University of Virginia Library

SCENE VII.

Enter Semira.
Sem.
At length thou may'st be comforted, Mandane,
For Heaven now smiles upon thee.

Man.
Has the king
Releas'd Arbaces?

Sem.
Rather say the king
Has slain Arbaces.

Man.
Ha! What dost thou mean?

Sem.
'Tis plain to all; in secret has he fallen
A cruel sacrifice.

Man.
Fallacious hopes!
O fatal day!

Sem.
Behold thou art reveng'd,
Thy rage is sated: would'st thou more? Or seek'st thou
Some other victim? Speak.

Man.
Alas! Semira,
Light evils speak, but mighty griefs are silent.

Sem.
What heart was e'er more cruel found than thine!
There's not an eye unmoisten'd at his death,
Yet thou canst hear his fate without a tear.

Man.
That grief is little which permits our tears.

Sem.
Go, if thou art not yet appeas'd, and glut
With my dear brother's corse thy greedy sight:
Observe his bosom, number o'er his wounds,
Then, with exulting looks—

Man.
Forbear, and leave me.

Sem.
Leave thee!—forbear!—no, while my life remains
Thou shalt behold me ever hovering round thee;
I'll haunt thee still, and make thy days unhappy.

Man.

[Exit.