University of Virginia Library

SCENE III.

The Czar discovered on the Throne.
On one side Artamon and his Abettors; on the other, Amgar and other Friends of the repudiated Queen and her Son. Boyars, Guards, Attendants.
CZAR.
From joyful triumph, and the dreams of bliss,
Behold, my faithful friends, the sad reverse
Of this inglorious hour;—here view at large
A Monarch's cares, nor with the vulgar think
That he who wears the glittering garb of State
Can feel no pangs within.

ARTAMON.
Your subjects ever
Must sure lament this most ungrateful cause
Of your severe distress.—Affection, they may fear,
Will plead too loudly for a darling son,
Tho' your own life's at stake; facts already prov'd
Leave little room for trial,—but to silence
Those whom ambition prompts to seek their own
More than their Sov'reign's good,—you still vouchsafe—
Each witness to repeat what he has sworn,
Should the bold Prince presume to allege before you,
That tho' he levied troops and menac'd war,
'T was only to review your people's strength,
And keep their arms in use.

AMGAR.
Forbear, Forbear!
Nor urge in malice aught against the Prince,
Whose griefs too much oppress him!

ARTAMON.
Was it for this,
The Czar, victorious, led his powerful troops
From fam'd Pultowa?—took from the vanquish'd Charles
His very litter, and bore it in the triumph!
Say,—has he trod the precipice of fate,
To bring home laurels never gain'd before,
Not e'en in ancient Rome,—not by great Alexander,
Thus to be brav'd by boys?
Guards without.
Make Room,—the Prince!

Enter Alexis in Chains,—Fedrowitz, &c.
CZAR.
Give me some pause;—affection struggles yet,
And almost threatens justice.—Well, my proud boy,
Say—are your troops arrang'd?—all disciplin'd,
To shake our very throne?—Time may do much;
By proper exercise they'll gain such strength,
Our life will be in danger.

ALEXIS.
Never—I swear,
Could such a thought infect my loyal bosom,
For loyal still it is.

CZAR.
What dare you urge
In mitigation of your guilt—your trait'rous guilt,
Wrought 'gainst a parent's love?

ALEXIS.
Nothing, dread Sire!

CZAR.
A fuller answer, boy, might please us better.

ALEXIS.
What can I plead in my defence?—Your frowns
Already have condemned me;—else might I urge
A mother's claims, a mother's matchless virtue,
But there your ears are closed against me; there
You most have been abus'd.—For me no more
Ambition held its charms;—I had given up
My hopes, my views to empire,—I had lost,
Unknowingly alas! my father's love;
That once removed, what then was left for me?
'Twas that I coveted in happier days;
The world was all indifferent.

ARTAMON.
To the point, Prince!
Did you not levy war against the head
Of this all-righteous King?—speak to that point;
That's an offence beyond the reach of mercy;
But when I weigh—
Who that King was, how tenderly allied,
That all his glories were but heap'd for you,
I'll think—but will not speak.

FEDROWITZ.
Restrain his malice;
Let not his tainted tongue profane the air
With plotted calumny,—let not such arts
Plead against all affection,—affection,
Which here has every claim;—I rais'd the war,—
Nor can you wonder, when a sister's fame
Was treated with such baseness.

ARTAMON.
The witnesses
Will soon approve the truth of what I've utter'd,
If proof shall still be wanting,—the Czar himself
Will judge “the arts” I've us'd; “my tainted tongue”
Shall still attest a duteous subject's zeal,
Tho' check'd by proud rebellion.

CZAR.
No witnesses!
The boy proclaims his guilt, and this proud traitor
Shall meet the death he merits.

FEDROWITZ.
I embrace it;
Worth lives with honour, or it dies with glory;
But oh! in mercy to the noblest youth,
In mercy to yourself, forbear to doom
His guiltless life, lest you hereafter feel
The keenest pangs, the bitterest remorse,
E'er wreck'd a parent's peace.

CZAR.
I were unworthy
To reign the guardian of my trusting people,
If I could suffer any private interest
To sway the public weal;—like the fam'd father
Who doom'd his only son in ancient Rome,
I'll triumph in my justice;—how shall we hold
The sceptre of our State with honour'd rule,
If we protect the first offender in it,
In treason and aim'd parricide?

FEDROWITZ.
Ah! cruel Czar!
The Prince had rival claims, a mother's wrongs;
A mother's injur'd honour urg'd his vengeance;
If he has been to blame, I was the cause,
And yield my life the forfeit;—in time relent,
Nor by attending to the forked tongues
Of foulest slanderers, sign, in your once-lov'd son,
Your own death-warrant.

ARTAMON.
If insurrection
Shall thus destroy your power; if treason
Unawed shall dare to take a father's life,
I'll only thank high Heaven, in mercy to me,
That I'm no parent.

ALEXIS.
I plead not for myself;
I plead but to attest my mother's wrongs,
And ask but to redress them;—shield her fame
From the rude blast of envy, raise her up
From the dark cell of sorrow, where she lies,
And place her 'midst the stars;—her spotless faith
Will show the fairer for its eminence;
Angels will register the glorious act,
And fix the seal of truth.

CZAR.
Think'st thou, base boy,
I would in conquest's lap a serpent rear
To prey upon my vitals, when I am sure—
Nay—when conviction stares me in the face,
Broader than glaring day?—

ARTAMON.
The Czar convinced!—
There needs no further witness of the shame
Of this once-honour'd Queen;—ere at Pultowa
The Czar decreed her fate, he well examin'd
The proofs of all her guilt:—guilt like this
Shrinks from the public eye:—such adultery
The mind recoils against;—the falt'ring tongue
Almost is damn'd that names it.

CZAR.
Prove her guilt!—
A thousand witnesses proclaim her crimes,
But I will spare the repetition, lest her life
Become the immediate forfeit, and her friends
Experience every proof of lingering torture.

ARTAMON.
Had the Queen aught to have offer'd in excuse,
Or for herself, or son, she had appear'd—
She had permission for't.

ALEXIS.
She will not plead,
To count out tedious hours in dread suspense,
Or lingering expectation;—
Thrice arm'd with innocence, she dares defy
A host of viperous tongues, tho' darkly fraught
With all the subtleties of hell;—she boldly asks
For truth alone and justice; and for myself,
No villain's guile shall shake my steady mind;
If my stern father thinks I've made atonement,
If yet he deigns to own that sacred name—
In pity to my youth, he'll spare my life;—
If not,—he'll take it!

CZAR.
Ah! so stubborn, boy,
I will no longer pause—the traitor dies;
My very throne would shake, my altars tremble,
Nay more, I hazard all my people's love,
Should I forbear the sentence;—to prison with him,
And ere the second watch shall toll its knell,
Thou, Artamon, proclaim his death.

Enter Ottokesa, attended.
OTTOKESA.
Ah! Whither—
Whither would you drag my child;—if he's condemn'd,
O take his mother too;—I caus'd his crimes;
In pity to my woes he took these steps,
And levied war against you; but, oh! my wrongs,
His mother's wrongs, might pull down fire from Heaven,
Might rouse a world to arms;—my constant love—
For here I will approve it,—here I swear,
I will not leave, till you proclaim my truth,
And save your guiltless son.

CZAR.
What woman's this?
We thought to have call'd a culprit to the bar,
And not a Queen to triumph.

OTTOKESA.
O spare those words!
And say what fatal crime can so have wrought
Your cruel heart to vengeance?

CZAR.
Adultery;—
A thousand witnesses declare the shame;
I've heard and I've determin'd.

OTTOKESA.
How easy 'tis for witnesses to swear
What suits their monarch's will; there is a cause,
A guilty cause, that makes you thus inhuman,
To urge our timeless fates.

CZAR.
There is no cause
But that of truth and justice;—hadst thou ne'er fall'n
My love was once so rich, it was a cloud
Against the beams of every other beauty.

FEDROWITZ.
Let my life be the atonement, spare your son,
Your spotless once-lov'd wife; for oh! 'tis sure
Some villain has traduc'd her, and when the fire
Of present love abates, you then will feel,
You then will own your guilt.

ARTAMON.
“Guilt!”—'tis blasphemy!
Away with him this instant, and the Czar
Will then proceed to sentence Ottokesa.

OTTOKESA.
I know my sentence well—I read it there.
[To Art.
But oh! by all the ties of deep affection,—
Relent, and save your son.

CZAR.
'Tis now too late;
Here is the instrument, and here I swear,
Unless he give up all that ever dared
To further his rebellion—here I swear,
No power shall make me yield,—not Jove himself
Shall shield him from destruction!

ALEXIS.
Know, then, dread Sire,
I boast that virtue in me that resists
Such proffer'd pardon; think'st thou those gen'rous bands
That bore me up in adverse fortune e'er
Shall feel my accusation?—oh! no, by Heav'n!
I here declare, I'll honour them till death,
Will wear their friendship nearest to my soul,
Till that soul take its flight!

CZAR.
Break up this instant!
No more a war of words—the traitor dies.
Tho' my heart burst with grief the traitor dies.

OTTOKESA.
Never by you,—for here I'll cling for ever,—
Will not release,—no power shall drag me from you,
I take his fate;—stop—murder me this moment,
I'll say I'm guilty—swear I have offended,
Be truly guilty then, so you will spare
My dear, my only child.

CZAR.
Unloose her hold;—
Guards seize them both, and bear them straight away,—
Her to the Tower, the traitor-boy to fate.

[Exit Czar attended.
ARTAMON.
Be speedy, Guards, and know your duty well.
Your every hope depends on your obedience.

ALEXIS.
Let me embrace my mother ere we part!

ARTAMON.
'Tis all too late; away with them this moment.

OTTOKESA.
Inhuman slaves! No mercy!—Vengeance, Heaven!

[Exeunt.