 | Elvira |  |
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ACT IV.
SCENE I.
RODRIGO, ALVAREZ.ALVAREZ.
You seem much mov'd.
RODRIGO.
The horrid vision still
Pursues my wounded fancy!
ALVAREZ.
Speak, my Lord,
What have you seen?
RODRIGO.
I am not prone to shape
Unreal forms, with Superstition's eye:
But thus it was. There, in that reverend pile
Where rest the bones of our departed kings,
And where in animated marble rise
Their sceptred forms around; as on my knees
I pour'd to heaven my heart in secret prayer,
At once a more than midnight-darkness spred
O'er all the solemn scene: at once was heard
A peal of groans, resounding from below!
While sudden lightnings, darted thro' the gloom,
Shew'd every sanguine statue red with blood!
Chief that of old Alphonso—you have seen him,
Elvira's grandsire.
ALVAREZ.
Yes: to crown whose virtues,
The reigning Monarch plac'd his honor'd form
Next those of our dead kings.
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The very same.
Down his stain'd armor ran the crimson drops,
And his shook image trembled on its base!
Now, if I live, I saw it.
ALVAREZ.
That good angel,
Who watches o'er our state, avert the dangers
Such omens may foreshew—The King! he gnaws
His angry lip, and storm is on his brow.
SCENE II.
ALONZO, RODRIGO, ALVAREZ.ALONZO.
Then—it is fix'd—The Lords that you have summon'd,
Say, are they come?
ALVAREZ.
They wait your pleasure, Sir,
In the near council-chamber—
ALONZO.
Aside.
Could they see
Their sovereign's breast unveil'd! but no: the curtain
Must be close-drawn, that each man may advise
As unimpassion'd reason guides him—Leave me.
SCENE III.
ALONZO.Advise!—Thou general Parent of mankind!
Who bidst thy sun arise, thy rain descend
On all the various creatures thou hast made,
Just and unjust alike! is one sad father
Reserved, in his grey years, himself to punish
A lov'd, an only son? And must he sit
In judgment on him? hear the doom of death—
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Shrinks and starts back from this detested duty;
But 'tis a King's—and thou, Alonzo, thou
Art he, that king! O did the beggar know
What splendid misery is lodg'd within
The circle of a crown, he would not stoop
His palsy'd hand to take it from the dust,
And be its wearer—What, or how determine?
Was it for this I weary'd heaven with vows
To give my throne an heir? Was it in wrath,
Heaven granted my request? and have I form'd
His youth to glory, seen his steps outrun
The swiftest in her race, that he, this son,
With her fresh laurel wreath'd, should bleed at last
Beneath the murderous axe?
Guards—bring my son;
Conduct Don Pedro hither.
Once, once more
I mean to hear him—could I pardon too,
I yet were blest! for my torn bosom feels
The pangs of guilt, in following Virtue's call.
Then summon all the monarch to thine aid!
For think, the present, think, each future age
Will fix their eyes of censure or applause
On this one act of thine. Altho a father,
That private name must bend before the large,
The universal duties of a sovereign.
Quit we the sceptre, or its rights assert;
Chastise offence, while weeping o'er th'offender:
That humankind may tremble to transgress,
Who see inexorable Justice stretch,
O'er all alike, her rod of punishment;
Not even a prince, a throne's immediate heir
Exempted from her arm!
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SCENE IV.
ALONZO, DON PEDRO.ALONZO.
The council, Prince,
Is now assembling. Your own breast must tell you
Th'inevitable sentence it will pass:
And when your fury plung'd you into guilt,
You on yourself pronounc'd it. Yet there is,
There still remains one door of mercy open:
Take warning then in time. Your prompt obedience,
To me a son, to you restores a father.
Fulfill the treaty, wed that virtuous Princess:
You live on these conditions. These refus'd—
I may be wretched—but your doom is past!
DON PEDRO.
Then—know your Son, with all his failings on him.
My Soul, like yours, thus guilty as I am,
Beholds, unmov'd, the nearest face of danger:
And you would blush, would deeply blush for both,
If fear or force debas'd me to submission.
What love and reverence, to a parent due,
Could not persuade, no tortures can obtain.
ALONZO.
Thou Cruel! why, deserving all my hate,
Preserve this greatness, that but more embitters
The grief I feel already? Shew me rather
A mortal enemy, a Son ingrate
Prepar'd to strike his parricidal knife
Deep thro my heart. Reduc'd to wish thy death,
Let me behold it too—without despair!
DON PEDRO.
I have deserv'd to die.
ALONZO.
My pity still
Would bid thee live.
DON PEDRO.
What must I do?
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Obey!
DON PEDRO.
Then all is o'er. It cannot be.
ALONZO.
Retire—
A tear would follow—but I blot it out.
SCENE V.
The back scene opens and discovers the Lords of the council met, RODRIGO, ALVAREZ, and others.The King walks slowly up to his chair of State.
ALONZO.
Be seated, Lords—Alas! I look around,
And read on every face the secret pangs
Your bosoms share with mine. The ready drop
Stands trembling in each eye, as if yourselves
Had each a son to judge and to condemn!
But let us rise above all private feelings;
Remorse should have no place, where Justice reigns:
And those, whom heaven appoints to counsel kings,
Must shed no tear, but for offended laws.
All other grief is weakness, or is guilt.
And read on every face the secret pangs
Your bosoms share with mine. The ready drop
Stands trembling in each eye, as if yourselves
Had each a son to judge and to condemn!
But let us rise above all private feelings;
Remorse should have no place, where Justice reigns:
And those, whom heaven appoints to counsel kings,
Must shed no tear, but for offended laws.
All other grief is weakness, or is guilt.
The Prince, a rebel to the law and us,
Has set at nought the binding faith of oaths;
The solemn ties of treaties ratify'd,
Whatever links one nation to another,
And king to king. Nor is this all. You saw,
With horror and astonishment you saw him,
In arms and at the head of traitors arm'd,
Assault this palace! force its gates against me!
And, if he shun'd himself the guilt supreme
Of parricide, he left his king expos'd,
His father at the mercy of those rebels
Whom he had made so!—These are his offences.
'Tis yours to judge them, and pronounce his doom.
Rodrigo, speak.
Has set at nought the binding faith of oaths;
The solemn ties of treaties ratify'd,
Whatever links one nation to another,
And king to king. Nor is this all. You saw,
With horror and astonishment you saw him,
In arms and at the head of traitors arm'd,
Assault this palace! force its gates against me!
And, if he shun'd himself the guilt supreme
Of parricide, he left his king expos'd,
His father at the mercy of those rebels
Whom he had made so!—These are his offences.
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Rodrigo, speak.
RODRIGO.
Alas! I should be silent.
You know, and have approv'd the tender love
I bear Elvira. To my happiness
Don Pedro is the sole, the fatal bar:
And you command me, Sir, to judge a rival!
But far be from me each imagin'd hope,
However dear, that but respects myself!
Is it a question, can it bear debate,
If he, tho deem'd a criminal, should live?
Search your own breast: the powerful pleadings there
Will best inform you what I should advise.
Forgive, my Lord, this transport.
ALONZO.
Let calm reason
Guide all you say. Proceed.
RODRIGO.
I ask again,
Is it in question, whether your renown
Should live by him, or be for ever lost?
He—and there is none other—can support
The sceptre's weight; he only, after you,
Preserve this kingdom flourishing and happy.
Weigh then, with candor weigh, against his crime,
Th'acknowledg'd prize of benefits like these.
ALONZO.
But treaties seal'd, and sanctify'd by oaths,
He dares to violate.
RODRIGO.
Are treaties then,
But leagues of regal cruelty and force?
Must you, to please a neighbouring monarch's pride,
In your own son exterminate your race?
Extinguish every future hope? and would not
The cheek of Ferdinand burn red with shame,
Should his lov'd sister owe a husband's hand
To cold obedience; while, in other realms,
New thrones, new hearts, attend the fair one's choice?
But leagues of regal cruelty and force?
Must you, to please a neighbouring monarch's pride,
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Extinguish every future hope? and would not
The cheek of Ferdinand burn red with shame,
Should his lov'd sister owe a husband's hand
To cold obedience; while, in other realms,
New thrones, new hearts, attend the fair one's choice?
He forc'd the palace gates. The crime is own'd:
But no design against your crown or person
Urg'd that blind violence. Alas! his aim
Was but to screen th'endanger'd life of one,
His fondness trembled for. You see him thus—
A rebel? no: a lover in despair!
And can a moment's rashness merit death?
No: let him live—and tho my bosom bleeds
At what I utter—yes, indulge his love!
His life is all: a life like mine is nothing!
But no design against your crown or person
Urg'd that blind violence. Alas! his aim
Was but to screen th'endanger'd life of one,
His fondness trembled for. You see him thus—
A rebel? no: a lover in despair!
And can a moment's rashness merit death?
No: let him live—and tho my bosom bleeds
At what I utter—yes, indulge his love!
His life is all: a life like mine is nothing!
ALONZO.
You prove the blood you spring from: and this effort,
This generous violence you do your heart,
While it misleads, both honors and exalts you.
But 'tis the hero, not the judge has spoken.
What says Alvarez?
ALVAREZ.
Could your eye, my Lord,
Pierce inward to my heart, the conflict there,
The war that gratitude and duty wage,
Would leave it doubtful which you most should pity,
Don Pedro or his judge. He sav'd my life.
Beneath an African's uplifted sabre,
Faint, bleeding thro my former wounds, I lay.
He saw, he flew, and on his shield receiv'd
Th'impending sword! Was it, good heaven, for this,
That I, who but for his protecting arm
Had now been dust, should sit to judge his fate?
Ah no, my Lord: I would be dumb for ever!
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Fair honor and the duty of this place
Exact it of you; call on you to speak
By truth's unbiass'd dictates. This great cause
Imports ourself, our realm, and all mankind.
ALVAREZ.
Alas, my Lord, to what alternate horror,
As subject and as man, am I expos'd?
But hence all private ties, the first and dearest!
My life is his; my duty, Sir, is yours:
And from the fear, so busy here within,
Of being deem'd ungrateful to a friend,
I dare not be a traitor to my king.
As subject and as man, am I expos'd?
But hence all private ties, the first and dearest!
My life is his; my duty, Sir, is yours:
And from the fear, so busy here within,
Of being deem'd ungrateful to a friend,
I dare not be a traitor to my king.
The law has spoke. His sentence is pronounc'd,
Is past already; in despight of tears,
Of all the pain'd reluctance pity strives with:
For when the sovereign majesty of kings
Is once invaded, but one way remains
To expiate that offence. Th'insulted rights,
You sit to judge of, are not yours. They grow
Inherent to the throne: And you, my Lord,
Are to all present, all succeeding princes
Accountable for what you now decree.
I go too far.
Is past already; in despight of tears,
Of all the pain'd reluctance pity strives with:
For when the sovereign majesty of kings
Is once invaded, but one way remains
To expiate that offence. Th'insulted rights,
You sit to judge of, are not yours. They grow
Inherent to the throne: And you, my Lord,
Are to all present, all succeeding princes
Accountable for what you now decree.
I go too far.
ALONZO.
Proceed.
ALVAREZ.
It cannot be:
Tears choak my voice.
ALONZO.
Keep nothing from my view:
Thy virtue here demands it.
ALVAREZ.
I obey.
Should pity now prevail in his behalf,
You are no more a king! You reign at mercy
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Your subjects too, the rebels of to-day,
Who now will think him formidably theirs,
Are from this moment his. A nod from him
Will be their law; and each licentious hour
Wear its red mark of civil broils and murders:
The crown, the sceptre may remain with you,
The power, that should sustain them, will be his!
ALONZO.
Heroic proof of loyalty and truth!
I can discern the painful throes of soul
This firmness costs thee: but its felt ascendant,
The sovereign influence of such virtue, chides
Fond nature from my bosom. Now, who else
Among you, Lords, stands forth to give his suffrage?—
What! no one rise?—Alas! the tears that stream
From each dejected eye, this mournful silence,
Big with all horror, but too clearly speak,
What you have judg'd—My son is then condemn'd!
For you, for all my people, for mankind,
I here devote him—Were I but a father,
He still might live—A monarch must be just:
Who has betray'd the law would be a tyrant!
He shall not reign: No, from that threaten'd danger
I now deliver you, your wives, and children.
Let all retire: and you, Mendoza, go,
Inform him of his fate—
SCENE V.
ALONZO.What will be mine?
O tyrant-Duty! art thou satisfy'd,
While I with Roman names of cruel greatness,
With Brutus, Manlius, share the fame abhorr'd
Of being more, or less, than man was meant?
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Must cover this dire deed—Ha! there, behold
Th'uplifted axe! Ha heaven! it falls—and lo
A headless trunk! a scaffold red with blood!
O thou, All-Just, who doom'd me to a throne!
Why, with its duties, leave this writhing bosom
Accessible to pangs, that but a Child
Can pierce the soul with—and a Parent know?
SCENE VI.
ALONZO, the QUEEN, ALMEYDA.ALMEYDA.
What have I heard? This most inhuman sentence
Is it then past? Each face bedew'd with tears,
And every eye cast in despair on heaven,
I saw the Council part: and on your brow
I read my fate in characters of horror!
You have condemn'd your son!
ALONZO.
I have done justice.
ALMEYDA.
O heaven! can you avow, and can I hear it?
QUEEN.
This wound, my Lord, must in a father's heart
Be deeply felt. Why, by his guilty rashness,
Why has Don Pedro push'd you to the brink
Of dire necessity—
ALONZO.
Madam, no more,
If in obedience to relentless duty,
If deaf to all that bleeding Love can plead
In this sad bosom, I condemn a son;
'Tis yours to think, that mercy was his due.
Unhappy boy! alas it is too plain,
He has no mother.
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SCENE VII.
The QUEEN, ALMEYDA.ALMEYDA.
If my life is dear
To her who gave it, seize, O seize, this moment—
You see Alonzo softening into nature—
Kneel, press, adjure him—and you save the prince!
QUEEN.
I go. Your pains and pleasures all are mine:
Be most assur'd they are—And, tho' the skies
Look frowning round us, yet methinks a beam
Of day-light breaks upon the doubtful horror!
It lights me—yes, it points the secret path,
I should pursue! Almeyda—trust to me.
SCENE VIII.
ALMEYDA.Sir, bring your prisoner: by the Queen's command
I have to talk with her.
[Guard goes out.
It must be so—
Yes, to preserve him, I will stoop to beg
A rival's aid. Even should he live for her;
Is any price too high, at which we save
The life of him we love? She comes—
SCENE IX.
ALMEYDA, ELVIRA.ALMEYDA.
Alas!
Don Pedro is found guilty!
ELVIRA.
O despair!
O death to all my hopes!
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Elvira, now,
On this important, this deciding moment
Our mutual fate depends. You long have mark'd
My passion for the prince; that, in despite
Of scorn in him, of jealousy in me,
Beyond whatever nature else can boast
I hold him dear—
ELVIRA.
I have with heart-felt grief,
And flowing eyes beheld it—and even now
They stream afresh!
ALMEYDA.
The Queen is gone to try
Her tenderest influence on a husband's heart.
I too will clasp his knees, and beg for mercy:
But will these arts, these little aids prevail
Against his dread severity of nature?
If you have thought, or if inventive Love
Can prompt your breast with more successful means,
Advise, Elvira; for your counsels here
Shall be my law. Whatever you suggest,
At peril of my life I will perform.
ELVIRA.
Ah! how reply? What equal answer find
To such exalted worth? All that my thought
Is big with, your true virtue, my distress,
All press me with confusion. In your sight
The Prince must seem ungrateful and unjust;
And I a worthless rival, cast beneath
Your least regard.
ALMEYDA.
Let virtue make us equal.
The Prince to both is dear: let both unite,
Without a farther thought, to save his life.
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O amiable goodness! Wonder fills
And joy again attempts to chear my bosom!
There rises to my eye one glimpse of light,
One ray of hope: but you, and only you
Can make it real. Closely here confin'd,
Alas! I have no means—Go then—and heaven
Suceed your purpose! from the King intreat,
Obtain a moment's audience for Elvira—
I yet may calm his anger; yet prolong
Don Pedro's threaten'd days—perhaps for you!
ALMEYDA.
It would be cruel, as 'tis most unjust,
To think such hopes could animate my zeal.
Elvira, no: the fire that warms this breast
Is of a purer beam. I go to find
Th'unhappy King; with prayers and tears to try
If he is yet a parent, or a man!
ELVIRA.
O may the fair attempt successful prove!
May stern Alonzo hear the voice of love!
O may we both preserve, what both adore!
So he but lives—I ask of heaven no more!
The guards conduct her back.
End of the fourth ACT.
| Elvira | |