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_ ACT IV
SCENE I.
A Prison.
GOTARZES and PHRAATES.
PHRAATES.
Oh! fly my Prince, for safety dwells not here,
Hence let me urge thy flight with eager haste.
Last night thy Father sigh'd his soul to bliss,
Base murther'd--
GOTARZES.
Murther'd? ye Gods!--
PHRAATES.
Alas! 'tis true.
Stabb'd in his slumber by a traitor's hand;
I scarce can speak it--horror choaks my words--
Lysias it was who did the damned deed,
Urg'd by the bloody Queen, and his curs'd rage,
Because the King, thy Sire, in angry mood,
Once struck him on his foul dishonest cheek.
Suspicion gave me fears of this, when first
I heard, the Prince, Arsaces, was imprison'd,
By fell Vardanes' wiles.
GOTARZES.
Oh! horror! horror!
Hither I came to share my Brother's sorrows,
To mingle tears, and give him sigh for sigh;
But this is double, double weight of woe.
PHRAATES.
'Tis held as yet a secret from the world.
Frighted by hideous dreams I shook off sleep,
And as I mus'd the garden walks along,
Thro' the deep gloom, close in a neighb'ring walk,
Vardanes with proud Lysias I beheld,
Still eager in discourse they saw not me,
For yet the early dawn had not appear'd;
I sought a secret stand, where hid from view,
I heard stern Lysias, hail the Prince Vardanes
As Parthia's dreaded Lord!--"'Tis done", he cry'd,
"'Tis done, and Artabanus is no more.
The blow he gave me is repay'd in blood;
Now shall the morn behold two rising suns:
Vardanes thou, our better light, shalt bring
Bright day and joy to ev'ry heart."
GOTARZES.
Why slept
Your vengeance, oh! ye righteous Gods?
PHRAATES.
Then told
A tale, so fill'd with bloody circumstance,
Of this damn'd deed, that stiffen'd me with horror.
Vardanes seem'd to blame the hasty act,
As rash, and unadvis'd, by passion urg'd,
Which never yields to cool reflection's place.
But, being done, resolv'd it secret, lest
The multitude should take it in their wise
Authority to pry into his death.
Arsaces was, by assassination,
Doom'd to fall. Your name was mention'd also--
But hurried by my fears away, I left
The rest unheard--
GOTARZES.
What can be done?--Reflection, why wilt thou
Forsake us, when distress is at our heels?
Phraates, help me, aid me with thy council.
PHRAATES.
Then stay not here, fly to Barzaphernes,
His conqu'ring troops are at a trivial distance;
Soon will you reach the camp; he lov'd your Brother,
And your Father with affection serv'd; haste
Your flight, whilst yet I have the city-guard,
For Lysias I expect takes my command.
I to the camp dispatch'd a trusty slave,
Before the morn had spread her blushing veil.
Away, you'll meet the Gen'ral on the road,
On such a cause as this he'll not delay.
GOTARZES.
I thank your love--
SCENE II.
PHRAATES
[alone].
I'll wait behind, my stay
May aid the cause; dissembling I must learn,
Necessity shall teach me how to vary
My features to the looks of him I serve.
I'll thrust myself disguis'd among the croud,
And fill their ears with murmurs of the deed:
Whisper all is not well, blow up the sparks
Of discord, and it soon will flame to rage.
SCENE III.
QUEEN and LYSIAS.
QUEEN.
Haste, and shew me to the Prince Arsaces,
Delay not, see the signet of Vardanes.
LYSIAS.
Royal Thermusa, why this eagerness?
This tumult of the soul?--what means this dagger?
Ha!--I suspect--
QUEEN.
Hold--for I'll tell thee, Lysias.
'Tis--oh! I scarce can speak the mighty joy--
I shall be greatly blest in dear revenge,
'Tis vengeance on Arsaces--yes, this hand
Shall urge the shining poniard to his heart,
And give him death--yea, give the ruffian death;
So shall I smile on his keen agonies.
LYSIAS.
Ha! am I robb'd of all my hopes of vengeance,
Shall I then calmly stand with all my wrongs,
And see another bear away revenge?
QUEEN.
For what can Lysias ask revenge, to bar
His Queen of hers?
LYSIAS.
Was I not scorn'd, and spurn'd,
With haughty insolence? like a base coward
Refus'd what e'er I ask'd, and call'd a boaster?
My honour sullied, with opprobrious words,
Which can no more its former brightness know,
'Til, with his blood, I've wash'd the stains away.
Say, shall I then not seek for glorious vengeance?
QUEEN.
And what is this, to the sad Mother's griefs,
Her hope cut off, rais'd up with pain and care?
Hadst thou e'er supported the lov'd Prattler?
Hadst thou like me hung o'er his infancy,
Wasting in wakeful mood the tedious night,
And watch'd his sickly couch, far mov'd from rest,
Waiting his health's return?--Ah! hadst thou known
The parent's fondness, rapture, toil and sorrow,
The joy his actions gave, and the fond wish
Of something yet to come, to bless my age,
And lead me down with pleasure to the grave,
Thou wouldst not thus talk lightly of my wrongs.
But I delay--
LYSIAS.
To thee I then submit.
Be sure to wreck a double vengeance on him;
If that thou knowst a part in all his body,
Where pain can most be felt, strike, strike him there--
And let him know the utmost height of anguish.
It is a joy to think that he shall fall,
Tho' 'tis another hand which gives the blow.
SCENE IV.
ARSACES and BETHAS.
ARSACES.
Why should I linger out my joyless days,
When length of hope is length of misery?
Hope is a coz'ner, and beguiles our cares,
Cheats us with empty shews of happiness,
Swift fleeting joys which mock the faint embrace;
We wade thro' ills pursuing of the meteor,
Yet are distanc'd still.
BETHAS.
Ah! talk not of hope--
Hope fled when bright Astraea spurn'd this earth,
And sought her seat among the shining Gods;
Despair, proud tyrant, ravages my breast,
And makes all desolation.
ARSACES.
How can I
Behold those rev'rent sorrows, see those cheeks
Moist with the dew which falls from thy sad eyes,
Nor imitate distraction's frantic tricks,
And chace cold lifeless reason from her throne?
I am the fatal cause of all this sorrow,
The spring of ills,--to know me is unhappiness;--
And mis'ry, like a hateful plague, pursues
My wearied steps, and blasts the springing verdure.
BETHAS.
No;--It is I that am the source of all,
It is my fortune sinks you to this trouble;
Before you shower'd your gentle pity on me,
You shone the pride of this admiring world.--
Evanthe springs from me, whose fatal charms
Produces all this ruin.--Hear me heav'n!
If to another love she ever yields,
And stains her soul with spotted falsehood's crime,
If e'en in expectation tastes a bliss,
Nor joins Arsaces with it, I will wreck
My vengeance on her, so that she shall be
A dread example to all future times.
ARSACES.
Oh! curse her not, nor threaten her with anger,
She is all gentleness, yet firm to truth,
And blest with ev'ry pleasing virtue, free
From levity, her sex's character.
She scorns to chace the turning of the wind,
Varying from point to point.
BETHAS.
I love her, ye Gods!
I need not speak the greatness of my love,
Each look which straining draws my soul to hers
Denotes unmeasur'd fondness; but mis'ry,
Like a fretful peevish child, can scarce tell
What it would wish, or aim at.
ARSACES.
Immortals, hear!
Thus do I bow my soul in humble pray'r--
Thou, King of beings, in whose breath is fate,
Show'r on Evanthe all thy choicest blessings,
And bless her with excess of happiness;
If yet, there is one bliss reserv'd in store,
And written to my name, oh! give it her,
And give me all her sorrows in return.
BETHAS.
'Rise, 'rise my Prince, this goodness o'erwhelms me,
She's too unworthy of so great a passion.
ARSACES.
I know not what it means, I'm not as usual,
Ill-boding cares, and restless fears oppress me,
And horrid dreams disturb, and fright, my slumbers;
But yesternight, 'tis dreadful to relate,
E'en now I tremble at my waking thoughts,
Methought, I stood alone upon the shore,
And, at my feet, there roll'd a sea of blood,
High wrought, and 'midst the waves, appear'd my Father,
Struggling for life; above him was Vardanes,
Pois'd in the air, he seem'd to rule the storm,
And, now and then, would push my Father down,
And for a space he'd sink beneath the waves,
And then, all gory, rise to open view,
His voice in broken accents reach'd my ear,
And bade me save him from the bloody stream;
Thro' the red billows eagerly I rush'd,
But sudden woke, benum'd with chilling fear.
BETHAS.
Most horrible indeed!--but let it pass,
'Tis but the offspring of a mind disturb'd,
For sorrow leaves impressions on the fancy,
Which shew most fearful to us lock'd in sleep.
ARSACES.
Thermusa! ha!--what can be her design?
She bears this way, and carries in her looks
An eagerness importing violence.
Retire--for I would meet her rage alone.
SCENE V.
ARSACES and QUEEN.
ARSACES.
What means the proud Thermusa by this visit,
Stoops heav'n-born pity to a breast like thine?
Pity adorns th' virtuous, but ne'er dwells
Where hate, revenge, and rage distract the soul.
Sure, it is hate that hither urg'd thy steps,
To view misfortune with an eye of triumph.
I know thou lov'st me not, for I have dar'd
To cross thy purposes, and, bold in censure,
Spoke of thy actions as they merited.
Besides, this hand 'twas slew the curs'd Vonones.
QUEEN.
And darst thou insolent to name Vonones?
To heap perdition on thy guilty soul?
There needs not this to urge me to revenge--
But let me view this wonder of mankind,
Whose breath can set the bustling world in arms.
I see no dreadful terrors in his eye,
Nor gathers chilly fears around my heart,
Nor strains my gazing eye with admiration,
And, tho' a woman, I can strike the blow.
ARSACES.
Why gaze you on me thus? why hesitate?
Am I to die?
QUEEN.
Thou art--this dagger shall
Dissolve thy life, thy fleeting ghost I'll send
To wait Vonones in the shades below.
ARSACES.
And even there I'll triumph over him.
QUEEN.
O, thou vile homicide! thy fatal hand
Has robb'd me of all joy; Vonones, to
Thy Manes this proud sacrifice I give.
That hand which sever'd the friendship of thy
Soul and body, shall never draw again
Imbitt'ring tears from sorr'wing mother's eyes.
This, with the many tears I've shed, receive
[Offers to stab him.]
Ha!--I'd strike; what holds my hand?--'tis n't pity.
ARSACES.
Nay, do not mock me, with the shew of death,
And yet deny the blessing; I have met
Your taunts with equal taunts, in hopes to urge
The blow with swift revenge; but since that fails,
I'll woo thee to compliance, teach my tongue
Persuasion's winning arts, to gain thy soul;
I'll praise thy clemency, in dying accents
Bless thee for, this, thy charitable deed.
Oh! do not stand; see, how my bosom heaves
To meet the stroke; in pity let me die,
'Tis all the happiness I now can know.
QUEEN.
How sweet the eloquence of dying men!
Hence Poets feign'd the music of the Swan,
When death upon her lays his icy hand,
She melts away in melancholy strains.
ARSACES.
Play not thus cruel with my poor request,
But take my loving Father's thanks, and mine.
QUEEN.
Thy Father cannot thank me now.
ARSACES.
He will,
Believe me, e'en whilst dissolv'd in ecstacy
On fond Evanthe's bosom, he will pause,
One moment from his joys, to bless the deed.
QUEEN.
What means this tumult in my breast? from whence
Proceeds this sudden change? my heart beats high,
And soft compassion makes me less than woman:
I'll search no more for what I fear to know.
ARSACES.
Why drops the dagger from thy trembling hand?
Oh! yet be kind--
QUEEN.
No: now I'd have thee live,
Since it is happiness to die: 'Tis pain
That I would give thee, thus I bid thee live;
Yes, I would have thee a whole age a dying,
And smile to see thy ling'ring agonies.
All day I'd watch thee, mark each heighten'd pang,
While springing joy should swell my panting bosom;
This I would have--But should this dagger give
Thy soul the liberty it fondly wishes,
'Twould soar aloft, and mock my faint revenge.
ARSACES.
This mildness shews most foul, thy anger lovely.
Think that 'twas I who blasted thy fond hope,
Vonones now lies number'd with the dead,
And all your joys are buried in his grave;
My hand untimely pluck'd the precious flow'r,
Before its shining beauties were display'd.
QUEEN.
O Woman! Woman! where's thy resolution?
Where's thy revenge? Where's all thy hopes of vengeance?
Giv'n to the winds--Ha! is it pity?--No--
I fear it wears another softer name.
I'll think no more, but rush to my revenge,
In spite of foolish fear, or woman's softness;
Be steady now my soul to thy resolves.
Yes, thou shalt die, thus, on thy breast, I write
Thy instant doom--ha!--ye Gods!
[QUEEN starts, as, in great fright, at hearing something.]
ARSACES.
Why this pause?
Why dost thou idly stand like imag'd vengeance,
With harmless terrors threatning on thy brow,
With lifted arm, yet canst not strike the blow?
QUEEN.
It surely was the Echo to my fears,
The whistling wind, perhaps, which mimick'd voice;
But thrice methought it loudly cry'd, "Forbear."
Imagination hence--I'll heed thee not--
[Ghost of ARTABANUS rises.]
Save me--oh!--save me--ye eternal pow'rs!--
See!--see it comes, surrounded with dread terrors--
Hence--hence! nor blast me with that horrid sight--
Throw off that shape, and search th' infernal rounds
For horrid forms, there's none can shock like thine.
GHOST.
No; I will ever wear this form, thus e'er
Appear before thee; glare upon thee thus,
'Til desperation, join'd to thy damn'd crime,
Shall wind thee to the utmost height of frenzy.
In vain you grasp the dagger in your hand,
In vain you dress your brows in angry frowns,
In vain you raise your threatning arm in air,
Secure, Arsaces triumphs o'er your rage.
Guarded by fate, from thy accurs'd revenge,
Thou canst not touch his life; the Gods have giv'n
A softness to thy more than savage soul
Before unknown, to aid their grand designs.
Fate yet is lab'ring with some great event,
But what must follow I'm forbid to broach--
Think, think of me, I sink to rise again,
To play in blood before thy aching sight,
And shock thy guilty soul with hell-born horrors--
Think, think of Artabanus! and despair--
[Sinks.]
QUEEN.
Think of thee, and despair?--yes, I'll despair--
Yet stay,--oh! stay, thou messenger of fate!
Tell me--Ha! 'tis gone--and left me wretched--
ARSACES.
Your eyes seem fix'd upon some dreadful object,
Horror and anguish clothe your whiten'd face,
And your frame shakes with terror; I hear you speak
As seeming earnest in discourse, yet hear
No second voice.
QUEEN.
What! saw'st thou nothing?
ARSACES.
Nothing.
QUEEN.
Nor hear'd?--
ARSACES.
Nor Hear'd.
QUEEN.
Amazing spectacle!--
Cold moist'ning dews distil from ev'ry pore,
I tremble like to palsied age--Ye Gods!
Would I could leave this loath'd detested being!--
Oh! all my brain's on fire--I rave! I rave!--
[Ghost rises again.]
Ha! it comes again--see, it glides along--
See, see, what streams of blood flow from its wounds!
A crimson torrent--Shield me, oh! shield me, heav'n.--
ARSACES.
Great, and righteous Gods!--
QUEEN.
Ah! frown not on me--
Why dost thou shake thy horrid locks at me?
Can I give immortality?--'tis gone--
[Ghost sinks.]
It flies me, see, ah!--stop it, stop it, haste--
ARSACES.
Oh, piteous sight!--
QUEEN.
Hist! prithee, hist! oh death!
I'm all on fire--now freezing bolts of ice
Dart thro' my breast--Oh! burst ye cords of life--
Ha! who are ye?--Why do ye stare upon me?--
Oh!--defend me, from these bick'ring Furies!
ARSACES.
Alas! her sense is lost, distressful Queen!
QUEEN.
Help me, thou King of Gods! oh! help me! help!--
See! they envir'n me round--Vonones too,
The foremost leading on the dreadful troop--
But there, Vardanes beck'ns me to shun
Their hellish rage--I come, I come!
Ah! they pursue me, with a scourge of fire.--
[Runs out distracted.]
SCENE VI.
ARSACES
[alone].
Oh!--horror!--on the ground she breathless lies,
Silent, in death's cold sleep; the wall besmear'd
With brains and gore, the marks of her despair.
O guilt! how dreadful dost thou ever shew!
How lovely are the charms of innocence!
How beauteous tho' in sorrows and distress!--
Ha!--what noise?--
[Clashing of swords.]
SCENE VII.
ARSACES, BARZAPHERNES and GOTARZES.
BARZAPHERNES.
At length we've forc'd our entrance--
O my lov'd Prince! to see thee thus, indeed,
Melts e'en me to a woman's softness; see
My eyes o'erflow--Are these the ornaments
For Royal hands? rude manacles! oh shameful!
Is this thy room of state, this gloomy goal?
Without attendance, and thy bed the pavement?
But, ah! how diff'rent was our parting last!
When flush'd with vict'ry, reeking from the slaughter,
You saw Arabia's Sons scour o'er the plain
In shameful flight, before your conqu'ring sword;
Then shone you like the God of battle.
ARSACES.
Welcome!
Welcome, my loyal friends! Barzaphernes!
My good old soldier, to my bosom thus!
Gotarzes, my lov'd Brother! now I'm happy.--
But, say, my soldier, why these threatning arms?
Why am I thus releas'd by force? my Father,
I should have said the King, had he relented,
He'd not have us'd this method to enlarge me.
Alas! I fear, too forward in your love,
You'll brand me with the rebel's hated name.
BARZAPHERNES.
I am by nature blunt--the soldier's manner.
Unus'd to the soft arts practis'd at courts.
Nor can I move the passions, or disguise
The sorr'wing tale to mitigate the smart.
Then seek it not: I would sound the alarm,
Loud as the trumpet's clangour, in your ears;
Nor win I hail you, as our Parthia's King,
'Til you've full reveng'd your Father's murther.
ARSACES.
Murther?--good heav'n!
BARZAPHERNES.
The tale requires some time;
And opportunity must not be lost;
Your traitor Brother, who usurps your rights,
Must, ere his faction gathers to a head,
Have from his brows his new-born honours torn.
ARSACES.
What, dost thou say, murther'd by Vardanes?
Impious parricide!--detested villain!--
Give me a sword, and onward to the charge,
Stop gushing tears, for I will weep in blood,
And sorrow with the groans of dying men.--
Revenge! revenge!--oh!--all my soul's on fire!
GOTARZES.
'Twas not Vardanes struck the fatal blow,
Though, great in pow'r usurp'd, he dares support
The actor, vengeful Lysias; to his breast
He clasps, with grateful joy, the bloody villain;
Who soon meant, with ruffian wiles, to cut
You from the earth, and also me.
ARSACES.
Just heav'ns!--
But, gentle Brother, how didst thou elude
The vigilant, suspicious, tyrant's craft?
GOTARZES.
Phraates, by an accident, obtain'd
The knowledge of the deed, and warn'd by him
I bent my flight toward the camp, to seek
Protection and revenge; but scarce I'd left
The city when I o'ertook the Gen'ral.
BARZAPHERNES.
Ere the sun 'rose I gain'd th' intelligence:
The soldiers when they heard the dreadful tale,
First stood aghast, and motionless with horror.
Then suddenly, inspir'd with noble rage,
Tore up their ensigns, calling on their leaders
To march them to the city instantly.
I, with some trusty few, with speed came forward,
To raise our friends within, and gain your freedom.
Nor hazard longer, by delays, your safety.
Already faithful Phraates has gain'd
A num'rous party of the citizens;
With these we mean t' attack the Royal Palace,
Crush the bold tyrant with surprise, while sunk
In false security; and vengeance wreck,
Ere that he thinks the impious crime be known.
ARSACES.
O! parent being, Ruler of yon heav'n!
Who bade creation spring to order, hear me.
What ever sins are laid upon my soul,
Now let them not prove heavy on this day,
To sink my arm, or violate my cause.
The sacred rights of Kings, my Country's wrongs,
The punishment of fierce impiety,
And a lov'd Father's death, call forth my sword.--
Now on; I feel all calm within my breast,
And ev'ry busy doubt is hush'd to rest;
Smile heav'n propitious on my virtuous cause,
Nor aid the wretch who dares disdain your laws. _
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