University of Virginia Library

ACT II.

The Grand Visier discovered on a Couch, in a melancholy Posture: Soft Musick, which ended, he comes forward.
Mus.
Empty and insignificant are Greatness,
Splendor and Wealth, Magnificence and Pomp;
That with false Brightness dazle Vulgar Eyes,
And make the fawning Croud admire and tremble;
If sweet Tranquillity of Mind be wanting:
And vain are all soft Blandishments to gain,
Or sooth the troubled Soul. A careless Swain
Stow'd in a little Cottage, with Content,
Is happier far than I: His slender Wealth
In bleating Flocks, and lowing Herds consists:
Him flowry Lawns, and limpid Streams delight;
Few are his Wishes, and his Joys are boundless:
Sings all the Day, and sweetly sleeps all Night.
I'm still a Slave to Love; that cruel Tyrant
Palls every other Joy, and shades my Glory.
Within this Burning Breast a Fever rages,
Preys on my Heart, and fires my very Blood.
But here a Torment comes, that all exceeds:
Now must I strive to stifle what I feel,
And act a Tenderness my Soul abhors.

Enter Irene.
Irene.
How are you chang'd of late, my Mustapha?
Restless you seem, and fly from your Irene;
A sullen Care, a gloomy Melancholy
Sits lowring on your Brow: This is not kind,
Indeed it is not, to conceal from me,
Your tender Consort, Partner of your Bed,
The Cause of this your Discontent and Anguish.

Mus.
Oh curst Necessity of feigning Love! [Aside.

Fairest of Women! I have no Discontent,
No sawcy Care that dares extend to thee:
This toilsome Load of Business of the State
Bears heavy on me, almost weighs me down;
And, but for thee, the Weight cou'd not be borne:
Thy Starry Eyes, with bright unrival'd Lustre,
From my joy'd Breast dispel all anxious Cares.

Irene.
I'm satisfy'd: Nor shall I press you farther;
Yet you have oft deceiv'd me. Isabella
Has now obtain'd Permission to return
To Spain. You often promis'd that poor Maid
And me, long since, t'obtain the Sultan's Will;
But never, never did it, Mustapha.

Mus.
Unknown to me, who has been so officious
To interpose?

Irene.
By Letters fill'd with urgent Prayers,
I have at last obtain'd this long-wish'd Grant.

Mus.
Curse on your meddling, mischief-making Sex. [Aside.


Irene.
What is't thou say'st? Thou seem'st displeas'd and thoughtful.

Mus.
You've been too busy, done you know not what:
She shall not yet go hence; nor is it proper;
We have most weighty Reasons to detain her.

Irene.
Now, now the Villain breaks through all his Art. [Aside.

Those Reasons are as secret as they're strange:
So, when a hundred Christian Slaves were ransom'd
For trifling Sums, and more for her was offer'd
Than might have bought a Princess' Liberty;
Yet you had Reasons then.

Mus.
I had.

Irene.
Yes, yes,
I know thou had'st, deceitful Visier! [Aside.

But 'tis no longer in thy power to stay her;
All's done; the Order's sign'd: nor one Day more
Shall she remain in the Seraglio.

Mus.
Oh Torture! but I will not thus be baffled. [Aside.

Madam, forgive me, if I think your Love
To this fair Christian Maid outweighs your Judgment:
I can't believe the Sultan has consented,
Or will not, when he hears what I shall offer.
I shall detain her then, till he returns;
If then his Orders are—

Irene.
His Orders now are positive;
Nor shalt thou, Visier, dare to disobey them.

Mus.
I will not disobey them, but delay:
Nor will my Royal Master blame my Caution,
When he shall know—

Irene.
I can contain no longer!
What shall he know, thou most perfidious Man?
What can thy subtle working Wit invent,
To skreen the Injuries thou dost his Daughter?
For I no more will feign an Ignorance
Of that which is too obvious to the World,
The wondering World, that starts at thy Ingratitude.

Must.
I must appease this Tempest, or 'twill rack me. [Aside.

What means Irene?

Irene.
The Meaning is too plain,
There needs no Oedipus to solve this Riddle.
Had Isabella's Charms been less attractive,
She had not mourn'd in vain for Liberty.

Mus.
How easily the lurking smother'd Flame
Of Jealousy, blazes in Womens Breasts.
Now, my Irene, I shou'd chide your Rage,
Were not the Pain it gives yourself, too great
For me to wish addition: But, my Fair!
You cannot, sure, in earnest, wrong so much
The Lustre of your own unequall'd Beauties,
To think the Heart, which once has felt their Force,
Should stoop so low to prize such little Prettyness,
As Isabella boasts?

[Offering to take her by the Hand.
Irene.
Away, false Man!
Irene is not to be caught
By smooth-tongu'd Flattery, the Bait of Girls:
I see the Villain thro the fawning Courtier,
And as I ought, will prove my just Resentment.

Enter Daraxa.
Dar.
Most mighty Visier! Haly with Impatience
Entreats an Audience at your own Apartment.

[Mustapha whispers, and Exit Daraxa.]
Irene.
Haly impatient at his own Apartment!
By Heaven, I like not that sly treacherous Eunuch;
Some Mischief is on foot. [Aside.


Must.
Madam, I cannot stay
To argue longer with you on this Theme;
But when this causeless Fury is abated,
Shall gladly answer the Demands of Reason.

[Exit.
Irene.
Cool, cool Designer! but, by the Alcoran,
He shall not carry't thus—

Enter Ozmin.
Ozm.
A Tempest on that Brow!
Then Heaven indeed is angry, and declares
Offending Mortals must expect its Vengeance.

Irene.
Met you the Visier?

Ozm.
I did; and on his Brow,
Methought, I read some Marks of Discontent.

Irene.
Oh Ozmin! I can tell thee such a Tale
Will make thy honest Soul disdain its Form,
And wish to change it for some other Specie:
No Beast so hateful, as the Monster, Man!

Ozm.
He must be more than Monster that cou'd wrong,
Even in a Thought, the bright Irene's Charms:
But, Madam, say, what new Affronts are given;
For, I presume, none but a Husband's Power
Wou'd dare, unaw'd by yours, to rouze your Rage.

Irene.
Curse on the Day which gave that Power to Mustapha:
He has refus'd to obey the Sultan's Order,
And will, in spite of us, detain his Minion.

Ozm.
As I cou'd wish: Propitious Fortune, Thanks! [Aside.

I grieve the Visier should be thus misled.
What tho he doats on Isabella's Beauties;
What tho his Soul, with Tenderness unspeakable,
Hangs on her; what tho he lives but in her sight,
Yet still, methinks, his Gratitude to you,
And Duty to the Sultan, should outweigh
All other Considerations.

Irene.
No, Ozmin, no;
The Traitor now begins to avow his Guilt;
Shortly he'll dare to brave me with a Rival:
But as my Injuries, my Revenge shall rise,
Tow'r o'er his Pride, and crush him into nothing.

Ozm.
I have been told, but cannot vouch the Truth,
That if she'll be prevail'd upon to change
Her Faith for ours, he will in publick wed her.
Our Law allows Plurality of Wives,
And he, perhaps, believes you may forget
The Vow he made to marry none but you.

Irene.
Ha! say'st thou, marry her: by Mecca's Sacred Shrine,
Should he but offer such a Deed, he dies:
Tho but one Soul inform'd the Race of Man,
And that one Soul were his, they all should perish:
Nay, could I read it even in his Wishes;
But trace a Thought like that, I'd tear it out,
Tho hid in the most dark Recesses of his Heart!

Ozm.
Far be it from me to sow the Seeds of Discord;
I now repent me, I have said so much:
The World is apt to talk, and some will magnify,
To mountainous Heights, the least Appearances:
He may not be so guilty as they think;
At least, I hope he is not.

Irene.
Ozmin, no more:
'Tis thy own Honesty which makes thee talk thus.
Those free from Guile, themselves with Pain believe
The Crimes which others act; but I'm too well
Acquainted with this Traytor Husband's Falshood,
And not for his, but my own sake conceal'd it:
She who proclaims her Wrongs, proclaims her Shame;
And tho the Husband sins, the Wife is scorn'd:
For what is Pity but the lowest Scorn?
But see! the Pander to his Crimes; that Eunuch's sight
To me is Hell. I leave you to receive him.

[Exit.
Ozm.
Haly! Ha! Daraxa with him, I'll observe.

[Retires.
Enter Haly and Daraxa.
Hal.
Make no Enquiry, but obey my Orders;
At the great western Gate you'll find him waiting:
Be swift, and trust to my Commands for Safety.

Dar.
I shall my Lord,
[Exit Daraxa.

Hal.
Now for a Tale to sooth this jealous Wife,
And charm the Hurricane into a Calm.
Well met, my Lord, I thought to have found the Princess.

[Seeing Ozmin.
Hal.
She but this moment past to her Apartment
Much discompos'd.

Hal.
I come to bring her Ease.
The Visier has consider'd her Request;
And whate'er Reasons Policy might urge
To thwart her Will, he bad me say his Love
To her outweighs 'em all; her favorite Slave is free,
And may, as she shall order, be dispos'd.

Ozm.
Curst Chance! this overtuns all I have done. [Aside.

No doubt this kind Compliance will oblige her.

Hal.
Please to inform her of it, an Affair,
Of no less Consequence, requires my Presence
In another Place.

Ozm.
I shall most willingly.

Hal.
Tell her that Isabella may this Night
Depart the Palace, if she so thinks proper.

Ozm.
I shall.

Hal.
Then pardon Haste.

[Exit Haly.
Ozm.
Damn'd Turn of Fortune:
My Hopes are blasted, all my Plots defeated;
This reconciles Irene to his Interest;
And yet Daraxa told me, that he lov'd
The Christian Maid with such a Height of Passion,
He sooner wou'd forgo his Life than her.
But then Ambition, and his Wife's Resentment:
Ae, that's the point: methinks, I scorn him now,
Even more than e'er I hated: Cou'd pity him,
Who rather than offend a Wife, wou'd quit
A darling Mistress. Coward, Coward Visier.

[Exit.
SCENE changes.
Isabella discovered at a distance.
Enter Daraxa and Alphonso in a Turkish Habit.
Dar.
This is the Place; and see where Isabella,
Pensive, alone retir'd from all the Court,
In yon cool Marble Portico, each Morn
Enjoys the pure refreshing fragrant Air,
Blown from the Sultan's Gardens.

Alp.
Once more I'm blest, I see my Isabella;
A soft unusual Trembling steals upon me,
Binds down my faultering Tongue, and damps my Spirits;
My panting Heart beats thick. What must I say?
Or how shall I approach her? So she look'd!
Just so! and such a pleasing Pain I felt
When I at first beheld the beauteous Maid—

Dar.
She moves this way.

Alp.
She sees us.

Dar.
I'll retire.
I wish this Interview does not cost thee dear. [Aside, and Exit.


Isa.
What do I see! Who art thou that presum'st
To enter these Apartments?

Alp.
Lovely Fair!
From distant Lands, from foreign Climes remote,
Thro Winds, and Waves, all Horrors of the Deep,
An amorous Youth, borne on the Wings of Love,
Is flown to thy Relief, and offers thee
Freedom and Liberty. Oh charming Maid!
O be propitious, smile on his Designs!
And, pitying, lock upon a bleeding Heart
That freely yields itself a joyful Victim
To succour thee, and save thee from the Rage
Of barbarous, impious Men.

Isa.
I shou'd not be
A Stranger to that Voice—O all ye Saints!
Am I awake, or is it all Delusion?
'Tis he! 'tis he! O Heaven! 'tis my Alphonso!
'Tis he! the Life, the Soul of Isabella:
O take me to thy Arms, and hide my Blushes;
Let me be hush'd within thy fond Embraces,
And hear the Sound of Misery no more.

Alp.
O Joy too fierce to bear! O killing Transport!

Isa.
But say, Alphonso! tell me quick, my Love,
How cam'st thou here? A sudden Terror
Invades my Spirits in the midst of Rapture,
And I even faint with Apprehension for thee:
Speak by what Means thou here wer't introduc'd,
Where Death inevitable guards the Passage
From the approach of Strangers.

Alp.
Banish those Fears;
This Night thou shalt be free to give a Loose
To all the tender Transports of thy Soul:
A faithful Friend, when all is hush and silent,
Will bring thee to these Arms, which ake to hold thee
In the soft Folds of Love, to part no more!
He will conduct us safe, and unobserv'd,
To the Sea-side.

Isa.
It cannot be, Alphonso.
Who is the Traitor that has thus abus'd thee?

Alp.
I'm not abus'd; 'tis Haly will protect me.

Isa.
The Eunuch Haly? Favourite of the Visier!
Oh thou'rt betray'd, and I am lost for ever!
This very Day had I procur'd my Freedom;
The generous Princess had obtain'd it for me:
But this unhappy Chance brings both our Ruins.

Alp.
O stop those Words, recall those dreadful Sounds;
The World may perish, and Confusion reign,
A Peal of Thunder, pointed at our Heads,
May strike us dead, but nought shall part us more.

Isa.
The Court alarm'd, already thou'rt discover'd!
[An Alarm.
Oh my Alphonso! What unlucky Star
Guided thee here? Hadst thou ten thousand Lives,
This very Instant, all were forfeited.

Enter Achmat, Haly, and Guards.
Hal.
Behold the Traytor.

Alp.
Take back that Name, vile Infidel,
Or I will write it in thy treacherous Heart.

Ach.
Christian, yield thyself!

Alp.
Villains! stand off!
Inhuman barbarous Slaves!

Isa.
Oh hold, for Mercy, spare his Life a Moment.

Hal.
Hurt not the Woman; stop their Mouths: away.

[They are forc'd off.
Ach.
Whence came this Man, and who were his Confederates
Int he Seraglio? 'tis all mysterious.

Hal.
I must not let him into the Design, [Aside.

But form a Tale, tho false, yet plausible:
He is a Christian, Isabella's Lover,
And hither come from Spain, that's his Pretence,
To ransome her; but a curst black Design
Lurk'd underneath: He privately had brib'd
A Slave of mine, with a large Sum of Gold,
To bring him into the Seraglio;
No doubt, to lie conceal'd against the Life
Of our great Master.

Ach.
How was this known?

Hal.
The Eunuch, who conducted, has betray'd him;
There are besides some other Circumstances,
Which will more perfectly make out his Treason
When the Divan shall sit.

Ach.
It may be so;
But at the present it appears most strange,
That he, a Christian, and a Foreigner,
But lately landed on the Turkish Shore,
Already shou'd be link'd in a Conspiracy
Of this black Dye.

Hal.
'Tis indeed surprizing,
But yet most true. Our worthy Visier's Care,
Ever most watchful for the Sultan's Safety,
Has trac'd this dark Design to its Formation:
To him all honest-hearted Mussulmen
Stand highly obligated. Never Man
So well discharg'd the mighty Trust he bears,
Nor was so anxious for the Publick Good;
So wise, so just, so excellent in all,
So free from every Failing of Humanity,
We scarce believe him such—

Ach.
Hold, Haly, Hold.
To listen to him, makes me share his Guilt. [Aside.

Was't Wisdom, unprovok'd, to wage that War
Against the unequal Arms of great Lorrain?
Or just, to shed the noblest Blood of Ottoman;
A curs'd Libation to his wild Ambition?
The shameful Peace, his own Designs once serv'd,
He after made, to the Eternal Blot
Of Turkish Glory, and the base detaining
That Pay the Janizaries had so dearly earn'd:
All this is excellent in thy Esteem.

Hal.
You speak with Prejudice, nor can I blame your Warmth;
In that unhappy War you lost a Brother,
A noble Brother! for whom Great Mustapha,
Not less than you, lamented. For the Janizaries,
Oft have I heard him grieve their hard Enduring,
And wish he cou'd, from his own private Purse,
Relieve their Sufferings, till the Publick Stock,
Which lately has been drain'd, cou'd do 'em justice.

Ach.
All curst Hypocrisy! all false as Hell!
Such Insinuations may delude the Crowd,
But when the Sultan comes, I hope to see
Long banish'd Truth again exert her Sway.

Hal.
Thou ne'er shall see it, if this Brain holds firm. [Aside.

Passion's impatient, therefore, Noble Lord!
I will not urge you farther, but entreat
You wou'd not judge till the Result informs you:
The Sultan's coming will determine all.

Ach.
It shall determine; for, Eunuch, be assured
Such Accusations will be brought—

Hal.
I must not stay
To hear 'em. The Visier's Honesty
To me is so well known, I must not know,
Or knowing, must revenge his Injuries.

[Exit.
Ach.

[Exit.