The British drama; a collection of the most esteemed tragedies, comedies, operas, and farces, in the English language

Fate threw me to your sword.-You spar'd my youth,

And, in the very whirl and rage of fight, Your eye was taught compassion-from that hour

I vow'd my life the slave of your remembrance;
And often as Christina, heavenly maid!
The mistress of my service, question'd me
Of wars and vent'rous deeds, my tidings came
Still freighted with thy name, until the day
In which yourself appear'd, to make praise
speechless.

Christina saw you then, and on your fate
Dropp'd a kind tear; and, when your noble

scorn

Leer. I must unfold it. Gust. Yet forbear.

[softThis way I hear some footing-pray you, If thou hast aught to urge against Arvida, The man of virtue, tell it not the wind; Lest slander catch the sound, and guilt should triumph. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.-Mountains of Dalecarlia. Enter ARVIDA, speaking to a MESSENGER. Arv. He's here--bear back my orders to your fellows,

That not a man, on peril of his life,
Advance in sight 'till call'd.

Mess. My lord, I will.

[Exit.

Arv. Have I not vow'd it, faithless as he is, Have I not vow'd his fall? Yet, good Heaven! Why start these sudden tears? On, on I must, For I am half way down the dizzy steep, Where my brain turns.-A draught of Lethe

now

Oh, that the world would sleep-to wake no more !

Or that the name of friendship bore no charm
To make my nerve unsteady, and this steel
Fly backward from its task! it shall be
done.-

Empire! Christina! though th' affrighted sun
Start back with horror of the direful stroke,
It shall be done. Ha! he comes!
How steadily he looks, as Heaven's own book,
The leaf of truth, were open'd on his aspect!
Up, up dark minister his fate calls out
[Puts up the dagger.
To nobler execution; for he comes
In opposition, singly, man to man,
As though he brav'd my wish.

Enter GUSTAVUS.

[They look for some time on each other; ARVIDA lays his hand on his Sword, and withdraws it ty turns; then advances irresolutely.]

Gust. Is it then so? Arv. Defend thyself. Gust. No strike

I would unfold my bosom to thy sword, But that I know, the wound you give this breast

Would doubly pierce thy own.

Arr. I know thee not

It is the time's eclipse, and what should be In nature, now is nameless.

Gust. Ah, my brother!

Are. What wouldst thou?

Gust. Is it thus we two should meet? Arv. Art thou not false? Deep else, oh, deep indeed,

Were my damnation.

Gust. Dear, unhappy man!

My heart bleeds for thee. False I'd surely Had I like thee been tempted. [been,

Are. Ha! Speak, speak,

Didst thou not send to treat with Christiern?
Gust. Never.

I know thy error, but I know the arts,
The frauds, the wiles, that practis'd on thy
virtue ;
[tality;
Firm how you stood, and tower'd above mor-
Till, in the fond unguarded hour of love,
The wily undermining tempter came,
And won thee from thyself-a moment won

thee

As now 'tis base, it thus should pour for par- | And joy, for that your lost Gustavus, 'scap'd don. Through wounds, imprisonments, and chains,

[GUSTAVUS catches his arm, and in the
struggle the dagger falls.

Gust. Ha! hold, Arvida.- -No, I will not
lose thee-

Forbid it, Heaven! thou shalt not rob me so;
No, I will struggle with thee to the last,
And save thee from thyself. Oh, answer me!
Wilt thou forsake me? Answer me, my bro-
ther.

Arv. Expose me, cage me, brand me for the

tool

Of crafted villains, for the veriest slave,
On whom the bend of each contemptuous
brow

Shall look with loathing. Ah, my turpitude
Shall be the vile comparative of knaves
To boast and whiten by!

Gust. Not so, not so.

He, who knows no fault, knows no perfection.
The rectitude, that Heaven appoints to man,
Leads on through error; and the kindly sense
Of having stray'd, endears the road to bliss;
It makes Heaven's way more pleasing! O my
brother,

and deaths,

[ye.

Thus sudden, thus unlook'd for, stands before
As one escap'd from cruel hands I come,
From hearts that ne'er knew pity;
And know no music but the groans of Sweden.
Yet, not for that my sister's early innocence
And mother's age now grind beneath capti-
vity;

Nor that one bloody, one remorseless hour
Swept my great sire and kindred from my
For them, Gustavus weeps not;
[side;
But, O great parent, when I think on thee!
Thy numberless, thy nameless, shameful infa-
mies,

My widow'd country! Sweden! when I think
Upon thy desolation, spite of rage-

And vengeance that would choke them-tears
will flow.

And. Oh, they are villains, every Dane of
them,

Practis'd to stab and smile; to stab the babe,
That smiles upon them.

Arn. What accursed hours
[these,
Roll o'er those wretches, who, to fiends like
In their dear liberty have barter'd more

"Tis hence a thousand cordial charities
Derive their growth, their vigour, and their Than worlds will rate for?
sweetness.

This short lapse

Shall to thy future foot give cautious treading,
Erect and firm in virtue.

Arv. Give me leave.

Gust. You shall not pass.

Arv. I must.

Gust. Whither?

[Offers to pass.

Gust. Danes, perhaps;

[attire,

Haste, intercept their passage to the camp.
[Exit SIVARD.
Arv. Those are the Danes, that witness to
my shame.

Gust. Perish th' opprobrious term! not so,
Arvida;

Myself will be the guardian of thy fame;
Trust me, I will-But see, our friends ap-
proach-Oh, clear, [brother,
While I attend them, clear that cloud, my
That sits upon the morning of thy youth.

Enter ANDERSON, ARNOLDUS, SIVARD,
OFFICERS, &c.

And. Let us all see him!
Gust. Amazement, I perceive, hath fill'd
your hearts,

Gust. O liberty, Heaven's choice preroga

tive!

[perty, True bond of law, thou social soul of proThou breath of reason, life of life itself! For thee the valiant bleed. O sacred liberty! Wing'd from the summer's snare, from flattering ruin,

Like the bold stork you seek the wintery shore,
Leave courts, and pomps, and palaces to
slaves,

Cleave to the cold, and rest upon the storm.
Upborne by thee, my soul disdain'd the terms
Of empire are ye not at the hands of
tyrants?

Are ye
not mark'd, ye men of Dalecarlia,
Are ye not mark'd by all the circling world
As the last stake; what but liberty,
Through the fam'd course of thirteen hundred

years,

Aloof hath held invasion from your hills,
And sanctified their shade?-And will ye,
will ye

Shrink from the hopes of the expecting world;
Bid your high honours stoop to foreign insult,
And in one hour give up to infamy

The harvest of a thousand years of glory?
And. Die all first!

Gust. Yes, die by piecemeal!
Leave not a limb o'er which a Dane may
triumph!

Now from my soul I joy, I joy my friends,
To see ye fear'd; to see, that even your foes
Do justice to your valour !-There they be,
The powers of kingdoms, summ'd in yonder
host,

Yet kept aloof, yet trembling to assail ye.
And, oh, when I look round and see you
here,

Of number short, but prevalent in virtue,
My heart swells high, and burns for the en-

counter.

True courage but from opposition grows;
And what are fifty, what a thousand slaves,
Match'd to the sinew of a single arm
That strikes for liberty? that strikes to save
His fields from fire, his infants from the sword,
His couch from lust, his daughters from pol-

lution,

And his large honours from eternal infamy?

What doubt we then? Shall we, shall we | But if, though in a foe, to reverence virtue, stand here! Withstand oppression, rescue injur'd inno

Let us on!

Oh, yes, I read your lovely fierce impatience!
You shall not be withheld; we will rush on
This is indeed to triumph.
[them-
And. Oh, lead us on, Gustavus; one word
Is but delay of conquest.
[more
Gust. Take your wish.
[foe,
He, who wants arms, may grapple with the
And so be furnish'd. You, most noble An-
derson,

Divide our powers, and with the fam'd Olaus
Take the left route-You, Eric, great in arms!
With the renown'd Nederbi, hold the right,
And skirt the forest down; then wheel at once,
Confess'd to view, and close upon the vale :
Myself, and my most valiant cousin here,
Th' invincible Arvida, gallant Sivard,
Arnoldus, and these hundred hardy veterans,
Will pour directly on, and lead the onset.
Bold are our hearts, and nervous are our
hands.
[close,
With us, truth, justice, fame, and freedom
Each singly equal to a host of foes. [Exeunt.

ACT IV.

SCENE I.-The Palace.

PETERSON.

cence,

Step boldly in betwixt my sire and guilt,
And save my king, my father, from dishonour;
If this be sin, I have shook hands with peni-

tence.

First perish crowns, dominion, all the shine
And transcience of this world, ere guilt shall
To buy the vain incumbrance.
[serve
Blasted be that royalty,

Which murder must make sure, and crimes inglorious!

The bulk of kingdoms, nay, the world is light,
When guilt weighs opposite-Oh, would to
The loss of empire would restore his innocence,
Heaven,
Restore the fortunes and the precious lives
Of thousands, fallen the victims of ambition!
Enter LAERTES.

Does he live? Laer. He does,

But death, ere night, must fill a long account;
The camp, the country's in confusion: war
And changes ride upon the hour that hastes
To intercept my tongue-I else could tell
Of virtues hitherto beyond my ken:
Courage, to which the lion stoops his crest,
Yet grafted upon qualities as soft

Enter CHRISTIERN, CHRISTINA, MARIANA, and As a rock'd infant's meekness; such as tempts

Christina. I heard, it was your royal plea

sure, Sir,

I should attend your highness.
Christ. Yes, Christina,

But business interferes.

[Exeunt CHRISTINA and MARIANA. Enter an OFFICER.

Of. My sovereign liege, Wide o'er the western shelving of yon hill, We think, though indistinctly, we can spy, Like men in motion mustering on the heath; And there is one, who saith he can discern A few of martial gesture, and bright arms, Who this way bend their action.

Christ. Friends, perhaps,

For foes it were too daring.-Haste thee,
Peterson,

Detach a thousand of our Danish horse
To rule their motions-we will out ourself,
And hold our powers in readiness.-Lead on.
[Exeunt.

SCENE II.-Another Apartment in the Palace.

Enter CHRISTINA and MARIANA. Mar. Ha! did you mark, my princess, did you mark?

Should some reverse, some wondrous whirl of fate,

Once more return Gustavus to the battle, New nerve his arm, and wreathe his brow

with conquest;

Say, would you not repent that e'er you sav'd This dreadful man, the foe of your great race; Who pours impetuous in his country's cause To spoil you of a kingdom?

Christina. No, my friend.

Had I to death, or bondage, sold my sire,
Or had Gustavus on our native realms
Made hostile inroad; then, my Mariana,
Had I then sav'd him from the stroke of jus-
tice,

[don. I should not cease my suit to Heaven for par

Against my faith, my country, and allegiance,
To wish thee speed, Gustavus.
Christina. Then you found him!

Laer. I did; and warn'd him, but in vain; for death

To him appear'd more grateful than to find
His friend's dishonour.

Christina. Give me the manner-quicksoft, good Laertes !

Enter CHRISTIERN, PETERSON, Danes, &c. Christ. Damn'd, double traitor! O curs'd, false Arvida!

Guard well the Swedish prisoners. Stand to your arms. -Bring forth the captives there!

Enter AUGUSTA and Gustava, guarded. Peter. My liege

Christ. Away!

[more:

Fortune! we will not trust the changeling
But wear her girt upon our armed loins,
Or pointed in our grasp.

Christ. And no more?
Off. No more,

That yet appear.

Christ. We count six times their sum.Haste, soldier, take a trumpet, tell Gustavus We have of terms to offer, and would treat Touching his mother's ransom; say, her death, Suspended by our grace, but waits his answer. [Exit OFFICER. Madam, it should well suit with your authority, [TO AUGUSTA. To check this frenzy in your son- -Look to it, Or, by the saints, this hour's your last of life! Aug. Come, my Gustava, come, my little We shall be free: [captive, And I will give thee to thy father's fondness, And to the arms of all thy royal race

In heaven; who sit on thrones, with loves and joys.

Christ. Is this my answer?

Come forth, ye ministers of death, come forth.

Enter Ruffians, who seize Augusta and

GUSTAVA.

Pluck them asunder! We shall prove you,
lady!
Christina. Ah! I can hold no longer. Royal
Sir,

Thus on my knees, and lower, lower still-
Christ. My child! what mean you?
Christina. O my gracious father!
Kill, kill me rather-let me perish first;
But do not stain the sanctity of kings
With the sweet blood of helpless innocence.
Augusta. Ha! who art thou,

That look'st so like the 'habitants of heaven,
Like mercy sent upon the morning's blush,
To glad the heart, and cheer a gloomy world
With light 'till now unknown?

Christ. Away, they come.

I'll hear no more of your ill-timed petitions. Christina. Oh yet for pity!

Christ. I will none on't, leave me. Pity! it is the infant fool of nature: Tear off her hold, and bear her to her tent. [Exeunt CHRISTINA, MARIANA, LAERTES,

and Attendants.

Gust. Mistaken man!

I come empower'd, and strengther'd in thy weakness.

For though the structure of a tyrant's throne Rise on the necks of half the suffering world, Fear trembles in the cement!

Christ. Gustavus, wouldst thou yet return to grace,

And hold thy motions in the sphere of duty, Acceptance might be found.

Gust. Imperial spoiler !

Give me my father, give me back my kindred, Give me the fathers of ten thousand orphans, Give me the sons, in whom thy ruthless sword Has left our widows childless: mine they were, Both mine, and every Swede's, whose patriot breast

Bleeds in his country's woundings! O thou canst not!

Give me then,

My all that's left, my gentle mother there,
And spare yon little trembler!
Christ. Yes, on terms
Of compact and submission.
Gust. Ha! with thee?

Compact with thee! and mean'st thou for my [country? For Sweden! No-so hold my heart but firm, Although it wring for't; though blood drop for tears,

And at the sight my straining eyes start forthThey both shall perish first.

Christ. Slaves, do your office.

Gust. Hold yet. Thou canst not be so damn'd? my mother!

I dare not ask thy blessing.-Where's Arvida? Where art thou? Come, my friend, thou'st known temptation

And therefore best canst pity, or support me. Arv. Alas! I shall but serve to weigh thee downward,

To pull thee from the dazzling, sightless
height,
[tavus,
At which thy virtue soars. For, oh, Gus-
My soul is dark, disconsolate and dark;
Sick to the world, and hateful to myself,
I have no country now; I've nought but thee,
And should yield up the interest of mankind,
Where thine's in question.

Aug. See, my son relents;

Behold, O king! yet spare us but a moment,
His little sister shall embrace his knees,
And these fond arms, around his duteous neck,
Shall join to bend him to us.

Christ. Could I trust ye-
Arv. I'll be your hostage!
Christ. Granted.

Gust. Hold, my friend.

[Here ARVIDA breaks from GUSTAVUS, and passes to CHRISTIERN's party, while AuGUSTA and GUSTAVA go over to GUSTAVUS. Aug. Is it then given, yet given me, ere I To see thy face, Gustavus? thus to gaze, [die To touch, to fold thee thus!-My son, my And have I liv'd to this? It is enough. [son! All arm'd and, in my country's precious cause, Terribly beauteous, to behold thee thus! Why, 'twas my only, hourly suit to Heaven, And now 'tis granted. O my glorious child, Bless'd were the throes I felt for thee, Gustavus! [bands For from the breast, from out your swathing You stepp'd the child of honour. Gust. O my mother!

Aug. Why stands that water trembling in

thy eye?

Why heaves thy bosom? Turn not thus away, "Tis the last time that we must meet, my child,

Gust. Speak, speak!

Aug. "Tis felt for thee.

Too well I know thy gentleness of soul, Melting as babes; even now the pressure's on thee,

And bends thy loveliness to earth--Oh, child!
The dear but sad foretaste of thy affliction
Already kills thy mother-But behold,
Behold thy valiant followers, who to thee,
And to the faith of thy protecting arm, [too;
Have given ten thousand mothers, daughters
Who in thy virtue yet may learn to bear
Millions of freeborn sons to bless thy name,
And pray for their deliverer-Oh farewell!
This and but this, the very last adieu!
Heaven sit victorious on thy arm, my son!
And give thee to thy merits!

Christ. Ah, thou trait'ress!
Aug. See, Gustavus,

My little captive waits for one embrace,
Gust. Come to my arms, thou lamblike
sacrifice;

Oh, that they were of force to fold thee ever, To let thee to my heart! there lock thee close, But 'twill not be!

Arv. Hear me, thou most dear Gustavus! Thus low I bend my prayer, reject me not: If once, if ever, thou didst love Arvida, Oh leave me here to answer to the wrath Of this fell tyrant. Save thy honour'd mother And that sweet lamb from slaughter!

Gust. Cruel friendship!

Christ. And by my life I'd take thee at thy But that I know 'twould please thee. [word, Aug. No, generous prince, thy blood shall

never be

The price of our dishonour. Come, my child; Weep not, sweet babe, there shall no harm come nigh thee.

Christ. "Tis well, proud dame; you are return'd, I see

[tavus; Each to his charge-Here break we off, GusFor to the very teeth of thy rebellion We dash defiance back.

Gust. Alas, my mother! Grief chokes up utterance, else I have to say What never tongue unfolded- -Yet return, Come back, and I will give up all to save Thou fountain of my life!

[thee;

Dearer than mercy is to kneeling penitence,
My early blessing, first and latest joy;
Return, return and save thy lost Gustavus !
Christ. No more, thou trifler!
Aug. Ob, farewell for ever!
[Exeunt CHRISTIERN and his party.
TAVUS and his party remain

Siv. Accurs'd be he,

Who, in thy leading, will not fight and strive,
And bleed, and gasp with pleasure!
And. We are thine.

Arn. Though, to yield us up,
Had scarce been less than virtue.
Gust. O my friends!

I see,
'tis not for man to boast his strength
Before the trial comes-This very hour,
Had I a thousand parents, all seem'd light,
When weigh'd against my country; and but
now,
[world,
One mother seem'd of weight to poise the
Though conscious truth and reason were
against her.

For, oh, howe'er the partial passions sway,
High Heaven assigns but one unbiass'd way;
Direct through every opposition leads,
Where shelves decline, and many a steep
impedes.

Here hold we on-though thwarting fiends
alarm,
[charm;
Here hold we on-though devious syrens
In Heaven's disposing power events unite,
Nor aught can happen wrong to him, who
acts aright.
[Exeunt.

Laer. Christina, fly! thou royal virgin, Gus- This morn beheld thee mistress of the north, Bright heir of Scandinavia; and this hour

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