University of Virginia Library

Scene II.

—The hall of a bordel.
Soldiers conducting Daria.
A Soldier.
Here Polemius bade us leave her,
The great senator of Rome.

(exeunt.
Daria.
As the noonday might be left
In the midnight's dusky robe,
As the light amid the darkness,
As 'mid clouds the solar globe:
But although the shades and shadows,
Through the vapours of Heaven's dome.
Strive with villainous presumption
Light and splendour to enfold,
Though they may conceal the lustre,
Still they cannot stain it, no.
And it is a consolation
This to know, that even the gold,
How so many be its carats,
How so rich may be the lode,
Is not certain of its value
'Till the crucible hath told.
Ah! from one extreme to another
Does my strange existence go:
Yesterday in highest honour.
And to-day so poor and low!
Still, if I am self-reliant.
Need I fear an alien foe?
But, ah me, how insufficient
Is my self-defence alone!—
O new God to whom I offer
Life and soul, whom I adore,
In Thy confidence I rest me.
Help me, Lord, I ask no more.

(Enter Escarpin.)
Escarpin.
Where I wonder can she be?
But I need not farther go,
Here she is:—At length, Daria,
My good lady, and soforth,
Now has come the happy moment,
When in open market sold,
All thy charms are for the buyer,
Who can spend a little gold;
And since happily love's tariff
Is not an excessive toll,
Here I am, and so, Daria,
Let these clasping arms enfold ...

Daria.
Do not Thou desert Thy handmaid
In this dreadful hour, O Lord!—

Cries of people within.
A Voice
(within).
Oh, the lion! oh, the lion!

Another Voice
(within).
Ho! take care of the lion, ho!

Escarpin.
Let the lion care himself,
I'm engaged and cannot go.

A Voice
(within).
From the mountain wilds descending.
Through the crowded streets he goes.

Another Voice
(within).
Like the lightning's flash he flieth.
Like the thunder is his roar.

Escarpin.
Ah! all right, for I'm in safety,
Thanks to this obliging door:
Lightning is a thing intended
For high towers and stately domes,
Never heard I of its falling
Upon little lowly homes:
So if lion be the lightning.
Somewhere else will fall the bolt:
Therefore once again, Daria,
Come, I say, embrace me.....

(A lion enters, places himself before Daria, and seizes Escarpin.)
Daria.
Oh!
Never in my life did I
See a nobler beast.

Escarpin.
Just so,
Nor a more affectionate one
Did I ever meet before,
Since he gives me the embraces
That I asked of thee and more:
O god Bacchus, whom I worship
So devoutly, thou, I know,
Workest powerfully on beasts.
Tell our friend to let me go.

Daria.
Noble brute, defend my honour,
Be God's minister below.

Escarpin.
How he gnaws me! how he claws me!
How he smells! His breath, by Jove,
Is as bad as an emetic.
But you needn't eat me, though.
That would be a sorry blunder,
Like what happened long ago.
Would you like to hear the story?
By your growling you say no.
What! you'll eat me then? You'll find me
A tough morsel, skin and bone.
O Daria! I implore thee,
Save me from this monster's throat,
And I give to thee my promise
To respect thee evermore.

Daria.
Mighty monarch of these deserts,
King of beasts, so plainly known
By thy crown of golden tresses
O'er thy tawny forehead thrown,
In the name of Him who sent thee
To defend that faith I hold.
I command thee to release him,
Free this man and let him go.

Escarpin.
What a most obsequious monster!
With his mane he sweeps the floor,
And before her humbly falling,
Kisses her fair feet.

Daria.
What more
Need we ask, that Thou didst send him,
O great God so late adored,
Than to see his pride thus humbled
When he heard thy name implored?
But upon his feet uprising,
The great roaring Campeadór
Of the mountains makes a signal
I should follow: yes, I go,
Fearless now since Thou hast freed me
From this infamous abode.
What will not that lover do
Who for love his life foregoes!—

(Goes out preceded by the lion.
Escarpin.
With a lion for her bully
Ready to fight all her foes,
Who will dare to interrupt her?
None, if they are wise I trow.
With her hand upon his mane,
Quite familiarly they go
Through the centre of the city.
Crowds give way as they approach,
And as he who looketh on
Knoweth of the game much more
Than the players, I perceive
They the open country seek
On the further side of Rome.
Like a husband and a wife,
In the pleasant sunshine's glow,
Taking the sweet air they seem.
Well the whole affair doth show
So much curious contradiction.
That, my thought, a brief discourse
You and I must have together.
Is the God whose name is known
To Daria, the same God
Whom Carpophorus adored?
Why, from this what inference follows?
Only this, if it be so,
That Daria He defends.
But the poor Carpophorus, no.
And as I am much more likely
His sad fate to undergo,
Than to be like her protected,
I to change my faith am loth.
So part pagan and part christian
I'll remain—a bit of both.

(Exit.