Manfred (With Byron's Biography). Lord Byron
cold waves swell high and heavily, And there is danger in them. Such a rest Is no repose. My life hath been a combat, And every thought a wound, till I am scarred In the immortal part of me.—What now?]60
[A] "Raven-stone (Rabenstein), a translation of the German word for the gibbet, which in Germany and Switzerland is permanent, and made of stone." [Compare Werner, act ii. sc. 2. Compare, too, Anster's Faust, 1883, p. 306.]
[B]
A prodigal son—and a pregnant nun, nun, And a widow re-wedded within the year— And a calf at grass—and a priest at mass. Are things which every day appear.—[MS. erased.]
155 [A supplementary MS. supplies the text for the remainder of the scene.]
156 [For the death of Nero, "Rome's sixth Emperor," vide C. Suet. Tranq., lib. vi. cap. xlix.]
To shun { not loss of life, but the torments of a } public death—[MS. M.]
157 [A reminiscence of the clouds of spray from the Fall of the Staubbach, which, in certain aspects, appear to be springing upwards from the bed of the waterfall.]
158 [Compare The Giaour, lines 282-284. Compare, too, Don Juan, Canto IV. stanza lvii. line 8.]
159 [Here, as in so many other passages of Manfred, Byron is recording his own feelings and forebodings. The same note is struck in the melancholy letters of the autumn of 1811. See, for example, the letter to Dallas, October 11, "It seems as though I were to experience in my youth the greatest misery of age," etc. (Letters, 1898, ii. 52).]
160 ["Pray, was Manfred's speech to the Sun still retained in Act third? I hope so: it was one of the best in the thing, and better than the Colosseum."—Letter to Murray, July 9, 1817, Letters, 1900, iv. 147. Compare Byron's early rendering of "Ossian's Address to the Sun 'in Carthon.'"—Poetical Works, 1898, i. 229.]
161 "And it came to pass, that the Sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair," etc.—"There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the Sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."—Genesis, ch. vi. verses 2 and 4.
162 [For the "Chaldeans" and "mountain-tops," see Childe Harold, Canto III, stanza xiv. line i, and stanza xci. lines 1-3.]
be Some strange things in these far years.—[MS. M.]
163 [The Grosse Eiger is a few miles to the south of the Castle of Unspunnen.]
164 The remainder of the act in its original shape, ran thus—
Her. Look—look—the tower— The tower's on fire. Oh, heavens and earth! what sound, What dreadful sound is that? A crash like thunder.
Manuel. Help, help, there!—to the rescue of the Count,— The Count's in danger,—what ho! there! approach! The Servants, Vassals, and Peasantry approach stupifed with terror. If there be any of you who have heart And love of human kind, and will to aid Those in distress—pause not—but follow me— The portal's open, follow. Manuel goes in.
Her. Come—who follows? What, none of ye?—ye recreants! shiver then10 Without. I will not see old Manuel risk His few remaining years unaided. Herman goes in.
Vassal. Hark!— No—all is silent—not a breath—the flame Which shot forth such a blaze is also gone: What may this mean? Let's enter!
Peasant. Faith, not I,— Not but, if one, or two, or more, will join, I then will stay behind; but, for my part, I do not see precisely to what end.
Vassal. Cease your vain prating—come.
Manuel (speaking within). 'Tis all in vain— He's dead.
Her. (within). Not so—even now methought he moved;20 But it is dark—so bear him gently out— Softly—how cold he is! take care of his temples In winding down the staircase.
Re-enter Manuel and Herman, bearing Manfred in their arms.
Manuel. Hie to the castle, some of ye, and bring What aid you can. Saddle the barb, and speed For the leech to the city—quick! some water there!
Her. His cheek is black—but there is a faint beat Still lingering about the heart. Some water. They sprinkle Manfred with water: after a pause, he gives some signs of life.
Manuel. He seems to strive to speak—come—cheerly, Count! He moves his lips—canst hear him! I am old,30 And cannot catch faint sounds. Herman inclining his head and listening.
Her. I hear a word Or two—but indistinctly—what is next? What's to be done? let's bear him to the castle. Manfred motions with his hand not to remove him.
Manuel. He disapproves—and 'twere of no avail— He changes rapidly.
Her. 'Twill soon be over.
Manuel. Oh! what a death is this! that I should live To shake my gray hairs over the last chief Of the house of Sigismund.—And such a death! Alone—we know not how—unshrived—untended— With strange accompaniments and fearful signs—40 I shudder at the sight—but must not leave him.
Manfred (speaking faintly and slowly). Old man! 'tis not so difficult to die. Manfred, having said this, expires. Her. His eyes are fixed and lifeless.—He is gone.—
Manuel. Close them.—My old hand quivers.—He departs— Whither? I dread to think—but he is gone!
End of Act Third, and of the poem."]
bf Sirrah! I command thee.—[MS.]
165 [Compare Childe Harold, Canto III. stanza lxxxvi. line 1; stanza lxxxix. lines 1, 2; and stanza xc. lines 1, 2.]
166 ["Drove at midnight to see the Coliseum by moonlight: but what can I say of the Coliseum? It must be seen; to describe it I should have thought impossible, if I had not read Manfred.... His [Byron's] description is the very thing itself; but what cannot he do on such a subject, when his pen is like the wand of Moses, whose touch can produce waters even from the barren rock?"—Matthews's Diary of an Invalid, 1820, pp. 158, 159. (Compare Childe Harold, Canto IV. stanzas cxxviii.-cxxxi.)]
167 [Compare Childe Harold, Canto IV. stanzas cvi.-cix.]