Ralph Adams Cram - Excalibur - Act III, Scene II lyrics

SCENE II. Camelot. The shore of the Magic Mere, Sunset. Sir Breuse: enter to him, Morgan le Fay.) Morgan. Small space have I for greetings, good Sir Breuse, But all falls bravely in tall Camelot And deep disorder reigns in Arthur's Court, For Guenever is gone! Sir Breuse. Whose hand is here? I thought ye playèd pander to the king. Morgan. The which shall follow lightly: for the nonce Wise Merlin aids us, for with potent spells He has engulfed the girl that would be queen In some profound abyss of mystery Beyond the king's control. Sir Breuse. What follows? Morgan. War! Rude war betwixt the king and Merlin. Sir Breuse. Ha! I see thine import, Morgan. Morgan. All is well; We need not vex us touching Guenever, Our work lies close at hand. The king is wroth, And deep dissension gets betwixt the twain That let us from the throne. Sir Launcelot Sits in his haughty seige amid the knights Of that Round Table that shall guard the king. I see the issue of that royal whim; Red war is out against Imperial Rome, The while along the borders of the realm Impatient kings are fretting at their chains, And black confusion like a thunder cloud Creeps to the zenith. Sir Breuse. Have we nought to do? Or may we sit and babble of the day When I am king? Morgan. I do not deal in words, I act. Sir Breuse. Then lightly to thy labour. Morgan. Aye, The while ye idly fondle dreams of state When I have crowned ye. Sir Breuse. Curse thine idle tongue! What would ye have me do? Morgan. Avoid my sight That I may act alone. Stay! seek the Court And bring me word of Merlin and the king. Sir Breuse. A gentle errand! Morgan. For a gentle knight. Farewell, Sir Breuse. (Exit Sir Breuse.) Now I have ample swing; Come forth, my sword! Hola, brave Nimue! (Enter from the Mere: Nimue.) Nimue. Unhorsed, but in the lists. Grant me a quest, And I will lift mine honour from the deep Where Merlin hurled it. Morgan. Cope with him again With better fortune: now another task Of gentler savour have I for thy hand. Anon King Arthur walks beside the Mere, If thou didst whisper in his hungry ear The thing I bade thee. Nimue. "King, the spell dissolves At sunset, by the Magic Mere, to-night!" Morgan. Where ye shall soon encounter with him. See! How like a jaded warrior the sun Stands halting on the world's empurpled shore Before he plunges in the sea of night; The tide is at the flood and Arthur comes. Entreat him worshipfully; give him pause, Until I ring him with a magic sleep: Then sink with him a thousand fathoms down The where I wait thee. Nimue. Hush, I hear the fall Of eager feet. Morgan. And on the word I go. (Exit Morgan.) Nimue. And I will crouch me for a splendid spring. This hunting likes me well: come, little king! (Enter: King Arthur.) King Arthur. "At sunset by the Magic Mere to-night The spell dissolves." So breathed a pa**ing voice, And I, a king, perforce must walk alone Beside a cursèd lake, and wait on chance To give me that is mine. And Merlin -- hell Would lightly cast him forth an' he were dead, Therefore he lives, and cloaks him with a cloud Of black, impenetrable sorcery, As he has shrouded Guenever -- By God! I'll burn him for high treason if he crawls Once more within my grasp. -- And Guenever! I cannot see her, yet the sun is gone, And noisome pestilence is lifting white Above the Mere. Who played this sorry jest Upon me for my shame? What whitened there? Was it a ghostly creature from the lake Or was it Guenever? Nimue. Most noble king, I know thine errand, and I pledge my faith Thou shalt achieve. King Arthur. What do ye, lady fair, So far from Camelot? Nimue. The king's behest, And my devoir unto his majesty. Mistrust me not; I would befriend thee, sir, And to that end I spake. King Arthur. It was from thee I gained the warning? Nimue. Aye, "The spell dissolves To-night, at sunset, by the Magic Mere." King Arthur. And Guenever? Nimue. Shall lie within thy hand Despite Sir Merlin, ere the twilight goes And darkness gathers. King Arthur. What is this to thee, That thou shouldst play the part of mine ally? Nimue. Am I not subject unto England's crown In equal measure with the watchful knights? And shall I turn aside when treachery Slides serpent-wise to sting thee? King Arthur. What is hid Behind the arras of thy woven words? Nimue. Swift warning! King Arthur. Give it voice. Nimue. The sorcerer; Endure him not lest thou shouldst see the crown Reft from thee like thy mistress. King Arthur. What of her? I hold a sword that well defends a crown, Yet is it helpless here. Speak lightly, girl, If thou know'st ought of Guenever. Nimue. My lord, My honour on her coming. Of thy grace I pray thee sit, and school thine eagerness Until the stroke when Merlin's magic fails And Guenever is free. King Arthur. What art thou, then? How cam'st thou by this knowledge? By the Ma** I do misdoubt thee. Nimue. And thou dost me hurt By thinking malice of my championship: Nathless I will content thee. Guenever Fled all distraught with dole from Camelot, For that old Merlin sought to weave a spell About her that should lift a wall of bra** Forever 'twixt her and the world of men. (Soft music: the mist from the lake deepens.) I found her crouching in the reedy sedge And baffled Merlin, for I won a charm Most potent, from the Lady of the Lake Long since, for service, and he saw her not. (The Lake Girls rise silently above the Mere; they come softly forward and dance around the King and Nimue.) Within a mystic land of drifting dreams, A realm of faery, ringed with summer seas, She lieth, sleeping, 'til the long kiss frees Her veilèd eyes of slumber. Level beams Of sultry sunlight linger drowsily Around her bed of roses, faint with love. Give me thy hand, and thou shalt bend above To breathe her name, and she shall wake to thee. (The mist has deepened until all is obscured. It flushes rose colour and slowly dissolves.)