Your Highness must permit me Just to contemplate Venus. She's now rising; Like as a sun, so shines she in the east. WALLENST. She is at present in her perigee, And now shoots down her strongest influences. [_Contemplating the figure on the table._] Auspicious aspect! fateful in conjunction, At length the mighty three corradiate; And the two stars of blessing, Jupiter And Venus, take between them the malignant Slily-malicious Mars, and thus compel Into _my_ service that old mischief-founder: For long he viewed me hostilely, and ever With beam oblique, or perpendicular, Now in the Quartile, now in the Secundan, Shot his red lightnings at my stars, disturbing Their blessed influences and sweet aspects. Now they have conquer'd the old enemy, And bring him in the heavens a prisoner to me. SENI (_who has come down from the window_). And in a corner house, your Highness--think of that! That makes each influence of double strength. WALLENST. And sun and moon, too, in the Sextile aspect, The soft light with the vehement--so I love it; SOL is the heart, LUNA the head of heaven; Bold be the plan, fiery the execution. SENI. And both the mighty Lumina by no Maleficus _affronted_. Lo! Saturnus, Innocuous, powerless, _in cadente Domo_. WALLENST. The empire of Saturnus is gone by; Lord of the secret birth of things is he Within the lap of earth, and in the depths Of the imagination dominates; And his are all things that eschew the light. The time is o'er of brooding and contrivance, For Jupiter, the lustrous, lordeth now, And the dark work, complete of preparation, He draws by force into the realm of light. Now must we hasten on to action, ere The scheme and most auspicious positure Parts o'er my head, and takes once more its flight, For the heavens journey still, and sojourn not. [_There are knocks at the door._] There's some one knocking there. See who it is. TERZKY (_from without_). Open, and let me in. WALLENSTEIN. Ay--'tis Terzky. What is there of such urgence? We are busy. [Illustration: WALLENSTEIN AND TERZKY As performed at the Municipal Theatre, Hamburg, 1906.] TERZKY (_from without_). Lay all aside at present, I entreat you. It suffers no delaying. WALLENSTEIN. Open, Seni! [_While_ SENI _opens the door for_ TERZKY, WALLENSTEIN _draws the curtain over the figures_.] SCENE II WALLENSTEIN. COUNT TERZKY TERZKY (_enters_). Hast thou already heard it? He is taken. Gallas has given him up to the Emperor. [SENI _draws off the black table, and exit_.] WALLENSTEIN (_to_ TERZKY). Who has been taken? Who is given up? TERZKY. The man who knows our secrets, who knows every Negotiation with the Swede and Saxon, Through whose hands all and everything has pass'd-- WALLENSTEIN (_drawing back_). Nay, not Sesina?--Say, No! I entreat thee. TERZKY.