After this exposition of the situat

After this exposition of the situation in which Rafael and Casilda find themselves, Scribe brings on the king and queen, to inter- twine their fortunes with Carlo's. The vision- haunted king enters, leaning on the queen's arm, and again sees the apparition (regarding which he leaves the queen in ignorance, though weknowwhatitisfromVargas'sstory). Now he hears the voice of Carlo, who, his thoughts fixed on his mother, sings a phrase from the lullaby. The King is startled, for he fancies that the young maiden whom he thinks dead is repeating the song. He asks who it is that sings, and bids the youthful singer approach, the latter not dreaming who it is that requests him to sing the entire song. Carlo explains that the song is his mother's lullaby, and sings the two strophes of which it is composed.
Now observe with care how Scribe constructed this song. The first strophe is nothing more nor less than a real lullaby:
Ferme ta paupiere,
Dors, mon pauvre enfant,
Ne vois pas ta mere Qui prie en pleurant.
Close thine eyelids, Sleep, my poor child, Look not on thy mother, Who prays all in tears.
Dame noble et here, Belle Sefiora,
Calmez ma misere
Et Dieu vous le rendra.
||:Donnez, donnez sur cette terre,
Dieu dans le ciel vous don- nera.: II
Lady noble and proud, Lovely Seriora,
Relieve my misery,
And God will reward you. Give, give here on earth,
God in heaven will give re- ward.
A Practical Example
The most important part of this song is the refrain: "Give here on earth, God in heaven will give reward," a petition which now, as sung for the first time, is directed at the Ma- donna, but—and this is the dramatically significant point—in the further course of the action is directed at the king himself.
In the second act Carlo, when his life is threatened, sings before the king's cabinet the same melody to the words:
O roi de la terre,
O noble Seigneur,
Entends la priere De ton serviteur;
Si trop temeraire Ma voix s'elevera,
En toi seul j'espere,
Car ta clemence est la.
|| : A qui pardonne sur la terre,
O king of the earth, O noble lord,
Hear the prayer
Of thy servant;
If all too boldly
My voice be raised,
In thee alone I hope,
For clemency is thine.
To him who pardons here on
earth,
Dieu dans le ciel pardon- God in heaven shall pardon
nera.: 1
give.
It is evident that the words of this song are a mere adaptation of the second strophe of the song heard in Act I, here accommodated to the dramatic situation.
In Act II the king is not only reminded by the melody of his own grievous transgres- sion against Casilda, but is at the same time adjured by the words to give aid, so that his helpful intervention is well motivated. This song is the impelling force at the most im- portant turning-point in the drama, for which reason its translation requires very special
care, so that the meaning of the drama itself may not be perverted.
The king thanks Carlo, and asks him to name a boon; Carlo answers (as in the anecdote given above) that he would beg the sovereign to have beard and hair put in seemly order, to don raiment more befitting and more in keeping with the beautiful lady beside him
a very shrewd stroke, which raises him still higher in the queen's favor.