University of Virginia Library

SCENE VII.

Stuart, Dunbar.
Stuart.
Ha! com'st thou to insult my Chains?—'Twas well
My unpropitious Dæmon gave me up
To your Resentment, tamely.—

Dunbar.
To exult
Ev'n o'er an Enemy oppress'd, and heap
Affliction on th'afflicted, is the Mark
And the mean Triumph of a dastard Soul.—
'Tis what Dunbar disdains.—Perhaps, I come
To pity, not rejoice at Stuart's Fate.—

Stuart.
To pity!—Torture! am I fall'n so low!—
Ha! Recreant!—move thy Pity!—Hell untie
These slavish Manacles, that I may scourge
This wretched Arrogant!—

Dunbar.
True Courage scorns
To vent her Prowess in a Storm of Words:
And to the Valiant, Actions speak alone:—
Then let my Deeds approve me.—I am come
To give thee instant Freedom.—

Stuart.
Mean'st thou Death?—
I shall be free then.—An apt Minister
Th'Usurper has ordain'd to perpetrate
His secret Murders.—

Dunbar.
Why wilt thou belye
Thy own Intelligence?—Thou know'st, my Sword
Was ne'er accustom'd to the Bravo's Stab;
Nor the Designs of Him so falsely stil'd
Usurper, ever sully'd with a Stain
Of Cruelty or Guile.—My Purpose is,
To knock thy Fetters off, conduct thee safe
Without the City-Confines, and restore thee
To Liberty and Athol.—

Stuart.
Fawning Coward!
Thou—thou restore me!—thou unbind my Chains!
Impossible!—Thy Fears that I may 'scape,
Like Vultures gnaw thee!—

Dunbar.
When the Battle joins,
Thou shalt be answer'd.—

Stuart.
When the Battle joins!—
—Away, Dissembler!—Sooner would'st thou beard
The Lion in his Rage, than fairly meet
My Valour on the Plain!

Dunbar.
Ha! who art thou,
That I should dread thy Threats?—By Heav'ns high Throne!
I'll meet thee in a Desart, to thy Teeth
Proclaim thy Treachery, and with my Sword
Explore thy faithless Heart!—Meanwhile, my Steps
Shall guide thee to the Field.

[Stuart is unchained, and presented with a Sword.
Stuart.
No!—Lightning blast me,
If I become thy Debtor, proud Dunbar!
Thy nauseous Benefits, shall not enslave
My freeborn Will.—Here, Captive as I am,
Thy lavish'd Obligation shall not buy
My Friendship!—No! nor stifle my Revenge!

Dunbar.
Alike unpleasant would it be to me,
To court thy Love or deprecate thy Hate:—
What I have proffer'd, other Motives urg'd.—
The Gift is Eleonora's.—

Stuart.
Sacred Powers!
Let me not understand thee!—Thou hast rous'd
My Soul's full Fury!—In the Blood that warms
Thine Heart, Perfidious, I will slake mine Ire!

Dunbar.
In all my Conduct, insolent of Heart!
What hast thou mark'd so abject and so mean,
Thy thy foul Tongue its Licence thus avows?
To boundless Passion subject, as thyself,
Wild Tumult oft my Reason overwhelms!—
Then tempt me not too far, lest blindfold Wrath
Transport my Soul, and headlong Ruin, crush
Thy Pride ev'n here!—

Stuart.
In this accursed Place
Let me be shackled—rivetted with Bolts,
'Till the Rust gnaw my Carcase to the Bone,
If my Heart throbs not for the Combat, here!—
Ev'n here, where thou art, Lord!—Ha! do'st thou shake?
By Heav'n, thy quiv'ring Lip and haggard Look
Confess pale Terror and Amaze!—

Dunbar.
—Away!—
Away, lewd Railer!—not thy sland'rous Throat
So fruitful of Invectives, shall provoke me
To wreak unworthy Vengeance on thee, safe
In thy Captivity:—But soon as War
Shall close th'encountring Hosts, I'll find thee out—
Assert my Claim to Eleonora's Love,
And tell thee, what thou art.

Stuart.
I burn—I rage!
My fell Revenge consumes me!—But no more—
Thou shalt not 'scape me—Goaded by my Wrongs,
I'll hunt thee thro' the various Scenes of Death!—
Thou shalt be found!—

Dunbar.
I triumph in that Hope.

[Exeunt.