Enter KING, QUEEN, and Tostig.
Edward.

In heaven signs ! Signs upon earth! signs everywhere !

your Priests Gross, worldly, simoniacal, unlearn'd! They scarce can read their Psalter ; and

your churches Uncouth, unhandsome, while in Norman

land God speaks thro' abler voices, as He

dwells In statelier shrines. I say not this, as

being Half Norman-blooded, nor as some have

held, Because I love the Norman better-no, But dreading God's revenge upon this

realm For narrowness and coldness : and I say it For the last time perchance, before I go To find the sweet refreshment of the

Saints. I have lived a life of utter purity: I have builded the great church of Holy

Peter : I have wrought miracles—to God the

gloryAnd miracles will in my name be wrought Hereafter.—I have fought the fight and

goI see the flashing of the gates of pearlAnd it is well with me, tho' some of you Have scorn'd me—ay—but after I am

gone Woe, woe to England ! I have had a

vision ; The seven sleepers in the cave at Ephesus Have turn'd from right to left.

Harold. My most dear Master, What matters? let them turn from left to

right And sleep again.

Tostig. Too hardy with thy king! A life of prayer and fasting well may see Deeper into the mysteries of heaven Than thou, good brother.

Aldwyth (aside). Sees he into thine, That thou wouldst have his promise for

the crown? Edward. Tostig says true; my son,

thou art too hard, Not stagger'd by this ominous earth and ,

heaven : But heaven and earth are threads of the

same loom, Play into one another, and weave the web That may confound thee yet. Harold.

Nay, I trust not, For I have served thee long and honestly. Edward. I know it, son ; I am not

thankless : thou Hast broken all my foes, lighten'd for me The weight of this poor crown, and left

me time And peace for prayer to gain a better one. Twelve years of service! England loves

thee for it.
Thou art the man to rule her!

Aldwyth (aside). So, not Tostig!
Harold. And after those twelve years

a boon, my king, Respite, a holiday : thyself wast wont To love the chase : thy leave to set my

feet

On board, and hunt and hawk beyond

the seas ! Edward. What with this flaming

horror overhead ? Harold. Well, when it passes then. Edward.

Ay if it pass. Go not to Normandy-go not to Nor

mandy. Harold. And wherefore not, my king,

to Normandy ? Is not my brother Wulfnoth hostage there

Then Tostig too were wiser than he seems. • I love the man but not his phantasies.

(Re-enter Tostig.)

For my dead father's loyalty to thee?
I pray thee, let me hence and bring him

home.
Edward. Not thee, my son : some

other messenger. Harold. And why not me, my lord,

to Normandy? Is not the Norman Count thy friend and

mine? Edward. I pray thee, do not go to

Normandy. Harold. Because my father drove the

Normans out Of England ?—That was many a summer

goneForgotten and forgiven by them and

thee. Edward. Harold, I will not yield thee

leave to go. Harold. Why then to Flanders. I

will hawk and hunt In Flanders. Edward. Be there not fair woods and

fields In England ? Wilful, wilful. Go-the

Saints Pilot and prosper all thy wandering out And homeward. Tostig, I am faint

Well, brother,
When didst thou hear from thy Northum-

bria ?
Tostig. When did I hear aught but

this. When' from thee? Leave me alone, brother, with my

Northumbria : She is my mistress, let me look to her ! The King hath made me Earl; make me

not fool ! Nor make the King a fool, who made

me Earl ! Harold. No, Tostig-lest I make

myself a fool Who made the King who made thee,

make thee Earl. Tostig. Why chafe me then? Thou

knowest I soon go wild. Gurth. Come, come ! as yet thou art

not gone so wild But thou canst hear the best and wisest

of us. Harold. So says old Gurth, not I :

yet hear ! thine earldom, Tostig, hath been a kingdom. Their old

crown Is yet a force among them, a sun set But leaving light enough for Alfgar's

house To strike thee down by-nay, this ghastly

glare May heat their fancies.

Tostig. My most worthy brother, Thou art the quietest man in all the

world— Ay, ay and wise in peace and great in

again.

Son Harold, I will in and pray for thee.

[Exit, leaning on Tostig, and

followed by Stigand, Morcar, and

Courtiers. Harold. What lies upon the mind of

our good king That he should harp this way on

Nornandy?
Queen. Brother, the king is wiser than

he seems; And Tostig knows it; Tostig loves the

king. Harold. And love should know; and

-be the king so wise,

war

Pray God the people choose thee for

their king!

But all the powers of the house of Godwin Are not enframed in thee.

Harold. Thank the Saints, no ! But thou hast drain'd them shallow by

thy tolls, And thou art ever here about the King: Thine absence well may seem a want of

care.

Cling to their love ; for, now the sons of

Godwin Sit topmost in the field of England, envy, Like the rough bear beneath the tree,

good brother, Waits till the man let go.

Tostig. Good counsel truly! I heard from my Northumbria yesterday. Harold. How goes it then with thy

Northumbria? Well?
Tostig. And wouldst thou that it went

aught else than well ?'
Harold. I would it went as well as

with mine earldom, Leofwin's and Gurth’s.

Tostig. Ye govern milder men.
Gurth. We have made them milder

by just government.
Tostig. Ay, ever give yourselves your

own good word. Leofwin. An honest gift, by all the

Saints, if giver And taker be but honest! but they bribe Each other, and so often, an honest world Will not believe them.

Harold. I may tell thee, Tostig, I heard from thy Northumberland to-day. Tostig. From spies of thine to spy

my nakedness In my poor North !

Harold. There is a movement there, A blind one-nothing yet. Tostig.

Crush it at once With all the power I have !-I must-I

Crush it half-born! Fool still? or

wisdom there, My wise head-shaking Harold ? Harold.

Make not thou The nothing something. Wisdom when

in power And wisest, should not frown as Power,

but smile As kindness, watching all, till the true

must Shall make her strike as Power : but

when to strikeO Tostig, o dear brother-If they

prance, Rein in, not lash them, lest they rear and

run And break both neck and axle. Tostig.

Good again! Good counsel tho' scarce needed. Pour

not water In the full vessel running out at top To swamp the house.

Leofwin. Nor thou be a wild thing Out of the waste, to turn and bite the hand Would help thee from the trap.

Tostig. Thou playest in tune.
Leofwin. To the deaf adder thee, that

wilt not dance However wisely charm’d. Tostig.

No more, no more ! Gurth. I likewise cry ‘no more.'

Unwholesome talk For Godwin's house ! Leofwin, thou hast

a tongue ! Tostig, thou lookst as thou would'st

spring upon him. St. Olaf, not while I am by! Come,

come, Join hands, let brethren dwell in unity; Let kith and kin stand close as our shieldTostig

And Tostig is not stout enough to bear it. Vex him not, Leofwin.

Tostig. No, I am not vext, Altho' ye seek to vex me, one and all. I have to make report of my good earldom To the good king who gave it-not to

youNot any of you.—I am not vext at all. Harold. The king? the king is ever

at his prayers ; In all that handles matter of the state I am the king.

Tostig. That shalt thou never be If I can thwart thee. Harold. Brother, brother !

Away !

[Erit Tostig. Queen. Spite of this grisly star ye

three must gall Poor Tostig.

Leofwin. Tostig, sister, galls himself; He cannot smell a rose but pricks his nose Against the thorn, and rails against the

rose. Qrieen. I am the only rose of all the

stock That never thorn'd him ; Edward loves

him, so Ye hate him. Harold always hated him. Why—how they fought when boys—and,

Holy Mary!
How Harold used to beat him !

Harold. Why, boys will fight. Leofwin would often fight me, and I beat

him. Even old Gurth would fight. I had

much ado To hold mine own against old Gurth.

Old Gurth, We fought like great states for grave

cause ; but TostigOn a sudden-at a something-for a

The boy would fist me hard, and when

we fought I conquer'd, and he loved me none the

less, Till thou wouldst get him all apart, and

tell him That where he was but worsted, he was

wrong'd. Ah! thou hast taught the king to spoil

him too; Now the spoilt child sways both. Take

heed, take heed ; Thou art the Queen ; ye are boy and girl

no more : Side not with Tostig in any violence, Lest thou be sideways guilty of the

violence. Queen. Come fall not foul on me. I

leave thee, brother.
Harold. Nay, my good sister-
[Exeunt Queen, Harold, Gurth, and

Leofwin.
Aldwyth. Gamel, son of Orm,
What thinkest thou this means ?

[Pointing to the comet. Gamel. War, my dear lady, War, waste, plague, famine, all maligni

ties. Aldwyth. It means the fall of Tostig

from his earldom. Gamel. That were too small a matter

for a comet ! Aldwyth. It means the lifting of the

house of Alfgar. Gamel. Too small ! a comet would

not show for that! Aldwyth. Not small for thee, if thou

canst compass it. Gamel. Thy love ? Aldwyth. As much as I can give

thee, man ; This Tostig is, or like to be, a tyrant ; Stir up thy people : oust him !

SS

Gamel.

And thy love? Aldwyth. As much as thou canst bear. Gamel.

I can bear all, And not be giddy.

Aldwyth. No more now : to-morrow.

SCENE II.-IN THE GARDEN. THE KING's House NEAR LONDON. SUNSET.

Edith. Mad for thy mate, passionate

nightingale ... I love thee for it-ay, but stay a moment; He can but stay a moment : he is going. I fain would hear him coming!... near

me . . near, Somewhere—To draw him nearer with a

charm Like thine to thine.

(Singing.) Love is come with a song and a smile, Welcome Love with a smile and a song : Love can stay but a little while. Why cannot he stay? They call him

away : Ye do him wrong, ye do him wrong; Love will stay for a whole life long.

Edith. Leaving so many foes in

Edward's hall To league against thy weal. The Lady

Aldwyth Was here to-day, and when she touch'd

on thee, She stammerd in her hate; I am sure

she hates thee, Pants for thy blood. Harold. Well, I have given her

causeI fear no woman.

Edith. Hate not one who felt Some pity for thy hater ! I am sure Her morning wanted sunlight, she so

praised The convent and lone life-- within the

paleBeyond the passion. Nay—she held with

Edward,
At least methought she held with holy

Edward,
That marriage was half sin.
Harold.

A lesson worth Finger and thumb—thus (snaps kis

fingers). And my answer to itSee here--an interwoven H and E! Take thou this ring ; I will demand his

ward From Edward when I come again. Ay,

would she? She to shut up my blossom in the dark ! Thou art my nun, thy cloister in mine

Enter HAROLD.

arms.

Harold. The nightingales at Havering

in-the-bower Sang out their loves so loud, that

Edward's prayers Were deafen'd, and he pray'd them dumb,

and thus I dumb thee too, my wingless nightingale !

[Kissing her. Edith. Thou art my music ! Would

their wings were mine To follow thee to Flanders ! Must thou

go? Harold. Not must, but will. It is,

Edith (taking the ring). Yea, but

Earl Tostig-
Harold.

That's a truer fear! For if the North take fire, I should be back; I shall be, soon enough.

Edith.. Ay, but last night An evil dream that ever came and wentHarold. A gnat that vext thy pillow

Had I been by