing her hands bound with the silken cord_]

Oh! but your hands are tied! I ordered that to save you from yourself. But now! [_He approaches, yet hesitates to touch her hands. The_ EMPRESS _draws back, gazing at him for the first time._] Oh! pardon----Before you, in the depth of my grief, I had forgotten. I had almost dared to touch your bruised hands. And yet you are more sacred to me here than there in Nanking, in all your splendour. [_He strikes the gong softly. An_ OFFICIAL _appears._]

EMPEROR [_To the_ OFFICIAL]

Let the Governess of the Palace come here at once! [_To the_ GOVERNESS, _as she enters and prostrates herself._] Untie the hands of the Empress, and then go.

[_The_ GOVERNESS _obeys and goes out. A pause._]

Your voice is no longer yours. Your eyes are no longer yours. You stand here before me, yet your soul seems to be at an infinite distance. I did not expect to find you so, and you frighten me. The Majesty of death is upon you.

EMPRESS

They are calling to me from the Land of the Shades. Allow me to cross the threshold soon, from you I can accept no mercy. My faithful ones, my warriors, are wondering at my delay in rejoining them, and my son is listening to catch the echo of my footfall behind him on the dark path.

EMPEROR

Your son!----Ah! Your son! Who has mourned him more than I, excepting only you? Ten of my couriers, my swiftest horsemen, were sent at once, riding their horses night and day, spurring them to death, leaving their corpses by the roadside, in a frantic effort to arrive in time and avert the evil which could not be repaired----

EMPRESS

What was achieved? Where is the body of my little son?

EMPEROR

It is now in an imperial hearse, making its slow way to the north, preceded by funeral music, followed by a thousand dignitaries in costumes of state befitting the rank of a young sovereign.

EMPRESS

And where are they taking him, my son?

EMPEROR

To those inviolable forests where the Tartar Emperors repose. There, in a vale, which the spade of men has never touched, two leagues of dark cedars will envelope in their silence, his tomb built all of porcelain.

EMPRESS

Will you grant me the favour to sleep near him?

EMPEROR [_Very gently, speaking like a child_]

But----in accordance with the custom of the Empresses, you will yourself choose the site and scene in the forest and will have the long marble avenues built----so that all may be in readiness when your hour strikes.

EMPRESS

My hour _has sounded_--ah! many days ago. I heard it, but my hands were tied and your guards were ever about me. Now you will give me my last freedom, will you not? so that I may join all the dead heroes who are awaiting me. To keep me back would be unworthy of you, my noble enemy. You would not do that!----

EMPEROR [_After a pause_]

Keep you back, you?----O! no, not I----But your duty----Daughter of the Mings, you are incapable of failing in your duty!

EMPRESS [_Excitedly at last_]

My duty! What duty? Already have I been decoyed by that word. They urged me thereby to flee like a common woman beset by fear. While all my brave defenders knew how to die heroically, my soldiers, my princes, even my ladies-in-waiting, I like a coward escaped through the subterranean passages of my palace----to fulfil my duty! It was the hour when my soldiers were falling by the thousand, struck down by yours, when my walls were crumbling under the assault of your armies----the draught of the Great Deliverance had been brought me in a cup, and I was calm as I am now--but smiling. I was about to raise the cup to my lips, to pass beyond the reach of all, proud and inviolable, in my imperial attire. The vaults beneath the ground, the sleeping place of my ancestors, unknown to your Tartars, stood open close at hand, and there was still time to carry me down into them----But duty! Ah! my duty, it appeared, was to flee, and I yielded----And until the day when your soldiers took me captive, I wandered on and on through the country, at the head of my defeated troops----I, the Empress, the Invisible, desecrating my majesty among all those thousands of men----marching before them like some mad woman!----

EMPEROR

Say rather that you were the sublime heroine, the great warrior-Empress, the goddess of battle, who braved arrows and bullets, and will live on eternally in poetry and history!

EMPRESS

I sought to justify my flight, that was all. I did all I could, but none can ever atone for a cowardly action. It was in my own palace that I should have met my death, in the funeral fire lighted by my own hand, in which so many heroes were consumed----My ashes should have mixed with theirs. Duty, do you say? But do you believe that I still belong to Earth? My cities are in ruins, my armies annihilated, my son dead. And at this very moment I know that one by one the heads of my few remaining soldiers are falling into the dust beneath your high Tartar walls. Then what duty remains, I ask you? [_She takes the dagger from the fold of her robe and raises her hand to strike herself._] Nothing, nothing but this! [_The Emperor rushes towards her with a cry, seizes her wrist, takes the dagger, and hurls it to the ground._] Ah! So you dare to touch me now?

EMPEROR [_Bowing very low_]

Your pardon! Only listen to me. You may die afterwards if you wish it, I promise you--but in some less terrible way----without this bloodshed. I will even furnish you the means, if you still wish it----

EMPRESS [_With sudden gentleness_]

In some less terrible way! Yes, that is what I desire. The Potion of the Great Deliverance, we sovereigns are never without it. You have it too, have you not?

EMPEROR

Night and day within easy reach, especially since you began to risk your life hourly, in the thick of the battle. I feared that I should be unable to capture alive my beautiful Phoenix of War! Be assured, we have the Deliverance. It is in this golden case, among the trinkets at my girdle.

EMPRESS

And you will give it to me?

EMPEROR

Yes.

EMPRESS

You swear it?

EMPEROR

Yes. After you have listened to me, I shall have this supreme courage. To refuse you would be unworthy of you and of myself. But, after you have heard me, only afterwards----

EMPRESS

Well, speak, sire. In return for your promise, take the last minutes in which my ears can hear, my eyes can see----

SCENE VIII.

_The same. An_ OFFICIAL

EMPEROR [_He strikes the gong gently, an_ OFFICIAL _appears. To the_ OFFICIAL] Double the number of guards at the gates. Instant death to any one who, for any reason whatever, dares to open that door before I sound the gong _Three Times!_ Is that understood? You may go!

[_The_ OFFICIAL _turns to go._]

Wait! [_Pointing to the incense-burners on the steps of the throne._] Incense! Let the sticks be lighted at once! I must have perfume in the air. [_The OFFICIAL hastily lights the bundles of sticks and the smoke rises._] It is well, go!

[_The_ Official _makes his exit backward,
almost prostrate._]

SCENE IX.

The EMPEROR [_To the_ EMPRESS, _who is leaning against the balustrade of the throne_] Alas! I can read obstinate resolution in your eyes! You have determined to die, I know it! I shall speak without hope. Will you grant me one last favour?

EMPRESS

No doubt I shall. But what may it be?

EMPEROR [_Pointing to the throne_]

Let our last interview take place there! Once in your life, though it be on a day which shall know no to-morrow, I wish to see you seated upon the throne of the Tartar conquerors.

EMPRESS [_Very calmly and indifferently_]

Is it only that? If that will give you pleasure, I consent. [_She begins to ascend the steps._] I mount but slowly: I am crushed and fainting. The poison which you promised lulls one to sleep, does it not? It does not sharpen and distort the features, I hope. The Phoenix, even in the agony of death would wish to retain some charm.

EMPEROR [_In the same mood_]

It is even better than you hope. It comes from the Western Barbarians. Lustrous pearls under a thin leaf of gold. One passes into space in a sudden sleep, an exquisite intoxication----

EMPRESS [_Still far away_] Ah!----in a sleep--[_They have reached the top of the steps. She half reclines across the throne, which is almost as large as a divan. The_ EMPEROR _remains standing._] Well, now----delay no longer, speak----

EMPEROR

It was not the prompting of a mere whim which urged me to see you seated there. What we have to say is so solemn. The interview of an Emperor and an Empress, power speaking to power!----

At this height, raised above our earthly personalities, we shall feel more conscious of our superhuman mission.

EMPRESS

Power speaking to power? I am no longer anything but a captive, who counts for naught.

EMPEROR

You are sovereign and doubly sovereign now, mistress of the destiny of China, arbiter of all. [_The_ EMPRESS _looks at him as though deeply hurt._] Mistress of the destiny of China, yes! Be not offended. I do not intend to speak of your power over the Emperor----But, defeated and captive, what does it matter? Are you not always the Daughter of the Mings? Hundreds of millions of hearts bear secret allegiance to you. The rebellion quelled to-day by my soldiers will break out afresh to-morrow, will always be renewed. You are the only being in the world who has the power to still it for ever----and that takes away the right to die----

EMPRESS [_Interrupting_]

The dead await me----I belong to them now----I hear their voices calling to me to come----

EMPEROR

I want to tell you in the fewest words. But I feel as though you were already gone, already cold. I press on and I am all at a loss. It seems as if I were speaking to a tombstone. Powers, you and I, I said, ah, yes, great powers! Two rival lives of fabled emperors, of deified heroes, growing feebler and feebler by centuries of slavery to rites and forms, prisoners in an excess of luxury; two dynasties that seemed doomed to an immortality of mummyhood, have by some miracle produced you and me, who are alive and young. As a result of our union, a new China might arise, living like us, to dominate the world. Together we might accomplish that holy mission for the well-being and happiness of our races, and the eternal glory of our two united names. But without you, no, I can do nothing. I shall sink again into my gilded solitude, my sickly idleness, my opium-drugged sleep. If you but knew my youth, how isolated and lonely, spent in an apartment decorated in black ebony! In the gloom of this palace, an imaginative child, I outlined this glorious plan of union with you. It haunted my brain. Then your son would have been my son. It was like a child still that I set out on that adventure to see you in your palace at Nanking. And as I beheld, my man's will, which still floated in the midst of dreams, was suddenly concentrated upon one definite desire. Ah, what obstacles I overcame! First, I had to escape from your palace; then to return here unhindered within the terrible walls of the Yellow City; and then to wrest the power from those grim evil-doers who had so long tortured my youthful will and my reason. The war was already at its height, hatred was enchained, the smell of blood was in the air, and Chinese and Tartars were howling like wild beasts. All this, you know full well, I was unable to stop.

EMPRESS

I know.

EMPEROR

That I did all in my power to save your son--you believe that, do you not?

EMPRESS

Now I believe it.

EMPEROR

My only reason for speaking of these things is that at least you may not hate me.

EMPRESS [_Still calm and impersonal_]

I have no hate for you.

EMPEROR

The heads of your faithful soldiers which have just fallen were sacrificed against my will. I had issued an order of unconditional pardon. As to the Prince who left you a few minutes ago. [_Smiling_]--for I see all, I the Phantom Emperor, as you called me--yes, he who was speaking to you in this very place and went so heroically to meet his death, will be saved. You shall see him again!

EMPRESS

I thought you before now a great and generous enemy.

EMPEROR

Of my love I have not even dared to speak to you.

EMPRESS

I am grateful to you that you have kept our interview above that level.

EMPEROR

Every word you utter falls upon me like the icy drops of slow winter rain, and yet withal I must have the force to proceed to the end. Listen to what I now shall say; it is the last word I shall speak, after that you will be free. Despite that dreadful war to the death between us, despite that funeral procession which now slowly carries your son to the forests of the Last Repose, I still indulged in the beautiful dream of putting an end to ancient hates by means of our marriage, of making one our two rival dynasties, of giving to the great empire peace everlasting----

EMPRESS [_Interrupting_]

Ever since you asked me to be seated upon your throne, I understood.

EMPEROR [_After a pause_]

And your reply?

EMPRESS

My reply is that, neither living nor dead, will I permit the Emperor of the Tartars even to touch my hand. It is too late; too many rivers of blood flow between us.

EMPEROR

Still one word, one last word. We are not alone at this solemn historical hour, in this place which seems so empty and silent. The shades of warriors and the illustrious spirits of departed emperors are all about us, listening anxiously for your decision. Your beloved dead are all here, at peace with mine in the lofty harmony of heaven. You are mistaken, they are not calling to you to join them; they are commanding you to live for years to come, to aid me in this great work of peace, of which I dream and which, without you seated at my side on this throne, I shall be powerless to carry out. You have not the right to decline this duty! In the name of the thousands of invisible spirits who surround us, I beg of you, Daughter of Heaven, to live! [_A silence._] I have said all that I find possible to say. I await your decision. I have finished.

EMPRESS [_Growing colder and more distant in her attitude, pointing to the golden jewel-case attached to the Emperor's girdle_] Then give it to me now!

EMPEROR [_In absolute despair_]

No, no! Give it to you with my own hands I cannot. Have pity----I cannot! I cannot!

EMPRESS [_Severely_]

But your promise, sire, your imperial word of honour. Give it to me!

[_The_ EMPEROR, _after another silence, kneels
before her, takes the golden box from his
girdle and hands it to her slowly, his face
turned downward to the ground._]

EMPRESS [_After opening the box, speaking gently, like a child in a dream._] Yes, they are tiny, shining pearls----And they will bring death, peace, nothingness. [_She puts the pearls in her mouth, then throws the box to the ground, and rises in exaltation. Triumphant and dominating the room, she addresses the invisible spirits of her forefathers._] Oh, my ancestors, behold me! Am I not glorious? You see me in that place whence you of old dominated the world, and it is upon your throne, usurped by the Tartar, that I am about to die! Your daughter has remained worthy of her race. Despite temptation more than human, she has kept her word. Open wide before the portals of death,--to receive her among you. [_Smiling and quite gentle, she turns to the EMPEROR who is still kneeling._] And now that my mission is accomplished, approach me, sire. [_She takes his hand gently, to indicate that he may rise and be seated._] For the second time in her life, the Empress invites you to be seated in her presence, as once before, over there, you remember, one morning in my palace which is now no more----[_She seats herself on the throne again._]

EMPEROR [_Dreamily_]

As once before, there in your garden on that never-to-be-forgotten morning. All about us, the wonderful flowers of distant lands were unfolding their petals, still moist with the early dews----and the beautiful Imperial Phoenix was brilliant in all her glory. [_He seats himself on the throne near her, his head resting against the back._]

EMPRESS

To-day, the flames have swept away those flowers, and the Phoenix is in agony, her wings burned in the fire of war. But, on the threshold of the Great Beyond, she will confide to you her deepest secret. Now it is your turn to listen. [_The_ EMPEROR _raises his head and looks at her._] While you were uttering those noble and magnificent words of sacrifice----Oh! beneath my impassive mask, what a struggle was mine on to be deaf to their appeal! And I should have yielded, if the duty which you presented to me had been only a painful duty. But it would have been too easy and too sweet. For I loved you! [_The_ EMPEROR _arises_.] And, living, I have no more the right to happiness, because it was I who lighted that great funeral pyre of men's lives in my palace.

EMPEROR [_Interrupting, exultantly_]

O my sovereign! O my beautiful, fading flower! To hear that from your lips at the moment when they are about to grow cold for ever! Oh! To be beloved by you, I could not believe it possible. And now no aid can come from men or gods.

EMPRESS

No aid? Do you think I would accept it? I have spoken only because I know I am going to die. Aid! But did I not tell you it was I who lighted the pyre, this hand which set to it the flaming torch. And as they threw themselves into the glowing furnace, dying for my son and for me, I cried out my solemn vow: Soon I come to the Land of the Shades, I come, I follow you. After that, if I were to live, to spend a happy life with you----I should loathe myself. [_She remains seated, the_ EMPEROR _kneels at her feet, resting his head on the cushions of the throne._] In entering your palace, I was afraid of myself, it was only myself that I feared----for at no time did I hate that strange impostor who appeared in my palace one day, never did I hate him even when I knew not, when I did not understand. And in the closed litter in which I was brought to Peking, at every stage of that mournful journey my fears and my anguish increased, according as the impression became stronger and stronger, until at last I was convinced that you were the Emperor! [_Suddenly terrified, she starts up._] You have not deceived me? Tell me, it is indeed death which you have given me? Oh, no, you could not have done that. You are too noble to have led me into a trap----

EMPEROR

No, my sovereign, no, I have not deceived you. Death is close to you, it is in your heart, inevitable death.

EMPRESS

Will it take long? How many minutes are still left to me?

EMPEROR

Minutes? Oh, scarcely seconds. You are on the point of slipping away from me into nothingness. The frail covering of gold leaf still protects you. As soon as that dissolves----

EMPRESS

I shall suffer?

EMPEROR

No!

EMPRESS

Tell me how I shall pass away.

EMPEROR

You will hear a ringing in your brain as if the great bell of honour were being sounded for you--and then a dizziness--and suddenly will come eternal peace! [_He rises and rends his garments._] O Gods, if you are capable of compassion, look down upon me----have pity!

EMPRESS [_At first very slowly, pacing the platform of the throne like one in a dream._] Whither am I going? Who can tell me whither I am going, where I shall soon be? To the dead? to the Shades, what can it matter how I use this last flicker of my life, so soon to be extinguished? Now that I have kept my word, at least this last moment belongs to me, which to us is worth Eternity. [_To the_ EMPEROR.] Let it be mine that I may give it to you! [_She seats herself on the throne again._] Come close to me, my beloved, my master, my God-----[_The_ EMPEROR _sits near her, at first as with religious awe._] Come, I desire to rest my head on your shoulder while I die----[The EMPEROR takes her in his arms.] Do you not see that we are like two stars, separated by a boundless abyss, but withal making desperate efforts to flash their light to each other?----But now the abyss is crossed and my mortal enemy is weeping tears for love in my embrace. Let me rest against your breast, come closer, with all your being, that I may pass away as though in you.

EMPEROR [_Embracing her more passionately_]

In me and with me, for I shall follow you, my beautiful Phoenix, that would fly away beyond my reach----

EMPRESS

No! Remain on earth, live on to keep the love which I have given you. Who else would remember me and pay the honours to my spirit? In the valley of eternal silence, amid the marble avenues, under the shade of the dark cedars, who else would come to dream of my vanished beauty, that was but for a day? Promise me you will stay. But come still closer to me. If you do not fear the last breath of one who is dying, press your lips against mine, my beloved, that I may at least have known the rapture of your kiss----

EMPEROR [_Pressing his lips to hers desperately_] Oh! Even your ashes would be lovely to me, even your body in decay. Fear! you ask if I fear? Respect alone will unlock my embrace--when I feel that the breath of life is no more.

EMPRESS [_Wandering, half drawing herself away_]

Ah! Yes--I hear the great bell sounding. It is the signal, then? I am sinking----Hold me up, my beloved. Keep me from sinking thus----into the abyss.

[_During an instant of silence, they remain
embraced. Then the_ EMPEROR _rouses himself,
cries aloud in his grief, and the dead body
falls back on the throne._]

SCENE X.

_The_ EMPEROR, _and then the_ CROWD.

[_The_ EMPEROR _descends the steps of the
throne, quickly, runs to the gong and strikes
three deep strokes. The doors are thrown open._
Dignitaries _and_ Officials _appear on the
threshold._]

The EMPEROR [_addressing the_ crowd, _who enter in robes of state, and pointing to the dead_ Empress.]

Come, all dignitaries and great men of the Empire! Put perfumes in the censers, keep on amber! Sound the marble chimes, as for the gods. Pay homage to Your Empress! On your knees, all, before The Daughter of Heaven!----

[_He kneels on the steps himself. The marble
chimes are sounded. The brilliant crowd fills
the throne-room, prostrating themselves before
the dead._]

THE END