Daranzel; or, The Persian patriot. An original drama. In five acts. As performed at the theatre in Boston. / By David Everett. ; Corrected and improved by a literary friend.

Daranzel; or, The Persian patriot. An original drama. In five acts. As performed at the theatre in Boston. / By David Everett. ; Corrected and improved by a literary friend.

Table of contents

Title page

PROLOGUE.

Persons of the Drama.

Daranzel.

ACT I.

SCENE I. Daranzel's Camp. A distant view of the City, Casstle, Harbour and Fleet.

SCENE II. The Palace. ZAPHIRA and ARLEM.

SCENE III. Daranzel's Tent. DARANZEL meeting OSMYN.

ACT II.

SCENE I. A Field near the city. Moonlight. ZAPHIRA and ARLEM, in the habits of Persian Soldiers.

SCENE II. A Grove. Moonlight.

SCENE III. The open Field. Drums beating, trumpets, &c. &c. without.

SCENE IV. The Palace.

ACT III.

SCENE I. A private Apartment in the Palace. CALLEDON and Attendant.

SCENE II. Daranzel's Camp, Stage partly light. Enter DARANZEL, Meeting ORCASTO, ASAPH, and OFFICERS.

SCENE III. ZAPHIRA'S Chamber.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. Daranzel's Camp. Stage dark. BARTOUR, in disguise, at a small distance from DARANZEL'S tent.

SCENE II. Daranzel's tent. DARANZEL discovered.

SCENE III. A dungeon in the Royal Prison. OSMYN discovered in chains—leaning against the wall.

SCENE IV. Daranzel's tent.

SCENE V. Pantomime. A viw of the Castle, Bay, and the Fleet. BATTLE OF THE PERSIAN ARMIES, ASSAULT AND CAPTURE OF THE CASTLE, AND THE CONFLAGRATION OF THE FLEET.

ACT V.

SCENE I. A gothic chamber in the Prison. A door in the back scene. Stage dark.

SCENE II. Front of the Palace. Cannon, tumults, shouts, &c. CALLEDON, GUARDS, &c.

EPILOGUE.

§

§

[Page]

[Page]

DARANZEL; OR, THE PERSIAN PATRIOT. AN ORIGINAL DRAMA. IN FIVE ACTS.

As performed at the Theatre in Boston.

BY David Everett. Corrected and improved by a Literary Friend.

BOSTON, PRINTED BY JOHN RUSSELL. 1800.

PROLOGUE.

[Page]

YE rightful sovereigns of a fertile soil,

Where copious plenty pays the laborer's toil;

Where growing commerce freights each flowing tide.

With CERES' bounty, and with NEPTUNE'S pride:

Since your brave fires their savage inmates crush'd,

The tocsin silenc'd, and the war-whoop hush'd;

The hostile canvass less'ning from your shore,

The last remains of curst invasion bore;

Dead be the mem'ry of a noble foe;

Where bled the hero, let the olive grow.

Let dove-eyed peace succeed to war's alarms,

Bid savage rancor rust on useless arms;

Her amplest boon to modest merit give,

And guard those arts by which your glories live.

Your approbation's smiles let genius share;

From chilling frosts its budding blossoms spare.

Let not the panders of your taste opposé

The foreign bramble, to the native rose.

With nothing higher than a noble aim,

Your CANDOR'S all the author dares to claim.

Untaught by rules, he makes his guide the heart,

And modest nature deems the pride of art.

No tragic tale from hist'ry forms his plan;

His facts are passions, and their hist'ry, man.

While in the court the supple pander shines,

And cheerless virtue in the dungeon pines;

The elder world's disasters rise to view,

To foil the stubborn virtues of the new:

While these in contrast on the stage appear;

There the proud despot—the firm patriot here;

That rob'd in power—this, arm'd with nature's laws;—

From scenes like these, the bard his moral draws.—

O, learn, Columbia's sons, to prize your land,

Where no bold tyrant dares to lift his hand;

Where rules a chief, whose power is all your own,

Virtue, his sceptre—and the laws, his throne;

Where, to obey—is every freeman's pride,

And, to rebel—were worse than suicide!

To captious critics, vers'd in scenic laws,

He dares not trust the merits of his cause.

View then, ye lib'ral, with a candid eye,

Kill not the bird, that first attempts to fly,

But aid his efforts with parental care,

'Till his weak pinions learn to ply the air,

'Till the young pupil dare aloft to rise,

And soar, with bolder flights, his native skies.

Persons of the Drama.

[Page]

MEN.

Daranzel, Mr. BARRETT.

Calledon, Mr. BAKER.

Orcasto, Mr. S. POWELL.

Bartour, Mr. MUNTO.

Arlem, Mr. USHER.

Casmir, Mr. KENNY.

Orontes, Mr. COLE.

Asaph, Mr. LATHY.

Osmyn, Mr. HARPER.

Officers, Guards, Prisoners, &c.

WOMEN.

Indamord, Mrs. S. POWELL.

Zara, Mrs. BAKER.

Zaphira, Mrs. BARRETT.

Daranzel.

[Page]

ACT I.

SCENE I. Daranzel's Camp. A distant view of the City, Casstle, Harbour and Fleet.

Enter OSMYN, as from a march.

OSMYN.

WHAT awe profound the arms of freedom show!

When justice calls, 'tis glorious to direct

The avenging sword—O! War, thou pride, and shame

Of man! thy awful pomp swells the warm tide

Of youthful blood, and half absorbs my grief.

—But lo, Orcasto comes—a true bred soldier!

To bid me welcome in my country's cause.

To him shall friendship, school'd in earliest youth,

Devote one social hour;—then War! Revenge!

And Death! I dedicate myself to you!

Enter ORCASTO.

Hail great Daranzel's son! let me but find

A place among Orcasto's friends—I ask

No higher rank, no greater blessing:—

Orcasto.

The man who draws his sword in freedom's cause

Needs not to ask the friendship of Orcasto;

He is my brother, and compels my love.

[Page] The faithful zeal thou show'st for Persia's rights,

Enrols thy name among her noblest friends.

To thy whole race is liberty indebted;

Scarce had the morning gilt the spires of Ormus,

When thy brave father join'd Daranzel's army;

And now the son with equal ardor fir'd,

Asserts his kindred to the blood of heroes.

Osm.

Thanks, good Orcasto—be't our mutual aim,

To value glory, only as it gives

To injured man a bulwark 'gainst oppression.

Orc.

Such Roman sentiments of patriot virtue

Are not ill suited to the time's emergence.

The number of our foes is now increas'd

By hireling troops of Calledon's allies,

Whose fleets now anchor in the bay of Ormus.—

But say, my Osmyn, when thy mind surveys

This massy edifice of regal power—

Oppression's toil—propp'd up by long consent;

Does not some thought, revolting from our purpose,

Stir up thy doubts, and bid thy arm decline

The blow that strikes the vast colossus down?

Osm.

Had the proud fabric justice for its base,

Time's latest hour might witness its duration;

But when 'tis founded on our pillag'd rights,

And with the blood of innocence cemented,

Its enemy is champion of our race;—

In such a cause, a doubtful thought were traitor,

And mercy were but treason, falsely nam'd.

Orc.

True my good Osmyn.—But to spare one gem,

One precious gem, from ruin'd royalty,

Would be more worth than worlds to this fond heart,

That glows with love, and bleeds for thee, Zaphira. (Aside.

[Page]Osm.

What says my friend? I know thou lov'st the Princess,

And speed the time, when liberty secur'd,

Shall bless your mutual hopes in splendid peace.—

On me, Orcasto, ne'er will dawn that day!

The sharpest arrow from misfortune's bow,

Has pierc'd this heart, and half unman'd its vigor.

Thou oft hast heard the treacherous tale rehears'd,

And wept with me the loss of many a friend,

The victims of our foes—to make themselves

The first in crimes, pre-eminent in baseness,

They've clos'd the tragic scene with female blood,

And wreak'd their brutal vengeance on my wife.

Orc.

Whose sword has wounded thus the soldiers honor,

And fix'd upon its owner's name the mark

Of infamy?

Osm.

The curs'd Belleferon's.

Orc.

Fit deed for one, who heads the foes of freedom.

Osm.

Four days ago he went, herald of peace,

And clemency! to murder all,

Who dar'd to advocate Daranzel's cause.

Like the guant wolf who seeks th' unguarded flock,

He, in my absence, found his prey—Silena

Fell by his hand, greatly disdaining life,

On his base terms.—What unexpected fate

Awaits mankind! secure of bliss, I found

Silena gash'd with wounds, and pale in death!

Struck with the sight, it chill'd my blood,

And stamp'd a gloom on every object round.

Orc.

I know from feeling, how to pity sorrow;

And what it is to burn with indignation.

[Page] Long time agone, those veterans in fraud,

Who only war with women and with babes,

Seiz'd from my mother's arms her infant child,

The darling object of Daranzel's love;—

Whether she lives, sequestered from her friends,

Or lies among the martyrs of our cause,

No diligence can learn. My mother too,

Still languishes, imprisoned by the king,

Who holds her life at his imperious will.

Osm.

How can you bear with equal mind such ills?

Had I thy steady soul, I might ride safely

Through war's rough storm, and wish to enjoy the calm

Of peace; but, spite of all my fortitude,

Alternate grief and rage invade my breast,

And urge to just revenge, to glorious death,

An infant son, my only solace left,

May still survive to bear his father's name,

And taste the sweets of freedom and of peace,

Bought with the blood of all his ancestors.

Orc.

We both are brothers in misfortune's lineage!

Osm.

Then let this hour be sacred to our friendship

Orc.

I give my heart and hand in mutual league.

My father and myself may fall in battle;

If my imprisoned mother should survive

Our death; be thou her son; avenge her wrongs;

And if my sister live, whate'er her fate

May be, protect her for Orcasto's sake,

And be to her a brother?

Osm.

This if I live,

Shall be my care; but should I fall, and you

Outlive your friends; when you shall hear my son,

With flowing eyes, cry, "where is my father?"

[Page] Be thou to him a father and a friend;

Imprint thy virtues on his tender mind,

And form his soul for all that's great and good;

The thought will banish every wish to live,

And soften all the pangs that death can give.

(Exeunt.

SCENE II. The Palace. ZAPHIRA and ARLEM.

Arl.

Princess, obedient to thy orders,

I approach thy presence.

Zaph.

Arlem, I know thee generous and brave;

My confidence in thee has been well prov'd;

This hour demands thy steadiest honor,

And thy surest friendship.

Arl.

Whatever fate awaits thy royal father,

Thou art secure in all his subject's love.

Zaph.

Thou dost not fathom all my sorrow's depth;

My mind no longer can support their weight;

Thou must be partner in my secret anguish.

I am prepared to meet Daranzel's sword;

Or bear the stern reproaches of my father;

But can no more endure the dead'ning silence,

The cold indifference of Orcasto.

Arl.

Oft have I seen the courtier's color change,

When, at the mention of Orcasto's name,

The imprison'd sigh has risen from thy heart,

Which, while it spoke their rival's triumph there,

Blasted their fondest hopes—their hopes in thee.

Zaph.

Hope and despair too long have carried on

Their wasteful war within my tortur'd soul.

This hour must end the conflict—yes, Orcasto!

If thou hast love, here is its certain test—

(holding a letter.

[Page]

Here, Arlem, take this letter, 'tis the clue

To unwind the secret to Orcasto's heart,

Reveal my destiny, and change, perhaps,

The fate of Calledon. I know thy will

Joins with my father's foes; but thou wouldst spare

His life, and ease a daughter's anguish.

Arl.

Whate'er Zaphira wills commands my service,

Zaph.

Bear to Orcasto's tent the flag of truce;

And with thee take this ring, the sacred pledge,

To him well known; it shall be thy protection.

Deliver him this letter;—as he reads it,

Read thou his looks; note every word, and bring

Me back with diligence his answer.

Arl.

My life shall be devoted to thy charge.

[Exit.

Zaph.

[solus.] And if success attend thy faithful zeal,

(And heaven I'll importune with prayers to speed thee,)

If on the tablet of Orcasto's heart

One fond remembrance of Zaphira live,

My father yet may reign in peaceful Persia,

Bless'd with Daranzel's and the people's love.

[Exit.

SCENE III. Daranzel's Tent. DARANZEL meeting OSMYN.

Dar.

Osymn! our country's genius hails thee welcome,

And to our hands commits the fate of Persia.

Osm.

Toolong Daranzel have we brook'd oppression;

Freedom, in exile, mourns our nation's wrongs,

And calls on us to reassert its rights.

Enter ASAPH.

Asap.

From Calledon a herald has arriv'd,

And asks a secret audience with Daranzel.

(Exit Osmyn.

[Page] Enter CASMIR.

Cas.

Before I speak my embassy, let me

Avow my loyalty to Persia's king.

Dar.

Thou may'st enjoy thy king, and he thy loyalty.

Cas.

Are you still enemy to Calledon?

Dar.

So far as he is enemy to man.

Cas.

Our king is man's protector, not his foe;

His subjects pay their homage to him still,

And own him for their lord, and heaven's vicegerent!

Dar.

The smiles of tyrants, and the praise of slaves,

May barter equal in your master's court.

Cas.

Your haughty spirit, and your thirst for power,

May make you wish the place of Calledon;

And you may varnish your licentious deeds,

With the fair guise of justice, freedom, and

The rights of man! but proud—

Dar.

No more!

I never drew my sword to fight the cause,

Which I would not lay down my life to gain,

And had I now as many lives to offer,

As Calledon inhumanly has taken

From those, in whom he found no crime but virtue,

I'd sooner lose them all than live like him!

Cas.

The gall of fell rebellion taints your soul,

That mental jaundice has deceiv'd your reason;

Else would you view in all its grandeur,

The lofty pyramid of kingly power,

Whose towering fabric braves the storms of time,

Admir'd by man, and consecrate by heaven.

Dar.

Casmir, too long the splendour of a court

Has dazzled on thine eyes, and made them blind

[Page] To the meek page of unassuming truth;—

Else had'st thou known, that spite of swords and mitres,

Common consent's a living law; which looks

On former times, and mends the follies of

The ancient world:—It's voice is God's; and kings

Themselves must stand or fall, as this directs.

Cas.

This poisonous doctrine, from your tongue, has been

The bane of Persia; but Daranzel, still

'Tis in your power to save your forfeit life,

And reconcile yourself to Calledon;

Tho' by our laws you are condemn'd to die,

His gracious hand still holds out life and pardon,

On these mild terms, that you dismiss your troops

And yield obedience to his sovereign will.

Dar.

Go, tell your king that I disdain his terms.

I have in humble stile upon my knees,

Explain'd to him the justice of our cause;

I have implored him to redress our wrongs:

By him I was condemn'd to banishment—

But tell him, Casmir, while Daranzel lives,

That he will live in Persia; and although,

When young he fought for him in foreign climes,

He now will fight his country's cause at home

And loose those chains his ruthless hand has bound.

Cas.

'Twere well for you to look around, and see

What 'tis you have to cope withal. Behold

The castle's and the city's walls, strong arm'd

With veteran troops. The fleets of kings, allied

To Calledon, this day have fill'd the port,

All ready to pour forth their warlike hosts.—

Consider well, Daranzel, what must be

[Page] Your fate, when join'd with these in battle.

Dar.

Deluded mortal, did'st thou never learn

The impartial hand of justice weighs the fate

Of war—I might have throng'd the field with numbers;

All Persia stands prepar'd to pour her legions

Upon your servile hosts; I've only led

The few whose courage discipline has tutor'd,

And we have sworn by him, who made us free,

To break our country's chains, or greatly fall,

A sacrifice at freedom's holy altar.

Cas.

Presumptuous boaster; base, vain glorious man!

Thy proud ambition and imperious pride,

Which prompt thee thus, with most disloyal outrage,

To erect against thy lawful sovereign's throne

The fickle tumult of the mob, that page

Thy heels—are their own chastisement!—

Mark me, pretender! hast thou not forgot,

Some tissue of thy fate, whose certain clue

Our monarch holds—some secret avenue

To reach thy heart, and peirce it to the core

With every malady, that anguish knows?

Do'st not remember (if thou'st feeling left,

'Twill void more poison than the scorpion's tooth,)

Do'st not remember, that our royal master,

To avenge thy crimes on all thy rebel race,

Still holds in durance strong, thy captive wife,

Whose very life its forfeiture incurs,

Upon the beck and pleasure of his will?

Dar.

Do I remember?—

Can I forget thee, Zara? no never—

So judge me heaven when thou rememb'rest me! [aside.

[Page]

Yes, supple pander, to thy master's shame,

I do remember, since our nation's wrongs

Have rous'd its manly spirit into arms;

Your brave, your royal legions, not daring

To attack my army, have, with coward theft,

Way-laid and took by treachery my wife

Unguarded by a soldier's arm—these are

Your boasted deeds—women by rapine seiz'd,

And murder'd or immur'd in prison—husbands

Torn from their wives and helpless babes, and rack'd

In torment on the wheel, or ling'ring out

A life, or rather a whole age of death,

In all the dreary horrors of a dungeon!

Cas.

Thou know'st, Daranzel, by our sacred laws,

The life of every subject is the king's;

And he has by his royal sceptre sworn,

If you his proffer'd mercy spurn, the life

Of you and your vile mob, shall sate his vengeance,

And that your wife, on my return, shall live,

Or die, as you are loyal, or disloyal

To your sovereign.

Dar.

Egregious parasite!

She is protected by that king who guards

The just, and will avenge the crimes of despots.

Go, prince of courtiers, tell your haughty lord,

That if he dares to shed another drop

Of guiltless freemen's blood, Daranzel,

Whom he doth threat with death, and his brave troops

Shall e'er the sun has blush'd upon his crimes,

Avenge his wrongs, and sit his vassals free!

Cas.

I have no more to say—you're fully bent

Upon your own destruction. Go on proud man,

[Page] And let the wrath of an offended king

Decide your fate!—

Dar.

Nay; let the sire of heaven

Decide the fate of an offended king,

And punish, or reward, us both, as we

Regard or violate his sacred laws.

[Exit Casmir.

Re-enter OSMYN.

Osm.

What terms, Daranzel, does the monarch offer?

Dar.

The price of freedom must be paid with blood,

Slavery, or death, are all the terms he offers.

Osm.

Then give us death, if war decide it thus.

Those foreign slaves in whom the king confides,

Strike not a terror in the field of battle.

Our troops are emulous to meet the foe,

And count the useless moments long, that hold

The promis'd wreaths of victory from their brows.

Dar.

Be it our care to lead them on to glory,

Direct by discipline their manly zeal,

Inspire its ardor for the public weal,

Till its full tide, on some auspicious day,

Burst o'er the throne, and sweep its wrecks away.

[Exeunt.

END OF THE FIRST ACT.

ACT II.

SCENE I. A Field near the city. Moonlight. ZAPHIRA and ARLEM, in the habits of Persian Soldiers.

Zaph.

Be on your guard, my faithful Arlem;

[Page] Uncommon trembling seizes on my frame.

Has no patrole observ'd our wandering steps.

Or glanc'd upon my face?

Arl.

Fear not, my princess!

Your helmet, and the veil of night, have hid

You from suspicion's eye. We're safe beyond

The guards.

Zaph.

At yonder grove, and at this hour,

You say was his appointment?

Arl.

The time and place.—

Zaph.

Ah! who walks yonder?

Arl.

If, by the moon's dim light,

I see aright, 'tis his majestic form—

Orcasto's self, approaching to the grove.

Zaph.

'Tis he.—oh! tell me Arlem, once again,

How did he look, when he receiv'd the pledge;

And with what words reply!

Arl.

When he received the ring, a silent sadness

His visage mark'd; and, as he read your letter,

Oft chang'd his color; thrice he kiss'd the token;

Then paus'd and sigh'd and to himself exclaim'd

"Die, every other passion of my soul,

My country's love shall breathe, with every breath."

Zaph.

Hope-killing words! why not declar'd before?

Arl.

I saw, in all the movements of his soul,

Deep-rooted love remain'd but half conceal'd.

Zaph.

I dread his presence; yet I long to meet him.

This hour I am resolv'd to know his purpose.—

Wait near, good Arlem, see that none approach us.

Now to prepare me, lest this woman's valor

Should sink beneath my trembling heart's probation.

[Exeunt.

[Page]

SCENE II. A Grove. Moonlight.

ORCASTO, solus.

To climb the enchanted height of airy greatness,

Regardless of the summit's dizzy danger,

And, like the sullen eagle in his flight,

To soar beyond society and law,

Is the proud lot of man's fatuity:

Thy lot ambition! glittering evanescence!

Farewel delusive dreams, youth's phantom pleasures!

The victor's laurel and the world's applause;

Farewel sweet blandishments of pride and fame!

All but the princess I can bid farewel!

Thee, too, Zaphira!—yet this aching sense

Could ne'er resign thee but with life's pulsation.

Oft has this grove been witness to our vows.—

O, cruel memory, cease thy painful office?

This grove, now destin'd to behold my heart

Widow'd of every hope its fondness cherish'd.

Enter ZAPHIRA.

Zaph.

Art thou Daranzel's son?

Orc.

I bear that honor, sir, my name's Orcasto.

Zaph.

I have a message [...] demands thy audience,

And challenges an answer from thy heart.

Orc.

From whom?

Zaph.

The Princess.

Orc.

I wait the presence of Zaphira's self.

Zaph.

I am her friend and confidante, and come

To make her presence welcome—thou know'st

Before the sword of civil war cut off

All friendship from the throne of Persia,

[Page] Daranzel was the friend of Calledon;

And shar'd the highest honors of his court.

Orc.

But now he claims a more exalted rank;

And stands confest the foe of Calledon.

Zaph.

And must Orcasto be Zaphira's foe,

Because Daranzel wars with Calledon?

Orc.

'Tis not a time to talk of private plaints;

It is a nation's wrongs we must redress.

Zaph.

Must all thy former vows, and youthful love,

Be priz'd, but as illusions past, by her

Who built [...] them all hopes of earthly bliss?

Orc.

My faith is plighted to my country's cause.

And it would ill become Daranzel's son,

To listen to the syren song of love,

When Persia's glory's calls him to the field.

Zaph.

Shall I relate this answer to the Princess;

She whose affections, when her father's court,

Shone uneclips'd, and dimm'd the east in glory,

Spurn'd offer'd sceptres to reward thy love!

And now when fortune's clouded cresant wanes,

And ruin like the hair-suspended sword,

Hangs o'er the roof of crumbling monarchy;—

Must the sad story of thy hearts defection

Destroy the only relict of her hopes,

Which fate, more merciful than thee, has spar'd?

Is this thy solace for a bleeding heart?—

Pause well, consider thou unfeeling patriot!

Orc.

Unfeeling! nay, the conflict of my soul

Denies the guilt of cold ingratitude.

Oh! could Zaphira read this tortur'd heart,

E'en she, the fair enchantress of my reason,

Would weep to triumph o'er my mind's allegiance.—

[Page] This be my answer, then, to fair Zaphira.—

My life is not my own till Persia's free,

Hereafter, if I live, I live for her.

Zaph.

Oh generous Orcasto! heaven preserve thee▪

Live for Zaphira! 'tis Zaphira hears thee!

[Runs to embrace him, but faints in his arms; [...] she falls, her helmet drops off, and discovers her face.]

Orc.

Zaphira hears! oh, my fond heart's first idol!

Sweet angel maid, forgive my cold reserve,

'Twas but the stern restraint of stoic pride!

Look up Zaphira! thine Orcasto loves thee,

As the pure object of his soul's devotion,

Warm as his hopes, and sacred as his country!

Zaph.

[Recovering] My mind o'ercast with clouds of black despair,

Could not endure so bright a ray of hope.

Orc.

Thou hast surpriz'd the passion from my soul,

O leave me, master of myself, Zaphira.

The voice of Persia calls me from thy arms;

Let not thy charms entice me from her cause.

Zaph.

I would not lure thee from the post of honor▪

But if I have interest in thy heart,

Grant me this one request—thy sword is drawn

Against my father's life—thou know'st the strength

Of filial love—pity a daughter's tears.

Orc.

If ever I forget my love for thee,

May he who hears my vows desert Orcasto.

Ask not for more, lest I should grant too much.

In war I must remember Calledon:—

This is an hour of peace—if ought could buy.

Me from the cause in which I am engag'd.

[Page] A mother's threatened life might sheathe my sword.

Zaph.

If thou art bent on war, grant me this favor,

The most a daughter asks; the least a son

Can give—should victory smile upon your arms,

Save thou my father from his empire's ruin;—

And if my tears can supplicate her life,

Zara shall yet survive to bless thy triumph!

Orc.

O, virtuous maid, worthy of better fate,

Orcasto prays for victory, not revenge,

And should your father 'scape the chance of war,

I swear to save his life, nay, for thy sake,

Zaphira, I would almost spare his throne—[Trumpet heard.

Hark! 'tis the trumpet's note that breathes alarm—

So near us too! thou can'st not here remain;

I will conduct thee safely to the walls.

Zaph.

Arlem, who led me hither, waits without.

His honest zeal is ample to protect me,

Without the risk of thy more valued life!

Orc.

I know his well tried valor, and to him

Can trust with confidence my hearts best treasure.

Heaven's guardian angels wait upon thy steps!

Zaph.

And crown with happiness thy virtues triumph!

[Exeunt together.

SCENE III. The open Field. Drums beating, trumpets, &c. &c. without.

Enter OSMYN.

'Tis sure the signal of assault, and here

The tumult led—and now tis silence all!

An hour scarce past, Orcasto left the camp,

[Page] And this way wander'd—sad he seem'd and thoughtful,

Perhaps the Princess? no it cannot be!

Suspicion cannot taint a soul so noble.

Though soft as sympathy, to woman's tears,

In virtue's armor clad, invincible,

Not e'en Zaphira's beauty could seduce

The lover's passions from the patriot's duty. [retires up.

Enter ARLEM and ZAPHIRA, Tumult without.

Zaph.

Oh, Arlem, whether shall Zaphira fly?

Osm.

The princess! [Aside.]

Zaph.

The tumult thickens, and draws nearer to us.

Arl.

Fear not, my royal mistress, Arlem's sword

Shall guard the safe though millions should surround.

His loyalty to thee shall nerve his arm

With triple strength.—Fear not and let us on.

Zaph.

Know'st thou the secret of this midnight war?

Or does the love, thou bear'st my falling fortunes,

Protect Zaphira, at thy life's adventure?

Arl.

No danger can betide.—We're near the walls!

When you to meet Orcasto, parted from me,

On the adjacent hill I kept my watch;

Thence by the moon's pale light I saw a troop

Sallying in silence from the city gates.

Daranzel's centinels were brib'd or murder'd;

For, under covert of the friendly shade,

Projected by the battlements, they march'd

Without observance, tow'rds the eastern camp,

In which Orcasto holds his station:—

If suspicion err not, Calledon incens'd

Has trac'd the secret of your mind's affection;

And to prevent collusion with the foe.

[Page] Who, by an union with the Royal house,

Might hope to place the crown upon Daranzel,

Has plann'd this treach'ry 'gainst Orcasto's life.

Zaph.

May heaven, in justice, still remember mercy,

Forgive my father, and preserve Orcasto!

Arl.

Our road of safety is to the northern tower,

Which lies far distant from the scene of slaughter.

The stern Belliferon commands the assault;

For he alone of Persia's warlike sons,

Could meanly stoop to treachery and murder.

Zaph.

Then strike him, Gods, with some swift lightning down.

Ne'er may he live, to see his crimes exalt him!

Raise to display your everlasting justice,

Some heroes arm to peirce the fell destroyer!

Oh! may he perish, in the field inglorious,

This miscreant victim of his own ambition,

By whose insatiate, and abhorred lust,

A kingdom sinks, a nation weeps in blood!

[Exeunt ZAPHIRA and ARLEM.

OSMYN comes forward.

Belliferon heads the attack!—I thank ye Gods,

The hour of retribution comes at last.—

Yes, sweet Zaphira! well hast thou deserv'd

A kinder father, and a juster cause!

Thy prayer is heard too—let Belliferon tremble!

Mid the thick war, the arm of justice waits him.

Silena's wrongs no more shall cry for vengeance.

Forgive, dear saint! forgive this tardy zeal;

Each recreant wound that gor'd thy mangled corse,

Calls me aloud to expiate thy fate;

[Page] And here I swear, the sword which now I draw,

Shall ne'er again its peaceful mansion seek,

'Till vengeance, wing'd by Persia's angry Gods,

Level the fierce barbarian with the dust;

Or death, descending from the tyrants arm,

Cleave the warm heart, that beats but for Silena!

[Exit.

SCENE IV. The Palace.

CALLEDON, solus.

Hence, bubble greatness! since thy phantom power

Has lost th' imposing charm of sanctity,

Thy robust hardihood and sinewy arm,

Which, ages long betide, had awed mankind,

Have withered into base decrepitude;

And royal power, unsprinkled by the church,

Is but a ghost to stalk aud to be gaz'd at!

Should Casmir's specious promises ensnare

Daranzels faith, he then is in my power;

And let him note it that I use it well!

Spoil'd of their leader, his revolting rabble

Shall satten vultures, 'till they loath at carnage,

Wide havoc whelm them 'till their slaughter swell

The flood, that bears the fleets of my allies,

Which thence may learn to dread the fate of those

Who rear the impious standard of rebellion!

Enter CASMIR.

What tidings bear'st thou from Daranzel, Casmir?

Is he still bent on war?

Cas.

Immoveably.—

Cal.

Does he despise my offered pardon?

[Page]Cas.

He mocks your offers and defies your power.

Cal.

Does he not fear the strength of my allies?

Cas.

His pride contemns the whole.

Cal.

Vain man! knows not that Zara's in my power?

That I can writhe and goad his heart at pleasure?

Cas.

I've pointed out his danger all in vain.

He stands unmov'd, in arrogance intrepid,

Smiles with complacence at your royal menace,

Braves all the fury of the gathering storm,

And holds its threat'n'd thunder in derision.

Cal.

Where does this desperado place his hopes?

Cas.

In the pretended justice of his cause,

And ill-tried valor of his troops—poor man!

Cal.

What are those troops, that thus elate his pride?

Cas.

A rabble, resolute and fierce, as lawless.

Revenge! death! liberty! is all their cry.

Their zeal scarce curb'd by discipline, they scorn

Repose, and seem impatient for the fight.

Cal.

Are they in possture of defence?

Cas.

Alcanders's army just has join'd Daranzel's;

They've pitch'd their tents along the spacious plain,

And spread their numerous guards on every side.

Th' adjacent hills reflect their kindled fires,

And show their flag high wav'ring in the air,

As though they meant to court the stars to join them.

The river, castle and the fleet extend

Upon their right within a cannon's shot;

The city walls look down upon their front,

And bid defiance to their arms; the ocean

lies on their rear, forbidding a retreat.

Belliferon, if 'tis your royal pleasure,

[Page] Shall hem them in with walls invincible,

With hosts of loyal veterans on the left.

Cal.

See that the gates are arm'd against assault,

Order the fleets to hold themselves prepar'd,

And let to-morrow's sun, when first he shines,

Behold his face reflected from the blood

Of rebels.—Bid Belliferon here.

His sword has never rusted in its scabbard;

And should this night's adventure prove it trusty,

More glorious perils, with to-morrow's dawn,

Await its bold experiment. Destruction

Shall pour her deluge in on every side;

And should Daranzel, whose proud contumely

Spurns offer'd pardon, stem the torrents course;

His saucy head shall on a pike be carried,

To pay its homage to the king he scorn'd

Cas.

Were I t'advise, my liege, I'd plot his death

By other means: He is well skill'd in fight;

And many war prov'd veterans fill his ranks—

His army hang upon his tongue, and act

As with one soul, a timely blow should make

His ruin certain, and thy conquest sure.

Cal.

How, Casmir?

Cas.

Bartour would best perform the deed;

Long taught in all the policy of war,

He knows full well to turn his hand to fraud:

When young he was Daranzel's brother-hero.

Let him forthwith go to the rebel's camp,

And feign himself an enemy to thee,

Daranzel will receive him as a friend—

A secret poignard may complete the rest.

Then let the royal army be prepar'd

[Page] To rush upon the foe, and the whole fleet

Pour forth their men at once, they'll be confus'd

Without their chief, and make but small resistance.

Cal.

your counsel I approve—it shall be done.

Cas.

My liege, I would not suffer a delay;

He has already grown too insolent;

In the imperial conqueror's stile, he spurns

Your clemency and menaces your life.

Cal.

Time was when mercy woo'd him to her arms;

He might have touch'd her sceptre and have liv'd;

But mercy never more shall interpose.

Fly quick with orders to Belliferon!

Have every soldier ready for the fight,

Hew down the first who turns his back to death.

But stay—command a message to the fleet,

Let them on signal instant join the slaughter.

[Exit Casmir.

I'll stimulate Bartour's slow treacherous hand,

And aim the poignard at Daranzel's heart—

Then let the cannon speak my laws in thunder,

'Till death's long list contain each rebel's name,

And war's decisive voice assert my claim!

[Exit.

END OF THE SECOND ACT.

ACT III.

SCENE I. A private Apartment in the Palace. CALLEDON and Attendant.

Cal.

Quick, summon here Bartour!

[Page] Tell him I've secret business of import;

Let no delay attend his lingering steps.

[Exit Attendant.

Vile swarm! dare ye, with insect sting, provoke

My wrath? flock round my throne—rais'd high

Above your impotence, it stands secure—

Your leader gone, I spurn your feeble efforts—[pause:

What fearful thought whispers Daranzel safe!

If safe then I am on the rack; my throne

Afloat on fortune's treacherous wave—so [...]—

If it must sink, it sinks in blood?

Enter ZAPHIRA.

Zaph.

My sire!

I beg you hear a suppliant daughters prayer,

Whose dearest object is her father's safety.

Cal.

Let not your fond complaints abuse my patience;

The insults offer'd to my crown, inflame

My soul—'tis not a time to hear entreaties.

Zaph.

Frown not thus sternly on your child, who feels

Her life and happiness bound up in yours:

You see the threat'ning dangers that await you—

Behold your realm all rising up to arms:

Might not th' impending storm be hush'd to peace,

And you still sit securely on your throne

By timely listening to the voice of mercy?

Cal.

Peace! safety! and the voice of mercy!

Go, trait'ress from my sight, nor dare offend

Mine ears with terms, that ill become thy tongue;

Let puling babes lisp them to their fond mothers—

War, torture, and revenge, my voice shall echo,

'Till from the earth I extirpate my foes.

[Page]Zaph.

Look on your child; behold her swoln with grief,

And laden with a thousand cares for him,

Who sternly chides, and calls her trait'ress. Peruse

Each period of my life, and if you find

One disobedient act, then spurn my tears,

And banish me forever from your sight.

Cal.

How has submission to my will been shown?

Have you endeavour'd to suppress rebellion,

And check the daring spirit of my foes?—

No, like a feeble-hearted girl, unfit

To claim relationship to crowns, you've stood

Between the traitor and my sword, and sav'd

The lives of those, whom justice doom'd to death:—

But you have done—your tears have lost their power;

My heart is barr'd to woman's weak entreaty.

Zaph.

On heaven's high throne, mercy with justice rules;

Let her mild voice be heard by you on earth:

Her sceptre will protect thy crown, and bind

Your subject's hearts—

Cal.

Plebian vileness!—

Go, fawn to fools aud traitors.—'Tis Orcasto,

The son of my inveterate foe, who moves

Thy tongue, dissembler—love, that spurns all law,

That levels royalty with turpitude,

And prates of filial duty, while it points

A poison'd dagger to a parent's heart.—

'Tis this, Zaphira, steals you from yourself,

And makes you alien to your father's throne.

Zaph.

Alas my father! did'st thou know but half

The anxious love, that glows within my bosom,

[Page] With warm solicitude to guard thy safety,

Thou would'st not heap reproaches on Zaphira;

Nor with the stings of undeserv'd suspicion,

Consign thy daughter to her mother's fate,

Who died in anguish of a broken heart;

The unmurmuring pang of melancholy grief!

Like her inspir'd with pure affection's zeal,

My hopes have been to make thy subjects happy;

And should thy stern unkindness wear this frame,

To the pale precincts of its destin'd bourne,

Like her, I'd pray thy throne might be secur'd,

By equal justice and thy people's love—

Cal.

No more;

Away! I know thee not,

Thou child of treason; I renounce thy kindred!

And if the idle phantasies of love

Still rule thy woman's weakness,—sweet Zaphira!

Go, weep for traitors, at thy mothers tomb; [with irony.

[Exit.

ZAPHIRA, solus.

Down swelling heart! thy malady is cureless! [pause.

Yet must my father perish? Oh! could I

With life's oblation sooth his foe's resentment,

This willing bosom, (cruel as he is!)

Should sheath my poniard and their swords at once—

But no! it would not be—Daranzel's hate

Is singly pointed at the king's oppression,

Which to his nature is so near affianc'd,

No casuist, but death, can sever them!

And is there then no reconcilement left,

[Page] To mediate between his pride and ruin? [pause.

None, lost Zaphira, none! [is going.

Enter INDAMORA.

Oh Indamora!

Ind.

What new misfortune thus o'erwhelms with grief?

Impart to me my share of all your woes,

And ease your heart of its o'er-bearing burden,

Zaph.

You, since my royal mother's death, have been

My sole companion, and my only solace.

The pitying tear flows not from Calledon;

Nor does the father's smile illume his face.

The dangers, that surround him, vex his soul,

And banish all that's tender from his breast.

Ind.

The tumults of the realm may for a while,

Make Calledon neglectful of his daughter;

But even his most inveterate foes behold

Zaphira's virtues with acknowledg'd friendship—

Zaph.

Friendship is not allied to royal blood;

To rocks and deserts with indignant scorn,

She flies from courts—O, my Indamora!

Do'st not thou see Daranzel bearing terror

E'en to the palace-gates;—he now no longer falls

A humble suppliant at my father's feet;

But, at the head of the whole realm, he points

A nation's vengeance to the throne of Persia.

Ind.

Though victory may crown Daranzel's arms,

Yet will he be a generous foe;—the brave

Are kind. One filial tear from thee, Zaphira,

Would sooth his vengeance, and preserve thy father!

Zaph.

Daranzel well deserves the praise of valor,

[Page] Nor is his heart less generous than brave.

But a whole nation's wrongs—the insults offer'd

To all his friends, can never be forgiven.

No sacrifice, that Calledon can make,

Except his life, will calm a people's rage,

Or expiate his injuries to their leader.

Ind.

Nay, let not fancy's hydra woe's distress thee;

They mock the brain, and tempt to desperation!

Let us retire, 'till this dire storm be past.

To some frequentless place of refuge in

Remotest Persia, where aloof from war,

And persecuting foes, thy friend may cheer thee,

Divide thy solitude and share thy fate!

Zaph.

Oh! Indamora! how much you have promis'd

As yet you know not! but when you shall see

My father fallen, and his foes demand

My life, or sentence me to banishment,

Shall not you blush to call Zaphira friend?—

The orphan daughter of a vanquish'd king,

Is the last child in woe's wide family,

To escape outlawry from the world's compassion;

For the rude cavils of unfeeling malice

Are all the boon man's pity can bestow,

The only dowry of her shatter'd fortunes!

Ind.

No fate shall ever part me from Zaphira;

I am yours by all the ties of gratitude.

Zaph.

You wound my heart—You owe no gratitude

To me. My friendship's mingled with a crime;

Nor had we known this interchange of loves

Had not your parents, ignorant of your fate,

Long time believ'd, that you had early fallen,

A guiltless victim to the king's revenge.

[Page]Ind.

Alas! I never knew, who gave me birth;

Nor can I claim one drop of kindred blood.

But thee I've found the sister and the friend.

And trust me princess, though thy fortune's ebb,

My life's best joys shall be involv'd in thine.

Zaph.

Kind Indamora! I must undeceive you.

Come to my chamber, I will there divulge

The important tale—the secret of thy birth,

Which nothing, but the mandates of my father,

Had kept thus long secluded in my heart.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. Daranzel's Camp, Stage partly light. Enter DARANZEL, Meeting ORCASTO, ASAPH, and OFFICERS.

Dar.

Veterans, our safety bids us watch the foe,

And hold ourselves in readiness for battle.

Asaph.

Throughout our sleeping ranks, each soldiers heart

Is wedded to his arms;—Sound the alarm

And every man is martiall'd for the fight.

Dar.

See that our guards are strongly reinforc'd;

Ere morning dawns, we must expect assault.

[Exit Asaph,

Why sits dejection on Orcasto's brow?

Orc.

I hop'd to find Alcander with my father;

To him I come a most unwilling herald▪

Of sad disaster—Of his Osmyn's death!

Dar.

Of Osmyn's death! (with agitation) How fell the noble youth?

Orc.

Last night's eruption by the royal guards

Upon our eastern camp, was check'd without

[Page] Much blood's effusion.—To pursue the foe

Back to their battlements, a chosen troop

Instant with gallant Osmyn were dispatch'd.

Hard by the eastern wall they made a stand.

At once a host came rushing from the gates;

Belliferon rode proudly at their head.

Osmyn no sooner saw the exulting chief,

Than on he spurr'd to meet his well known foe.

He bade Silena look from heaven and see

Her death reveng'd. The giant leader stood;

Like some tall rock that spurns th' assailing wave,

And with a sneer exclaim'd—"What boy is this,

"Who from his mother's arms, thus eager flies

"To death?" then bade the gazing multitude

Look on, and see how rebels fell before him,

Scarce had he spoke, ere Osmyn plung'd his sword

Deep in his breast. The foe on every side

Clos'd in, and aim'd their fury at the victor.

Dar.

Was he deserted thus?

Orc.

Orcasto never left his friend in danger!

When I beheld him thus besieg'd with numbers,

Resolv'd to save his life or share his fate,

I march'd my whole detachment to relieve him;

Soon as our horse arriv'd, the foe retir'd;

But ere my tardy hand could give him aid,

Already cover'd o'er with wounds he fell;

Nor can the field's most diligent research

Discover where his body is dispos'd.

Thus with the choicest blood, that ever ran

In freeman's veins, was vengeance dearly bought.

Dar.

Oh, war, this is thy chanceful destiny!

Well, since 'tis thus, give us the boon we seek;

[Page] And if but one sad hundred should survive,

To taste the sweets of law-protected freedom,

Persia, tho' desolate, would still be happier,

Than if'twere peopled by a million slaves.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III. ZAPHIRA'S Chamber.

ZAPHIRA, discovered.

O, dreadful night! war, treachery, revenge,

Stalk through thy shades, and give to darkness, horror!

'Tis past the hour of our assignment;—where

Can Indamora stay beyond her promise?

If soon she comes not, Arlem's waiting at

The palace gates will be suspected, and

Alone, disguis'd 'mid this intestine uproar,

Our visit to the prison will be dangerous,

Enter INDAMORA.

Ind.

Your pardon, sweet Zaphira! my delay

Was held in conference with our faithful guide:

The palace front was so beset with guards,

He for our safety had obtain'd the key

Of the west postern gate; where, one hour hence,

He'll wait to give us conduct to the prison.—

Mean time he hastens to Daranzel's camp,

Whose friends, within the walls, are doom'd to feel

The direst weight of Calledon's revenge.

Zaph.

What new disaster thus inflames his vengeance?

Ind.

The spirit of revolt spreads thro' the city,

And menances the throne. The king appriz'd,

Has order'd all his guards to scour the streets,

And check sedition by promiscuous death.—

I feel a thousand cares for Zara's sake,

[Page] More than a daughter's transports swell my soul;

The anxious fears that hover round her fate,

Convert my bliss to exstacy of woe!

Brought up an orphan, mid my father's foes,

Of birth unknowing, by my friends unknown,

A solitary branch, by adverse storms

Torn from its parent tree, and carried with

The tempest, far from clime and culture;

Oh! my Zaphira, in one little story,

To know within a prison's cheerless walls,

A mother still exists;—of whom alas!

Strain'd memory's ball can trace no lineament.

And when I'm told the author of my being

Lives in his country's love, its friend and hero,

To hear this very night, is doom'd to end

His life and glory by a murderer's poniard!

To pass in one brief hour such fierce extremes

Of bliss and agony, o'erpower my senses—

Zaph.

Nay droop thee not. Daranzel still may live

Thy heart is put to too severe a proof.

The fault was mine; and yet I err'd from love!

When Arlem first came breathless from the tower,

With ardent zeal and ominous report,

That brave Cassander, captain of the guards,

Had seen Bartour, with passport from the king,

In rustic habit, pass the gate, that fac'd

Daranzel's tent;—Suspicious of his errand,

Th' occasion's speed forbade a moment's lapse;

Nor could we hesitate to make the means,

To guard Daranzel 'gainst the traitor's wiles,

A living witness of his child's recovery.

Full well I knew, the tale must wring your heart,

[Page] But thought th' endurance of one aching night,

An evil, less acute and terrible,

When 'twas inflicted to preserve a father.

Ind.

O, cease, Zaphira, I deserve thy censure:

This anxious bleeding heart will plead atonement.

Thy kind affection loves my very sorrows;

I cannot now repay thee but with tears.

Hereafter should the happy power be mine

My gratitude shall show a nobler comment.

Zaph.

A tedious, melancholy, restless hour,

Must yet revolve ere Arlem can return.

Protecting angels! aid his embassy,

And punish treachery with the death it merits.

Come, Indamora, let our hopes sustain

The lagging time's dull equipage of cares—

These painful moments but prelude the joys

That wait thee in the prison, where thy mother

Already told the story of thy life,

With throbbing expectation now awaits thee.

Oh! could I share a parents sweet embrace

Like thee transported, gaze upon her face;

With magic charm would one maternal smile

This fluttering heart of all its fears beguile!

[Exeunt.

END OF THE THIRD ACT.

[Page]

ACT IV.

SCENE I. Daranzel's Camp. Stage dark. BARTOUR, in disguise, at a small distance from DARANZEL'S tent.

Thanks to hypocrisy! the deed's half done—

How have I practis'd on these simple soldiers!

Integrity, thou art the fool of fortune!

The piteous boon of humble penury.—

An honest heart's the play-thing of the courtier,

Wound up, unwound, and finger'd at his will.

Fair words are sure companions of foul deeds;

My task demands one vers'd in both, [pause] I would

'Twere done! this busy nestling of the heart

Bespeaks at once abhorrence of its purpose,

And sad misdoubting of its chanceful issue.—

Yonder, unmov'd, that mighty chieftain stands,

Whose fame so much disturbs the sleep of kings—

Alone! Alcander then has left his tent—

An hour I've waited his departure—now,

One well aim'd blow shall strike rebellion down,

And fix the throne of Calledon secure.

Bartour, thou'lt thrive for this, be honored too—

Nay sainted in the calender of this

World's honesty—so very wise is man! [Is going.

[ARLEM crosses the stage hastily with ASAPH.

Hah! interrupted! Arlem here! I doubt

Some mystery is brooding (in agitation) If I'm foil'd,

Then, Calledon, as mariners desert

Their sinking ships, I'll leave thee to the storm,

And shelter in the offing. 'Tis the creed

Of statesmen; aye, and graver crafts-men too!

[Page] That smiling friend, smooth-tongued hypocrisy,

That household God of half proud fortune's fav'rites,

Has wrought more miracles on simple man,

Than a whole charnel-house of martyr's bones!

Here then I'll wait conceal'd, and watch my prey;—

When young Daranzel sav'd my life!—I thank him!

And to reward him, must I be his murd'rer? [starts.

Remorse I bid thee sleep!

[Exit.

SCENE II. Daranzel's tent. DARANZEL discovered.

Enter ARLEM and ASAPH.

Asa.

I bring a man detected on our lines;

Who when discover'd, anxiously desir'd

A soldier might conduct him to your tent,

To bring intelligence of highest moment.

Arl.

This letter for Daranzel, will unfold

To him the purport of my secret message. [gives Daranzel a letter.

Dar.

(Reads) " The royalists are mustering in the streets,

" And marching to your camp.—Bartour,

" Disguis'd, has past the gates; you know his wiles.—

" Be on your guard, and heaven preserve your life!"

What friendly hand directs this timely caution?

" Your long lost daughter, call'd by thee, Florilla;

" Now Indamora."

Is then my dear Florilla yet alive,

Whom for these fifteen melancholly years,

Through many a sad vicissitude of fate,

These eyes have wept with unavailing tears,

[Page] A victim of our cause! is this illusion?

Or can you, generous friend, explain to me

This mystery of fortune?

Arl.

All I know,

Is little more, than that your daughter lives;

And has, from earliest youth, been bred at court;

'Till now, unconscious of her parentage—

Zaphira has this hour reveal'd to her

The secret of her birth, and of your danger:

Solicitous to save a father's life,

Her filial love commission'd this adventure.

Dar.

Receive my heart felt thanks—Zaphira too!

I did not hope for friends so near the king!

Arl.

You've many advocates within our walls,

Ripe for revolt, and ready to attack

The guards; to them in haste I must return.

Sedition's breath now fans the spreading flame,

That soon will rage in terror round the throne.

Dar.

Conduct as worthy of the prize we seek;

Remember that the sword of war is drawn,

Not to dispense unnecessary carnage;

But for the cause of justice and of man.—

Asaph, conduct him safely through our camp.

[Exit Arlem.

Enter BARTOUR, as ARLEM goes off, on the opposite side, coming forward cautiously.

Dar.

Some power divine still vindicates our cause—

Freedom, for thee, no price can be too dear;

T'insure thy blessings on his injur'd land,

The patriot freely spills his richest blood!

Then what reproach of man, or curse from heaven,

[Page] Too great for him who fights t'inslave his race!

[A trumpet sounds without—draws his sword.

The eve of battle comes—eventful crisis!

Bar.

(approaching) Why do I tremble?

A woman's heart has seiz'd this coward breast. [aside.

Dar.

(after a pause kneels.)

Thou king of heaven, whose perfect eye looks through

The heart, to thee I make my last appeal!

Bar.

O shame, Bartour!

A coward when thy courage is most needed. [aside.

Dar.

If false ambition prompt me to the field,

Lodge in this breast each weapon of my foe.

[Bartour attempts to strike, but seems intimidated.

But if I draw this sword for justice only,

Then give me life; and by thy name I swear,

It never shall be sheath'd 'till Persia's free.

[Bartour raises his hand to make the blow, Daranzel rises, and discovers him attempting to conceal his poniard.

Bar.

I come, Daranzel! to implore thy pardon!

You must with pitying eye behold the man,

Who weeps his late apostacy from freedom,

And flies the vengeance of an incens'd king,

To seek his safety under your protection!

Dar.

My love of justice will protect the just;

But let ignoble traitors, tools of power,

Smart with the rod of your offended king,

Cringe to his spleen, and fawn to his caprices.

Bar.

And can that justice, which you boast so loudly,

Condemn unheard, in such opprobious terms?

In early life I once enjoyed your friendship,

But by defection from the cause you led,

I own, with shame, I merited to lose it.

[Page] Time now has wrought conviction; and inspired

With freedom's flame, I brave the despot's frowns,

And join the banner of his hated foe.

Dar.

When liberty unfriended, wandering mourn'd,

An exile from the realm, thy hand, Bartour,

More cruel than the tyger's paw, was first

To murder all, who dar'd espouse her cause;—

Now, she assumes a sterner look, and strikes

A terror on her foes, you think it safe

To court her smiles, and seek Daranzel's friendship!

Bar.

If I have been too loyal to my king,

Impute it to my weakness, not my guilt.

I here renounce my 'legiance to the crown,

And offer up my life a sacrifice,

To avenge the injuries of my much wrong'd friend!

Dar.

My soul disdains thy hypocritic arts.

Go, fall upon thy knees before the youth,

By thee made orphans; wash with repenting tears,

Thy murderous hands, so often stain'd with blood,

Then may'st thou claim protection from Daranzel;

'Till then, go seek thy safety with his foes.

Bar.

Honor might justify the bold attempt,

To check thy pride, and punish this disgrace;

But innocence demands no vindication,

And laughs thy feeble malice into scorn!

Dar.

Honor! and innocence!

Those words but ill become a traitor's tongue.

Ungrateful man! is this the sole reward,

Thou can'st repay my life's exposure for thee!

Was it for this, when in our Caspian war

I saw thee overwhelm'd in battle's heat,

And instant on the wing, to save my friend,

[Page] I hew'd my passage through the exulting foe,

And snatch'd thee, miscreant, from a brave man's sword!

Judge, by that act, how much I fear thy rage;

And measure by this deed, thy guilt.

Behold my breast, scarr'd with the wounds receiv'd

In your defence.—If guilt e'er harbor'd there,

Disclose the poniard you conceal, and shed

The tainted stream.—Silence becomes thee well,

And conscious shame unman's thy once brave heart.

Go then, thou ingrate! say to Calledon,

The shield of heaven protects Daranzel's life.

Tell him you found me, as you wish'd—alone;

And when I offer'd you my naked breast,

You durst not strike, but trembled like himself,

A guilty coward! Well thou know'st, ta'en here,

Thy life is in my power; but tell your master,

So much Daranzel scorns his minister,

He pities and forgives the wretch who sent him.

Bar.

Since then you spurn my friendship's proffer'd zeal,

Take from my slighted pride, my hate's resentment.

[Daranzel smiles with contempt.

Nay vaunt thee not! Touch thee, and thou wilt feel.

Adders have stings, and lions are but mortal!

[Exit.

DARANZEL solus.

Bartour! I weep thy glory's sad declension!

Is there in nature a more abject being,

Than the poor tenant of a prince's favors!

Whose fickle humor, insolent and pamper'd,

Shows, in one day, more phases than the moon,

[Page] And is more dangerous than the tide she governs!—

Alas! 'tis pitiful in this world's madness,

That simple flesh and blood,—itself so frail

And perishable—if you but call it king—

(A thing, that sleeps, and eats, and walks, as I do,)

Should by the knitting of its vacant brows,

So cheat man's senses, and debauch his reason,

That, with a wand, no bigger than a ferule,

It turns his heart's humanity to steel!

[Exit.

SCENE III. A dungeon in the Royal Prison. OSMYN discovered in chains—leaning against the wall.

[Cannon heard.

What means that din, whose distant tumults wake

The slumbering echo of these vaults of death,

Where like the owlet in her ivied tower,

Silence sits brooding in congenial gloom!

This dreary cave, I ween'd was so remote

From the proud sun, who lights the abodes of man,

I had not hop'd to hear its walls resound,

But with the clank of chains, and groans of death!

Oh, had I perish'd when Belliferon fell!

I then had died with honor, nor, had mute

Oblivion been the burier of my fortune!

But when enclos'd by host of foes, I fought,

'Till valor's nerve was palsied with the conflict,

Faint with these bleeding trophies—whelm'd beneath

A grove of swords—to sink upon my shield,

And in the sleep of life's suspended sense,

Borne from the field, unconscious to be here

Immur'd—to linger and to die by famine—

Mads the thrall'd vigor of these mangled limbs.

[Page] And rouses phrenzy e'en to desperation! [Retires up.

Enter ORONTES.

Cannon heard.

Oron.

Again! I cannot be deceived! 'tis battle's note!

Osm.

My generous benefactor! who, though tomb'd,

For many a year, beneath this dripping cell,

Has suffer'd not its dampness to incrust

The feelings of his heart;—but from his own

Mere morsel, has supplied my nature's craving. [aside,

If I could win him to our cause—I'll try it—[comes down to him.

What do thy thoughts so gaze upon, Orontes?

I've watch'd thee by the light of yon dim taper,—

On thy sunk eyes, and furrow'd brows I see,

Thy mind's quick sentinel has ta'en alarm!

Oron.

It has!

That busy, wakeful creature of the brain

Has found no food to feed upon so long,

That, like my body, it had almost sunk

Into eternal sleep.—But with a zest,

More keen, than what anticipates our meals,

It craves the information of the day;

Or rather of the night; for by the journal

Of our scant fare, and my last broken nap,

I judge the night half gone.—

Osm.

One might conjecture by the sounds we hear,

The day and night had join'd themselves in combat.

Oron.

Those sounds stir up the small remains of life.

Or do I sleep and dream of battles fought in youth?

Osm.

I do believe thou art awake,

And all the world beside.

[Page]Oron.

For twelve long years,

Confinement in this dreary cave of night.

The memory of those martial scenes has cross'd

My mind, on the light pinions of a dream;

And left no trace behind, but the dark shade

Of recollected honors;—now, alas!

Fancy with memory wakes and brings to view,

All the inspiring pomp of war, that lifts

The veteran's soul, and elevates his valor. [shouts heard.

Hark, in the mix'd variety of sounds

"The king" and "Freedom" swell from rival tongues.

Osm.

Fit words to be in competition;—

Never were pointed swords more opposite.

What dost thou think the cause of all this tumult?

Oron.

My mind forbodes some great event—perhaps,

The voice of liberty, which Calledon

Thought safely silenc'd in this dungeon's glooms;

Has rous'd the nations up to arms again.

O! would 'twere so.—Heaven grant the generous cause,

That fail'd with us, may rule the tented field,

'Till Persia, and ourselves once more are free. [shouts.

Osm.

Still louder shouts, triumphant shouts of freemen!

My heart is in the battle's front—O, were

These chains a sword, my hand should be there too!

Enter ARLEM.

Arl.

Hail, veterans! Do ye remember Arlem?

Oron.

The man, whose treachery confin'd me here?

Arl.

The man whose loyalty confin'd you here.—

Oron.

Thy loyalty!

Thou slave to infamy and Calledon—

[Page] My miseries here for twelve benighted years,

Have brought thee, as their author, to my mind.—

Yes! I with curses do remember thee!

Arl.

'Tis as I wish—their spirits yet unbroken. [Aside.

Stout-hearted men, I come to change your state.

Oron.

Welcome. Ye cannot change it for the worse.

Arl.

Then you'r prepar'd.—The king demands your lives.

Osm.

What cherub moves his flinty heart to mercy!

Arl.

Mercy! then do'st thou deem thy death a kindness?

Osm.

From the base heart of Calledon, with vice

So deeply stain'd, it seems a cordial drop,

More rare, more welcome, than the scanty moisture

The pilgrim finds upon the desert rock!

Arl.

This is his will;—'tis ours to execute;

But, tell me, which ye choose—to live or die?

Oron.

Unloose our chains, and give us arms once more;

Then we're content to live, or die, like men!

Arl.

Ye have your wish—here are two swords,

As good as e'er were clasp'd by veteran hands.

(Unlosing their chains, and offering swords.)

Now you are free—say, will you fight for freedom?

Osm.

Let him, who dares oppose, come on and prove us.

Arl.

Our foes are yet to seek; brave men be trusty!

Oron.

Keep us no longer in suspence. Make known

The terms on which we are releas'd!

Arl.

Then hear.—

This night is destin'd to decide the strife

[Page] Between th' oppressor and th' oppress'd.—Both sides

Have call'd their legions to the field.—Daranzel,

At the whole nation's head assails our walls.

Within rebellion menaces the throne.

The king, distrustful of success, still breathes

Revenge. By his command, I am sent to end

Each prisoner's life.—Bound by humanity,

The weaker ties of loyalty I break!

'Tis Arlem gives you freedom for your chains,

And life, instead of ignominious death.

Let this reverse your curses, and atone

For what you term my treachery; but know,

That I am not the first, who, with a heart

Averse to tyranny, have been the dupe,

The blinded dupe, of tyrants.

Osm.

Let our resentment rust upon the chains

We leave.—Heaven shower its blessing on thy head!

Arl.

Quick let us execute what we design.—

Free every prisoner that is worthy freedom;

Then join the standard of our gallant friend;

His wife is yet confin'd within these walls,

And should he, (as I greatly fear) reject

Our monarch's terms, this night will be her last.

Osm.

Oh! could this sword guar'd her defenceless life,

And safe restore her to Daranzel's arms;

How gladly all the wounds I bore in battle,

Ere sated vengeance leap'd upon her prey;

Nay all the tortures, ignominious pangs,

Of those vile shackles that disgrac'd my manhood;

Would this weak frame, tho' half of life exhausted,

Again endure and triumph in its suffrance!

[Exit.

[Page]Oron.

The cause is worth the patriot's noblest blood;

We follow thee to freedom, or to death!

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV. Daranzel's tent.

Enter DARANZEL and ORCASTO, meeting.

Orc.

Without delay, the army needs your presence;

The enemy are sallying from their gates,

And marching to our front. Araxes fills

Belliferon's place, and heads the royal troops,

Who seem to move reluctantly to battle.

The allies are debarking from their ships,

And form their ranks upon the adjacent shore.

Dar.

We have no time to spare.

The castle, which o'erlooks the foreign fleets,

Must be the object of our first attack;

There centres all their strength; when this is ours,

The fleet and city lie at our command.

Alcander must conduct our motions here;

Orcasto, with the horse, proceed against

The foreign troops, and stop their junction with

The king's:—meantime I'll make attempt to gain

The castle unperceiv'd, and conquer it

By storm—

Orc.

Let me entreat you hear a son's advice.

Decline the dangerous duty you have chosen.

Nor with incaution rush on certain death.

The castle is strong arm'd by desperate men;

And he who first ascends its walls, must fall.

Should this be you, our cause is lost indeed:

Each soldier's arm would be unnerv'd in battle.

Let then, my sire, this arduous task be mine;

My anxious heart glows with the patriot's fire;

[Page] And I can freely, proudly, die to gain

My country's cause; but cannot live to see

A widow'd mother, weeping for my father,

Whose life a son's, less worthy, might have sav'd.

Dar.

Ingenuous youth! thine be the glorious lot!

May never fading laurels deck thy brow. [trumpet heard.

The trumpet speaks the enemy at hand.

We must betake ourselves, each to his post.—

The important hour, before we thought is come,

That must decide the fate of Calledon.

Our friends, our country, and ourselves.

Fortune and fame suspend, with equal hand,

The scale of war. Be it our care to turn

The mighty beam in favor of the world;

And give their long lost rights to injur'd man;

Or with expiring freedom greatly fall:

Leave earth to kings, oppression, vice and shame,

And crown the generous strife with endless fame!

[Exeunt.

SCENE V. Pantomime. A viw of the Castle, Bay, and the Fleet. BATTLE OF THE PERSIAN ARMIES, ASSAULT AND CAPTURE OF THE CASTLE, AND THE CONFLAGRATION OF THE FLEET.

(Represented in Action.)

END OF THE FOURTH ACT.

[Page]

ACT V.

SCENE I. A gothic chamber in the Prison. A door in the back scene. Stage dark.

Enter OSMYN.

How dismal echo the loud blasts of war,

Thro' the dark windings of this nether mansion,

This monumental pile of man's oppression!

The key, which Arlem to my trust confided,

When he return'd to escort the princess hither,

Has open'd every subterraneous vault,

Whose patriot tenants by the king confin'd,

E're this, had slumber'd in inglorious death.—

This by description, should be Zara's prison

Grief's sad domain drear tenement of horror!

[clattering of swords without.

The tread of tumult 'mid these solemn cells,

Where grief itself is speechless, bodes discovery—

This door precludes pursuit: should aught betide

To threaten Zara's life, this privacy

May prove the only refuge could protect her.—Tumult without.]

Exit through the door forc'd open with [difficulty.

CASMIR without.

Arlem's a traitor! seize him guards, and drag

Him to the palace!

[Enters.

This knave's detection has suspicion in it.

His life shall pay the forfeit of his trust.—

I had not trac'd him, but his mode of late

Has mark'd him guilty of humanity.

And well I noted when the king did charge him

[Page] To scratch, at night, a few old rebel's veins,

His baby conscience startled at the dagger!

Two women mask'd were with him—chance the princess,

With some confederate in the stratagem,

To rescue Zara from her father's vengeance!

Arlem secur'd, the king will soon have news on't

And blame my lagging purpose—now to business!

[Exit.

Enter ZAPHIRA and INDAMORA, (agitated)

Zaph.

Lost and undone! we have no time to lose,

Before my father's wrath will bring him hither—

And much I fear this hapless night's adventure

Will rouse his rage, and speed thy mother's fate.—

Ind.

Alas! that I was born in hour so luckless,

That not one kindly star can smile upon me!

Doom'd by my wayward fate to suffer grief's

Acutest thorns, that root and fester here;

Yet had this breast been destin'd to endure

The sad monopoly of life's disaster,

The pressure of thy woes indeed were lightsome;

But to exist to know myself most wretched,

And that my miseries hold such rank contagion,

That all my friends must be infected by them—

Resines essential grief to mute despair!

Fortune has plac'd me in so deep a vortex,

So perilous and rapid, that who e'er

Dares to extend a friendly hand to save me,

Slips from the brink into the whirling gulph,

And finks to meet inevitable ruin!

Zaph.

My dearest friend, your sorrows rave most wildly!

[Page] Indeed, thou know'st not with how proud a zeal;

My heart, my life, are both devoted to thee—

And whate'er hap betide the warring world,

No power shall part us, and no fate divide.

But come, th' occasion stirs—there yet is time,

If Zara still be here, to trace her out,

And warn her of her danger; nay, perhaps

Amid the moment's bustle, chance may offer

To elude the guards and favor her escape.

Ind.

By different routs we'll search her, and return

Here instantly, should either be successful.

[Exeunt at opposite sides:

Enter ZARA. — Upper wing.

Arlem detected! hope is then extinguish'd!

For he alone of all the tyrant's slaves

Had feeling left to sympathise with woe,

Or manhood to protect an injur'd woman!

The keen endurances I here have borne,

Since first these arms were widow'd of their lord

Would far exceed my hours in computation;

But melancholy cannot count her sighs,

And sorrow keeps no calender but tears.—[Pause.

A conflict, how severe this night has witness'd!

Cheer'd with a mother's hope—my only bliss—

To fold a long lost daughter to my heart;

Three watchful weary hours I've pac'd the aisle,

Whose windows front the bay, from thence to learn

Ought could occasion Arlem's painful absence;

But now alas the mystery is develop'd,

And with it all my hopes forever buried!

[Page] Enter INDAMORA, behind.

Ne'er shall these eyes, so long inur'd to scenes

Of gloomiest horror and of dark despair,

Again revisit the abodes of day.

Or gazing on my dear, deserted orphan,

Melt with a transport, which can find no utterance.

Oh, my lost child! forever lost Florilla!

INDAMORA comes forward.

Ind.

It is, it must be, for I feel thou art

My mother! Nature is most absolute! [embracing.

Now have we met never to part again.

Zara.

Does my wild fancy feed on airy dreams,

And with illusions mock me? No! 'tis real.

I see each feature—Oh! My dear daughter!

Do I once more embrace thee in my arms?

All gracious heaven! how bounteous is thy care.

When most we murmur at thy dark decrees,

Then most thou art preparing blessings for us!

Re-enter CASMIR, behind.

Cas.

This woman has escap'd me. [starts seeing them.

Ind.

But oh! to meet thee thus is agony.

The king breathes nought but vengeance▪ and this night

Designs thy life a victim to atone

His pardon's proud rejection by Daranzel.

Zara.

His wrath I fear not—I'm prepar'd to meet it.

In this one moment have I rifled all

The bloom of life's best joys, and should I sink

Beneath the edge of his resentment now,

I leave not one untasted bliss behind me.

[Page]Cas.

(seizing her with one hand, and holding a dagger in the other.)

Take then thy wish;—the king has sign'd thy death:

And I am here to execute his purpose!

Zara.

Russian beware! thy life atones thy rashness.

Ind.

Oh! stay your hand! if ever mercy thou

Wilt need, forbear as thou expectest mercy.

Cas.

Babbler stand off—Mercy's a culprit's virtue.

Ind.

Then plunge thy weapon here, let me receive

The blow, and save a mother's life.

Cas.

A mother! then there's treason here a plotting—

That word has fix'd her doom.

Ind.

Oh, horror! horror! (loudly) [faints and falls.

Cas.

This moment is thy last.—[to Zara.

[Zaphira enters and seizes Casmir's arm as he is going to [strike.

Zaph.

Stop, vile assassin!—if thy dagger's point,

Tho' dip'd in aconite, still thirsts for blood,

Then in thy heart's more poison'd core dispose it;

But if, (for much I doubt thee rank in crimes,)

Thou still inhibit'st thy accurs'd design;

If thou canst basely stoop to soil man's honor,

A woman may outstrip her nature's laws,

And seize thy lost prerogative—to tell thee,

In the face of thy most valiant daring—

Coward! that prisoner shall not die by thee!

Cas.

I did not know Zaphira interpos'd:—

I came to execute your father's will,

And can his child protect a rebel's life?

But if such clemency Orcasto teach thee,

Know that the mandates of a king outweigh

[Page] The feeble [...] of shallow woman!

(Osmyn bursts open the door in the back scene, and comes forward with a drawn sword)

Osm.

Nay then, since woman cannot touch thy pity,

A soldier shall demand thy valor's proof.

Cas.

Who art thou, intruder, that dares to doubt it?

Osm.

A man! thou could'st not answer thus.

Cas.

In wordy warfare braggarts baffle heroes,

For brave men only argue with their swords. [they fight off the stage.

Zara.

Revive my child—Heaven never will desert

The prayers of virtue at its latest need!

Ind. (Recovering.)

And art thou safe my mother? oh, Zaphira,

Thou art indeed misfortune's guardian cherub!

OSMYN Returns.

Osm.

Curs'd chance! these vaults are so perplex'd with mazes,

In the dark lab'rynth he escap'd my vengeance.

Zara.

Oh, generous, brave preserver! noblest friend!

Accept the warmest thanks, that heart e'er offer'd!

But say, by what yet unaccounted fate,

And durance here, thou hast acquir'd the means

Of thy deliverance and of our protection?

Osm.

The tale were long and irksome—much too sad,

To give thee pleasure; but, suffice it now,

To render up my gratitude to heaven,

That mid the woes which cloud my chequer'd life

This happy hour which brings me to your aid,

More than repays for all my miseries past.

[Page]Zaph.

Now let us hasten from these drear domains:

Casmir's escape portends our instant danger.

Osm.

That door through which I issued, chance discovered—

Its hinges, by the dews of time corroded,

Bespeak it now disus'd, perhaps unknown;—

Driven by pursuit to force its bolts for shelter,

I found it open'd on a winding vault

Clos'd by a narrow staircase, which ascends,

Crossing the ancient armory of the castle,

Up to the turrets on its battlements.

In that retreat you may elude research,

Thro' this tumultuous and eventful night;

'Till orient freedom dawning with the sun,

Light your departure from its walls forever!

Zara.

Exalted worth! our lives can ne'er return

A tribute worthy of thy heart's deserving. [noise without

Zaph.

Haste, we're surpris'd! fly, fly! or all is lost!

[As they are going enter CALLEDON and Guards.

Cal.

Ah, base conspirators!

Now have I trac'd you to your secret haunts!

Well may you join yourselves to the vile dregs

Of cringing poverty and plotting treason,

Guests, that the prison walls might blush to own!

Osm.

If, to protect defenceless innocence,

Incense thy merciless, unfeeling heart,

I here implore thy pardon for these women;

But, for myself, I hold in equal scorn,

Thy indignation, or thy clemency!

Cal.

Caitiff! what daemon let thee loose from hell,

To feel thy torments doubled here on earth?

[Page]Osm.

Torments! the pangs of death were ecstasy,

If borne to punish infamy like thine!

Cal.

Then feeble shade! vile refuse of sedition!

I'll teach thee to revere the power of kings!

[They fight furiously—Osmyn is disarmed and bound by the guards—Calledon stands with his sword uplifted.]

I will not strike thee; instant death were mercy;

But lingering agonies shall be thy doom!

Osm.

Writhe, if thou dar'st each fibre of my heart,

And, as its life-stream flows, count drop by drop!

E'en to my latest pang I'd smile, to show thee

How much a patriot soul is thy superior!

Cal.

Great as thy arrogance, shall be thy torment.

Prepare the rack.—Bartour shall see thee tortur'd,

'Till thy nerves crack, and my revenge is fated.

And since his cowardice has spar'd Daranzel,

The wife's disposal shall be made more certain! [half aside.

Zara.

Quick let him execute his king's commands.

Already have I drain'd the cup of sorrow;

Nought but the bitter dregs of life remain.

And when thou'st shed the blood of all our race,

And murder'd husband, daughter, son and wife,

Then may'st thou boast thy victory complete.

Cal.

Begone, and speak not or my swelling wrath,

Will tempt me to forget my pride, and stain

A monarch's sabre with plebeian blood!

Zara.

Strike, then, thou tyrant! I defy thy wrath!

Death will but land me on that peaceful shore,

Beyond the stormy sea of life's disaster,

Where, plac'd above thy brief authority,

'Twould be my pleasure, great as heaven could give,

[Page] To see proud victory burnish with her smiles

The godlike splendor of Daranzel's arms;

To see him hurling, with the tempest's might,

Thy power to dust, thy palaces to ruins;

And to complete the triumph of his glory,

Giving his country happiness and peace!

[As Calledon is drawing his sword, Indamora kneels between him and Zara.]

Ind.

O, spare her! see her child, whom thou hast rear'd,

In fervent duty kneeling at thy feet!

Hear then what pitying heaven delights to hear,

The humble wretch's supplicating prayer!

Cal.

Unhand me, viper! I will hear no more!

Zaph.

Indeed, my father! thee alone she pleads for;

Thy fate depends on Zara's.—Do not blindly

Rush on destruction which thou might'st escape!

Cal.

Call me not father; rather blush with guilt;

And tremble, while you learn the fate

Of your colleagues in parricidal treason!

Osm.

Oh, justice! since thou hast forsook the earth;

Speak from thy natal heaven in peals of thunder,

And blast the fiend who tramples on thy laws!

[Cannon heard, and loud shouts.

Enter BARTOUR, in haste.

Bar.

My lord, thy safety calls thy instant care.

Cal.

What tumult [...] our prison's walls.

Bar.

Your guards have been attack'd, and Arlem rescu'd.

Cal.

Aye, there's another thorn! how wears the sight?

[Page]Bar.

Confusion worse than I can paint▪ our foes

Have gain'd the castle by a furious storm,

From whence, with well directed fire, they've rak'd

The fleet; all that can sail have left the port,

And drove for safety to the open main.

Cal.

Perdition sink them! how has gone the field?

Bar.

When from the light of many a ship in flames,

The rebels saw the fleet with plying oars;

And sails expanded, flying▪ from the port;

Forthwith three loud huzzas rung thro' their ranks;

Then on they rush'd as with one soul:—Dismay'd,

Our army have in wild disorder fled.

Their leaders strove to rally them in vain!

The scatter'd troops, except a veteran few,

Still loyal to their king, have join'd the foe▪

Cal.

Traitors! the scourge of kings, and scorn of men! [cannon and shouts.

Bar.

Thou hast, my liege, no moment's time to spare,

Ere this Daranzel storms the city's gates.

Cal.

Quick summon all my soldiers to the palace! [going.

Stay! guards remain! Bartour, the only terms,

On which thou canst retrieve thy blemish'd honor,

Are that you execute without delay,

That traitor Osmyn, and Daranzel's wife!

Bring me your sword bath'd with their heart's warm gore?

Tho' vanquish'd, I will triumph o'er my foes!

[Exit Calledon and part of the Guards.

Bar.

Guards, seize that pris'ner—bind him to the wheel!

And, as for thee—

[Page] [He approaches to lay hold of Zara, the prisoners who have been released, enter at the door in the back with Arlem at their head, who run to protect her—Osmyn is unbound and receives a sword.

Arl.

(To the women) Be not alarm'd retire in safety.

[The women go out at the door in the back.

Bar.

What magic hand has conjur'd up these ghosts.

Avaunt! base herd! or if your ghastly forms

Have blood, our swords shall try its temper.

Arl.

Our hearts have courage, and our arms have nerves.

Osm.

Come on and see whose lot it is to bleed!

Guards and prisoners fight off the stage.

OSMYN and BARTOUR return fighting; BARTOUR falls.

Bar.

'Tis done! and I alas! am doom'd to fall,

The victim of those crimes, which rais'd my glory!

Thy better sword has pierc'd a treacherous heart,

Polluted with misdeeds of deeper die,

Than is this crimson tide of ebbing life.

Osmyn! I know thee well; and that thou hast

Been loaded heavily with sharpest sorrows.

Forgive me:—I in part have been their cause;—

But all thy miseries would I gladly bear,

To live one hour, one guitless hour, like thee—

Night closes round me—Heav'n reward thy suff'rings—

I dare not—ask—its blessings—for myself! [Dies.

Osm.

Is this Bartour, companion of my youth,

Whose breast once glow'd with sentiments of honor!

If royal favors have debas'd thee thus,

Happy the man, whom dungeons bar from courts!

[Exit at the door in the back scene.

[Page]

SCENE II. Front of the Palace. Cannon, tumults, shouts, &c. CALLEDON, GUARDS, &c.

Cal.

Stand to your posts! for shame! resume your valor!

Is fear an ague, that it shakes you thus?

Who first retreats from danger, first meets death.

Soon as Daranzel enters here, receive him,

As should become a Persian soldier's fame!

Deal him the fate a rebel well deserves.

Enter DARANZEL, ASAPH, Officers and Soldiers.

(A flourish without.)

Dar.

Who are those trembling slaves, who dare oppose

The triumph of those arms that make them free!

Cal.

Hinds! base born minions! stand ye thus aghast!

Dar.

If ye respect, or fear, your king—stand forth

Like men in his defence! if not, resign

Those arms you dare not use, and sue for pardon! [Guards lay down their arms.

Cal.

Oh, heaven and earth! Is this the fate of kings?

To be debas'd by cursed conspirators,

And mingle with the dust of peasants' feet!

Dar.

To this sad state thy unexampled crimes—

Schem'd to enslave thy people, have reduc'd thee!

Those cringing parasites, who barr'd thy throne

Against all access to the friends who lov'd thee;

Whom thou, so credulous of courtier's praise,

[Page] Did'st like the nursling pelican, support

E'en with the vital stream, that nourish'd thee!

Have with such thrifty zeal so fleec'd thee of

Thy subjects' loyalty, that those devices,

Forg'd with so nice a cunning, to enrich

Their own promotion, have recoil'd upon them;

And crush'd beneath the ruins of thy throne,

The subtle ferrets, that had sap'd its base!

—But I have done: my sword shall ne'er be stain'd

With so dispis'd a triumph, as revenge;

And if that this severe experiment

Has now convinc'd thee, that, to govern well,

A king should rule with clemency and justice;

Then live, and reign; be happy with thy people!

I fought for freedom only; and I'd rather

The sanction of the establish'd powers should give it,

Than throw for't with the die of anarchy!

Cal.

Prate on, pretender; legislate for slaves!

And the loud clan of slander-preaching patriots!

But royalty disdains the prostitution!

My life, or death, I scorn alike from thee;

And to receive a kingdom from thy gift

Would prove a curse, so prodigal in misery,

That e'en the sceptre, like the levite's rod,

Would turn a serpent to destroy the wretch,

Whose abject baseness brib'd him to accept it!

Dar.

Thy arrogance I'll humble with thy power.

[They fight desparately—Calledon is wounded several times, and at last is disarmed.]

Now haughty prisoner, hear thy destiny!

Since mercy thou hast spurn'd, I give thee justice!

Shut from the light of heaven 'till death release thee.

[Page] In shameful durance shalt thou wear those chains,

So often bound by thee on better hands;

And hear, what well may make the tyrant's life

A curse—the songs of liberty and peace,

Sung by the people whom thou hast enslav'd!

Cal.

Nay! Calledon shall live, and die, a king. [Stabs himself, and falls▪

Oh! cursed fate! distraction seize my soul—

Ye powers above, I ask no help of you;

Daemons infernal have usurp'd your place—

Oh! for a grave in the dark womb of chaos!

That I might raise the elements to war,

And thunder desolation thro' the world! [Dies.

Dar.

Thus perish ever that imperious pride,

That gorges on the miseries of man!

Asap.

The foe is vanquish'd—and the victor's mood

Shall be immortal in his country's blessings!

Dar.

Now, onward to the prison; there Orcasto

Ere this has reach'd; and if our fortunes flag not

Has rescu'd Zara from the threaten'd blow

Of tyrannous revenge.

Enter ARLEM.

Arl.

More than success has crown'd thy arms, Daranzel;

Thy wife, protected by the gallant Osmyn,

Safe lodg'd within the palace, waits to hail thee!

Dar.

Osmyn alive! and Zara too recover'd!

But say—my Indamora—my lost child—

Ar.

She too awaits thee, and with filial tears,

That bless with speechless thanks her brave preserver,

Enhances all the pledges of thy triumph.

[Page]Dar.

The arm of providence is moral justice!

I lov'd my king; but he did prove a tyrant—

I lov'd my country, and I slew her foe.

That I lov'd Zara, all could freely witness;

But that I would not purchase her release,

And sell my freedom, is most true; and now,

The blessings of my God reward my labors!

Enter OSMYN, ORONTES, ZARA, INDAMORA, and Prisoners.

Dar.

Zara, thrice welcome to my arms again; [Embracing.

Zara.

Unlook'd for bliss! transporting change of fortune!

To 'scape from dungeons, whose benighted walls,

Dark as my hopes, did yield no gleam of light—

To owe my safety to a stranger's valor—

Hear my brave son victorious—find a daughter,

My long lost child recover'd—and embrace,

My country's saviour, in my bosom's lord! [embrace.

Dar.

Is this—my child—my dear, my lost Florilla.

Ind.

(kneeling) It is my father—oh! bestow thy blessing!

Dar.

Come to my heart—divide thy father's love? (embraces.

My conquest and my joy are now complete!

Osmyn! thy veteran virtues well deserve

The gratitude and friendship of a soldier.

Thy valor merits better fate, than what thy brow,

That register of ills, bears recond of!

Osm.

The journal of my life has e'er been blotted,

With sad successive sorrows;—till, thank heaven

[Page] This night has writ fair lines, unbound my chains,

And arm'd me once again in freedom's cause!

Dar.

The choicest blessings, peace and freedom give,

Reward thy worth, brave man!

Oron.

Shut out from friendship and from fame, entomb'd

In prison, I have been dead to all the world;

Till this blest hour, to me the first of life,

Restores me to my country and my friends!

Ind.

I feel the general joy; but yet there is

A melancholly gloom, that clouds my bliss—

Zaphira's sorrow wounds me to the heart.

Virtue like her's claims all our sympathy.

When told of her unhappy father's fate,

She swoon'd with terror, and the blight of grief,

Nipp'd her young beauties, like th' untimely frost

That feeds upon the lilly's cheek, till all the tears,

Which fall from sorrow's lids, cannot recall

Its blossom'd fragrance to the withering stalk!

Dar.

My sword was drawn to guard the just, and set

My country free.—'Tis time Zaphira knows,

The tears of innocence can melt the heart,

That never trembled in the field of battle!

Enter ORCASTO and ZAPHIRA.

Orc.

If I deserve a father's approbation,

Permit me from a heart, that would have bled

To spare, what fate denied—the royal person—

To ask, for an unhappy orphan daughter,

The friendship and protection of Daranzel!

Dar.

I know her virtue, and thy love, Orcasto!

And when the memory of this night is lost,

[Page] In brighter days; let them reward each other,

For know, Zaphira, while Daranzel lives,

Whate'er the father, or the friend can do,

Shall crown thy life with every boon of fortune!

Zaph.

Exalted virtue! I did know thee brave!

But thou hast added to thy wreath of valor,

A pearl of rarest worth—benign humanity!

I must indulge the sorrows of this night;

'Tis nature's debt—a parent claims these tears!

A happier day shall show my gratitude!

Dar.

Veterans! the harvest of your toils is ripen'd,

Now let this war of bleeding brothers cease;

To battle's trump, succeed the lute of peace!

But ah! our victory is but half obtain'd,

If faction governs, where a tyrant reign'd;

Then, on the ruins of the despot's throne,

Let law's firm temple rear its sacred zone,

Where equal justice shall dispense her sway,

And every patriot's creed shall be—Obey!

END OF THE TRAGEDY.

EPILOGUE.

[Page]

BY A GENTLEMAN OF BOSTON.

I TOLD the tearing author of the play,

I knew not what in his behalf to say;

But, fearful of his fate, he begged so hard,

That I could not refuse the piteous [...].

I speak extempore, and should I wander,

Far from the road of sense; I trust your candor▪

What shall I say?—why do not swear and scoff,

And, by your leaves, I'll try to take you off.

If Pope is right, that prince of rhyming elves,

That all our knowledge is to know ourselves,

How can we better, pray, employ our time?

I'll speak the truth,—so help me king of rhyme?

A playhouse is an ample field for satire;

Let's use it freely, tho' without ill nature.

But stop—to look around me, will be right;—

Upon my word, a very pretty sight!

Where young, and old, in motley mixture sit,

And grave, and gay, in Gallery, Box, and Pit;

Where well dressed lads display the frizeur's power,

And wigs, far whiter than the cauliflower!

What youth is that, so talkative and loud,

That thrusts his pretty face from out the crowd?

From Julien's are you, Sir?—I know your forte;

Eat soup—play high—cry "that's your sort!"

To prove your courage, swear away, like thunder,

While friends admire and strangers stare with wonder!

Ride out to Bird's, and play at bowls o' Sunday,

And swear it is not worse than on a Monday.

Most freely I acknowledge, Sir, your merit,

And when you've drank your grog, I grant you don't want spirit!

Say, who are you, far graver than physician?

I know you, now, Sir;—you're a—politician!—

" Great news"—O, what?—The French have not received

" Our Envoys; is the story, Sir, believed—

" O, sir, 'tis true; as friends, they'll never greet ye,

" Unless you break that cursed British Treaty!

" Allowed to arm, too! sir, th' administration,

" Unless resisted, will undo the nation!—

I see, sir, you're a Jacobin—"No, in reality

I'm a true friend to Liberty and Equality!

[Page] " And tho' of French Directors, 'tis the creed;

" That we, poor Yankees are of spaniel breed;

" Yet, will our masters kindly loose our collars,

" If paid the "dog tax" of twelve million dollars!"

Take my advise, Sirs, and this nonsense drop;

Resume your yard-stick, and attend your shop!—

In yonder box, I see a charming maid;—

Not you, Miss Pert, who toss so high your head:

Whilst manners, taste, and sense, and sweetness vie,

To aid the keen destruction of her eye,

What pity she should unstring Cupid's fell-bow,

By showing the bare bones of either elbow.

Hide then, O, bide the far too naked arm,

For modest beauty gives a double charm!

Such are the trivial faults, absorbed and lost,

Amid the blaze of virtues, that you boast;

If then you will receive this slight essay,

By way of Epilogue, to this our Play;

If what I've said will pass instead of wit,

Your hands applaud me, and your hearts acquit!

Information about this book

Title statement

Daranzel; or, The Persian patriot. An original drama. In five acts. As performed at the theatre in Boston. / By David Everett. ; Corrected and improved by a literary friend.

Everett, David, 1770-1813.

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI :

Date

2007-10.

ID [DLPS]

N28056

ID [TCP]

N28056

ID [STC]

Evans 37386

ID [NOTIS]

APZ0224

ID [IMAGE-SET]

37386

ID [EVANS-CITATION]

99037840

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 37386.

Notes

(Evans-TCP ; no. N28056)

Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 37386)

Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 37386)

Source

— Daranzel; or, The Persian patriot. An original drama. In five acts. As performed at the theatre in Boston. / By David Everett. ; Corrected and improved by a literary friend., Everett, David, 1770-1813..

Extent

66, [2] p. ; 21 cm. (8vo)

Printed by John Russell.,. Boston, :: 1800.. (Printer's monogram device on title page.)

Creation

Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.

Editorial practices

EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO.

EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org).

The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.