Wallensteins Camp | Page 5

of the case

A little gray man, at the dead of night,
Through bolted doors to him
will pace--
The sentinels oft have hailed the sight,
And something
great was sure to be nigh,
When this little gray-coat had glided by.
FIRST YAGER.
Ay, ay, he's sold himself to the devil,
Wherefore,
my lads, let's feast and revel.
SCENE VII.
The above--Recruit, Citizen, Dragoon.
(The Recruit advances from the tent, wearing a tin cap
on his head,
and carrying a wine-flask.)
RECRUIT.
To father and uncle pray make my bow,
And bid 'em
good-by--I'm a soldier now.
FIRST YAGER.
See, yonder they're bringing us something new,
CITIZEN.
Oh, Franz, remember, this day you'll rue.
RECRUIT (sings).

The drum and the fife,
War's rattling throng,
And a wandering life

The world along!
Swift steed--and a hand
To curb and
command--
With a blade by the side,
We're off far and wide.
As
jolly and free,
As the finch in its glee,
On thicket or tree,
Under
heaven's wide hollow--
Hurrah! for the Friedlander's banner I'll
follow!
SECOND YAGER.
Foregad! a jolly companion, though.
[They salute him.
CITIZEN.
He comes of good kin; now pray let him go.
FIRST YAGER.
And we wern't found in the streets you must know.
CITIZEN.
I tell you his wealth is a plentiful stock;
Just feel the
fine stuff that he wears for a frock.
TRUMPETER.
The emperor's coat is the best he can wear.
CITIZEN.
To a cap manufactory he is the heir.
SECOND YAGER.
The will of a man is his fortune alone.
CITIZEN.
His grandmother's shop will soon be his own.
FIRST YAGER.
Pish! traffic in matches! who would do't?
CITIZEN.
A wine-shop his grandfather leaves, to boot,
A cellar
with twenty casks of wine.
TRUMPETER.
These with his comrades he'll surely share.
SECOND YAGER.
Hark ye, lad--be a camp-brother of mine.
CITIZEN.
A bride he leaves sitting, in tears, apart.

FIRST YAGER.
Good--that now's a proof of an iron heart.
CITIZEN.
His grandmother's sure to die with sorrow.
SECOND YAGER.
The better--for then he'll inherit to-morrow.
SERGEANT (advances gravely, and lays his hand on the
Recruit's tin cap).
The matter no doubt you have duly weighed,
And
here a new man of yourself have made;
With hanger and helm, sir,
you now belong
To a nobler and more distinguished throng.
Thus, a
loftier spirit 'twere well to uphold--
FIRST YAGER.
And, specially, never be sparing of gold.
SERGEANT.
In Fortune's ship, with an onward gale,
My friend,
you have made up your mind to sail.
The earth-ball is open before
you--yet there
Naught's to be gained, but by those who dare.
Stupid
and sluggish your citizen's found,
Like a dyer's dull jade, in his
ceaseless round,
While the soldier can be whatever he will,
For war
o'er the earth is the watchword still.
Just look now at me, and the coat
I wear,
You see that the emperor's baton I bear--
And all good
government, over the earth,
You must know from the baton alone has
birth;
For the sceptre that's swayed by the kingly hand
Is naught but
a baton, we understand.
And he who has corporal's rank obtained,

Stands on the ladder where all's to be gained,
And you, like another,
may mount to that height--
FIRST YAGER.
Provided you can but read and write.
SERGEANT.
Now, hark to an instance of this from me,
And one,
which I've lived myself to see
There's Butler, the chief of dragoons,
why he,
Whose rank was not higher a whit than mine,
Some thirty
years since, at Cologne on Rhine,
Is a major-general now--because

He put himself forward and gained applause;
Filling the world with

his martial fame,
While slept my merits without a name.
And even
the Friedlander's self--I've heard--
Our general and all-commanding
lord,
Who now can do what he will at a word,
Had at first but a
private squire's degree;
In the goddess of war yet trusting free,
He
reared the greatness which now you see,
And, after the emperor, next
is he.
Who knows what more he may mean or get?
(Slyly.)
For all-day's evening isn't come yet.
FIRST YAGER.
He was little at first, though now so great--
For at
Altorf, in student's gown he played
By your leave, the part of a
roaring blade,
And rattled away at a queerish rate.
His fag he had
well nigh killed by a blow,
And their Nur'mburg worships swore he
should go
To jail for his pains--if he liked it or no.
'Twas a
new-built nest to be christened by him
Who first should be lodged.
Well, what was his whim?
Why, he sent his dog forward to lead the
way,
And they call the jail from the dog to this day.
That was the
game a brave fellow should play,
And of all the great deeds of the
general, none
E'er tickled my fancy, like this one.
[During this speech, the second Yager has begun toying
with the girl
who has been in waiting.]
DRAGOON (stepping between them).
Comrade--give over this sport,
I pray.
SECOND YAGER.
Why, who the devil shall say me nay!
DRAGOON.
I've only to tell you the girl's my own.
FIRST YAGER.
Such a morsel as this, for himself alone!--

Dragoon, why say, art thou crazy grown?
SECOND YAGER.
In the camp to be keeping a wench for one!

No! the light of a pretty girl's face must fall,
Like the beams of