Page:Czecho-Slovak Student Life, Volume 18.djvu/508
as false as Mahommed, as wicked as the prince of devils, as black as the infernal night of Dis, stand and shake, for the deeds of thy darkness have come upon thee! The web thou hast spun from the wickedness of thy heart hath broken; thou art enmeshed in its folds.—Seize him, soldiers of the Cross!—I charge him with instigating Austria against England; I charge him with setting Conrad against Richard; I charge him with betraying the Christian cause to the Saracen. (Soldiers seize Amaury.)—Away with him!—Soldiers of the Cross! ye have reverenced me for my gray hairs; ye have done me honor, for that ye thought me half mad, half prophet: If I am mad, it is because the multitudinous sins of my life have come upon me; if I am a prophet, it is thru the will of Him who hath chosen the meanest vessel for the performance of His works.—Remember the Holy Sepulchre! Remember the Holy Sepulchre! The Cross! The Cross! I am Theodoric of Engaddi! I am the walker of the desert! I am the flail of infidels, the friend of the friends of the Cross! Avoid ye! Avoid ye! (Exit slowly, waving his scourge.)
RICH: Noble princes, and fathers of this holy expedition; the words of that reverend hermit have affected me deeply; and, as I see, have moved you all—Fellows-in-arms, and brothers in this holy cause: Richard stands before you as a penitent in the confessional. Do not, for Richard’s hasty speeches and ill-considered actions, forsake the noble cause of the redemption of Palestine, Austria, you we have offended, because, forsooth, we thought we had reason to complain of you. We have quarreled over earthly banners; let us forgive and forget, and become vassals of a more glorious banner than ever blazed before earthly prince, the banner of our Salvation.—Let Leopold place his banner abreast of St. George, and Richard will say, though from no other motive but love of the Holy Church and her cause, that he repents him of the hasty mood in which he insulted the banner of Austria.
LEO.: Richard of England, though we thought we had just reasons to be offended at your deeds and words, we now grasp your hand in reconciliation for the sake of our common cause, and for the peace, union, and victory of the Christian host.
RICH: Noble brother of France, have we been so unlucky as to offend you?
PHIL.: No, Couer de Lion; the Majesty of France has no atonement to ask at the hand of England. We have ever striven to be peacemakers to the end that the rivalries, which are inseparable from such a league as this, might not disrupt our glorious expedition.
RICH.: Noble Henry, I bid thee remember that Jerusalem is not taken yet, and that in hewing our way to its gates thru two hundred thousand Moslems, there will be room and time aplenty for glory and deeds of fame.—Noble princes, turn we our faces and our lancces toward the Holy City. And believe me, brethren, that ye shall not find the wrath, or the pride, or the ambition of Richard a stumbling block on the road to victory, whereunto religion and glory summon us as with an archangel’s trumpet,
ALL: God save King Richard! Long life to the Lion’s Heart! Lead us on, Couer de Lion! Lead us on to Jerusalem.
BALD. Haec dies quam fecit Dominus! My noble princes and leaders of the Christian host: God hath smiled upon this day, and graciously hath healed the wounds in the army of His Church. In united strength now move we forward unto the Holy Sepulchre.
ALL: Lead us on, England! Lead us on, France! On to Jerusalem! On to Jerusalem! Remember the Holy Sepulchre! Instant battle with the infidels! It is the will of God, it is the will of God: (Exeunt all in marching order; drums and military music sound off-stage.)THE END.