Wallenstein/The Death of Wallenstein/A2S03
SCENE III.
Wallenstein, Tertsky, Illo, ten Cuirassiers. (led by an Anspessade[1], march up and arrange themselves, after the word of command, in one front before the Duke, and maketheir obeisances. He takes his hat off, and immediately covers himself again.)
ANSPESSADE.Halt! Front! Present!
WALLENSTEIN. (after he has run through themwith his eye, to the Anspessade.) I know thee well. Thou art out of Brüggin in Flanders; Thy name is Mercy.
ANSPESSADE.Henry Mercy.
WALLENSTEIN.Thou wert cut off on the march, surrounded by the Hessians, and didst fight thy way with an hundred and eighty men thro' their thousand.
ANSPESSADE.'Twas even so, General!
WALLENSTEIN.What reward hadst thou for this gallant exploit?
ANSPESSADE.That which I ask'd for the honour to serve in this corps.
WALLENSTEIN. (turning to a second.) Thou wert among the volunteers that seized and made booty of the Swedish battery at Altenburg.
SECOND CUIRASSIER.Yes, General!
WALLENSTEIN.I forget no one with whom I have exchanged words. (a pause.) Who sends you?
ANSPESSADE.Your noble regiment, the Cuirassiers of Piccolomini.
WALLENSTEIN.Why does not your colonel deliver in your request, according to the custom of service?
ANSPESSADE.Because we would first know whom we serve.
WALLENSTEIN.Begin your address.
ANSPESSADE. (giving the word of command.) Shoulder your arms!
WALLENSTEIN. (turning to a third.) Thy name is Risbeck, Cologne is thy birthplace.
THIRD CUIRASSIER.Risbeck of Cologne.
WALLENSTEIN.It was thou that broughtest in the Swedish colonel, Diebald, prisoner, in the camp at Nurenburg.
THIRD CUIRASSIER.It was not I, General!
WALLENSTEIN.Perfectly right! It was thy elder brother, thou hadst a younger brother too: Where did he stay?
THIRD CUIRASSIER.He is stationed at Olmutz with the Imperial army.
WALLENSTEIN. (to the Anspessade.) Now then—begin.
ANSPESSADE.There came to hand a letter from the Emperor Commanding us———
WALLENSTEIN. (interrupting him.) Who chose you?
ANSPESSADE.Every company Drew its own man by lot.
WALLENSTEIN.Now! to the business.
ANSPESSADE.There came to hand a letter from the Emperor Commanding us collectively, from thee All duties of obedience to withdraw, Because thou wert an enemy and traitor.
WALLENSTEIN.And what did you determine?
ANSPESSADE.All our comradesAt Brunau, Budweiss, Prague and Olmutz, haveObey'd already, and the regiments here,Tiefenbach and Toscana, instantlyDid follow their example. But—but weDo not believe that thou art an enemyAnd traitor to thy country, hold it merelyFor lie and trick, and a trump'd up Spanish story!(with warmth.)Thyself shalt tell us what thy purpose is,For we have found thee still sincere and true:No mouth shall interpose itself betwixtThe gallant General aud the gallant troops.
WALLENSTEIN.Therein I recognize my Pappenheimers.
ANSPESSADE.And this proposal makes thy regiment to thee:Is it thy purpose merely to preserveIn thy own hands this military sceptre,Which so becomes thee, which the EmperorMade over to thee by a covenant;Is it thy purpose merely to remainSupreme commander of the Austrian armies;We will stand by thee, General! and guaranteeThy honest rights against all opposition.And should it chance, that all the other regimentsTurn from thee, by ourselves will we stand forthThy faithful soldiers, and, as is our duty,Far rather let ourselves be cut to pieces,Than suffer thee to fall. But if it be As the Emperor's letter says, if it be true,That thou in trait'rous wise wilt lead us overTo the enemy, which God in heaven forbid!Then we too will forsake thee, and obeyThat letter———
WALLENSTEIN.Hear me, children!
ANSPESSADE.Yes, or no!There needs no other answer.
WALLENSTEIN.Yield attention.You're men of sense, examine for yourselves;Ye think, and do not follow with the herd:And therefore have I always shewn you honourAbove all others, suffer'd you to reason;Have treated you as free men, and my ordersWere but the echoes of your prior suff'rage.—
ANSPESSADE.Most fair and noble has thy conduct beenTo us, my General! With thy confidenceThou hast honour'd us, and shewn us grace and favourBeyond all other regiments; and thou see'stWe follow not the common herd. We willStand by thee faithfully. Speak but one word—Thy word shall satisfy us, that it is notA treason which thou meditatest—thatThou meanest not to lead the army overTo the enemy; nor e'er betray thy country.
WALLENSTEIN.Me, me, are they betraying. Th' EmperorHath sacrificed me to my enemies,And I must fall, unless my gallant troopsWill rescue me. See! I confide in you.And be your hearts my strong hold! At this breastThe aim is taken, at this hoary head.This is your Spanish gratitude, this is ourRequital for that murderous fight at Lutzen!For this we threw the naked breast againstThe halbert, made for this the frozen earthOur bed, and the hard stone our pillow! never streamToo rapid for us, no wood too impervious;With chearful spirit we pursued that MansfieldThrough all the turns and windings of his flight;Yea, our whole life was but one restless march;And homeless, as the stirring wind, we travell'dO'er the war-wasted earth. And now, even now,That we have well nigh finish'd the hard toil,The unthankful, the curse-laden toil of weapons,With faithful indefatigable armHave roll'd the heavy war-load up the hill,Behold! this boy of the Emperor's bears awayThe honours of the peace, an easy prize!He'll weave, forsooth, into his flaxen locksThe olive branch, the hard-earn'd ornamentOf this grey head, grown grey beneath the helmet.
ANSPESSADE.That shall he not, while we can hinder it!No one, but thou, who hast conducted it With fame, shall end this war, this frightful warThou led'st us out into the bloody fieldOf death, thou and no other shalt conduct us home,Rejoicing to the lovely plains of peace—Shalt share with us the fruits of the long toil.—
WALLENSTEIN.What? Think you then at length in late old ageTo enjoy the fruits of toil? Believe it not.Never, no never, will you see the endOf the contest! you and me, and all of us,This war will swallow up! War, war, not peace,Is Austria's with; and therefore, because IEndeavour'd after peace, therefore I fall.For what cares Austria, how long the warWears out the armies and lays waste the world?She will but wax and grow amid the ruin,And still win new domains.(the Cuirassiers express agitation by their gestures.)Ye're mov'd—I seeA noble rage flash from your eyes, ye warriors !Oh that my spirit might possess you nowDaring as once it led you to the battle!Ye would stand by me with your veteran arms,Protect me in my rights; and this is noble !But think not that you can accomplish it,Your scanty number! to no purpose will youHave sacrificed you for your General.(confidentially.)No! let us tread securely, seek for friends,The Swedes have proffer'd us assistance, let usWear for a while the appearance of good will, And use them for our profit, till we bothCarry the fate of Europe in our hands,And from our camp to the glad jubilant worldLead Peace forth with the garland on her head!
ANSPESSADE.'Tis then but mere appearances which thouDost put on with the Swede? Thou'lt not betrayThe Emperor? Wilt not turn us into Swedes?This is the only thing which we desireTo learn from thee.
WALLENSTEIN.What care I for the Swedes?I hate them as I hate the pit of hell,And under Providence I trust right soonTo chase them to their homes across their Baltic.My cares are only for the whole: I haveA heart—it bleeds within me for the miseriesAnd piteous groaning of my fellow Germans.Ye are but common men, but yet ye thinkWith minds not common; ye appear to meWorthy before all others, that I whisper yeA little word or two in confidence!See now! already for full fifteen yearsThe war-torch has continu'd burning, yetNo rest, no pause of conflict. Swede and German!Papist and Lutheran! neither will give wayTo the other, every hand's against the other.Each one is party and no one a judge.Where shall this end? Where's he that will unravelThis tangle, ever tangling more and more. It must be cut asunder.I feel that I am the man of destiny,And trust, with your assistance, to accomplish it.
- ↑ Anspessade, in German, Gefreiter, a soldier inferior to a corporal, but above the centinels. The German name implies that he is exempt from mounting guard.