Act II
Scene.—The Hall of Government in the palace at Madrid, six months after. The Privy Counsellors are sitting,—among them Don Manuel Arias and the Count of Camporeal.
Don Manuel: How quickly he has climbed to supreme power!
General Secretary, Minister,
And now Duke of Olmedo!
Camporeal: It is strange,
A cousin of that fallen president,
Don Sallust, could have won to such a height
Within six months!
Don Manuel: The queen reigns over us
And he reigns, over her.
Camporeal: That is not so.
Don Cesar never sees the queen alone.
I know it. I have had them watched by spies.
They shun each other. Do you know, he lives
By Tormez mansion, in a shuttered house,
With two black mutes to wait on him?
Don Manuel: Two mutes!
He is, indeed, a terrible, strange man.
And now to business! We must re-arrange
Some of the taxes and monopolies.
We want a fair division.
[All the Counsellors seat themselves.
A Counsellor: I must have
The salt monopoly.
Camporeal: No; that is mine!
You have the tax upon the trade in slaves.
I'll change that for the arsenic, if you like.
[Ruy Blas has entered at the beginning of the dispute: after listening some time he comes forward.
Ruy Blas: You vile, rapacious gang of quarrelling thieves!
What! Can you rob the dead? Here by the grave
Of the great empire that was Spain, you sit,
Like greedy vultures, preying on her corpse!
We were the conquerors of the world, but now
Our army dwindled to four thousand men
That never get their arms, their food, their pay,
Is but a mob of brigands, and they live
By pillaging their wretched countrymen.
Our hardy peasantry is crushed beneath
A load of taxes and monopolies,
But not a ducat of the revenue
Is spent on Spain. Bankrupt in wealth and power,
Dead to all sense of honour, justice, right,
She lies, while you, you foul hyenas, snarl
Over her stricken body.
[Turning to the Count of Camporeal, and the Counsellor who was quarrelling with him, he says sternly:
Let me not see
Either of you again at court.
[As they depart, Ruy Blas speaks to the other consternated Counsellors:
Every man
Who will not serve Spain honestly must go.
If there are any who will work with me
In building up our country's power and fame,
On equal laws for rich and poor alike,
I shall be pleased to meet them in this room
In two hours' time.
[All the CounsellorS go out, bowing low to Ruy Blas as they pass by him. When he is alone, the Queen comes from behind the tapestry; her face is radiant with joy.
The Queen: You spoke to them as I would like to speak
Were I a man. Oh, let me take, dear Duke,
This loyal hand, so strong, and so sincere.
Ruy Blas: How did you hear me, madam?
The Queen (showing a secret door): In this place
That Philip made to watch his counsellors.
How often have I seen poor Carlos here,
Listening to the villains robbing him,
And ruining the state!
Ruy Blas: What did he say?
The Queen: Nothing, but it drove him mad at last.
But you! How masterful you were! The voice
With which you thundered still rings in my ears.
I raised the tapestry to look at you.
You towered above them terrible and great,
A king of men! What was it that inspired
Such fury in you?
Ruy Blas: Love for you, my queen!
If Spain falls, you will fall with it. But I
Will save it for your sake. Oh, I am mad!
I love you! Love you with a love that eats
The life out of me! God! What shall I do?
Die? Shall I die? Pardon me! Pardon me!
The Queen: No, live! Live for your country, and your queen!
Both of us need you. For the last six months
I have been watching from my hiding-place
Your struggle with my treacherous counsellors,
And seeing in you the master-mind of Spain, have, without consulting you, advanced
Your interests. And now your strong, pure hands
Grasp all the reins of government and power,
Perform the work entrusted unto you!
Rescue our people from their misery.
Raise Spain up from her grave; restore to her
The strength that made her empress of the world;
And love me as I love you—
Ruy Blas: Oh, my queen!
The Queen: With a pure, steady, honourable love,
Working and waiting with a patient heart
Till I am free to marry you. Farewell!
[She kisses him on the brow, and departs by the secret door.