CHARACTERS

BENEDICT ARNOLD.

JOSHUA SMITH.

MAJOR ANDRÉ.

MRS. ARNOLD.

WILLIAM ARNOLD, A Boy of Eight, Son to Benedict.

FATHER HUDSON.

CHORUS OF WAVES (Men).

CHORUS OF CLOUDS (Women).

CHORUS-LEADER OF MEN.

CHORUS-LEADER OF WOMEN.

TREASON.

DEATH.

TWO PICKETS.

A SERVANT.

SCENE

ACT I. THE SHORE OF THE HUDSON NEAR WEST POINT.

ACT II. SITTING-ROOM OF BENEDICT ARNOLD IN ENGLAND IN 1801.

The Acts are Separated by a Short Vocal Intermezzo.

TREASON AND DEATH

OF BENEDICT ARNOLD

ACT I

The margin of the Hudson at West Point. Fort Putnam and the Highlands in the distance. A flag is fluttering on the fort. The orchestra represents the level of the river shore, upon which level the Chorus will enter. The characters of the drama appear on a bank or platform, slightly raised above the orchestra and Chorus. At the opening of the play Father Hudson is upon the scene. He reclines in the centre of the stage in the attitude of a river-god. The nook or couch in which he rests is situated between the two levels, as it were in an angle of the river bank. His position is such that he can, by turning his head, either watch the personages on the stage, or address the Chorus on the river margin. He is so painted and disposed as not to attract attention when the play opens, but to appear rather as a part of the scenery and decoration.

First Picket. Uneasy has been my watch. Dark have been my forebodings, standing first on one foot and then on the other, through the night hours, preyed upon by visions, holding my eyelids open by my will, while strange thoughts like vultures over their carrion, wheeling about above me, assail me, tear me with their beaks and talons. Dark looms the cloud bank through the black portals of the river. The fog holds the bleared eyes of the morning. And I, stiff with watching, suspect some evil. Some foul play is in the mountains, stalking in the shadows of the dawn. Would God the releasing trumpet would blow and the flag flutter on the mountain side, and that I might find all well! General Washington is on a journey. Would God he were returned! [The sound of a bugle is heard.] Blow, blessed bugle! Blow to the rising Sun! Blow to the dayspring of Liberty, to the new nation rising calmly above the dangers that beset her dawn. Blow bugle, and scatter the night-thoughts of terror!

[Enter the relieving Picket.] Who goes there?

Second Picket. A friend and thy relief. Our post is changed; The pickets are extended up the hills, And this low post abandoned.

First Picket. That is strange, To leave the river front without a watch! If we expect attack, attack must come Along the river,——

Second Picket. Comrade, spare your brains, And take your orders. [Exeunt Pickets.]

Father Hudson. Daughters of the sky, ye clouds of the morning, Replenishers of my veins, ye purple, wandering clouds! And you, ye waves that lap my feet, far-traveling, restless, endlessly moving! Thralls of the circling ocean, waves of the sea— Attend your Father Hudson, the Ageless, the Majestic! Calling to you, his sons and daughters, summoning you at his need. Stoop, daughters of ether, ye clouds of the mountains! Rise, sons of the sea, most ancient retainers, Flow towards your father's need! the River calls— Father Hudson summons his children.

[Enter simultaneously Chorus of Waves, (men) on one side, and on the other, Chorus of Clouds (women). They flock slowly into the orchestra, approaching each other, and sing as they assemble.]

Both Choruses. Father Hudson, we are coming, we are streaming, we are foaming From the sky and from the earth, Down the mountains, Through the fountains, We are streaming, steaming forth; We, the children of your will, Born to serve you, and to fill All your banks and all your margin With the fulness of enlarging, With the plentitude of rivers, We, the generous water-givers, Overflowing, bubbling, swelling, Feed you with our rich upwelling.

Chorus of Men. From Monadnock and Mount Washington— And where the haughty deer on Hudson's Bay Sniffs the north wind, We bring you Mist.

Chorus of Women. From the rank lowlands of the Delaware, And from the even margin of low sand, Where the Atlantic smites the continent, We bring you Salt.

Chorus of Men. From Sicily and the Cumaean Cave, And from the mountains where Apollo's shafts Whitened the hillsides once, We bring you Thought.

Chorus of Women. From the dark heart of man that scorns the light, From Wisdom, found in Meekness through Despair, We bring you Grief.

Both Choruses. Haste to where our father dwells! We the movers, we the rovers, Come to your eternal dwelling. Ancient father, we will bring News and thought of everything, From the mossy citadels, And the cities of the sea; Timeworn tales of prophecy We are bringing in our singing To your newer Majesty. To your destiny belated, Young and unsophisticated, We, the children of the ages, Bring the solemn heritages,— Force and Woe and Human Fate,— Embittering your god-like state. Bitter is life! Bitter, bitter even to the gods, is life!

Father Hudson. Sons and daughters, sole feeders of my life, By these new-coming white men I am destroyed. My feet are burned in Manhattan, my thighs in the Mohawk, While in the Adirondacks they blaze enduring ruin.

[The leaders speak, not sing, except as otherwise noted.]

Leader of Men. Alas! little knows he that his kingdom is of nothing but of change and pain.

Leader of Women. Foolish god that must await the baptism of humanity!

Leader of Men. Father! these things must be: therefore endure. Lo, thy old trees are as grass; thy ancient summits as fresh ant-hills. Chaldea sends thee this message, father; Egypt salutes thee; Greece sends thee this song; a song of tribulation. For there is no short cut to Antiquity: therefore endure.

Father Hudson. Woe, woe, woe is me!

Leader of Men. Untutored God! Mind ragged as thy hills, thou must accept the refining pain.

Father Hudson. Woe, woe, woe is me!

Leader of Women. Peace, Father! Do not whine. Because thou hast been spared thou art soft-minded. Because thou wast spared thou art a child.

Leader of Men. When thy hills shall have been steeped for a thousand years in history, then thou wilt be patient.

Leader of Women. What thou feelest is not the axe nor the fire-brand, but the Spirit of Man moving in thy demesnes.

Leader of Men. Lo, where it comes! Lo, where the shadow falls!

[Enter Benedict Arnold. He is in the Uniform of an American General. He limps.]

Both Choruses. A light thing is man and his suffering very little.

If he can but endure for a short time, death saves him. Lo, his release cometh and his happiness is long.

Fame forever follows in the steps of the just man: an unending life springs up behind him.

Children follow him: a good father's life is a lamp that burns in the heart of the son.

How short is the struggle of the greatest hero, and how long his fame! Save me from pride and from the expectation of praise from men.

Arnold. He may not come.— What if it were a ruse to capture me?— The whole proceeding cloaked in infamy, And no faith in the matter? André should be here. André is a man Of sterling honor, and will keep his faith. My secret's in his hand.—My change of heart Must to His Majesty have long been known, And he will praise me for it. Civil war Knows no such thing as treason; change of sides, The victory of reason in the heart, Makes Loyalist turn Whig. Montgomery, Richard Montgomery, was honor's darling; And when his body fell, scaling Quebec, Down the sheer rock it left a track of light Which sped in opposition towards the stars Bearing his fame. He was an officer In the King's army ere he found our own. Did conscience fret the gallant Irishman To think what uniform was on his back When he so died? What if in that assault I had died too, my name had ranked with his In song and monument; unfading laurels Had shed their brazen lustre o'er our brows, And we, like demigods, had lived forever. Was it enough for him, to scale the sky Against the slippery adamant of Fame,

And, giving youth, give all? I have done more. All of his early prowess was mine too: In everything I match him; and to me Remains the hell of glory on the Lakes, When with my hand I stopped the British fleet,— Stayed them a year: they dreaded to come on. And I had done it. There remain my fights At Ridgefield, and those shortened days At Saratoga, when the fit came on And I knew nothing but the act of war, And victory coming down, Victory, Victory! 'Twas I that saved them! Yes, 'twas I that saved you— Ye little wranglers with the name of war! I beat Burgoyne, I saved the continent, The Continental Army and the Cause, Washington, Congress, and the whole of you, I saved ye,—saved ye,—and I had for it— It chokes me still to say it—had for it— It wakes me in the night with leaping hatred,— Out of my bed I leap to think of it,— Hitting me in my sleep the poison comes And fangs my heart.—I had a Reprimand! I, reprimanded by a sorry crew Of politicians—I, I, I——! Thus, in my heart for sixteen months of hurt, Burns the injustice, clamors the revenge.

No, no revenge! but justice, Nothing but justice—I'll have justice!

Both Choruses. Foolish is the man who thinks upon his wrongs though they be great. The sting is in him; the poison is in himself.

Lo, he accuses others, and the deed of his death is done with his own hand.

Father Hudson. What is the man disturbed about, my children?

Leader of Men. He is a hero and a battle-god: The spoils and the rewards he justly won, Others have seized, and left his haughty heart A withered laurel.

Father Hudson. Surely it was wrong; The hero should receive the hero's meed.

Leader of Men. The gods that made him hero had left out The drop of meekness which preserves the rest From self-destruction.

Father Hudson. Will he kill himself?

Leader of Men. More than a suicide.— A living death Takes up its habitation in his heart.

Father Hudson. Little I understand, but greatly pity. You, who have mastered all philosophy, Can surely soothe him.

Leader of Men. None can reach the man. He is beyond the boundaries of speech, And goes the paths of blindness. Would'st thou, O Father, see the invisible, And know what agitates your placid mind?

Father Hudson. Show me: I can receive it.

[The following Invocation is sung by the Leader of the Women in a clear contralto voice.]

Leader of Women. Spirit of the unseen habitation, Walking distress, Blighting presence, Nemesis, Evil, Good-in-Darkness, Passing from breast to breast, Reaching easily all men, And the vine in the orchard, And the thick clusters of the grape, And the bending branches of the young peach trees, When the south wind blows death upon their pride,— O intimate undoing! In what form walkest thou here?

Treason. [Without.] Who calls?

Leader of Men. One who knows thee well enough: thou need'st not hide.

[Enter Treason.]

Leader of Men. [To Father Hudson.] Behold the unsleeping fiend that lives in him! His name is Treason.

Treason. Art thou there, Benedict?

Arnold. [Aside.] Why not? 'Tis Fame, Reward, wealth, power, revenge and simple justice All at a clap. They'll make a Lord of me,— Pacificator of the Colonies,— Restorer of an erring people's love To their forgiving Sovereign. At a clap! The key to all of this is in my hand,— West Point; and in my other hand, Sir Henry's promises,—money in sums, To weigh the unweighed treasures I have sunk For these damned ingrates.

Treason. Art thou there, Benedict?

Arnold. [Still aside.] They took my all, Engulfed my freely-given wealth, paid out For their salvation; now they count the cost, File my accounts and give me promises,— Hopes for next year. Twas not in coin like that I paid at Saratoga!

Treason. Benedict!

Arnold. Who art thou, spirit of the inner world? I cannot see thee.

Treason. And yet you called me.

Arnold. No, I called thee not. I called to mind My bullet-shattered thigh, and the hot thirst Of fever. Did not Washington himself Send me the sword-knots he received from France, And Congress vote a horse caparisoned To bear me proudly?

Treason. Ay; they kept back that Which all out-weighed the rest.

Arnold. My rank! My rank! Five brigadiers promoted over me!

Treason. They paid with compliment.

Arnold. A soldier's rank Is, as his guiding genius in the sky, A holy thing. That rank which I had earned They gave to striplings.

Treason. Pay them well for it!

Arnold. Leave me: I do desire to be alone.

Treason. Without me, Arnold, thou art not alone. I am beside thee till thy dying breath: When Treason leaves, he hands thee unto Death.

Arnold. It is not treason to preserve one's life Among wild beasts; nor treason to demand The reasonable payment of a debt; Nor treason for the savior of a land— Listen:—There was a stripling in the town Where I was born; and this rash vigorous boy Seized by the nose a bull, that in a fright Had rushed aboard a crowded ferry-boat, And held him through his plunges till he fell, Subdued by pain. The boy for no reward, But for the devil in him, did the thing. But had he been a man, and sought reward, Had he been banged about this rocking world As I have, holding terror by the horns, Could he not ask a pittance?—Leave me, friend. I am exhausted, taking all the brunt And getting kicks for pay. Nay, leave me, Sir, The argument is over. Let me rest.

[Sits down and tries to sleep.]

Treason. I'll watch beside thee.

Father Hudson. Can ye not calm him somewhat in his sleep?

Leader of Men. [To Treason.] Will you not leave the man and let him rest?

Treason. His sleep is mine. When waking let him rest.

Father Hudson. [To Treason.] This is a cruel fate ye mete him out.

Treason. Be it your province to be merciful.

Father Hudson. When will ye leave the man, thou empty ghost?

Treason. When Treason in the flesh shall come to meet him.

Both Choruses. Surely it is a good thing for a hero to die in his youth; for then is he perfect. The bark is not broken on the wand nor the neck worn by the yoke.

Surely young men are better than old; and we praise them deservedly. This man, a few years since, could endure reverse; but now he is broken and worn away: his soul bows down; he cannot hold out longer.

It is a good thing when a young hero dies; for so is he safe. His immortality is meted to him. O spare us a trial like this man's who is on the brink of great misfortune.

Arnold. [Starting up.] They have betrayed me! Who goes there?

[Enter Joshua Smith. Exit Treason.]

Joshua Smith. A friend!

Arnold. His name?

Joshua Smith. Joshua Smith. And yours?

Arnold. Arnold, my man. Good God! you startled me. I must have slept. What news? Will André come?

Joshua Smith. He's just behind me. All is as we planned. The British sloop-of-war hangs in the tide. The Vulture brought him, and she waits for him Not two miles to the south. I boarded her. With every point Raised in your letters André is agreed; And back of him, Sir Henry Clinton stands; And back of him,—ye'll hear it now?—King George! Packt, stamped upon, agreed, and understood, The bargain's struck. Your hand, my Lord! Sir Benedict! Lord Ruler Benedict, The Lord Protector of the Colonies, And Duke of,—what you will. Young André follows. I chased ahead to find you. Put it high! You'll put the figure high?—I'm out of breath—

Arnold. I'll put it high enough to help a friend.— No fear of that, my lad. Go rest awhile: Stand sentinel upon the shore below.

[Exit Smith. As he goes out he indicates Arnold to André by a gesture. Enter André. His slender, refined, almost girlish youth is in contrast with Arnold's battle-worn, gigantic figure.]

Arnold. [Aside.] At last my arrows strike! [To André.] What! Major André! This is a crazy meeting,—somewhat strange After your jigging nights in Philadelphia,— A Mischianza, where we play a masque, And act a drama fraught with consequence More serious than any since the Duke Brought back King Charles. Two true-born Englishmen, If you'll accept my hand, shall this day place A jewel in old England's diadem, Which some rash spirits would shake out of it.

André. Have you the papers ready?

Arnold. They are here; The plans of all the out-posts to the dot, And every man on duty in the Fortress.

André. The general is in Hartford?

Arnold. And returns Not for some days. Our garrison I'll post Distributively on the distant hills; While from the Vulture half a thousand men Land in the darkness. Thus without a blow, But with the magic of a countersign, West Point becomes your own.

André. Is there some house Or tavern, where with more deliberate mind We may o'erlook the papers, and make note Of our exacter meanings?

Arnold. Close at hand, The mansion of my agent, Joshua Smith.

André. Good, we'll go there. O Arnold, death is nothing; Our lives are forfeit to our country's cause. Which of us would not quit the world in peace After some act that scaled the walls of time, And stood on the rampart?

Arnold. Right, and bravely said! I've given my life As many times as I have mounted horse To reconnoitre—

André. But this is different, Arnold.

Arnold. Different, ay different! it saves men's lives: Without a drop of blood it ends a war.

André. You are a veteran, and know the feel Of imminent death. I could die bravely, too.

Arnold. Of course you could. All fear is bookish talk Cooked up by writers out of literature, To give the shudder to dyspeptic girls. Dying is easy. Come along, my friend! A glass of port shall cure us of such fears; Moments like this make mirth in after years.

[Exeunt Arnold and André.]

Father Hudson. Is there no way to stop them; can ye not Bring pause to these excited rushing men?

Leader of Men. Pause is unknown, as to your moving waters, That take their God-directed, downward course, Deaf to beseechment.

Father Hudson. 'Tis most pitiful.

Both Choruses. No, not to mirth can my voice be tuned, while these two men converse. Often their story comes to me in the night, and causes weeping.

One, the young troubadour, the boy poet, beloved by all, burning for fame; and, in his innocence, he performs the mean work of a spy.

And the other, the old hero, seven times baptized with immortality-in-action, who betrays his country out of foolishness.

To the first, death by hanging: to the second, one and twenty years of dishonored life.

Which of them shall have most of pity? Which of them could we see again with gladness, or greet with a gay demeanor?

The fate of the young man I deem the better; because he is young, and because death took him in his beauty.

Strange it is what souls are woven together by destiny; and out of what substance life is wrought.

All men become something incredible to themselves; for they are unwound like a cocoon, and know not which way the thread doth run.

They dance like motes in the sunbeam for a moment, and then are illumined no more. Legend takes some of them, and they become pictures; and the rest, it would seem, enter again into nothingness.

Grant me to know the desire of mine own heart beforehand; that I may not be deceived. Give me not much, but a true thing, and one that lasts forever.

[The distant sound of cannonading is heard.]

Father Hudson. Surely I hear a sound disquieting—

Leader of Men. Wait: you shall know the cause.

[Enter hurriedly, and meeting, Arnold and André on one side, Joshua Smith on the other.]

Joshua Smith. General Arnold! Major André!

Arnold. What is it? What has happened?

Joshua Smith. Colonel Livingston's redoubts on the eastern bank. He has fired on the Vulture. They are exchanging shots; and the Vulture is dropping down stream. She cannot bear the fire.

Major André. We are lost!

Arnold. No, no, no; not lost, not lost. You have only to drop down stream also. Mr. Smith goes with you; and you shall be put aboard the vessel a few miles below. Eh, Smith?

Joshua Smith. Not for the world, General! It is daylight now, and if I should be seen taking this gentleman to the Vulture, the Yankees would shoot both of us.

Arnold. Some truth in that. But what can we do?