 | Irene |  |
1
ACT I.
SCENE I.
Demetrius and Leontius in Turkish Habits.Leontius.
And is it thus Demetrius meets his Friend,
Hid in the mean Disguise of Turkish Robes,
With servile Secrecy to lurk in Shades,
And vent our Suff'rings in clandestine Groans?
Demetrius.
Till breathless Fury rested from Destruction
These Groans were fatal, these Disguises vain:
But now our Turkish Conquerors have quench'd
Their Rage, and pall'd their Appetite of Murder;
No more the glutted Sabre thirsts for Blood,
And weary Cruelty remits her Tortures.
Leontius.
Yet Greece enjoys no Gleam of transient Hope,
No soothing Interval of peaceful Sorrow;
The Lust of Gold succeeds the Rage of Conquest,
The Lust of Gold, unfeeling and remorseless!
The last Corruption of degenerate Man!
Urg'd by th' imperious Soldier's fierce Command,
The groaning Greeks break up their golden Caverns
Pregnant with Stores, that India's Mines might envy,
Th' accumulated Wealth of toiling Ages.
2
That Wealth, too sacred for their Country's Use!
That Wealth, too pleasing to be lost for Freedom!
That Wealth, which granted to their weeping Prince,
Had rang'd embattled Nations at our Gates:
But thus reserv'd to lure the Wolves of Turkey,
Adds Shame to Grief, and Infamy to Ruin.
Lamenting Av'rice now too late discovers
Her own neglected, in the publick Safety.
Leontius.
Reproach not Misery.—The Sons of Greece,
Ill-fated Race! So oft besieg'd in vain,
With false Security beheld Invasion.
Why should they fear?—That Power that kindly spreads
The Clouds, a Signal of impending Show'rs,
To warn the wand'ring Linnet to the Shade,
Beheld without Concern, expiring Greece,
And not one Prodigy foretold our Fate.
Demetrius.
A thousand horrid Prodigies foretold it.
A feeble Government, eluded Laws,
A factious Populace, luxurious Nobles,
And all the Maladies of sinking States.
When publick Villainy, too strong for Justice,
Shows his bold front, the Harbinger of Ruin,
Can brave Leontius call for airy Wonders,
Which Cheats interpret, and which Fools regard?
When some neglected Fabrick nods beneath
The Weight of Years, and totters to the Tempest,
Must Heaven dispatch the Messengers of Light,
Or wake the Dead to warn us of its Fall?
Leontius.
Well might the Weakness of our Empire sink
Before such Foes of more than human Force;
3
Conducts their Armies and asserts their Cause.
Demetrius.
And yet, my Friend, what Miracles were wrought
Beyond the Power of Constancy and Courage;
Did unresisted Lightning aid their Cannon,
Did roaring Whirlwinds sweep us from the Ramparts:
'Twas Vice that shook our Nerves, 'twas Vice, Leontius,
That froze our Veins, and wither'd all our Powers.
Leontius.
What e'er our Crimes, our Woes demand Compassion.
Each Night protected by the friendly Darkness,
Quitting my close Retreat, I range the City,
And weeping, kiss the venerable Ruins:
With silent Pangs I view the tow'ring Domes,
Sacred to Prayer, and wander thro' the Streets;
Where Commerce lavish'd unexhausted Plenty,
And Jollity maintain'd eternal Revels.—
Demetrius.
—How chang'd alas!—Now ghastly Desolation
In Triumph sits upon our shatter'd Spires,
Now Superstition, Ignorance and Error,
Usurp our Temples, and profane our Altars.
Leontius.
From ev'ry Palace burst a mingled Clamour,
The dreadful Dissonance of barb'rous Triumph,
Shrieks of Affright, and Wailings of Distress.
Oft when the Cries of violated Beauty
Arose to Heav'n, and pierc'd my bleeding Breast,
I felt thy Pains, and trembled for Aspasia.
Demetrius.
Aspasia! spare that lov'd, that mournful Name:
Dear hapless Maid—tempestuous Grief o'erbears
My reasoning Pow'rs—Dear, hapless, lost Aspasia!
4
Suspend the Thought.
Demetrius.
All Thought on her is Madness:
Yet let me think—I see the helpless Maid,
Behold the Monsters gaze with savage Rapture,
Behold how Lust and Rapine struggle round her.
Leontius.
Awake, Demetrius, from this dismal Dream,
Sink not beneath imaginary Sorrows:
Call to your Aid your Courage, and your Wisdom;
Think on the sudden Change of human Scenes;
Think on the various Accidents of War;
Think on the mighty Pow'r of awful Virtue;
Think on that Providence that guards the Good.
Demetrius.
O Providence! extend thy Care to me,
For Courage droops unequal to the Combat,
And weak Philosophy denies her Succours.
Sure some kind Sabre in the Heat of Battle,
Ere yet the Foe found Leisure to be cruel,
Dismiss'd her to the Sky.
Leontius.
Some virgin Martyr,
Perhaps, enamour'd of resembling Virtue,
With gentle Hand restrain'd the Streams of Life,
And snatch'd her timely from her Country's Fate.
Demetrius.
From those bright Regions of eternal Day,
Where now thou shin'st among thy Fellow-Saints,
Array'd in purer Light, look down on me:
In pleasing Visions, and assuasive Dreams;
O! sooth my Soul, and teach me how to lose thee.
5
Enough of unavailing Tears, Demetrius,
I came obedient to thy friendly Summons,
And hop'd to share thy Counsels, not thy Sorrows:
While thus we mourn the Fortune of Aspasia,
To what are we reserv'd?
Demetrius.
To what I know not:
But hope, yet hope, to Happiness and Honour;
If Happiness can be without Aspasia.
Leontius.
But whence this new sprung Hope?
Demetrius.
From Cali Bassa:
The Chief, whose Wisdom guides the Turkish Counsels.
He, tir'd of Slav'ry, tho' the highest Slave,
Projects at once our Freedom and his own;
And bids us thus disguis'd await him here.
Leontius.
Can he restore the State he could not save?
In vain, when Turkey's troops assail'd our Walls,
His kind Intelligence betray'd their Measures;
Their Arms prevail'd, though Cali was our Friend.
Demetrius.
When the tenth Sun had set upon our Sorrows,
At Midnight's private Hour a Voice unknown
Sounds in my sleeping Ear, “Awake Demetrius,
“Awake, and follow me to better Fortunes;”
Surpriz'd I start, and bless the happy Dream;
Then rouzing know the firy Chief Abdallah,
Whose quick Impatience seiz'd my doubtful Hand,
And led me to the Shore where Cali stood,
Pensive and listning to the beating Surge.
There in soft Hints and in ambiguous Phrase,
6
That oft' had practis'd Fraud, and oft' detected,
The Vet'ran Courtier half reveal'd his Project.
By his Command, equipp'd for speedy Flight,
Deep in a winding Creek a Galley lies,
Mann'd with the bravest of our fellow Captives,
Selected by my Care, a hardy Band,
That long to hail thee Chief.
Leontius.
But what avails
So small a Force? or why should Cali fly?
Or how can Cali's Flight restore our Country?
Demetrius.
Reserve these Questions for a safer Hour,
Or hear himself, for see the Bassa comes.
SCENE II.
Demetrius, Leontius, Cali Bassa.Cali.
Now summon all thy Soul, illustrious Christian!
Awake each Faculty that sleeps within thee,
The Courtier's Policy, the Sage's Firmness,
The Warrior's Ardour, and the Patriot's Zeal;
If chasing past Events with vain Pursuit,
Or wand'ring in the Wilds of future Being,
A single Thought now rove, recall it home.
But can thy Friend sustain the glorious Cause,
The Cause of Liberty, the Cause of Nations?
Demetrius.
Observe him closely with a Statesman's Eye,
Thou that hast long perus'd the Draughts of Nature,
And know'st the Characters of Vice and Virtue,
7
Cali.
His Mien is lofty, his Demeanour great,
Nor sprightly Folly wantons in his Air,
Nor dull Serenity becalms his Eyes.
Such had I trusted once as soon as seen,
But cautious Age suspects the flatt'ring Form,
And only credits what Experience tells.
Has Silence press'd her Seal upon his Lips?
Does adamantine Faith invest his Heart?
Will he not bend beneath a Tyrant's Frown?
Will he not melt before Ambition's Fire?
Will he not soften in a Friend's Embrace?
Or flow dissolving in a Woman's Tears?
Demetrius.
Sooner these trembling Leaves shall find a Voice,
And tell the Secrets of their conscious Walks;
Sooner the Breeze shall catch the flying Sounds,
And shock the Tyrant with a Tale of Treason.
Your slaughter'd Multitudes that swell the Shore,
With Monuments of Death proclaim his Courage;
Virtue and Liberty engross his Soul,
And leave no Place for Perfidy or Fear.
Leontius.
I scorn a Trust unwillingly repos'd;
Demetrius will not lead me to Dishonour;
Consult in private, call me when your Scheme
Is ripe for Action, and demands the Sword.
[Going.
Demetrius.
Leontius stay.
Cali.
Forgive an old Man's Weakness,
And share the deepest Secrets of my Soul,
8
When unsuccessful Wars, and civil Factions,
Embroil'd the Turkish State—our Sultan's Father
Great Amurath, at my Request, forsook
The Cloister's Ease, resum'd the tott'ring Throne,
And snatch'd the Reins of abdicated Pow'r
From giddy Mahomet's unskilful Hand.
This fir'd the youthful King's ambitious Breast,
He murmurs Vengeance at the Name of Cali,
And dooms my rash Fidelity to Ruin.
Demetrius.
Unhappy Lot of all that shine in Courts;
For forc'd Compliance, or for zealous Virtue,
Still odious to the Monarch, or the People.
Cali.
Such are the Woes when arbitrary Pow'r,
And lawless Passion, hold the Sword of Justice.
If there be any Land, as Fame reports,
Where common Laws restrain the Prince and Subject,
A happy Land, where circulating Pow'r
Flows through each Member of th' embodied State,
Sure, not unconscious of the mighty Blessing,
Her grateful Sons shine bright with ev'ry Virtue;
Untainted with the Lust of Innovation,
Sure all unite to hold her League of Rule
Unbroken as the sacred Chain of Nature,
That links the jarring Elements in Peace.
Leontius.
But say, great Bassa, why the Sultan's Anger,
Burning in vain, delays the Stroke of Death?
Cali.
Young, and unsettled in his Father's Kingdoms,
Fierce as he was, he dreaded to destroy
9
But now confirm'd, and swelling with his Conquests,
Secure he tramples my declining Fame,
Frowns unrestrain'd, and dooms me with his Eyes.
Demetrius.
What can reverse thy Doom?
Cali.
The Tyrant's Death.
Demetrius.
But Greece is still forgot.
Cali.
On Asia's Coast,
Which lately bless'd my gentle Government,
Soon as the Sultan's unexpected Fate,
Fills all th' astonish'd Empire with Confusion,
My Policy shall raise an easy Throne;
The Turkish Pow'rs from Europe shall retreat,
And harrass Greece no more with wasteful War:
A Galley mann'd with Greeks, thy charge, Leontius,
Attends to waft us to Repose and Safety.
Demetrius.
That Vessel, if observ'd, alarms the Court,
And gives a thousand fatal Questions Birth;
Why stor'd for Flight? and why prepar'd by Cali?
Cali.
This Hour I'll beg, with unsuspecting Face,
Leave to perform my Pilgrimage to Mecca;
Which granted, hides my Purpose from the World,
And, though refus'd, conceals it from the Sultan.
Leontius.
How can a single Hand attempt a Life
Which Armies guard, and Citadels inclose?
10
Forgetful of Command, with captive Beauties,
Far from his Troops, he toys his Hours away.
A roving Soldier seiz'd in Sophia's Temple
A Virgin shining with distinguish'd Charms,
And brought his beauteous Plunder to the Sultan.
Demetrius.
In Sophia's Temple!—What Alarm!—Proceed.
Cali.
The Sultan gaz'd, he wonder'd and he lov'd;
In Passion lost, he bad the conqu'ring Fair
Renounce her Faith, and be the Queen of Turkey;
The pious Maid, with modest Indignation,
Threw back the glitt'ring Bribe.
Demetrius.
Celestial Goodness!
It must, it must be She; her Name?
Cali.
Aspasia.
Demetrius.
What Hopes, what Terrors rush upon my Soul!
O lead me quickly to the Scene of Fate;
Break through the Politician's tedious Forms,
Aspasia calls me, let me fly to save her.
Leontius.
Did Mahomet reproach or praise her Virtue?
Cali.
His Offers oft repeated, still refus'd,
At length rekindled his accustom'd Fury,
And chang'd th' endearing Smile and am'rous Whisper
To threats of Torture, Death and Violation.
Demetrius.
These tedious Narratives of frozen Age
11
Say, did a Voice from Heav'n restrain the Tyrant?
Did interposing Angels guard her from him?
Cali.
Just in the Moment of impending Fate,
Another Plund'rer brought the bright Irene;
Of equal Beauty, but of softer Mien,
Fear in her Eye, Submission on her Tongue,
Her mournful Charms attracted his Regards,
Disarm'd his Rage, and in repeated Visits
Gain'd all his Heart; at length his eager Love
To her transferr'd the Offer of a Crown.
Leontius.
Nor found again the bright Temptation fail.
Cali.
Trembling to grant, nor daring to refuse,
While Heav'n and Mahomet divide her Fears,
With coy Caresses and with pleasing Wiles
She feeds his Hopes, and sooths him to Delay.
For her, Repose is banish'd from the Night
And Business from the Day. In her Apartments
He lives—
Leontius.
And there must fall.
Cali.
But yet th' Attempt
Is hazardous.
Leontius.
Forbear to speak of Hazards,
What has the Wretch that has surviv'd his Country,
His Friends, his Liberty, to hazard?
Cali.
Life.
12
Th' inestimable Privilege of Breathing!
Important Hazard! What's that airy Bubble
When weigh'd with Greece, with Virtue, with Aspasia?
A floating Atom, Dust that falls unheeded
Into the adverse Scale, nor shakes the Balance.
Cali.
At least this Day be calm—If we succeed,
Aspasia's thine, and all thy Life is Rapture—
See! Mustapha, the Tyrant's Minion, comes;
Invest Leontius with his new Command;
And wait Abdalla's unsuspected Visits:
Remember Freedom, Glory, Greece, and Love.
[Exeunt Demetrius and Leontius.
SCENE III.
Cali, Mustapha.Mustapha.
By what Enchantment does this lovely Greek
Hold in her Chains the captivated Sultan?
He tires his Fav'rites with Irene's Praise,
And seeks the Shades to muse upon Irene;
Irene steals unheeded from his Tongue,
And mingles unperceiv'd with ev'ry Thought.
Cali.
Why should the Sultan shun the Joys of Beauty,
Or arm his Breast against the Force of Love?
Love, that with sweet Vicissitude relieves
The Warrior's Labours, and the Monarch's Cares.
But will she yet receive the Faith of Mecca?
13
Those pow'rful Tyrants of the Female Breast
Fear and Ambition, urge her to Compliance;
Dress'd in each Charm of gay Magnificence,
Alluring Grandeur courts her to his Arms,
Religion calls her from the wish'd Embrace,
Paints future Joys, and points to distant Glories.
Cali.
Soon will th'unequal Contest be decided,
Prospects obscur'd by Distance faintly strike.
Each Pleasure brightens at its near Approach,
And every Danger shocks with double Horror.
Mustapha.
How shall I scorn the beautiful Apostate!
How will the bright Aspasia shine above her!
Cali.
Should she, for Proselytes are always zealous,
With pious Warmth receive our Prophet's Law—
Mustapha.
Heav'n will contemn the mercenary Fervour,
Which Love of Greatness, not of Truth, inflames.
Cali.
Cease, cease thy Censures, for the Sultan comes
Alone, with am'rous Haste to seek his Love.
SCENE IV.
Mahomet, Cali Bassa, Mustapha.Cali.
Hail, Terror of the Monarchs of the World,
Unshaken be thy Throne as Earth's firm Base,
14
And weary Planets loiter in their Courses.
Mahomet.
But, Cali, let Irene share thy Prayers;
For what is Length of Days without Irene?
I come from empty Noise, and tasteless Pomp,
From Crouds that hide a Monarch from himself,
To prove the Sweets of Privacy and Friendship,
And dwell upon the Beauties of Irene.
Cali.
O may her Beauties last unchang'd by Time,
As those that bless the Mansions of the Good.
Mahomet.
Each Realm where Beauty turns the graceful Shape,
Swells the fair Breast or animates the Glance,
Adorns my Palace with its brightest Virgins;
Yet unacquainted with these soft Emotions
I walk'd superior, through the Blaze of Charms,
Prais'd without Rapture, left without Regret.
Why rove I now, when absent from my Fair,
From Solitude to Crouds, from Crouds to Solitude,
Still restless, till I clasp the lovely Maid,
And ease my loaded Soul upon her Bosom?
Mustapha.
Forgive, great Sultan, that intrusive Duty
Enquires the final Doom of Menodorus,
The Grecian Counsellor.
Mahomet.
Go see him die;
His martial Rhet'rick taught the Greeks Resistance;
Had they prevail'd, I ne'er had known Irene.
[Exit Mustapha.
15
SCENE V.
Mahomet, Cali.Mahomet.
Remote from Tumult, in th' adjoining Palace,
Thy Care shall guard this Treasure of my Soul;
There let Aspasia, since my Fair entreats it,
With Converse chase the melancholy Moments.
Sure, chill'd with sixty winter Camps, thy Blood
At Sight of female Charms will glow no more.
Cali.
These Years, unconquer'd Mahomet, demand
Desires more pure, and other Cares than Love.
Long have I wish'd, before our Prophet's Tomb,
To pour my Prayers for thy successful Reign,
To quit the Tumults of the noisy Camp,
And sink into the silent Grave in Peace.
Mahomet.
What! Think of Peace while haughty Scanderbeg
Elate with Conquest, in his native Mountains,
Prowls o'er the wealthy Spoils of bleeding Turkey?
While fair Hungaria's unexhausted Vallies
Pour forth their Legions, and the roaring Danube
Rolls half his Floods unheard through shouting Camps?
Nor couldst thou more support a Life of Sloth
Than Amurath—
Cali.
Still full of Amurath!
[Aside.
Mahomet.
Than Amurath, accustom'd to Command,
Could bear his Son upon the Turkish Throne.
16
This Pilgrimage our Lawgiver ordain'd—
Mahomet.
For those who could not please by nobler Service.—
Our warlike Prophet loves an active Faith,
The holy Flame of enterprizing Virtue,
Mocks the dull Vows of Solitude and Penance,
And scorns the lazy Hermit's cheap Devotion;
Shine thou distinguish'd by superior Merit,
With wonted Zeal pursue the Task of War,
Till every Nation reverence the Koran,
And ev'ry Suppliant lift his Eyes to Mecca.
Cali.
This Regal Confidence, this pious Ardour,
Let Prudence moderate, though not suppress.
Is not each Realm that smiles with kinder Suns,
Or boasts a happier Soil, already thine?
Extended Empire, like expanded Gold,
Exchanges solid Strength for feeble Splendor.
Mahomet.
Preach thy dull Politics to vulgar Kings,
Thou know'st not yet thy Master's future Greatness,
His vast Designs, his Plans of boundless Pow'r.
When ev'ry Storm in my Domain shall roar,
When ev'ry Wave shall beat a Turkish Shore,
Then, Cali, shall the Toils of Battle cease,
Then dream of Prayer, and Pilgrimage, and Peace.
[Exeunt.
| Irene | |