Scene the Fourth
SCENE THE SECOND.
A Room. Supper-party at Laura's.
FIRST GUEST .
I swear, I never yet have known thee play
With taste so finished and so natural,
Each little detail of the part well seized.
SECOND GUEST .
How well developed! with what force and fire!
THIRD GUEST .
And with what grace and art
LAURA
Myself I felt.
In each word and movement I was inspired;
The words flowed forth direct, unsought, their source
The heart, and not the halting memory.
FIRST GUEST .
'Tis true, and even now thine eyes gleam bright,
Thy cheeks are flushed, thy frame with passion moved,
Let not the fire burn dull, but, Laura, sing,
Sing another song.
LAURA
Give me the guitar.
ALL .
Oh, bravo! bravo! marvellous! splendid!
FIRST GUEST .
We thank thee, fair enchantress! Thou hast charmed
Our hearts. Methinks, of all the joys of life,
To love alone must music yield its place;
And yet, not so, for love is music!. . Look,
Don Carlos, the morose, himself is touched.
SECOND GUEST .
How rich in tone! How grandly full of soul!
But, Laura, whose the words?
LAURA .
Don Juan's words.
DON CARLOS .
How, Don Juan?
LAURA .
Yes, 'tis he who wrote them,
Truest friend, and lover most inconstant!
DON CARLOS .
A Godless brigand is thy Don Juan,
And thyself a little fool!
LAURA
Art thou mad?
Another word, my servants will I call
To oust thee hence, however high thy rank!
DON CARLOS
Call, if thou wilt!
FIRST GUEST .
I pray thee, Laura, cease!
Don Carlos, calm thy rage! She did forget ...
LAURA .
Forget? That he in fair and open fight
His brother killed? 'Tis him he should have slain!
DON CARLOS .
I own, 'twas folly thus to rage and fume.
LAURA .
'Tis well: if thou thyself thy folly ownst,
Then peace is made.
DON CARLOS .
I am alone to blame:
Forgive me, but thou knowst I ne'er can hear
Unmoved the brigand Juan's hated name.
LAURA .
Am I in fault, if Juan's name, unsought,
From time to time thus rises to my lips?
FIRST GUEST .
To prove thine anger has already passed,
Another song we pray.
LAURA .
The last to-night,
'Tis late, full time to part. What shall I sing?
Ah, listen!
ALL .
Delightful! charming! perfect!
LAURA .
And now, farewell, good friends!
GUESTS .
Farewell, our thanks!
LAURA .
Nay, thou, mad friend, must here remain to-night;
There's much in thee I like: thou dost remind me
Of Don Juan when thou dost rail at me,
Or grindst thy teeth with rage.
DON CARLOS
Happy Juan!
And didst thou love this Juan?
What, much?
LAURA .
Much!
DON CARLOS .
And lovst him now?
LAURA .
Now? this very minute?
Nay, nay, I cannot love two men at once.
Thou art my lover now.
DON CARLOS .
Tell me, Laura,
Thou hast how many years?
LAURA .
I am eighteen.
DON CARLOS .
Thou art a child in years... and wilt be young
Some five or six years more. And all around thee
For these six years will crowd and worship thee,
Will flatter, fondle, make thee rich with gifts,
With rhyming serenades will soothe thy sleep,
And savage duels fight where crossways meet;
But, Laura, when these years have passed, thine eyes
Lack lustre, and their lids are dull and morne,
When silver gray doth mingle with thy brown,
And men begin to speak of thee as old;
Then. . what wilt thou say?
LAURA .
Then... but wherefore think
Of what may be? A subject strange to choose!
Or dost thou like to muse what fate may bring?
But come, the balcony we'll open wide
How calm the sky! Naught stirs the balmy air!
The night is sweetly heavy with the scent
Of laurel and the citron; the cloudless moon
Shines bright, and lightens up the deep dark blue;
The drowsy watchman sounds his warning cry;
And all is peace around us! But elsewhere,
In the far distant north,... at Paris, say,...
A cold rain, drizzling, beats, and bleak winds blow;
It hurts us not And, therefore, listen, friend,
Look bright, and careless smile. 'Tis my command:
That is well!
DON CARLOS .
Enchantress queen!
DON JUAN .
Laura, hey!
LAURA .
Who knocks? Whose voice is that?
DON JUAN .
Hey, open quick!
LAURA .
Great heavens, 'tis he!
DON JUAN .
Good morrow!
LAURA .
Don Juan!
DON CARLOS .
How so? Don Juan!
DON JUAN .
Laura, darling mine!
But who is with thee?
DON CARLOS .
'Tis I, Don Carlos!
DON JUAN .
An undesired and unwelcome meeting!
I'm at your service, Don, to-morrow morn.
DON CARLOS .
Nay, now, this minute!
LAURA .
Cease, Don Carlos, cease!
Here is no place to brawl! Thou art my guest!
I pray thee go at once!
DON CARLOS .
I wait, signor.
I see, thou hast a sword.
DON JUAN .
Thou dost insist?
I will not thwart thee.
LAURA .
Have pity, Juan!
DON JUAN .
Rise, Laura, rise! Tis done!
LAURA .
What do I see?
Don Carlos slain, and in my room! 'Tis well,
Thou cut-throat devil! What can I do now?
Or whither shall we lug this corpse?
DON JUAN .
May be,
He is not dead.
LAURA .
Thou speakest truth, he breathes!
See, wretch! Straight through the heart thou hast struck home,
And from the ugly wound no blood has flown;
And he no longer breathes! What hast thou done?
DON JUAN .
What could I do? He brought it on himself.
LAURA .
They grieve me much, these tricks of fortune blind,
And all no fault of thine!. . But whence art thou?
How long hast thou returned?
DON JUAN .
But just arrived,
In hiding too; I am yet under ban.
LAURA .
Of Laura, then, were thy first thoughts, Juan?
Take my warmest thanks! And yet, beshrew me,
No single word thou sayst do I believe.
As thou wert passing down the street by chance,
My house recalled me to thy thoughts.
DON JUAN .
Nay, nay!
Demand of Leporello. He can tell
How I beyond the town in vilest inn
Have lodged, that I my Laura's home might seek.
LAURA .
My truest, best of friends! But stay... the dead
Is with us here . . what shall we do with him?
DON JUAN .
There let him lie . . Before the dawn doth peep
I will convey him forth beneath my cloak,
And on a cross-road leave him.
LAURA .
Take good heed,
That none is near to see thee at thy work;
'Tis well thou didst not hither sooner come,
Some friends of mine have supped with me. They went
But just before thy knock. But only think,
If thou by evil chance hadst met them here!
DON JUAN .
Laura, it is long that thou hast loved him?
LAURA .
Loved whom? Art mad?
DON JUAN .
And tell me too, how oft
Thou hast contrived to cheat and play me false,
In my long absence forced?
LAURA .
And thou, madcap?
DON JUAN .
Nay, tell, I say. But no!. ., Of that anon.
A Room. Supper-party at Laura's.
FIRST GUEST .
I swear, I never yet have known thee play
With taste so finished and so natural,
Each little detail of the part well seized.
SECOND GUEST .
How well developed! with what force and fire!
THIRD GUEST .
And with what grace and art
LAURA
Myself I felt.
In each word and movement I was inspired;
The words flowed forth direct, unsought, their source
The heart, and not the halting memory.
FIRST GUEST .
'Tis true, and even now thine eyes gleam bright,
Thy cheeks are flushed, thy frame with passion moved,
Let not the fire burn dull, but, Laura, sing,
Sing another song.
LAURA
Give me the guitar.
ALL .
Oh, bravo! bravo! marvellous! splendid!
FIRST GUEST .
We thank thee, fair enchantress! Thou hast charmed
Our hearts. Methinks, of all the joys of life,
To love alone must music yield its place;
And yet, not so, for love is music!. . Look,
Don Carlos, the morose, himself is touched.
SECOND GUEST .
How rich in tone! How grandly full of soul!
But, Laura, whose the words?
LAURA .
Don Juan's words.
DON CARLOS .
How, Don Juan?
LAURA .
Yes, 'tis he who wrote them,
Truest friend, and lover most inconstant!
DON CARLOS .
A Godless brigand is thy Don Juan,
And thyself a little fool!
LAURA
Art thou mad?
Another word, my servants will I call
To oust thee hence, however high thy rank!
DON CARLOS
Call, if thou wilt!
FIRST GUEST .
I pray thee, Laura, cease!
Don Carlos, calm thy rage! She did forget ...
LAURA .
Forget? That he in fair and open fight
His brother killed? 'Tis him he should have slain!
DON CARLOS .
I own, 'twas folly thus to rage and fume.
LAURA .
'Tis well: if thou thyself thy folly ownst,
Then peace is made.
DON CARLOS .
I am alone to blame:
Forgive me, but thou knowst I ne'er can hear
Unmoved the brigand Juan's hated name.
LAURA .
Am I in fault, if Juan's name, unsought,
From time to time thus rises to my lips?
FIRST GUEST .
To prove thine anger has already passed,
Another song we pray.
LAURA .
The last to-night,
'Tis late, full time to part. What shall I sing?
Ah, listen!
ALL .
Delightful! charming! perfect!
LAURA .
And now, farewell, good friends!
GUESTS .
Farewell, our thanks!
LAURA .
Nay, thou, mad friend, must here remain to-night;
There's much in thee I like: thou dost remind me
Of Don Juan when thou dost rail at me,
Or grindst thy teeth with rage.
DON CARLOS
Happy Juan!
And didst thou love this Juan?
What, much?
LAURA .
Much!
DON CARLOS .
And lovst him now?
LAURA .
Now? this very minute?
Nay, nay, I cannot love two men at once.
Thou art my lover now.
DON CARLOS .
Tell me, Laura,
Thou hast how many years?
LAURA .
I am eighteen.
DON CARLOS .
Thou art a child in years... and wilt be young
Some five or six years more. And all around thee
For these six years will crowd and worship thee,
Will flatter, fondle, make thee rich with gifts,
With rhyming serenades will soothe thy sleep,
And savage duels fight where crossways meet;
But, Laura, when these years have passed, thine eyes
Lack lustre, and their lids are dull and morne,
When silver gray doth mingle with thy brown,
And men begin to speak of thee as old;
Then. . what wilt thou say?
LAURA .
Then... but wherefore think
Of what may be? A subject strange to choose!
Or dost thou like to muse what fate may bring?
But come, the balcony we'll open wide
How calm the sky! Naught stirs the balmy air!
The night is sweetly heavy with the scent
Of laurel and the citron; the cloudless moon
Shines bright, and lightens up the deep dark blue;
The drowsy watchman sounds his warning cry;
And all is peace around us! But elsewhere,
In the far distant north,... at Paris, say,...
A cold rain, drizzling, beats, and bleak winds blow;
It hurts us not And, therefore, listen, friend,
Look bright, and careless smile. 'Tis my command:
That is well!
DON CARLOS .
Enchantress queen!
DON JUAN .
Laura, hey!
LAURA .
Who knocks? Whose voice is that?
DON JUAN .
Hey, open quick!
LAURA .
Great heavens, 'tis he!
DON JUAN .
Good morrow!
LAURA .
Don Juan!
DON CARLOS .
How so? Don Juan!
DON JUAN .
Laura, darling mine!
But who is with thee?
DON CARLOS .
'Tis I, Don Carlos!
DON JUAN .
An undesired and unwelcome meeting!
I'm at your service, Don, to-morrow morn.
DON CARLOS .
Nay, now, this minute!
LAURA .
Cease, Don Carlos, cease!
Here is no place to brawl! Thou art my guest!
I pray thee go at once!
DON CARLOS .
I wait, signor.
I see, thou hast a sword.
DON JUAN .
Thou dost insist?
I will not thwart thee.
LAURA .
Have pity, Juan!
DON JUAN .
Rise, Laura, rise! Tis done!
LAURA .
What do I see?
Don Carlos slain, and in my room! 'Tis well,
Thou cut-throat devil! What can I do now?
Or whither shall we lug this corpse?
DON JUAN .
May be,
He is not dead.
LAURA .
Thou speakest truth, he breathes!
See, wretch! Straight through the heart thou hast struck home,
And from the ugly wound no blood has flown;
And he no longer breathes! What hast thou done?
DON JUAN .
What could I do? He brought it on himself.
LAURA .
They grieve me much, these tricks of fortune blind,
And all no fault of thine!. . But whence art thou?
How long hast thou returned?
DON JUAN .
But just arrived,
In hiding too; I am yet under ban.
LAURA .
Of Laura, then, were thy first thoughts, Juan?
Take my warmest thanks! And yet, beshrew me,
No single word thou sayst do I believe.
As thou wert passing down the street by chance,
My house recalled me to thy thoughts.
DON JUAN .
Nay, nay!
Demand of Leporello. He can tell
How I beyond the town in vilest inn
Have lodged, that I my Laura's home might seek.
LAURA .
My truest, best of friends! But stay... the dead
Is with us here . . what shall we do with him?
DON JUAN .
There let him lie . . Before the dawn doth peep
I will convey him forth beneath my cloak,
And on a cross-road leave him.
LAURA .
Take good heed,
That none is near to see thee at thy work;
'Tis well thou didst not hither sooner come,
Some friends of mine have supped with me. They went
But just before thy knock. But only think,
If thou by evil chance hadst met them here!
DON JUAN .
Laura, it is long that thou hast loved him?
LAURA .
Loved whom? Art mad?
DON JUAN .
And tell me too, how oft
Thou hast contrived to cheat and play me false,
In my long absence forced?
LAURA .
And thou, madcap?
DON JUAN .
Nay, tell, I say. But no!. ., Of that anon.
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