University of Virginia Library

SCENE I.

—NORTH OF THE HUMBER—INTERIOR OF A PALACE.
Enter Porreo and Enyon.
Porreo.
Thou art not his brother.

Enyon.
No—nor am I thine;
Yet I am more—thy friend: and if aught, short
The being born of the same parents, makes
A brother, the communion of our lives
Might authorize fraternal fellowship.
The rugged soil we trod from boyhood up—
The savage moors, the granite tors, the streams
That, from the vapoury mines, the surface trench,
Hills, dales, and rivers, with the barrier rocks
That coast the ocean, like to palaces,
Arches of triumph, columns of old temples,
The abodes of sea-gods, nymphs, and demon-powers—
These witness to our loves. By stone and circle,
Whether of sport or sepulture, and both,
I swear, and, by their memories, attest
The honour of my faith. A brother, quotha?
Would I have won from thee, while thou wert absent,
Thy heart o' the world?

Porreo.
Marcella! where art thou?

Enyon.
In Ferrex' arms—on Ferrex' nuptial couch;
Glad of the distance 'twixt the south and north—
They there, and Porreo here—a wifeless king.
Where else should be Marcella, who loved once
His brother, and now him? Days, weeks, and months,
Have passed—no tidings yet.—

Porreo.
Brother?—

Enyon.
Why, yes.
'Tis witnessed oft, our kindred are worst foes—
They have looked so closely and often on our faults,
All from the purest kindness to correct them,
At length they see them only, and thence see nothing
But what they should, and do, most heartily hate.

Porreo.
Ah, Enyon. We have not thus familiar been.

Enyon.
Then it is instinct in him. Ye were born
To show how brothers can abhor each other.
It is the fate of both—a charmèd sea,
Which ye would sin against the gods to stem,
And, if ye dare, will drown you.

Porreo.
Born such foes?
Videna's sons. Severe is she, not cruel.
Her tears might flow not—but her frowns would slay—

Enyon.
Thee;—not thy brother. Is it not avouched
He hath her love, her tenderness, and thou,
The majesty thou pratest of—the cold state—
The lip of scorn—the speech of apothegms.

Porreo.
Thou understandst her not. Like her, am I,
In many things—my fierceness and my pride—
Softened, in her, to matron dignity—
Hardened, in me, to man's austerity,
That will not be denied.

Enyon.
But love best loves
Dissimilars; and were it not so, justice,
Which thou hast said in her is paramount,
Votes for the eldest, and long household wont
Enforces equity, with sentiment
That preassures the verdict.

Porreo
(with deep emotion).
Out on it.
Alas! my feet are known not at their hearth;
My hands are strangers at their daily board.
There was no chamber set apart, no bed
For me was cherished in my father's house.
Evil grow on this evil.

Enyon.
Muse on this—
Partners, or rivals, now, in empire are ye?
Allies or powers opponent? Can ye trust
In one another? Can ye live in peace?
Be sure, that he already mans himself
'Gainst chance and peril, lest the half that's left
Follow the half that's gone—

Porreo.
Ha!—

Enyon.
And, perchance,
To win again the lost, which may be found
If vigorous search be made, and time should serve
The bridal of occasion, when the torch
Of Hymen shall show light.

Porreo.
It never shall.
Never shall he deprive me of my love—
I am resolved. Impetuous blood, boil on.
Throb, my big heart. Impatient brain, work—work—
And swell, my brows, to bursting agony.
Arms he? I'll arm. Occasion shall not wait—
Marcella shall be mine. She shall be mine;
I'll put the golden crown upon her head,
And make it all as glorious with her beauty,
As with its own. Then shall I reign—reign—reign.

Enyon.
Ay, now again I know thee.

Porreo.
Dost thou, Enyon?
And thou shalt know me better. In my soul
The sacred thirst of power hath appetite,
Capacitied at once. 'Tis as a gorge
In a ravine approached too suddenly—
I start in fear and wonder—but not long—
For there it is, and must be fed with horror.
Surprise and death brood laughing o'er the gulf;
It yawns—it shall be satisfied—though it swallow
Not my foes only, but myself. Come, death;
Come, hell and ruin; let but vengeance come.

[Exeunt.