The Maid of Orleans. Фридрих Шиллер

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SCENE I.

       Table of Contents

      THIBAUT D'ARC. His Three Daughters. Three young Shepherds,

       their Suitors.

       THIBAUT.

       Ay, my good neighbors! we at least to-day

       Are Frenchmen still, free citizens and lords

       Of the old soil which our forefathers tilled.

       Who knows whom we to-morrow must obey?

       For England her triumphal banner waves

       From every wall: the blooming fields of France

       Are trampled down beneath her chargers' hoofs;

       Paris hath yielded to her conquering arms,

       And with the ancient crown of Dagobert

       Adorns the scion of a foreign race.

       Our king's descendant, disinherited,

       Must steal in secret through his own domain;

       While his first peer and nearest relative

       Contends against him in the hostile ranks;

       Ay, his unnatural mother leads them on.

       Around us towns and peaceful hamlets burn.

       Near and more near the devastating fire

       Rolls toward these vales, which yet repose in peace.

       Therefore, good neighbors, I have now resolved,

       While God still grants us safety, to provide

       For my three daughters; for 'midst war's alarms

       Women require protection, and true love

       Hath power to render lighter every load.

       [To the first Shepherd.

       Come, Etienne! You seek my Margot's hand.

       Fields lying side by side and loving hearts

       Promise a happy union!

       [To the second.

       Claude! You're silent,

       And my Louison looks upon the ground?

       How, shall I separate two loving hearts

       Because you have no wealth to offer me?

       Who now has wealth? Our barns and homes afford

       Spoil to the foe, and fuel to the fires.

       In times like these a husband's faithful breast

       Affords the only shelter from the storm.

       LOUISON.

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