SCENE 14
The same. Hilary's wife in conversation with the Manager.
HILARY'S WIFE:
That fate itself doth not desire the deed Which yet my husband thinks imperative, Seems likely when one views the tangled threads This power doth weave to form the knot in life, Which holds us here in its compelling bonds.
MANAGER:
A knot of fate indeed, which truly seems Unable to be loosed by human sense-- And so, I take it, it must needs be cut.
I see no other possibility Than that the strand which links thy husband's life To mine must now at last be cut in twain.
HILARY'S WIFE:
What! Part from thee!--My husband never will. 'Twould go against the spirit of the house Which by his own dear father was inspired And which the son will faithfully uphold.
MANAGER:
But hath he not already broken faith? The aims that Hilary hath now in view Can surely not be found along the road His father's spirit ever walked upon.
HILARY'S WIFE:
My husband's happiness in life now hangs On the successful issue of these aims. I saw the transformation of his soul As soon as, like a lightning flash, the thought Illumined him. He had found hitherto Nothing in life but sad soul-loneliness, A feeling which he was at pains to hide E'en from the circle of his closest friends But which consumed him inwardly the more. Till then he deemed himself of no account Because thoughts would not spring up in his soul Which seemed to him to be of use in life. But when this plan of mystic enterprise Then stood before his soul, he grew quite young, He was another man, a happy man; This aim first gave to him a worth in life. That thou couldst ere oppose him in this work Was inconceivable till it occurred. He felt the blow more keenly than aught else That in his life hath yet befallen him. Couldst thou but know the pain that thou hast caused, Thou wouldst not surely be so harsh with him.
MANAGER:
I feel as if my manhood would be lost If I should set myself to go against Mine own convictions.--I shall find it hard To do my work with Strader at my side. Yet I decided I would bear this load To help Romanus, whom I understand Since he concerning Strader spake with me. What he explained became the starting-point For me of mine own spirit-pupilship. There was a power that flamed forth from his words And entered actively within my soul; I never yet had felt it so before. His counsel is most precious, though as yet I cannot understand and follow it; Romanus only cares for Strader now; He thinks the other mystics by their share Not only are a hindrance to the work But also are a danger to themselves. For his opinion I have such regard That I must now believe the following: If Strader cannot find a way to work Without his friends, 'twill be a sign of fate. A sign that with these friends he must abide, And only later fashion faculties, Through mystic striving for some outward work. The fact that recently he hath become More closely knit to them than formerly, Despite a slight estrangement for a while, Makes me believe that he will find his way, Lies in this state of things, though it involves A failure, for the present, of his aims.
HILARY'S WIFE:
Thou see'st the man with only that much sight With which Romanus hath entrusted thee, Thou shouldst gaze on him with unbiased eye. He can so steep himself in spirit-life That he appears quite sundered from the earth. Then spirit forms his whole environment And Theodora liveth then for him. In speaking with him it appears as if She too were present. Many mystics can Express the spirit-message in such words As bring conviction after careful thought; But Strader's very speech hath this same power. One sees that he sets little store upon Mere inward spirit-life that is content With feelings only; the explorer's zeal Doth ever prove his guide in mystic life. And so his mystic aims do not destroy His sense for scientific schemes which seem Both practical and useful for this life. Try to perceive this faculty in him, And through him also learn another thing, How one's own personal judgment of one's friends Is of more value than another man's Such as Romanus hath acquired of him.
MANAGER:
In such a case as this, so far removed From all the vista of my usual thought, The judgment of Romanus seems to me Some solid ground to stand on. If, myself, I enter realms to mysticism near, I surely need such guidance as indeed A man can only give me who can win My confidence by so much of himself As I myself can fully comprehend.
(Enter the Secretary.)
You seem upset, my friend; what hath occurred?
SECRETARY (hesitatingly):
Good doctor Strader died a few hours since.
MANAGER:
Died?--Strader?
HILARY'S WIFE:
What. Not Strader dead?--Where now Is Hilary?
SECRETARY:
He is in his own room. He seemed quite stricken when the messenger First brought the news to him from Strader's house.
(Exit Hilary's wife, followed by the Secretary.)
MANAGER (alone):
Dead--Strader!--Can this really be the truth?
The spirit-sleep of which I heard so much Now toucheth me.--The fate which here doth guide The threads of life wears now a serious face. O little soul of mine, what mighty hand Hath now laid hold upon thy thread of fate, And given it a part within this knot.
'But that which must will surely come to pass!' Why is it that these words have never left My mind since Strader spake them long ago When talking with myself and Hilary?-- As if they reached him from another world So did they sound;--he spake as if entranced;-- What is to come to pass?--Right well I know The spirit-world laid hands upon me then. Within those words there sounds the spirit-speech-- Sounds earnest--; how can I its weaving learn?
Curtain