Act the First. Scene I.—Chimène and Elvira. Chimène. Elvira, have you given me a really true report? Do you conceal nothing that my father has said? Elvira. All my feelings within me are still delighted with it. He esteems Rodrigo as much as you love him; and if I do not misread his mind, he will command you to respond to his passion. Chimène. Tell me then, I beseech you, a second time, what makes you believe that... more...

INTRODUCTION. I. ‘The compositions published in Mrs. Shelley’s lifetime afford but an inadequate conception of the intense sensibility and mental vigour of this extraordinary woman.’ Thus wrote Dr. Garnett, in 1862 (Preface to his Relics of Shelley). The words of praise may have sounded unexpectedly warm at that date. Perhaps the present volume will make the reader more willing to subscribe, or less inclined to demur. Mary... more...

PALACE OF THE KREMLIN (FEBRUARY 20th, A.D. 1598) PRINCE SHUISKY and VOROTINSKY VOROTINSKY. To keep the city's peace, that is the taskEntrusted to us twain, but you forsoothHave little need to watch; Moscow is empty;The people to the Monastery have flockedAfter the patriarch. What thinkest thou?How will this trouble end? SHUISKY. How will it end?That is not hard to tell. A little moreThe multitude will groan and wail, BorisPucker awhile his... more...

INTRODUCTION. Two of the dramas contained in this volume are the most celebrated of all Calderon's writings. The first, "La Vida es Sueno", has been translated into many languages and performed with success on almost every stage in Europe but that of England. So late as the winter of 1866-7, in a Russian version, it drew crowded houses to the great theatre of Moscow; while a few years earlier, as if to give a signal proof of the reality of its... more...

THE TROJAN WOMEN In his clear preface, Gilbert Murray says with truth that The Trojan Women, valued by the usage of the stage, is not a perfect play. "It is only the crying of one of the great wrongs of the world wrought into music." Yet it is one of the greater dramas of the elder world. In one situation, with little movement, with few figures, it flashes out a great dramatic lesson, the infinite pathos of a successful wrong. It has in it the... more...

THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS FROM THE QUARTO OF 1604.Enter CHORUS.CHORUS. Not marching now in fields of Thrasymene,Where Mars did mate the Carthaginians;Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,In courts of kings where state is overturn'd;Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,Intends our Muse to vaunt her heavenly verse:Only this, gentlemen,—we must performThe form of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad:To patient judgments we appeal... more...

Plays on the subject of Caius Julius are so numerous that some difficulty arises in properly distinguishing the titles. In the case of the piece here reprinted the first title, which is also the head title, suggests a play of Chapman’s, while the running title is the traditional property of William Shakespeare. It seems, therefore, best that it should become known by the name which appears second on the title-page. And, indeed, there is... more...

INTRODUCTION. Euripides, son of Mnesarchus, was born in the island of Salamis, on the day of the celebrated victory (B.C. 480). His mother, Clito, had been sent thither in company with the other Athenian women, when Attica was given up, and the ships became at once the refuge of the male population, and the national defense. Mr. Donaldson well remarks, that the patronymic form of his name, derived from the Euripus, which was the scene of the... more...

CAST CAPTAIN NATHAN HALECAPTAIN WILLIAM HULLGENERAL WASHINGTONBOS'NLIEUTENANT PONDSIMON CARTERLIEUTENANT DREW [BRITISH]MRS. CHICHESTERCAPTAIN MONTRESSORPROVOST MARSHAL CUNNINGHAM ANNOUNCER We present here the story of the famous Revolutionary hero and martyr, Nathan Hale. For the first scene of our sketch, let us go to General Washington's headquarters in New York City. It is early September of the year 1776. In the Orderly room, outside of... more...

PREFACE In 1869, having read the Antigone with a pupil who at the time had a passion for the stage, I was led to attempt a metrical version of the Antigone, and, by and by, of the Electra and Trachiniae. I had the satisfaction of seeing this last very beautifully produced by an amateur company in Scotland in 1877; when Mrs. Fleeming Jenkin may be said to have ‘created’ the part of Dêanira. Thus encouraged, I completed the... more...