University of Virginia Library

ACT THE FIFTH.

SCENE THE FIRST.

Carlos.
Car.
What have I now to hope, what fear, but death?
Ah, might I have it free from infamy!
But from the cruelty of Philip's nature,
Fraught with contrivances, I must expect it,
T'increase its infamy. One doubt alone,
Far worse than any death, afflicts my heart,
Perhaps he knows my love: Erewhile I saw,
In the fierce lightenings of his countenance,
I know not what of bitterness, that seemed,
Spite of himself, his meaning to betray ...
His conversation with the queen erewhile ...
His summons to myself; th'observing look ...
His scrutinizing keenness ... what forebode they? ...
Oh, Heaven! what would her fate be should his wife
Excite the wrath of his suspicious nature?
Perhaps even now the cruel tyrant wreaks
Vengeance on her for an uncertain fault;
Vengeance that always, from a lawless despot,
Precedes the misdemeanour. But if to all,
And almost to ourselves, our love's unknown,
Whence should he learn it? Have my sighs perchance
Betray'd my meaning? What? Shall love's soft sighs
Be by a guilty tyrant understood? ...
To make him furious and unnatural,
Say was it needful to a sire like this
To penetrate my love? His vengeful hate
Had reached its height, and could not brook delay.
The day at length is come, the day is come
When I may satisfy his thirst for blood.
Ah! treacherous troops of friends that crowded round me
In my prosperity! where are ye now?
I only ask of you a sword; a sword,
By means of which t'escape from infamy,
Not one of you will bring me ... whence that noise?
The iron gate grates on its hinges! Ah!
What next may I expect? Who comes there? Ho!

SCENE THE SECOND.

Isabella, Carlos.
Car.
Queen, is it thou? Who was thy guide? What cause
Hither conducted thee? Love, duty, pity?
How did'st thou gain admission?

Isa.
Wretched prince,
Thou know'st not yet the horrors of thy fate.
Thou as a parricide art stigmatized.
Thy sire himself accuses thee; to death
A mercenary council hath condemn'd thee;
Nothing is wanting to complete the sentence
But the assent of Philip.

Car.
Is that all—
That soon will follow.

Isa.
Art thou not o'erwhelm'd?

Car.
'Tis long since nought but death has been my choice.
Thou know'st it well, of whom I nothing asked
But leave to breathe my last where thou didst dwell.
'Tis hard—the horrible aspersion—hard!
Not unexpected. I'm compell'd to die;
And can I shudder if thou bring the tidings?

Isa.
Ah! if thou love me, do not talk of death.
Yet, for a short time, to th'emergency ...

Car.
Yield! ... now I fear that thou hast undertaken
The cruel office to degrade my nature.
My vengeful father hath deputed thee ...

Isa.
And canst thou think it, prince, that I am then
The minister of Philip's cruelty? ...

Car.
He may to this constrain thee, perhaps deceive thee.
But wherefore then has he permitted thee
To see me in this dungeon?

Isa.
Thinkest thou
That Philip knows it? That indeed were death.

Car.
What say'st thou? Nothing can escape his knowledge.
Who dares to violate his fierce commands?

Isa.
Gomez.

Car.
Oh, then, we are utterly undone!
What an abominable, fatal name
Hast thou pronounced! ...

Isa.
Thou deem'st of him unjustly.
He is not thy enemy.

Car.
If I believed
He were my friend, my countenance would burn
With shame, more than with anger.

Isa.
He alone
Feels pity for thy fate: to me confessed
Philip's atrocious plot.

Car.
Incautious queen!
Thou art too credulous! what hast thou done?
Why didst thou trust to such a feigned compassion?
Of th'impious king most impious minister,
If he spoke truth, 'twas with the truth to cheat thee.

Isa.
What could it profit him? Of his compassion
Undoubted proofs I quickly can display,
If thou wilt yield to my entreaties. He
By stealth conducted me to this recess;
Prepares the means of thy escape: 'twas I
That influenced him. No longer tarry, fly!
Fly from thy father, fly from death and me!

Car.
While thou hast time, ah, hasten from my presence.
Gomez, without his reasons, feigned not pity.
Into what snare art fallen! Now, oh queen,
Indeed I shudder! Now what doubt remains?
The secret of our love he knows it all—
The king—the cruel king!

Isa.
Ah, no! erewhile
Philip I saw, when, from his presence, thou,
By dint of force, wert dragg'd. He burn'd with rage.
Trembling I listened to him, not exempt
From fears like thine. But when in solitude
His converse I recall'd, I felt secure,
That, rather than of this, his fury taxed thee
With every other crime. To sum up all,
He charged thee, in connection with his own,
Of thirsting for my blood.

Car.
'Twould be a toil
That made me vile as he, yea, e'en more vile,
The dark perplexities to penetrate
Of guilt's inextricable labyrinth.
But, sure I am, that this thy embassy
Conceals some bad design. That which till now
He but suspected, by this deed of thine
He hopes to bring to a more certain proof.
But, be it what it may, quickly depart
From this disastrous place. Thy hope is vain,
Vain thy belief that Gomez wills to serve me,
Or, if he willed it, that I should consent.

Isa.
And must I then drag on my wretched days
Midst beings such as these? ...

Car.
'Tis too, too true!
Delay not now a moment: leave me; save me
From agonies insufferably keen!
Thy pity wounds me, since for thyself it feels not ...
Go, if thou hold life dear ...

Isa.
Life dear to me!

Car.
My honour, then, preserve it, and thy fame.

Isa.
And in such danger must I quit thee thus?

Car.
Ah, what avails it to expose thyself?
Thyself thou ruinest, and sav'st not me.
Virtue is spotted even by suspicion.
Ah! from the tyrant snatch the hellish joy
Of casting imputation on thy name.
Go—dry thy tears—and still thy heaving bosom.
With a dry eye, and an intrepid brow,
Hear of my death! To virtue's cause devote
The mournful days in which thou shalt outlive me.
And if among so many guilty creatures
Thou seekest consolation, one remains;
Perez, thou know'st him well, clandestinely
Will weep with thee. To him sometimes speak of me.
But go—depart! Ah, tempt me not to weep ...
Tear not my heart little by little thus!
I cannot bear it. Now farewell for ever!
I've need to summon all my fortitude
To meet the hour of ignominious death.

SCENE THE THIRD.

Philip, Isabella, Carlos.
Phi.
Perfidious wretch! that hour of death is come;
I bring it to thee.

Isa.
Are we thus betrayed?

Car.
I am prepared for death. Give it at once.

Phi.
Wretch, thou shalt die! but first, ye impious pair,
My fulminating accents hear, and tremble!
Impious pair! long, long, I've known it all.
That horrid flame that burns in you with love,
In me with fury, long has fix'd its torment,
And long been all discover'd! Oh, what pangs
Of rage repress'd! Oh, what resentment smother'd!
At last ye both are fallen in my power.
Should I lament? or deign to express regret?
No! I for vengeance thirsted! and I now
Will in illimitable vengeance revel,
Quick, unexampled vengeance! On your shame
Meanwhile I feast my eyes. Flagitious dame,
Think not I ever bore thee any love;
Nor that a jealous thought within my heart
E'er woke a pang. Philip could never deign
On a degraded bosom, such as thine,
To fix th'affections of his lofty nature;
Nor could a lady who deserved betray them.
Thou hast in me thy king offended, then,
And not thy lover. Thou, unworthily,
Hast thus, my consort's name, that sacred name,
Basely contaminated. I never prized
Thy love: but such inviolable duty
Thou should'st have felt towards thy lord and king,
As should have made thee e'en at a frail thought
Shudder with horror.—Thou, seducer vile,
To thee I speak not. Guilt becomes thy nature:
The deed was worthy of its impious author.
There wanted not indubitable proofs,
Although concealed your criminal regard.
Your silence, and your gestures, and the grief
Pent up alike in both your impious hearts,
I watched them all. Now what more shall I say?
Equal in crimes, your torments shall be equal.

Car.
What do I hear? There is no fault in her:
No fault? not e'en the shadow of a fault!
Pure is her heart, with such flagitious flame
It never burned, I swear. She scarcely knew
My love—the trespass then ...

Phi.
To what extent
Ye, each of you, are criminal, I know.
I know, as yet, that to thy father's bed
Thou hast not raised thy bold and impious thoughts.
Had it been otherwise, would'st thou now live?
But from thy impure mouth there issued accents,
Flagitious accents, of incestuous love.
She heard them: that suffices ...

Car.
I alone
Offended thee: I seek not to conceal it.
A rapid flash of hope athwart my sight
Shot—but her virtue instantly dispell'd it.
She heard me, but 'twas only to my shame:
Only to root entirely from my bosom
The illegitimate passion that it fostered ...
Yes, now, alas! too illegitimate ...
Yet it was once a lawful, noble passion:
She was my spouse betrothed—my spouse, thou know'st—
Thou gav'st her to me; and the gift was lawful,
But 'twas not lawful in thee to resume it.
Yes, I am criminal in every shape;
I love her: thou hast made that love a crime ...
What can'st thou now take from me? In my blood
Satiate thy wrath; and gratify in me
The exacerbation of thy jealous pride;
Spare her, for she is wholly innocent.

Phi.
She? Not to thee in guilt she yields, but boldness.—
Be silent, lady, of thine own accord.
That silence does sufficiently betray thee.
'Tis useless to deny it, thou dost cherish
An illegitimate passion. Thou betray'dst it—
Enough—too much betray'dst it, when I spoke,
With artful purposes, of him to thee:
Why then didst thou so pertinaciously
Remind me that he was my son? Oh, traitress,
Thou dared'st not, yet rather should'st have said,
He was thy lover. Hast thou less than he,
Dost thou imagine, in thy secret heart,
Betrayed thy duty, honour, and the laws?

Isa.
My silence from my fear does not arise;
But from the stupor that benumbs my senses
At the incredible duplicity
Of thy blood-thirsty, ravening heart. At length
My scatter'd senses I once more recover.
'Tis time, 'tis time, that for the heinous fault
I should atone, of being wife to thee.
Till now I've not offended thee. Till now,
In God's sight, in the prince's, I am guiltless.
Although within my breast ...

Car.
Pity for me
Inspires her words: ah, hear her not ...

Isa.
In vain
Thou triest to save me. Every word of thine
Is as a puncture, which exasperates
The wounds of his proud breast. The time is past
For palliatives. To shun his hated sight,
The torment of whose presence nought can equal,
Is now my only refuge. Were it given
To one that is a tyrant e'er to feel
The power of love, I would remind thee, king,
That thou at first didst form our mutual ties,
That, from my earliest years, my fondest thoughts,
My dearest hopes, were centred all in him;
With him I trusted to live blessed and blessing.
To love him then, at once, in me was virtue,
And to thy will submission. Who but thou
Made what was virtue guilt? Thou didst the deed.
Ties the most holy thou didst burst asunder,—
An easy task to one that's absolute.
But does the heart change thus? His image lay
Deeply engraven there. But instantly
That I became thy wife the flame was smothered.
And I depended afterwards on time,
And on my virtue, wholly to surmount it;
And, peradventure, more than e'en on these
Depended on thyself.

Phi.
I will then now,
What neither years, nor virtue, have perform'd,
Do instantly: yes, in thy faithless blood
I'll quench the impure flame.

Isa.
Yes, to spill blood,
And, when that blood is spilled, to spill more blood,
Is thy most choice prerogative: but, oh!
Is it by a prerogative like this
Thou hopest to win me from him to thee?
To thee, as utterly unlike thy son,
As is, from virtue, vice? Thou hast been wont
To see me tremble; but I fear no more;
My illegitimate passion, for as such
My passion I accounted, I concealed:
Now shall it be without disguise proclaimed,
Since thy dark crimes have made it shew like virtue.

Phi.
He is worthy of thee; thou of him art worthy.
It now remains to prove, if, as in words,
Ye will be bold in death ...

SCENE THE FOURTH.

Gomez, Philip, Isabella, Carlos.
Phi.
Gomez, hast thou
All my commands fulfill'd? What I enjoined thee
Dost thou now bring?

Gom.
Perez has breathed his last.
Behold the sword, that with his smoking blood
Yet reeks.

Car.
Oh sight!

Phi.
With him is not extinguished
The race of traitors ... Be thou witness now
How I take vengeance on this impious pair.

Car.
Before I die, alas! how many deaths
I'm destined to behold. Thou, Perez, too? ...
Oh, infamy! now, now I follow thee.
Where is the sword to which my breast is fated?
Quick, bring it to me. May my blood alone,
Of this fell tyger, slake the burning thirst.

Isa.
Oh I, oh I alone can pacify
His murderous appetite!

Phi.
Cease your vile contest.
This dagger, and this cup, await your choice.
Thou, proud contemner as thou art, of death,
Chuse first.

Car.
Oh, weapon of deliverance,
With innocent blood yet reeking, thee I chuse!—
Oh, luckless lady, thou hast said too much:
For thee no refuge now remains but death:
But, ah! the poison chuse, for this will be
Most easy ... Of my inauspicious love
The last sad proof is this. Collect at once
All, all thy fortitude; and look on me.
I die ... do thou now follow my example ...
Bring, bring the fatal cup ... do not delay ...

Isa.
Ah, yes, I follow thee. Oh, Death, to me
Thou art most welcome; in thee ...

Phi.
Thou shalt live,
Spite of thyself, shalt live.

Isa.
Ah, let me die;
Excruciating lot! he dies, and I ...

Phi.
Severed from him shalt live; live days of woe:
Thy lingering grief will be a joy to me.
And when at last, recovered from thy love,
Thou wishest to live on, I, then, will kill thee.

Isa.
Live in thy presence! I support thy sight!
No, that shall never be! My doom is fixed ...
The cup refused, thy dagger may replace it.

Phi.
Stop! ...

Isa.
It is done! ...

Phi.
Heavens, what do I behold?

Isa.
Thou seest thy wife ... thy son ... both innocent ...
And both by thy hands slain ... I follow thee,
Loved Carlos.

Phi.
What a stream of blood runs here,
And of what noble blood ... Behold I have
Obtained an ample, and a horrid vengeance; ...
But am I happy? Gomez, do thou hide
The dire catastrophe from all the world.
If thou art but discreet, thou wilt preserve
To me my fame, and to thyself thy life.