--the dog to kick
And tumble about to make the courtiers laugh?
And tumble about to make the courtiers laugh?
World's Greatest Books - Volume 17 - Poetry and Drama
Is the man mad?
[TRIBOULET _has knelt down in the mud by the sack.
The rain streams on him, and his face, convulsed
with hideous joy, is illumined by the lightning. _
SALTABADIL _enters the inn and shuts the door. _
TRIBOULET (_feeling the sack_): Yes! I can feel his
spurs. It is the King!
Now let the heavens break above my head,
And the earth rock and open at my feet!
The vengeance of a clown shakes the whole world!
Francois, the pivot on which Europe turns,
Is broken. German, Spaniard, and Turk
Can make a slaughterhouse of Christendom.
The King of France is dead!
[_Leaping up in a fury, he kicks the sack. _
Francois the First,
Do you remember how you treated me?
Who is the dog now, eh?
--the dog to kick
And tumble about to make the courtiers laugh?
You liked my daughter, did you? A clown's brat
Found favour with a king! You stooped too low.
This is the road that you must take.
[_He drags the sack to the parapet. While he is doing
so,_ MAGUELONNE _opens the door of the inn and lets
out_ THE KING, _who goes off singing gaily in the
opposite direction. _
TRIBOULET (_lifting the sack on the parapet, to push
it over_): Go down!
THE KING:
Oh, woman is fickle, and man is a fool
To trust in her word!
TRIBOULET: Oh, God! Whose voice is that?
[_He pulls back the sack. _
THE KING (_now unseen in the darkness_):
She changes without any reason or rule,
As her fancies are stirred.
TRIBOULET: He has escaped! (_Running up to the
inn_) Accursed villains, you have cheated me! (_He
pulls at the door, but it will not open_.
[TRIBOULET _has knelt down in the mud by the sack.
The rain streams on him, and his face, convulsed
with hideous joy, is illumined by the lightning. _
SALTABADIL _enters the inn and shuts the door. _
TRIBOULET (_feeling the sack_): Yes! I can feel his
spurs. It is the King!
Now let the heavens break above my head,
And the earth rock and open at my feet!
The vengeance of a clown shakes the whole world!
Francois, the pivot on which Europe turns,
Is broken. German, Spaniard, and Turk
Can make a slaughterhouse of Christendom.
The King of France is dead!
[_Leaping up in a fury, he kicks the sack. _
Francois the First,
Do you remember how you treated me?
Who is the dog now, eh?
--the dog to kick
And tumble about to make the courtiers laugh?
You liked my daughter, did you? A clown's brat
Found favour with a king! You stooped too low.
This is the road that you must take.
[_He drags the sack to the parapet. While he is doing
so,_ MAGUELONNE _opens the door of the inn and lets
out_ THE KING, _who goes off singing gaily in the
opposite direction. _
TRIBOULET (_lifting the sack on the parapet, to push
it over_): Go down!
THE KING:
Oh, woman is fickle, and man is a fool
To trust in her word!
TRIBOULET: Oh, God! Whose voice is that?
[_He pulls back the sack. _
THE KING (_now unseen in the darkness_):
She changes without any reason or rule,
As her fancies are stirred.
TRIBOULET: He has escaped! (_Running up to the
inn_) Accursed villains, you have cheated me! (_He
pulls at the door, but it will not open_.
