University of Virginia Library

ACT IV.

SCENE I.

—A Prison.
Alvarez solus, sitting.
Alvarez.
How am I fall'n!—this morn, this very morn,
I saw a crown descending on my head;
The realm of Portugal beneath my sway;
The fair Elvira's beauties in my arms:
And now, behold a dungeon's dreary round
Clouds all my hopes of greatness, and presents
The grin of Death, instead of Fortune's smiles;
The blood-stain'd wheel and hisses of the mob,
Instead of joyful, loyal acclamation;
The iron fetter for the golden sceptre;
The scaffold for the throne: such is the fruit,
The fatal fruit, of false and mad ambition.
Oh! what a change!—but, shall these iron bonds
Insult captivity?—shall the tongue of Scorn,
Opprobrious, wound me in my way to death?
Avaunt the thought!—this phial shall prevent.—
Welcome thou friendly opiate of my woes;
Pass a few pangs, and Misery stings no more.
Thou friendly phial, in thy little sphere
I see a world of sorrows hush'd to peace:
A tempest lull'd to everlasting calm.
[Drinks.
[Enter Elvira.
Elvira! and with insult too I guess,
To wound the wretch thy falshood has betray'd.
Speak out, and triumph in thy victim's chains:
Chains not so hard and galling as thy treachery.

Elvira.
Alvarez, thou mistak'st Elvira's purpose.

Alvarez.
Speak, owe I not those fetters to thy tongue?
What hast thou done?

Elvira.
My duty to my Prince—
My duty to my country—which out-weighs
The love I bore thee once, but feel no more.
Alvarez, if repentance be a wound,
I wish indeed to pierce thy inmost soul.
I come not to insult thee, but to mourn.
Yet, 'midst my tears, I feel one consolation,—
Thy life is safe—thy life the Prince has granted:
Live, and repent thee in some distant land:
My sighs shall follow thee where'er thy way.
I thought thy breast with patriot virtue burn'd,
Too proud, too honest, to become a dupe
Of one, whose varnish'd subtleties and crimes,
Pretending to embrace the pedestals
Of Virtue, Glory, Liberty, and Truth,
Sapp'd their foundations and enjoy'd their fall.
But let me cease reproach—my bosom bleeds
Whilst thus I harrow thine—my once lov'd friend
Adieu, adieu—we part to meet no more.

[Going.
Alvarez.
Elvira, have I lost thee then for ever?
Yield a few moments to thy parting friend:
To thee, let me confess my guilt and weakness:
A mad Ambition and too stern a Pride,
Have been the dire seducers of my heart;
These, these have led Alvarez' feet astray:—
I thought Elvira might become a Queen.

Elvira.
Thou knowest then but little of Elvira—
Perish the deed that bears ingratitude—
Think of the virtues of our gracious Prince—
Think of the countless favors of his hand,
So often shower'd upon my scanty merits;
Could such a friend be mine, and I behold
That friend surrounded with a host of dangers,
And stretch not forth a grateful hand to save him?

Alvarez.
Oh! had I sooner laid my heart before thee,
I had not thus been dup'd by Gallic wiles;
I had not been a traitor to my Prince;
That Prince, which Treason now beholds with shame:
I had not stood, as now, upon the brink
Of dread eternity: weigh'd down with crimes,
I shrink to take the dark advent'rous leap.
Oh! I am sick, Elvira, sick at heart.

Elvira.
What hidden meaning lurks within thy words?
Why tremblest thou? Why hang upon thy brow
Those chilly drops, as though the dews of death?
Whence is the cause? Oh! speak.

Alvarez.
Within the hour
Thine eye will view Alvarez a pale corpse;
Far from the aspic tongue of Calumny,
Far from th' ambitious tumults of the world;
What more severely wounds, far, far from thee.
That phial can inform thee of a deed
Which draws th' eternal veil 'twixt thee and me.

Elvira.
Help, help—who waits there.

[Enter Attendants.
Alvarez.
Stay, Elvira, stay;
Thy friend is now beyond the reach of art:
Waste not the precious moments which remain.
Elvira, plead my pardon with the Prince:
Say, thou beheld'st a penitent; yet say,
In kind extenuation of my crime,
That Treach'ry spread her wiles, her subtlest wiles,
To win me from allegiance, and prevail'd.
Elvira, tho' the victim, I forgive thee;
Yet, how can I accuse; the film remov'd,
Which Prejudice had on my eye diffus'd,
I see thee rise exalted o'er thy sex,
And, from the action, deem thee more sublime:
And now to lose thee—thus to part for ever
Is Nature's hardest trial: give thy hand—
This hand that bless'd me I shall press no more;
That form, which made me happy, view no more;
That voice, which charm'd me, I shall hear no more.
May every blessing, Heaven can grant, be thine.
And should'st thou to this hapless realm return,
And wander near to where Alvarez lies,
A little sigh—a little tear from thee
Will sooth my spirit, and embalm my tomb.
Thou Great Omnipotent! look down, look down
With pity on the frailties of humanity:
Forgive me, that I rush into thy presence
Unbidden—cast, Oh! cast me not away:
But wherefore doubt thee? let me not despair;
Unlimited, thy mercies like thy power,
Surpass the boundaries of mortal thought.
Receive thou then a poor, repentant spirit,
Nor quench the spark of that ethereal flame
Which flows from thee, and shows the Deity.

[Dies.
Elvira faints, and falls into the arms of the Attendants, by whom she is led off.

SCENE II.

—The City of Lisbon.
On the Side of the Stage the Portico of the Royal Palace, from whence proceed the Prince, Princess, Royal Children; Elvira, Emilia, Alonzo; Counsellors of State, Attendants, and Guards, on their way for Embarkation.—Near them appear numerous Inhabitants of Lisbon, who press forward towards the Royal Family: Alonzo beckons to the Guards to make them retire.
Prince.
Restrain not, good Alonzo, thus my people;
They come with kind affection in their hearts—
We dread no treason here—their tearful eyes
Bespeak a loyalty, and grief unfeign'd:
We want not guards amid our faithful subjects:
Let tyrants build their safety on the sword;
We rest secure upon a firmer base,
Our people's love—that love we hold more dear
Than Empire's self, and all the pomp of power;
The brightest jewel in the diadem.
Mourn not my friends, we part to meet again.
We seek a distant realm, where Portugal
Shall, free from tempests, raise her head sublime,
And form a sure asylum for us all.
My precious babes, whose unexperienc'd minds
[To the Children.
Feel not the cares and sorrows of the world;
Oh! may ye thus remain till happier times.
Farewel my native country!—Oh! farewel!
But let my soul indulge the pleasing hope;
The hope, that after some short lapse of time,
I shall revisit thee, and see thee smile,
Freed from th' Oppressor's hand. Just Heaven may break,
Ere long, thy chains, and raise thy drooping head.
Where'er my fate shall force me, thou, my country,
Shalt live in every thought: on thee at morn,
On thee at latest night, shall Mem'ry dwell
In tender sympathy on thy distress.
Once more, my country, let me sigh “farewel!”