SCENE VI.
The EMPRESS, FAITHFUL PRINCE, TRANQUIL BEAUTY, The CAPTAIN of the SOLDIERS, A WATCHMAN.
EMPRESS [To FAITHFUL PRINCE]
Prince, I wish to bid you farewell. My last spoken word must be to you, with my everlasting gratitude.
[She raises the poison-cup to her lips.]
FAITHFUL PRINCE [With a gesture as though to stop her.]
No, my Divine Empress, no. The hour of rest, alas! has not come for you or for me. No, your hard task is not yet completed!——
EMPRESS
My task, you say, is not yet completed? But the palace is only a ruin. The gates are giving way, the walls are crumbling——This time we can withstand the attack only ten minutes——it is the end!——
FAITHFUL PRINCE