University of Virginia Library

ACT I.

SCENE I.

The entrance of the temple of Bacchus, adorned with festoons of vine leaves, hanging from the arches, and wreathed round the columns. Various images of Satyrs and Silenus.
Hypsipyle and Rhodope, crowned with vine leaves, each with a thyrsis in her hand. A troop of Bacchanals at a distance.
Hyp.
Haste, Rhodope, in pity to my grief,
Fly, save my father: let him not approach
These fatal shores, tell him what danger waits
In this detested palace; open all
The dire conspiracy of female malice.

Rho.
And yet this instant has thy tongue pronounc'd
The dreadful oath to take thy father's life!
Myself beheld thee at the horrid altar
With countenance unmov'd—

Hyp.
All, all was feign'd
To blind Eurynome; thou saw'st how fierce
She breathed her impious rage from breast to breast;
Say, who can stop a torrent's headlong course?
When every one besides confess'd her fury,
Had I remain'd suspected, I had lost
The means to assist my father. Filial duty
Taught me to wear the mask of fell revenge:
But while my lips breath'd out the murderous vow,
My heart invok'd the Gods for his protection;
And even my seeming boldness sprung from fear.

Rho.
Yet think not me—

Hyp.
If thou delay'st, we are ruin'd—
O fly, my friend! lose not a moment's time;
Already are his vessels near the port—
O Heaven! whom do I see? Eurynome!

Rho.
What threatening vengeance sparkles in her eyes!

Hyp.
Whisper some counsel to me, gracious powers!

SCENE II.

Enter Eurynome, with a train of women, dressed like Bacchanals.
Eury.
Princess! and you my brave companions, hear.
The faithless Lemnians from the Thracian shores,
Once more regain their long-forsaken home:
The glorious task is ours to avenge the wrongs
Of our neglected sex; the ungrateful traitors
At length return; but distant from our soil,
Thrice have they seen successive harvests rise.
They come, but with them bring the ill-omen'd fruits
Of their detested loves, and stolen embraces:
Even in our sight they bring our hated rivals,
With features painted like the mountain savage,
And nurs'd with milk of beasts; and these, O shame!
Shall boast the spoils of your affronted beauty.
Revenge! revenge! our solemn oath is given:
All must conspire to aid the great design.
The night will to defenceless sleep consign
The offenders spent with toil; the rites of Bacchus
With festive shouts will drown each dying groan.
O then let fathers, brothers, husbands, sons,
Fall undistinguish'd in one common ruin;
A great example of vindictive justice,
To warn mankind to keep their plighted faith.

Hyp.
Yes, she who harbours pity merits death.

Rho.
How well she feigns a fury!

[aside.
Hyp.
Rhodope,
Depart with speed, (thou know'st what I would say)
And when the Lemnian troops shall gain the land,
Repair to give us tidings.

Eury.
Fruitless caution:
Myself beheld the squadrons leave the ships.

Hyp.
What says Eurynome?

Eury.
Even now I saw them.

Hyp.
O let me stop my father!

[aside, going.
Eury.
Whither go'st thou?

Hyp.
To meet the king, and with a forc'd embrace
Conceal my hatred, and prevent suspicion.

Eury.
'Tis now too late—behold where Thoas comes.

Hyp.
O Heavens! I faint!

[aside.

SCENE III.

Enter Thoas attended.
Tho.
[to Hyp.]
Thou dearest of my cares!
Come to thy father's breast; remote from thee
I heavier felt the weight of lengthen'd years;
But now, my daughter, thou art present with me,
My age seems lost, and youth again revives.

[embraces her.
Hyp.
O my torn heart!

[aside.
Tho.
What mean, Hypsipyle,
Those looks of sadness? Is it coldly thus
A daughter meets her father?

Hyp.
Ah! thou know'st not—
[aside.
My lord!—

Eury.
Take heed, Hypsipyle.

[aside to Hypsipyle.
Hyp.
O torture!

[aside.
Eury.
Her weakness will betray me.

[aside.
Tho.
Is my presence
Become so hateful to thee?

Hyp.
Ah! my father!
Thou little know'st my thoughts!

[Eurynome threatens Hypsipyle, to prevent her speaking.
Tho.
Speak.

Hyp.
Heavens! I cannot.

Tho.
Speak, daughter, if thy heart averse disclaim
The destin'd nuptials with Thessalia's prince,
Whom every moment we expect—

Hyp.
O sir!
From the first instant I beheld, I lov'd him.

Tho.
Perchance, accustom'd in my stead to reign,
Thou fear'st that my return must end thy power;
Thou art deceiv'd; I am no longer here
A sovereign or a king. Absolve, condemn;
Rewards and punishments are in thy hand;
I ask no further, dear Hypsipyle,
Than here to live with thee, and die beside thee.

[embraces her.
Hyp.
No more, my father!—

[weeps and kisses his hand.
Tho.
Whence these gushing tears?

Eury.
The soft effusions of too sudden joy.

Tho.

[Exit.

SCENE IV.

Hypsipyle, Eurynome, Rhodope, Bacchanals.
Eury.
Hypsipyle.

Hyp.
What would'st thou?

Eury.
If thy nature
Refuse to lift thy weapon against Thoas,
Resign the task to us.

Hyp.
Why dost thou seek
To rob me of the deed my arm aspires to?
Think better of my faith.

Eury.
'Tis boldly promis'd:
Thou bid'st me trust thee, yet but now I saw
When in a father's sight thy looks grew pale.

Hyp.

[Exit.

SCENE V.

Eurynome, Rhodope, Bacchanals.
Eury.
See, Rhodope, already day declines:
We must delay no longer: some few moments
Shall give th' expected signal—but methinks
Thou look'st disturb'd.

Rho.
The reverend age of Thoas
Excites my pity; and in him I still
Respect the name and person of a king.

Eury.
He is our greatest foe: in cruel exile
By him Learchus died; and Rhodope
Might better sure remember both our wrongs:
In him I lost a son, and thou a lover.

Rho.
His crimes but well deserv'd his punishment:
For me he feign'd a passion, while he sought
With impious love to force Hypsipyle.

Eury.
I see full well thou seek'st with vain excuses
To hide thy weakness.

Rho.
I'm a woman still.

Eury.
Then as a woman burst thy slavish bonds,
And vindicate thy sex on perjur'd man.
'Tis falsely said that woman-kind,
As by the laws of Heaven design'd,
To gentle passions still confin'd,
With love alone the heart control.
'Tis ours alike, when vengeance warms,
To mix in battle's stern alarms,
With beauty's or with valour's arms,
To allure or terrify the soul.

[Exit with Bacchanals.

SCENE VI.

Enter Learchus.
Rho.
[to herself.]
Why seem the Gods regardless of mankind!
Is there no pitying power that will protect
This wretched land? O most detested night!
O horror!—Ha! what do I see! Learchus!

Lear.
Silence, dear Rhodope, betray me not.

Lear.
I spread the rumour to deceive the king.

Rho.
What brings thee unadvis'd to perish here?
Fly, fly, Learchus!

Lear.
Let me yet a moment
Breathe out my faithful vows.

Rho.
Learchus, no.
Too late thou would'st betray my easy faith:
'Tis jealousy that brings thee back to Lemnos.
Hast thou not heard Hypsipyle must wed
The prince of Thessaly? Thou hast, and now
Thy treacherous mind revolves some black design.

Lear.
Believe me not so guilty—

Rho.
Hence! no more:
Fly, save thyself: to-morrow's fatal dawn
Shall here behold the race of man extinct.
The vengeful daughters of our Isle have sworn
To wreak their rage on the devoted sex:
This is the hour of slaughter.

Lear.
Canst thou hope
That I'm so weak? Invent some better fiction
To terrify Learchus.

Rho.
Yet believe me;
O fly! thou art lost, if thou contemn'st my pity.

Lear.
Forgive me if I must suspect thy pity.
Thou think'st I have betray'd thee, canst thou then
So warmly prize the safety of a foe?
No, Rhodope, that virtue ill we credit
Which soars above the weakness of mankind.

Rho.

[Exit.

SCENE VII.

Learchus
alone.

[Exit.

SCENE VIII.

Part of the garden belonging to the palace, with fountains on each side, and a view of a grove sacred to Diana. Time, night.
Hypsipyle, Thoas, Learchus concealed in the grove.
Hyp.
At length thou art safe, my father: here unseen
In Dian's sacred grove, till my return
Amid these shades remain.

Tho.
Are these, my daughter,
Thy Jason's nuptials! this our tender meeting!

Hyp.
Ah! sir! conceal yourself: the time admits not
Of vain complaints.

Tho.
O Heaven! must thou return,
Expos'd to all the rage of female malice?

[Learchus advances and listens unseen.
Hyp.
By this alone I can secure our safety:
My presence must confirm what I've invented,
That all may deem thee dead.

Tho.
How canst thou hope
To blind Eurynome?

Hyp.
A Lemnian slain
Wrapp'd in thy regal vest, shall cheat the eye;
O'er him I'll mourn, and seem to weep my father.

Tho.
I doubt thy pious fraud—

Hyp.
O no! in Heaven
There still are Gods that watch the life of kings,
And aid the just designs of innocence.

Tho.
There is no friendly power for us—

Hyp.
If all
Conspire against us, and vindictive rage
Should for thy blood preserv'd demand my own,
Flow deep the vital stream; at least these eyes
Shall ne'er behold thy death: the world shall know
That midst my sex's universal guilt,
I still pursued the unerring path of virtue,
Nor e'er forgot a daughter's sacred ties.

[Exit.

SCENE IX.

Thoas
alone.

[retires into the grove.

SCENE X.

Learchus, Thoas apart.
Lear.
What have I heard? Did Rhodope indeed
Declare the truth?—How if Hypsipyle
Returning here should take me for her father?
O fair device!—then might I seize the princess,
Deceive and force her—ha! it shall be so:
But hold—no matter—doubtless love inspires
The happy fraud:—be bold my heart—what, Thoas!
[approaches to the grove.
Where can he lie conceal'd?

Tho.
A voice unknown
Repeats my name! What means it?

Lear.
Wretched daughter!
Whom now thy father undesigning kills.

Tho.
What hast thou said? for whom dost thou lament?
Who art thou? speak.

Lear.
Unless I find the king,
Hypsipyle is lost.

Tho.
Ha! lost! Say, wherefore?
Behold me here.

[coming out.
Lear.
Thanks to the mighty Gods!
But fly, my lord! fly from this impious place:
In Lemnos 'tis suspected you're conceal'd.
Soon will the vengeful female bands appear;
And should your presence verify suspicion,
Your daughter for her piety must suffer.

Tho.
At least I'll stay and die in her defence.

Lear.
Ah! if thou truly lov'st her, rather fly;
Thy flight alone can save her.

Tho.
Tell me, friend,
To whom I stand indebted for this kindness.

Lear.
Thou know'st me not—I am—but haste, depart;
For look, already through the parting boughs,
I see the mingled gleam of rebel arms.

Tho.
When will ye cease your malice, cruel stars!

[Exit.

SCENE XI.

Learchus
alone.
Heaven prospers to my wish the wiles of love:
Ye timorous lovers, learn from me to mix
Boldness and stratagem—to seize—to ravish—
All means are glorious. Be the conquest ours,
And whether wit or fortune give the prize,
Alike the victor merits his reward.
Each lover that would win the fair,
May with the warrior well compare,
For whether fame or beauty charms,
Alike the school of love and arms.
The lover uses fraud and lies;
Insidious arts the warrior tries;
And both, when victory they gain,
Forget their former toil and pain.

[retires into the grove.

SCENE XII.

A hall illuminated, with an image of Revenge in the middle.
Hypsipyle, Rhodope.
Hyp.
Yet hear me—shun me not.

Rho.
How shall I stay?
My soul is chill'd with terror—Can I view
A cruel daughter who has dar'd to steep
Her impious weapon in a father's blood?
Leave me—

Hyp.
Suppose thou art deceiv'd?

Rho.
Deceiv'd?
Shall I not then believe these eyes that saw
The murder'd monarch in his regal palace?
I saw, and tremble yet with fear and horror.

Hyp.
O no, my friend, in him who seem'd like Thoas,
Thou saw'st—but hark—some one approaches—go,
Attend me at Diana's sacred grove:
There shalt thou know the whole, and further may'st
Assist me with thy friendship.

SCENE XIII.

Enter Eurynome.
Eury.
One amongst us
Betrays her faith.

Hyp.
And whence is this alarm?

Eury.
One of our tyrants yet survives, even now
He was surpris'd within the narrow pass
That leads into the palace.

Hyp.
Heavens! I tremble—
My father sure—

[aside.
Rho.
Perhaps it is Learchus.

[aside.
Hyp.
Could'st thou discern his person?

Rho.
Has his name
Yet reach'd thy ears?

Eury.
By favour of the shade
He scap'd our knowledge; but in armour sheath'd
Against our force he made a bold defence.

Rho.
Is he then taken?

Hyp.
Is he vanquish'd?

Eury.
No:
But soon the female squadrons must o'erpower
His single arm.

Rho.
O ill-advis'd Learchus!

[aside.
Hyp.
Ah! wretched father!

[aside.

SCENE XIV.

Enter Jason with his sword drawn, pursuing some Amazons.
Jas.
[within.]
'Tis in vain ye hope
To elude my just revenge, while thus—

[sees Hypsipyle as he is about to attack her.
Eury., Rho.
O Heaven!

Jas.
My love!

Hyp.
Ah prince!

Jas.
Is this the Lemnian palace?
Or these the inhospitable Lybian shores?

Hyp.
Ah! my lov'd prince! what God has sav'd your life?

Jas.
I came to celebrate the rites of Hymen,
But found myself beset with hostile arms.

Hyp.
Thou should'st ere this have sent to give us notice
Of thy arrival.

Jas.
No; I hop'd to increase
Thy rapture by this unexpected meeting.
For this I left my followers in the vessel,
And tow'rds the palace took my purpos'd way:
When sudden by an armed troop assail'd,
I drew my sword; and soon the assailants fled.
Enrag'd I follow'd; but when now I thought
To o'ertake and punish the perfidious band,
I met with thee.

Hyp.
Go, Rhodope, command
That all forbear the prince of Thessaly;
His life be sacred; for our vow extends
To Lemnians only.

[Exit Rhodope.

SCENE XV.

Hypsipyle, Eurynome, Jason.
Jas.
Vow! what means Hypsipyle?

Eury.
The ungrateful sex have fallen a sacrifice
To woman's just revenge: there lives not now
A single man in Lemnos.

Jas.
Heavens! what force
Suffic'd to perpetrate this horrid purpose?

Hyp.
Night and fatigue betray'd the unthinking victims;
Some, while they yielded to a false embrace,
Expos'd their bosoms to the vengeful sword:
Some quaff'd fallacious death in poison'd bowls:
Some breath'd their last in sleep: a thousand forms
Conceal'd the treason with the mask of friendship.

Jas.
My blood is chill'd with horror—but the king—

Hyp.
He too expir'd amidst the general slaughter:
Should I speak truth I must expose my father.

[aside.
Jas.
Are these the regions where the Furies dwell?
Come, dear Hypsipyle, retire with me,
[takes her hand,
To breathe in other climes an air less cruel,
Where happier omens may attend our loves;
Nor shall the death of this ill-fated king
Remain unpunish'd: witness all ye powers!
I swear full vengeance for the horrid deed.

Eury.
The offender's name shall calm thy utmost rage.

Jas.
O never! never!

Eury.
She's so dear to Jason,
Thou wilt at once forgive and pity her.

Jas.
No charm shall stay my wrath, whoe'er is guilty—
So may kind love preserve the pure affections
Of her to whom are all my thoughts devoted.

Eury.
By her was Thoas slain.

Jas.
By whom?

Eury.
Hypsipyle,
Thy wife.

Hyp.
O Heaven!

[aside.
Jas.
Speak, speak, my life, defend
Thy glory from the dreadful imputation:
Can this be true?

Hyp.
O cruel fate! [aside.]
—Even so.
[to him, after having looked at Eurynome.
Say'st thou!

[lets go her hand.
Hyp.
I must endure it.

[aside.
Jas.
Do I dream!
Or is it frenzy all! What voice was that
Struck through my heart! Was that Hypsipyle!
Did Jason hear!

Eury.
Now, prince, complete thy vow;
Now, if thou wilt, revenge the slaughter'd Thoas.

Jas.
Are there such savage minds!

Hyp.
My lord, my Jason,
Condemn not yet thy wife.

Jas.
Hence from my sight!
My wife! am I thy love! who now shall press
That hand still reeking with a father's murder?
I seem already to partake thy guilt
While here with thee I breathe one common air,
And my heart shudders as I now behold thee.

[going, he stops at the entrance of the scene, and continues looking attentively at Hypsipyle.
Hyp.
How much, my father, to insure thy safety
Thy daughter suffers!

[aside.
Jas.
Who shall henceforth say
The looks reflect the image of the mind?
Let them contemplate yonder form, and learn
How vice can lurk beneath the mask of goodness

Hyp.
Why dost thou thus in silence gaze upon me?

Jas.
I seek through all that lovely face
Some marks of cruelty to trace;
No cruelty I find:
So deep from every searching eye,
Can dire revenge and fury lie
Conceal'd within the mind,

[Exit.

SCENE XVI.

Hypsipyle, Eurynome.
Hyp.
Hear'st thou?—O Heaven!

Eury.
Sigh not, Hypsipyle:
Thou losest thus the glory of the deed;
And these weak signs of womanish repentance,
Disgrace the former courage thou hast shown.

[Exit.

SCENE XVII.

Hypsipyle
alone.

[Exit.