University of Virginia Library

SCENE VII.

ALMEIDA with CRYSANTHE, from the seraglio.
ALMEIDA.
This is the place my Hamet has appointed,
And this the silent unsuspected hour.—
Yonder he walks, Crisanthe—O! my heart!
[Going to him.
Muffled, as he now is, by night's dun shades
And gloomy robes, my bosom owns its lord—
My love, my Hamet!—Thus receive my welcome.

[Embraces.
ALMORAN.
Her tender pressure pays for every pang.

[Aside.
ALMEIDA.
Much did I fear the tyrant Almoran.
“Yes, gracious prince, still doth thy virtuous spirit,
“E'en 'gainst thyself, defend a brother's fame—
“Defend the man which wrongs thee”—But, nor toil,
Unwearied watchfulness, nor life itself,
Past in subservience to his dark designings,
Prevents the sudden whirlwind of his rage,
Nor checks the frenzy of that lawless soul.

ALMORAN.
Is't possible!

ALMEIDA.
Osmyn has told me all—
All that relates to that perfidious monster.
The man who serves him, like a wretch condemn'd,
Fancies he hears, in every passing gale—
That rushes by his dungeon, some swift fate;
The savage bowstring, or the sanguine mute.

ALMORAN
(aside.)
Oh! agony extreme!—Said Osmyn this?

ALMEIDA.
Were this a place for words, O! much lov'd youth,
Insulted partner of a throne degraded—
Were this a place for converse—I could tell thee,
How sovereign hate surrounds the gloomy palace,
And sheds tremendous darkness o'er the sceptre,
How all the hearts of Persia wrung with slavery,
Throb in their loyal bosoms to be free—
And how that gem, which in thy father's reign
Shone brightly lambent as the flame of life—
That gem which regal power would seize in vain,
Prerogative usurp, or riches bribe—
Th'affection of his subjects—All is lost:
“While hate and horror, flattery, and falsehood—
“The secret murmur, and the mining treason,
“Are gone abroad, like some wide-wasting pest,
“To frighten every virtue from the empire.”

ALMORAN.
Indeed!—Is Almoran?—My heart is rent.

[aside.
ALMEIDA.
But soon the lofty tyrant from his height—
O! my best Hamet, hail the radiant hour—
Falls, like a star from heav'n. The time's at hand
When Hamet shall resume the wrested sceptre;
When peace her sacred birth-place shall regain,
And honest loyalty once more look upwards:
All Persia watches the eventful crisis,
And not a slave—a vassal here immur'd,
But hath to virtuous Hamet vow'd allegiance:
This very night will wait his sovereign mandate,
Avow their scorn of Almoran and guilt,
Led on by daring spirits form'd for freedom:
[Shews a dagger.
And I—even I—my lord, behold am arm'd
To aid the glorious cause—
Ha!—thou art not well, my lord—You feel too much
For an ungrateful brother—But no more
I'll name the tyrant—since it pains my Hamet.
Come then, my lord—behold Almeida ready;
Osmyn conducts my sire—Crisanthe's here,
Lead thou the way.

ALMORAN.
Soft—some safer means.

ALMEIDA.
What means remain?

ALMORAN.
The means to seize
That joy which slavish forms—

ALMEIDA.
Away,
Thou worse than Almoran—Away!

ALMORAN.
Thus let me claim the rights of generous love.

ALMEIDA.
All, all but this Almeida could have borne:
Her fate was never desperate 'till this moment.
Ev'n in the darkest hour of her distress,
She thought on thee—she thought on virtuous Hamet;
Hoarded his fondness with a miser's care;
And when the piercing sorrow smote her heart,
His lov'd idea, like a charm divine,
Still'd the sad sigh, and check'd the falling tear.

ALMORAN.
When will Almeida from these dreams awake?

ALMEIDA.
Nay then 'tis time to treat thee as thou art.
In the soft hour of peace, I am a woman,
And not unmindful of my sex's province;
But in the trying moment of dishonour
[draws the dagger.
I tow'r above the female's fancied terrors,
And meet the ruffian with a hero's boldness:
See heav'n hath arm'd my hand—Desist or fall.