University of Virginia Library

ACT II.

The SCENE drawn, discovers the King on a Throne, Martia next him, and surrounded with a Crowd of Courtiers, after the Entertainment is over, he rises and moves forward.
Enter a Man and Woman.
HE.
Hark , Cœlia! hear the gentle Boy,
Love bids thee save, and not destroy;
He vows Revenge, if still your Scorn,
Denies what I implore:
He swears, you laugh to see me mourn,
Hatred it self can do no more.

SHE.
Damon, no more, no more pursue me,
Lay aside thy subtle Art,
That vainly labours to undo me,
And betray my easy Heart.
What kind Woman e're believ'd,
That did not find her self deceiv'd,
Or when the Favour once was granted,
Show me the Nymph that ne're repented.

HE.
You'll never repent it,

SHE.
I'll ever deny.

HE.
I prithee, Love, grant it:

SHE.
No, no, no, not I.

HE.
Oh! did you know the Joy of possessing,
Oh! wou'd you but try it,
You'd ne're more deny it,
But wish to be ever repeating the Blessing:
Come, come, my Love.

SHE.
—Never, I swear.

HE.
Kill me with Raptures, not Despair,
After a Symphony—

HE.
Oh! Fly not, Cœlia, when I woo thee,
Least the angry God undo thee.

SHE.
Oh! I must fly when e're you woo me,
Least the wanton God undo me.

HE.
Behold he comes with bended Bow,
And swears that you shall suffer too,
Just as you make poor Damon do.

Enter Cupid.
CUPID.
Just so, just so.

HE.
Pointing, and repeating.
Oh fly not Cœlia, &c.
Least the angry God, &c.

SHE.
Pointing, and repeating.
Oh I must fly when, &c.
Least the wanton God, &c.

CUPID.
Ungrateful Cœlia, stubborn Fair,
Here take thy Fate, prepare, prepare:
As a Return of thy Disdain,
To love, and not be lov'd again.

[Offering to shoot.
COELIA.
Hold, Cupid, hold, thy Frowns remove,
Thou little, little Deity,
I yield my self thy Votary,
I yield, I yield to Love.
With equal Warmth I meet the Swain,
And mutual Joy prefer to mutual Pain.

BOTH.
Thus to great Love, we Homage pay.

CUPID.
Thus all living Things my Pow'er obey,
Whither in Seas, on Earth, or Air,
Love governs absolute every where.
Grand Chorus.
Thus to great Love we Homage pay,
Thus all living Things his Power obey,
Whither in Seas, in Earth, or Air,
Love governs absolute every where.

Exeunt.
KING.
Cease, cease, ye Slaves, these inharmonious Sounds,
They make eternal Discord in my Breast,
Not a Note more on Forfeit of your Lives,
What do you envy me a Moments Quiet;
I'm surfeited with these luxurious Treats,
And my pall'd Nature can no more digest them:
My jaded Appetite feels not the Spur;
Be gone, ye fawning Slaves—You Martia stay.
[Exeunt Courtiers.
In thee my Daughter solid Joy seems fix'd;
Do thou by virtuous Deeds redeem my Fame,
And bless the Age to come by reigning well;
By Justice sweeten thou my Memory.

MARTIA.
My Royal Father, may I never see
That Day of Trouble,—I can never rule,
And struggle with the Cares that load a Crown.

KING.
Take heed, my Child, and hold a steady Rein,
Or else that many-headed Monster Faction,
Will wrest thy Power from thy tender Hand:
Then wilt thou tumble like that heedless Youth,
Whose feeble Hands, unequal to his Charge,
Govern'd with awkward Sway his Father's Light,
And sunk beneath the Task Ambition sought.

MARTIA.
'Tis dangerous, Sir—
I hope the Gods will never trust me with it!

KING.
[Exit Martia.
[Enter Ronveir.

RONVEIR.
All you could wish, the Plot and the Contrivers.

KING.
Thou golden Plumet, by whose Means I sound
The Depths and Shallows of my Enemies.
Is Castruchio one?—

RONVEIR.
He? He's the Head of all—
The Master Workman of the dark Contrivance,
That modell'd both the Platform and the Structure.

KING.
Hast thou secur'd that hellish Engineer?

RONVEIR.
Your Guards
With watchful Care surrounded all the House,
Not one escap'd us but Castruchio;
And notwithstanding all my Policy,
That artful Traytor shunn'd the specious Bait,
The rest are Pris'ners—He alone is fled.

KING.
Death! He escap'd—That Villain is my Horror.
Ronveir! He rivals me in Love and Empire.
My Subjects doat upon the popular Slave:
I'm an unanimated marble King,
Pedestall'd on a Throne as Statues are,
And like them only gaz'd at, not regarded!
Dardania too flies with Contempt my Passion,
And carefully avoids my loath'd Addresses.
What's Empire, Power, Glory, Scepters, All,
A lifeless Shadow—Dream of real Greatness,
When every Slave finds Means to elude my Vengeance,
And a relentless Beauty scorns my Love.

RONVIER.
And is Dardania then so fix'd, my Lord,
So rooted in your Soul! she grows a part of you:
That luckless Passion blasts our budding Hopes,
And oh! the Lover has undone the King.

KING.
I love her more than Hero's Arms or Glory.
Plac'd in my Heart I find the precious Gem,
Her Brilliant Image plays with Lustre there!
Set round with Darts, and Flames, and Golden Joys:
And all the Beauties of the World beside,
To me appear but Foils to set her off.

RONVEIR.
Yet she, this lovely, beautiful Dardania!
Is the curs'd Circe, lures you to your Fate;
A Sorceress that bewitches you to Ruin.
Rouze up your old Italian native Rage,
And melt not your Revenge in shameful Pity,
For love of that insipid Play-thing, WOMAN.

KING.
O were it not for this fond Frailty, Love,
I might appear all Rage—glut my Revenge,
And use the Power I bear—But curs'd Castruchio!

RONVEIR.
Is shielded from your Rage by this Enchantress:
Nor while that darling of her Wishes lives,
Can you be safe or happy—

KING.
By Fame, and all the Dangers I have pass'd,
Thou hast rouz'd me from th'inglorious Lethargy
Of Love—And my Heart swells with Rage and Vengeance.

RONVEIR.
Ay, now you look the King!
Methinks this God-like Terror well becomes you!
Dardania is secur'd by my Directions,
And guarded, waits without to know your Pleasure;
Make her discover where Castruchio's hid,
And drag him forth to Justice.

KING.
Bring her before me strait, and let us see
With what Assurance she can yet conceal him.

[Exit Ronveir.
KING.
solus.
Enter Ronveir with Dardania, Guards and Attendants.

DARDANIA.
I think it the severest Stroke of Fate,
And I am curs'd, in being lov'd by thee.

KING.
Relentless Fair! You know too well your Power,
And think I dare not execute my Vengeance,
Yet still be cautious how you raise that Spark,
Which kindled once, may cause devouring Flames,
Whose Rage you won'not have the Power to stop.

DARDANIA.
Then I shall fall a Martyr to sweet Virtue,
And mount on the aspiring Fires to Heaven.

KING.
—Obstinate Fool—to pawn the present Good
For the uncertain future—

DARDANIA.
Ill counsell'd Monarch—to believe Dardania
Wou'd sell that bright Inheritance, her Honour,
For what thy bauble gewgaw Crown cou'd give.

KING.
Where? where's thy Husband, that audacious Traytor;
Give, give him to my Rage, or thou shalt feel it,
That God-like Passion, Rage, reigns Lord within;
Nor am I now that easy Fool I was.

DARDANIA.
Know, Tyrant, I despise thee and thy Power.

KING.
Thou shalt be rackt, Torments shall force the Secret.

DARDANIA.
Then thou shalt see with what heroick Constancy,
With more than Roman Fortitude I'll suffer,
And might but one poor Murmur, but a Groan,
Forc'd from my Soul by agonizing Pain,
Redeem this Sentence, by Heaven, I wou'd not give it;
I'll fall a willing Sacrifice to Honour,
Without the least expressive Sign of Sorrow.

KING.
[She smiles.

Enter Castruchio.
CASTRUCHIO.
—Hold—hold—preserve the Innocent.
Behold the Wretch deserves your Cruelty.
Stella inform'd me of the shocking News,
And fearing what the Tyrant's Rage might offer,
To guard thy Life, I flew to lose my own.

DARDANIA.
Oh blasting fatal Sight to all my Hopes.

[Swoons in Castruchio's Arms.
CASTRUCHIO.
Look up, my Fair, and see how thou art encircled,
Ardent Love folds thee in his fiery Arms,
Warms thee to Bliss, and saves thee from the Grave.

DARDANIA.
—Cruel Castruchio!
Why do you study new found Tortures for me;
Why bring me Life thro' dismal Shades of Death.
Inexorable Destiny, my Lord,
Now seizes both, nor must we hope for Mercy.

KING.
Secure that Traytor, Guards, to a Dungeon with him.

[The Guards seize Castruchio.
CASTRUCHIO.
Tyrant, I neither hop'd, nor wish'd thy Mercy!
And since all powerful Heaven, by disappointing
The glorious Scheme we had form'd for Liberty,
Seem'd to pronounce the Measure of our Woes
Not yet compleat—I willingly submit.
Here I resign me to thy Fury, Tyrant,
Here, satisfy thy craving Thirst of Blood,
But spare Dardania—

KING.
I take thee at thy Word:
Oh! thou hast amply made me Satifaction,
Nor can I wish further Revenge than this.

DARDANIA.
Oh! Mercy, gentle Prince, have Mercy now,
And you shall see the mighty Power of Love:
O Royal Sir, if you did ever feel
That generous Passion—think what I endure,
And let your Pity ease my throbing Soul.

KING.
Tortures and Death—
Slaves, do your Office, drag the Traytor hence.

DARDANIA.
[Embracing Castruchio.
Then thus I'll cling to my remaining Hope,
Embrace and circle thee i'th' Arms of Death,
As shipwreck'd Men hang round a floating Plank,
The dear, last, only Refuge they have left.

CASTRUCHIO.
With the same Ardour let me hold thee fast,
Thus grasp the precious Casket, that contain'd
My Soul's best Treasure, plunge thro' the guilty World,
Buffet its Storms, and guard thee from Destruction.

KING.
Insensible Slaves! cut them asunder.

DARDANIA.
—Inhumane Monster!

KING.
Part them, or by my Soul's just Rage,
I'll give you instant Death.

[Castruchio dragg'd off.
DARDANIA.
Now Curses—
Horrid and black as are thy Crimes o'ertake thee!

RONVEIR.
Have Patience, Madam, there is Mercy yet.

DARDANIA.
I'm given up to Misery, undone for ever!
Dardania is of Gods and Men forsaken!
Sure all ill Planets at my Birth combin'd,
To shed their baleful Influence on my Head
While the auspicious Signs their Aspects vail'd,
And so denoted that they must not yield
One Beam of Joy my coming Hours to gild.

KING.
Yet, Madam, there are Joys in Store for you,
'Tis in your Power to give Castruchio Life:
Behold a slighted Monarch at your Feet;
See, Madam, see what Change the winged Boy
Has made; and if you feel his Power, pity me:
The raging Deity revels in my Veins!
Foments Desire, and swells me into Rapture.
Oh, I'm all Misery! Doubts! Hopes! Despair!
See with what Agony he shakes my Bosom:
Yield, yield to my Embraces, and I'll give thee Empire,
Give thy Castruchio Freedom—every Wish,
Wou'd you but love, Dardania.

DARDANIA.
Yes, I do love.

KING.
Ha! go on—bewitching Tempter.

DARDANIA.
I glow, I burn with chast refulgent Beams,
Which warm in spite of all Impediments,
And blaze in Air with pure etherial Light.
Oh my Castruchio! how in my Heart he reigns,
And fills my Bosom with Connubial Love,
Thus tho eternal Fate has parted us,
Our Souls shall never, never disunite.
Wretched Castruchio, most distress'd of Men,
Of the most belov'd—If I am deny'd
To live with him; Gods, let me perish with him!

KING.
Ha! Traytress—
Know, that to trifle with thy Sovereign, is
To play with Lightning—thy imperious Beauty,
Spight of thy Pride, shall melt before the Flame
Of my consuming Love—for from my Arms,
Nothing but Death, immediate Death, shall free thee.

DARDANIA.
Eternal Powers have Mercy:
Oh you just Gods, can you behold this Wrong
With equal Eyes—

KING.
Perverse fantastick Fool!
Thus let me force thee to thy Satisfaction:
Now take your Choice.

[Holds up a Dagger.
DARDANIA.
From that kind charitable Hand I beg Relief,
Quick, bury in this Breast that welcome Ponyard,
And add no more to my heap'd Misery.

KING.
Oh Hecate of thy Sex!
Thou hast a Spell, a magick Charm about thee,
That thus disarms Rage in its wildest Form,
And softens Cruelty to infant Mildness.
What must we do, Ronveir?
[Turning to Ronveir.
My Life depends upon't, I must enjoy her.

RONVEIR.
You may—
But you must take another Method, Sir;
Women are proud, and full of Contradiction,
They love to rein a Lover to their Will,
Lead him in Chains, and triumph in the Victory.
The way to gain a Woman, is, to cringe,
To flatter, fawn, and idolize her Charms,
Puff her with Pride, and praise her to her Ruin.

KING.
O! thy unhappy Prince finds it too true.

RONVEIR.
My Lord, they are all vain, untoward, positive,
Nice in their Dress, their Fashions, Mien and Manners,
But solid Good they throw neglected by,
As a vile thing beneath their Sexes Use,
And then they are so insufferably rash,
That shou'd you thwart or force their Inclinations,
No savage Brute can be more mischievous,
For the prime Charter of their Nature's Obstinacy,
And the Word (because) their ablest Reason,
And therefore wou'd you, Sir, possess with Pleasure,
Wait till this Passion ebbs, and she'll dissolve,
Sink in your Arms, and court you to Enjoyment.

KING.
It shall be so.
[Turning to Dardania.
Madam, If you have Goodness to forgive
The violent Sallies of a feverish Madman,
When the kind Interval of Sense returns,
Your future Treatment, and my Penitence,
Shall wipe away the Stains this Hour has caus'd.
Consider who I am—weigh well the Effects
Of a rejected Love-sick Monarchs Rage:
Place in the adverse Scale, the boundless Joys
Empire and Power unlimited can bestow.
You're Mistress of your Fate, as you pronounce,
So Happiness or Misery attends you
Both in Extreams, and both inevitable.
Within there—Rinaldo—
Lead her to an Appartment fitting her Quality,
And be it your Care,
That no Diversion to relieve her Sorrows,
Or Diligence to please her, be neglected.

DARDANIA.
What will good Heaven do with me?

[Exeunt Dardania and Rinaldo.
KING.
Love and Revenge rule with alternate Sway,
My Breast, the struggling Passions force their Way,
And I, the Royal Captive, both obey.