Act 6 Excerpt

They follow the Governor to his private apartments, and this latter and Vulnar silently stand aside as the King enters the one in which Isola has been laid.

King Hector (solus):

"Yes, she is dead. Isola, thou art gone,
That which overtakes all men has come to thee.
Vulnar spoke rightly, when he said that thou,
Dead should ne'erless obtain the Victory.
Yes, thou hast won it. Here, I swear to thee,
All thou did'st die for shall be realised,
Right shall prevail, and Men shall own their own,
There shall be no more disinherited.
Saxscober's Constitution shall become
The constitution of a people free,
And I will be their real, not dummy King,
Their brother worker, their companion.
While Life is left to me to work, I'll work,
I'll make Saxscoberland a dreamland scene,
It shall reflect thy dream dear Isola,
Its face shall be the mirror of thy soul.
Vergli shall aid me. My first act shall be
To do him justice and proclaim him heir;
Our little Bernis shall not act the thief,
He shall be what thou sought'st to keep the child,
A human being, not a puppet slave.
He shall be his brave mother's substitute,
In him already shines thy deathless soul.
Isola, thou hast won, I swear it,  Love.
Thy death has won Saxscober's Liberty,"
 

He bends over and kisses her forehead. Then leaves the room. Meeting Vulnar outside, he says:

“Vulnar, I leave her body in your care.
Treat her as you would treat a reigning Queen.
She shall reign over fair Saxscoberland
Indeed, in fact, in true reality.
Unto the other nations of our Earth
Her message shall be borne and shall prevail,
The bright example of Saxscoberland
Shall move the smaller fry to imitate,
A bright example has its magnetism,
And draws men to solicit its embrace.
Hector is clasping Isola's. No force
Shall ever tear it from his grasp. No fear!
I leave you, Vulnar. Do your part. I go.
My share in Evolution has begun.
With Vergli I will lead its sacred cause,
With him will realize Isola's dream."

He wrings Vulnar's hand, and calling the
Governor to him walks away by his side.

Vulnar:

"Is it a dream or Truths reality ?
Can it be fact or is it only fancy ?
Isola dead, I living, Scrutus free,
Vergli no longer outlawed, but our Prince ?
It seems a dream, and yet 'tis not a dream,
'Tis true, and Isola has triumphed. Sure!
My love! my love! Who died to save Vulnar,
Who died for noble Truth, which he upheld,
And dying, won Saxscober's liberty.

Yes, it is won. Though Opposition strong
Will struggle to retain the law of Might,
Right shall prevail, and noble Truth prevail,
That Right and Truth for which Isola died."

He beckons Scrutus, who is standing near, to follow him, and goes out. In the streets
around the prison loud cheers can be heard. They are given to King Hector, who is driving away in the Governor's carriage. So far, the death of Fortunatus and the feet that Fortunatus is Isola, has not transpired. Vulnar interviews the Governor, and makes every preparation for the removal of Isola's body to the residence of her brother, The Prince of Bernta.



SCENE III.

The fortress Castle of Bawn co Pagh. A voice sings:

"Where Liberty with Love entwines its arms,
Its Life possesses vast, magnetic charms;
Cold, lifeless Licence is not liberty,
To be a King means not that you are free.
Laws docked of Nature are not Freedom's joys,
But just mechanical and puppet toys,
Laughed at by men, who scorn their puny sway,
And treat them as just made to disobey.
'Tis Love whose occult PowV alone conceives
What properties makes freedom. She receives
Into her gentle bosom Truth's mandate
And guided by it learns how to create
Those laws which fashion Liberty divine,
And which alone from Love's soft eyes can shine.
Oh! Love, thou child of the Almighty Pow'r,
Seductive as the sweetest scented flow'r,
Thy influence is paramount to save,
Teaching men to be just, be fair, be brave,
To be the sons of Liberty and thee,
True mates who can alone produce the free,
Those free, whose eyes are fixed on Love's bright
Star, Speaking to them in flashes from afar.
Be thou my guide all through my mortal Life,
Holding thy hand let me destroy the strife
Which Cruelty creates and scatters round,
Sowing its poisoned grain in fertile ground.
I will, by aid of thee, uproot this grain,
Upon it Fire's consuming powers rain,
Burn it to ashes, sow instead thy seed
Which shall Love's golden luscious harvest breed,
Whose sustenance shall nourish and inspire
Kindness to triumph over Selfish ire."

Vergli (coming to the ramparts and looking over
them):

"Do my ears mock me ? Sure, 'tis Vulnar's voice,
None other owns such subtle melody.
Is it your Spirit serenading me,
Comrade in arms, friend of my boyhood, too?
Vulnar, sure voice like yours is quite unique,
You have no rival, so it must be you.
You have no equal, whose melodious touch
Sends through the being thrills of ecstasy.
Vulnar, where are you ? Is your presence nigh,
In body or in spirit calling me ?
It seems to me as though Isola's voice
Whispers unto me, 1 Vergli, Victory,'
And now I hear song rippling from your lips,
Song such as Vulnar's lips alone can frame,
Song in whose melody, immortal Truth
Mingles with mortal utterance in tune."

Enter Vulnar:

"Hail, Prince of Scota. Welcome to my home.
Welcome, Prince Vergli, to our Bawn co Pagh."

Vergli (seizing his hand):

"Vulnar alive! Vulnar not dead ? Not gone ?
Are my eyes clear, or am I dreaming dreams ?
Vulnar saluting me as Hector's heir,
Calling me Prince of Scota ? Hark!
Whispers are whispering within my brain,
I hear Isola's voice addressing me.
It comes from Vulnar, yet it is her voice.
‘Vergli,' it says, ' Hail Vict'ry ? You are free.' "

Vulnar:

"Yes, Vergli, it is Victory indeed.
From Isola, whom both of us adore,
I bear you the last word her dear lips framed,
She died while utt'ring it. 'Twas ‘Victory.' "

Vergli: "Isola dead! And you alive, Vulnar ?
Can it be possible ? Speak man. Explain."

Vulner recounts events to Vergli. The latter listens in silence, then exclaims:

"Isola dead. Happy Escanior.
You revel in a being we have lost.
Lost, yet not lost, for Isola is nigh.
Around me is her presence. Ev'rywhere!
Her Thought permeates my soul, entrancing it,
The breath of Memory is on my brow,
Within my brain her voice is speaking Love,
Love, velvet Love, to Vergli and Vulnar.
Yes, Vulnar, love to you, and love to me,
For Isola is Love itself. Her Life
Was one long act of love. Cold Cruelty
Was the sole thing she hated on our Earth."

Vulnar:

"Sir, Diamond Truth falls from inspired lips,
Your words are echoes of that attribute.
There was no hate or fear in Isola,
Save of the awful demon Cruelty,
And him she feared and hated cordially.
Her words through Hector, my dear lord, The King,
I bear you now. ' Come, take your own, Vergli,
You are The Prince of Scota, true born son
Of Noble Merani. Saxscober's heir/
Hail Sir, as such, no courtly homage mine.
But just acknowledgment of brotherhood,
There is but one nobility, one claim,
Which I acknowledge as nobility,
And that is Merit, child of Perfect Thought,
That perfect thought which love alone can frame.
Lo I sinks the sun behind the Bawn co Pagh.
Amidst a perfect sea of yellow gold,
Whence shoots aloft a fan of brilliant rays,
Blue, opal, green and purple in their hues.
Mark the ascending stream. Is it not fair,
This portrait of the fireworks of Heaven ?
Is not the scene symbolic of that Thought
Which sinks in Death only to rise again ?"

Vergli:

"'Tis so, for Thought is Life, Eternal Life,
Soul of the Body, Master of the mind,
Its eyes look through the eyes of human sight
And speak their eloquence, fervid though mute,
There is more meaning in one soulful glance,
Than reams of words from mere material lips.
But come, Vulnar. Gladden your peopled hearts,
They mourn you as amid the gallant dead.
Rejoicing will awake the Bawn co Pagh
And ring its echoes over hill and dale.
I love them well, these hillmen. They are true.
They've treated me as though I were a King,
And yielded me a kindness exquisite.
I might have been the lord of Bawn co Pagh,
Instead of what I was, a hunted thing."

Vulnar:

"Sir, you were to them what you are to me,
The Prince of Scota, though a hunted thing.
They honoured you as such. The brotherhood
You preach for practice, they gave unto you,
You were their brother, they your brothers, too,
And thus fraternal love they meted out,
My people and myself are one in all
Upon the heather slopes, amidst the dales,
And all around the fortress Bawn co Pagh,
We preach and practise Brotherhood in Men,
Love is our guiding Star, our motive Pow'r,
The Love for which our dear Isola died."
 

SCENE IV.

In the Hall of Magnitude. This, the most magnificent public building in Infantlonia, is packed from floor to ceiling with an immense crowd, all assembled to hear the proclamation of King Hector, proposing a new Constitution to his people, the repeal of old and effete laws, and the substitution in their place of laws suited to the immediate requirements of the
times. It has been announced that Vergli, Prince of Scota, will be its mouthpiece, and the excitement and expectation of the vast throng is intense. Enter Vergli, attended by the Prince of Bernia and Vulnar, Lord of Avenamore, various high functionaries and friends, amongst whom are Maxim, Scrutus and Verita. A scene of wild enthusiasm greets him, and the welcome accorded him is unprecedented in the annals of Saxcoberland, as ever having been accorded to any other public favourite or prince of the Saxscober dynasty.

Vergli (raising his hand to command silence) exclaims:
"To some men, moments come into their lives,
Which toiling for, they little dreamt to see.
Though I have toiled for Right, I never thought
That /should see its triumph and behold
Dawn breaking in upon the brains of men.
I thought to sow good seed and see it root,
But dared not hope to reap the golden grain.
Yet lo! we stand with sickles in our hands,
Ready to reap the produce of our toil.
It seems quite wonderful, it seems a dream,
Yet 'tis not so, my friends. See you this scroll,
It is the message of my lord, the King,
A message to his people far and wide,
Wherever floats Saxscober's crimson flag,
There will these words be wafted to our kin,
And indirectly through them to the world.
It is my proud and honoured task to-day
To be the mouthpiece of Saxscober's King.
Yet ere I read his words I fain would say
They are an echo of another's voice,
Who pleaded hard to have them realized,
And died to win the Cause of Right and Truth.
Hector shall reign, but by his side shall reign
The deathless voice which pleaded thus for them,
While memory remains let none forget
The glorious victory of Isola."

Tumultuous cheering greets this assertion. When silence is restored, Vergli proceeds to read King Hector's message to his people. It reads as follows:

"We stand upon the meeting of two ways.
One leads to Peace and Comfort, Right and Truth,
The other to the very opposite.

Which shall we take, my people, which pursue?
I counsel that the first shall be our choice.
Counselling this, I now propose to you,
An altered and a higher constitution,
A Magna Charter giving Human Rights,
Not to a few, but unto everyone^
The fact of birth into this life, the sole,
The only proof of right to such a claim,
Shall be required, and opportunity
To every human being shall be given
To live, and thrive, and never be in want.
The Slums of Infantlonia and elsewhere
Must by the law become prohibited.
All men must dwell in decent tenements,
In towns there must be gardens for the people,
Each child, no matter what its birth, shall learn
To be a useful member of the state,
By being taught a trade, of which it can
Make choice itself approved of by its parents.
When work is scarce, the State must give employment,
Not the nigh penal work of the Poor House,
But work where work shall be Co-operative,
Men reaping as they sow, their proper share.
Co-operative law must be the law,
Wherever groups of human beings work,
It is not right that one should benefit
And on men's toil become a millionaire,
Reaping where others have not had a share
Except in paltry doles, which we call wage.
Vast ownership in land or property
Should bear its duty of ' wealth in excess,’
And be a taxable commodity.
Wealth must contribute to the public good.
A millionaire is an unjust creation,

The base result of wasted human toil,
The offspring of a living Man Machine,
Made to produce this creature's holiday.
Co-operative law disgorges wealth
And makes it useful and distributable,
Men who grow rich upon excessive toil,
And give not to that toil its proper share,
Are Master Murderer millionaires, unfit
To be the holders of this hoarded wealth,
Which, miser-like, they neither spend nor share.
Only one remedy can heal this sore,
It is that which we call Co-operation.
So long as angry Nations stand like dogs,
Facing each other with their grinders showing,
Saxscoberland must be prepared for war,
And spend thereon, alas! much of its wealth,
But, be it my Life's task to advocate
The institution of Appealing Courts,
Where Arbitration shall decide disputes
And deftly patch up human differences.
If our Earth's Governments would all agree
To melt their armies and wage bloodless war
In all things International; then war
Could never raise its grinning head again,
Starved by the disappearance of its food —
The human flocks and herds we breed and raise,
Fatten and decorate expensively,
In order to provide this Monster's feast.
Be it my task to plead that he shall die,
My people, help me to exterminate him.
We are the greatest Nation on our Earth,
Surely, if we are earnest in endeavour,
We can accomplish this desired end ?
Co-operate with me and let us strive,
And we shall be successful in the end.
Now to the matter of our Government,
Saxscober calls its ruler a Monarch.
What's in a word ? A mere form of letters.
Hereditary is this Monarchy,

Yet we unjustly give the male first call
And make the eldest male born our Monarch.
This is unjust. While Primogeniture
Is the acknowledged law of Saxscober,
The heir shall be the eldest born, and sex
Should not be made a Disinherited.
Let this injustice be removed at once.
And give each Sex equality of rights,
Let law applying to all Succession
Be altered to deny sex privilege —
Which we so arrogantly arrogate.
Another point connected with this matter
Earnestly demands an alteration,
Children should not usurp a parent's power;
Children should not stand in a parent's place.
The parents both should be the ruling pow'r,
And so remain until Death takes them hence.
'Tis monstrous that a child should occupy
The place that parent has a right to fill.
Out on such partial, inconsiderate law,
Born of immatured brains and puny thought.
The King and Queen should both be reigning powers
And the survivor hold the reins till death.
This law, applying as it did of yore
When William, Prince of Citron, was consort —
And this law should apply to all Succession.
Perish the unjust law which gives the child
The right to occupy its parent's place.
This being so, let Monarchs have fair play —
Let them be human beings not mere dolls,
Let them have pow'r to vote and speak with you,
Let them be otherwise than dressed-up shapes
To be the objects of barbaric shows.
Let the cheers greeting Monarchs be sincere,
Given as to a fellow-worker, pray;
Not to mute flesh and blood nonentities
But part of an acting Constitution.
Monarchs should not be absolute, but free,
Co-operation be the principle.

I counsel, too, the House of Bores should be
Elective like the House of Commonpersons,
And that no Right or Ardrigh have a seat
Claiming such as our Spiritual peers.
This brings me to the matter of the Church
And the religion which now reigns supreme.
There should be no State Church, but liberty
To every man to feel that his own creed
Was not an outcast one and unendowed.
Let conscience have its freedom and all creeds
Be self-supporting, not ignored by State,
While one alone is bolstered up as right.
I counsel, therefore, Disestablishment;
First giving compensation to the Clergy.
Let all men pray in secret and display
Fade, as should fade barbaric practices.
Force not upon your Sovereigns the disgrace
Of swearing false allegiance to a lie,
What greater Moral crime than to exclaim
‘I do believe that which I don't believe ' ?
Is not such utterance a sacrilege ?
Away, my people, with the reign of Lie,
Let Truth prevail, let Honest Truth be law.
Another urgent law requires attention,
The Marriage law I mean. Marriage should be
The Act which makes the Man and Woman one,
Accompanied by the solemn declaration
1 am thy husband and thou art my wife
1 am thy wife and thou art my husband
Uttered in presence of two witnesses.
This is the law of Scota and is fair,
But Saxen law insists on marriage ties
Being tied by its religious ceremony;
Which makes the Woman utter slavish words,
Which self-respecting women hate and loathe
And some have absolutely scorned to say.
My Merani refused to utter them
And was, in consequence, adjudg'd unwed
By the exacting laws of Saxenland.
I say that she was wed by law of God,
And, being wed, was lawfully my wife;
The son she bore is Prince of Scota now,
Made so by a late Act of Parliament,
Specially drafted and passed into law
At my most earnest prayer and intercession.
It is my hope that our new Parliament
Will sweep away every impediment
To civil marriage, and destroy the law
Which forces royalty to wed with such,
Ordaining that the heir shall royal be.
Tis an unnatural law and maketh sad
The wedded life of many Sovereigns.
In all we do let us be natural,
Laws born of selfishness or ignorance
Flout Nature and create unhappiness.
Laws, to be fair, must recognise the fact
That all men must have Opportunity
And none shall be a Disinherited.
Parliament is dissolved and I appeal,
With all my heart, unto my countrymen
To give me unmistakable response
That my desire for justice shall prevail.
By law, my women subjects cannot vote,
More shame to such a law is all I say;
Next Parliament shall sweep that law away
And give us one with equal rights for all.
Capacity and Merit are the test
Of human fitness which should e'er prevail;
Nature and circumstances will select
The fittest to perform Life's many functions,
Seek not to force on women Motherhood—
A vast mistake which breeds the puny Man,
Some women are not fit to bear a child,
Some men are unfit to be Sires at all;
To breed unhealthy offspring is a Crime
Which our religion has concealed from men.
To bring disease into the world is bad.
To force this on a child i& a foul shame.
It is a sacred trust which Nature gives.
That trust of giving Life, and should command
The reverence of those to whom 'tis giv'n;
Let this be plainly taught to either sex,
Bring up the sexes to respect each other.
Give lessons in the schools how Health is nude
And how 'tis kept, and how it bringeth joy.
When Men believe that sickness need not be,
That human beings can be well and strong
By living lives in keeping with good sense,
A Nation of fair beings will arise
With senses purified and thought increased—
And knowledge drawing nearer day by day
To those veiled secrets of the Universe
Which we believe so foolishly are closed,
And hidden mysteries for aye and aye;
Hidden from feeble sight and clouded brain,
From Thought as yet in an imperfect state,
But when the Mind becomes a mighty power
Its eyes will penetrate the misty veil
And clearly read what now it cannot do.
Let education, therefore, elevate;
Let it accomplish a vast revolution
By giving children Nature's noble truths,
And focussing them on their pliant brains.
Teach Kindness in the schools. Before all things
Teach its vast virtue to the youthful mind.
Let the religion taught, be just this thing
Mingled with Justice, Fair Play and Sweet Love;
Love to all things that feel and, like ourselves,
Are sentient and possess the gift of Life.
Perish, Cold Cruelty! the hugest bar
To Progress and Perfection on this Earth.
Thus, have I spoken to my countrymen,
And ask them to return a Parliament
Which shall not fear to work for Evolution;
Strike down oppressive laws, creating those
Which shall inaugurate The Golden Age Of Peace, Good Health and Happiness to all —
That living Life for which Isola died."

(Loud and prolonged cheers.)

Vergli:

This is King Hector's message, countrymen,
In which the Spirit of Isola breathes —
A Spirit whose chief element was love,
Love the Creator of true happiness.
Let this appeal go forth throughout the world
And pierce into the brains and hearts of men.
It shall prevail, because it is The Truth.
It shall bear fruit, because it is pure seed.
It shall establish its real Sovereignty,
Because it is Reality not Sham.
If all true hearts declare it shall prevail
And work to bring about the Victory,
That Victory will come with leaps and bounds,
And bring rejoicing into ev'ry heart.
Ah! yes, it will come. It was prophesied
By lips whose last word echoed Victory,
It was Isola's message to the world
Wherever moan The Disinherited.
Arouse, ye Children of Saxscoberland,
Hark to her Spirit speaking out aloud.
The sound is Hector's but his words are hers,
His Message but the Echo of Isola's."