Suns, moons, and earths, upon their loud-voiced spheres A shepherd's humble offering. ABEL. Both well, I hope. CAIN. But thee the better: I care not for that; ABEL. Brother, I should ill Deserve the name of our great father's son, Asserted it. CAIN. ABEL. But I have ne'er The more my grief; I pray thee CAIN. No; Nothing can calm me more. Calm! say I? Never ABEL. Neither; we must perform our task together. CAIN. What shall I do? ABEL. —well, then, Oh God! Compared with our great crimes :-Sole Lord of light! Without whom all were evil, and with whom Accept from out thy humble first of shepherd's CAIN (standing erect during this speech If thou lovest blood, the shepherd's shrine, which smokes In sanguinary incense to thy skies; Or if the sweet and blooming fruits of earth, He is-such as thou mad'st him; and seeks nothing The firstfings of the flock, and fat thercof What? CAIN (after a moment's stupefaction). My hand! 't is all red, and with— [A long pause.-Looking slowly round. Where am I? alone! Where's Abcl? where Cain? Can it be that am he? My brother, Awake!-why liest thou so on the green earth? 'Tis not the hour of slumber:-why so pale? What hast thou?-thou wert full of life this morn: Abel! I pray thee, mock me not! I smote Too fiercely, but not fatally. Ah, why Wouldst thou oppose me? This is mockery; And only done to daunt me :-'t was a blowAnd but a blow. Stir-stir-nay, only stir! Why, so that's well!-thou breath'st! breathe upon me! And I none! Who makes me brotherless? His eyes are open! then he is not dead! Death is like sleep; and sleep shuts down our lids. His lips, too, are apart; why then he breathes! And yet I feel it not.-His heart!-his hear' '-Let me see, doth it beat?-methinks-No!-no! This is a vision, else I am become The native of another and worse world. The earth swims round me:-what is this?-'t is wet, Life cannot be so slight, as to be quench'd Enter ZILLAH. ZILLAH. I heard a heavy sound: what can it be? He breathes not: and his hands drop down from mine I see it now-he hangs his guilty head, ADAH. Mother, thou dost him wrong- EVE. Hear, Jehovah May the eternal serpent's curse be on him! ADAH. Hold! Curse him not, mother, for he is thy son- EVE. He hath left thee no brother- [Exit ZILLAH calling on her parents, etc. Why dost thou not so now? And who hath brought him there ?-I-who abhor His aspect-I have led him here, and given Had madden'd me :-but he shall ne'er awake! ADAM. Eve! let not this, His will! the will of yon incarnate spirit Drive him forth o'er the wilderness, like us, By day and night-snakes spring up in his path- ADAM. ADAH. Oh, part not with him thus, my father: do not CAIN. Why, all have left thee. Exeinption from such deeds as thou hast done. Cain! what hast thou done? The voice of thy slain brother's blood cries out, Even from the ground, unto the Lord!-Now art thou Cursed from the earth, which opened late her mouth To drink thy brother's blood from thy rash hand. After the fall too soon was I begotten; And I lie ghastly! so shall be restored ANGEL. Who shall heal murder? what is done is done. ADAH. He's gone, let us go forth; Henceforth, when thou shalt till the ground, it shall not I hear our little Enoch cry within Yield thee her strength; a fugitive shalt thou ADAH. This punishment is more than he can bear. CAIN. Our bower. CAIN. Ah! little knows he what he weeps for ' And I who have shed blood cannot shed tears! But the four rivers' would not cleanse my soul. Think'st thou my boy will bear to look on me? ADAH. If I thought that he would not, I would 11 he "four rivers" which flowed round Eden, and conse quently the only waters with which Cain was acquainted upon Would they could! but who are they the earth. CAIN (interrupting her). No, No more of threats: we have had too many of them: ADAH. I will not leave thee lonely with the dead; CAIN. Oh! thou dead And everlasting witness! whose unsinking Can never meet thee more, nor even dare To do that for thee, which thou shouldst have done [ADAH stoops down and kisses the body of ABEL. Werner; or, The Inheritance; A TRAGEDY. TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS GOETHE, BY ONE OF HIS HUMBLEST ADMIRERS, THIS TRAGEDY IS DEDICATED. PREFACE. conception, rather than execution; for the story might, perhaps, have been more developed with greater advan tage. Amongst those whose opinions agreed with mine THE following drama is taken entirely from the "Ger- upon this story, I could mention some very high names; man's Tale, Kruitzner," published many years ago in but it is not necessary, nor indeed of any use; for every "Lee's Canterbury Tales;" written (I believe) by two one must judge according to their own feelings. I sisters, of whom one furnished only this story and merely refer the reader to the original story, that he may another, both of which are considered superior to the see to what extent I have borrowed from it; and am not remainder of the collection. I have adopted the char- unwilling that he should find much greater pleasure in acters. plan, and even the language, of many parts of perusing it than the drama which is founded upon its this story. Some of the characters are modified or contents. altered, a few of the names changed, and one character (Ida of Stralenheim) added by myself: but in the rest the original is chiefly followed. When I was young (about fourteen, I think) I first read this tale, which made a deep impression upon me; and may, indeed, be said to contain the germ of much that I have since written.. I am not sure that it ever was very popular; or at any rate its popularity has since been eclipsed by that of other great writers in the same department. have generally found that those who had read it, agreed with me in their estimate of the singular power of mind and conception which it developes. I should also add But I I had begun a drama upon this tale so far back as 1815 (the first I ever attempted, except one at thirteen years old, called "Ulric and Ilvina,” which I had sense enough to burn), and had nearly completed an act, when I was interrupted by circumstances. This is somewhere amongst my papers in England; b been found, I have re-written the first, subsequent acts. ' as not d the The whole is neither intended, nor in any shape adapted, for the stage. February, 1822. |