 | Demophoon |  |
SCENE VIII.
Enter Timanthes in haste.Timan.
Cherinthus, say, is this the Phrygian princess?
Cher.
It is.
Timan.
I would converse in private with her;
Vouchsafe a moment to retire apart.
Cher.
I shall obey—O torture!
[aside, retires.
Creu.
Sir! my lord!
Timan.
Imperial virgin! we are both in danger:
And thou alone canst, if thou wilt, preserve
Creusa's glory and Timanthes' life.
Creu.
What has befallen?
Timan.
Our parents have decreed
An union to thyself perhaps ungrateful,
By me unsought: thy regal virtues, princess,
Deserve a God far rather than Timanthes.
But Fate forbids me to become thy husband;
There is a bar which nothing can surmount;
My father knows it not, nor can I speak it:
'Tis yours to avert the shame of a refusal:
97
Enlarge my faults, say all thou wilt, despise me;
And by this only means our fate has left us,
At once preserve thy fame, my peace and life.
Creu.
Indeed!—
Timan.
I can no longer stay: my brother,
Do thou conduct the princess to the palace.
Creu.
Tell me at least—
Timan.
Already have I told
Whate'er my breast conceal'd—reflect—farewell!
[Exit.
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