ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

That whether death or victory ensued
I might be his, beyond the power of fate;
The queen too did assist his suit-I granted;
And in one day was wedded and a widow.
Leon. Indeed 'twas mournful--
Alm. "Twas as I have told thee--

For which I mourn, and will for ever mourn; Nor will I change these black and dismal robes,

Or ever dry these swoln and watery eyes;
Or ever taste content or peace of heart,
While I have life, and thought of my Al-
phonso.

Leon. Look down, good Heaven, with pity on her sorrows,

And grant that time may bring her some relief. Alm. Oh, no! time gives increase to my afflictions.

cares,

The circling hours, that gather all the woes
Which are diffus'd through the revolving year,
Come heavy laden with th' oppressing weight
To me; with me, successively, they leave
The sighs, the tears, the groans, the restless
[flight:
And all the damps of grief, that did retard their
They shake their downy wings, and scatter all
The dire collected dews on my poor head:
Then fly with joy and swiftness from me.
Leon. Hark!
[Shouts at a distance.
The distant shouts proclaim your father's
triumph.

O cease, for Heaven's sake, assuage a little
This torrent of your grief, for this, I fear,
Twill urge his wrath, to see you drown'd in
tears,

When joy appears in every other face.

Alm. And joy he brings to every other heart, But double, double weight of wo to mine: For with him Garcia comes-Garcia, to whom I must be sacrific'd, and all the vows I gave my dear Alphonso basely broken. No, it shall never be; for I will die First, die ten thousand deaths-Look down, look down,

Alphonso, hear the sacred vow I make;

[Kneels. One moment, cease to gaze on perfect bliss, And bend thy glorious eyes to earth and me. And thou, Anselmo, if yet thou art arriv❜d, Through all impediments of purging fire, To that bright Heaven, where my Alphonso

reigns,

Behold thou also, and attend my vow.
If ever I do yield, or give consent,
By any action, word, or thought, to wed
Another lord; may then just Heaven shower

down

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

Gon. Be every day of your long life like this. The sun, bright conquest, and your brighter eyes, Have all conspir'd to blaze promiscuous light, And bless this day with most unequall'd Your royal father, my victorious lord, [lustre. Loaden with spoils, and ever-living laurel, Is entering now, in martial pomp, the palace. Five hundred mules precede his solemn march, Which groan beneath the weight of Moorish wealth.

Chariots of war, adorn'd with glittering gems, Succeed; and next, a hundred neighing

steeds,

White as the fleecy rain on Alpine hills,
That bound and foam, and champ the golden

bit,

As they disdain'd the victory they grace. Prisoners of war, in shining fetters, follow: And captains of the noblest blood of Afric Sweat by his chariot wheel, and lick and grind, [raise. With gnashing teeth, the dust his triumphs The swarming populace spread every wall, And cling, as if with claws they did enforce Their hold; through clifted stones stretching and staring,

As if they were all eyes, and every limb Would feed its faculty with admiration: While you alone retire, and shun this sight; This sight, which is indeed not seen, (though twice

The multitude should gaze) in absence of

your eyes.

Alm. My lord, my eyes ungratefully behold
The gilded trophies of exterior honours.
Nor will my ears be charmed with sounding
words,

Or pompous phrase, the pageantry of souls.
But that my father is return'd in safety,
I bend to Heaven with thanks.

But 'tis a task unfit for my weak age
Gon. Excellent princess !-
With dying words to offer at your praise.
Garcia, my son, your beauty's lowest slave,
Has better done, in proving with his sword
The force and influence of your matchless

charms.

Alm. I doubt not of the worth of Garcia's

deeds,

Which had been brave though I had ne'er been born.

[Flourish.

Leon. Madam, the king. Alm. My women. I would meet him. [Attendants to ALMERIA enter in mourning. Symphony of warlike Music. Enter the KING, attended by GARCIA and several Officers. Files of Prisoners in chains, and Guards, who are ranged in order round the Stage. ALMERIA meets the KING, and kneels: afterwards

[blocks in formation]

What, tears! my good old friend

Gon. But tears of joy.

Believe me, Sir, to see you thus, has fill'd Mine eyes with more delight than they can hold.

King. By Heaven, thou lov'st me, and I'm pleas'd thou dost ;

Take it for thanks, old man, that I rejoice
To see thee weep on this occasion-Some
Here are, who seem to mourn at our success!
Why is't, Almeria, that you meet our eyes,
Upon this solemn day, in these sad weeds?
In opposition to my brightness, you
And yours are all like daughters of affliction.
Alm. Forgive me, Sir, if I in this offend.
The year which I have vow'd to pay to Heaven,
In mourning and strict life for my deliverance
From wreck and death, wants yet to be ex-
pir'd.

King. Your zeal to Heaven is great, so is your debt:

A day

Yet something too is due to me, who gave
That life, which Heaven preserv'd.
In filial duty, had aton'd and given [bestow'd
A dispensation to your vow-No more!
"Twas weak and wilful-and a woman's error.
Yet, upon thought, it doubly wounds my
sight,

To see that sable worn upon the day,
Succeeding that, in which our deadliest foe,
Hated Anselmo, was interr'd-By Heaven,
It looks as thou didst mourn for him: just so
Thy senseless vow appear'd to bear its date,
Not from that hour wherein thou wert pre-
serv'd,

But that wherein the curs'd Alphonso perish'd. Ha! What? thou dost not weep to think of that!

Gon. Have patience, royal Sir; the princess weeps

To have offended you. If fate decreed,
One pointed hour should be Alphonso's loss,
And her deliverance, is she to blame?

King. I tell thee she's to blame, not to have feasted

When my first foe was laid in earth, such enmity,

Such detestation bears my blood to his;
My daughter should have revel'd at his death,
She should have made these palace walls to

shake,

And all this high and ample roof to ring With her rejoicings. What, to mourn and weep!

Then, then to weep, and pray, and grieve! by Heaven!'

There's not a slave, a shackl'd slave of mine, But should have smil'd that hour, through all his care,

And shook his chains in transport and rude harmony.

Gon. What she has done, was in excess of goodness;

Betray'd by too much piety, to seem
As if she had offended.- -Sure, no more.
King. To seem is to commit, at this con-
juncture.

I wo'not have a seeming sorrow seen
To-day. Retire; divest yourself with speed
Of that offensive black; on me be all
The violation of your vow; for you,
It shall be your excuse, that I command it.

Gar. [Kneeling.] Your pardon, Sir, if I presume so far,

As to remind you of your gracious promise. King. Rise, Garcia.—I forgot. Yet stay, Almeria.

Alm. My boding heart!-What is your pleasure, Sir?

King. Draw near, and give your hand, and, Garcia, yours:

Receive this lord, as one whom I have found Worthy to be your husband, and my son.

Gar. Thus let me kneel to take-O, not to

take

But to devote, and yield myself for ever
The slave and creature of my royal mistress.
Gon. O, let me prostrate pay my worthless
thanks-

King. No more; my promise long since pass'd, thy services,

And Garcia's well-tried valour, all oblige me.
This day we triumph; but to-morrow's sun,
Garcia, shall shine to grace thy nuptials-
Alm. Oh!

[Faints. Gar. She faints! help to support her. Gon. She recovers.

King. A fit of bridal fear. How is't AI

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

The monarch enter not triumphant, but
In pleasing triumph led; your beauty's slave.
Zar. If I on any terms could condescend
To like captivity, or think those honours,
Which conquerors in courtesy bestow,
Of equal value with unborrow'd rule
And native right to arbitrary sway,

I might be pleased, when I behold this train
With usual homage wait: but when I feel
These bonds, I look with loathing on myself,
And scorn vile slavery, though doubly hid
Beneath mock praises, and dissembled state.
King. Those bonds ! 'Twas my command you
should be free.

How durst you, Perez, disobey?

Perez. Great Sir,

Your order was, she should not wait your triumph,

But at some distance follow, thus attended. King. 'Tis false; 'twas more; I bid she should be free;

If not in words, I bid it by my eyes. [hers
Her eyes did more than bid- Free her and
With speed-yet stay-my hands alone can
make

Fit restitution here-Thus I release you,
And by releasing you, enslave myself.

Zar. Such favours, so conferr'd, though when unsought,

Deserve acknowledgement from noble minds.
Such thanks, as one hating to be obliged-
Yet hating more ingratitude, can pay,
I offer.

King. Born to excel, and to command!
As by transcendent beauty to attract
All eyes, so, by pre-eminence of soul,
To rule all hearts.
Garcia, what's he, who with contracted brow,
[Beholding OSMYN as they unbind him.
And sullen port, glooms downwards with his

eyes;

At once regardless of his chains, or liberty? Gar. That, Sir, is he of whom I spoke; that's Osmyn.

King. He answers well the character you
gave him.

Whence comes it, valiant Osmyn, that a man
So great in arms as thou art said to be,
So hardly can endure captivity,

The common chance of war?

Osm. Because captivity

Has robb'd me of a dear and just revenge.
King. I understand not that.

Osm. I would not have you.

Zar. That gallant Moor in battle lost a friend,

Whom more than life he lov'd; and the regret Of not revenging on his foes that loss, Has caus'd this melancholy and despair. King. She does excuse him; 'tis as I suspected. [To GONS. Gon. That friend might be herself; seem not to heed

His arrogant reply: she looks concern'd. King. I'll have inquiry made; perhaps his friend

Yet lives, and is a prisoner. His name?
Zar. Heli.

King. Garcia, that search shall be your care: It shall be mine to pay devotion here; At this fair shrine to lay my laurels down, And raise love's altar on the spoils of war. Conquest and triumphs, now, are mine no more;

Nor will I victory in camps adore : [stands,
For, lingering there, in long suspense she
Shifting the prize in unresolving hands;
Unus'd to wait, I broke through her delay,
Fix'd her by force, and snatch'd the doubtful
day

Now late I find that war is but her sport;
In love the goddess keeps her awful court,
Fickle in fields, unsteadily she flies,
But rules with settl'd sway in Zara's eyes.

ACT II.

[Exit.

SCENE I.-Representing the aisle of a
Temple. GARCIA, HELI, PEREZ.

Gar. This way we're told, Osmyn was seen to walk;

Choosing this lonely mansion of the dead,
To mourn, brave Heli, thy mistaken fate."
Heli. Let Heaven with thunder to the cen-
tre strike me,

If to arise in very deed from death,
And to revisit, with my long-clos'd eyes,
This living light, could to my soul or sense
Afford a thought, or show a glimpse of joy,
In least proportion to the vast delight
I feel, to hear of Osmyn's name; to hear
That Osmyn lives, and I again shall see him.
Gar. I've heard, with admiration of your
friendship.

Per. Yonder, my lord, behold the noble
Moor.

Heli. Where? Where?

Gur. I saw him not, nor any like him-
Per. I saw him when I spoke, thwarting my

view,

And striding with distemper'd haste; his eyes Seem'd flame, and flash'd upon me with a glance;

Then forward shot their fires, which he pursu'd As to some object frightful, yet not fear'd.

Gar. Let's haste to follow him, and know

the cause.

Heli. My lord, let me intreat you to forbear: Leave me alone, to find and cure the cause. I know his melancholy, and such starts Are usual to his temper. It might raise him To act some violence upon himself, So to be caught in an unguarded hour, And when his soul gives all her passion way, Secure and loose in friendly solitude.

I know his noble heart would burst with shame,

To be surpriz'd by strangers in its frailty.
Gar. Go, generous Heli and relieve your

friend.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

How reverend is the face of this tall pile,
Whose ancient pillars rear their marble heads,
To bear aloft its arch'd and ponderous roof,
By its own weight made steadfast and im-
moveable,

Looking tranquillity. It strikes an awe
And terror on my aching sight; the tombs
And monumental caves of death look cold,
And shoot a chillness to my trembling heart.
Give me thy hand, and let me hear thy voice;
Nay, quickly speak to me, and let me hear
Thy voice my own affrights me with its

echoes.

[blocks in formation]

Enter ALMERIA and LEONORA.

Leon. Behold the sacred vault, within whose womb

The poor remains of good Anselmo rest,
Yet fresh and unconsum'd by time or worms:
What do I see? Oh, Heaven! either my eyes
Are false, or still the marble door remains
Unclos'd; the iron gates, that lead to death
Beneath, are still wide stretch'd upon their
hinge,

And staring on us with unfolded leaves.

Alm. Sure 'tis the friendly yawn of death for me;

And that dumb mouth, significant in show, Invites me to the bed, where I alone Shall rest; shows me the grave, where nature, weary [cares, And long oppress'd with woes and bending May lay the burden down, and sink in slum[fold Of peace eternal. Death, grim death, will Me in his leaden arms, and press me close

bers

To his cold, clayey breast: my father then
Will fly my pale deformity with loathing.
Will cease his tyranny; and Garcia too
My soul, enlarg'd from its vile bonds, will
mount,

Of that refulgent world, where I shall swim
And range the starry orbs, and milky ways,
In liquid light, and float on seas of bliss
Oh, ecstasy of thought! Help me, Anselmo;
To my Alphonso's soul. Oh, joy too great!
Help me, Alphonso; take me, reach thy hand;
To thee, to thee I call, to thee, Alphonso:

Oh, Alphonso!

OSMYN ascending from the tomb.

Osm. Who calls that wretched thing that was Alphonso?

Alm. Angels, and all the host of Heaven, support me!

Osm. Whence is that voice, whose shrillness, from the grave,

And growing to his father's shroud, roots up Alphonso!

Alm. Mercy! Providence! Oh, speak, Speak to it quickly, quickly; speak to me, Comfort me, help me, hold me, hide me, hide

me,

Leonora, in thy bosom, from the light,
And from my eyes.

Osm. Amazement and illusion! Rivet and nail me where I stand, ye powers, [Coming forward.

That, motionless, I may be still deceiv'd.
Let me not stir, nor breathe, lest I dissolve
That tender, lovely form of painted air,
So like Almeria. Ha! it sinks, it falls;
I'll catch it ere it goes, and grasp her shade.
'Tis life! 'tis warm! 'tis she, 'tis she herself!
Nor dead, nor shade, but breathing and alive!
It is Almeria, 'tis my wife!

[blocks in formation]

got me ?

Hast thou thy eyes, yet canst not see Alphonso?
Am I so alter'd, or art thou so chang'd,
That seeing my disguise thou seest not me?

Alm. It is, it is Alphonso; 'tis his face, His voice, I know him now, I know him all. Oh, take me to thy arms, and bear me hence, Back to the bottom of the boundless deep, To seas beneath, where thou so long hast dwelt. [charm'd

Ob, how hast thou return'd? How hast thou

The wildness of the waves and rocks to this? That thus relenting they have given thee back To earth, to light and life, to love and me.

Osm. Oh, I'll not ask, nor answer, how or why

We both have backward trod the paths of fate,
To meet again in life; to know I have thee,
Is knowing more than any circumstance,
Or means, by which I have thee-
To fold thee thus, to press thy balmy lips,
And gaze upon thy eyes, is so much joy,
I have not leisure to reflect, or know,
Or trifle time in thinking.

Alm. Stay a while

Let me look on thee yet a little more.

Osm. What wouldst thou? thou dost put me from thee.

Alm. Yes.

[blocks in formation]

It is too much; too much to bear and live!
To see thee thus again is such profusion
Of joy, of bliss—I cannot bear-I must
Be mad- -I cannot be transported thus.
Osm. Thou excellence, thoù joy, thou heav-
en of love!

Alm. Where hast thou been? and how art thou alive?

How is all this? All-powerful Heaven, what are we?

Oh, my strain❜d heart-let me again behold thee,

For I weep to see thee-Art thou not paler? Much, much; how thou art chang'd!

Osm. Not in my love.

Alm. No, no, thy griefs, I know, have done this to thee.

Thou hast wept much, Alphonso; and, I fear, Too much, too tenderly lamented me.

Osm. Wrong not my love, to say too tenderly. No more, my life; talk not of tears or grief; Affliction is no more, now thou art found. Why dost thou weep, and hold thee from my arms, [grow My arms which ache to hold thee fast, and To thee with twining? Come, come to my heart.

Alm. I will, for I should never look enough. They would have married me; but I had

[blocks in formation]

Alm. 'Tis more than recompence to see thy face.

If Heaven is greater joy, it is no happiness, For 'tis not to be borne-What shall I say? I have a thousand things to know and ask, And speak-That thou art here beyond all hope, [me,

All thought; and all at once thou art before And with such suddenness hast hit my sight, Is such surprise, such mystery, such ecstacy, It hurries all my soul, and stuns my sense. Sure from thy father's tomb thou didst arise ? Osm. I did; and thou, my love, didst call

me; thou.

Alm. True; but how cam'st thou there? Wert thou alone?

Osm. I was, and lying on my father's lead, When broken echoes of a distant voice Disturb'd the sacred silence of the vault. In murmurs round my head. I rose and listen'd,

And thought I heard thy spirit call Alphonso; I thought I saw thee too; but, oh, I thought

[blocks in formation]

Heaven,

That persevering still, with open hand,
It scatters good, as in a waste of mercy?
Where will this end? But Heaven is infinite
In all, and can continue to bestow,
When scanty number shall be spent in telling.
Leon. Or I'm deceiv'd, or I beheld the

glimpse

Of two in shining habits cross the aisle ;
Who by their pointing seem to mark this place.
Alm. Sure I have dreamt, if we must part so

soon.

Osm. I wish at least our parting were a dream;

Or we could sleep 'till we again were met. Heli. Zara with Selim, Sir, I saw and know 'em':

[wings. You must be quick, for love will lend her Alm. What love? Who is she? Why are

you alarm'd?

Osm. She's the reverse of thee; she's my unhappiness. [peace; Harbour no thought that may disturb thy But gently take thyself away, lest she Should come, and see the straining of my eyes To follow thee.

« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »