LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

But, but;—I ask, what is his object now?

       Lord Nelson's Captain—Hardy—whose old home

       Stands in a peaceful vale hard by us here—

       Who came two weeks ago to see his friends,

       I talked to in this room a lengthy while.

       He says our navy still is in thick night

       As to the aims by sea of Bonaparte

       Now the Boulogne attempt has fizzled out,

       And what he schemes afloat with Spain combined.

       The “Victory” lay that fortnight at Spithead,

       And Nelson since has gone aboard and sailed;

       Yes, sailed again. The “Royal Sovereign” follows,

       And others her. Nelson was hailed and cheered

       To huskiness while leaving Southsea shore,

       Gentle and simple wildly thronging round.

      PITT

       Ay, sir. Young women hung upon his arm,

       And old ones blessed, and stroked him with their hands.

      KING

       Ah—you have heard, of course. God speed him, Pitt.

      PITT

       Amen, amen!

      KING

       I read it as a thing

       Of signal augury, and one which bodes

       Heaven's confidence in me and in my line,

       That I should rule as King in such an age!...

       Well, well.—So this new march of Bonaparte's

       Was unexpected, forced perchance on him?

      PITT

       It may be so, your Majesty; it may.

       Last noon the Austrian ambassador,

       Whom I consulted ere I posted down,

       Assured me that his latest papers word

       How General Mack and eighty thousand men

       Have made good speed across Bavaria

       To wait the French and give them check at Ulm,

       That fortress-frontier-town, entrenched and walled,

       A place long chosen as a vantage-point

       Whereon to encounter them as they outwind

       From the blind shades and baffling green defiles

       Of the Black Forest, worn with wayfaring.

       Here Mack will intercept his agile foe

       Hasting to meet the Russians in Bohemia,

       And cripple him, if not annihilate.

       Thus now, sir, opens out this Great Alliance

       Of Russia, Austria, England, whereto I

       Have lent my earnest efforts through long months,

       And the realm gives her money, ships, and men.—

       It claps a muffler round the Cock's steel spurs,

       And leaves me sanguine on his overthrow.

       But, then,—this coalition of resources

       Demands a strong and active Cabinet

       To aid your Majesty's directive hand;

       And thus I urge again the said additions—

       These brilliant intellects of the other side

       Who stand by Fox. With us conjoined, they—-

      KING

       What, what, again—in face of my sound reasons!

       Believe me, Pitt, you underrate yourself;

       You do not need such aid. The splendid feat

       Of banding Europe in a righteous cause

       That you have achieved, so soon to put to shame

       This wicked bombardier of dynasties

       That rule by right Divine, goes straight to prove

       We had best continue as we have begun,

       And call no partners to our management.

       To fear dilemmas horning up ahead

       Is not your wont. Nay, nay, now, Mr. Pitt,

       I must be firm. And if you love your King

       You'll goad him not so rashly to embrace

       This Fox-Grenville faction and its friends.

       Rather than Fox, why, give me civil war!

       Hey, what? But what besides?

      PITT

       I say besides, sir,... nothing!

       [A silence.]

      KING [cheerfully]

       The Chancellor's here, and many friends of mine: Lady Winchelsea,

       Lord and Lady Chesterfield, Lady Bulkeley, General Garth, and Mr.

       Phipps the oculist—not the least important to me. He is a worthy

       and a skilful man. My eyes, he says, are as marvellously improved

       in durability as I know them to be in power. I have arranged to go

       to-morrow with the Princesses, and the Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex,

       and Cambridge [who are also here] for a ride on the Ridgeway, and

       through the Camp on the downs. You'll accompany us there?

      PITT

       I am honoured by your Majesty's commands.

       [PITT looks resignedly out of the window.]

       What curious structure do I see outside, sir?

      KING

       It's but a stage, a type of all the world. The burgesses have

       arranged it in my honour. At six o'clock this evening there are

       to be combats at single-stick to amuse the folk; four guineas

       the prize for the man who breaks most heads. Afterward there

       is to be a grinning match through horse-collars—a very humorous

       sport which I must stay here and witness; for I am interested in

       whatever entertains my subjects.

      PITT

       Not one in all the land but knows it, sir.

      KING

       Now, Mr. Pitt, you must require repose;

       Consult your own convenience then, I beg,

       On when you leave.

       PITT

       I thank your Majesty.

       [He departs as one whose purpose has failed, and the scene shuts.]

      SCENE II

       BEFORE THE CITY OF ULM

       [A prospect of the city from the east, showing in the foreground

       a low-lying marshy country bounded in mid-distance by the banks

       of the Danube, which, bordered by poplars and willows, flows

       across the picture from the left to the Elchingen Bridge near

       the right of the scene, and is backed by irregular heights and

       terraces of espaliered vines. Between these and the river stands

       the city, crowded with old gabled houses and surrounded by walls,

       bastions, and a ditch, all the edifices

Скачать книгу