 | Achilles In Scyros |  |
16
SCENE IX.
Enter Achilles.Deid.
And shall I break my faith to him I love!
No—ere another spouse—
Ach.
[entering.]
And may I then
Presume to intrude on Deidamia's presence?
I would not come unwish'd for—ha! alone!
Where is thy plighted lord? I hop'd to find
The prince of Chalcis breathing ardent vows
At Deidamia's feet.
Deid.
And have you heard—
Ach.
All, all is known; but not from thee—O proof!
O wondrous proof of thy unsullied faith!
From me, inhuman, hast thou well conceal'd
This treason to my hopes—from me who lov'd thee
Far more than life; from me, who thus inglorious,
In these vile weeds dishonour'd for thy sake—
—False Deidamia!
Deid.
O! eternal Powers!
Reproach me not; believe me, till this day
I never heard of these detested nuptials:
But now my father urg'd the fatal union;
Trembling I stood, and senseless at the shock,
Felt all my blood congeal'd within my veins.
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What canst thou now resolve?
Deid.
To hazard all,
But never to forsake thee. Prayers and tears
Shall be employ'd to soften Lycomedes:
Sure he will yield, if nature's voice can bend
A father's heart to save a darling child:
And should he still pursue his cruel purpose,
O! never, never must he hope to shake
My constant faith. Achilles was the first,
The first dear object of my virgin heart,
And my last dying breath shall sigh Achilles.
Yes, thou may'st see me dead, but never see
Thy love betray'd by Deidamia's change.
Ach.
Transporting sounds! How, how shall I repay
Such unexampled goodness?
Deid.
Grant but this:
Preserve, if possible, with greater heed,
Our secret from discovery.
Ach.
What are else
These woman's vestures?
Deid.
But can these avail,
If every action, every look belies them?
Thy free and manly step but ill beseems
The timorous maid; thine eyes too boldly dart
Their wandering glances: every little cause
Excites thy temper's warmth, nor seems thy anger
Such anger as a female bosom breeds.
18
Or let them but be nam'd, thy look is chang'd,
Thy glaring eye-balls flash with living fire,
Pyrrha is lost, and all proclaims Achilles.
Ach.
Hard is the task for nature to reverse
Her first designs.
Deid.
And sure as hard the task
To oppose a father's will. With such a plea
May Deidamia wed the prince of Chalcis?
Ach.
O! never, never! I submit—O! pardon—
Whate'er thou bidd'st Achilles shall obey.
Deid.
But now you promis'd, yet—
Ach.
O! no—this once
I yield to thee: I'll rein my struggling passions,
Nor speak again of war: if I forget
Thy bidding more, to punish my neglect
Fly to my rival's arms, and I forgive thee.
Deid.
Be silent—hark! some stranger is at hand
To catch the unguarded sound.
| Achilles In Scyros | |