 | Zelmane : Or, the Corinthian Queen |  |
44
ACT IV.
SCENE the PALACE.Amphialus, Geronte.
Amph.
Oh! you Malignant Stars, ye all conspire
To shed your Poys'nous venome on my Head;
No lucky Planet ever shin'd on me;
Sure all the Powers Jarr'd when I was Born,
And in their Rage they curst what e're they made.
My Darling Brother, but why name I him,
When Antimora, when my Mistress dyes?
Yet I am Tame, and hold this Generals staff,
Like the weak Bull-rush of an idle Boy,
And stir not in my Loves defence.
Geron.
Smother that rising thought within thy Breast,
Let not Rebellion taint thy Glorious Life,
Tho' she has sign'd their Deaths, she's still thy Queen;
And they were both by Law Condemn'd to dye.
My Heart bleeds for the Fair Captive Princess,
And for the good, the Meritorious Youth;
Yet 'twas not in my Power to stop their Fate;
Nor would I by Treachery my Father save.
Amph.
Ha! hold my Brain; be still my
beating Heart ;
What, must they suffer then!
Geront.
Imediately.
Amph.
'Tis false, impossible, I cannot bear it:
And talk to me no more of Loyalty or Faith,
For I will cancel all, as they have brok't with me.
Have I not thrice brought Conquest to this Crown?
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Where I have Kill'd and Scatter'd all her Foes?
For at my Name they flew like Lightning thence.
And does the Queen reward me thus at last?
Oh! I am wild as raging Winds can be.
Yes, I will lay this haughty Palace low,
Low as the Dust I'll beat her Circling Walls,
And Crush my self or save my Antimora.
Geront.
Tho' I'm thy Friend I cannot hear these Words;
My Duty tells me I must Guard my Queen;
Nor canst thou Act what thy Mad frenzy talks;
For tho' Zelmane's Love has plac'd thee High,
There still are Soldiers Faithful to the Queen,
And Nobles too that will not see her Wrong'd.
Amph.
Nor did I mean it. Oh! forgive me good old Man,
Since Woes, like mine, may well excuse my Tongue.
But say, is there no way to save them left?
Geront.
Yes, one there is, and that is in your Power.
Amph.
Oh! Name it, quickly name it, that I may,
Swift as my wishes, Fly to save my Love.
Geront.
Espouse the Queen, and then the Power's yours.
Amph.
Oh! horror, horror! Shield me all ye Stars,
And let not such a Thought once touch my Breast,
For all the Riches of the Spangled Globe.
Geront.
Behold they come Condemn'd, and ready for the stroak.
Enter Anti. and Arcanes Guarded.
Amph.
Oh! Love, oh! Nature, canst thou bear this fight?
Burst, burst ye Balls that let this Object in,
And break thou throbbing Heart that I may die
Before 'em.
Oh, my Love, my Life, my Antimora,
[Runs into her Arms.
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And have the Powers blest me with thy sight
Before die, my Dear Amphialus?
They've smooth'd my passage so by this kind Act,
That I with pleasure shall my Journey take,
To that great World were nought but souls appear.
Amph.
Talk not of dying, I Conjure thee, Oh!
My Brother, my much injur'd dear Arcanes,
Which way shall I divide between you both
This wretched Body, as my Heart's divided?
[Embraces him.
Arca.
Grieve not for me, my Brother, Since I fall
In Honours cause, and in defence of Vertue,
I would not wish to die a braver Death;
Nor could the Field have brought it.—One Embrace,
And then farewel for ever.
[Embraces him.
Amph.
Embrace thee, yes; but cannot say Farewel.
Ant.
Oh! Amphialus, when I am gone for ever from thy eyes,
Within the cold Embraces of the Grave,
Wilt thou not now and then bestow a Tear
Upon the sad misfortunes of thy Love?
And sometimes say, Why did my Conquering Arm
Obtain a Victory to destroy that Maid
Who Lov'd me dear, far dearer than her Life?
Amph.
Oh! Antimora thou hast pierc'd my Heart,
And made me seem a Monster to my self.
By all the Powers thou shalt not, must not die:
Thus will I fold my Arms and Guard thee safe:
Nor will I quit thee till they cut my hold.
Yes, I'll be Hew'd and Mangled small as Dust
Eer I'll resign thee to their cruel rage.
Then when I feel my Purple Veins run low,
My Spirits sink, and every Vital fail,
We'll slide together to the Elizium Fields,
Where no injustice nor oppression Reigns.
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Queen.
Ha! what do I see, oh Confusion!
Why are these Traytors suffer'd to conferr?
And why is Execution stay'd so long?
Amph.
Ha! the Queen!
Thus at your Feet behold your General falls,
[Casting himself at her Feet.
He who for you has suffer'd Cold and Wounds;
Both Winters Camps, and Summers toils endur'd,
And all to Guard you safely on your Throne;
He who for you has Thousand lives destroy'd,
Beggs only two be given him in return.
Queen.
Prince, when Allegeance was your only care,
And while your Actions bore the Stamp of Honour,
Then Amphialus could not ask his Queen
A Boon; tho' ne'er so great, she'd have refus'd;
My giving hand still Crown'd your wishes, Sir,
Faster than thought could form them in your Mind;
But when the Traytor pays his Vows elsewere,
Assaults my Friends, and would usurp my Throne,
I over-pay his deeds in that I let him live.
Amph.
Oh! kill me Madam, e'er you blast my Fame.
Be Witness for me all ye Powers above,
If e'er a thought like these once toucht my Heart!
Usurp your Throne! Oh! all the Stars forbid,
I've liv'd too long to be a Traytor held;
And beg your Majesty will Doom my Death.
Empale me streight, or Rack me on the Wheel,
I care not which so you will save but these;
I'll bless you for't, and die without a Groan.
Queen.
My Rage grows cool, nor can I keep it Warm,
Now the Fond Passion steals upon my Heart,
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[Aside.
Had'st thou rather die, than Live, to Save her!
Life is no trifle: think of that Amphialus.
Amph.
'Tis less than nothing when compar'd with Love:
And who could wish to keep it, when 'tis stain'd
With that foul Contagion of a Traytors name?
Queen.
But say that I should pass that rumour by,
And set a price that thou their Lives may save?
Amph.
Then would my Gracious Queen o'er-pay me All;
And I for ever would resound her Praise.
If you demand my Blood, here sluice my Veins,
And let the Liquid swelling Channels flow;
Or if to add new Lawrels to your Crown,
Command me Conquer all the spacious World.
Queen.
An easier task is what I hear design,
Which if perform'd, they both shall live.
Amph.
Oh! name it quickly.
Geront.
Let me the blushes of my Queen prevent:
Do you perform great Philemon's Will,
And she'll revoke their sentence.
[Starts, and stands Motionless.
Amph.
Oh Antimora!
Ant.
Take heed Amphialus, maintain thy Vows,
As I my resolution will maintain.
Approaching Death shocks not with fear like this:
Let me be an Age in Torment, rather
Than live on forfeit of thy Faith.
Arca.
Remember, Brother, what thou'st sworn to me;
And Load me not with Life, to curse me ever.
Queen.
Is it too hard to be resolv'd on then?
Dally not with the fury of my Rage;
If you do 'twill fall with weight upon you.
Geront.
Now, who can blame the Queen, 'tis Love does all,
Then straight comply, or you will lose your time.
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Ha! has then my mercy turn'd thee into Stone;
And have I wav'd my Brothers loss for this,
Forgot my Injuries, and stoopt so low,
To be rejected by my Slave!—Proceed.
To Execution streight, sure that will Wake thee.
Amph,
Hold, hold, ye Slaves, here take this perjur'd Wretch,
This cursed abject thing which you have made.
[Throwing himself at her Feet.
Ant.
Amphialus! my Lord, my Love, What did'st thou say?
Oh! think if you consent 'tis you that give
Your Antimora and your Brother Death.
Arc.
Oh, Brother.
Amph.
Oh! Torture not to be indur'd by Man.
[Rising.
Come then Condemn us all, and glut thy Rage
In Blood, but talk of Love no more.
[They all Embrace.
Thus in each others Arms our Dooms we'll face,
And breath our Souls out in a strict Embrace.
Queen.
Then Perish all; so shall my Soul be free
From all the Racking Pangs of slighted Love.
Guards, take hence your Prisoners, Let her the Rack indure;
And let her lover see her Dying Pangs.
Hence from my Breast, be gone thou Tyrant, fly;
Let mighty Rage the place of Love supply,
Be all a Queen, and let the Traytors die.
[Exit
Anti.
Look up my Dear, my everlasting Love,
Why dost thou grieve thy Heart for me, Oh! speak;
Alas, I fear his Soul has tane its flight,
And quite out-stript us in the race of Death.
Geront.
This dismal sight drowns my Eyes in pity.
[Weeps.
Arcan.
See, he revives only to die again.
See her die, said she the Rack, Oh! Inhumane,
Oh! execrable thought, not to be Born:
Oh, stop the Fatal order dearest Friend.
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While I pursue the Queen, and once more try
to save them.
[Exit.
Arcan.
Brother, oh! think upon the lost Arcanes.
Anti.
He's gone, and I am Doom'd the greatest Wretch
That ever Lov'd, or ever sigh'd in Chains,
Widdow'd, forsaken, and forlorn I stand,
Yet none will put a period to my grief.
Why disobey you thus your Queens Command?
Bring out the Rack, prepare with utmost Art
Torments Exquisite as her Command,
Or e'er Religious Cruelty bestow'd,
Arcadia's Princess shall with Courage meet 'em.
Geront.
Have patience, Madam, Fate has various turns.
Enter an Officer with a Paper.
Officer.
The Queen, Geronta, sends her full and ample
Pardon, in these Credentials, to the Princess Antimora,
And the Brave Arcanes.
[Gives him a Paper.
Anti.
Unwelcome Messenger of hated Life,
For well I know the price that he has paid.
Arc.
Where is the Queen, and where my Brother?
Officer.
Now at the Altar, where the Priest has Joyn'd
Their hands.
Ant.
Oh! shame to Honour, Cruel Perjur'd Man.
Arca.
Oh! Treacherous and base Amphialus.
[A Shout within.
Long live Amphialus King of Corinth.
Arc.
Ay—theres the Sound that glads the Ambitious Soul;
What raises thee, sinks me down for ever:
Thus Randome lots of Fate does fall, and we,
Born to submit, can no ways ward the blow.
Anti.
My Lord, permit me to retire from hence;
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Arcadians Maids, Companions of my Fate,
With your hand support your dying Mistress,
Since mixt with Life, such cruel Torments reign,
Quick, free my Soul, and rid me of all Pain;
For sure hereafter can no sharper prove,
Than here the Pangs do, of forsaken Love.
[Exit, led off by her Women and Geronta.
Geront.
Be it as you Please,
I'll to the Queen.
I grieve to see the Court of Corinth thus.
Arcanes Solus.
Arca.
Oh! Cruel Barbarous, hard Hearted Brother,
I must for ever my hard Fate deplore,
Nor Dream of Joy, nor of my Queen no more:
Here will I fix me to my Native Clay,
Repeating still her Name, sigh Life away.
[Lies down.
Enter Amphialus.
Amph.
'Tis done, 'tis done, the Perjur'd deed is done.
Oh! all ye Fiends that shake your Chains below,
Venting your Tortures with repeated yells,
I hear defy the Worst of all your Crew,
To match an anxious Soul with pains like mine;
Let Nature sicken, and increase decay,
The Earth be Barren and no more bring forth;
Let Night and Day no constant motion hold,
And let the World to its First Chaos shrink,
And all things here into confusion fly,
Great as the trouble which my Mind endures.
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[Sees him.
Stretcht on the Earth, Oh! rise my dearest Friend.
Arc.
Ha! who prophanes the sacred Name of Friend?
[Rising.
Stand off, far off, and e'er my whirling Brain
Reflects upon th'inestimable loss,
Sustain'd by one that falsly call'd me Friend;
I charge thee fly, least thy stay be Fatal.
Amph.
Oh! Brother.—
Arc.
Brother, ha! Perjur'd Man is't thou! here, here
Sheath thy Daggar in my Hearts warm Blood,
For thou hast rob'd me of my Soul already.
Amph.
The Powers forbid I shou'd destroy that Life
Which I have broke my Faith to keep; Oh! Antimora.
Arc.
Oh, thou hast wrong'd that Charming Innosence
Beyond all hope of pardon; and for me,
Had'st thou a thought of me in this curst deed?
Thou hast preserv'd me, true, but to what End?
To worse than Death, to Misery and Pain.
How I have Lov'd you, you your self can tell;
The constant duty which I paid you still,
Was such as Sons do to their Fathers pay,
Or Pious Saints when they for mercy sue:
But here I throw it off, disclaim it all;
And since you refuse to do me Justice,
Guard your own Life, for Death does waiting stand,
And won't return without his Loading back.
[Draws.
Amph.
Oh! all ye Powers protect my Brother.
Arc.
I have no Brother, nor no Friend on Earth.
There was a man that once bare such a Name,
But he's a King, and lives I know not where;
A Perjur'd false ungrateful King—
Whilt thou not draw?
Amph.
Oh! thou dost load me with severest words,
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And when with chiding me thou weary grow'st,
Send my Love to raise my Woes yet higher:
I will not Fight thee.
Arc.
Oh! that I could meet some dire destroying Arm,
Stretch't out for slaughter of all humane Race,
That I might cut my woeful Sorrows off
Like poppy's Heads, before the Reapers hand.
Amph.
How wild he look's! Arcanes, oh! Arcanes,
Forgive the Wretch that's curst above thee.
Arc.
My Brain turns round, and all my Sences Dance;
My Soul's trasplanted to another Clime;
See—Where Zelmane sits Enthrown'd with Stars,
I'll mount the Draggons-Wing, and reach her streight.
Get me a Chariot made of Ambient Air,
Boreas the Coachman, and the Steeds be Winds,
I'll Dart through all that dares impede my way,
And reach the Reg on of immortal day.
[Runs off.
Amph.
Curst Amphialus, what has thy rashness done?
See the event thy Fatal Nuptials bring:
The Mourning, injur'd Antimora comes.
Open thou Earth, and hide me from her sight;
Or strike me Jove with swiftest Thunder down.
Enter Antimora.
Ant.
Where do I wander in the World of care?
What! do I see that false, that Perjur'd Man?
Fly Antimora, fly the killing sight,
Tho' thou canst ne'er dislodge him from thy Heart.
Amph.
Oh! Antiomora, stay, thou Charming Maid,
Why dost thou shun the Wretch that's Curst for thee?
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For me your Majesty no Pains can know,
For great Zelmane drives those Cares away.
I must confess you'd reason in the Choice,
I but a Captive, she a Soveraign Queen.
Amph.
Oh! name her not, the sound is fatal grown,
And nought but Terror of thy cruel Doom,
Could have forc'd me to the hated deed.
Ant.
Think not I'll credit thy deluding Tongue:
No, false Amphialus, No.
Amph.
Oh! all ye Powers Dost think I Love the Queen?
Anti.
Else thou never would'st have made me Wretched.
Could'st thou believe I had a Soul so Poor
To buy my Life at so profuse a rate,
And make thy Perjuries attone her Rage?
Oh! no, not all the wealth of Corinths Crown,
What do I say? not all the Crowns on Earth,
Tho' offer'd at my Feet, could shake my Faith:
Nor Death with all his pompous Train of Woes,
Should once have made me quit my Right in thee.
But thou, tho' bound with sacred Hymens tyes,
For vast Ambition couldst forgo thy Wife,
Tho' I'm as Noble born as she thou'st tane;
Nay, had the prospect of a Throne in view,
Nothing inferiour to that Crown you wear.
Amph.
Crowns I dispise, for I have Conquer'd them;
Yet never wish'd to Rule the head-strong Crow'd,
Whose Turbulent and discontented Minds
Destroy the quiet of their Soveraigns Peace:
No, thou art all I ever wish'd on Earth,
With thee I could have liv'd in humble Shades
Far distant hence remov'd from humane kind,
And thought my self more great than Monarchs are.
But, oh! thou wound'st me with thy kind reproach,
Much deeper far then if thou gav'st me Death;
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Oh! stay, I cannot live without thy sight,
The Queen shall know my vows were paid to thee:
Yes, she shall know thou art my Wedded Wife.
Ant.
Thou should'st have told her that before, false Man;
What can the discovery now avail thee?
Only to pull destruction on thy Head,
And blacken all the story of thy Life.
I thought the Man that I had chose, had known
No turning of deceit, but strictly liv'd
A slave to the nicest Rules of Honour.
Thou hast deceiv'd the Queen and me alike:
We both are Wretched, and thy self Forlorn.
Oh! Amphialus, still that name hangs on my Tongue,
Had it not better been that I had died,
Than after some few days of Mourning paid
For the untimely fall of Antimora,
Thou might'st have Wed without this Load of guilt,
And I with pleasure have resign'd my Breath,
Because I thought thee true?
Amph.
And wilt thou not beleive I'm still the same?
Break, break my heart, why dost thou struggle so?
What am I then grown hateful to thy Eyes?
And wilt thou leave thy Husband to Dispair?
None ever sure mistook so much as I:
For what I thought the greatest proof of Love,
Divides me farthest from the thing belov'd.
Ant.
Yes, we must part, Amphialus, for ever part,
The stars decree it—Oh! a long farewel;
May'st thou be blest, whatever comes on me.
[Exit.
Amph.
Oh! stay, I'll bar thy Passage with my Body
[Throws himself down.
She's gone, and I am left the image of dispair:
Here will I lye, and never rise again,
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Till Madness, great as what my Brother feels,
Destroy my thought, and give my passions ease.
Enter the Queen attended.
Queen.
See where he lies extended on the Earth,
As if he grew a piece of that cold clay!
Is this a Pillow for a Bridegrooms head?
And these the Joys that Grace our Marriage day?
Look up my Lord, it is thy Queen that calls.
Amph.
You was my Queen, oh! that you still were so,
With what willingness would I then obey;
But I am alter'd quite:
No more a Subject to the best of Queens,
But am become a miserable King.
Queen.
I know my Place is to obey thee now;
Nor shall thy frowns prevent my duty, Prince;
With prudent care I'll search thy Temper out,
Till I have soften'd thy hard Heart to Love.
Amph.
Oh! Name not Love, for we are strangers grown;
When I have told the story of my woes,
Then Judge thy self, if ever man indur'd
In loathsome Dungeons, shut from chearful day,
One half of what my weary'd Soul sustains.
Queen.
Alas!
Amph.
Nay, if thou sigh e'er I the tale begin
What wilt thou do when I have told it out?
Prepare to Curse Zelmane, thou hast cause,
My Brother, that dear Brother whom I Love;
And who—
Twice sav'd my Life with hazard of his own:
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The dear kind Youth suck'd all the Venom thence.
In this last Field he did again preserve me.
For thee he long has nurst a hopeless Flame;
I to sooth it, swore I ne'er would Wed thee:
Mad as the raging Winds he flies about,
And Reason with his Joys is all destroy'd
Queen.
My Heart with thine does melt in Tears of pity,
And wish I could bring comfort to his grief.
Amph.
Yet this is but the half of what I bear;
That Maid, whom I wedded thee to save,
Fair Antimora, is my Lawful Wife;
My first, Curse on the thought, that I a second have:
In my fond Heart and vital Blood she lives,
And, oh! I die without her—
Queen.
Oh! Amphialus take peculiar care,
Least from my wrongs revenge shou'd rise.
Amph.
Oh! Let 't rage, and doom my instant Death;
It is the greatest Blessing in thy power to give.
Queen.
Ha! wake Zelmane from this Dream of Joy,
Stain not the Honour of thy Life and Reign,
By forcing to thy Arms a Wretch unworthy
Marryed. Oh! Matchless piece of Treachery;
Yes, I will rage and tear thee from my Breast,
Thou exquisite deceiver of my Sex:
Since you despise the softness of my Love,
All that was Kind and Dove-like in my Nature,
Prepare to hear the angry Lyon Roar,
To see thy self to Ruin hurry'd on,
Without the power to stop the rowling Torrent.
Amph.
Let it come on, I like the Motion well:
[Rises.
I'll bear th'Effects with unexampled Patience.
Queen.
Call in Geronta, and the attending Lords:
Thou need'st not fear that I'll be slow to act.
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My Lords,
Your Queen has been abus'd by this base Man,
Beyond the suffering of a Saint to bear;
He Marry'd me, to save the Captives Life
To whom his Vows were plighted long before;
Thus I, who stoop'd to raise this crawling Worm,
Was made a property to serve his private end;
An act for which he well deserves to die.
Amph.
I own the guilt, and ask no milder Fate.
Queen.
But cause I lov'd the perjur'd Traytor once,
Tho' now my Injuries have turn'd my Heart,
Yet shall it not convert to Mortal rage:
Nor shall he go unpunish'd for the boldness.
Geront.
Your princely Wisdom, Madam, shines so bright
And so conspicuous to the Eyes of all,
Your Subjects needs must own the Sentence just.
Oh! that I ne'er had urg'd him on.
[Aside.
Queen.
First then, divest him of all Posts of Trust,
And then to exile let the Traytor go;
If he is found in our Corinthian Coast
After three Days, issue a Proclamation forth
To take his forfeit Head:
The Senate shall dissolve our Marriage streight,
And give me back my Liberty.
Yes, Tyrant Man, thy power I here defie,
Nor will I yield the sweets of Love to try:
In Glory still I'll place my chief delight,
And scorn the pleasures of a Bridal Night.
[Exit with Trains.
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Amph.
So when a Ship has lost the Fleet at Sea,
When roaring Winds and Tempests clouds the Sky,
The sinking Men are all confus'd like me,
This difference only, They all fear to die;
I would with eager haste the stroak embrace:
But oh! the Powers deny that healing Grace.
Then sure with mine no State could e'er compare,
With Life Accurst, and loaded with Despare.
End of the Fourth Act.
| Zelmane : Or, the Corinthian Queen | |