 | Liberty Asserted |  |
Scene the 6.
Ulamar, Irene.Ul.
Ah poor Irene!
Ire.
Wretched Ulamar!
Ul.
We but just are met—
Ire.
And we must part. Would'st thou not tell me so?
Ul.
We must; for ever part.
Ire.
Who could have thought it!
Ul.
Who could have beleiv'd it?
Ire.
That wish'd for Happiness should be so near.
Ul.
And be so soon, and so entirely lost.
Ire.
Ah cruel change!
Ul.
O mortal Woe! one Kiss, and then farewel.
Ire.
The Gods have giv'n to others to fare well.
O miserably must Irene fare!
Art thou in hast to leave thy Bride for ever?
Ul.
My Life! can I avoid it? I must leave thee;
Thou seest the Spousals Cruel Fate prepares for us,
These are the Wedding Joys that Heav'n provides us;
Farewel! A longer stay will quite unman me,
Eternally Farewell—O Cursed parting
[Kisses her.
O Charming, earnest of Immortal Bliss,
VVhich I must ne'er enjoy!
Ire.
The Gods, the Gods reward this Faithless Race.
Ul.
Me rather Curse, Yes, Curse my damn'd Credulity;
O Fool, fool, fool, to be thus grossly chous'd
By these vile tricking Slaves! O I am lost!
But Justly there's the Torment Justly lost,
I poorly ran the hazard of my Country
To save my House, and on my House the first
The greatest, and most dismal Vengeance Falls.
50
But lost Irene's most of all undone,
Consider what I am, and what I was
In the beginning of this Fatal Night;
Was I not Happy?
Ul.
Thou wast indeed.
Ire.
How am I fall'n!
Ul.
Oh thou art plung'd in an Abiss of Woe!
Ire.
If I appear to abraid thee Ulamar;
Think there's a wonderous reason for't, who caus'd
This dreadful Revolution in my Fate?
Ul.
Who but a Dog, who but a Dog?
O I could tear my self!
Ire.
Thine is the Fault, but whose must be the Pain?
But whose must be the Horrour?
Ul.
Oh that it might be mine! might all be mine?
Ire.
Thy Enemies will soon deliver thee,
And Death will be thy Friend; his Icy hand
Will soon convey thee to that Blissful Land,
Where thou shalt Swim in Everlasting Joy,
Where thou wilt soon forget thy Lov'd Irene.
Ul.
Oh never! never!
Ire.
The Transitory Pains of Death with thee
Will soon be o're, but I shall feel them long;
Of thy sad Death how long may I be Dying,
For I have neither Enemy, nor Friend
That will deliver me; but must be left
Alone! Oh all alone, I shall be left
Without my Country, and my dear Relations,
Without my Faithful Friends, nay without thee,
Who wert Relations, Country, all to me.
O that thou wert! O that thou would'st be all!
Ul.
Thou Miserablest of the Race of Women,
What would'st thou?
Ire.
Thou seest in what Condition I am left,
In what Perfidious, in what Barbarout Hands;
Say, what am I to expect when thou art gone,
From such a Cruel, such a Faithless Race?
Ul.
Oh Damn them—damn them, O Revenge, Revenege!
I'd give the World that thou wert in my Pow'r
Ire.
Say Ulamar, for thou hast known me long;
Say, did I e're appear thus mov'd before?
51
No, Never, never, Hate is on thy Brow,
And thy Soul's teeming with some wonderous Birth;
Let it be ne're so dreadful bring it out,
The worst of Fate I have already felt.
Ire.
If e'er thou lov'd'st me with a Noble Passion,
'Tis time to shew it now.
Ul.
Whither art thou going?
Ire.
Once more tell me,
Who brought this Load of Woe upon my Head.
Ul.
Oh Damnation! oh!
Ire.
From whom should my Delieverance then proceed?
Ul.
Lightning this moment blast me! must I then
Betray my Country, or Abandon thee!
Ire.
Say, tho' a poor distressful, Widow'd Virgin,
Yet am I not thy Wife.
Ul.
My Dearest VVife!
Dearer then is the Blood that warms my Heart,
But ruin'd Angiæ is my Country still.
Ire.
Wilt thou do nothing for Me Ulamar;
Is not my Honour thine?
Ul.
It is, and mine is thine?
And therefore I'll preserve it, true to thee,
To Heav'n and Nature, and to Ruin'd Angiæ.
Ire.
And I would have thee Constant to them all;
For if thou prov'st a Traytor to the Rest,
Thou wilt be so to me.
Ul.
Ha!
Is there another way to thy Deliverance?
I'll shed the Blood that's Dearest to my Heart
T' obtain it.
Ire.
The Blood that's dearest to thy Heart?
Ul.
By the great mind I will.
Ire.
Is not that Blood Irene's?
Ul.
Thy Blood! O Horrour! what hast thou propos'd?
Ire.
Yes thou must shed it, Ulamar, and Die.
Ul.
Am I a Devil?
Ire.
What can'st thou stay to expire in fearful Torments,
Insulted o're by these inhuman Slaves;
Thou hast a Ponyard tho' thy Sword is gone.
Ul.
I have, and thus I use it.
Draws the Dagger, offers to Stab himself.
52
Hold, by Almighty Love I charge thee hold;
O Look upon me with an Eye of Mercy,
And plunge it here; let me not see thee Die:
Have Mercy Ulamar, and kill me first.
Ula.
What give thee Death? Upon this Sacred Night?
Is that a Bridegroom's gift. The Gods, the Gods
Deliver thee, while thus I free my self.
[Offers to stab himself.
Ire.
Thou shault not die, inhumane as thou art;
How could you have the cruel heart t' attempt it?
To leave me here to this perfidious Race:
My Father, Country, Friends, all, all are gone;
And can'st thou leave me too, my Life? Can'st thou?
Can'st thou? Thou shalt not. I will die before thee.
[Snatches the Dagger from him and offers to Kill herself.
Ul.
O hold!
That dismal blow I must not, dare not see.
Ire.
Think what the French when thou art gone—Come death,
And free my Breast from this distracting thought.
| Liberty Asserted | |