The Maid of Orleans

SCENE II

RAIMOND and JOHANNA enter.

RAIMOND

 
   See! here are cottages; in them at least
   We may find shelter from the raging storm.
   You are not able longer to endure it.
   Three days already you have wandered on,
   Shunning the eye of man – wild herbs and root
   Your only nourishment. Come, enter in.
   These are kind-hearted cottagers.
 

[The storm subsides; the air grows bright and clear.

CHARCOAL-BURNER

 
                     You seem
   To need refreshment and repose – you're welcome
   To what our humble roof can offer you!
 

WIFE

 
   What has a tender maid to do with arms?
   Yet truly! these are rude and troublous times
   When even women don the coat of mail!
   The queen herself, proud Isabel, 'tis said,
   Appears in armor in the hostile camp;
   And a young maid, a shepherd's lowly daughter,
   Has led the armies of our lord the king.
 

CHARCOAL-BURNER

 
   What sayest thou? Enter the hut, and bring
   A goblet of refreshment for the damsel.
 

[She enters the hut.

RAIMOND (to JOHANNA)

 
   All men, you see, are not so cruel; here
   E'en in the wilderness are gentle hearts.
   Cheer up! the pelting storm hath spent its rage,
   And, beaming peacefully, the sun declines.
 

CHARCOAL-BURNER

 
   I fancy, as you travel thus in arms,
   You seek the army of the king. Take heed!
   Not far remote the English are encamped,
   Their troops are roaming idly through the wood.
 

RAIMOND

 
   Alas for us! how then can we escape?
 

CHARCOAL-BURNER

 
   Stay here till from the town my boy returns.
   He shall conduct you safe by secret paths.
   You need not fear-we know each hidden way.
 

RAIMOND (to JOHANNA)

 
   Put off your helmet and your coat-of-mail,
   They will not now protect you, but betray.
 

[JOHANNA shakes her head.

CHARCOAL-BURNER

 
   The maid seems very sad – hush! who comes here?
 

SCENE III

CHARCOAL-BURNER'S WIFE comes out of the hut with a bowl. A Boy.

WIFE

 
   It is our boy whom we expected back.
 

[To JOHANNA.

 
   Drink, noble maiden! may God bless it to you!
 

CHARCOAL-BURNER (to his son)

 
   Art come, Anet? What news?
 

[The boy looks at JOHANNA, who is just raising the bowl to her lips; he recognizes her, steps forward, and snatches it from her.

BOY

 
                  Oh, mother! mother!
   Whom do you entertain? This is the witch
   Of Orleans!
 

CHARCOAL-BURNER (and his WIFE)

 
          God be gracious to our souls!
 

[They cross themselves and fly.

SCENE IV

RAIMOND, JOHANNA.

JOHANNA (calmly and gently)

 
   Thou seest, I am followed by the curse,
   And all fly from me. Do thou leave me, too;
   Seek safety for thyself.
 

RAIMOND

 
                I leave thee! now
   Alas, who then would bear thee company?
 

JOHANNA

 
   I am not unaccompanied. Thou hast
   Heard the loud thunder rolling o'er my head —
   My destiny conducts me. Do not fear;
   Without my seeking I shall reach the goal.
 

RAIMOND

 
   And whither wouldst thou go? Here stand our foes,
   Who have against thee bloody vengeance sworn —
   There stand our people who have banished thee.
 

JOHANNA

 
   Naught will befall me but what heaven ordains.
 

RAIMOND

 
   Who will provide thee food? and who protect thee
   From savage beasts, and still more savage men?
   Who cherish thee in sickness and in grief?
 

JOHANNA

 
   I know all roots and healing herbs; my sheep
   Taught me to know the poisonous from the wholesome.
   I understand the movements of the stars,
   And the clouds' flight; I also hear the sound
   Of hidden springs. Man hath not many wants,
   And nature richly ministers to life.
 

RAIMOND (seizing her hand)

 
   Wilt thou not look within? Oh, wilt thou not
   Repent thy sin, be reconciled to God,
   And to the bosom of the church return?
 

JOHANNA

 
   Thou hold'st me guilty of this heavy sin?
 

RAIMOND

 
   Needs must I – thou didst silently confess —
 

JOHANNA

 
   Thou, who hast followed me in misery,
   The only being who continued true,
   Who slave to me when all the world forsook,
   Thou also hold'st me for a reprobate
   Who hath renounced her God —
 

[RAIMOND is silent.

 
                  Oh, this is hard!
 

RAIMOND (in astonishment)

 
   And thou wert really then no sorceress?
 

JOHANNA

 
   A sorceress!
 

RAIMOND

 
          And all these miracles
   Thou hast accomplished through the power of God
   And of his holy saints?
 

JOHANNA

 
                Through whom besides?
 

RAIMOND

 
   And thou wert silent to that fearful charge?
   Thou speakest now, and yet before the king,
   When words would have availed thee, thou wert dumb!
 

JOHANNA

 
   I silently submitted to the doom
   Which God, my lord and master, o'er me hung.
 

RAIMOND

 
   Thou couldst not to thy father aught reply?
 

JOHANNA

 
   Coming from him, methought it came from God;
   And fatherly the chastisement will prove.
 

RAIMOND

 
   The heavens themselves bore witness to thy guilt!
 

JOHANNA

 
   The heavens spoke, and therefore I was silent.
 

RAIMOND

 
   Thou with one word couldst clear thyself, and hast
   In this unhappy error left the world?
 

JOHANNA

 
   It was no error – 'twas the will of heaven.
 

RAIMOND

 
   Thou innocently sufferedst this shame,
   And no complaint proceeded from thy lips!
   – I am amazed at thee, I stand o'erwhelmed.
   My heart is troubled in its inmost depths.
   Most gladly I receive the word as truth,
   For to believe thy guilt was hard indeed.
   But could I ever dream a human heart
   Would meet in silence such a fearful doom!
 

JOHANNA

 
   Should I deserve to be heaven's messenger
   Unless the Master's will I blindly honored?
   And I am not so wretched as thou thinkest.
   I feel privation – this in humble life
   Is no misfortune; I'm a fugitive, —
   But in the waste I learned to know myself.
   When honor's dazzling radiance round me shone,
   There was a painful struggle in my breast;
   I was most wretched, when to all I seemed
   Most worthy to be envied. Now my mind
   Is healed once more, and this fierce storm in nature,
   Which threatened your destruction, was my friend;
   It purified alike the world and me!
   I feel an inward peace – and come, what may,
   Of no more weakness am I conscious now!
 

RAIMOND

 
   Oh, let us hasten! come, let us proclaim
   Thine innocence aloud to all the world!
 

JOHANNA

 
   He who sent this delusion will dispel it!
   The fruit of fate falls only when 'tis ripe!
   A day is coming that will clear my name,
   When those who now condemn and banish me,
   Will see their error and will weep my doom.
 

RAIMOND

 
   And shall I wait in silence, until chance —
 

JOHANNA (gently taking her hand)

 
   Thy sense is shrouded by an earthly veil,
   And dwelleth only on external things,
   Mine eye hath gazed on the invisible!
   – Without permission from our God no hair
   Falls from the head of man. Seest thou the sun
   Declining to the west? So certainly
   As morn returneth in her radiant light,
   Infallibly the day of truth shall come!
 

SCENE V

QUEEN ISABEL, with soldiers, appears in the background.

 

ISABEL (behind the scene)

 
This is the way toward the English camp!
 

RAIMOND

 
   Alas! the foe!
 

[The soldiers advance, and perceiving JOBANNA fall back in terror.

ISABEL

 
   What now obstructs the march?
 

SOLDIERS

 
   May God protect us!
 

ISABEL

 
              Do ye see a spirit?
   How! Are ye soldiers! Ye are cowards all!
 

[She presses forward, but starts back on beholding the MAIDEN.

 
   What do I see!
 

[She collects herself quickly and approaches her.

 
           Submit thyself! Thou art
   My prisoner!
 

JOHANNA

 
          I am.
 

[RAIMOND flies in despair.

ISABEL (to the soldiers)

 
              Lay her in chains!
 

[The soldiers timidly approach the MAIDEN; she extends her arms and is chained.

 
   Is this the mighty, the terrific one,
   Who chased your warriors like a flock of lambs,
   Who, powerless now, cannot protect herself?
   Doth she work miracles with credulous fools,
   And lose her influence when she meets a man?
 

[To the MAIDEN.

 
   Why didst thou leave the army? Where's Dunois,
   Thy knight and thy protector.
 

JOHANNA

 
                   I am banished.
 

[ISABEL, stepping back astonished.

ISABEL

 
   What say'st thou? Thou art banished? By the Dauphin?
 

JOHANNA

 
   Inquire no further! I am in thy power,
   Decide my fate.
 

ISABEL

 
            Banished, because thou hast
   Snatched him from ruin, placed upon his brow
   The crown at Rheims, and made him King of France?
   Banished! Therein I recognize my son!
   – Conduct her to the camp, and let the host
   Behold the phantom before whom they trembled!
   She a magician? Her sole magic lies
   In your delusion and your cowardice!
   She is a fool who sacrificed herself
   To save her king, and reapeth for her pains
   A king's reward. Bear her to Lionel.
   The fortune of the French! send him bound;
   I'll follow anon.
 

JOHANNA

 
             To Lionel?
   Slay me at once, ere send me unto him.
 

ISABEL (to the soldiers)

 
   Obey your orders, soldiers! Bear her hence.
 

[Exit.

SCENE VI

JOHANNA, SOLDIERS.

JOHANNA (to the soldiers)

 
   Ye English, suffer not that I escape
   Alive out of your hands! Revenge yourselves!
   Unsheath your weapons, plunge them in my heart,
   And drag me lifeless to your general's feet!
   Remember it was I who slew your heroes,
   Who never showed compassion, who poured forth
   Torrents of English blood, who from your sons
   Snatched the sweet pleasure of returning home!
   Take now a bloody vengeance! Murder me!
   I now am in your power; I may perchance
   Not always be so weak.
 

CONDUCTOR OF THE SOLDIERS

 
               Obey the queen!
 

JOHANNA

 
   Must I be yet more wretched than I was!
   Unpitying Virgin! Heavy is thy hand
   Hast thou completely thrust me from thy favor?
   No God appears, no angel shows himself;
   Closed are heaven's portals, miracles have ceased.
 

[She follows the SOLDIERS.

SCENE VII

The French Camp.

DUNOIS, between the ARCHBISHOP and DUCHATEL.

ARCHBISHOP

 
   Conquer your sullen indignation, prince!
   Return with us! Come back unto your king!
   In this emergency abandon not
   The general cause, when we are sorely pressed,
   And stand in need of your heroic arm.
 

DUNOIS

 
   Why are ye sorely pressed? Why doth the foe
   Again exalt himself? all was achieved; —
   France was triumphant – war was at an end; —
   The savior you have banished; you henceforth
   May save yourselves; I'll not again behold
   The camp wherein the maid abideth not.
 

DUCHATEL

 
   Think better of it, prince! Dismiss us not
   With such an answer!
 

DUNOIS

 
              Silence, Duchatel!
   You're hateful to me; I'll hear naught from you;
   You were the first who doubted of her truth.
 

ARCHBISHOP

 
   Who had not wavered on that fatal day,
   And been bewildered, when so many signs
   Bore evidence against her! We were stunned,
   Our hearts were crushed beneath the sudden blow.
   – Who in that hour of dread could weigh the proofs?
   Our calmer judgment now returns to us,
   We see the maid as when she walked with us,
   Nor have we any fault to charge her with.
   We are perplexed – we fear that we have done
   A grievous wrong. The king is penitent,
   The duke remorseful, comfortless La Hire,
   And every heart doth shroud itself in woe.
 

DUNOIS

 
   She a deluder? If celestial truth
   Would clothe herself in a corporeal form,
   She needs must choose the features of the maiden.
   If purity of heart, faith, innocence,
   Dwell anywhere on earth, upon her lips
   And in her eyes' clear depths they find their home.
 

ARCHBISHOP

 
   May the Almighty, through a miracle,
   Shed light upon this awful mystery,
   Which baffles human insight. Howsoe'er
   This sad perplexity may be resolved,
   One of two grievous sins we have committed!
   Either in fight we have availed ourselves
   Of hellish arms, or banished hence a saint!
   And both call down upon this wretched land
   The vengeance and the punishment of heaven.
 

SCENE VIII

The same, a NOBLEMAN, afterwards RAIMOND.

NOBLEMAN

 
   A shepherd youth inquires after your highness,
   He urgently entreats an interview,
   He says he cometh from the maiden —
 

DUNOIS

 
                      Haste!
   Conduct him hither! He doth come from her!
 

[The NOBLEMAN opens the door to RAIMOND, DUNOIS hastens to meet him.

 
   Where is she? Where is the maid?
 

RAIMOND

 
                     Hail! noble prince!
   And blessed am I that I find with you
   This holy man, the shield of the oppressed,
   The father of the poor and destitute!
 

DUNOIS

 
   Where is the maiden?
 

ARCHBISHOP

 
              Speak, my son, inform us!
 

RAIMOND

 
   She is not, sir, a wicked sorceress!
   To God and all his saints I make appeal.
   An error blinds the people. You've cast forth
   God's messenger, you've banished innocence!
 

DUNOIS

 
   Where is she?
 

RAIMOND

 
           I accompanied her flight
   Towards the woods of Ardennes; there she hath
   Revealed to me her spirit's inmost depths.
   In torture I'll expire, and will resign
   My hopes of everlasting happiness,
   If she's not guiltless, sir, of every sin!
 

DUNOIS

 
   The sun in heaven is not more pure than she!
   Where is she? Speak!
 

RAIMOND

 
               If God hath turned your hearts,
   Oh hasten, I entreat you – rescue her
   She is a prisoner in the English camp.
 

DUNOIS

 
   A prisoner say you?
 

ARCHBISHOP

 
              Poor unfortunate!
 

RAIMOND

 
   There in the forest as we sought for shelter,
   We were encountered by Queen Isabel,
   Who seized and sent her to the English host.
   Oh, from a cruel death deliver her
   Who hath full many a time delivered you!
 

DUNOIS

 
   Sound an alarm! to arms! up! beat the drums.
   Forth to the field! Let France appear in arms!
   The crown and the palladium are at stake!
   Our honor is in pledge! risk blood and life!
   She must be rescued ere the day is done!
 

[Exit.

SCENE IX

A watch-tower – an opening above. JOHANNA and LIONEL.

 

FASTOLFE (entering hastily)

 
   The people can no longer be restrained.
   With fury they demand the maiden's death.
   In vain your opposition. Let her die
   And throw her head down from the battlements!
   Her blood alone will satisfy the host.
 

ISABEL (coming in)

 
   With ladders they begin to scale the walls.
   Appease the angry people! Will you wait
   Till in blind fury they o'erthrow the tower,
   And we beneath its towers are destroyed?
   Protect her here you cannot. Give her up!
 

LIONEL

 
   Let them storm on. In fury let them rage!
   Firm is this castle, and beneath its ruins
   I will be buried ere I yield to them.
   – Johanna, answer me! only be mine,
   And I will shield thee 'gainst a world in arms.
 

ISABEL

 
   Are you a man?
 

LIONEL

 
           Thy friends have cast thee off.
   To thy ungrateful country then dost owe
   Duty and faith no longer. The false cowards
   Who sought thy hand, forsake thee in thy need.
   They for thy honor venture not the fight,
   But I, against my people and 'gainst thine,
   Will be thy champion. Once thou didst confess
   My life was dear to thee; in combat then
   I stood before thee as thine enemy —
   Thou hast not now a single friend but me.
 

JOHANNA

 
   Thou art my people's enemy and mine.
   Between us there can be no fellowship.
   Thee I can never love, but if thy heart
   Cherish affection for me, let it bring
   A blessing on my people. Lead thy troops
   Far from the borders of my fatherland;
   Give up the keys of all the captured towns,
   Restore the booty, set the captives free,
   Send hostages the compact to confirm,
   And peace I offer thee in my king's name.
 

ISABEL

 
   Wilt thou, a captive, dictate laws to us?
 

JOHANNA

 
   It must be done; 'tis useless to delay.
   Never, oh never, will this land endure
   The English yoke; sooner will France become
   A mighty sepulchre for England's hosts.
   Fallen in battle are your bravest chiefs.
   Think how you may achieve a safe retreat;
   Your fame is forfeited, your power is lost.
 

ISABEL

 
   Can you endure her raving insolence?
 

SCENE X

A CAPTAIN enters hastily.

CAPTAIN

 
   Haste, general! Prepare the host for battle.
   The French with flying banners come this way,
   Their shining weapons glitter in the vale.
 

JOHANNA (with enthusiasm)

 
   My people come this way! Proud England now
   Forth in the field! now boldly must you fight!
 

FASTOLFE

 
   Deluded woman, moderate your joy!
   You will not see the issue of this day.
 

JOHANNA

 
   My friends will win the fight and I shall die!
   The gallant heroes need my arm no more.
 

LIONEL

 
   These dastard enemies I scorn. They have
   In twenty battles fled before our arms,
   Ere this heroic maiden fought for them.
   All the whole nation I despise, save one,
   And this one they have banished. Come, Fastolfe,
   We soon will give them such another day
   As that of Poictiers and of Agincourt.
   Do you remain with the fortress, queen,
   And guard the maiden till the fight is o'er.
   I leave for your protection fifty knights.
 

FASTOLFE

 
   How! general, shall we march against the foe
   And leave this raging fury in our rear?
 

JOHANNA

 
   What! can a fettered woman frighten thee?
 

LIONEL

 
   Promise, Johanna, not to free thyself.
 

JOHANNA

 
   To free myself is now my only wish.
 

ISABEL

 
   Bind her with triple chains. I pledged my life
   That she shall not escape.
 

[She is bound with heavy chains.

LIONEL (to JOHANNA)

 
                 Thou will'st it so!
   Thou dost compel us! still it rests with thee!
   Renounce the French – the English banner bear,
   And thou art free, and these rude, savage men
   Who now desire thy blood shall do thy will.
 

FASTOLFE (urgently)

 
   Away, away, my general!
 

JOHANNA

 
                Spare thy words,
   The French are drawing near. Defend thyself!
 

[Trumpets sound, LIONEL hastens forth.

FASTOLFE

 
   You know your duty, queen! if fate declares
   Against us, should you see our people fly.
 

ISABEL (showing a dagger)

 
   Fear not. She shall not live to see our fall.
 

FASTOLFE (to JOHANNA)

 
   Thou knowest what awaits thee, now implore
   A blessing on the weapons of thy people.
 

[Exit.

SCENE XI

ISABEL, JOHANNA, SOLDIERS.

JOHANNA

 
   Ay! that I will! no power can hinder me.
   Hark to that sound, the war-march of my people!
   How its triumphant notes inspire my heart!
   Ruin to England! victory to France!
   Up, valiant countrymen! The maid is near;
   She cannot, as of yore, before you bear
   Her banner – she is bound with heavy chains;
   But freely from her prison soars her soul,
   Upon the pinions of your battle-song.
 

ISABEL (to a SOLDIER)

 
   Ascend the watch-tower which commands the field,
   And thence report the progress of the fight.
 

[SOLDIER ascends.

JOHANNA

 
   Courage, my people! 'Tis the final struggle —
   Another victory, and the foe lies low!
 

ISABEL

 
   What see'st thou?
 

SOLDIER

 
             They're already in close fight.
   A furious warrior on a Barbary steed,
   In tiger's skin, leads forward the gens d'armes.
 

JOHANNA

 
   That's Count Dunois! on, gallant warrior!
   Conquest goes with thee.
 

SOLDIER

 
                The Burgundian duke
   Attacks the bridge.
 

ISABEL

 
              Would that ten hostile spears
   Might his perfidious heart transfix, the traitor!
 

SOLDIER

 
   Lord Fastolfe gallantly opposes him.
   Now they dismount – they combat man to man
   Our people and the troops of Burgundy.
 

ISABEL

 
   Behold'st thou not the Dauphin? See'st thou not
   The royal wave?
 

SOLDIER

 
            A cloud of dust
   Shrouds everything. I can distinguish naught.
 

JOHANNA

 
   Had he my eyes, or stood I there aloft,
   The smallest speck would not elude my gaze!
   The wild fowl I can number on the wing,
   And mark the falcon in his towering flight.
 

SOLDIER

 
   There is a fearful tumult near the trench;
   The chiefs, it seems, the nobles, combat there.
 

ISABEL

 
   Still doth our banner wave?
 

SOLDIER

 
                  It proudly floats.
 

JOHANNA

 
   Could I look through the loopholes of the wall,
   I with my lance the battle would control.
 

SOLDIER

 
   Alas! What do I see? Our general's
   Surrounded by the foe!
 

ISABEL (points the dagger at JOHANNA)

 
               Die, wretch!
 

SOLDIER (quickly)

 
                      He's free!
   The gallant Fastolfe in the rear attacks
   The enemy – he breaks their serried ranks.
 

ISABEL (withdrawing the dagger)

 
   There spoke thy angel!
 

SOLDIER

 
               Victory! They fly.
 

ISABEL

 
   Who fly?
 

SOLDIER

 
        The French and the Burgundians fly;
   The field is covered o'er with fugitives.
 

JOHANNA

 
   My God! Thou wilt not thus abandon me!
 

SOLDIER

 
   Yonder they lead a sorely wounded knight;
   The people rush to aid him – he's a prince.
 

ISABEL

 
   One of our country, or a son of France?
 

SOLDIER

 
   They loose his helmet – it is Count Dunois.
 

JOHANNA (seizes her fetters with convulsive violence)

 
   And I am nothing but a fettered woman!
 

SOLDIER

 
   Look yonder! Who the azure mantle wears
   Bordered with gold?
 

JOHANNA

 
              That is my lord, the king.
 

SOLDIER

 
   His horse is restive, plunges, rears and falls —
   He struggles hard to extricate himself.
 

[JOHANNA accompanies these words with passionate movements.

 
   Our troops are pressing on in full career,
   They near him, reach him – they surround him now.
 

JOHANNA

 
   Oh, have the heavens above no angels more!
 

ISABEL (laughing scornfully)

 
   Now is the time, deliverer – now deliver!
 

JOHANNA (throws herself upon her knees, and prays with passionate violence)

 
   Hear me, O God, in my extremity!
   In fervent supplication up to Thee,
   Up to thy heaven above I send my soul.
   The fragile texture of a spider's web,
   As a ship's cable, thou canst render strong;
   Easy it is to thine omnipotence
   To change these fetters into spider's webs —
   Command it, and these massy chains shall fall,
   And these thick walls be rent, Thou, Lord of old,
   Didst strengthen Samson, when enchained and blind
   He bore the bitter scorn of his proud foes.
   Trusting in thee, he seized with mighty power
   The pillars of his prison, bowed himself,
   And overthrew the structure.
 

SOLDIER

 
                  Triumph!
 

ISABEL

 
                       How?
 

SOLDIER

 
   The king is taken!
 

JOHANNA (springing up)

 
             Then God be gracious to me!
 

[She seizes her chains violently with both hands, and breaks them asunder. At the same moment rushing upon the nearest soldier, she seizes his sword and hurries out. All gaze after her, transfixed with astonishment.