University of Virginia Library

ACT I.

SCENE Castruchio's House.
Enter CASTRUCHIO.
CASTRUCHIO.
Oh my afflicted and dejected Soul!
What unknown Melancholy presses thee
With its dead Weight, and damps thy rising Thoughts!
Or is't the kind indulging Influence
Of thy attendant Guardian-Angel's Care!
Which ever, e'er some hazardous Attempt,
[Enter Dardania.
Hovers with tim'rous Wings o'er its dear Charge!
Oh ye Immortal Spirits! who inspir'd
And steel'd the God-like Brutus noble Soul,
Inform our Minds—We have a Cause like his!
Th'ungorg'd Appetite of despotick Pow'r
Rages and wildly tears our bleeding Country.

DARDANIA.
My dearest Lord!—
What means this Tempest warring in your Mind?
What mean these Starts? What mean these cloudy Eyes?
You labour with some mighty Load of Grief:
Ye Gods! defend and guard my Love from Danger!

CASTRUCHIO.
Leave me Dardania—Give my Soul its Freedom:
I stand enclos'd amidst a Host of Troubles,
And have not time to parly with thy Fondness.

DARDANIA.
What have I done, my Lord?
That thus I'm made a Stranger to your Thoughts:
Why do you shun me like some loathsome Object?
Oh let me feel the worst of Torments rather
Than be despis'd—neglected by my Lord!

CASTRUCHIO.
Dardania, fruitless are thy kind Endearments:
For oh! my Heart is a dispeopled Land,
A desolate, wild and undigested Mole:
I'm all one Mass of Grief.

DARDANIA.
As I'm your Wife, my Lord, I ought to be
The Part'ner of your Cares, as well as Joys.
Give me my lawful Share then of your Sorrows:
Why do you slight my Love? Why play the Tyrant,
And rack me with your Scorn? I cannot bear it:
Perhaps the Stings of Jealousy, Castruchio.

CASTRUCHIO.
[Sighing.]
—All my sad Retirements
My often, nay almost continu'd Watchings,
My broken Slumbers, and my restless Labours,
Have neither Root nor Growth from any Cause
That may be told to Woman—Should'st thou be
False to my Bed, I might lament my Fortune,
Punish thy Falshood, and forget thee ever.
But that which like a never emptied Spring,
Feeds high the Torrent of my swelling Grief
Is LIBERTY—NAPLES—my bleeding Country!
There, There's the Cause whence Sorrows still arise,
And Sighs ascend like Vapours from the Flood,
To damp and quell our most extatick Joys.

DARDANIA.
Indeed it touches me.

CASTRUCHIO.
—Look on Naples,
The Paradice of Italy, as that
Is of the Earth—Naples! that once was made
The sweet Retirement of the noblest Romans,
As oft as e'er they met to share the Spoils
Of vanquish'd Kings, and tributary Nations:
Behold it now the Seat of Lust and Rapine,
A fetter'd Slave to a curs'd Tyrant's Will:
Our Customs chang'd, our Privileges lost,
And all our Fundamental Rights destroy'd.
So we may justly say amidst our Woes,
We have nothing left that we can call our own,
But our Misfortunes.—

DARDANIA.
Sure never any Tyrant equall'd this.

CASTRUCHIO.
He has outdone 'em all—
Cæsar's was noble Bravery; he fought
The injur'd Romans Quarrels, and then inslav'd 'em.
Alberto basely, meanly stole his Crown,
By violating Right, by Blood and Ruin.
Tarquin, Caligula, or scarlet Nero,
Those Brands of Perfidy, compar'd to him,
Are but faint Shadows of Tyrannick Pride!
They but as Kings abus'd the Regal Pow'r,
Alberto has the Nation's Glory sunk
In a vast Ocean of unfathom'd Vice!

DARDANIA.
Should your undaunted Virtue once attempt,
What could resist the Pow'r of Men like you!
That are born great, and stil'd their Country's Patriots:
Tear, tear, my Lord, this gaudy Pageant down,
And free your Country from oppressive Wrongs,
Then give your gen'rous Soul its native Peace.

CASTRUCHIO.
Thou Glory of thy Sex! Thou more than Woman!
This most amazing Worth and Stedfastness
Shall thus unlock the Cabinet of my Breast,
And lodge the wond'rous Secret in thy Bosom!

DARDANIA.
I will be faithful as the Grave.

CASTRUCHIO.
Know then, e'er the third Morning dawns,
(Stand Heaven propitious!) our Liberty revives.

DARDANIA.
How?

CASTRUCHIO.
In the curs'd Tyrant's Death.
No other way is left to set us free.
And this, (thou dearest Guardian of my Honour!)
A little has estrang'd me from thy Arms.

DARDANIA.
Oh! I forgive thee all—But yet I fear;
My tim'rous Heart betrays the Woman still,
Yet I will shake it off—Thou shalt not loose
For me thy Honour, and my Country's Freedom,
Nor will I thus indulge my fonder Weakness.

CASTRUCHIO.
Oh! glorious Proof of unexampled Virtue,
But hark, my Friends are come—Retire my Love,
They must not know the Pledge I've trusted with thee.

DARDANIA.
Defend, ye Gods, oh! take him to your Care,
Your noblest Image both of Love and Honour.
[Exit Dardania.

Manet Castruchio.
There's a strange Musick dwells upon her Tongue,
And melts my stubborn Resolution down.
All my dear Fund of Honour, Glory, Fame,
Dardania! have I trusted to thy Virtue;
And should thy Tongue betray me I am thrown
From all my glorious Hopes of Liberty,
Ev'n to the low Abyss of black Despair.

Enter Alphonso, Bellmont, Cruizier, Pedro, Mendos and Ravilliac.
CASTRUCHIO.
Welcome you generous Band of noble Patriots;
Your free-born Souls confess you Romans still;
The worthy Off-spring of that great Republick,
Whose Laws once rul'd the tributary Globe.
I see you blush with noble Indignation,
And scorn to drag a Tyrant's servile Chain.

ALPHONSO.
Thy Words, Castruchio, bear such moving Force,
They wou'd inform ev'n Cowards with a Soul,
And kindle Sparks in the most abject Slaves.
But we are bound by more than common Ties,
By Gratitude, as well as Duty sworn,
To right our injur'd Prince Ascanio's Wrongs.

CASTRUCHIO.
That Godlike Youth, in foreign Climes, condemn'd
To bear the heavy Curse of Banishment,
Impatient of his Wrongs, waits for our Call.
Yet even there the Royal Image shines,
As Diamonds shoot their Lustre in the dark,
And proves, by nobly suffering, the Hero.

ALPHONSO.
He happily escap'd his Father's Fate:
Had that sweet Branch been lopt, our Hopes had dy'd,
And the Oppressor had securely flourish'd.

CASTRUCHIO.
No, never—This Right Hand should sink the Traytor:
I'd force my Way through Crowds of Flatterers;
Then taking him i'th' Height of lustful Pride,
I'd plunge my Ponyard to his guilty Heart,
And fall a Loyal Martyr to my Country.

ALPHONSO.
This Night we have corrupted and engag'd
Some of the Tyrant's Guards i'th' Enterprize,
With such a Leader to encourage 'em
We cannot now miscarry.

CASTRUCHIO.
Alphonso, What new Name is taken in?
'Tis fit I know him—

ALPHONSO.
Ronveir!

CASTRUCHIO.
Ha! Ronveir! He is Alberto's Tool—
A sordid Instrument of Tyranny,
That pimps to Power, and yields like temper'd Clay,
To every foul and villanous Impression.

ALPHONSO.
But now turn'd off, discarded, and forgot,
Disgrac'd and branded with the Name of Traytor,
His Wrongs have spur'd him to this manly Vengeance.

CASTRUCHIO.
Thoughtless Alphonso!
Ronveir is skill'd in Arts of Villany,
In deep Dissimulation read and practis'd;
Caught with this weak Disguise! Now all is ruin'd,
Thy credulous Folly has unravell'd all.

ALPHONSO.
He has already seal'd his own Destruction
By joining with us, and has ventur'd much.
And good my Lord, permit me then to say,
Had each Italian here, with cautious Doubts,
And poor Distrust examin'd t'other's Virtue,
This gallant Combination ne'er had been.

CASTRUCHIO.
And cou'd you find out none, Alphonso, none
To trust the Fate of Naples with, but him,
Who is in monstrous Leagues wholly devoted,
And sworn a common Enemy to Virtue?

ALPHONSO.
'Tis most ungenerous, this mean Distrust;
To say no more, I wish that Resolution
Was founded well before, which every Breath,
Each idle Blast of Wind, thus shakes and staggers.

CASTRUCHIO.
Ill counsell'd Man! You have mistook Castruchio,
If you believe his Life was ever thought
Worthy his Care, or that he would survive,
To trample on his injur'd Country's Ruins.
But know, you have, like most unskilful Pilots,
Blug'd the good Vessel; ev'n in Sight of Harbour,
And you must perish in the general Wreck!
I grieve, to see so great a Cause should find
Such weak Supporters; Hearts alone, not Heads.
But from this Moment I acquit my self;
And since you obstinately urge your Fates,
I disavow the fatal Consequence.

ALPHONSO.
You disavow the Consequence, my Lord:
Perhaps there's Danger in that Consequence.

CASTRUCHIO.
Oh that my Life alone
Cou'd but attone the Error of this Day!
You wou'd not say, Alphonso; No, you durst not!
That Danger, tho more horrid and deform'd,
Than Cowardice e'er fram'd, should stop my way.
Go, lead your thoughtless, your unhappy Friends,
The Sacrifice of your misjudging Folly;
Ronveir impatiently expects your coming.
Go—tamely yield your Throats—a grateful Present,
An Offering worthy of Alberto's Fury.

ALPHONSO.
Yes, we will go—and e're to Morrows Dawn,
Our Names shall eccho in thy trembling Ears,
The bold Defenders of fair Liberty!
While you like a poor wary Gamester, loose
Your glorious Share. For Fear of what may come,
Forbids you still to venture for the Prize.
My Friends—Will you assert our noble Cause,
And hazard Life with me in this Attempt;
Or have you caught Castruchio's Diffidence,
And shrink like him, when Glory leads to Danger.

OMNES.
We'll live or die with Alphonso.

ALPHONSO.
On then, ye brave Companions of my Fortune,
And leave this once thought Hero to his Tears!

[Exeunt.
CASTRUCHIO.
They're gone—inevitable Ruin now
Involves 'em all—and Freedom is no more!

Re-enter Dardania.
DARDANIA.
Castruchio! I've o'er-heard this fatal Business,
And wonder at thy great, thy matchless Prudence:
This Ronveir is a Villain.

CASTRUCHIO.
What would you have him be—Villany is
His Business—Palaces are Marts, where Truth
And Honesty are sold at under Rates:
And nought but Flattery bears a Price to live by.

DARDANIA.
Thou art certainly betray'd! and those rash Men
Must all without Remorse be sacrific'd,
By this unhappy Turn of Fate.
Retire, my Lord, for if you stay, you're lost;
He has your Friends already in the Toyl.
Below the deep Foundations of this Mansion,
You know a spatious antique Cavern lies,
Through winding Mazes is the dark Access;
There you may rest secure, as in Earth's Center,
Till this rough Blast be o'er, safe from the Rage,
The dreadful Vengeance of Alberto's Fury.

CASTRUCHIO.
What! shall I live—live a poor abject Wretch,
And hide me in a Dungeon, to preserve
A Life I would not bear in willing Bondage.

DARDANIA.
Rash Man, consider—
All Hands! all Eyes! are lifted up to thee,
Imploring Help—Thou art their Guardian God;
Make good their Hopes, and save 'em in Distress:
And how can that be done, if thou dost fall
A Victim to a lawless Tyrant's Rage?
Forbid it, Heaven!

CASTRUCHIO.
O! I'm distracted—Counsel me some God!
Guide, Guide me thro' this Labyrinth of Woe.

DARDANIA.
Delay no longer—But retire in time.
This very Moment's all thou now hast left.
Shou'dst thou lose this, what will become of me?
I must be then the Prey of those curst Fiends,
Alberto and Ronveir.

CASTRUCHIO.
Horror and Confusion!
These Villains are the poisonous Spawn of Hell;
Oh name 'em not.

DARDANIA.
I must, I will—Till I have put thy sad
Imagination on the Rack of Thinking.
Numberless Dangers circle us around,
And tell me, if thou can'st, how to avoid 'em?

CASTRUCHIO.
Distraction, Oh!—

DARDANIA.
When thou art gone
What Power can shield me from my certain Fate.
Or must I wander destitute of Hope,
In the wide Wast of Desolation,
And want a Guide to lead me through its Wiles.

CASTRUCHIO.