University of Virginia Library

ACT III.

SCENE I.

A Prison.
Enter Osmyn alone, with a Paper.
Osm.
Reading.
Reading.

Enter Heli.
Hel.
The time's too precious to be spent in telling;
The Captain influenc'd by Almeria's Power,
Gave order to the Guards for my Admittance.

Osm.
How does Almeria? But I know; she is
As I am. Tell me, may I hope to see her?

Hel.
You may; anon, at Midnight, when the King
Is gone to rest, and Garcia is retir'd,
(Who takes the Privilege to visit late,
Presuming on a Bridegroom's Right she'll come.

Osm.
She'll come; 'tis what I wish, yet what I fear.
She'll come, but whither, and to whom? O Heav'n!
To a vile Prison, and a captiv'd Wretch;
To one, whom had she never known, she had
Been happy; why, why was that Heav'nly Creature
Abandon'd o'er to love what Heav'n forsakes?
Why does she follow with unwearied Steps,
One, who has tir'd Misfortune with pursuing?
One, driv'n about the World like blasted Leaves
And Chaff, the Sport of adverse Winds; till late
At length, imprison'd in some Cleft of Rock,
Or Earth, it rests, and rots to silent Dust.

Hel.
Have Hopes, and hear the Voice of better Fate.
I've learn'd, there are Disorders ripe for Mutiny
Among the Troops who thought to share the Plunder,
Which Manuel to his own Use and Avarice,
Converts. This News has reach'd Valentia's Frontiers;
Where many of your Subjects long oppress'd
With Tyranny and grievous Impositions,
Are risen in Arms, and call for Chiefs to head
And lead 'em, to regain their Liberty
And Native Rights.

Osm.
By Heav'n thou'st rous'd me from my Lethargy.
The Spirit which was deaf to my own Wrongs,
Deaf to revenge, and the loud Crys of my
Dead Father's Blood; Nay, which refus'd to hear
The Piercing Sighs, and Murmurs of my Love
Yet unenjoy'd; what not Almeria could
Revive, or raise, my Peoples Voice has wak'ned.
O my Antonio, I am all on Fire,
My Soul is up in Arms, ready to charge
And bear amidst the Foe, with conqu'ring Troops.
I hear 'em call to lead 'em on to Liberty,
To Victory; their Shouts and Clamours rend
My Ears, and reach the Heav'ns; where is the King?
Where is Alphonso? ha! where? where indeed?
O I could tear and burst the Strings of Life,
To break these Chains. Off, off, ye Stains of Royalty.
Off Slavery. O curse! that I alone
Can beat and flutter in my Cage, when I
Would soar, and sloop at Victory beneath.

Hel.
Our Posture of Affairs and scanty Time,
My Lord, require you should compose your self,
And think on what we may reduce to Practise.
Zara the Cause of your restraint, may be
The Means of Liberty restor'd. That, gain'd;
Occasion will not fail to point our Ways
For your Escape. Mean time, I've thought already
With Speed and Safety, to convey-my-self
Where not far off some Male-Contents hold Counsel
Nightly; hating this Tyrant; some, who love
Anselmo's Memory, and will, no doubt,
When they shall know you live, assist your Cause.

Osm.
My Friend and Counsellour; as thou thinks't fit,
So do. I will (with Patience wait my Fortune.

Heli.
When Zara comes, abate of your Aversion.

Osm.
I hate her not, nor can dissemble Love:
But as I may, I'll do. I have a Paper
Which I would shew thee Friend, but that the Sight
Would hold thee here, and clog thy Expedition.
Within I found it, by my Father's Hand
'Twas writ; a Prayer for me, wherein appears
Paternal Love prevailing o'er his Sorrows;
Such Sanctity, such Tenderness, so mix'd
With Grief, as wou'd draw Tears from Inhumanity.

Heli.
The Care of Providence, sure left it there,
To arm your Mind with Hope. Such Piety
Was never heard in vain: Heav'n has in Store
For you, those Blessings it with-held from him.
In that Assurance live; which Time, I hope,
And our next meeting will confirn.

Osm.
Farewell,
My Friend, the Good thou dost deserve attend thee.
[Ex. Heli.
I've been to blame, and question'd with Impiety
The Care of Heav'n. Not so, my Father bore
More Anxious Grief. This shou'd have better taught me;
This Lesson, in some Hour of Inspiration,
By him set down; when his pure Thoughts, were born
Like Fumes of Sacred Incense, o'er the Clouds,
And wafted thence, on Angels Wings, thro' Ways
Of Light, to the bright Source of all. There, in
The Book of Prescience, he beheld this Day;
And waking to the World and mortal Sense,
Left this Example of his Resignation,
This his last Legacy to me, which I
Will treasure here; more worth than Diadems,
Or all extended Rule of regal Pow'r.
Enter Zara veil'd.
What Brightness, breaks upon me, thus thro' Shades,
And promises a Day to this dark Dwelling!
Is it my Love?—

Zara.
O that thy Heart, had taught
[Lifting her Veil.
Thy Tongue that Saying.

Osm,
Zara! I'm betray'd
By my surprize.

Zar.
What, does my Face displease thee?
That having seen it, thou do'st turn thy Eyes
Away, as from Deformity and Horrour.
If so, this Sable Curtain shall again
Be drawn, and I will stand before thee seeing,
And unseen. Is it my Love? ask again
That Question, speak again in that soft Voice,
And Look again, with Wishes in thy Eyes.
O no, thou canst not, for thou seest me now,
As she, whose savage Breast has been the Cause
Of these thy Wrongs; as she, whose barbarous Rage
Has loaden thee with Chains and galling Irons:
Well, dost thou scorn me, and upbraid my Falseness;
Cou'd one that lov'd, thus torture what she lov'd?
No, no, it must be Hatred, dire Revenge,
And Detestation, that cou'd use thee thus.
So thou dost think; then, do but tell me so;
Tell me, and thou shall see how I'll revenge
Thee on this false one, how I'll stab and tear
This Heart of Flint, 'till it shall bleed; and thou
Shalt weep for mine, forgetting thy own Miseries.

Osm.
You wrong me, beauteous Zara, to believe
I bear my Fortunes with so low a Mind,
As still to meditate Revenge on all
Whom Chance, or Fate working by secret Causes,
Has made perforce subservient to that End
The Heav'nly Powers allot me; no, not you,
But Destiny and inauspicious Stars
Have cast me down to this low Being: or,
Granting you had, from you I have deserv'd it.

Zar.
Can'st thou forgive me then! wilt thou believe
So kindly of my Fault, to call it Madness;
O, give that Madness yet a milder Name,
And call it Passion; then, be still more kind,
And call that Passion Love.

Osm.
Give it a Name,
Or Being as you please, such I will think it.

Zar.
O thou dost wound me now, with this thy Goodness,
Than e'er thou could'st with bitterest Reproaches;
Thy Anger cou'd not pierce thus, to my Heart.

Osm.
Yet I could wish—

Zar.
Haste me to know it, what?

Osm.
That at this Time, I had not been this Thing.

Zar.
What Thing?

Osm.
This Slave.

Zar.
O Heav'n! my Fears interpret
This thy Silence; somewhat of high Concern,
Long fashioning within thy labouring Mind,
And now just ripe for Birth, my Rage has ruin'd.
Have I done this? tell me, am I so curs'd?

Osm.
Time may have still one fated Hour to come,
Which wing'd with Liberty, might overtake
Occasion past.

Zar.
Swift as Occasion, I
My self will fly; and earlier than the Morn,
Wake thee to Freedom. Now, 'tis late; and yet
Some News, few Minutes past arriv'd, which seem'd
To shake the Temper of the King—who knows
What racking Cares disease a Monarch's Bed?
Or Love, that late at Night still lights his Camp,
And strikes his Rays thro' dusk, and folded Lids,
Forbidding rest; may stretch his Eyes awake
And force their Balls abroad, at this dead Hour.
I'll try.

Osm.
I have not merited this Grace;
Nor, should my secret Purpose take Effect,
Can I repay, as you require, such Benefits.

Zar.
Thou canst not owe me more, nor have I more
To give, than I've already lost. But as
The present Form of our Engagements rests,
Thou hast the Wrong, 'till I redeem thee hence;
That done, I leave thy Justice to return
My Love. Adieu.
[Exit Zara.

Osm.
This Woman has a Soul,
Of God-like Mould, intrepid and commanding,
And challenges in spight of me my best
Esteem; to this she's fair, few more can boast
Of Personal Charms, or with less Vanity
Might hope to captivate the Hearts of Kings.
But she has Passions which out-strip the Wind,
And tear her Virtues up, as Tempest's root
The Sea. I fear when she shall know the truth,
Some swift and dire event, of her blind Rage,
Will make all fatal. But behold, she comes
For whom I fear, to shield me from my Fears.
Enter Almeria.
The Cause and Comfort of my boding Heart.
My Life, my Health, my Liberty, my All.
How shall I welcome thee, to this sad Place?
How speak to thee the Words of Joy and Transport?
How run into thy Arms with-held by Fetters,
Or take thee into mine, thus manacled
And pinion'd like a Thief or Murderer?
Shall I not hurt and bruise thy tender Body,
And slain thy Bosom with the Rust of these
Rude Irons? Must I meet thee thus, Almeria?

Alm.
Thus, thus; we parted, thus to meet again.
Thou told'st me thou would'st think how we might meet
To part no more—Now we will part no more,
For these thy Chains, or Death shall join us ever.

Osm.
Hard Means, to ratifie that Word!—O Cruelty!
That ever I should think, beholding thee,
A Torture—yet, such is the bleeding Anguish
Of my Heart, to see thy Sufferings—O Heav'n!
That I cou'd almost turn my Eyes away,
Or wish thee from my Sight.

Alm.
O say not so;
Tho' 'tis because thou lov'st me. Do not say
On any Terms, that thou dost wish me from thee.
No, no, 'tis better thus, that we together
Feed on each others Heart, devour our Woes
With mutual Appetite; and mingling in
One Cup, the common Stream of both our Eyes,
Drink bitter Draughts, with never-slacking Thirst.
Thus, better, than for any Cause to part.
What dost thou think? Look not so tenderly
Upon me—speak, and take me in thy Arms—
Thou canst not! thy poor Arms are bound and strive
In vain with the remorseless Chains, which gnaw
And eat into thy Flesh, festring thy Limbs
With rancling Rust.

Osm.
Oh! O—

Alm.
Give me that Sigh.
Why do'st thou heave, and stifle in thy Griefs?
Thy Heart will burst, thy Eyes look red and start;
Give thy Soul Way, and tell me thy dark Thought.

Osm.
For this World's Rule, I wou'd not wound thy Breast,
With such a Dagger, as then stuck my Heart.

Alm.
Why? why? to know it, cannot wound me more,
Then knowing thou hast felt it. Tell it me.
—Thou giv'st me I am, with too much Tenderness!

Osm.
And thy excessive Love distracts my Sense!
O could'st thou be less killing, soft or kind,
Grief wou'd not double thus, his Darts against me.

Alm.
Thou dost me Wrong, and Grief too robs my Heart,
If there, he shoot not ev'ry other Shaft;
Thy second self should feel each other Wound,
And Woe shou'd be in equal Portions dealt.
I am thy Wife—

Osm.
O thou hast search'd too deep.
There, there, I bleed; there pull the cruel Cords,
That strain my cracking Nerves; Engines and Wheels
That Piece-meal grind, are Beds of Down and Balm
To that soul-racking Thought.

Alm.
Then, I am curs'd
Indeed; if that be so, if I'm thy Torment,
Kill me, kill me then, dash me with thy Chains;
Tread on me, spurn me, am I the bosom Snake
That sucks thy warm Life-Blood, and gnaws thy Heart?
O that thy Words had force to break those Bonds,
As they have Strength to tear this Heart in sunder;
So should'st thou be at large from all Oppression.
Am I, am I of all thy Woes the worst?

Osm.
My All of Bliss, my everlasting Life,
Soul of my Soul, and End of all my Wishes.
Why dost thou thus unman me with thy Words,
And melt me down to mingle with thy Weepings?
What dost thou ask? why dost thou talk thus piercingly?
Thy Sorrows have disturb'd thy Peace of Mind,
And thou dost speak of Miseries impossible.

Alm.
Did'st thou not say, that Racks and Wheels were Balm,
And Beds of Ease, to thinking me thy Wife?

Osm.
No no, nor should the subtlest Pains that Hell,
Or hell-born Malice can invent; extort
A wish or Thought from me, to have thee other.
But thou wilt know, what harrows up my Heart.
Thou art my Wife—nay, thou art yet my Bride!
The Sacred Union of Connubial Love,
Yet unnaccomplish'd; his mysterious Rites
Delay'd: nor has our Hymenial Torch
Yet lighted up, his last most grateful Sacrifice;
But dash'd with Rain from Eyes, and swail'd with Sighs,
Burns dim, and glimmers with expiring Light.
Is this dark Cell, a Temple for that God?
Or this vile Earth, an Altar for such Off'rings?
This Den for Slaves, this Dungeon damp'd with Woes;
Is this our Marriage Bed! are these our Joys!
Is this to call thee mine? O hold my Heart;
To call thee mine? yes, thus, ev'n thus, to call
Thee mine, were Comfort, Joy, extremest Exstacy.
But O thou art not mine, not ev'n in misery;
And 'tis deny'd to me, to be so bless'd,
As to be wretched with thee.

Alm.
No; not that,
The extremest Malice of our Fate can hinder:
That still is left us, and on that we'll feed,
As on the Leavings of Calamity.
There, we will feast; and smile on past Distress,
And hug in scorn of it, our mutual Ruine.

Osm.
O thou dost talk, my Love, as one resolv'd,
Because not knowing Danger. But look forward;
Think on to Morrow, when thou shalt be torn
From these weak, strugling, unextended Arms;
Think how my Heart will heave, and Eyes will strain
To grasp and reach what is deny'd my Hands;
Think how the Blood will start, and Tears will gush
To follow thee my separating Soul.
Think how I am, when thou shalt wed with Garcia!
Then; will I smear these Walls with Blood, dash my
Disfigur'd Face, and rive my clotted Hair,
Break on the flinty Ground my throbbing Breast,
And grovel with gash'd Hands to scratch a Grave,
Stripping my Nails, to tear this Pavement up
And bury me alive; where I will bite the Ground
'Till gorg'd with suffocating Earth.—

Alm.
O dismal Cruelty! heart-breaking Horrour!

Osm.
Then Garcia shall lie panting on thy Bosom,
Luxurious, revelling amidst thy Charms;
And thou perforce must yield, and aid his Transport,
Hell, Hell! have I not Cause to rage and rave?
What are all Racks, and Wheels, and Whips to this?
Are they not soothing Softness, sinking Ease,
And wafting Air to this? O my Almeria,
What do the Damn'd endure, but to despair,
But knowing Heav'n, to know it lost for ever.

Alm.
O, I am struck; thy Words are Bolts of Ice,
Which shot into my Breast, now melt and chill me.
I chatter, shake, and faint with thrilling Fears.
No, hold me not—O, let us not support,
But sink each other, lower yet, down, down,
Where levell'd low, no more we'll lift our Eyes,
But prone, and dumb, rot the firm Face of Earth
With Rivers of incessant scalding Rain.

Enter Zara, Perez, and Selim.
Zara.
Somewhat of weight to me, requires his Freedom.
Dare you dispute the King's Command? Behold
The Royal Signet.

Perez.
I obey; yet beg
Your Majesty one Moment to defer
Your entring, till the Princess is return'd,
From visiting the Noble Prisoner.
[Exit Perez.

Zara.
Ha!
What saist thou?

Osm.
We are lost! undone! discover'd!
Retire, my Life, with speed—Alas, we're seen!
Speak of Compassion, let her hear you speak
Of interceding for me with the King;
Say somewhat quickly to conceal our Loves,
If possible—

Alm.
—I cannot speak.

Osm.
Let me
Conduct you forth, as not perceiving her.
But till she's gone; then bless me thus again.

Zara.
Trembling and weeping as he leads her forth!
Confusion in his Face, and Grief in hers!
'Tis plain, I've been abus'd—Death and Destruction!
How shall I search into this Mystery?
The bluest Blast of Pestilential Air,
Strike, damp, deaden her Charms, and kill his Eyes;
Perdition catch 'em both, and Ruine part 'em.

Osm.
This Charity to one unknown, and in
Distress, Heav'n will repay; all Thanks are poor.

[Exit Almeria.
Zara.
Damn'd, damn'd Dissembler! Yet I will be calm,
Choak in my Rage, and know the utmost depth
Of this Deceiver—you seem much surpriz'd.

Osm.
At your return so soon and unexpected!

Zara.
And so unwish'd, unwanted too it seems.
Confusion! yet I will contain my self.
You're grown a Favourite since last we parted;
Perhaps I'm sawcy and Intruding—

Osm.
—Madam!

Zara.
I did not know the Princess Favourite;
Your Pardon, Sir—mistake me not; you think
I'm angry: you're deceiv'd. I came to set
You free: But shall return much better pleas'd,
To find you have an Interest superiour.

Osm.
You do not come to mock my Miseries?

Zara.
I do.

Osm.
I could at this time spare your Mirth.

Zara.
I know thou could'st; but I'm not often pleas'd,
And will indulge it now. What Miseries?
Who would not be thus happily confin'd,
To be the Care of weeping Majesty?
To have contending Queens, at dead of Night
Forsake their down, to wake with wat'ry Eyes,
And watch like Tapers o'er your Hours of Rest.
O Curse! I cannot hold—

Osm.
Come, 'tis much.

Zara.
Villain!

Osm.
How, Madam!

Zara.
Thou shalt die.

Osm.
I thank you.

Zara.
Thou ly'st; for now I know for whom thou'dst live.

Osm.
Then you may know for whom I'd die.

Zara.
Hell! Hell!
Yet I'll be calm—Dark and unknown Betrayer!
But now the Dawn begins, and the slow Hand
Of Fate, is stretch'd to draw the Veil, and leave
Thee bare, the naked Mark of Publick View.

Osm.
You may be still deceiv'd; 'tis in my Power.

Zara.
Ha!
Who waits there?
Enter Perez.
As you'll answer it, take heed
This Slave commit no Violence upon
Himself. I've been deceiv'd. The publick Safety
Requires he should be more confin'd; and none,
No not the Princess self, permitted to
Confer with him. I'll quit you to the King.
Vile and ingrate! too late thou shalt repent
The base Injustice thou hast done my Love.
Yes, thou shalt know, spite of thy past Distress,
And all those Ills, which thou so long hast mourn'd;
Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd,
Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd.

[Exeunt Omnes.