 | Alcanor |  |
27
ACT III.
Augusta, Barzilla.Bar.
Now, royal lady, Rome has crown'd your wishes;
I saw Alcanor mount the throne of Judah,
And where your labours end, his cares commence.
Aug.
How was the edict relish'd by our elders,
When it was publish'd in the Sanhedrim?
Bar.
There was a question stirr'd, if Herod's son
By Mariamne was not yet alive,
And Sameas, keeper of the royal prison,
Was call'd upon to give in evidence
His knowledge of the matter.
Aug.
What said he?
Bar.
He said, that, holding office confidential
Under the king, he'd answer to none else.
Aug.
And well he said—Behold, the king approaches—
Alcanor in his royal robes, followed by his Guards, Arabs, Sameas, and after them Halak and Herodian, who stand apart.
Aug.
Long life and glorious to Judæa's king!
Alc.
Health, and as many years of calm content
As may please heaven, to our much-honour'd mother!
Your forms have wearied me; but though no time
Nor ancient use can dignify such trifles,
They harm not me, so let them take their course.
Now, soldier, you, that to the bearded elders,
When question'd of your prison'r, gave for answer,
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Know that the king commends your bold reply,
And now requires you to disclose to him,
What you withheld from them—The question is,
If Mariamne hath a son alive?
Sam.
The queen, my prisoner, hath a living son.
Aug.
Sameas, correct yourself—'tis known to all
Herodian died in Syria.
Alc.
Hear you this?
Upon what proof do you assert he's living?
Sam.
Upon the evidence of my own senses.
I should be much-unwilling, in this presence,
To stake my credit upon proof less certain.
Alc.
The man is confident. Let him proceed.
Sam.
It had been long, oh king, my painful duty
To hold, in strict and solitary durance,
The wretched Mariamne; once the consort
Of your late royal father; till last night,
So harsh were my instructions, none approach'd her,
Myself excepted; the sun's cheering light
Ne'er visited her dungeon, when it pleas'd
My gracious queen, here present, to inspect
Her dying state with pity, and allow me
To abate the rigour of my former treatment.
Alc.
Go on, tell all the horrors of your prison;
I blush for human nature whilst I hear you.
Sam.
Arm'd with authority, so grateful to me,
I did not lose a moment to impart
These mercies to my pris'ner, I releas'd her
From her dark cell, let her inhale the air,
Then balmy soft, and reconcile her sight
To evening's sober shades: here, while she stood,
A man, well known to her in former time,
Halak by name, who, at the prison gates,
Day after day had come, with fruitless suit,
Craving my leave to pay his mournful duty,
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And much delight his welcome greeting gave her.
Thus far I suffer'd, when behold a stranger,
Young, and of aspect dignified and noble,
Instant appears, and kneeling at her feet,
Proclaims himself Herodian, and her son:
She starts, surveys him, falls upon his neck,
And whilst he clasps her fainting in his arms,
She, with maternal ecstacy entranc'd,
Calls upon heaven to let her die at once,
And breathe out her sad spirit on his bosom.
Alc.
For ever sacred be the rights of nature!
Who shall withhold the mother from her child?
You, madam, are a mother, you have felt
All the soul-rending pangs your pris'ner feels;
Recal these horrors to your thoughts, and say
How you would wish your son to think and act.
Aug.
I wish my son to think this specious tale
A plot, concerted with the medling elders,
To impose a false Herodian on the world,
And conjure up a rival to dethrone you.
Let Sameas, who describes this tender meeting,
Say, if he held this stranger for the son
Of Mariamne—If he did, I tell him
He is a traitor not to have secur'd him.
Alc.
Have you done this?
Sam.
I have not.
Alc.
Could you do it?
Had you a guard?
Sam.
I do acknowledge it.
Aug.
Here then at once I put you to the test—
Either confess that all you have been telling
Is a mere fable, or avow the truth,
And own yourself accomplice in the plot.
Sam.
No, I stand here at issue for the truth,
And, be it what it may, I will abide it.
He whom I saw, and suffer'd to escape,
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Was true Herodian, Mariamne's son:
But if, because I had not heart to tear him
From the embraces of a dying mother,
I am to suffer, let the axe fall on me!
If I'm a traitor, 'tis of mercy's making;
You may condemn me—I appeal to heaven.
Aug.
He braves our vengeance. Guards, arrest the traitor!
Alc.
Hold, madam, though short counsels suit me well,
A man's life may demand a moment's pause.
Let it be known that Sameas is in peril,
And if the man he sav'd be the true prince,
He will stand forth in honour, and avow it.
Herodian comes from behind the Guards.
Her.
Behold him present! He you seek, am I.
The true Herodian, son of Mariamne—
If you require a witness, here is one,
A friend that knows me, and is known of all.
[Addressing himself to Halak, who stands beside him.
Alc.
'Tis well! I doubt you not: your manly bearing
Bespeaks your royal birth, and needs no voucher.
How did you pass our guard, and for what purpose
Are you here present?
Her.
At the call of honour
I came to justify this generous man,
Knowing the danger I had drawn upon him.
If 'tis in him a crime not to have seiz'd me,
Behold I am his pris'ner—he has seiz'd me,
And holds me faster, bound by my own sense
Of justice, gratitude, and conscious honour,
Than all the fetters you can pile upon me.
Alc.
Fetters and prisons are a coward's weapons,
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Robbers and thieves, but my ambition's rival,
If such you are, go forth, erect your standard,
And strike for empire! I'll not hold your person.
Aug.
My son, beware.—Herodian is your rival;
You have him in your power—Did you not say
Your law and your religion is revenge?
Alc.
True; but what is there to revenge in him?
How am I wrong'd, because he is my brother,
My father's son? Is it offence to me
That the affections of his heart impell'd him
To visit an imprison'd, dying mother,
At risk of his own liberty and life?
Put me in his place, and yourself in hers,
How would you then exclaim, if I were seiz'd
For visiting your cell, or this good man
Traduc'd and menac'd for permitting it?
Speak, those that hear me, do I judge aright?
What says Barzilla?
Bar.
Oh, persist in mercy!
If yon have hope of happiness in heaven,
Or heart's content on earth, I do conjure you
Lift not your hand against Herodian's life.
Aug.
Enough; you've said it—Your all-powerful voice
Is law: Barzilla is Judæa's king.
Alc.
Affghar!
Aff.
What says my king?
Alc.
Draw out your guard,
My faithful Arabs; I am going forth.
Aug.
Whither, with what intent?
Alc.
To teach Herodian
How he should act to you, if giddy fortune
Should raise him to the throne, and hurl me down.
My nature is not made to war with women;
If Herod's frenzy threw his wives in prison,
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Brother, your hand—Let Sameas lead the way.
[Exit with the Guards, and all but Augusta.
Augusta
alone.
Go, get thee hence, thou honourable madman!
Open the prison gates, make clear the dungeon,
Which thou thyself shalt be the next to enter.
Dupe of Barzilla's virtues, I predict
This vanity of mercy will undo thee;
Death will cut short thy triumphs—As a meteor
Gives one bright flash, and then is seen no more.
So will thy glory—Hah, Glaphyra comes—
If there is any power to counteract
The influence of Barzilla, it is love,
And her bright eyes already have inspir'd it.
Glaphyra enters.
Gla.
Health to Augusta!
Aug.
Health and happiest hours,
With ever-circling joys, to fair Glaphyra!
I have a friendly claim upon your patience
For a few private moments.
Gla.
I attend,
With due devotion, to your royal pleasure.
Aug.
Come, you must put aside this distant air,
And hear a woman to a woman speak,
Without reserve, the language of the heart—
If each fair form, which this wide world contains,
Could here assemble, you alone, Glaphyra,
Daughter of Syria's monarch, have my voice,
Were I to choose a consort for Alcanor.
Gla.
I am the child of solitude; your throne
Is circled with ambitious beauty—choose
From that fair circle some less humble maid.
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Why this reserve. You cannot but perceive
Our son adores you.
Gla.
I take heaven to witness,
That never, from the sad distressful moment,
In which your son first found me, to this hour,
Have I, by word, or look, or female art,
Attempted his affections.
Aug.
Can I doubt it?
Your high-born dignity, your conscious pride
And self-respect would never so descend.
Nor could Alcanor's generous heart be won
By arts like these—Your honour he has rescued,
Your person snatcht from ruin worse than death—
This you will not deny—
Gla.
Reward him, heaven,
With never-fading glory! May his throne
In wisdom and in mercy be establish'd,
And, in the arms of some superior fair,
Endear'd by beauty and by truth ennobled,
Whilst I am distant far, may he forget
That e'er Glaphyra's name provok'd a sigh!
Aug.
Now I can read your heart and solve its doubts:
You see a rude unpractis'd son of nature,
Encompass'd with temptations, and you paint
Youth's giddy bark, with swelling sails outspread,
Driv'n by the breath of flattery on the rocks
Of pleasure's faithless shore; you see our son
Press, with a trembling weight, the unsteady throne:
Save him, Glaphyra; let not your preserver
Be made the victim of romantic honour:
Ev'n now he's gone against my strong protest
To set the imprison'd Mariamne free—
'Tis madness, and not mercy.
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Oh, 'tis great,
'Tis glorious.
Aug.
Child, you say you know not what;
That Mariamne is his rival's mother,
That rival is Herodian; whilst he lives
Rome may give kings, peace she can never give
To vext Judæa, for in him the line
Of David centers, and with him would cease—
Well may you start and be amaz'd—for know,
Here in this very spot, just ere you enter'd,
Herodian stood—defenceless, self-surrender'd,
Single—My son surrounded by his guards—
What did he?—Wond'rous to relate, he spar'd him,
Call'd him his brother, took him by the hand,
And led him forth, Barzilla at his side,
To witness the deliverance of his mother—
And see he comes—Now, now be firm, and save him!
Alcanor enters hastily.
Alc.
I've freed your pris'ner. Chide me not, good mother,
For I am merciful—By him that made me,
I would not wear your crown on other terms.
Hah! what is this? Why does Glaphyra kneel?
Why stream those beauteous eyes?
Aug.
She has a suit;
Hear her, my son; so shall her wisdom guard
The throne, her beauty well deserves to share.
Gla.
No, no, I covet not to share his throne;
You much mistake my suit. Not to the king,
But to the godlike attribute, which deals
Such mercies to mankind, to that I kneel.
O prince, the prayers that gratitude shall breathe
From the full hearts of mothers and of sons,
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Than the rich incense of a hundred altars
Steaming with sacrifice, and thou, for whom
Those prayers are offer'd, shalt be crown'd with blessings.
Now, royal sir, permit me to depart:
[She rises.
My longer stay will but offend the queen.
Alc.
If it offends the queen, the queen can take
A ready method to avoid the offence.
Aug.
I understand you, sir, and am as ready
To take, as you are to suggest, that method:
But have a care how you provoke the vengeance
Of an insulted mother; what much time
And pains have made, a moment can unmake.
[Exit.
Alcanor, Glaphyra.
Gla.
Alas, I tremble: she is greatly mov'd;
For pity's sake dismiss me.
Alc.
No; I will not.
Mysteries I hate, and menaces I laugh at.
Gla.
You will not!—is it thus Alcanor speaks?
Alc.
I pray you pardon me; I am not yet practis'd,
Like the tame sons of idleness and ease,
In the smooth phrase of courts. My tuneless voice,
Crack'd with the shoutings of the clamorous chase,
Ne'er sounded love's soft pitch; some happier lips
Pour those melodious accents in your ear,
Whilst mine grate harsh and hateful.
Gla.
Were this so,
Were it forbidden by our destiny
That we should meet, I'm sure your noble nature
Would not attempt to arrest my plighted heart
From its allegiance.
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Be not sure of that;
I know not yet what nature I am of.
Gla.
Let Mariamne, let Herodian say
What nature you are of.
Alc.
They know but little;
And nothing to the point of my forbearance.
When I show mercy to a fallen enemy,
I do not thwart my nature, I indulge it.
But, if I saw you in the exulting arms
Of a successful rival—heaven and earth!
Let not that rival meet me in my wrath.
Gla.
Might I not hope, if pity were too feeble,
Pride and your inborn dignity would check you?
Alc.
No, were Barzilla's self to cross me then,
What might befal my friend, my more than father,
I tremble to conjecture. Oft I've driven
The spotted panther to his desperate bay,
Yet never brook'd I a companion's spear
To strike my destin'd victim, and arrest
The savage trophies I had held in chase.
Gla.
Spare me, in pity spare me, let me pay
My grateful thanks and part.
Alc.
Stay yet a moment!—
You bade me, if I e'er became a king,
That I should take fair virtue by the hand,
Lead her to courts, to councils, on the throne
Make her my consort?—Thus behold I take
Fair virtue by the hand—Ascend my throne!
There sit enshrin'd, like a protecting angel,
With guardian wings outspread and fostering smiles
Sheltering the frighted tribes, that start aghast
From my fierce manners and coarse rugged looks.
Gla.
Talk not of looks or manners; all is noble,
In every feature, every word and act
Alcanor's soul impressively appears;
And sure I am, the guardian of my honour
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Of what the queen in anger may devise,
But let me fly for refuge to Barzilla.
Alc.
'Tis granted; if there be one human heart,
Where virtue may repose, it is Barzilla's.
Approach, my faithful Affghar!—To your care
I give a sacred trust, defenceless beauty
And virgin innocence—the test of friendship—
Conduct this lady to Barzilla's castle,
Where I have lodg'd Herodian and his mother;
You know the place—Say I have sent her to him
For refuge from the malice of Augusta—
There needs no more—Farewell!—Stay not to thank me;
But part at once—My Arabs will protect you.
| Alcanor | |