Huniades ; or the Seige of Belgrade a Tragedy |
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| 4. | SCENE FOURTH. |
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 | Huniades ; or the Seige of Belgrade |  |
SCENE FOURTH.
MAHOMET, CHUSANES, ZOGANUS, AGAS, SPAHIES, JANIZARIES, MUSTAPHA, &c.(Mahomet, wounded and exhausted, brought in by the Agas; a turban bound round him. The Agas support him; as he recovers, he struggles to shake them off; they still hold him.
CHUSANES.
All, Mustapha, is lost! Our Sultan wounded,
As thou seest, almost to death. Flight alone
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Only the Rear-Guard is yet unassail'd:
Let us with that retreat and save our Emperor.
'Twill be a bloody and a desperate service;
But better death than chains from Christian foes.
MAHOMET
(recovering).
Ye curs'd rebellious Slaves! give me a sabre!
I'll not retreat before these scoffing Christians.
Had I ten thousand lives, I'd give them all,
Rather than yield such triumph to my foes.
Let me not live, unless I live to glory.
(Struggling to get from them.)
Give me but arms;—I'll slay whole hecatombs;
And, if at last I fall, a trophy leave,
Such hosts of slain, as shall record, that Mahomet
With an unconquer'd spirit brav'd his fate.
CHUSANES.
Think of your wound.
MAHOMET.
Unhand me to revenge it.
Begone, ye recreant traitors! Christian Slaves!
(He bursts from them.)
Nor hope to chain the whirlwind of my rage:
I will have vengeance. Dastards! from the field,
Ye forc'd your prince; forc'd Mahomet to fly
Before a Christian Foe.
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You were disarm'd,
Wounded, and fallen. Our Prophet frowns upon us,
And lets the Christians triumph.
MAHOMET.
Curse on his frowns .
Let him be satisfy'd to reign in Heaven;
And leave this world to me.—Why does he aid
These Christians? Man alone, could not achieve
Deeds like Huniades.—Think of his feats,
Since yester morn. Though I destroy'd my Fleet,
In hopes to stop his landing, in the teeth
Of half my troops he lands; swift mows his way
Athwart their serried ranks; flies through Belgrade;
Defeats my Army; storms my Camp; and turns
E'en my own Cannon 'gainst my flying Slaves.
Though Amurath fled hence, Gods! must I fly ?
(Strikes his forehead.)
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But yesterday, his vaunted Son, Corvinus,
Whose fame transcends his own, fled from your arms.
MAHOMET.
By Heaven! that flight was great; great as the triumph
Of curs'd Huniades. Like a chaf'd Lion,
Did he not rush from his insulted lair,
Come forth, with a few hundred men, against
Embattled myriads? Were not our slain
Double the number of his band? With more
Than half his troops, went he not back, to tell
What he had dar'd? Flight call you that from 'midst
An army such as mine? 'Twas like a God,
Lancing his terrours, and then stepping back
To grasp more dreadful thunder 'gainst his foes.
MUSTAPHA.
The troops, in yonder grove, await your signal.
Submit to fate, retreat. Allow your judgment—
MAHOMET.
Give me a sabre, or I'll go unarm'd.
He attempts to go, crossing the stage to pass the Agas.)
MUSTAPHA
(to the Agas).
Friends! beyond men be bold to save your Sultan.
(Whispers to Chusanes and the Aga next him; the
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CHUSANES
(raising his sabre).
Yes, gallant Mustapha!
MUSTAPHA.
Great Mahomet, hear me!
Let reason's voice now sway—
MAHOMET
(offering to go).
I will not hear it.—
MUSTAPHA,
(Drawing his sabre, and opposing his passage; Chusanes and the Agas at the same time raise theirs, and point them against Mahomet).
Then this— (lifting his sabre)
must make it beam upon thy mind:
Our Sabres reason with thy mad temerity.
Sultan! thou shalt not live to be a captive.
No Christian shall exulting give thee chains:
Thy faithful Slaves will end thee, and then die.
Mustapha's arm shall set the great example,
Pierce thy brave heart, then turn the reeking blade
Against his own.
(Trumpets sound an alarm, the Turks face about, surrounding their Sultan.)
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JANIZARY.
Fly! Fly! Huniades has forc'd the Guard.
(A shout nearer, and a discharge of cannon; the Turks surround the Sultan.)
HUNIADES
(spoken behind the scene).
Rally the troops; for Mahomet is here.
Surround the tent. This fiend shall not escape me.
MUSTAPHA.
Guards! force the Sultan hence!—Save him, ye Faithful!
(Gives Mahomet his own sabre, and takes one from a Janizary.)
Deign to retreat; stay not to be a captive!
(The Janizaries force Mahomet back; Mustapha, Chusanes, Zoganus, range themselves before the Sultan, so as to face the Hungarians.)
Mahomet, repulsed at the siege of Scodra, blasphemed in his choler and frantic rage most horribly against God; most impiously saying, “that it were enough for him to have care of Heavenly things, and not to cross him in his worldly actions.” Knolles, p. 423.
This was Mahomet's manner of expressing rage, grief, or disappointment. And, when under the influence of his rage, he never thought of his own personal safety. Once seeing his Admiral going to strike to a Genoese ship, he spurred his horse so far into the sea, that he narrowly escaped being drowned.
After this siege of Belgrade, no one dared to mention that city in his presence; and he never mentioned it himself without expressions of grief.
| Huniades ; or the Seige of Belgrade | |