University of Virginia Library

SCENE V.

Zephario, Irene, Ulamar, Beaufort.
Ulam.
What has Fate determin'd?

Beauf.
See its Interpreter, enquire of him.

Ulam., Beauf.
Hail to Zephario.

Zeph.
Ye matchless Friends, thou Beaufort, and thou Ulamar,
Are ye determin'd fully to consent
To what the Angians here by me pronounce.

Ulam., Beauf.
We are.

Zeph.
In full Assembly then they vote you Thanks
For all the Wonders ye this Day perform'd,
In the Defence of Liberty and Canada;
To thee particularly Thanks they pay,
Brave Youth, who by the Boldness of thy Conduct
(Boldness in desperate Extreams is Wisdome)
Rallying our routed Troops restor'd the Day,
And nobly rais'd us from Despair to Conquest:
For which the Conscience of the noble Deed
And everlasting Fame Reward the Doer;
But since in the first onset of the French
That fierce Attack that carry'd all before it;
Beaufort by wondrous Friendship mov'd preserv'd
Thee, Ulamar, by our own flying Troops
As by a Torrent, overborn, o'erwhelm'd,
Trampled by Friends, surrounded by the Foe,
And stood the Barrier betwixt thee and Fate,
That threatned thee from Friends and Foes alike;
The Council wisely have decreed, that he
Who sav'd th'Heroick Youth to whom we owe
Our Conquest, did with him preserve the State;
And therefore have decreed him for Reward
A Trifle in it felf, but dear to him
My Daughter.

Beauf.
Madam do you consent?

Iren.
I do.

Beauf.
My Ulamar doest thou?

Ulam.
Oh take her while I have Voice to say she's thine!

Beauf.
Oh strange Consent!
Despair is in her Eyes, and Death in his.
Madam, your Tongue consents, your Soul denys.

Iren.
'Tis true, my Soul, brave Beaufort, is another's;
But soon, depend upon it, shall be thine,
And shall as true and faithful prove to thee,
As thou hast been to Liberty and Angie:
True, were my Affections mine, and I my own
Then, Ulamar, I had been only thine,
But I was born for Angie not my self;
And Angie, Beaufort, has decreed me thine.
Thou, Ulamar, possess some happier Maid,
Who may deserve to live, to die with thee,
And bless the happy pair, all Bounteous Heav'n
When I shall be no more.

Beauf.
Apart.
Was ever such a sight, and such a Hearing?
The accents dye upon her Charming Tongue,
And leave her Lovely over-flowing Eyes
To pour out the abundance of her Soul.
I who cou'd dye for Ulamar or her.
Shall I make both unhappy, nay my self too;
For I must doubly share in all their Woes.
No, rouze thy self my Soul, and in one Act
Deliver three: I now am of an Age
In which the Passions reasons Voice obey,
And Reason tells me Heav'n and Nature form'd
Irene for her Lovely Ulamar.
And therefore made them eqnal in their Loves,
Their Beauty and their years: Rouze Rouze my Soul!
'Tis done, my Friend, and thou too charming Maid,
And wise Zephario Hear, I thank the Angians,
I thank them for th' Inestimable gift
With which they have Rewarded my poor zeal,
And I accept it to bestow it Here.

Ul.
Ha! Gods! What meanest thou? Mock me not my Friend!

Beauf.
No, take her, by th' Eternal mind she's thine,
And know that when I first bestow'd my Heart
My very Soul upon thee I bestow'd.
A gift that was less Dear to me.

Iren.
Is't possible! And is not this a Dream?
Can there in Man be such a Godlike mind?

Zeph.
And is your final Resolution this?

Beauf.
'Tis fix'd as Natures Laws that nere can change.

Zeph.
Do you accept Irene for your Wife?

Ul.
Do I accept her?
With greater Rapture than the Wretch that's freed
From Deaths Convulsive pangs embraces Heav'n:
But Oh the Man, who Loves to that degree
And can resign her; He alone deserves her.

Zeph.
The Deed is Noble, for 'tis Wise and Just,
The English always were a Gallant Nation,
And Foes to Force, and Friends to Liberty.
They who without the Mind possess the Body,
Possess by Force, and Ravish, not Enjoy:
He who can Absolutely rule himself,
And can leave others free is truly Noble:
Young man prepare, this Night shall Joyn your Hands.

Ul.
This very Night!
By the Immortal Powr's I'm scarce my self.
Fear, Hope, and Sorrow and Transporting Joy
And wonder at this unexpected Bliss,
Have all by turns so much disturb'd my Soul:
This very Night my Father!

Zeph.
This Night my Son, for an Important cause,
Frontenac Viceroy of this Indian France
Disowns the Treason of the late attempt,
And promises severely to chastize it;
Mean while a murmur runs among our Angians,
Which from their Prisoners they derive they say,
That the late Damn'd surprise was first design'd
By a French Officer who Loves Irene:
For every Band was charg'd to Seize on her:
Thou art a Valiant! And Successful Warriour,
And canst defend the Darling of my Age,
Far better than her Father's feeble arms.

Ul.
Defend her! Yes, what Beaufort has resign'd
To me, I only will to Heav'n resign.
Oh Beaufort, best of Men, and best of Friends!
Shall I refuse to die for such a Friend?
Shall ever I forget the boundless Debt
I owe to thee? Oh what shall I repay!
Thou hast my Soul already.
[Zep. to Ul.]
Come instantly, we'll joyn your hands, and then
See what these Messengers of Peace design,
And then—

Ul.
And Immortality will then be mine.