Poetical Works of ROBERT BRIDGES

Volume III

London Smith, Elder & Co 15 Waterloo Place 1898

OXFORD: HORACE HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

POETICAL WORKS OF ROBERT BRIDGES

VOLUME THE THIRD CONTAINING

[Pg 4]

LIST OF PREVIOUS EDITIONS

THE FIRST PART OF NERO.

1. NERO. An historical Tragedy of the first part of the reign of the emperor Nero. Published by Ewd. Bumpus. London, 1885. 4to.

ACHILLES IN SCYROS.

1. ACHILLES IN SCYROS. A drama in a mixed manner. Published by Ewd. Bumpus. London, 1890. 4to.

2. ACHILLES IN SCYROS. Uniform with Shorter Poems (I). George Bell & Sons, 1892.

[Pg 5]

THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY OF NERO

A HISTORICAL TRAGEDY

[Pg 6]

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Scene. The first four acts are laid in ROME; the fifth is at BAIÆ.

[Pg 7]

SCENE · 1

On the Palatine. THRASEA & PRISCUS.

THRASEA.

IF you ask my advice then, it is silence. You are yet new to the senate, and must learn to give your opinion with least offence.

PRISCUS.

Can you mean this?

Thr. Yes—it is my serious advice.

Pr. Now, unless it were the silence of Brutus ...

Thr. Hush, hush! Were this repeated, there is no greater peril than that word of yours.

Pr. But to you I know I may speak freely.

10Thr. What know you of me?

[Pg 4]

Pr. I know Thrasea is brave, and resents his country’s wrongs; that he has insight to see that liberty was never more outraged than now.

Thr. Believe me, sir, this tale of things being at their worst is common to all times. Your judgment has gone astray upon a contempt for Cæsar’s follies, or a hatred of his mother’s crimes. Measure Nero but by what he has already done, and you may even find cause for congratulation.

Pr. We shall be ruled like the Britons by a Queen.

Thr. O nay. It is not possible that Nero will suffer Agrippina’s ambition to take such a place. ’Tis already a quarrel between them, and Seneca declares for him.

Pr. Then, I ask you, may there not be found in this quarrel an opportunity to bring in Britannicus? Now he is of age, he can no longer be held disqualified.

28Thr. There is no question of qualification or of claim.

Pr. How so? The late emperor Claudius in his will mentioned Britannicus for his successor, as being his own son ....

Thr. May be. But then, sir, his empress made away with both him and his will; and the Roman people chose for Cæsar the son of the murderess, rather than the heir of the idiot they were glad to be rid of. Since which day Nero is as truly our Cæsar as Britannicus could[Pg 5] ever have been. Those who swore to Nero will remain by him; as ’tis well they should, else were no stability.

39Pr. Shall we then do nothing?

Thr. You take things by the wrong handle. Let us make the best of what we have. Our Cæsar is the pupil of a philosopher and guided in everything by his master’s counsels.

Pr. You are very tolerant and hopeful.

Thr. Try and be so too, and I shall wish to see more of you. If you will visit my house, you will indeed be most welcome and may find congenial company. Only no more of Brutus.

Pr. Thank you for your kindness, if it is an earnest of your confidence—On another occasion ... 50

Thr. O we will find many. (Shouts heard.) What is that? (More shouts.) It must be Cæsar: he is coming this way. Be not seen talking with me: go you that way: I will remain. Farewell.

[Retires aside.

Enter Nero, Otho, Lucan, Tigellinus, and Paris.

NERO.

LUCAN.

OTHO.

TIGELLINUS.

PARIS.

[Exit Paris.

[Exeunt. [Pg 14]

SCENE · 2

A room in the palace. Enter OCTAVIA and BRITANNICUS.

BRITANNICUS.

OCTAVIA.

Enter Agrippina and attendants.

ATTENDANT.

AGRIPPINA.

[Exeunt Octavia and attendants.

[Pg 24]

ACT · II

SCENE · I

A room in Seneca’s house, SENECA and BURRUS.

SENECA.

BURRUS (refusing a seat).

[Takes a paper.

Enter Servant.

SERVANT.

Enter Agrippina.

AGRIPPINA.

SCENE · 2

Room in Domitia’s house. Enter DOMITIA and SELEUCUS.

DOMITIA.

SELEUCUS.

SCENE · 3

Room in Otho’s house. Enter POPPÆA.

POPPÆA.

Enter Seleucus.

SELEUCUS.

[Exit Seleucus, being put out.

[Noise at door.

[Laughing heard without.

Enter Otho.

OTHO.

[Exeunt. [Pg 44]

SCENE · 4

Room in the Palace. Enter AGRIPPINA and PALLAS.

AGRIPPINA.

Enter Tigellinus and Paris.

TIGELLINUS.

PARIS.

Enter Nero with Domitia.

NERO.

[Exeunt Tigellinus and Paris. [Pg 47]

DOMITIA.

Enter Agrippina.

[She acts.

[Exeunt.

[Pg 56]

ACT · III

SCENE · 1

The same. SENECA.

SENECA.

Enter Nero.

NERO.

[Exit.

SCENE · 2

Room in Domitia’s house. Enter DOMITIA and PARIS.

DOMITIA.

PARIS.

Enter Servant.

SERVANT.

Enter Seleucus.

SELEUCUS.

SCENE · 3

The room in Otho’s house. Enter POPPÆA and MAID.

MAID.

POPPÆA.

Enter Otho.

OTHO.

[Knocking.

Enter Lucan and Petronius.

LUCAN.

PETRONIUS.

SCENE · 4

A room in the Palace. Enter AGRIPPINA.

AGRIPPINA.

Enter Britannicus.

BRITANNICUS.

Enter Octavia.

OCTAVIA.

SCENE · 5

Supper-room in the Palace. All are reclined at two tables, thus:

NERO.

POPPÆA.

TIGELLINUS.

PETRONIUS.

PARIS.

TASTER.

BRITANNICUS (to servant).

LUCAN.

[They pour in the poison.

[Falls back.

[Exit with servants who are carrying Brit.

In disorder of going curtain falls.

[Pg 95]

ACT · IV

SCENE · 1

The same. A public place. THRASEA and PRISCUS meeting.

PRISCUS.

THRASEA.

Enter Lucan.

LUCAN.

[Exeunt.

SCENE · 2

The room in Domitia’s house, Enter DOMITIA and PARIS.

DOMITIA.

PARIS.

Enter Poppæa.

POPPÆA.

[Exeunt.

SCENE · 3

At the tomb of Britannicus, Enter OCTAVIA and ATTENDANTS.

OCTAVIA.

ATTENDANT.

Enter Agrippina, Fulvia, and Attendants.

AGRIPPINA.

[Exit Oct. with Attendants.

SCENE · 4

A room in the Palace. Enter through a door from the supper-room NERO and POPPÆA.

NERO.

POPPÆA.

Enter through the door Petronius, Tigellinus and Anicetus.

TIGELLINUS.

ANICETUS.

Enter Paris.

PARIS.

Enter Burrus with Tigellinus.

BURRUS.

[Exit Nero carrying out Poppæa.

Re-enter Nero.

SCENE · 5

A small room in Agrippina’s house. Enter AGRIPPINA and FULVIA.

AGRIPPINA.

FULVIA.

Enter Servant, who speaks to Fulvia, and she to Agrippina.

Enter Burrus and Seneca with two others.

SENECA.

BURRUS.

[Sitting.

[Exeunt Burrus and Seneca and two Gentlemen.

Enter Nero. Agrippina is seated.

NERO.

SCENE · 6

A room in the Palace. Enter NERO and POPPÆA.

NERO.

POPPÆA.

Enter Messenger.

MESSENGER.

Pop. (reads). To her dearest son. Ha! ha! ha! When last we met thou wilt remember to have confessed some shame for wrong done to me. The wrong I forgive, but eagerly seize on thy sorrow to ask of thee, in regard for thine own happiness, this only favour. ’Tis my earnest prayer and advice that thou dismiss Poppæa. 2551

Ner. Ha! writes she so?

Pop.Attend, the reasons follow. (Reading.) Beware of her: nor think that I grudge thee the happiness which thou now findest in her. Marriage with her can lead only to thy misery. I know her well. Now hear my character.

Ner.Give me the letter.

Pop. She is vain, deceitful, self-seeking, and, being by nature cold, hath the art to assume the mask of passion; and ’neath the show of virtue designedly conceals her wickedness and mischief. She loves thee no better than she loves Otho. 2561

[Pg 142]

Ner. Give me the letter.

Pop.Nay, one sentence more. Believe a woman sees further than a man, since to her eyes beauty is no veil. She grants me beauty then.[Gives letter to Nero.

Enter a Servant.

SERVANT.

Enter Anicetus.

ANICETUS.

[Pg 146]

ACT · V

SCENE · 1

Baiæ. A room in Agrippina’s villa; the back gives out on the sea, where a galley is seen moored to quay of villa. AGRIPPINA and FULVIA.

AGRIPPINA.

FULVIA.

Enter Nero, Seneca, and Burrus.

NERO.

SENECA.

BURRUS.

[Exeunt Nero with Agr. and Fulv. down the quay,

Re-enter Nero. Fulvia goes into house.

[Exeunt Burrus and Seneca.

Re-enter Fulvia.

[She sits in Agrippina’s chair.

[A boat rows up to quay.

Enter Agrippina up from the quay, clothes dripping; the boat remains.

Sailors enter.

SAILOR.

[Exeunt Sailors.

Enter Agrippina.

Re-enter Fulvia.

SCENE · 2

A room in Nero’s villa. A table with papers. Enter NERO, SENECA, BURRUS, and TIGELLINUS.

NERO.

BURRUS.

SENECA.

TIGELLINUS.

Enter Messenger with Officer of the Guard.

MESSENGER.

[Runs out.

Enter Anicetus in haste, Paris following.

ANICETUS.

PARIS.

Enter Officer of the Guard. Petronius follows.

OFFICER.

[Takes Tigellinus’ dagger.

Enter Agerinus, who runs to Cæsar.

AGERINUS.

[He is borne off by Guards.

[Exeunt Anicetus and Tigellinus. Paris follows them. Exit Nero within doors.

PETRONIUS.

Re-enter Anicetus, Tigellinus, and Paris.

[Anicetus and Tigellinus hurry within.

Enter Nero between Anicetus and Tigellinus.

[Pg 178] [Pg 179]

ACHILLES IN SCYROS

[Pg 180]

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

The scene is on the Island of Scyros, in the gardens of the palace.

Thetis prologises.

[Pg 181]

ACHILLES

THETIS.

Enter Ulysses from the bushes, followed by Diomede, who wears a Lion’s skin.

DIOMEDE.

ULYSSES.

[Exit among the bushes.

[Exeunt into the bushes.

Enter Deidamia, Achilles as Pyrrha, with the chorus of maidens.

CHORUS.

ACHILLES.

Enter Chorus, with flowers.

[Hides in bushes.

Enter Lycomedes and Abas.

LYCOMEDES.

ABAS.

Enter Achilles from the bushes.

Enter Thetis.

[Exeunt.

Enter Deidamia and Chorus.

Chorus.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Enter, with those who had gone out, Ulysses as a pedlar.

The Chorus crowd about him, when enter unperceived by him Achilles and Deidamia.

[Takes it and comes to front.

[Pulling off his beard and head-dress and leaping up.

[They fly.

Diomede comes out of bushes where he stands unseen by Achilles.

Ach. (suddenly casts off his long robe and appears in

[Exeunt Ul. and Dio.

Enter hurriedly Lycomedes and Abas.

Enter Deidamia and Chorus.

Enter Thetis.

Chorus.

[Exeunt Th. and Chor.

[Covers her face weeping.

Enter Achilles.

[Exeunt.

Enter Lycomedes, Ulysses, Diomede, and Abas.

Enter Chorus with Ach. and Deid. following.

Chorus.

Chorus.

Chorus.

1.

2.

[Pg 261] [Pg 262] [Pg 263] [Pg 264]

NOTES

THE FIRST PART OF NERO

This play was not intended for the stage, as the rest of my plays are. It was written as an exercise in dramatic qualities other than scenic; and had its publication been contemplated, I should have been more careful not to deserve censure in one or two places: these however I have not thought it worth while to erase or correct. Owing to its inordinate length I have found it necessary, so that the volumes of this series might be of uniform size, to couple with it the shortest of the other plays. Hence

ACHILLES IN SCYROS

is here out of order. Instead of standing second it should come fifth, that is after The Christian Captives. The following note is taken from the first edition.

Note to Achilles in Scyros.—After I had begun this play I came by chance on Calderon’s play on the same subject, El Monstruo de los Jardines. The monster is Achilles; the gardens the same. Excepting an expression or two I found nothing that it suited me to use, and I should not have recorded the circumstance, if it were not that Calderon’s play seemed to me to contain strong evidence that he had read The Tempest. This observation cannot be new, but I have never met with it; so I offer it to my readers, thinking it will interest them as it did me.

El Monstruo de los Jardines opens with a storm at sea, and shipwreck of royal persons, similar as it is inferior to Shakespeare’s (but compare also the Devil’s shipwreck in the second act of El magicio prodigioso, which may be read in Shelley’s translation). Stephano has his counterpart,

and the whole play is then on a supposed desert island, which turns out to be strangely peopled. There is the monster Achilles, who in many respects remembers Caliban, and is even addressed as Señor monstruo: ’Monsieur Monster.’ There is Thetis, who is to her nymphs as Prospero to his spirits; with musical enchantments, and voices in the air, and even a fantastico bajél. Calderon has moreover hit upon the same device of imitative fancy as tempted Dryden in like sad case, and pictured a man who had never seen a woman. The island is wandered on by the prince and his suite, and one of them says of it Republica es entera, &c. A curious reader might find more than I have here noticed: but Calderon is as far from sympathy with Shakespeare, as he is from the Greek story, with his drums and trumpets and El gran Sofí.

There is a passage in my Achilles (l. 518 and foll.) which is copied from Calderon: but this is after Muley’s well-known speech in the Principe Constante (see note to The Christian Captives); which is quoted in most books on Calderon. In my short play, which runs on without change of scene or necessary pause, I have had the act and scene divisions indicated by greater and lesser spaces in the printing.[A]

R. B., 1890.

[A] Not followed in this edition. 1901.

Transcriber’s Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. All other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

Line 1374/5 of The First Part of Nero “Now may some god of mischief Dare set me in the roll of puny spirits.” Roll could be a misprint for role but has not been changed.

The varied ellipses remain unchanged.

The variation in fonts, sizes etc in e-book displays makes accurate reproduction of verse indents and caesuras impossible. The approach used should give a reasonable approximation in most cases.