University of Virginia Library

ACT II.

SCENE, SETHONA's Apartment.
SETHONA. Entring in terror.
SETHONA.
He finds no rest in death! It bore the form
Of Menes! Dimly he arose thro' night!
He stood in silence! He pursues my steps!
Here I am left alone! My voice of grief,
Invades his dark repose! Again—he comes!
Enter MENES.
Thou awful shade, retire!

MENES.
Away with fear!

SETHONA.
'Tis he!—'Tis he himself!

MENES.
My soul's delight!
Once more I clasp thee to my panting breast.
This, this is more than joy!

SETHONA.
Where hast thou been?

MENES.
Compose thy mind a while—

SETHONA.
Since thou art safe,
Why should I question farther?

MENES.
Thou shalt hear,
But let not grief affect thy tender mind,
Or throw a damp upon this hour of joy.

SETHONA.
Of joy, indeed! That gives me back my love!
Where hast thou been? Oh, Menes, tell me where?
I will be calm—but let me hear it all.

MENES.
That day, on which we stood before the gods,
With willing vows, to consecrate our loves,
The tyrant's guards assaulted me unarm'd,
And tore me from Osiris and from thee.
Thro' paths unknown, they led me to a cell,
Cast me in chains; then raising from the floor
A pond'rous marble, to my view disclos'd
A dark deep pit, a dreary sepulchre!
Headlong they threw me down, to dwell with night,
Famine and horror, solitude and death!

SETHONA.
O dreadful state!

MENES.
Cold, bruis'd, disconsolate,
With fetters gall'd, with mortal anguish torn,
I lay, resign'd to destiny.

SETHONA.
Ye gods!

MENES.
Then rising up, I crept along the walls,
From place to place, and often in my arms,
Embrac'd th'embalm'd dead! Thro' many a cell
I wander'd cheerless. When a hollow sound
Roll'd murmuring thro' the tombs. I wish'd again
For silence—by degrees the noise approach'd—

SETHONA.
Approach'd!

MENES.
And soon a ray of livid light
Shot thro' the darkness. Then a form appear'd,
That seem'd not mortal, clad in vestments pure
As heav'n's meridian beam. His beard was white,
And pale his aged visage, faintly seen
By the blue taper, in his trembling hand.
Tow'rd me he mov'd; then claspt me in his arms,
And welcom'd me to liberty and life.—
I knew him then for Orus.

SETHONA.
Happy sight!
What brought him thither?

MENES.
Oft, at dead of night,
He visits his great ancestors. Releas'd
From all my chains. I trod his cautious path.
Thro' winding ways, he led me to the fane
Of great Osiris. Where I scarce had stood
An hour conceal'd, when by thy voice alarm'd
I rush'd to save thee!

SETHONA.
Still my fears intrude
Upon my joys. Is Amasis inform'd
Of thy escape from death?

MENES.
He knows it not.

SETHONA.
How cam'st thou hither? Didst thou pass unseen,
Unknown by all?

MENES.
My steps to thee were led
By faithful Mæris.

SETHONA.
We're betray'd and lost!
He, with the times, has chang'd. Our sorrows all
Proceed from Mæris. When before the gods
We pledg'd our vows of love, to Amasis
He bore the grateful secret, and receiv'd
The price of perfidy. While yet I speak,
Thy late escape is to his ear convey'd.
This fatal hour the tyrant's vengeance falls
Again upon thee, Menes! Thou must fly,
And leave me to my fate.

MENES.
Thou do'st not mean
To wound my honour in the tenderest part,
By the proposal of a deed so base?
It must not be—Our fate has made us one,
And what but death can part us?

SETHONA.
Blame me not,
If my affection and my fears advis'd
The only means of safety.

MENES.
Trust the gods,
Nor think of danger.

SETHONA.
Think not that I fear,
The utmost rage of stern adversity,
Whilst thou art left. With thee I could be bless'd,
Wreck'd on a pointed solitary rock,
Tho' loud thro' night the spirits of the storm
Howl'd on the hoary deep.

MENES.
That smile alone
Wou'd calm the tempests rage. Where'er thou art,
There dwells my joy. A ray divine is pour'd
From heav'n around thee. Sympathy of soul,
And finer feelings than the plant that shrinks,
From the light contact of an insect's wing,
Distinguish thee—

Enter an OFFICER, with a Guard.
OFFICER.
The king commands that Menes may be seiz'd,
For crimes of treason.

SETHONA.
Ruin! Death ensues!

MENES.
For treason? Hence! or this my sword—

SETHONA.
Alas!

OFFICER.
Put up thy sword. Thy rashness nought avails.

MENES.
'Tis better now to die in arms, than fall
Defenceless, unreveng'd, by bloody slaves,
That murder in the dark. I will not yield.
Retreat, or perish.

OFFICER.
Rush upon him—

MENES.
Death
Awaits the man who dares advance—

SETHONA.
O heaven!
O Menes, yield!

OFFICER.
Why grasp ye thus your swords,
Yet look so pale? the orders of the king
Are death, shou'd he resist.

MENES.
Then welcome death!
When dire necessity presents the choice,
Of death, or of dishonour.

Enter OTANES and interposes.
OTANES.
Sheath your swords!

OFFICER.
Then must Otanes answer to the king
For Menes.

OTANES.
Soldier, hence!

OFFICER.
Thy power must stand
Between us and his rage.

OTANES.
It shall—away—

[Exit Officer.
MENES.
Otanes!

OTANES.
Prop of my declining years!
Restor'd to bless my arms!

MENES.
Restor'd to prove
New cause of sorrow.

OTANES.
Fear it not, the gods
Are our protectors: Why in tears, Sethona?

SETHONA.
Didst thou not see these ministers of death?

OTANES.
Give wing to hope. She cannot soar too high,
In this decisive moment of thy fate.
But Amasis may come. A while retire,
I must confer with Menes. Banish fear;
Our last resolves shall be convey'd to thee.

SETHONA.
Thy words restore me from the wild abyss
Of horror and despair. May all the gods
Confirm thy hopes and prosper thy designs.
[Exit Sethona.

OTANES.
Menes, thou know'st that with paternal care
I rear'd thy infancy and train'd thy youth
To arms; with joy, from year to year, beheld
Thy ardent spirit kindling, as it flew,
To deeds of glory. Often in the field
I prov'd thy courage. Now the time is come
To prove thy fortitude. Thou must resign
Sethona to the king; or instant death
Awaits thy disobedience.

MENES.
Ha! what means
Otanes? Yield Sethona! prove, at once,
False to my vows, a traitor to my love,
Detested, lost, dishonour'd! He that once
Falls, in his own opinion, falls indeed!
But he, that's conscious of his virtue, stands
Unmov'd, the pressure of an adverse world.

OTANES.
Menes, in any other cause but this,
Such noble sentiments I would approve;
But love awhile, must give a place to deeds
Of death or fame. This night I mean to raise
A King in Egypt, and subvert the throne
Of the usurper.

MENES.
Shall it be to night?

OTANES.
To night. The enterprize is plann'd and ripe
For execution.

MENES.
When the tyrant falls,
Say, who shall reign in Egypt?

OTANES.
Seraphis?
The lov'd, the lawful sovereign of the land;
Whose virtues equal his descent divine;
And, through the cloud of his misfortune, dart
A ray of glory round him.

MENES.
Seraphis!
What do I hear? he perish'd in the Nile!

OTANES.
So Fame reports. But still the monarch lives.
To-day from Ethiopia, in disguise,
He is return'd. There long he lay conceal'd,
A hermit in the desert. Stand prepar'd.
Our friends already fit their armour on,
And grasp their swords, with elevated hopes
Of glory and revenge! At my request,
Ciphrenus, who commands the eastern gate,
Fronting the royal palace, will admit
A powerful squadron, that, out flying Fame,
Advance from Säis. Orus, too, convenes
Some bold conspirators, within the walls.

MENES.
Where do they meet in arms?

OTANES.
At Ceops' tomb!—

Enter AMASIS, (suddenly.)
AMASIS.
Is Menes not in chains?

OTANES.
O King, forgive
A crime that sprung from error, not design.

AMASIS.
From error—no! his crude ambition points
At Egypt's throne in fair Sethona's right.

OTANES.
He ne'er could cherish such ambitious hopes,
A youth of humble name.

AMASIS.
Whence is he sprung?

OTANES.
His sire in Seraphis's court was train'd,
A man of virtue, though to fame unknown.
The gods bear witness, how my soul abhors
This fatal union. When, at Säis, first
His private purpose reach'd mine ear, to thee
With speed the fatal secret I convey'd.

AMASIS.
Thou didst, Otanes, and by that confirm'd
Thy prudence and unshaken faith to me!
Yet such a crime, in Menes, merits death.

OTANES.
May I not plead!—

AMASIS.
Away, tis all in vain.
With fraudful arts, he won Sethona's soul:
Sethona, whom we lov'd and long design'd
To grace our royal bed, to reconcile
The minds of factious subjects to our throne.

MENES.
I lov'd Sethona! she return'd my love;
Now she is mine, by all the holiest vows,
And would not violate, her plighted faith,
To share thy throne!

OTANES.
Menes, what rage!—

AMASIS.
Is thine!
Thy insolence!—thy folly!

MENES.
Art not thou
The guardian of the laws? And not the rod
Of vile oppression.—'Tis not meet that kings
Shou'd break the chain, by which they bind mankind
And shew the world examples of injustice.

AMASIS.
Presumptuous man!—this instant let him die!

MENES.
(putting his hand to his sword.)
Away! ye slaves or death—

OTANES.
(aside.)
All,—all is lost!
O Menes, Menes! thou hast ruin'd all.
Remember, ah! remember. Yield thy sword
(aloud)
Dar'st thou oppose thy sovereign? Dar'st thou raise
Thy sword against Otanes?

MENES.
I submit.
My life is in thy hands

AMASIS.
Let him be led
To publick execution. Let mankind
Learn from his fate, their duty to the throne.

(Menes is carried off.
OTANES.
(kneeling.)
My king! my sovereign, hear me!

AMASIS.
Cease old man!
Would'st thou avoid our rage, forbear to plead
The cause of treason. Hence! I'll hear no more!

[Exit.
OTANES.
Confusion! ruin! his unbridled rage
Has drawn the tyrant's vengeance on his head,
'Ere all our friends are arm'd. What now remains?

Enter SETHONA.
SETHONA.
Gone, gone for ever! They have torn him from me!
Hark! was not that his voice?

OTANES.
I heard it not.

SETHONA.
It is! it is!

OTANES.
No whisper stirs the air;
Thy grief perverts thy senses. Still the pow'r
Is thine to save him.

SETHONA.
Ha! what power is mine?

OTANES.
Consent to wed the king.

SETHONA.
To wed the king!—

OTANES.
His death shall free thee, 'ere the nuptial rites
Can be perform'd: A bold conspiracy
Is pointed at his life. This hour he falls!

SETHONA.
This very hour! ye gods!

OTANES.
Confide in me.
Feign full submission; on thy knees implore
His clemency. Thy honour shall remain
Safe and inviolate.

SETHONA.
Thy plot may fail!

OTANES.
It rests with thee.

SETHONA.
With me it shall not rest.

Enter AMASIS.
AMASIS.
What dost thou here, Sethona? why in tears?
Why art thou thus the constant prey of grief,
When joy prevails around?

SETHONA.
Why dost thou ask?
Oh, pardon Menes! spare him, Amasis!
Or give me instant death.

AMASIS.
Thy death to me
Were more supportable than thy disdain.

SETHONA.
Then 'tis decreed: The hour that Menes falls,
Shall be my last.

AMASIS.
This tempest of my soul,
Which you, like some malicious goddess, rais'd
To wreck my peace, shall overwhelm you both,
Since you must sink together.

(going.)
OTANES
, (aside.)
Sooth his rage;
Menes must perish, all our schemes must fail,
Should'st thou not flatter him with hopes of love.

SETHONA.
Still hear me, Amasis!

AMASIS.
Of this no more.

SETHONA.
Alas! what happiness can'st thou propose
By hastning my compliance: Time might work
A change in my affections. Generous minds
Disdain a cold return; and still derive
Their greatest joys, from those which they confer.

AMASIS.
Persuasive woman! Know my pride, that brooks
Not opposition, fires my bosom more
Than all thy boasted charms; nor can the flame
Be quench'd but with his blood. Haste, let him die!

SETHONA
, (kneeling.)
Stop, cruel man! O, Amasis, revoke
The fatal sentence! let thy heart relent,
I will be grateful.

AMASIS.
It is now too late:
The power is mine.

SETHONA.
Then use it like the gods,
In mercy.

AMASIS.
In the punishment of crimes!

SETHONA.
Is there no hope?

AMASIS.
No—none!

SETHONA.
What would'st thou have?

AMASIS.
I ask thee nothing.

SETHONA.
Am I then so poor,
So abject in thine eyes?

AMASIS.
No more!—arise.
Leave me, Sethona!

SETHONA.
Dost thou mean to stain
Thy nuptial hour with murder?

AMASIS.
Urge me not,
'Tis weakness thus to hear thee.

SETHONA.
On that hour
Dost thou refuse one poor request!

AMASIS.
Command
The wealth, the power of Egypt.

SETHONA.
Wealth and pow'r
Will now avail me nothing. Are thy fears
So great? Does Menes—

AMASIS.
Fears! We know no fears;
Protected by our valour, by our pow'r,
Our mind remains unshaken as our throne.
Once more to gratify thy will, to shew
Our just contempt of Menes, set him free.
(to his guards.
Nay, let him join the foe, dispute the field.
Then shalt thou see, that Amasis excels
(to Sethona.)
Alike in arms, in honour and in fame.
Call Menes hither.

(to his guards)
OTANES.
Wherefore shou'd the king
Thus condescend! His madness, his despair
May still insult thy clemency—

AMASIS.
Away!
Let him approach.

OTANES.
Sethona, leave this place.
Yield to the pressure of the present hour.
Bend to the tyrant's wrath. Seem to consent.
Obey my words. Depart.

SETHONA.
How hard to feign
In love like mine! He comes—

Enter MENES.
AMASIS.
Bold youth, advance.
Sethona, yielding to our love, redeems
Thy life, but fly beyond our spacious realms,
Or we revoke our mercy.

MENES.
Speak, Sethona!
She turns from me in silence. Bear me back
To death.

[Exit Sethona.
AMASIS.
Thy doom is fix'd. Thou'rt banish'd from this hour.
Sethona wills it, and her will is fate.
Guards, bear him hence, without the palace gates
Strike off his chains—and shou'd he loiter here—
By all the gods, that guard our throne, he dies.

[Exit.
MENES.
Am I awake? Undone. Forever lost!
O woman, born to change! are these her vows?
A desperate purpose labours in my breast;
I'll blast their rites, throw death amidst their joys,
And whelm'd beneath the ruin, leave my woes.