BY MAURICE MAETERLINCK Translated by ALFRED SUTRO
CHARACTERS
THE OLD KING.
THE OLD QUEEN.
THE PRINCE.
THE SEVEN
PRINCESSES.
A MESSENGER.
SCENE—A large hall of marble , with laurel, lavender, and
lilies in
porcelain vases. The hall is divided in all its length by
seven marble
steps, which are strewn with cushions of pale silk, and on
these the SEVEN
PRINCESSES he asleep. They are all clad in white robes, and
their arms are
bare. A silver lamp sheds a faint light upon them. At the
end of the
hall is a door furnished with massive bolts. To the right
and the
left of this door are great windows, which almost reach to
the ground.
Behind these windows is a terrace. The sun is setting : and
in the dis-
tance is seen a black marshy country, with stagnant pools
and forests of pine
and oak. Behind the palace, between huge willows, is a
sombre, grim-
looking inflexible canal, along which a large war- ship is
seen advancing.
[The old KING and QUEEN
and the MESSENGER move along
the terrace
and watch the war-ship as she draws nearer.]
THE QUEEN. She is coming under full sail . . .
THE KING. I cannot see clearly, there is so much mist . . .
THE QUEEN. They are rowing . . . they are all rowing . . . They
must mean to
come right up to the castle windows … It is as
though she had a thousand
feet . . . the sails touch the branches of
the willows . . .
THE KING. The ship seems to be wider than the canal . . .
THE QUEEN. They are stopping . . .
THE KING. They will find it difficult to turn . . .
THE QUEEN. They have stopped . . . they have stopped . . . They
are dropping
the anchor . . . They are mooring the ship against
the willows … Ah! ah!
some one has landed . . . that must be
the Prince . . .
THE KING. Look at the swans . . . they are going towards him . . .
they want
to know what it means . . .
THE QUEEN. Are the Princesses still asleep?
[They go to the windows and look into the hall.]
164
THE KING. Let us wake them . . . we should have done that
before . . . we
must wake them at once . . .
THE QUEEN. Let us wait till he has come . . . It is too late now . . .
There
he is! There he is! . . . My God! my God! what are we
to do? . . . They are
so ill . . . I dare not! I dare not!
THE KING. Shall I open the door?
THE QUEEN. No, no! wait! let us wait!—Oh, how they sleep!
they do nothing
but sleep! . . . They did not know that he was
coming back . . . that he
would be here to-day . . . I am afraid
to wake them . . . the physician
forbade it . . . Do not let us wake
them . . . Do not let us wake them yet
. . . Oh ! oh ! I hear a
sound of footsteps on the bridge . . .
THE KING. He is there! He is there . . . He is at the foot of the
terrace! .
. .
[They leave the window.]
THE QUEEN. Where is he? where is he?—Is it he?—I can scarcely
recognise him
. . . Yes, yes, I know him now . . . Oh! how tall he
is! how tall he is! He
is coming up the stairs . . . Marcellus!
Marcellus! Is it you? is it you? .
. . Come to us, come; we are
so old, we cannot go down to you. . . . Come!
come! come! . . .
THE KING. Be careful . . . do not fall . . . the steps are very old . . .
they are all shaking . . . Take care! . . .
[The PRINCE comes on to the
terrace and throws himself into the arms of
the KING and QUEEN.]
The Prince. My poor grandam! My poor grandsire!
[They embrace each other.]
THE QUEEN. Oh! how handsome you are!—how tall you have grown,
my child!—How
tall you are, my little Marcellus!—I cannot
see you: my eyes are full of
tears . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! my poor grandam, how white your hair is! . . .
Oh! my poor
grandfather, how white your beard is! . . .
THE KING. We are a poor old couple; it will be our turn soon . . .
THE PRINCE. Grandsire, grandsire, why do you stoop like that?
THE KING. I always stoop now . . .
THE QUEEN. We have been expecting you so long . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! my poor grandam, how you are trembling to-night!
THE QUEEN. I always tremble like that, my child . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! my poor grandsire! Oh! my poor grandam! I
should scarcely
have known you again . . .
165
THE KING. Nor I either, nor I either . . . My eyes are not very
good . .
.
THE QUEEN. Where have you been all this time, my child? Oh!
how tall you
are!—You are taller than we! . . . See! see! I am
crying as though you were
dead . . .
THE PRINCE. Why do you greet me with tears in your eyes?
THE QUEEN. No, no, they are not tears, my child . . . They are very
different from tears . . . Nothing has happened . . . nothing has
happened
. . .
THE PRINCE. Where are my seven cousins?
THE QUEEN. Here, here; but be careful, do not speak too loud;
they are still
asleep . . . it is not good to talk of those who
sleep . . .
THE PRINCE. They are asleep? . . . Are they all with you still, all
seven? .
. .
THE QUEEN. Yes, yes, yes; be careful, be careful . . . They sleep
here; they
always sleep . . .
THE PRINCE. They always sleep? . . . What? what? what?
Do . . .? All the
seven! . . . all the seven! . . .
THE QUEEN. Oh! oh! oh! what did you think? . . . what have you
dared to
think, Marcellus, Marcellus? Hush!—They are in there
. . . come to the
window . . . come and see . . . Quick! quick!
come quick ! It is time you
should see them . .
[They go to the window and look into the hall. A long
pause.]
THE PRINCE. Are those my seven cousins? . . . I cannot see them
very clearly
. . .
THE QUEEN. Yes, yes, they are all there, lying on the steps . . . can
you
see them? can you see them?
THE PRINCE. I see nothing but white shadows.
THE QUEEN. Those are your seven cousins! . . . Can you see them
in the
mirrors? . . .
THE PRINCE. Are those my seven cousins? . . .
THE QUEEN. Look into the mirrors, right at the end of the hall . . .
You can
see them, you can see them. . . . Come here, come here,
you will see better
perhaps . . .
THE PRINCE. I see! I see! I see! I can see all the seven of them! . . .
One,
two, three [he pauses a moment] four, five, six,
seven … I
scarcely recognise them . . . Oh! how white they all are! . . .
Oh!
how beautiful they all are … Oh! how pale they all are! . . .
But why are they all asleep?
166
THE QUEEN. They always sleep . . . They have been asleep since
noon . . .
They are so ill! . . . It has become almost impossible
to wake them . . .
They did not know of your coming . . . we
were afraid to disturb them . . .
It is better they should awake
of their own accord . . . They are not
happy, and it is not our
fault . . . We are too old, too old; every one is
too old for them
. . . One grows too old without knowing it . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! how beautiful they are! how beautiful they
are! . . .
THE QUEEN. They came to us when their parents died . . . since then
one can
scarcely say that they have been alive . . . It is too cold in
this castle
. . . They come from a warm land . . . They are always
seeking the sun, but
it comes so seldom . . . There was a little
sunshine on the canal this
morning, but the trees are too large; there
is too much shade; there is
nothing but shade . . . And the sky is
never clear: it is always hidden by
the mist . . . Oh! why do you
stare like that!—Do you see anything
strange?
THE PRINCE. Oh! how pale they all are!
THE QUEEN. They have eaten nothing yet . . . They could not stay
in the
garden: the glare of the grass dazzled them . . They are in
a fever . . .
They came in at noon, holding one another by the
hand . . . They are so
weak they can scarcely walk alone . . .
They were all trembling with fever
. . . What it is that ails them no
one can tell . . . They sleep here every
day . . .
THE PRINCE. They look so strange! . . . Oh! oh! how strange they
look! I
dare not look at them . . . Is this their bed-room, then?
THE QUEEN. No, no; it is not their bed-room . . . You can see;
there are no
beds . . . their seven little beds are up higher, in the
tower. They come
here, waiting for the night . . .
THE PRINCE. I am beginning to distinguish them . . .
THE QUEEN. Come nearer, come nearer; but do not touch the window
. . . You
will see better when the sun has set: there is still too much
light outside
. . . You will see better presently. Go close up to the
panes, but make no
noise . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! how light it is in there! . . .
THE QUEEN. It will be lighter still after nightfall . . . The night is
about
to fall . . .
THE KING. What is about to fall?
THE QUEEN. I am speaking of the night . . . [to the
Prince] Can you
see anything?
167
THE PRINCE. There is a great crystal bowl on a stand . . .
THE QUEEN. That is nothing; it is filled with water; they are always
so
thirsty when they awake! . . .
THE PRINCE. But why is that lamp burning? . . .
THE QUEEEN. They always light it. They knew that they would
sleep for many
hours. They lit the lamp at noon so as not to awake
in darkness . . . They
are afraid of the dark . . .
THE PRINCE. How tall they are! . . .
THE QUEEN. They are still growing . . . They are growing too tall
. . .
Perhaps that is the secret of their sickness . . . Do you re-
cognise them?
. . .
THE PRINCE. I should perhaps recognise them if I saw them by day-
light. . .
.
THE QUEEN. You played with them so often when they were children
. . . Look
at them! look at them!
THE PRINCE. I can see nothing clearly but their little bare feet . . .
THE KING [looking through another window] I cannot see
very well
to-night . . .
THE PRINCE. They are too far away from us . . .
THE QUEEN. There is something on the mirrors this evening; I cannot
think
what it can be . . .
THE PRINCE. There is a mist on the window-panes . . . I will brush
it away .
. .
THE QUEEN. No! no! Do not touch the window! They would
wake with a
start!—The mist comes from within; it is on the inside;
it is the heat of
the room . . .
THE PRINCE. I can see the faces of six of them quite well; but there
is one,
in the centre . . .
THE KING. They are all very much alike: I can only distinguish them
by the
jewels of their necklaces . . .
THE PRINCE. There is one whose face I cannot see . . .
THE QUEEN. Which of them do you like the best . . .
THE PRINCE. The one whose face I cannot see . . .
THE QUEEN. Which one? I am a little hard of hearing . . .
THE PRINCE. The one whose face I cannot see . . .
THE KING. Which one is that? I can hardly see any of them . . .
THE PRINCE. She is in the centre . . .
THE QUEEN. I knew that you would only look at her! . . .
THE PRINCE. Who is she?
THE QUEEN. Surely you know! there is no need for me to tell you . .
168
THE PRINCE. Is it Ursule?
THE QUEEN. Yes, yes, yes! Who could it be but Ursule! It is
Ursule! it is
Ursule, who has waited for you these seven years! by
day and by night she
has been waiting for you! . . . Do you
recognise her? . . .
THE PRINCE. I cannot see her well; there is a shadow over her . . .
THE QUEEN. Yes, there is a shadow over her; I do not know what it
is . .
.
THE PRINCE. I think it is the shadow of a column . . . I shall see
her
better presently when the sun has quite set . . .
THE QUEEN. No, no! That shadow is not cast by the sun . . .
THE PRINCE. Let us see whether it moves . . .
THE KING. I see what it is: it is the shadow of the lamp.
The QUEEN. She is not lying like the others . . .
THE KING. She is sleeping more heavily, that is all . . .
THE PRINCE. She sleeps like a little child . . .
THE KING. Come to this window c perhaps you will see better from
here.
The PRINCE [goes to another window]. No, I see her no
better; I
cannot see her face . . .
THE QUEEN. Come to this window: perhaps you will see better from
here . .
.
THE PRINCE [goes to another window]. No, I see her no
better . . . It
is very difficult to see her . . . One would think she were
hiding her
face . . .
THE QUEEN. Her face is hardly visible . . .
THE PRINCE. I can see all but her face . . . It seems to be turned
quite up,
to the sky . . .
THE QUEEN. But you only look at her! . . .
THE PRINCE [still looking]. She is taller than the
others . . .
THE QUEEN. Why have you eyes only for the one whom you cannot
see? . . .
There are six others! . . .
THE PRINCE. I am looking at them too . . . Oh, how well one can
see the
others! . . .
THE QUEEN. Do you remember them? Genevieve, Helene, and Christa-
belle . . .
on the other side Madeleine, Claire, and Claribelle, with
the emeralds . .
. See how they hold one another by the hand,
all the seven . . . They have
fallen asleep hand in hand … Oh!
oh! the little sisters! . . . They are
afraid they may get lost while
they sleep! . . . My God! my God! if they
would only wake! . . .
169
THE PRINCE. Yes, yes: let us wake them . . . Shall I wake them?
The Queen.
No, no: not yet, not yet . . . And we must not look at
them any more: come
away, do not look at them any more; they
will have bad dreams . . . I will
not look at them any more; I will
not look at them any more! . . . I should
break the windows! . . .
Let us not look any more . . . we shall be afraid!
. . . Come . . .
let us go on the terrace; we will talk of other things; we
have so
much to say to each other . . . Come, come! it would frighten
them
if they were to turn round; it would frighten them to see us all
at
the windows . . . [To the KING.] And you too,
you too; come, do
not press that white beard of yours against the glass;
you do not
know how frightful you look! . . . For the love of God, come
away,
both of you! . . . Come, come, I tell you! . . . You do not
know
what is before us . . . Come here, come here, turn away, turn
away!
look the other way! look the other way for a moment! . . . They
are
so ill, they are so ill! . . . let us leave them . . . let them sleep!
. . .
THE PRINCE. [turning round Why, what is it?—Oh! how
dark it is
out here! . . . where are you? . . . I cannot see you . . .
THE KING. Wait a little: the light of the room has dazzled you . .
I cannot
see either . . . come. We are here . . .
[They leave the windows].
THE PRINCE. Oh! how dark the country is! . . . where are we?
THE KING. The sun has set . . .
THE QUEEN. Marcellus, why did you not come sooner, Marcellus?
THE PRINCE. The messenger told you: I have long wanted to
come . . .
THE QUEEN. They have been waiting for you these many years!
They were always
in this room, watching the canal, night and day.
. . . When the sun shone,
they would go to the opposite bank . . .
there is a hill with a wide view
over the cliffs, though the sea is
hidden . . .
THE PRINCE. What is that glimmer under the trees?
THE KING. It is the canal through which you came; there is always a
glimmer
on the water . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! how dark it is to-night!—I scarcely know where I
am: I feel
like a stranger . . .
THE KING. The sky has become suddenly clouded . . .
THE PRINCE. The wind is in the willows . . .
THE KING. There is always wind there, day and night . . . We are
not far
from the sea.—Listen; it is raining . . .
170
THE PRINCE. It sounds to me like tears dropping round the castle . . .
THE KING. It is the rain falling on the water: a soft, gentle rain . . .
THE QUEEN. To me it is like weeping in Heaven . . .
THE PRINCE. Oh! how the water sleeps, between those walls!
THE QUEEN. It always sleeps like that: the water is very old,
too . . .
THE PRINCE. The swans have taken shelter under the bridge . . .
THE KING. See, the peasants are driving home their flocks
THE PRINCE. They look very old and very poor . . .
THE KING. They are very poor; I am the king of a very poor people
. . . It
is growing cold . . .
THE PRINCE. What is on the other side of the water?
THE KING. There?—They were flowers: the cold has killed them.
[At this moment a monotonous chant is faintly heard, coming
from far
away. Only the refrain is audible; this seems to be repeated
in chorus,
at regular intervals.]
THE DISTANT VOICES. Atlantic! Atlantic!
THE KING. Hark!
THE PRINCE. Those are the sailors:—they must be turning the ship;
they are
getting ready to leave . . .
THE DISTANT VOICES. We shall never come back!
We shall never come back!
THE QUEEN. All the sails are set . . .
THE PRINCE. They leave to-night . . .
THE DISTANT VOICES. Atlantic! Atlantic!
THE KING. Is it true that they will not come back?
THE PRINCE. I don’t know; perhaps not the same ones . . .
THE DISTANT VOICES. We shall never come back!
We shall never come back!
THE QUEEN. You seem unhappy, my child . . .
THE PRINCE. I?—Why should I be unhappy?—I came to see her and
I have seen
her . . . I can see her closer if I wish . . . I can sit by
her side if I
wish . . . Can I not open the door and take her hand?
I can clasp her in my
arms whenever I wish: I have only to wake
her . . . Why should I be
unhappy?
THE QUEEN. And still you do not look happy! . . . I am nearly
seventy-five
years old . . . and I have done nothing but wait for
you! … It is not
you! no! … It is not you, after all! . . . [She
turns her head away and sobs.]
THE KING. Why, what is the matter? Why are you crying?
171
THE QUEEN. It is nothing; it is nothing;—it is not I who am crying
. . . Do
not mind me—one often cries without a reason;—I am so
old to-day.—It is
over now . . .
THE PRINCE. I shall look happier presently . . .
THE QUEEN. Come, come; they may have opened their eyes and be
waiting for us
. . . give me your hand; lead me to the windows; let
us go and look at the
windows . . .
THE DISTANT VOICES. Atlantic! Atlantic!
[They all go back to the windows, and look through
again.]
THE PRINCE. I cannot see yet . . . it is too light . . .
THE QUEEN. Something has changed in there! . . .
THE KING. I can see nothing at all.
THE PRINCE. There is more light than there was before . . .
THE QUEEN. It is not as it was; something has changed in there . . .
THE PRINCE. The light still dazzles my eyes . . .
THE QUEEN. They are not as we left them . . .
THE PRINCE. Yes, yes; I think they have moved a little . . .
THE QUEEN. Oh! oh! Christabelle and Claribelle! . . . Look, look!
. . . They
were holding Ursule’s hands in theirs . . . They no longer
hold their
sister’s hands . . . They have let her hands fall . . .
They have turned to
the other side . . .
THE PRINCE. They have been on the point of waking . . .
THE QUEEN. We have come too late! We have come too late! . . .
THE KING. I can see nothing but the lilies by the windows;—they are
closed .
. .
THE PRINCE. They know that it is evening . . .
THE KING. There is a light, however.
THE PRINCE. How strangely she holds her hand . . .
THE QUEEN. Who?
THE PRINCE. Ursule . . .
THE QUEEN. What hand is that? . . . I did not notice it before . . .
THE PRINCE. It was hidden in the others . . .
THE KING. I do not know what you mean: I cannot see as far as the
mirrors .
. .
THE QUEEN. She must be in pain! . . . She must be in pain! . . .
She cannot
sleep like that; it is not natural . . . If she would only
let her hand
fall!—My God, my God, make her drop that little
hand! . . . Her little arm
must hurt all this time!
THE PRINCE. I cannot see on what it is resting . . .
THE QUEEN. I will not have her sleep like that . . . I have never seen
172
her sleep like that . . . It
is not a good sign . . . It is not a good
sign! . . . She will not be able
to move that hand . . .
THE KING. There is no cause for such alarm . . .
THE PRINCE. The others are sleeping more quietly . . .
The QUEEN. How firmly their eyes are closed! How firmly their
eyes are
closed! Oh! oh! the little sisters! the little sisters! . . .
What can we
do? . . . Is there anything we can do? . . .
THE KING. Hush! hush! do not talk so near the window . . .
THE QUEEN. I am not so near as you think . . .
THE KING. Your lips are pressed against the glass . . .
THE PRINCE. I can see something in there—I don’t know what it is . . .
THE QUEEN. Yes, yes, so can I. I am beginning to see something
. . . It
stretches right up to the door . . .
THE PRINCE. There is something on the steps . . . It is not a shadow
. . .
it cannot be a shadow . . . I cannot think what it is . . . It might
be her
hair . . .
THE QUEEN. But why should her hair be hanging down? . . . Look
at the others
. . . Theirs is all fastened up . . . Look . . .
THE PRINCE. I tell you it is her hair! . . . It is moving . . . Oh! how
beautiful her hair is! . . . Can she be ill, with hair like that! . . .
THE QUEEN. She never sleeps with her hair down . . . One would say
she was
thinking of going out . . .
THE PRINCE. Did she say nothing to you? . . .
THE QUEEN. At noon, as she shut the door, she cried, ‘Pray do not
wake us
any more.’ And I kissed her so as not to see how sad
she was . . .
THE PRINCE. How cold they must be, with their little feet almost
bare upon
the flags! . . .
THE QUEEN. Yes, yes: they must be cold!—Oh do not look at them
so greedily!
[To the KING.] Nor you either! nor you
either!
Do not look at them every moment! Do not keep looking at them!
—Do not let us all look together! . . . They are not happy! . . .
They are
not happy! . . .
THE KING. Why, what now!—Are you the only one who may look at
them?—What
ails you to-night?—You are unreasonable . . . I do not
understand you . . .
You want all the others to look away; you want
all the others to look away
. . . Is this not our concern as much as
yours?
THE QUEEN. Yes, yes, it is, it is . . . For the love of God, do not say
such
things again! . . . Oh ! oh ! . . . do not look at me! Do not