Demetrius: A Play Part 1

Demetrius.

by Frederich Schiller.

ACT I.

SCENE I.

THE DIET AT CRACOW.

On the rising of the curtain the Polish Diet is discovered, seated in the great senate hall. On a raised platform, elevated by three steps, and surmounted by a canopy, is the imperial throne, the escutcheons of Poland and Lithuania suspended on each side. The KING seated upon the throne; on his right and left hand his ten royal officers standing on the platform. Below the platform the BISHOPS, PALATINES, and CASTELLANS seated on each side of the stage.

Opposite to these stand the Provincial DEPUTIES, in a double line, uncovered. All armed. The ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN, as the primate of the kingdom, is seated next the proscenium; his chaplain behind him, bearing a golden cross.

ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN.

Thus then hath this tempestuous Diet been Conducted safely to a prosperous close; And king and commons part as cordial friends.

The n.o.bles have consented to disarm, And straight disband the dangerous Rocoss [1]; Whilst our good king his sacred word has pledged, That every just complaint shall have redress.

And now that all is peace at home, we may Look to the things that claim our care abroad.

Is it the will of the most high Estates That Prince Demetrius, who hath advanced A claim to Russia's crown, as Ivan's son, Should at their bar appear, and in the face Of this august a.s.sembly prove his right?

[1] An insurrectionary muster of the n.o.bles.

CASTELLAN OF CRACOW.

Honor and justice both demand he should; It were unseemly to refuse his prayer.

BISHOP OF WERMELAND.

The doc.u.ments on which he rests have been Examined, and are found authentic. We May give him audience.

SEVERAL DEPUTIES.

Nay! We must, we must!

LEO SAPIEHA.

To hear is to admit his right.

ODOWALSKY.

And not To hear is to reject his claims unheard.

ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN.

Is it your will that he have audience?

I ask it for the second time--and third.

IMPERIAL CHANCELLOR.

Let him stand forth before our throne!

SENATORS.

And speak!

DEPUTIES.

Yes, yes! Let him be heard!

[The Imperial GRAND MARSHAL beckons with his baton to the doorkeeper, who goes out.

LEO SAPIEHA (to the CHANCELLOR).

Write down, my lord, That here I do protest against this step, And all that may ensue therefrom, to mar The peace of Poland's state and Moscow's crown.

[Enters DEMETRIUS. Advances some steps towards the throne, and makes three bows with his head uncovered, first to the KING, next to the SENATORS, and then to the DEPUTIES, who all severally answer with an inclination of the head. He then takes up his position so as to keep within his eye a great portion of the a.s.semblage, and yet not to turn his back upon the throne.

ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN.

Prince Dmitri, son of Ivan! if the pomp Of this great Diet scare thee, or a sight So n.o.ble and majestic chain thy tongue, Thou may'st--for this the senate have allowed-- Choose thee a proxy, wheresoe'er thou list, And do thy mission by another's lips.

DEMETRIUS.

My lord archbishop, I stand here to claim A kingdom, and the state of royalty.

'Twould ill beseem me should I quake before A n.o.ble people, and its king and senate.

I ne'er have viewed a circle so august, But the sight swells my heart within my breast And not appals me. The more worthy ye, To me ye are more welcome; I can ne'er Address my claim to n.o.bler auditory.

ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN.

. . . . The august republic Is favorably bent. . . . .

DEMETRIUS.

Most puissant king! Most worthy and most potent Bishops and palatines, and my good lords, The deputies of the august republic!

It gives me pause and wonder to behold Myself, Czar Ivan's son, now stand before The Polish people in their Diet here.

Both realms were sundered by a b.l.o.o.d.y hate, And, whilst my father lived, no peace might be.

Yet now hath Heaven so ordered these events, That I, his blood, who with my nurse's milk Imbibed the ancestral hate, appear before you A fugitive, compelled to seek my rights Even here in Poland's heart. Then, ere I speak, Forget magnanimously all rancors past, And that the Czar, whose son I own myself, Rolled war's red billows to your very homes.

I stand before you, sirs, a prince despoiled.

I ask protection. The oppressed may urge A sacred claim on every n.o.ble breast.

And who in all earth's circuit shall be just, If not a people great and valiant,--one In plenitude of power so free, it needs To render 'count but to itself alone, And may, unchallenged, lend an open ear And aiding hand to fair humanity.

ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN.

You do allege you are Czar Ivan's son; And truly, nor your bearing nor your speech Gainsays the lofty t.i.tle that you urge, But shows us that you are indeed his son.

And you shall find that the republic bears A generous spirit. She has never quailed To Russia in the field! She loves, alike, To be a n.o.ble foe--a cordial friend.

DEMETRIUS.

Ivan Wasilowitch, the mighty Czar Of Moscow, took five spouses to his bed, In the long years that spared him to the throne.

The first, a lady of the heroic line Of Romanoff, bare him Feodor, who reigned After his father's death. One only son, Dmitri, the last blossom of his strength, And a mere infant when his father died, Was born of Marfa, of Nagori's line.

Czar Feodor, a youth, alike effeminate In mind and body, left the reins of power To his chief equerry, Boris G.o.dunow, Who ruled his master with most crafty skill.

Feodor was childless, and his barren bride Denied all prospect of an heir. Thus, when The wily Boiar, by his fawning arts, Had coiled himself into the people's favor, His wishes soared as high as to the throne.

Between him and his haughty hopes there stood A youthful prince, the young Demetrius Iwanowitsch, who with his mother lived At Uglitsch, where her widowhood was pa.s.sed.

Now, when his fatal purpose was matured, He sent to Uglitsch ruffians, charged to put The Czarowitsch to death.

One night, when all was hushed, the castle's wing, Where the young prince, apart from all the rest, With his attendants lay, was found on fire.

The raging flames ingulfed the pile; the prince Unseen, unheard, was spirited away, And all the world lamented him as dead.

All Moscow knows these things to be the truth.

ARCHBISHOP OF GNESEN.

Yes, these are facts familiar to us all.

The rumor ran abroad, both far and near, That Prince Demetrius perished in the flames When Uglitsch was destroyed. And, as his death Raised to the throne the Czar who fills it now, Fame did not hesitate to charge on him This murder foul and pitiless. But yet, His death is not the business now in hand!

This prince is living still! He lives in you!

So runs your plea. Now bring us to the proofs!

Whereby do you attest that you are he?

What are the signs by which you shall be known?