University of Virginia Library

ACT V.

SCENE, the court before a Prison.
AMASIS.
O Royalty! What joys hast thou to boast,
To recompence thy cares? Ambition seems
The passion of a god. Yet, from my throne
Have I with envy seen the naked slave
Rejoicing in the music of his chains,
And singing toil away; and then, at eve,
Returning peaceful to his couch of rest.
Whilst I sat anxious and perplex'd with cares;
Projecting, plotting, fearful of events:
Or like a wounded snake, lay down to writhe,
The sleepless night, upon a bed of state.
But I am plung'd too far into the stream,
To gain the shore I left.—They both shall die.

Enter ORUS guarded.
GUARD.
O king, we found this priest amidst the foe,
Bearing aloft the image of his god;
Invoking heav'n, with prayers, to aid the cause
Of Seraphis. Encouraging his friends,
With prophecies and lying oracles,
And divinations fatal to his lord.

AMASIS.
His prophecies and vain portents we scorn;
False are his arts. Say, do the gods approve
Of treason?

ORUS.
Never; and for that the gods
Have disapprov'd of thee. A subject born,
A minister in trust; didst thou not seize
Thy master's throne by perfidy? Pursue
His life with rancour? Trample on thy foes,
And scourge the world as with the wrath of heav'n.
Rous'd by a nation's woes, this great revolt
I meditated long. My duty done,
I leave the rest to heav'n.

AMASIS.
Dost thou confess
Thy crime?

ORUS.
My virtue. When the aged king,
On thy revolt, amidst his flying host,
Was headlong borne into the Nile, and, there,
Suppos'd to perish. Of the ancient race,
Two infant princes were by me conceal'd;
In hopes, one day, I might restore the line.
The heir of empire, and the only son
Of Sethos, younger brother to the king.
One died in youth. The other still remains.

AMASIS.
Thou hoary traitor tell me where? Or death—

ORUS.
My lips are seal'd. Not prompted by my fears,
I spoke, but from the fulness of a heart,
Exulting in its enmity to thee.

AMASIS.
Prepare to feel the torture.

ORUS.
That I scorn.
The more I suffer in a virtuous cause
The more my glory. When we vanquish fear,
Tyrants may rage in vain! To me thy frowns
And menaces are triumphs.

AMASIS.
(to his guards.)
Bear him hence,
And prove his fortitude.

ORUS.
When death awaits,
I wou'd not seem to linger.

[Exit Orus guarded.
AMASIS.
Well he bears
The weight of his misfortune. Seraphis
And Menes too must die. He still appear'd
Of doubtful origin. Perhaps the son
Of Sethos. Doubts are vain. 'Tis folly now
To trust to fortune. In these cells they lie.

(To his guards, two of whom enters the cells.
[A Storm. Thunder.]
Enter SETHONA, distractedly.
SETHONA.
Osiris thunders! yet the tyrant lives,
Whilst Seraphis and Menes are no more!
O that my spirit, like that transient beam,
Would take its course upon the veering winds.

AMASIS.
Why com'st thou thus, Sethona? Hence, retire!

SETHONA.
(not observing him.)
It is the melancholy bird of night,
Perch'd on that mould'ring battlement, that screams
Her boding notes of woe. Ye hideous forms,
That dimly rise upon the night, and float
In the wild tempest of the troubled air!
Roll not your mournful voices on the storm.
Away! Your awful gestures are in vain,
All—all my fears are vanquish'd by my woes.

AMASIS.
She must not tarry here!

SETHONA.
What groan was that?
In that dark cell I heard the sound of chains.
This is my way! that taper shall direct
My steps. Ye awful spirits of my race,
I come to join you in your dark repose!

(going.
AMASIS.
Sethona, stop. Let me convey thee hence.
Why dost thou gaze upon the vaulted roof,
As if some god descended; or the heav'ns
Were open'd to thy view?

SETHONA.
The cloud is broke!
Behold him mounted on the cherub's wing!
His white beard streams in air! The red drops fall
Upon me! He was old! Hard was the heart,
And ruthless was the hand!

AMASIS.
She heeds me not!
Excess of grief has almost quench'd the light
Of reason in her mind.

SETHONA.
Was ever love
Like mine? Pale as the watry cloud his face!
Cold, cold his breast, and silent is his tongue!
His ruby lips! Sethona, like the bee,
Suck'd honey from the rose! I knew not then
He was my brother!

AMASIS.
How her frenzy burns.
It runs on Menes.

SETHONA.
When his bright eyes roll'd,
I look'd not at the sun; and when he spoke
My fingers dropt the lyre. This wound was death.
It bleeds! it bleeds! This breast was void of guilt.
Why do I weep? To-night I am the bride,
The bride of Amasis. These wedding robes
Will prove my winding sheet.

AMASIS.
Remorse begins
To fasten on my heart. I feel, I feel,
That guilt, like the envenom'd scorpion, bears
Its own death's sting. Her frenzy seems to add
New lustre to her beauty; and those eyes
Were not so piercing, when the milder beams
Of wisdom temper'd their resistless pow'r:
And yet the form alone remains. The light
Is gone, and, like the dim orb of the moon,
She labours in eclipse.

SETHONA.
Hark? Who art thou?
Give me thy hand.

AMASIS.
What would'st thou with my hand?

SETHONA.
Away, away! wash out these purple stains!

AMASIS.
It is too late.

SETHONA.
Too late! who murder'd them?

AMASIS.
Ha! how she probes my heart, where most inflam'd?

SETHONA.
Why do I tarry here? Let me behold
Their bleeding wounds!

[going.
AMASIS.
(stopping her.)
It must not, shall not be!

SETHONA.
Tyrant away! My sorrows cure themselves,
And vanquish'd nature finds repose in death.
The fountain of my tears is dry, my eyes
Burn with the raging fever of my brain.
'Tis he! 'tis Menes! Oh, I follow thee!
Roll'd in that shadowy mantle, thou shalt bear
Sethona from her woes.

(rushes out.
Enter OFFICER hastily.
OFFICER.
O king, prepare!

AMASIS.
Speak, coward, speak! for we have ears to hear
The worst, and courage to defy it. Speak
The danger boldly!

OFFICER.
Treason is abroad.
Myrtæus has betray'd thee.

AMASIS.
What of him?

OFFICER.
His squadron's rushing onward, loudly call
For Seraphis and Menes.

AMASIS.
Thus I grasp
A sword that never fail'd of victory.

[Exeunt.
Enter SERAPHIS, and Guard from the prison.
GUARD.
No further order comes. I wait in vain—
The hour is past. The king must be obey'd!

SERAPHIS.
The king! behold thy king!—thy ancient lord,
Whom thou wouldst murder, soldier, well thou know'st!
The tyrant, Amisis, usurp'd my throne.
And yet thou serv'st him in a deed that draws
The dreadful vengeance of the gods upon thee.

GUARD.
The gods have plac'd me in the rank of slaves,
And 'tis my duty to obey that lord
Whom fate has set above me.

(noise without.
SERAPHIS.
Yet delay
A moment. Stop the hand of death. My hopes
Are not extinguish'd—Many are my friends
In Memphis.—Fortune suddenly may change
And thou shalt be rewarded.—

(noise continues.)
GUARD.
Certain death
Attends my disobedience. Haste, prepare
To die!—

SERAPHIS.
I have a message to convey
To poor Sethona.

GUARD.
'Tis too late—

SERAPHIS.
Ye gods receive my spirit!

MENES, rushing in between, in his chains, from another cell.
MENES.
Slay me first—

MYRTÆUS and his party rush in and interpose.
MYRTÆUS.
Forbear, assassin!

SERAPHIS.
Ha! my gallant friend!

MYRTÆUS.
My royal master! my beloved prince!—
Strike off their chains.

MENES.
Is Amasis alive?

MYRTÆUS.
I saw him not in battle.

MENES.
Still there's room
For me to share the glory—

Enter an OFFICER.
OFFICER.
Amasis
Puts all to flight.

MENES.
We soon shall stop his course.
Give me thy sword. The force of Memphis now
Shall not avail him. Whether does he turn
The tide of battle?

OFFICER.
From the brazen gate
He bursts upon us.

MENES.
We shall meet him there.

[Exit.
SERAPHIS.
Let us support the prince. Tho' Amasis
Is great in arms, our fortune may prevail.
The worst event will change a shameful death,
To one of glory in the front of war.

[Exeunt.
Enter SETHONA, from the other side of the stage.
SETHONA.
These are the cells of my departed race.
I find them not. In vain I search around,
What tomb conceals them? Whither are they borne?
O Menes! Menes! hear'st thou not my voice?
Sethona's voice, who comes, in her despair,
To mix the blood, that warms her heart, with thine.
Stretch forth thy pale hand, from that airy shroud,
And roll that cloud of sorrow from thy brow.
The blast of night is in my ears. The voice
Of dying winter does not thus complain.
Is there no rest for mortals in the tomb?
Think not I mean to tarry. He is gone—
He turns with horror from a sister's love!
A load of guilt lies heavy on my soul!

Enter AMASIS. suddenly.
AMASIS.
The gods descend in arms!—
Hurling their terrors, midst my flying host,
Blasting my glory!—Ha! behold the cause
Of shame, of ruin!—Wherefore should she live,
The joy, the triumph of my mortal foe?—
Prepare for death—

SETHONA.
Art thou so much my friend?

AMASIS.
Thy friend!—thy murderer—Ye gods! she smiles
Secure in her enchantments. What is man
When thus oppos'd? Disastrous star, that shed'st
Thy fatal influence o'er my life, thou fall'st!—
Thou fall'st! and darkness shall involve my soul.

SETHONA
, kneeling.
Look down, Osiris, let my spirit find
Repose in death. O Menes, to thy rest
Receive Sethona, with a brother's love.—
Strike here! Thou murderer of my race—behold.

AMASIS.
A bosom arm'd with more than temper'd steel.
Invulnerable beauty!—

SETHONA.
Ha, thy wrath
Thy bloody purpose I embrac'd with joy.
But now I fear thy pity. Grant me death,
Nor look upon me, but with deadly rage.

AMASIS.
Thy scorn demands it.—Fury steels my heart,
And vengeance points the dagger;—now thou dy'st,
A sacrifice to love,—revenge—despair!—

Enter MENES.
MENES.
Stop, murderer, stop—

AMASIS
, quitting Sethona.
Advance, thou trembling slave!

MENES.
Perfidious man! In me behold a foe
That never turn'd from danger.—Were the strength
Of thousands on thy sword, my joy wou'd rise
To meet thee thus in arms.

SETHONA
, retiring behind.
Thou pow'r supreme!
Protect our cause and thine.

AMASIS.
Vain boy, approach!
Words will no more avail.—

(they fight, Amasis falls.
MENES.
Thus perish traitors!

AMASIS.
Thou hast prevail'd. Receive thy valour's prize.
The man that conquers Amasis, deserves
His throne, nay more, Sethona's love.—My guilt—
My guilt o'erwhelms me. By no vulgar hand,
I die.—The gods by thee avenge my crimes—

[dies.
MENES.
The gods are just! Thou source of all my joys!

(advancing to Sethona.
SETHONA.
Hence, shun me, fly me, tear me from thy heart.
Revoke thy vows, lest the offended gods
Shou'd pour their fury on our guilty heads.
The bar of nature, and the wrath of heav'n,
Are plac'd between us.

MENES.
Ha! thy frenzy still!

SETHONA.
Yes, Menes, yes; my frenzy well may burn.
Yet now, by reason, I'm too well inform'd
Thou art too near allied to me in blood!
Did not thy father tell thee? Seraphis!

MENES.
Ha! what of Seraphis! My doubts arise.
Burst not my anxious heart. Reveal! reveal!

SETHONA.
Thou art—alas! how can I speak the name?
Thou art—my brother!

MENES.
Brother! All ye gods
Look down! What heavier curse remains in heav'n
To crush my wretched head? What powerful charm
Works on these new creations of the night,
And sets our jarring senses every hour
At variance? I am lost!

Enter SERAPHIS, MYRTÆUS, OTANES, and ORUS.
SERAPHIS.
This way the prince
Press'd forward on the foe. Advance with speed.
He leads to victory!

MENES.
(shewing his breast.)
Here sheath your swords.

SERAPHIS.
The tyrant! stretch'd beneath the hand of death.
Now all is safe. Thy fortune has prevail'd.

MENES.
Yes, to my ruin!

SERAPHIS.
Ha! no wound appears!

MENES.
Within this bosom is a mortal wound.
I am thy son. Sethona is my sister.

ORUS.
Banish thy grief. No sister e'er was thine.
Thy birth, tho' long conceal'd, at length is known.
Thou art the son of Sethos.

MENES.
Sethos' son?

SERAPHIS.
I know it all. My brother's only child!
Sethona now is thine.

MENES.
Receive, ye gods!
The praise your goodness claims. Now joy returns,
And gladdens all my soul. Again, my love,
I may infold thee in these longing arms.

SETHONA.
O, Menes! heav'n, in this alone, repays
All, all our sorrows.

SERAPHIS.
Join your hands. The gods
Their choicest blessings show'r upon you both,
As the sun cherishes the subject world;
Or as the devious Nile dispenses joy
And plenty where it flows; so may your virtues
Diffuse bright happiness, o'er all the land.

MENES.
My king! my father! such I call thee now.
My lov'd Sethona!

SETHONA.
Now no tyrant lives
To bar our love. Osiris now assents.

SERAPHIS.
Arise, my children. Still I have a son!
Sethona too is safe. My joy is full.
Since, now, my day of life declines apace,
My daughter and my sceptre shall be thine.
Thy care, Otanes, shall direct his steps,
And make his kingdom flourish. Thou, Myrtæus,
Vers'd in the business of the field, shall guide
His youthful valour. None of all our friends
Shall be ungratified. Nor shalt our foes
Repine at our success. To conquer seems
Less worthy of our glory, than to spare.

[Exeunt omnes.