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_ ACT IV
SCENE: Hamelin market-place.
[It is early morning; so dark that only a bleak twilight glimmers in the square; the little streets are dim. Everywhere gloom and stillness. In the house of KURT, beside the Minster, there is one window-light behind a curtain in the second story. At the casements, down right and left, sit OLD CLAUS and OLD URSULA, wan and otionless as the dead.
The church-bell, which likewise seems to have aged, croaks softly, twice. PETER the Sacristan stands by the bell-rope.]
OLD URSULA.
No, no. They'll never come. I told ye so.
They all are gone. There will be nothing young
To follow us to the grave.
OLD CLAUS.
No, no,--not one!
[The Minster-door opens, and out come certain of the townsfolk from early mass. They look unnaturally old and colorless. Their steps lag drearily.--HANS the Butcher and his wife; AXEL the Smith with his wife, and PETER the Cobbler, meet, on their way to the little street, left, and greet one another with painstaking, stricken kindness. They speak in broken voices.]
HANS the Butcher.
Well, well--
AXEL the Smith.
God knows!
[The bell sounds]
HANS the Butcher.
Neighbor, how fare your knees?
[AXEL smooths his right leg and gives a jerk of pain. They all
move stiffly.
AXEL the Smith.
I'm a changed man.
HANS the Butcher.
Peter the Sacristan,
Give by the bell! It tolls like--Oh, well, well!
AXEL the Smith.
It does no good, it does no good at all.
PETER the Cobbler.
Rather, I do believe it mads the demons;
And I have given much thought--
AXEL the Smith.
Over thy shoes!
PETER the Cobbler.
[modestly]
To demons.
AXEL'S WIFE.
Let him chirp philosophy!
He had no children.
PETER the Cobbler.
[wagging his head solemnly]
I'm an altered man.
Now were we not proceeding soberly,
Singing a godly hymn, and all in tune,
But yesterday, when we passed by--
HANS' WIFE.
Don't say it!
Don't name the curseful place.
HANS the Butcher
--And my poor head,
It goes round yet;--around, around, around,
As I were new ashore from the high seas;
Still dancing--dancing--
AXEL the Smith.
With 'Yes--yes!--Yes--yes!'
HANS the Butcher.
Even as ye heard, the farmer's yokel found me
Clasping a tree, and praying to stand still!
AXEL the Smith.
Ay, ay,--but that is nought.
PETER the Cobbler.
All nought beside.
HANS' WIFE.
Better we had the rats and mice again,
Though they did eat us homeless,--if we might
All starve together!--Oh, my Hans, my Hans!
PETER the Cobbler.
Hope not, good souls. Rest sure, they will not come.
AXEL'S WIFE.
Who will say that?
PETER the Cobbler.
[discreetly]
Not I; but the Inscription,
[He points to the Rathaus wall.]
AXEL the Smith.
Of our own making?
PETER the Cobbler.
On the Rathaus wall!
At our own bidding it was made and graved:--
How,--on that day and down this very street,
He led them,--he, the Wonderfully-clothed,
The Strange Man, with his piping;
[They cross themselves]
And they went,--
And never came again.
HANS' WIFE.
But they may come!
PETER the Cobbler.
[pityingly]
Marble is final, woman;--nay, poor soul!
When once a man be buried, and over him
The stone doth say _Hic Jacet_, or Here Lies,
When did that man get up?--There is the stone.
They come no more, for piping or for prayer;
Until the trump of the Lord Gabriel.
And if they came, 'tis not in Hamelin men
To alter any stone, so graven.--Marble
Is final. Marble has the last word, ever.
[Groans from the burghers.]
HANS the Butcher.
O little Ilse!--Oh! and Lump--poor Lump!
More than a dog could bear!--More than a dog--
[They all break down. The Shoemaker consoles them.]
PETER the Cobbler.
Bear up, sweet neighbors.--We are all but dust.
No mice, no children.--Hem! And now Jacobus,--
His child, not even safe with Holy Church,
But lost and God knows where!
AXEL'S WIFE.
Bewitched,--bewitched!
[Hans and his wife, arm in arm, turn left, towards their house, peering ahead.
HANS' WIFE.
Kind saints! Me out and gone to early mass,
And all this mortal church-time, there's a candle,
A candle burning in the casement there;--
Thou wasteful man!
HANS the Butcher.
[huskily]
Come, come! Do not be chiding.
Suppose they came and could not see their way.
Suppose--O wife!--I thought they'd love the light!
I thought--
PETER the Cobbler.
Ay, now! And there's another light
In Kurt the Syndic's house.
[They turn and look up. Other burghers join the group. All walk lamely and look the picture of wretchedness.]
AXEL'S WIFE.
His wife, poor thing,
The priest is with her. Ay, for once, they say,
Kurt's bark is broken.
OLD URSULA.
There will be nothing young
To follow us to the grave.
AXEL'S WIFE.
They tell, she seems
Sore stricken since the day that she was lost,
Lost, searching on the mountain. Since that time,
She will be saying nought. She stares and smiles.
HANS' WIFE.
And reaches out her arms,--poor soul!
ALL.
Poor soul!
[Murmur in the distance. They do not heed it.]
AXEL the Smith
[To the Butcher]
That was no foolish thought of thine, yon candle.
I do remember now as I look back,
They always loved the lights. My Rudi there
Would aye be meddling with my tinder-box.
And once I--Oh!--
[Choking]
AXEL'S WIFE
[soothingly]
Now, now! thou didst not hurt him!
'T was I! Oh, once--I shut him in the dark!
AXEL the Smith.
Come home . . . and light the candles.
PETER the Cobbler.
In the day-time!
AXEL'S WIFE.
Oh, it is dark enough!
AXEL the Smith.
Lord knows, who made
Both night and day, one of 'em needs to shine!
But nothing does!--Nothing is daylight now.
Come, wife, we'll light the candles.
[Exit with his wife.]
PETER the Cobbler.
He's a changed man.
PETER the Sacristan.
God help us, what's to do?
[Tumult approaching. Shouts of 'Jacobus' and 'Barbara.'
Hark!
HANS' WIFE.
Neighbors!
HANS the Butcher
Hark! Hark!
[AXEL and his wife reenter hastily; AXEL rushes toward the noise.]
AXEL'S WIFE.
Oh, I hear something! Can it be--
PETER the Cobbler.
They're shouting.
HANS the Butcher.
My Iambs,--my lambs!
[AXEL reenters, crestfallen]
AXEL the Smith.
'Tis naught--but Barbara
_His--his_!
[Shaking his fist at the house of Jacobus.
PETER the Cobbler.
[calling]
Jacobus!
[The others are stricken with disappointment.]
HANS the Butcher.
Wife,--'t is none of ours.
AXEL the Smith.
Let him snore on!--The only man would rather
Sleep late than meet his only child again!
PETER the Cobbler.
[deprecatingly]
No man may parley with the gifts of Fortune!
[Knocking on the door]
Jacobus!
[Enter, at the rear, with a straggling crowd, BARBARA and MICHAEL, both radiant and resolute. She wears the long green cloak over her bridal array.]
JACOBUS appears in his doorway, night-capped and fur-gowned, shrinking from the hostile crowd. The people murmur.]
CROWD.
( Barbara!--She that was bewitched!
( And who's the man? Is it the Piper? No!
( No, no--some stranger. Barbara! Barbara's home;--
( He never gave her up!--Who is the man?
JACOBUS.
My daughter! 'Tis my daughter,--found--restored!
Oh, heaven is with us!
ALL.
[sullenly]
Ah!
JACOBUS.
Child, where have you been?
ALL.
Ay, where, Jacobus?
[He is dismayed.]
JACOBUS.
Who is this man?--Come hither.
BARBARA.
[without approaching him, lifting her face clearly]
Good-morning to you, father! We are wed.
Michael,--shall I go hither?
[The townsfolk are amazed.]
JACOBUS.
She is mad!
She is quite mad,--my treasure.
PETER the Cobbler.
Let her speak.
Maids sometimes marry, even in Hamelin.
ALL.
( Ay, tell us!
( Who is he? Barbara?
( Art thou mad?--How came ye hither?
JACOBUS.
Who is he?
BARBARA.
Michael.
PETER the Cobbler.
'Tis the Sword-Eater!
A friend o' the Piper's!--Hearken--
ALL.
She's bewitched!
HANS' WIFE.
This is the girl was vowed to Holy Church,
For us and for our children that are lost!
BARBARA.
Ay, and did any have a mind to me,
When I was lost? Left dancing, and distraught?
ALL.
We could not. We were spell-bound. Nay, we could not.
JACOBUS
[sagely, after the others]
We could not.
BARBARA.
So!--But there was one who could.
There was one man. And this is he.
[turning to Michael]
And I,
I am no more your Barbara,--I am his.
And I will go with him, over the world.
I come to say farewell.
JACOBUS.
He hath bewitched her!
MICHAEL.
Why did we ever come? Poor darling one,
Thy too-much duty hath us in a trap!
AXEL the Smith.
No, no!--Fair play!
OTHERS.
Don't let them go! We have them.
PETER the Cobbler.
Hold what ye have. Be 't children, rats or mice!
[Hubbub without, and shouts. Some of the burghers hasten out after this fresh excitement. JACOBUS is cowed. BARBARA and MICHAEL are startled. The shouts turn savage. The uproar grows. Shouts of 'Ay, there be is! We have him! We have him! Help--help! Hold fast! Ah! Piper! Piper! Piper!']
How now? What all!--
[The crowd parts to admit the PIPER, haled hither with shouts and pelting, by MARTIN the Watch and other men, all breathless. His eyes burn.]
MICHAEL
[apart]
Save us!--They have him.
MARTIN
[gaspingly]
Help!
Mark ye--I caught him!--Help,--and hold him fast!
PIPER.
I came here,--frog!
MARTIN.
Ay, he were coming on;
And after him a squirrel, hopping close!
SECOND MAN.
As no man ever saw a squirrel hop--
Near any man from Hamelin! And I looked--
MARTIN.
And it was he; and all we rush upon him--
And take him!
PIPER.
Loose thy claws, I tell thee I--
ALL.
( 'Ware!
( Mercy!
( Let him go!
VOICE FROM CROWD.
I have the squirrel!
PIPER
[savagely]
Let the squirrel go!
Or you shall rue it.--Loose him! He's not mine.
[He sees BARBARA and MICHAEL for the first time and recoils with amazement. BARBARA steps towards him.
BARBARA.
Oh, let him go,--let be. His heart is clear,
As water from the well!
[The PIPER gazes at her, open-mouthed.]
ALL.
( She talks in her sleep!
( The maid's bewitched!
( Now, will ye hear?
AXEL'S WIFE.
He piped and made thee dance!
PETER the Cobbler.
'T was he bewitched us!
BARBARA
[serenely]
Whatever was,--it was for love of me.
PIPER
[thunderstruck]
So!
BARBARA.
He piped;--and all ye danced and fled away!
He piped;--and brought me back my wandering wits,
And gave me safe unto my Love again,--
My Love I had forgotten. . . .
PIPER.
So!
MICHAEL
[with conviction]
Truly said.
BARBARA
[proudly]
Michael.
JACOBUS.
Who is he, pray?
BARBARA.
My own true love.
PETER the Cobbler.
Now, is that all his name?
BARBARA.
It is enough.
JACOBUS.
--She's mad. Shall these things be?
ALL.
( The Children! The Children!
( Where are the Children?
( Piper! Pi-per! Piper!
PIPER.
[sternly]
Quiet you. And hear me.
I came to bring good tidings. In good faith,
Of mine own will, I came.--And like a thief
You haled me hither.--
[They hang upon his words]
. . . Your children--live.
ALL.
( Thank God! I knew, I knew!
( We could not think them lost.
( Bewitched! Oh, but they live!--
( Piper!--O Piper!
PETER the Cobbler
They're spell-bound,--mark me!
PIPER.
Ay, they are,--spell-bound:
Fast bound by all the hardness of your hearts;
_Caged,--in the iron of your money-lust_--
ALL.
( No, no, not all! Not I! Not mine, not mine!
( No, no,--it is not true.
PIPER.
Your blasphemies,--your cunning and your Fear.
ALL.
( No, no!--What can we do?
( News, Piper, news!
( Where are your ridings, Piper?
PIPER.
Now hear me. You did make Jacobus swear
To give his child.--What recks it, how he lose her?--
Either to Holy Church--_against her will_!--
Or to this man,--so that he give her up!
He swore to you. And she hath pledged her faith.
She is fast wed.--Jacobus shall not have her.
He breaks all bargains; and for such as he,
You suffer.--Will you bear it?
ALL.
No, no, no!
PIPER.
Then she who was "Proud Barbara" doth wed
Michael-the-Sword-Eater.--The pledge shall stand.
Shall it?
ALL.
( It stands.
( Ay, ay!
PIPER.
Your word!
ALL.
( We swear. We answer for him.
( So much for Jacobus!
AXEL the Smith.
An' if yon fellow like an honest trade,
I'll take him!--I'll make swords!
[Cheers. Michael is happy.]
ALL.
Quick, quick!--Our children.--Piper!--Tell us all!
PIPER
'T is well begun.--Now have I come to say:
There is one child I may bring back to you,--
The first.
ALL.
[in an uproar]
( Mine--mine! Let it be mine!
( Ours'--All of them! Now!
( _Mine--mine--mine!--mine_!
PIPER
[unmoved]
--Oh, Hamelin to the end!
Which of you longed the most, and dared the most?
Which of you--
[He searches the crowd anxiously with his eyes.]
ALL.
( I! I! I!
( We searched the hills!
( We prayed four days!
( We fasted twenty hours--
( Mine! Mine!
( Mine--mine--mine--mine!
PIPER.
Not yet.--They all do live
Under a spell,--deep in a hollow hill.
They sleep, and wake; and lead a charmed life.
But first of all,--one child shall come again.
[He scans the crowd still]
Where is the wife--of Kurt, the Councillor?
ALL
[savagely]
_No, mine, mine, mine_!
MARTIN'S WIFE.
What, that lame boy of hers?
PIPER
Where is the wife of Kurt?
PETER the Cobbler AND OTHERS.
--Veronika?
The foreign woman? She is lying ill:
Sore-stricken yonder--
[Pointing to the house.]
PIPER
[gladly]
Bid her come, look out!
[The crowd moves confusedly towards KURT'S house. The PIPER too approaches, calling]
Ho,--ho, within there!
[ANSELM, the priest, appears in the doorway with uplifted hand, commanding silence. He is pale and stern. At sight of his face the PIPER, falters.]
ANSELM.
Silence here!--Good people
What means this?
PIPER.
I have tidings for--the wife
Of Kurt--the Councillor.
ANSELM.
You are too late.
PIPER.
Bid her--look out!
ANSELM
[solemnly]
Her soul is passing, now.
[The PIPER falls back stricken and speechless.--The crowd, seeing
him humanly overwhelmed, grows brave.
MARTIN'S WIFE
'Tis he has done it!
HANS the Butcher
--Nay, it is God's will.
Poor soul!
PETER the Sacristan
[fearfully]
Don't anger him! 'T was Kurt the Syndic
With his bad bargain.
AXEL the Smith
Do not cross the Piper!
MARTIN
Nay, but he's spent. He's nought to fear.--
Look there.
Mark how he breathes! Upon him! Help, help, ho!--
Thou piping knave!
OTHERS
Tie--chain him!--Kill him!--Kill him!
[They surround him. He thrusts them off.]
PETER the Cobbler and OTHERS
( Bind him, but do not kill him!--Oh, beware!
( What is he saying?--Peace.
PIPER
[brokenly]
The wife of Kurt!
Off! what can you do?--Oh! I came, I came
Here, full of peace, and with a heart of love;--
To give--but now that one live Soul of all
Is gone!--No, no!
--_I say she shall not die_!
_She shall not_!
ANSELM
Hush!--She is in the hands of God.
She is at peace.
PIPER
No, never! Let me by!
[ANSELM bars the threshold and steps out.]
ANSELM
Thou froward fool!--Wouldst rend with tears again
That shriven breath? And drag her back to sorrow?
It is the will of God.
PIPER
--And I say No!
ANSELM
Who dare dispute--
PIPER
I dare!
ANSELM
With death?--With God?
PIPER
I know His will, for once! She shall not die.
She must come back, and live!--_Veronika_!
[He calls up to the lighted window. The people stand aghast:
ANSELM bars the threshold.
I come, I come! I bring your Own to you!
Listen, Veronika!
[He feels for his pipe. It is gone.--His
face shows dismay, for a moment]
Where?--Where?
PEOPLE
( He's lost the pipe.--He's hiding it!
( He cannot pipe them back! 'tis gone--'tis gone.--
( No, 'tis to save his life.--It is for time.
PIPER
[to himself]
--'T is but a voice. What matter?--
CROWD
( Seize him--
( Bind him!
PIPER
[to them]
Hush!
[Passionately he stretches his arms towards the window.
ANSELM
Peace, for this parting Soul!
PIPER
[with fixed eyes]
_It shall not go_.
[To the Window]
Veronika!--Ah, listen!--wife of Kurt.
_He comes . . . he comes! Open thine eyes a moment_!
_Blow the faint fire within thy heart. He comes_!
Thy longing brings him;--ay, _and mine,--and mine_!
Heed not these grave-makers, Veronika.
Live, live, and laugh once more!--_Oh! do you hear_?
Look, how you have to waken all these dead,
That walk about you!--Open their dim eyes;
Sing to them with your heart, Veronika,
As I am piping, far away, outside!
Waken them,--change them! Show them how to long,
To reach their arms as you do, for the stars,
And fold them in. Stay but one moment;--stay,
And thine own Child shall draw thee back again
Down here, to mother him,--mother us all!
_Oh, do you listen?--Do not try to answer_,--
I hear!--I hear. . . .
[A faint sound of piping comes from the distance.--The PIPER is
first watchful, then radiant.--The burghers are awe-struck, as it
sounds nearer.
BARBARA.
Listen!
MICHAEL.
His very tune,
[The PIPER faces front with fixed, triumphant eyes above the crowd.]
MARTIN'S WIFE.
O Lord, have mercy!
The Pipe is coming to him, through the air!
ALL.
'T is coming to the Piper ;--we are lost.--
The Pipe is coming, coming through the air!
[The PIPER, with a sudden gesture, commands silence. He bounds away (centre), and disappears. The people, spell-bound with terror, murmur and fray.]
ANSELM.
_Retro me, Sathanas_!
[KURT the Syndic appears on the threshold behind ANSELM, whose arm he touches, whispering.--Their faces are wonder-struck with hope and awe.
HANS [the Butcher]
[to the others, pointing]
'T is Kurt the Syndic.
AXEL the Smith.
Then she lives!--
HANS' WIFE.
Look there!
OTHERS.
Look, look! The casement! . . .
[The casement of the lighted window opens wide and slowly.--Reenter the PIPER with JAN in his arms. The little boy holds the Pipe, and smiles about with tranquil happiness. The PIPER, radiant with joy, lifts him high, looking toward VERONIKA'S window.--The awe-struck people point to the open casement.
VERONIKA'S two white bands reach out; then she herself appears, pale, shining with ecstasy.
JAN.
_'Tis Mother_!
[The PIPER lifts him still before the window, gazing up. Then he springs upon the bench (outside the lower window) and gives JAN into the arms of VERONIKA.--KURT and ANSELM how their heads. A hush. --Then JAN looks down from the window-seat.
PIPER.
[to him, smiling wisely]
And all the others?
JAN.
They were all asleep.
PIPER.
I'll waken them!
[He takes his pipe.--An uproar of joy among the burghers.]
AXEL the Smith, HANS the Butcher, ALL.
( Bring lights,--bring lights!
( Oh, Piper--Oh, my lambs!
( The children!--The children!
[Some rush out madly; others go into their houses for lights; some are left on their knees, weeping for joy.
The PIPER sounds a few notes; then lifts his hand and listens, smiling.--Uproar in the distance.--A great harking of dogs;--shouts and cheers; then the high, sweet voices of the Children.
The piping is drowned in cries of joy. The sun comes out, still rosy, in a flood of light. The crowd rushes in. Fat burghers hug each other, and laugh and cry. They are all younger, their faces bloom, as by a miracle.
The Children pour in. Some are carried, some run hand-in-hand. Everywhere women embrace their own. KURT has his sons.--CHEAT-THE-DEVIL comes, with a daisy-chain around his neck, all smiles.
An uproar of light and faces.]
HANS [the Butcher]
The treasure for the Piper!
ALL.
Ay, ay, Piper!
HANS [the Butcher]
The thousand guilders!
PIPER.
Give them Michael there,
For all us three. I hate to carry things;--
Saving out one!
[He waves his hand to JAN in the window.--VERONIKA appears behind
him, shining with new life. JAN leans out and points to the ground.]
_Heja_! What now?--
[Picking up one of JAN'S winged shoes.]
HANS' WIFE.
Look! Look!--
And wings upon it! Mercy, what a shoe.--
Don't give it back.--The child will fly away!
PIPER.
No, no!
[Looking up at the window soothingly.]
He only wanted one to show--
JAN.
To Mother!--See.
[Showing her his other foot, joyously]
PIPER
[to him]
And this,--wilt leave it here?
Here--with--
JAN.
The Lonely Man! Oh, make Him smile!
[The PIPER crosses to the Shrine, with the little shoe, and hangs it up there; then he turns towards the window, waving his hand.]
CHILDREN.
Where are you going? . . .
[They run and cling.]
PIPER.
Ah, the high-road now!
CHILDREN.
Oh! why?
PIPER.
I have to find somebody there.
Yes, now and every day, and everywhere
The wide world over.--So: good-night, good-morning,
Good-by! There's so much piping left to do,--
I must be off, and pipe.
CHILDREN.
Oh! why?
PIPER.
I promised,
Look you! . . .
CHILDREN.
Who is it?
PIPER.
Why,--the Lonely Man.
[He waves them farewells and goes. The Children dance and laugh and sparkle. Through the hundred sounds of joy, there comes a far-off piping.]
[THE END]
Josephine Preston Peabody's play: Piper: A play in four acts
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