University of Virginia Library

SCENE II.

The King, Livingston, Crichton, Douglas, Lord David. At Dinner.
The King.
Indeed my noble cousins you've been unkind,
To stay so long from court.

Douglas.
My royal Liege,
Your highness shall not need again to blame
The same neglect in us.

The King.
Well then my Lord,
On that condition I forgive the past.

Crichton.
My Liege, your royal ancestors have ow'd
The greatest obligations to his house:
Still forward to oppose their country's foes,
And ever ready to support the rights
Of Scotland and its friends.

The King.
'Tis true my Lord.
I've often heard the Queen my mother say,
That Douglas was my friend, and talk of wrongs
She thought he could redress, were he at court.

Crichton
, (aside to Livingston)
Mark that my Lord!—

Livingston.
Thus children tell the truth—
(aside)
My Lord, the kings of Scotland have not been
Unmindful of the house of Douglas' worth.
The bounty of the prince is ill repaid,
If each repeated act does not encrease
The subject's love. Obedience is a claim
To which ungenerous princes have a right,
How deeply founded his, whose high rewards,
Make interest and duty coincide?
What could a prince bestow, except his crown,
Which hath not been, with liberal hand, bestow'd
Upon the house of Douglas, by our kings?

Douglas.
My Lord, if I mistake not, your discourse
Obliquely glanceth on my fathers fame—

Livingston.
What if it did!—Perhaps I meant it should!—

Douglas.
Forgive the boast, my house hath never stain'd
The honours which it won, nor lurk'd at home,
When Scotland's danger call'd it to the field.

Crichton.
If some deserv'd them, others have abus'd
The favour of their prince, and strove to rise
Above a subject's rank; to awe the State,
And trample on the pow'r to which they ow'd
Such obligations as could ne'er be paid.

Douglas.
If any of them—

Crichton.
If!—Presumptuous youth!
That if implies a doubt of what I say!

Douglas.
Was it for this, my Lord, you brought us here?
'Tis mean! thus to insult me, in a presence
Where common decency forbids resentment.

Livingston, whispers to a Servant.
The King.
My lords, you grieve my cousins. Let me beg—

Enter a Servant with a Bull's Head on a Dish, which he sets on the Table before Douglas.
Douglas
, rising in haste.
Is this the welcome, kings give to their guests!—
What have I done my Liege to merit death?

Several armed Men rush into the Room and lay hold of Douglas and Lord David.
The King.
Good heav'n! where am I!—Villains touch them not!

(The Fellows seem indetermined)
Crichton.
Slaves! do your duty, or by heav'n you die!
Bind fast their arms, and instant bear them hence.

Livingston.
Away with them to death!

Crichton.
To instant death!—

The King.
To death my lords!—Alas! what have they done?—

Crichton.
The tale's too long, your highness yet too young,
To comprehend the blackness of their crimes;
Hereafter you, and all the world shall know,
How justly they deserv'd the fate they meet—
Bear hence the traitors!—

Douglas.
Traitors dost thou say!
Thou hollow hearted statesman! if thy soul
Knows aught of virtue, scorn to give a name
Thy conscience stamps a lie! full in thy teeth
I throw the vile aspersion!—To my prince,
My country, and its laws, a faithful friend,
Here, in my sovereign's presence, I defie thee!
False as thou art, to thee I dare appeal,
Say, had my deeds been foul, my views dishonest,
Could I have trusted thee, slept at thy house
Two nights, and brought my only brother there?
In spight of all my warmest friends could say,
I thought thee honest, fearless enter'd here
Where none can help me; brought my brother too!
O faith! O virtue! whither are ye fled!

Livingston
, (to Crichton)
My Lord! I wonder you can bear him thus—

Douglas.
Is then the publick-faith on which I came,
Of no account with thee? Is there a man
So lost to honour, virtue, all that's good?

Livingston.
The publick-faith in common cases binds,
But cannot, where th'observance would produce
A greater ill than from its breach can flow.

Douglas.
Alas! my country! what hast thou to fear,
From men who blush not, coolly to avow
Such principles as these!

Crichton.
Slaves bear them hence!—

The King.
For heav'n's sake, my lords, untie their hands;
You cannot mean to kill them—On my knees
I'll beg their life. (offers to kneel)
Or will you kill me too?

Livingston.
Was ever royalty so low disgrac'd!
Your highness need not, must not interfere,
They both shall die, before the sun goes down.

Crichton.
No favour they deserve, and none shall have!

Douglas.
I scorn thy favour! Let but justice speak—
What have I done? What deed of mine can warrant
The odious appellation thou hast giv'n?
Thy pow'r may finish, what thy craft begun,
And let it!—'Tis the lot of man to die!
But canst thou hope the world will be deceiv'd
By vile pretence, or e'er approve a deed
Subversive of the common faith which binds
Society together?

Crichton.
Enough to thee,
Thy deeds are tried, thy final sentence past;
Thine, and thy father's crimes together weigh'd,
Have sunk thee in the scale of equity.
The world I mind not, let it blame the deed,
Yet shall it not prevent it—Thou shalt die—

Douglas.
I sue not for my life, nor would I live,
On terms so base—Admit my crimes are great,
What hath this child done? How hath he deserv'd
A sentence so severe?—for him I sue,
For him I'll humbly kneel, O save my brother!
Whose generous nature ne'er offended man.

Lord David.
No my good lords, I care not to outlive
So kind a brother—Tho' I'm but a child,
I'll think myself a man, and die like him,
If you permit—Indulge my first request.

Crichton.
Thy suit is granted. Would thou wert the last,
Of thy detested name!

The King.
Alas! my Lord,
You will not kill the child because he bears
A name you like not. I have often heard
That mercy is a virtue which exalts
The throne of princes. In my tender years,
Stain not my crown with blood. O think my Lord!
Your little son stood there—How would you plead,
Were I so cruel—

Crichton.
Cease my Liege to urge
A suit against yourself. My son in vain
Should plead for mercy, were his guilt like theirs.

The King.
You ask'd me to invite them here to dine;
Why make me an accomplice?

Livingston
, (aside.)
How he talks!

Crichton.
By heav'n they die! When you assume the reins
Of government, we humbly bend our wills
To your opinion, but till then must act
As prudence shall suggest. Leave to the mob,
This vulgar pity; 'tis below a prince;
It is a weakness that divests the soul
Of all that's great and manly.

The King.
Ah! my Lord,
It is a pleasing weakness, I could die
To save my cousins—see my Lord he cries!—

Douglas.
Your generous sympathy, my prince, excites
The grateful tear, I weep not for myself;
Thus let me thank you—Blasted be the tongue
That e'er imputes the wrongs we meet to you.

The King
, (to Crichton)
Am I your King, and yet must plead in vain?

Crichton.
No more, my Liege!—Your weakness moves me not—

Douglas.
Unfeeling monster!—Canst thou be a man,
Yet see unmov'd a scene of such distress?—
Come then my brother!—Welcome the will of heav'n!
Which orders all things for the best, and draws
From seeming evils, oft the greatest good.
Once we must die, and if in youth or age,
Is but a triffle—My royal Liege farewel!—
May heav'n protect you from your faithless friends,
And bless you with a long and happy reign!—

The King
, (covering his face)
Farewel my noble cousins!—I cannot save you!—

[Exeunt Douglas and Lord David guarded]
Livingston.
For shame! my Liege, how can you mourn the fate
Of traitors, who would pull you from the throne?
While they're alive, you cannot reign secure,
Your sacred life depends upon their fall.

Crichton.
Weep not my Liege, we only mean you good,
And at the peril of our all, have done
This deed to keep the crown upon your head.

The King.
Alas my lords! the crown has cost me dear!
For it I lost my father, basely slain,
For it became a stranger to my mother,
To all my friends!—And now my cousins die
That I may wear it—Dear pre-eminence!

Livingston.
Grieve not my Liege, you know not yet the charms,
Of sovereign pow'r, or it would give you joy,
To think that you had servants who would go
Such lengths to serve you, and to save the State.

[Exeunt.