 | Elvira |  |
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SCENE III.
The QUEEN, ELVIRA.QUEEN.
Draw near—Elvira.
ELVIRA.
Now assist me, heaven!
QUEEN.
Your fears, perhaps, have form'd some direful image
Of the King's wrath; some sanguinary purpose,
By which your doom already is pronounc'd.
Those fears repress, and with the calmest ear
Attentive mark me. You, beneath this roof,
Have wide-diffus'd the flames of hateful discord,
It may be, undesigning; and the crime
Your eyes have caus'd, your heart may disavow.
ELVIRA.
You judge me fairly, Madam!
QUEEN.
Yet, attend.
I dare not think you share Don Pedro's fault,
Encouraging the rebel in his breast
By favor or connivance. You too well
Must know the distance, not to be surpass'd,
Betwixt you and the throne. It is a height
A subject's eye must from afar behold,
With reverent awe, but never hope to reach!
I know you fair and virtuous: these endowments,
That now adorn you, if bestow'd aright,
May make you happy too.
ELVIRA.
What mean you, Madam?
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Hear what Alonzo speaks by me. He owns
The state a debtor to your great forefathers,
For conquests won, for blood profusely spilt,
Not here alone in this our western world,
But in remotest regions, where the sun
Looks down direct at noon. He bids me dwell,
With chief regard, on what he owes Alphonso,
Your Grandsire, that good man who form'd his youth
To love of virtue; whose paternal care
Taught him, with no unequal hand, to wield
This kingdom's sceptre.
ELVIRA
, aside.
Whither tends her purpose?
QUEEN.
And when a king recounts a subject's worth,
What he has prais'd his glory bids him pay
With ample retribution. You shall find
He now resolves no less—Rodrigo loves you;
Rodrigo, near of kindred to the throne.
I know he loves you.
ELVIRA
, aside.
I am lost for ever!
QUEEN.
He oft has urg'd Alonzo to reward
His ardent flame: and by a gift so noble,
Your sovereign deems not his imperial house
Diminish'd in its lustre. No: the world,
By this great instance, shall be taught to know,
He holds that man, who train'd a king to honor,
As second only to the Prince he form'd.
ELVIRA.
I hear with wonder this exalted strain
Of royal gratitude. Yet, Madam, think,
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And to have lost it, at fair honor's voice,
Its own bright recompence! He who is call'd
To serve his country, if he has deserv'd
That glorious trust, is paid by serving well!
But if, too generous, great Alonzo's bounty
Deigns to reward their services in me,
Tho duty has no right—
QUEEN.
You hesitate.
Speak boldly: let your amplest claim be shewn.
ELVIRA.
Then know, the sole return Elvira asks—
Is to be mistress of her humble fate;
That far from courts, and to Rodrigo lost,
She may with gentle peace live out her days!
QUEEN.
Your pride disdains him then?
ELVIRA.
Pride dwells not here:
To such a guest this bosom is a stranger.
QUEEN.
Yet can refuse, thro mere humility,
A prince from great Alonzo's blood deriv'd?
And dare to tell it me?
ELVIRA.
I dare to think,
That all the brightest honors Hymen spreads,
When he would join our hands, are airy toys,
Or glittering load; if love attends not too,
To plight consenting hearts.
QUEEN.
I see thro yours!
I fathom its last depth!
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Then you may find,
What equal Nature has to all indulg'd,
Even to its poorest creatures, truth and worth,
The inmates of this heart!
QUEEN.
To boast thy virtues
Before thy queen is insult.
ELVIRA.
Madam, no—
O my full soul! [Aside.
—but justice done myself
To you is highest reverence. Truth should ever
Be found a subject's language to the throne:
And I but meant to say, our weaker sex,
Even I, may think up to that height of honor,
Which in all ages has enobled Man!
The same blest power—
QUEEN.
'Tis well! thy soul is trac'd
Thro all its doubling mazes. Those suspicions
I sought to banish, now are truths confirm'd!
Ambitious! yes, I mark the daring height,
The wild excess, to which your pride of heart
Elates imagination! you reserve
That beauty for Don Pedro! you revolt
A prince, a son, against his king and father!
ELVIRA.
You wrong me, madam. By the faith sincere
I owe my king, this bosom never lodg'd
A thought against his dignity or peace.
And if the Prince— [Aside.
I shall betray my heart—
If I had power upon Don Pedro's will,
Eternal Concord with her sheltering wing,
Should ever guard the throne.
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And what is she,
Whose great ambition busys thus itself
In matters of such weight? unsummon'd too
To this high task?—Am I awake? Elvira!
What art thou?
ELVIRA.
Mock me not—A subject, madam;
A subject and your servant—yet the child
Of Reason, born to think and act with choice!
Sprung too from such a race, so great and good,
Their daughter dares not deviate into baseness,
By wedding where she loves not!
QUEEN.
I have found it!
A slave to this rebellious passion's force,
Don Pedro burns to mount a vacant throne,
That you may there be worship'd as his queen—
Ha! yet—who knows—it may, it may be true,
That, spurning all the ties of sacred law,
He is already yours! Perhaps, his fate
A secret marriage has already fix'd!
Should it be so, should he have sunk the throne
To that disgrace—the bolt is lanc'd already,
That strikes you into dust! Your grand-sire, yes,
The very man, whose loyalty I boasted,
Prescrib'd this law. Think of it well—Ah heaven! [A great shout is heard, and the sound of trumpets at a distance.
What mingled uproar this way swells its storm?
| Elvira | |