 | The Revenge |  |
14
ACT II.
SCENE I.
Enter Manuel, and Zanga.Zan.
If this be true, I cannot blame your Pain
For wretched Carlos; 'tis but human in you.
But when arriv'd your dismal News?
Man.
This Hour.
Zan.
What, not a Vessel sav'd!
Man.
All, all the Storm
Devour'd, and now o'er his late envy'd Fortune
The Dolphins bound, and watry Mountains roar,
Triumphant in his Ruin.
Zan.
Is Alvarez
Determin'd to deny his Daughter to him?
That Treasure was on Shore; must that too join
The common Wreck?
Man.
Alvarez pleads indeed
That Leonora's Heart is dis-inclin'd,
And pleads that only; so it was this Morning,
When he concurr'd: the Tempest broke the Match;
And sunk his Favour, when it sunk the Gold.
The Love of Gold is double in his Heart,
The Vice of Age, and of Alvarez too.
Zan.
How does Don Carlos bear it?
Man.
Like a Man
Whose Heart feels most a human Heart can feel,
And reasons best a human Heart can reason.
Zan.
But is he then in absolute Despair?
Man.
Never to see his Leonora more.
And quite to quench all future Hope; Alvarez
15
This very Day; for he has learnt their Loves.
Zan.
Ha! was not that receiv'd with Ecstasie
By Don Alonzo?
Man.
Yes, at first; but soon
A Damp came o'er him, it would kill his Friend.
Zan.
Not if his Friend consented; and since now
He can't himself espouse her—
Man.
Yet to ask it
Has something shocking to a generous Mind,
At least Alonzo's Spirit startles at it.
Wide is the Distance between our Despair,
And giving up a Mistress to another.
But I must leave you. Carlos wants Support
In his severe Affliction.
[Exit Manuel.
Zan.
Ha! it dawns!—
It rises to me, like a new-found World
To Mariners long time distress'd at Sea,
Sore from a Storm, and all their Viands spent;—
Or like the Sun just rising out of Chaos,
Some dregs of ancient Night not quite purg'd off:
But shall I finish it—Hoa! Isabella!
Enter Isabella.
I thought of dying; better Things come forward;
Vengeance is still alive; from her dark Covert,
With all her Snakes erect upon her Crest,
She stalks in View, and fires me with her Charms.
When, Isabell, arriv'd Don Carlos here?
Isab.
Two Nights ago.
Zan.
That was the very Night
Before the Battel—Memory, set down that,
It has the Essence of a Crocodile,
Tho' yet but in the Shell—I'll give it Birth—
What Time did he return?
Isab.
At Midnight.
Zan.
So—
Say, did he see that Night his Leonora?
Isab.
No, my good Lord.
16
No matter—tell me, Woman,
Is not Alonzo rather brave than cautious,
Honest than subtle, above Fraud himself,
Slow therefore to suspect it in another?
Isab.
You best can judge; but so the World thinks of him.
[Ex. Isab.
Zan.
Why, that is well—go fetch my Tablets hither.
Two Nights ago, my Father's sacred Shade
Thrice stalk'd around my Bed, and smil'd upon me,
He smil'd, a Joy then little understood—
It must be so—and if so, it is Vengeance
Worth waking of the Dead for.
Re-enter Isabella with the Tablets, Zanga writes, then reads as to himself.
Thus it stands—
The Father's fixt—Don Carlos cannot wed—
Alonzo may—but that will hurt his Friend—
Nor can he ask his leave—or if he did,
He might not gain it—it is hard to give
Our own Consent to Ills, tho' we must bear them.—
Were it not then a Master-piece, worth all
The Wisdom I can boast, first to persuade
Alonzo to request it of his Friend,
His Friend to grant—then from that very Grant,
The strongest Proof of Friendship Man can give,
(And other Motives) to work out a Cause
Of Jealousy; to rack Alonzo's Peace?—
I have turn'd o'er the Catalogue of Woes,
Which sting the Heart of Man, and find none equal.
It is the Hydra of Calamities,
The Seven-fold Death. The Jealous are the damn'd.
O Jealousy! Each other Passion's calm
To thee, thou Conflagration of the Soul!
Thou King of Torments! Thou grand Counterpoize
For all the Transports Beauty can inspire!
Isab.
Alonzo comes this Way.
Zan.
Most opportunely.
Withdraw—Ye subtle Dæmons, which reside
[Ex. Isa.
17
That little Engin'ry, more mischievous
Than Fleets, and Armies, and the Cannon's Murder,
Teach me to look a Lye, give me your Maze
Of gloomy Thought, and intricate Design
To catch the Man I hate, and then devour.
Enter Alonzo.
My Lord, I give you Joy.
Alon.
Of what, good Zanga?
Zan.
Is not the lovely Leonora yours?
Alon.
What will become of Carlos?
Zan.
He's your Friend;
And since he can't espouse the Fair himself,
Will take some Comfort from Alonzo's Fortune.
Alon.
Alas! Thou little know'st the Force of Love;
Love reigns a Sultan with unrivall'd sway,
Puts all Relations, Friendship self to Death,
If once he's Jealous of it. I love Carlos,
Yet, well I know what Pangs I felt this Morning
At his intended Nuptials. For my self
I then felt Pains, which now for him I feel.
Zan.
You will not wed her then?
Alon.
Not instantly:
Insult his broken Heart the very Moment!
Zan.
I understand you: but you'll wed hereafter,
When your Friend's gone, and his first Pain asswag'd?
Alon.
Am I to blame for that?
Zan.
My Lord, I love
Your very Errors, they are born from Virtue.
Your Friendship (and what nobler Passion claims
The Heart?) does lead you blind-fold to your Ruin.
Consider, wherefore did Alvarez break
Don Carlos' Match, and wherefore urge Alonzo's?
'Twas the same Cause, the Love of Wealth: To-morrow
May see Alonzo in Don Carlos' Fortune;
A higher Bidder is a better Friend,
And there are Princes sigh for Leonora.
When your Friend's gone, you'll wed; why then the Cause
18
Carlos has lost her; should you lose her too,
Why then, you heap new Torments on your Friend
By that Respect which labour'd to relieve him—
'Tis well, he is disturb'd, it makes him pause.
[Aside.
Alon.
Think'st thou, my Zanga, shou'd I ask Don Carlos,
His Goodness would consent that I should wed her?
Zan.
I know it would.
Alon.
But then the Cruelty
To ask it, and for me to ask it of him!
Zan.
Methinks, you are severe upon your Friend.
Who was it gave him Liberty and Life?
Alon.
That is the very Reason which forbids it.
Were I a Stranger, I could freely speak:
In me, it so resembles a Demand,
Exacting of a Debt, it shocks my Nature.
Zan.
My Lord, you know the sad Alternative.
Is Leonora worth one Pang, or not?
It hurts not me, my Lord, but as I love you;
Warmly as you I wish Don Carlos well;
But I am likewise Don Alonzo's Friend:
There all the Difference lies between us two.
In me, my Lord, you hear another self,
And give me leave to add, a better too,
Clear'd from those Errors, which, tho' caus'd by Virtue,
Are such as may hereafter give you Pain.—
Don Lopez of Castille would not demur thus.
Alon.
Perish the Name! What! Sacrifice the Fair
To Age and Illness, because set in Gold?—
I'll to Don Carlos, if my Heart will let me.
I have not seen him since his sore Affliction;
But shunn'd it, as too terrible to bear.
How shall I bear it now? I'm struck already.
[Ex. Alon.
Zan.
Half of my Work is done. I must secure
Don Carlos, e'er Alonzo speaks with him.
[He gives a Message to a Servant, then returns.]
Proud, hated Spain! Oft drench'd in Moorish Blood;
Dost thou not feel a deadly Foe within thee?
19
Conscious of Ruin, and their great Destroyer?
Shake to the Centre, if Alonzo's dear.
Look down, O holy Prophet! See me Torture
This Christian Dog, this Infidel, which dares
To smite thy Votaries, and spurn thy Law;
And yet hopes Pleasure from two radiant Eyes,
Which look as they were lighted up for thee!
Shall he enjoy thy Paradise below?
Blast the bold Thought, and Curse him with her Charms.—
But see, the melancholy Lover comes.
Enter Don Carlos.
Car.
Hope, thou hast told me Lies from Day to Day
For more than twenty Years; vile Promiser!
None here are happy but the very Fool,
Or very Wise; and I want Fool enough,
To smile in Vanities, and hug a Shadow;
Nor have I Wisdom to elaborate
An Artificial Happiness from Pains:
Ev'n Joys are Pains, because they cannot last.
[Sighs.
Yet much is talk'd of Bliss, it is the Art
Of such as have the World in their Possession,
To give it a good Name, that Fools may envy;
For Envy to small Minds is Flattery.
How many lift the Head, look gay, and smile
Against their Consciences? and this we know,
Yet knowing disbelieve, and try again
What we have try'd, and struggle with Conviction.
Each new Experience gives the former Credit,
And reverend Grey Threescore is but a Voucher,
That Thirty told us true.
Zan.
My noble Lord!
I mourn your Fate: but are no Hopes surviving?
Car.
No Hopes. Alvarez has a Heart of Steel:
'Tis fixt, 'tis past, 'tis absolute Despair.
Zan.
You wanted not to have your Heart made tender
By your own Pains, to feel a Friend's Distress.
Car.
I understand you well. Alonzo loves;
I pity him.
20
I dare be sworn you do.
Yet he has other Thoughts.
Car.
What can'st thou mean?
Zan.
Indeed he has, and fears to ask a Favour
A Stranger from a Stranger might request,
What costs you Nothing, yet is All to him,
Nay what indeed will to your Glory add,
For nothing more than wishing your Friend well.
Car.
I pray be plain: his Happiness is mine.
Zan.
He loves to Death; but so reveres his Friend,
He can't persuade his Heart to wed the Maid,
Without your Leave, and that he fears to ask,
In perfect Tenderness; I urg'd him to it,
Knowing the deadly Sickness of his Heart,
Your overflowing Goodness to your Friend,
Your Wisdom, and Despair your self to wed her;
I wrung a Promise from him he would try:
And now, I come a mutual Friend to both,
Without his Privacy, to let you know it,
And to prepare you kindly to receive him.
Car.
Ha! if he weds, I am undone indeed;
Not Don Alvarez' self can then relieve me.
Zan.
Alas! My Lord, you know his Heart is Steel,
'Tis fixt, 'tis past, 'tis absolute Despair.
Car.
O cruel Heav'n! and is it not enough
That I must never, never see her more!
Say, is it not enough that I must die;
But must I be tormented in the Grave?
Ask my Consent!—Must I then give her to him?
Lead to his Nuptial Sheets the blushing Maid?
Oh!—Leonora! never, never, never!
Zan.
A Storm of Plagues upon him! he refuses.
[Aside.
Car.
What! Wed her?—and to-day?
Zan.
To-day, or never.
To-morrow may some wealthier Lover bring,
And then Alonzo is thrown out like you.
Then whom shall he condemn for his Misfortune?
Carlos is an Alvarez to his Love.
21
O Torment! Whither shall I turn?
Zan.
To peace.
Car.
Which is the Way?
Zan.
His Happiness is yours,
I dare not disbelieve you.
Car.
Kill my Friend!
Or worse?—Alas! and can there be a worse?—
A worse there is; nor can my Nature bear it.
Zan.
You have convinc'd me, 'tis a dreadful Task.
I find Alonzo's quitting her this Morning
For Carlos' sake, in Tenderness to you,
Betray'd me to believe it less severe
Than, I perceive, it is.—
Car.
Thou dost upbraid me.
Zan.
No, my good Lord; but since you can't comply,
'Tis my Misfortune that I mention'd it;
For had I not, Alonzo would indeed
Have dy'd, as now; but not by your Decree.
Car.
By my Decree? do I decree his Death?
I do—Shall I then lead her to his Arms?
Oh! which side shall I take? be stabb'd? or—stabb'd?—
'Tis equal Death, a Choice of Agonies.—
Ah no! all other Agonies are Ease
To one!—O Leonora!—Never, never!
Go Zanga, go, defer the dreadful Tryal,
Tho' but a Day, something perchance may happen
To soften all to Friendship, and to Love.
Go, stop my Friend; let me not see him now,
But save us from an Interview of Death.
Zan.
My Lord, I'm bound in Duty to obey you.—
If I not bring him, may Alonzo prosper.
[Aside. Ex. Zan.
Car.
What is this World?—Thy School, O Misery!
Our only Lesson is to learn to suffer,
And he who knows not that, was born for Nothing.
Tho' deep my Pangs, and heavy at my Heart,
My Comfort is, each Moment takes away
A Grain at least from the dead Load that's on me,
And gives a nearer Prospect of the Grave.—
22
Live long? Alas! there is no Length in Time;
Not in thy Time, O Man! What's fourscore Years?
Nay, what indeed, the Age of Time it self,
Since cut from out Eternity's wide Round?
Away then. To a Mind Resolv'd and Wise,
There is an Impotence in Misery,
Which makes me smile, when all its Shafts are in me.
Yet, Leonora—She can make Time long,
Its Nature alter, as she alter'd mine.
While in the Lustre of her Charms I lay,
Whole Summer Suns roll'd unperceiv'd away;
I Years for Days, and Days for Moments told,
And was surpriz'd to hear that I grew old;
Now Fate does rigidly its Dues regain,
And every Moment is an Age of Pain.
As he is going out, Enter Zanga and Alonzo. Zanga stops Carlos.
Zan.
Is this Don Carlos? this the boasted Friend?
How can you turn your Back upon his Sadness?
Look on him, and then leave him if you can.
Whose Sorrows thus depress him?—Not his own;
This Moment he could wed, without your leave.
Car.
I cannot yield; nor can I bear his Griefs.
Alonzo!
[Going to him, and taking his Hand.
Alon.
O Carlos!
Car.
Pray forbear.
Alon.
Art thou undone? and shall Alonzo smile?
Alonzo? who perhaps in some Degree
Contributed to cause thy dreadful Fate?
I was deputed Guardian of thy Love;
But oh! I lov'd my self. Pour down Afflictions
On this devoted Head! Make me your Mark!
And be the World by my Example taught,
How sacred it should hold the Name of Friend.
Car.
You charge your self unjustly; well I know
The only cause of my severe Affliction.
Alvarez, curs'd Alvarez—so much Anguish
23
Which faultless Virtue wants: The Crime was mine,
Who plac'd thee there, where only thou could'st fail;
Tho' well I knew that dreadful Post of Honour
I gave thee to maintain. Ah! Who could bear
Those Eyes, unhurt? The Wounds my self have felt,
(Which Wounds alone should cause me to condemn thee)
They plead in thy Excuse; for I too strove
To shun their Fires, and found 'twas not in Man.
Alon.
You cast in Shades the Failures of a Friend,
And soften all; but think not you deceive me:
I know my Guilt, and I implore your Pardon,
As the sole Glympse I can obtain of Peace.
Car.
Pardon for him who but this Morning threw
Fair Leonora from his Heart, all bath'd
In ceaseless Tears, and blushing with her Love?
Who, like a Rose-leaf, wet with Morning Dew,
Would have stuck close, and clung for ever there?
But 'twas in thee, thro' Fondness to thy Friend,
To shut thy Bosom against Ecstasies;
For which, while this Pulse beats, it beats to thee,
While this Blood flows, it flows for my Alonzo,
And every Wish is levell'd at thy Joy.
Zan.
to Alon.
My Lord, my Lord, this is your time to speak.
Alon.
to Zan.
Because he's kind? it therefore is the worst;
For 'tis his Kindness which I fear to hurt.
Shall the same Moment see him sink in Woes,
And me providing for a Flow of Joys,
Rich in the Plunder of his Happiness?
No, I may Dye; but I can never speak.
Car.
Now, now it comes! they are concerting it,
The first Word strikes me dead—O Leonora!
And shall another taste her fragrant Breath!—
Who knows what After-time may bring to pass?
Fathers may change, and I may wed her still.
[Aside.
Alon.
to Zan.
Do I not see him quite possess'd with Anguish,
24
And shall I pour in new? No, fond Desire,
No, Love! One Pang at parting, and farewel.
I have no other Love but Carlos now.
Car.
Alas! my Friend, why with such eager Grasp
Dost press my Hand, and weep upon my Cheek?
Alon.
If, after Death, our Forms (as some believe)
Shall be transparent, naked every Thought,
And Friends meet Friends, and read each other's Hearts,
Thou'lt know one day, that thou wast held most dear.
Farewel.
Car.
Alonzo, stay—He cannot speak—
[Holds him.
Lest it should grieve me—shall I be out-done?
And lose in Glory, as I lose in Love?
[Aside.
I take it much unkindly, my Alonzo,
You think so meanly of me, not to speak,
When well I know your Heart is near to bursting.
Have you forgot how you have bound me to you?
Your smallest Friendship's Liberty, and Life.
Alon.
There, there it is, my Friend, it cuts me there.
How dreadful is it to a Generous Mind
To ask, when sure he cannot be deny'd?
Car.
How greatly Thought! in all he tow'rs above me.
Then you confess you would ask something of me.
Alon.
No, on my Soul.
Zan.
to Alon.
Then lose her.
Car.
[Aside.]
Glorious Spirit!
Why, what a Pang has he run thro' for this?
By Heav'n, I envy him his Agonies!
Why was not mine the most Illustrious Lot
Of starting at one Action from below,
And flaming up into consummate Greatness!
Ha! Angels, strengthen me!—It shall be so.—
I can't want Strength. Great Actions once conceiv'd,
Strengthen like Wine, and animate the Soul,
And call themselves to Being—My Alonzo!
Since thy great Soul disdains to make Request,
Receive with favour that I make to thee.
25
What means my Carlos?
Car.
Pray observe me well.
Fate and Alvarez tore her from my Heart,
And plucking up my Love, they had well nigh
Pluck'd up Life too, for they were twin'd together.
Of that no more—What now does Reason bid?
I cannot wed—Farewel my Happiness;
But O my Soul with Care provide for hers.
In Life, how weak, how helpless is a Woman!
Soon hurt, in Happiness it self unsafe,
And often wounded while she plucks the Rose;
So properly the Object of Affliction,
That Heav'n is pleas'd to make Distress become her,
And dresses her most amiably in Tears.
Take then my Heart in Dow'ry with the Fair,
Be thou her Guardian, and thou must be mine,
Shut out the Thousand pressing Ills of Life
With thy surrounding Arms—Do this, and then
Set down the Liberty and Life thou gav'st me,
As little Things, as Essays of thy Goodness,
And Rudiments of Friendship so Divine.
Alon.
There is a Grandeur in thy Goodness to me,
Which with thy Foes would render thee ador'd;
But have a Care; nor think I can be pleas'd
With any thing that lays in Pains for thee.
Thou dost dissemble, and thy Heart's in Tears.
Car.
My Heart's in Health, my Spirits dance their Round,
And at my Eye Pleasure looks out in Smiles.
Alon.
And canst thou, canst thou part with Leonora?
Car.
I do not part with her, I give her thee.
Alon.
O Carlos!
Car.
Don't distrust me, I'm sincere.
Nor is it more than simple Justice in me.
This Morn didst thou resign her for my sake;
I but perform a Virtue learnt from thee;
Discharge a Debt, and Pay her to thy Wishes.
Alon.
Ah how?—but think not Words were ever made
For such Occasions. Silence, Tears, Embraces
26
In Absence from the Pain of so much Goodness,
There thank the Blest above, thy sole Superiors,
Adore, and raise my Thoughts of them by thee.
[Exit.
Zan.
Thus far Success has crown'd my boldest Hope.
My next Care is to hasten these new Nuptials,
And then my Master-works begin to play.
Why this was greatly done, without one Sigh
[To Car.
To carry such a Glory to its Period.
Car.
Too soon thou praisest me. He's gone, and now
I must unsluice my overburden'd Heart,
And let it flow. I would not grieve my Friend
With Tears; nor interrupt my great Design,
Great sure as ever human Breast durst think of.
But now my Sorrows, long with Pain supprest,
Burst their Confinement with impetuous Sway,
O'er-swell all Bounds, and bear ev'n Life away.
So till the Day was won, the Greek renown'd
With Anguish wore the Arrow in his Wound,
Then drew the Shaft from out his tortur'd Side,
Let gush the Torrent of his Blood, and dy'd.
The End of the Second ACT.
| The Revenge | |