University of Virginia Library

ACT THE THIRD.

SCENE I.

Near the Palace.
Enter Garcia and Alvaro.
Gar.
This Hebrew madam makes our Arragon
Her pleasure and her spoil: all bow before her;
People and nobles lacquey her alike,
And the mere crown is all she wants of Queen:
Nay, men already name the Hebrew Queen,
And Xavier sways the nation's ministry.
Alphonso in his dotage is gone mad,
And his proud kingdom uses as a toy
To please a wench's fancy; yet she stands
In honour unassailable—that the King's passion
Must die, or end in marriage.

Alv.
Marriage!

Gar.
Ay:
The lady Isabella is despised;
As if she were a garment half outworn,
And not a bridal robe, trimm'd for the wearing—
But ne'er put on. Be joyful, Arragon!
Your Queen's a Jewess.

Alv.
Would to Heaven's God!
My feet were on the upstart Xavier's neck;
His daughter in my arms—I'd teach them both
What honour is!

Gar.
I thought them unoffending—
Peaceful; but give them claws and fangs, I find
They'll tear like other brutes: it shall not last!
Jews shall no longer be the chiefs of state,
And mock our Holy Faith with blasphemy!

Alv.
They shall not, by the Cross!—they shall not, dogs!—
What! Jews make levy upon Christians? pluck
Our fortunes from us—Now, by all the Saints!—

Gar.
What royal sorrow's this strikes pity mute
With witchcraft of its tears? The beauteous princess?

Enter Isabella.
Isa.
I can endure no more: I've suffer'd long;
Letting the duteous heart of loyal love
Beat 'gainst the sense of injury; and now—
After calm brooking of so many wrongs,
Now to be banish'd, now!—it breaks my heart.

Gar.
Banished! O, gracious madam, speak again
The king is not so clutch'd in by the devil,
As to do this?

Isa.
He frowns me from his presence;
Xavier looks death upon me as I pass,
And Rachel—there is poison in the name!—
Insults me with the triumph of her smile.
I'd rather live on roots i' the wild woods,
Than thus beside a throne!—my honour'd lords,
I here commend my fortunes to your care:
Take me where'er you will—I reck not where;—
Back to my father's court—to exile, death!
No future sorrow can exceed the past!

Gar.
O, royal lady! your good cause is ours.
We will avenge thee; and thy royal sire,
Shall need to stir no foot in thy behalf.
Be this your comfort, the Jew strikes himself
And this presumptuous levy he hath dared
To make on Saragossa's citizens,
To serve his daughter's fast extravagance,
Fells him to earth: resistance is on foot;
Alphonso's troops are out against the Moors;
The city shall rise arm'd within the hour—
And her ten thousand voices thunder death
To the proud Jewess and her upstart sire!

Alv.
Ay, and to every cursed Israelite
That taints our kingdom's air with villainy:
How the Jew dogs will howl!—I hear them now.

Isa.
Amaze and joy burn brightly in my heart,
But apprehension's breath doth shake the flame.

Gar.
He shall be hurtless; and his dignity
In our revenges will but rise renew'd
From its long cloud of slumber: rest content!
Please you await the issue, in my house
Of this great blow for justice, to which shelter
A troop of friends shall guard your royalty.

Isa.
Even be it so, my lords: what else should be?
My bliss and greatness in their infancy
Have sicken'd, at the least—and well may die;
Would I might too!—death is not misery.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

A room in Xavier's house.
Enter Xavier and Reuben.
Xav.
The Christians rise against it, and my power
Sits quailing now: that courier was despatch'd
At sunrise, was he not?

Reu.
He was, sir; even at dawn.

Xav.
And with him bore that signet of the king
I furnish'd stealthily?

Reu.
He has it with him.

Xav.
On that man's speed, the fortunes and the lives
Of all of Israel that's in Arragon
Hang as in agony. Swift be his horse!
For tho' he do out-gallop the wild wind—
Fly like a leaf along the hurricane,
He shall not ride with that rapidity
Our need cries out for. I've one more resource:
The princess fled the palace; she's waylaid,
And in an hour shall be my prisoner,
Despite the guard of Garcia, unto whom
I know she goes for refuge: then, my child
Hath her life sure; or a fair princess bleeds for't.

Reu.
A bold manœuvre!—thou art ever sage.

Xav.
Summon a thousand of my well-arm'd Jews!
Let them surround my house, that once encaged,
The royal bird escape not: see it done!
I'll to the palace, ere the storm comes on:
The rabble will scarce dare molest their king?

Reu.
I'll have the thousand station'd in an hour.

Xav.
In less! in less!—an hour is half an age,
When in an hour life with all time may part!
[Exit Reuben.
I've been too sudden: I had thought my power
Grew with a deeper root, than thus to bend
So crouchingly to the first storm that rises
To threat its branching sovereignty. Awhile,
And Rachel had been Queen of Arragon!—
The very marriage-day was fixed in secret!—
This hasty levy, by the king and her
Urg'd 'gainst my better sense, looks perilous:
God grant it prove not Israel's overthrow!

Re-enter Reuben.
Reu.
Xavier, the multitude surround the palace,
Headed by Garcia and Alvaro:—well?—
Some cry Alphonso! Xavier! some—some, Rachel!
Death to the Jews! shout some—(sharp plagues upon 'em!)
O, we are lost; all our rich profits' gone:
We shall be flay'd of our great fortunes now.

Xav.
Silence! base, bearded merchant: hast thou summon'd
Some thousand friends, as I commanded thee?

Reu.
Ay; they are mustering now.

Xav.
Quick let them be!
I'll seek no palace, then! but gaol a princess;
And tho' a Rachel outweighs twenty such—
One royal life may be the bond of her's.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.

A Chamber in the Palace.
Tumult without. Enter Rachel, in dismay.
Rach.
Alphonso! Xavier!—O, my king! my sire!
Haste! or your Rachel shall be trod upon
By rebel lords and base mechanic churls.
That fatal measure is the cause of this;
And Xavier's wisdom augur'd prophet like.—
Enter Manrique, hastily.
Save me! Manrique; guard me! counsel me!—
Is there no shelter from this hideous death?

Man.
Madam, I scarcely can advise myself:
To your own prudence, therefore, I commend you;
Which, if it save you, is miraculous.

Rach.
Out of my sight! thou shadow of a man:
Thou art an arrant coward, Lord Manrique—
And never coward was a woman's friend!

Man.
Call on the king—perhaps he'll serve you, Madam;
For I must fortify your enemies.

Rach.
Away! thy weakness shames the weaker side.
[Exit Manrique.
They come! they come!—What ho!—Alphonso, ho!—
The voice of Rachel can allure no more.

Enter Garcia and Alvaro, followed by a crowd of citizens, with drawn swords.
Gar.
The king's secure: Alvaro, seek the Jew;
And I will deal with this gay upstart here.

Alv.
I'll rest not, till he's shorter by the head!

Rach.
O, he is guarded by the omnipotent God!
Thou durst not slay him, thou false Christian lord!

[Exit Alvaro, with a party of Citizens.
Gar.
Jewess! repent thy sins, and pray to Christ,
And make thy choosing between Heaven and Hell;
For thou must die.

Rach.
'Tis false; I must not die:
Thou art too noble, Garcia, on my soul!
To slay a woman that ne'er injured thee.

Gar.
Traitress! that art a curse to Christendom,
Kneel to thy fate!

Citizens
(advancing)
Strike down the traitress—strike—

Alph.
(rushing in)
Villains! stand back: here, Rachel—in my arms!—
[She struggles into his arms
Use stronger bolts, Sirs, when ye'd gaol a king!
Now, valiant gentlemen! now, loyal subjects!
Strike your bold daggers to a woman's heart,
Even thro' the breast of your anointed king!

Enter a Lord.
Lord
Rescue, my lord; the royal Isabella
Hath been waylaid and taken by the Jews:
Such is the cry.

Gar.
Ha!

Citizens
(without)
Slay him, spare him not!

Enter Reuben, through the Citizens.
Reub.
I will come thro', though dagger-stuck!—a porcupine!
Lay not a hand upon my master's daughter;
Molest her not; harm not the pride of Judah!
Your Isabel is fast in Xavier's hands,
And dies, if one of you but touch his child!

Rach.
(breaking exultingly from the king)
Who stirs, to stain him in that Isabel's blood?
Rachel hath left her shelter; kill her now!
O, my great father, how thy master-spirit
Hath ta'en this giant danger by the throat,
And laid it breathless! Christian gentlemen,
What think ye of our Jewish policy?
Your daggers! come, I will not flinch at all!

Alph.
(advancing, and taking Rachel by the hand)
Be silent, Rachel; this cannot endure:
I am awoke now from a perilous sleep,
Which I have past in luxury of dreams,
Neglecting the realities of life;
Ever in absence from the battle-field,
Where Christian glory springs from Infidel blood;
And leaving Arragon to be controll'd
By hands which, by her birthright, she abhors.
List to me, boist'rous and rebellious men:
By my great ancestor, The Battailer,
Who on these towers install'd triumphantly
The ever-blessed and eternal Cross,
We swear ye shall have justice: sheath your swords.

Gar.
'Tis all we seek, my liege: put up your weapons.

[They sheath their swords.
Rach.
Parley with traitors? Is this King Alphonso?

Alph.
Be silent, Rachel: you have said too much;
And that you utter'd 'tis resolves me now.
We speak, Sirs, from our justice, not our fears:
Our levy on your fortunes we recall;
And henceforth your own loyal loves shall tax you,
Unto our need's nought overstrain'd extent:
We pardon your rebellion; and yet more,
To show in all indulgent sovereignty,
We banish from the soil of Arragon
Xavier and all his Hebrew tributaries;
Ay, every Jew and Jewess in the land;
She not excepted, in whose banishment
Our joys are exiles: Rachel, get thee gone!

Gar.
O, royal Arragon, we kneel before thee;
And gratefully thus offer up our hearts
Unto your majesty, for this free grace,
Which so shall strengthen you in subjects' love,
That all the world will cry of Arragon—
Behold a king, now, fenced with adamant!

Alph.
Arise, my lords; there is no more to beg:
But learn ye—not one drop of Hebrew blood,
In execution of our stern decree,
Must there be shed: this look to, on your lives!

Gar.
My liege, it shall be heeded faithfully;
So flow in health the blood of Christendom!

Alph.
Go then, my lord, and hush the city's heart
Before it heave to bursting; and take order,
You and my lord Alvaro, both of whom
We reinstate in your high offices,
For the Jews' banishment. What is there more?

Gar.
All shall be done as you command, my liege!
And from the Hebrews will we rescue her
Who should be your throne's grace—the gentle princess.

Alph.
We did not speak of that; but do your will.
Leave us; our word is past.

Gar.
Heaven keep your grace!

[Exeunt Garcia and Citizens.
Alph.
From his own passions and you worthy monarchs;
For now Alphonso is his subjects' subject:
Where is Manrique? What dost stay for, Jew?

Reub.
To do my bidding to lord Xavier's daughter;
And not for all the kings in Christendom
Will Reuben budge a foot, till she desire.

Alph.
And art not gone? Why should'st thou tarry, Rachel?

Rach.
(waving Reuben off)
[Exit Reuben.
She that doth sleep in sunshine, amid flowers,
Woke by the riot of the hurricane,
Or the dread-volley'd thunder, shrinks within
Her inmost self, and trembles; but not moves:
'Tis so with Rachel, sire.

Alph.
Oh! quit my sight:
Thine eyes are treach'rous beacons, towards which steering, I,
That am the royal pilot of the state,
Do wreck the state, and all my freight of glory,
And am nigh drowned in the perilous sea.
Tempt me no more; but if Alphonso's fame,
The quiet of the realm—nay, thine own life,
With that of thine all-too-ambitious sire,
Which falling in one scale, make love-griefs light i'the other,
Have any heed from thee, forsake me now:
Be to my eyes, as if thou ne'er hadst been;
Or, at the most, a thought-made-visible dream
Of some sweet past. Begone! speak not a word;
Lest that thy witchcraft make a perjurer of me.

Rach.
Alphonso is a king.

Alph.
And being a king,
Must look he forfeit not that loyalty
Which holds him kingly.

Rach.
He is not a king
That hath not the prerogative of kings.
Alphonso hath not; every upstart subject
Plants his base will above his sovereign's;
Says thus and thus his pleasures shall be shaped—
Thus shall he walk, eat, sleep, and thus be clothed;
Thus shall he speak; thus see. Know this, O king!
My father hath more royalty than thou;
For many tremble at his beck and nod,
And none dare dictate to his word, or deed.

King.
Our doting love for thee hath darken'd us,
And set him shining in our cast-off state:
Thou dost speak haughtily. Away!

Rach.
(falling at the King's feet)
Never!
By all thy vows of love, my royal lord,
When thou hast named me thy soul's inner spirit;
When thou hast call'd me thy dear Hebrew queen,
And sworn thy state's crown, as thy life's, was mine!
I do implore thee, drive not from their homes
My ever-persecuted countrymen;
O, scatter not those bees, hived in thy kingdom,
Expelling them from all their labour'd store,
To perish in the barren winter-air
Of stranger lands—O, do not, gracious sire!
I will go forth, the sacrifice for all;
And in atonement for that envied little
Of power which we poor outcasts have enjoy'd,
I will die starving in some wilderness—
Ay, in the worst of deserts—the drear waste
Of all mankind's abandonment; but spare—
O, spare my father and my countrymen!

King.
You rack my heart; Rachel, it cannot be:
It is to save their lives I have done this,
And thine—more dear to me than all. Away!
Thou shalt hear of me, Rachel; do not fear it;
And yet our marriage shall be solemnized!
And thy pure, honor-guarded beauty shine
The star of Arragon!—Yield to the time,
And go at once: this passion tortures me!

Rach.
Yet hear me, sire: by thy own dignity!

Alph.
Tempter, away! I'm powerless; and my will
Comes not within the account: I prithee, hence.
Manrique, ho!

Raph.
Is't final? Am I spurn'd?

King.
O, get thee hence, sweet! and preserve thy life,
And leave Alphonso of his love to die:
'Tis in our destiny; 'tis fix'd—go, go.
Manrique!

Rach.
I will plead no further—no!
Xavier, disdain not thy too grovelling child,
That hath forgot her dignity and thine,
By crouching to this Christian. Sir, I go;
And leave thee to that lowest slavery
Which the earth knows, the slavery of kings
To their mechanic subjects. Thou hast kill'd me;
Absence will be my death; and my wrong'd shade
Shall haunt thee in thy camp and cabinet,
In thy void state, and on thy slavish throne!
I'm the world's exile, banish'd to the grave;
Banish'd by thee, who vow'd to shelter me
From all the plagues of body and of soul
Engender'd by the elements and man.
My grave shall give forth an eternal voice
Of torture to thy heart! O, cruel king!
Thus to turn from me: I can ne'er brook this.
Come, welcome death! for nothing now is left
To Rachel in this cold and desolate world.

[Exit.
King.
She's gone; and my bow'd crown sits firmer here:
Another breath of passionate entreaty
Had made me violate my force-wrung oath,
And bent my sceptre to the crack of breaking.
Would I had left the Moors sans molestation,
And kept my troops at home! Never let monarchy
Forego its guard; power's slip is death to will:
The lesson learn'd shall be remembered,
And on the near'st occasion, practised too.
Manrique, ho!

[Exit.

SCENE IV.

Within the grounds of Xavier's house.
Enter Garcia, Alvaro and Citizens.
Alv.
No blood?

Gar.
Their banishment suffices; not a drop;
I'm pledg'd for't to the king; nor break my oath,
Come of't what may.

Alv.
I'll tell thee what will come of't:
Xavier hath garrison'd his house with Jews;
And we, in our attempt upon his life
Have been defeated, wounded, driven back;
And, look! the infuriate Hebrews are upon us!
No blood, did'st say?

Gar.
No drop! I swear, my lord.

Enter Xavier, followed by Reuben and other Jews, armed.
Xav.
Stand! till I bid thee strike—be not too hot.
Out of my gates, ye Christian woman-slayers!
On whose ferocious hearts, nor streaming locks,
Lustrous as sun-set, nor heaven-kindred eyes,
Nor dew'd-rose cheeks, nor beauty-breathing lips,
Love-rounded bosom, nor the delicate hands
Of ladies, clasp'd and trickling piteously,
Washed by the tears of anguish; ye, whose hearts,
All these—that well might move the brutes o' the wild—
Move not at all—out, out of Xavier's gates!
Or shall his garden-flowers drip with your blood?

Alv.
Thou damned Jew! thou royal, righteous dog!
So perfectly I hate thee, were thy life
Cased in by mine, I'd pierce it to come at thee!
Down with him! citizens; set free the princess!

Gar.
Hold! by the virtue of mine office, hold!
Xavier, thou know'st the sentence of the king:
Thy servant, Reuben, will have told it thee.

Xav.
Sir, I know many things, which though unknown,
My soul would not be more unalterable:
Time must we have to move to banishment,
Time must we have to render up the princess;
And in the gap of time, oft chance is thrust,
To prove fore-knowledge futile: where's my daughter?

Gar.
Safe, sir; for us.

Xav.
I thank my captive—safe:
When she is in my arms, I'll talk of ransom.

[Noise without.
Enter Rachel.
Rach.
(As if speaking to the rabble without)
Dare not to follow further, filthy scum!
Ye common dirt! ye cannot soil me now:
Lo! I take shelter in a father's arms.

Xav.
Go, drive them from my gates!
[Exit part of the Jews.
Here rest thee, child;
And like a wild-flower, on this sheltering rock
Smile at the storm!

Rach.
I do, my lord; I do.

Gar.
My Lord Alvaro, by my honor—no!
I raise my sword against it; I have sworn.

Alv.
Turn Jew—I care not. Christians, rush upon'em
There is no fence 'gainst charms, the witch alive—
Kill her! and ye are safe.

[They advance to kill Rachel—Garcia restrains them.
Xav.
Base blood-hounds, back!
Molest her with a touch, a breath, a glance—
If I but wave this hand to yonder point,
Off goes your Isabel's head! Now; who will stir?

[They fall back.
Alv.
Cowards!

Gar.
I thank ye, citizens: proud Jew!
Now, hear the sentence; three days and their nights
Are given ye to depart from Arragon,
With all that ye possess; that time expired,
If aught remains of Hebrew property,
It falls to the state; and those that linger, die!
And more, know this: if by to-morrow's sun-set
The royal Isabel be not rendered up
In health and safety, not a Jew shall live;
For we will lead the banded citizens,
With sword and fire, to slaughter and consume
Ye and your habitations.

Xav.
If I yield her,
'Twill be in safety, Christian; but, for health,
I cannot answer for her highness' health.

Gar.
Well, Jew; look to't: my deed pursues my word;
And once again, I warn ye to beware,
For ye stand verging on a bloody death!
Lead hence, my friends.

Alv.
Garcia, attend my word—
You'll grieve for this forbearance, speedily.

Gar.
Sir, I have sworn an oath. Lead hence, my friends.

[Exeunt Garcia, Alvaro and Citizens.
Xav.
Follow them, Reuben; treble-bolt my gates;
And there hold watchful sentry thro' the night.

Reu.
I will, I will: O, noble Xavier, trust me—
Reuben could weep, could weep with very joy,
To see thee and thy daughter still preserved
To be the fence and pride of Israel!
If but that messenger keep up the gallop,
Our sun to-morrow may rise very cloudless;
Let him ride so; and after, break his neck—
He cannot live to do a better thing.

Xav.
Amen! good Reuben. Friends I thank ye all.
[Exeunt Reuben and Jews.
Rachel!

Rach.
My father?

Xav.
Come, arouse thee, daughter:
Thou'rt very pale and very silent, Rachel;
And I part fear the verdure of thy soul
Hath been much blighted by one passing storm;
That resolution in your woman's heart—
By love and high ambition palaced there—
Is somewhat reeling from her constancy:
I should be loath to deem thee feeble, girl.

Rach.
I've been upon the dark brink of the grave;
A hundred swords were thirsty for my blood—
And death, think what we will, is terrible—
I have been hurl'd from a most mountainous
And giddy elevation of delight,
To the low valley and drear depths of woe;
Arragon's King and Rachel's high heart's god
Hath shut me from his throne and from his heart;
I look'd to wear a crown, where now are ashes—
My father and my countrymen are doom'd
To horrible exile; I'm in hourly fear
Even for his honoured life, their lives—my own!
O far from wondering to see me faint,
Sire, thou should'st marvel that I live at all!

Xav.
Is this the fearless Rachel, Xavier's daughter?
The pure descendant of great Israel's Kings?
The chosen of Heaven to raise her countrymen?
O, then, indeed! the time is come again
When that our wives and daughters, cattle, homes,
Our very skins, are Christian property—
As once Alphonso said—for which I hate him!
Hate him, as I would have thee hate him, Rachel—
Thou should'st not love that foe of Israel.

Rach.
O, would I did not love him!—'tis my heart
That, beating, shakes the fix'd strength of my soul.

Xar.
Daughter! bethink thee, how sublime we stand;
The beacons whereby many thousand lives
Direct their sail for safety, if we suffer
Our light to be extinguished—O, bethink thee!
The bark of Jewry will be wreck'd for ever.

Rach.
What should be done?

Xav.
This should be done, Blest Rachel;
At early morn seek audience of the King;
Kneeling, with tears and passionate entreaty,
Made by thy beauty heavenly eloquent,
Plead, till relenting he recalls his sentence
Of banishment against us. Fear not; that
Necessity of which he makes a merit
And grants whate'er his riotous subjects would,
I will subvert, if fortune wrong me not;
And a most inwardly-prophetic spirit
Tells me we triumph!—that the crown is thine,
If thou dar'st snatch it!—

Rach.
It shall be attempted;
And on the event hangs Rachel's life, or death.
For, sire, she could not brook a second downfall—
And such would failure be; I will attempt it!

Xav.
Ay; and if any virtue live in prayer,
If any blessing in a righteous cause,
Thou'lt issue from the attempt fair-garlanded
With all the flowers of praise that crown success.
Let not thy love aught blind thy patriotism;
But gaze on Jewry with clear-seeing eye,
Till she on thee doth glance triumphantly!
Meantime, I hold the princess prisoner,
For warrant of thy safety. Dear! let's in:
We'll turn this banishment to firm estate,
And the sweet bird of our prosperity
Shall sing high songs again: the world shall know
My Rachel doth but rise from overthrow!

[Exeunt.