'/^ /.? University of California • Berkeley PAULINE FORE MOFFITT LIBRARY Qpf<^ jM- Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2008 witii funding from • IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.arcliive.org/details/countjuliantrageOOIandrich COUNT JULIAN TRAGEDY. COUNT JULIAN: TRAGEDY. > / LONDON: PRINTOD FOR JOHN MURRAY, FLEET STREET, By James Moyes, GreviUe Street, Hatton Garden. 1812. The daughter of Count Julian is usually called Florinda— a fictitious appellation, unsuitable to the person and to tlie period. Never was one devised more incompatible with the appearance of truth, or more fatal to. the illusions of sympathy. The city of Covilla, it is reported, was named after her. Here is no improba- bility : there would be a gross one in deriving the word, as is also pretended, from La Cava. Cities, in adopting a name, bear it usually as a testimony of victories or as an augury of virtues. Small and obscure places, occasionally, receive what their neigh- bours throw against them ; as Puerto de la mala rauger in Murcia. A generous and enthusiastic people, beyond all others in existence or on record, would affix no stigma to innocence and misfortune. It is remarkable that the lupst important era in Spanish history should be the most obscure. This is propitious to the poet, and above all to the tragedian. Few characters of such an era can be glaringly misrepresented, few facts offensively perverted. CHARACTERS, Count Julian, KoDERiGO, King of Spain. Opas, Metropolitan of Seville, SisABERT, betrothed to Covilla. MuzA, Prince of Mauritania. Abdalazis, son of Muza, TariEi Moorish Chieftain. Covilla, daughter of Julian. Eoilona, \yife of Boderzgo. Officers, Hernandoi OsmA| ^amiboi &;c; COUNT JULIAN. ACT I. SCENE !• Camp of Julian. OPAS. JULIAN. Opas, See her, Count Julian : if thou lovest Goil, See thy lost child. Jul. I have avenged me, Opas, More than enough : I sought but to have hurled The brands of war on one detested head, And died upon his ruin. O my country ! O lost to honour, to thyself, to me, Why on barbarian hands devolves thy cause, Spoilers, blasphemers ! Opas, Is it thus, Don Julian, B a COUNT JUtlAN : When thy own ofspring, that beloved child, For whom alone these very acts were done By them and thee, when thy Covilla stands An outcast, and a suppliant at thy gate, Why that still stubborn agony of soul, Those struggles with the bars thyself imposed ? Is she not thine ? not dear to thee as ever ? ♦ Jul. Father of mercies ! show me none, whene'er The wrongs she suffers cease to wring my heart, Or I seek solace ever, but in death, Opas, What wilt thou do then, too unhappy man ? Jul. What have I done already ? All my peace Has vanished ; my fair fame in after-times Will wear an alien and uncomely form. Seen o'er the cities I have laid in dust, Countrymen slaughtered, friends abjured! Opas, And faith ? Jul, Alone now left me, filling up in part The narrow and waste intervals of grief : It promises that I shall see again My own lost child. A TRAGEDV. Opas, Yes, at this very hour. Jul, Till I have met the tyrant face to face, And gain'd a conquest greater than the last ; Till he no longer rules one rood of Spain, And not one Spaniard, not one enemy, The least relenting,* flags upon his flight; Till we are equal in the eyes of men, The humblest and most wretched of our kind, No peace for me, no comfort, no — no child ! Opas. No pity for the thousands fatherless, The thousands childless like thyself, nay more, The thousands friendless, helpless, comfortless — Such thou wilt make them, little thinking so, Who now, perhaps, round their first winter fire, Banish, to talk of thee, the tales of old, Shedding true honest tears for thee unknown : Precious be these, and sacred in thy sight. Mingle them not with blood from hearts thus kind. If only warlike spirits were evoked By the war-demon, I would not complain. Or dissolute and discontented men ; 4 COUNT JULIAN ; But wherefor hurry down into the square The neighbourly, saluting, warm-clad race, Who would not injure us, and could not serve ; Who, from their short and measured slumber risen, In the faint sunshine of their balconies, With a half-legend of a martyrdom And some weak wine and withered grapes before them, Note by their foot the wheel of melody That catches and rolls on the sabbath dance. To drag the steddy prop from failing age, Break the young stem that fondness twines around. Widen the solitude of lonely sighs, And scatter to the broad bleak wastes of day The ruins and the phantoms that replied. Ne'er be it thine. Jul, Arise, and save me, Spain ! ACT I. SCENE 2. MuzA enters,^ Muza. Infidel chief, thou tarriest here too long And art, perhaps, repining at the days '»> I A TRAGEDY. Of nine continued victories, o'er men Dear to thy soul, tho' reprobate and base. Away ! * JuL I follow. Could my bitterest foes Hear this ! ye Spaniards, this ! which I foreknew And yet encounter'd ; could they see your Julian Receiving orders from and answering These desperate and heaven-abandoned slaves, They might perceive some few external pangs, Some glimpses of the hell wherein I move, Who never have been fathers. Opas* These are they To whom brave Spaniards must refer their wrongs ! JuL Muza, that cruel and suspicious chief, Distrusts his friends more than his enemies, JNIe more than either ; fraud he loves and fears, And watches her still footfall day and night. Opas, O Julian ! such a refuge ! such a race ! JuL Calamities like mine alone implore. No virtues have redeemed them from their bonds ; * Muza retires. 6 COUNT JULIAN : Wily ferocity, keen idleness, And the close cringes of ill-whispering want. Educate them to plunder and obey : Active to serve him best whom most they fear, ' They show no mercy to the merciful, And racks alone remind them of the name. Opas, O everlasting curse for Spain and thee ! JuL Spain should have vindicated then her wrongs In mine, a Spaniard's and a soldier's wrongs. Opas. Julian, are thine the only wrongs on earth? And shall each Spaniard rather vindicate Thine than his own ? is there no Judge of all ? Shall mortal hand seize with impunity The sword of vengeance, from the armory Of the Most High ? easy to wield, and starred With glory it appears ; but all the host Of the archangels, should they strive at once, Would never close again its widening blade. JuL He who provokes it hath so niuch to rue, W^h^re'er he turn, whether to earth or heaven, He finds an enemy, or raises one. A TRAGEDY. Opas. I nevg- yet have seen where long success Hath followed him who warred upon his king. Jul, Because the virtue that inflicts the stroke Dies with him, and the rank ignoble heads Of plundering faction soon unite again, And, prince-protected, share the spoil, at rest^ ACT I. SCENE 3. Guard announces a Herald, Opas departs. Guard, A raessager of peace is at the gate, My lord, ^afe access, private audience. And free return, he claims. Jul, Conduct him in. A messager of peace !* audacious man ! In what attire appearest thou ? a herald's ? Under no garb can such a wretch be safe. Rod. Thy violence and fancied wrongs I know, * To Koderigo, who enters as Herald, 3 COUNT JULIAN: And what thy sacrilegious hands would do, O traitor and apostate ! JuL What they would They cannot : thee of kingdom and of life Tis easy to despoil, thyself the traitor, Thyself the violator of allegiance. O would all-righteous Heaven they could restore The joy of innocence, the calm of age, The probity of manhood, pride of arms, And confidence of honour ! the august And holy laws, trampled beneath thy feet- And Spain ! O parent, I have lost thee too ! Yes, thou wilt curse me in thy latter days, Me, thine avenger. I have fought her foe, Roderigo, I have gloried in her sons. Sublime in hardihood and piety : Her strength was mine : I, sailing by her cliffs, By promontory after promontory. Opening like flags along some castle-towers. Have sworn before the cross upon our mast Ne'er shall invader wave his standard there. A TRAGEDY. '9 Rod, Yet there thou plantest it, false man, thyself. Jul. Accursed he who makes me this reproach, And made it just! Had I been happy still, I had been blameless : I had died with glory Upon the walls of Ceuta. Rod. Which thy treason Surrendered to the Infidel. Jul. Tishard And base to live beneath a conqueror ; Yet, amidst all this grief and infamy, Tis something to have rushed upon the ranks In their advance ; ^twere something to have stoo4 Defeat, discomfiture ; and, when around No beacon blazes, no far axle groans Thro* the wide plain, no sound of sustenance Or succour sooths the still-believing ear, To fight upon the last dismantled tower, And yield to valour, if we yield at all. But rather should my neck lie trampled down By every Saracen and Moor on earth, Than my own country see her laws o'erturnd 10 COUNT JULIAN" : By those who should protect them : Sir, no {Prince Shall ruin Spain ; and, least of all, her own. Is any just or glorious act in view, Your oaths forbid it : is your avarice, Or, if there be such, any viler passion To have its giddy range, and to be gorged, It rises over all your sacraments, A hooded mystery, holier than they all. Rod. Hear me, Don Julian ; I have heard thy wrath Who am thy king, nor heard man's wrath before. Jul. Thou shalthear mine, for thou art not my king. Rod. Know est thou not the alter'd face of war? Xeres is ours ; from every region round True loyal Spaniards throng into our camp : Nay, thy own friends and thy own family, From the remotest provinces, advance To crush rebellion : Sisabert is come. Disclaiming thee and thine; the Asturian hills Opposed to him their icy chains in vain ; But never wilt thou see him, never more, Unless in adverse war, and deadly hate. 4 A TRAGEDY. ll Jul, So lost to me! So generous, so deceived! '^^ I grieve to hear it. ' "" Rod. Come, I ofifer grace, ^^0^^% '^ = Honour, dominion: send away these slaves. Or leave them to our sword, and all beyond The distant Ebro to the towns of France Shall bless thy name, and bend before thy throne. I will myself accompany thee, I, The king, will hail thee brother. Jul. Ne'er shalt thou Henceforth be king : the nation, in thy name, May issue edicts, champions may command The vassal multitudes of marshalled war. And the fierce charger shrink before the shouts. Lowered as if earth had open'd at his feet, While thy mail'd semblance rises tow'rd the ranks, But God alone sees thee. Rod, What hopest thou? To conquer Spain, and rule a ravaged land } To compass me around, to murder me? Jul. No, Don Roderigo : swear thou, in the fight 12 COUNT JULIAN : That thou wilt meet me, hand to hand, alone, That, if I ever save thee from a foe — Rod. I swear what honour asks — First, to Covilla Do thou present my crown and dignity. Jul, Darest thou offer any price for shame ? Rod. Love and repentance. Jul, Egilona lives : And v^ere she buried with her ancestors, Covilla should not be the gaze of men, Should not, despoil'd of honour, rule the free. Rod, Stern manl her virtues w^ll deserve the throne. Jul. And Egilona — what hath slie deserved, The good, the lovely ? Jiod, But the realm in vain Hoped a succession. Jul. Thou hast torn away The roots of royalty. Rod. For her, for thee. Jul. Blind insolence ! base insincerity ! Power and renown no mortal ever shared Who could retain, or grasp them, to himself: A TRAGEDY. l3 And, forCovilla? patience! peace! for her? She call upon her God, and outrage him At his own altar ! she repeat the vows She violates in repeating ! who abhors Thee and thy crimes, and wants no crown of thine. Force may compell the abhorrent soul, or want Lash and pursue it to the public ways ; Virtue looks back and weeps, and may return To these, but never near the abandoned one Who drags religion to adultery's feet, And rears the altar higher for her sake. Rod, Have then the Saracens possest thee quite. And wilt thou never yield me thy consent ? Jul, Never, Rod, So deep in guilt, in treachery ! Forced to acknowledge it ! forced to avow The traitor ! Jul, Not to thee, who reignest not, But to a country ever dear to me, And dearer now than ever . what we love Is loveliest in departure 1 One I thought. 14 COUNT JULIAN : As every father thinks, the best of all, Graceful, and mild, and sensible, and chaste : Now all these qualities of form and soul Fade from before me, nor on any one Can I repose, or be consoled by any. And yet in this torne heart I love her more Than I could love her when I dwelt on each. Or clasped them all united, and thanked God, Without a wish beyond. — Away, thou fiend ! ignominy, last and worst of all 1 1 weep before thee — like a child — like mine — And tell my woes, fount of them all ! to thee ! ACT L SCENE 4. Abdalazis enters. Ahd, Julian, to thee, the terror of the faithless, 1 bring my father's order, to prepare For the bright day that crowns thy brave exploits : A TRAGEDY, lo Our enemy is at the very gate ! And art thou here, with women in thy train, Crouching to gain admittance to their lord, And mourning the unkindness of delay ! Jul.* I am prepared : Prince, judge not hastily. Abd. Whether I should not promise all they ask, 1 too could hesitate, tho' earlier taught The duty to obey, and should rejoice To shelter in the universal storm A frame so delicate, so full of fears, So little used to outrage and to arms, As one of these ; so humble^ so imcheer'd At the gay pomp that smooths the track of war ; When she beheld me from afar dismount, And heard my trumpet, she alone drew back. And, as tho' doubtful of the help she seeks, Shuddered to see the jewels on my brow, And turn'd her eyes away, and wept aloud. The other stood, awhile, and then advanced ; * Julian, much agitated, goes towards the door, and returns. 16 COUNT JULIAN : I would have spoken ; but she waved her hand And said, " Proceed, protect us, and avenge, And be thou worthier of the crown thou wearest*^ Hopeful and happy is indeed our cause, When the most timid of the lovely hail Stranger and foe — %^m.'ir'~ Rod* And shrink, but to advance. rfiTT* m^ Ahd. Thou tremblcst! whence, O Julian 1^tvM4ee this change? -- ^ . ^ ' ' - Thou lovest still thy country. ^9^'^ ^'■ Jul Abdalazis! Him tmm^' All men with human feelings love their country. Not the high-born or wealthy man alone, Who looks upon his children, each one led By its gay hand-maid, from the high alcove. And hears them once aday ; not only he Who hath forgotten, when his guest inquires The name of some far village all his own ; Whose rivers bound the province, and whose hills * Uanoticed by Abdalazis, A TRAGEDY* ^7 Touch the last cloud upon the level sky : No ; better men still better love their country. 'Tis the old mansion of their earliest friends, The chapel of their first and best devotions ; When violence, or p^fidy, invades, Or when unworthy lords hold wassail there, A^d wiser heads are drooping round its moats, At last they fix their steddy and stiff eye There, tiiere alone — stand while the trumpet blows, And. view the hostile flames above its towers Spire, with a bitter and severe delight. Abd.* Thou feelest what thou speakest, and thy Spain Will ne'er be sheltered from her fate by thee We, whom the Prophet sends o'er many lands Love none above another ; Heaven assigns Their fields and harvests to our valiant swords, And 'tis enough— we love while we enjoy. Whence is the man in that fantastic guise ? ^ Taking his hand* S 48 CpUNT JUU4.N : Suppliant? or herald ? — he who stalks about, And once was even seated while we spoke, For never came he with us o'er the sea. Jul, He comes as herald. Rod, Thou shalt know full soon. Insulting Moor,* Abd, He cannot bear the grief His country suffers ; I will pardon him. He lost his courage first, and then his mind ; His courage rushes back, his mind still wanders. The guest of heaven was piteous to these men, -And princes stoop to feed them in their courts. I I ACT I. SCENE ^. MuzAt enters with Egiloxa. Muza.l Enter, since 'tis the custom in this land. * Julian intercedes. t Roderigo is going out when Muza enters— starts back on see- ing Egilona. ^ Sternly, to Egilona, who follows. 4. TR^CtEDV^ 19 EgilJ^ Is this our future mouareb, or art thou t s Jul, Tis Abdalazis, son of Muza^ prijice 0(1 A Commanding Africa, from Abyla ^ wo r ; /o ^ To where Tunisian pilots bend the eye O'er ruin'd temples in the glassy wave. Till quiet times and ancient laws retuniilt Sf^.^ii^ : He comes to govern here.^ii i^ij|,30i> ipa^lV .\^K Rod. To-morcow's dawn iH Proves tltat»r'; -.: - ^!': rim ,um .r)>tiiu-j j :.i: j>oi oH JiWfl[»r ^hit arl; thou f ^^-^ n ^jsisiiioo ciH ^6c?. Amazement ! Muza, Treason! Egil. O horror ! Muza, Seize him. E^zY. Spare him ! fly to me ! Jui. Urge me not to protect a guest, a herald— . The blasts of war roar over him unfelt. . -> ^Passing Muza disdainfully, points to Abdalazis; id iaf s to Julian — . - ti- > t Drawing his sword. ^^ ^^.^^^^ ^ <^^^^ * ... £0 COUNT JULIAN : Egil. Ah fly, unhappy ! Rod, Fly ! no, Egilona — Dost thou forgive me? dost thou love me? still? Egil. I hate, abominate, abhor thpe — go. Or my own vengeance — Rod* Julian ! — JttL Hence, or die. ACT 11. SCENE I. Camp of Julian. Julian and Covilla. Jul. Obdurate ! I am not as I appear. Weep, my beloved child, Covilla weep Into my bosom ; every drop be mine Of this most bitter soul-empoisoning cup : , * Points with his own to the drawn swords of Muza and Ab- dalazas, who look with malice towards Julian, takes his hand, and seems inviting to attack them. Julian casts his hand away. A TRAGRDY. ^ ^1 j Into no other bosom than thy father's Canst thou, or wouldst thou, pour it. Cov, Cease, my lord, I\Iy father, angel of my youth, when all Was innocence and peace — JuL Arise, my love, Look up to heaven — where else are souls like thine f Mingle in sweet communion with its children, Trust in its providence, its retribution. And I will cease to mourn; for, O my child, These tears corrode j but thine assuage the heart. Cov, And never shall I see my mother too, My own, my blessed mother ! JuL Thou shalt see Her and thy brothers- Cot?. No ! I cannot look On them, I cannot meet their lovely eyes, I cannot lift mine up from under theirs. We all were children when they went away, They now have fought hard battles, and are men, And camps and kings they know, and woes and crimes. 2fe tovfit^Htilit: Sir, will they never vetnttire from the wafei^t'^^^i^^ ^^^ Into the plain ? Remember, they are yottng^ • '* Hardy and emulous and hazardous, And who is left to guard them in the town? JuL Peace is throughout the land : the various trihes- Of that vast region, sink at once to rest, Like one wide wood when eivery wind lies hush'd. '^ - Cov. And war, in all its fury; roams o*er Spain I JuL Alas ! and will for ages : crimes are loose At which ensanguined War stands shuddering V , And calls for vengeance from the po^i^ above,. Impatient of inflicting it himself, '^^^^^ ^^'^^^ ■-'■■ Nature, in these new horrors, is aghast At her own progeny, and knows them not. I am the minister of wrath ; the hands '^ ^«^ That tremble at me, shall applaud me too, n;l..^IJ And seal their condemnation* '^"^ *^ Cov, O kind father, ''^^^^ Pursue the guilty, but remember Spain. ^ ^^^^^^^ Jul. Child, thou wert in thy nursery short time :5ince,i A TRAGEDY. £3 And latterly hast past the vacant hoiir Where the familiar voice of history Is hardly known, however nigh, attuned In softer accents to the sickened ear ; But thou hast hekrd, for nurses tell these tales, Whether I drew my sword for Witiza Abandoned by the people he betrayed, Tho' brother to the woman who of all Was ever dearest Jq this broken heart, Till thou, my daughter, wert a prey to grief, And a brave coiuitry brooked the wrongs I bore. For I had seen Rusilla guide the steps Of her Theodofred, when burning brass Plunged its fierce fang into the founts of light, And Witiza's the guilt! when, bent with age, He knew the voice again, and told the name, Of those whose profFer'd fortunes had been laid Before his throne, while happiness was there, And strain'd the sightless nerve tow'rds where they stood At the forced memory of the very oaths 2^) CO.tJNT JUttAN : He heard renewed from each — but heard afar, For they were loud, and him the throng spurn'd off« Cov, Who were all these ? Jul. All who are seen to-day On prancing steeds richly caparisoned In loyal acclamation round Roderigo ; Their sons beside them, loving one another Unfeignedly, thro' joy, while they themselves In mutual homage mutual scorn suppress. Their very walh and roofs are welcoming The King's approach, their storied tapestry Swells its rich arch for him triumphantly At every clarion blowing from below. Cov, Such wicked men will never leave his side. Jul. For they are insects which see nought beyond Where they now crawl ; whose changes are complete, Unless of habitation* Cov, Whither go Creatures, unfit for better, or for worse? Jul. Some to the grave— where peace be witlv them — some I A TRAGEDY. S5 ^ Across the Pyrenean mountains far, ^ ^H; Into the plains of France ; suspicion there Will hang on every step from rich and poor, Grey quickly-glancing eyes will wrinkle round And courtesy will watch them, day and night. Shameless they are, yet will they blush, amidst A nation that ne'er blushes : some will drag The captive's chain, repair the shattered bark, Or heave it, from a quicksand, to the shore, Among the marbles on the Lybian coast ; Teach patience to the lion in his cage, And, by the order of a higher slave. Hold to the elephant their scanty fare To please the children while the parent sleeps. Cov, Spaniards? must they, dear father, lead sucb lives? Jul, All are not Spaniards who draw breath m > Spain, Those are, who live for her, who die for her, Who love her glory and lament her falL O may I too-— 26 COUNT JULIAN: Cov* — But peacefully, and late, Live and die here ! Jul, I have, alas ! myself Laid waste the hopes where my fond fancy strayed, And view their ruins with unaltered eyes. Cov, My mother will at last return to thee. Might I, once more, but — could I now ! behold her. Tell her— -ah me ! what was my rash desire ? No, never tell her these inhuman things, For they would waste her tender heart away As they waste mine ; or tell where I have died, Only to show her that her every care Could not have saved, could not have comforted ; That she herself, clasping me once again To her sad breast, had said, Covilla ! go, Go, hide them in the bosom of thy God. Sweet mother ! that far-distant voice I hear^ And, passing out of youth and out of life, I would not turn at last, and disobey. A TRAGEDY. 27 >ijftl: him ;*{! M^»^^ .^»iO.^ * . ^ :r«3i3 ! ACT II. SCENE 4k .^vs i ! \,.\ . SiSABEET enters^ Sis, Uncle, and is it true, say, can it be, That thou art leader of these faithless Moors ? That thou impeach est thy own daughter's fame Thro' the whole land, to seize upon the throne l^y the permission of these recreant slaves ? What shalM call thee? art thou, speak Count Julian, A father, or a soldier, or a man ? ^^ '^^^^nc o^ {HvL' Jul. All— or this day had never seen hit li^i?d'''*^ Sis. O falsehood! worse than woman's! Cov. Once, my cousin, vmI'oI Far gentler words were utter'd from your Jips^^^^^* ^^^^ If you loved me, you loved my father first, '^^^^^ ^B^-'^t More justly and more steddily, ere love^^^ gtmn-gcj .le, Or unchastized inveigles humbled Spain. Covilla, gavest thou no promises? Nor thou, Don Julian ? Seek not to reply — Too well I know, too justly I despise, Thy false excuse, thy coward effrontery ; Yes, when thou gavest them across the sea^ 30 COUN'^ JGXIAN : An enemy wert thoii to Mahomelj " >rj JOii ^m] im'i Andiioappeiknt^tofeis faith or leagueisi^^Ti'^Tr^^nj^ I JuL 'Tis well :t^»> tidier hears, throughaut, iti silence. ^29mq[ifi?ff;y ifa io d^jBlss^g ;e^i «oqli I urge no answer: to thbse words, Ifea^^ij wft^ V^^ Thy heart with sharp compunction Will I^^J'^/s^^W Sis J*" Then I demand of thee, before tlidureiglff ^^ Answer me, while I fought against the Frank '* <^^^ Who dared to sue thee? blazon'd iri the ^bti^^ i^od? Trailed not thro* darkness, were our nuptial bands; '- No : Egilona join'd our hands herself, '^^^'^ rrot;jiq8u8 The peers applauded, and the king approve^P"^^ ^? JuL Hast thou yet seen that king since thy tetii"^^ Cov, Father! O father! -.^ a;>x i Sis, I will not implore ■^^ i i^T Of him or thee what I have lost for ever, Mah^^ These were not, when we parted, thy alarmW;'^^ '^-^ Far other, and far worthier of thy heart ^^^ mmUimM Were they! which Sisabert could banish tHenf^'^'>tl * To Covilla. A TRAGEDY.- '^1 Fear me not, now, Covilla ! thou hast changed, I am chailged too — I lived but where thou livedst, My very life was portioned off from thine. Upon the surface of thy happiness Day after day, I gazed, I doated — there Was all I had, was all I coveted, So pure, serene, and boundless, it appear'd : Yet, for we told each other every thought, Thou knbwest well, if thou rememberest, At times I fear'd ; as tho' some demon setit Suspicion without form into the world, To whisper unimaginable things ; Then thy fond arguing banished all but hope, Each wish, and every feeling, was with thine, Till I partook thy nature, and became Credulous, and incredulous, like thee. We, who have met so altered, meet no more * Mountains and seas ! ye are not separation — Death ! thou dividcst, but unitest too, * Takes her hand 32 COUNT JumAN: In everlasting peacif and faith sincere. Confiding love ! where is thy resting-place ! Where is thy truth, Covilla ! where ?^ — go, go, I should adore thee and believe thee still.f Cov. O Heaven ! support me, or desert me quite, And leave me lifeless this too trying hour ! He thinks me faithless. Jul. He paust think thee so. Cov. O tell him, tell him all, when I am dead — He will di^ too, and we shall meet again. He will know all when these sad eyes are closed. Ah cannot he before ! must I appear The vilest ! — O j ust Heaven ! can it be thus ? I am — ajl earth resounds it — lost, despised, Anguish and shame unutterable seize me. 1'is palpable^ — no phantom, no delusion, No dream that wakens with overwhelming horror j^'^ ^Spaniard and Moor fight on this ground alone, ♦ She attempts, but is unable, to speak, t Sisabert goes. . #, TRAGEDY. 33 And tear the arrow from my bleeding breast To pierce my father's, for alike they fear. JuU Invulnerable now, and unassaiFd Are we, alone perhaps of human kind, Nor life allures us more, nor death alarms. Gov, Fallen, unpitied, unbelieved, unheard ! I should have died long earlier : gracious God ! Desert me to my sufferings, but sustain My f^ith in. thee ! O hide me from the world, And from thyself, my father, from thy fondness, That opened in this wilderness of woe A source of tears that else had burst my heart, Setting me free for ever — then perhaps A cruel war had not divided Sp^aii), Had not o erturned her cities and her alters, Had not endangered thee ! O haste afar Ere the last dreadful conflict that decides Whether we live beneath a foreign sway — Jul, Or under him whose tyranny brought down The curse upon his people. O child ! child ! Urge me no further, talk not of the war, Remen^ber not our country. 34 COUNT JULIAN ; Cov, Not remember ! What have the wretched else for consolation, What else have they who pining feed their woe ? Can I, or should I, drive from memory All that was dear and sacred, all the joys Of innocence and peace ; when no debate Was in the convent, but what hymn, whose voice, To whom among the blessed it arose, Swelling so sweet ; when rang the vesper-bcU And every finger ceased from the guitar, And every tongue was silent through our land ; When, from remotest earth, friends met again Hung on each other's neck, and but embraced. So sacred, still, and peaceful, was the hour. Now, in what climate of the wasted world. Not unmolested long by the profane, Can I pour forth in secrecy to God My prayers and my repentance ? where beside Is the last solace of the parting soul ? Friends, brethren, parents — dear indeed, too dear, Are they, but somewhat still the heart requires That it may leave them lighter, and more blest. A TRAGEDY. 35 Jul. Wide are the regions of our far-famed land : Thou shalt arrive at her remotest bounds, See her best people, choose some holiest house — Whether where Castro * from surrounding vines Hears the hoarse ocean roar among his caves, And, thro' the fissure in the green church-yard, The wind wail loud the calmest summer day ; Or where Santona leans against the hill. Hidden from sea and land by groves and bowers, Cov. O ! for one moment, in those pleasant scenes Thou placest me, and lighter air I breathe ; Why could I not have rested, and heard on ! Thy voice dissolves the vision quite away. Outcast from virtue, and from nature too! Jul. Nature and virtue ! — they shall perish first. God destined them for thee, and thee for them. Inseparably and eternally ! The wisest and the best will prize thee most, And solitudes and cities will contend In Asturia, bordering on Biscay. "^ " ^ 36 COUNT JULIAN : Which shall receive thee kindliest ; sigh not so — ' Violence and fraud will never penetrate Where piety and poverty retire, Intractable to them, and valueless, And look'd at idly, like the face of heaven. If strength be wanted for security, Mountains the guard, forbidding.all approach With iron-pointed and uplifted gates. Thou wilt be welcome too in Aguilar*— Impenetrable, marble-turreted. Surveying from aloft the limpid ford. The massy fane, the sylvan avenue — Whose hospitality 1 proved myself, A willing leader in no impious war When fame and freedom urged me — or mayst dwel} In Reynosas dry and thriftless dale, Unharvested beneath October moons, Amongst those frank and cordial villagers. They never saw us, and, poor simple souls ! ♦ Del Campo, in Castile. A TRAGEDY. 37 So little know they whom they call the great — Would pity one another less than us In injury, disaster, or distress. Cov, But they would ask each other whence our grief, That ihey might pity ? Jul. Rest then just beyond, In the secluded scenes where Ebro springs And drives not from his fount the fallen leaf, So motionless and tranquil its repose. Cov, Thither let us depart, and speedily. Jul. I cannot go : I live not in the land I have reduced beneath such wretchedness : And who could leave the brave, whose lives and fortunes Hang on his sword ? Cov, Me canst thou leave, my father? Ah yes, for it is past ; too w^ell. thou seest My life and fortunes rest not upon thee. Long, happily, — could it be gloriously ! — Still mayst thou live, and save thy country still i 38 COUNT JULIAN : Jul, Uncanquerable land ! unrivalled race \ Whose bravery, too enduring, rues alike The power and weakness of accursed kings — How cruelly hast thou neglected me ! Fo^rcing me from thee, never to return. Nor in thy pangs and struggles to partake I ?tl'i* I hear a voice — ^'tis Egilona — come, < 5 Recall thy courage, dear unhappy girl, , i iU Let us away. ' ^r-^^'^^vh^mv'i^. t^yM:*finfi^Qlij^ \ ACT IL SCENE 3. o Egilona enters. Egil. Remain, I order thee. w laoM Attend, and do thy duty ; I am queen^ j vsijlW Unbent to degradation. ^mi^M^ Cov, I attend jO Ever most humbly and most gratefully My too kind sovran, cousin now no more ; A TRAGEDY. Could I perform but half the services / I owe her, I were happy, for a time^ Or dared I show her half my love, 'twere bliss. Egil. Oh ! I sink under gentleness like tljine. Thy sight is death to me ; and yet 'tis dear. The gaudy trappings of assumptive state Drop, at the voice of nature, to the earth. Before thy feet — I cannot force myself To hate thee, to renounce thee ; yet — Covilla I Yet— O distracting thought! 'tis hard to see, Hard to converse with, to admire, to love, As from my soul I do, and must do, thee — One who hath robbed me of all pride and joy. All dignity, all fondness. 1 adored* Koderigo — he was brave, and in discourse Most voluble; the masses of his mind t Were vast, but varied; now absorbed in gloom, Majestic, not austere ; now their extent Opening, and waving in bright kvity — * After a pause. t She walks about, and speaks by fits and abstractedly. 40 COUNt JULIAN: JuL Depart, my daughter-»-'twere as well to bear His presence as his praise* — go ; she will dream This phantasm out, nor notice thee depart.f E^l. What pliancy ! what tenderness ! what life ! O for the smiles of those who smile so seldom, The love of those who know no other love ! Such he was, Egilona, who wa^ thine. Jul. While he was worthy of the realm and thee. EgiL Can it be true, then, Julian, that thy aim Is sovranty ? not virtue, nor revenge ? JuL I swear to heaven, nor I, nor child of mine, Ever shall mount to this polluted throne. EgiL Then am I still a queen. The savage Moor Who could not conquer Ceuta from thy sword, In his own country, not with every wile Of his whole race, not with his myriad crests Of cavalry, seen from the Calpian heights Like locusts on the parched and gleamy coast,. Will never conquer Spain. ♦ CovUla hesitates. t She departs; A TKAGEDY* 4t1k Jul, Spain then was conquer'd When fell her laws before the traitor king. ACT II. SCENE 4. Officer announces Op as. O queen, the metropolitan attends On matters of high import to the state, And wishes to confer in privacy. EgiL"^ Adieu then; and whatever betide the 00 M 3}^untry, Sustain at least the honours of our house.f Opas. I cannot but commend, O Egilona, Such resignation and such dignity. Indeed he is unworthy ; yet a queen Rather to look for peace, and live remote * To Julian, t Julian goes before Opas enters. 42 COUNT JULIAN : From cities, and from courts, and from her lord, I hardly could expect, in one so young, So early, widely, wondrously, admired. • EgiL I am resolved : religious men, good Opas, In this resemble the vain libertine ; They find in woman no consistency, No virtue but devotion, such as comes To infancy or age, or fear or love, Seeking a place of rest, and finding none, Until it soar to heaven. Opas, A spring of mind That rises when all pressure is removed, Firmness in pious and in chaste resolves, But weakness in much fondness ; these, O queen^ I did expect, I own. EgiL The better part Ee mine ; the worst hath been ; and is no more. Opas. But if Roderigo have at length prevailed That Egilona willingly resigns All claim to royalty, and casts away A TRAGEDY. 43 — Indifferent or estranged — the marriage bond His perjury tore asunder, still the church Hardly can sanction his new nuptial rites. Egil, What art thou saying ? what new nuptial rites ? Opas. Thou kno west not? Egil. Am I a wife; a queen? , Abandon it ! my claim to royalty I Whose hand was on my head when I arose Queen of this land ? whose benediction sealed My marriage-vow ? who broke it ? was it I ? And wouldst thou, virtuous Opas, wouldst thou dim The glorious light of thy declining- days ? Wouldst thou administer the sacred vows. And sanction them, and bless them, for another, And bid her live in peace while I am living ? Go then — I execrate and banish him For ever from my sight ; we were not born For happiness together — none on earth Were ever so dissimilar as we. He is not worth a tear, a wish^a thought — 44 COUNT JULIAN : Never was I deceived in him — I found No tenderness, no fondness, from the first ; A love of power, a love of perfidy, Such is the love that is returned for mine. Ungrateful man ! 'twas not the pageantry Of regal state, the clarions, nor the guard, Nor loyal valour, nor submissive beauty, Silence at my approach, awe at my voice, Happiness at my smile, that led my youth Towards Roderigo ! I had lived obscure, In humbleness, in poverty, in want, Blest, O supremely blest ! with him alone ; And he abandons me, rejects me, scorns me, Insensible! inhuman! for another! Thou shalt repent thy wretched choice, false man ? Crimes such as thine call loudly for perdition ; Heaven will inflict it, and not I — but I Neither will fall alone nor live despised. Opa$»* Peace, Egilona, he arrives ; compose Thy turbid thoughts, meet him with dignity. * Sound of trumpet. * A TRAGEDY. > 43 EgiL He! in the camp of Julian ! trust me, sir. He comes not hither, dares no longer use The signs of state, and flies from every foe.* ACT H. SCENE 5. MuzA and Abdalazis. Muza.i I saw him but an instant, and disguised, Yet this is not the traitor ; on his brow Observe the calm of wisdom and of years, Opas. Whom seekest thou ? Mvza, Him who was king, I seek. He came arrayed as herald to this tent. Abd. Thy daughter ! was she nigh ? perhaps for her Was this disguise. Muza. Here, Abdalazis, kingg Disguise from other causes ; they obtain * Egilona retires some dist^ce, t To Abdalazis, 46 COUNT JULIAN : Beauty by violence, and power by fraud. Treason was his intent : we must admit Whoever come ; our numbers are too small For question or selection, and the blood Of Spaniards shall win Spain for us, today. Abd. The wicked cannot move from underneath '^ Thy ruling eye. - - »[> C Muza, Right ! — ^Julian and Roderigo .aa^lqcl^ Are leagued against us, on these terms alone, ■ lulnifi*: That Julian's daughter weds the christian king,^r^h/ Egil* Tis true — and I proclaim it — nae>r(ililBiip£ Abd, Heaven and earth ! >3l\ Was it not thou, most lovely, most high-souled, ^1 Who wishedst us success, and me a crown ? •- f<^ EgiL-\ I give it — I am Egilona, queen '^fc v^^S Of that detested man. ''^2 bn/^ Abd. I touch the hand *iv^ Tjbat chaiqs down fortune to the throne of fate j'^^''^ od'/^ ♦ Turning round, and rushing forward. '* •^'*'^*4^ ^^ ♦ Opas, in astonishment, goes abruptly. '^^A^'^ii^ii »flCj A TRAGEDY.^ 4? And will avenge thee ; for 'twas thy command, Tis Heaven's — My father ! what retards our bliss? Why art thou silent ? Mitza, Inexperienced years Rather would rest on the soft lap, I see. Of pleasure, after the fierce gusts of war. O destiny ! that callest me alone, Hapless, to keep the toilsome watch of state; Painful to age, unnatural to youth. Adverse to all society of friends, Equality, and liberty, and ease, The welcome cheer of the unbidden feast, The gay reply, light, sudden, like the leap Of the young forester's unbended bow ; But, above all, to tenderness at home. And sweet security of kind concern Even from those who seem most truly ours. Who would resign all this, to be approach'd. Like a sick infant by a canting nurse, To spread his arms in darkness, and to find One universal hollowness around. 48 COUNT JUWAN: Forego, a little while, that bane of peace. Love may be cherished* Abd, Tis enough : I ask No other boon. Muza. Not victory f Abd, Farewell, queen 1 I will deserve thee; why do tears Silently drop, and slowly, down thy veil ? 1 shall return to worship thee, and sooifj^ •5>mof^fi ^^ Could raise or could repress it ! * "^ EgiL We depart. Nor interrupt your counsels, nor impede ; O may they prosper, whatsoe'er they be. And perfidy soon meet its just reward ! The infirm and peaceful Opas — whither gone? Muza. Stay, daughter; not for counsel are wo ^ met, '' But to secure our arms from treachery, Overthrow and stifle base conspiracies, Involve in his own toils our false allie — : , Af IBRAGEBY. ^ Egil. Author of every woe I have endur'd! Ah sacrilegious man ! he vowed to heaven ,t$ti^t^if None of his blood should ever m,ount the throne. Muza. Herein his vow indeed is ratified ; Yet faithful ears have heard this offer made, And weighty was the conference that ensued And long — not dubious — for what mortal e'er Refused alliance with iilustrioMs power ? Tho' some have given its enjoyments up, Tired and enfeebled by satiety. His friends and partisans, *twas his pretence, Should pass uninterrupted ; hence his camp Is open, every day, to enemies. You look around, O queen, as tho' you fear'd Their entrance — Julian I pursue no more ; You conquer him — return we ; I bequeath Ruin, extermination, not reproach. How we may best attain your peace and will We must consider in some other place, Not, lady, in the midst of snares and wiles How to supplant your charms and seize your crown, E Bo COUNT JULIAN: I* rescue it, fear not : yes, we retire.f Whatever is your wish becomes my own, Nor is there in this land but who obeys.t ACT III. SCENE 1. Palace in Xeres. RoDERiGo and Opas. Rod. Impossible ! she could not thus resign Me, for a miscreant of Barbary, A mere adventurer — but that citron face Shall bleach and shrivel the whole winter long There, on yon cork-tree by the sallyport. She shall return. Opas, To fondness and to faith ? Dost thou retain them, if she could return? * He takes her hand. t She is reluctant to go with him. + Sternly — he leads her away. A TRAGEDY, 51 Rod, Retain them ? she has forfeited by this AH right to fondness, all to royalty. Opas, Consider, and speak caljnly : she deserves Some pity, some reproof. Rod, To speak then calmly, Since thine eyes open and can see her guilt — — Infamous and atrocious ! let her go — Chains — Opas, What ! in Muza's camp ? Rod, My scorn supreme ! Opas, Say, pity. Rod, Aye, aye, pity — that suits best, I loved her, but had loved her ; three whole years Of pleasure, and of varied pleasure too, Had wome the soft impression half away. What I once felt, I would recall; the faint Responsive voice grew fainter each reply : Imagination sunk amid the scenes It laboured to create ; the vivid joy Of fleeting youth I followed, and posest. 6^ COUNT JULIAN : Tis the first moment of the tenderest hour, Tis the first mien on entering new delights, We give our peace, our power, our souls, for these. Opas. Thou hast ; and what remains ? Rod. Myself — Roderigo — Whom hatred cannot reach, nor love cast down. Opas. Nor gratitude nor pity nor remorse Call back, nor vows nor earth nor heaven controul. But art thou free and happy ? art thou safe ? By shrewd contempt the humblest may chastize Whom scarlet and its ermine cannot scare, And the sword skulks for everywhere in vain. Thee the poor victim of thy outrages, Woman, with all her weakness, may despise. Rod. But first let quiet age have intervened. Opas, N^'er will the peace or apathy of age Be thine, or tyvilight steal upon thy day. The violent choose, but cannot change, their end- Violence, by man or nature, must be theirs ; Thine it must be, and who to pity thee ? I I A TRAGEDY. 53 Rod. Behold my solace ! none. I want no pity. Opas. Proclaim we those the happiest of mankind Who never knew a want? O what a curse To thee this utter ignorance of thine ! Julian, whom all the good commiserate, Sees thee below him far in happiness : A state indeed of no quick restlesness, No glancing agitation — one vast swell Of melancholy, deep, impassable, Interminable, where his spirit alone Broods and overshadows all, bears him from earth And purifies his chasten'd soul for heaven. Both heaven and earth shall from thy grasp recede. Whether on death or life thou arguest, Untutor'd savage or corrupted heathen Avows no sentiment so vile as thine. Rod. Nor feels ? Opas. O human nature ! I have heard The secrets of the soul, and pitied thee. Bad and accursed things have men confest Before me, but have left them unarrayed, j4 count JULIAN i Naked, and shivering with deformity. The troubled dreams and deafening gush of youth Fling o'er the fancy, struggling to be free, Discordant and impracticable things : If the good shudder at their past escapes, ' Shall not the wicked shudder at their crimes ? They shall — and I denounce upon thy head God's vengeance — thou shalt rule this land no more* Rod. What! my own kindred leave me, and re- nounce me ! Opas, Kindred ? and is there any in our \vorld So near us, as those sources of all joy, Those on whose bosom every gale of life Blows softly, who reflect our images In loveliness through sorrows and through age. And bear them onward far beyond the grave. Rod, Methinks, most reverend Opas, not inapt Are these fair views ; arise they from Seville ? Opas. He, who can scoff at them, may scoff at me* Such are we, that the giver of all good Shall, in the heart he purifies, posess I A TRAGEDY. 55- The latest love — the earliest, no, not there ! I've known the firm and faithful ; even from these Life's eddying spring shed the first bloom on earth. I pity them, but ask their pity too. I love the happiness of men, and praise And sanctify the blessings I renounce. Rod, Yet would thy baleful influence i^ndermine The heaven-appointed throne. Opas. — the throne of guilt Obdurate, without plea, without remorse. Rod, What power hast thou ? perhaps thou soon wilt want A place of refuge. Opas. Rather say, perhaps My place of refuge will receive me soon : . Could I extend it even to thy crimes. It should be open ; but the wrath of heaven Turns them against thee, and subverts thy sway ; It leaves thee not, what wickedness and woe Oft in their drear communion taste together, Hope and repentance. 56 couNf jbtlfAi^: Rod. But it leaves me arms, Vigour of soul and body, and a race Subject by law, and dutiful by choice^ Whose hand is never to be h olden fast Within the closing cleft of knarled creeds f^ '^ "«»>4. No easy prey for these vile mitred Mooi%/^^3faiiiuu biH I, who received thy homage, may retort' ' • '^^ "'' ' ^- Thy threats, vain prelate, and abase thy pride. Opas, Low must be those whom mortal can sitik lower, ^^ Nor high are they whom human power may rai^ ^ ' Rod, Judge now : for, hear the signal. Opas* And derides Thy buoyant heart the dubious gulphs of war? ^ ^^^ Trumpets may sound, and not to victory. ^vsiO Rod. The traitor and his daughter feel my poweF^ Opas, Just God ! avert it. t Rod, Seize this rebel priest. , ^ ^^ I will alone subdue my enemies. ^ 3 I A TRAGEDY. 57 ACT III. SCENE 2. Ramiro and Osma enter from opposite sides. Ram, Where is the king? his car is at the gate, His ministers attend him, but his foes Are yet more prompt, nor will await delay. Osma, ^oir . j?«e4-l^ej(7^for he meets them as I Ram. With all his forces — or our cause is lost. Julian and Sisabert surround the walls — Osma, Surround, sayst thou? enter they not the gates ? Ram. Perhaps ere now they enter. Osma, Sisabert Brings him our prisoner. Ram, They are friends ! they held A parley; and the soldiers, when they saw Count Julian, lowered their arras and haiFd him king. Osma, How ? and he leads them in the name of king ? 68 COUNT JULIAN: Ram. He leads them ; but amidst that acclamation He turn'd away his head, and called for vengeance. Osma, In Sisabert, and in the cavalry He led, were all our hopes. Opas, Woe, woe is theirs "Who have no other. Osma. What are thine? obey The just commands of our offended king, Conduct him to the tower* — off — instantly. Ramiro, let us haste to reinforce — Ram, Hark ! is the king defeated ? hark I Osma. I hear Such acclamation as from victory Arises not, but rather from revolt,, Reiterated, interrupted, lost. Favour like this his genius will retrieve By time, or promises, or chastisement, Which-e'er he choose — -the speediest is the best — * Guard hesitates. Opas goes. I A TRAGEDY. 59 His danger and his glory let us share ; 'Tis ours to serve him. Ram. While he rules, 'tis ours. What chariot-wheels are thundering o'er the bridge ? Osma. Roderigo's — I well know them. Ram, Now, the burst Of acclamation ! now ! again — again. Osma, I know the voices; they are for Roderigo. Ram, Stay, I entreat thee — one hath now pre- vailed. So far is certain. Osma, Aye, the right prevails. Ram, Transient and vain their joyance, who re- joice Precipitately and intemperately. And bitter thoughts grow up where'er it fell. Osma, Nor vain and transient theirs, who idly float Down popularity's unfertile stream And fancy all their own that rises round ? Ram, If thou still lovest, as 1 know thou dost, Thy king — 60 COUNT JULIAN: Osma,^ I love him ; for he owes me much Brave soul, and cannot, though he would, repay. Service and faith, pure faith and service hard. Throughout his reign, if these things be desert, These have I borne toward him, and still bear. Ram. Come, from thy solitary eiry come, And share the prey so plenteous and profuse Which a less valourotis brood will else consunte. Much fruit is shaken down in civil storms, And shall not orderly and loyal hands Gather it up? Again If and still refuse? How different are those citizens without From thee ! from thy serenity ! thy arch, Thy firmament, of intrepidity ! For their new lord, whom they have never served, Afraid were they to shout, and only struck The pavement with their ferrels and their feet; Now they are certain of the great event Voices and hands they raise, and all contend * Interrupting. t Loud shouts. . A TRAGEDY. 61 Who shall be bravest in applauding most. Knowest thou these ? ^ Osma. Their voices I know well — And can they shout for him they would have slain ? A prince untried they welcome ; soon their doubts Are blown afar ! Ram, Yes, brighter scenes arise. The disunited he alone unites, The weak with hope he strengthens, and the strong With justice. Osma, Wait : praise him when time hath given A soundness and consistency to praise : He shares it amply who bestows it right. Ram, Doubtest thou ? Osma, Be it so : let us away ; New courtiers come — Ram, And why not join the new. Let us attend him, and congratulate; Come on, they enter. Osma, This is now my post 62 COUNT JULIAN: No longer: I could face them in the field, I cannot here. Ram, Tomorrow all may change ; Be comforted. Osma. I want nor change nor comfort. Ham. The prisoner's voice ! Osma. The metropolitans ? Triumph he may — not over me forgiven. - This way, and thro' the chapel — none are there. ACT III. SCENE 3. Opas and Sisabert. Opas. The royal threat still sounds along these halls : Jlardly his foot hath past them, and he flees From his own treachery — all his pride, his hopes, Are scatter*d at a breath ; even courage fails Now falsehood sinks from under hjm : behold, I A TRAGEDY. 63 Again art thou where reign'd thy ancestors ; Behold the chapel of thy earliest prayers, Where I, whose chains are sunder'd at thy sight Ere they could close around these aged limbs, Received and blest thee, when thy mother's arm Was doubtful if it loosed thee ! with delight Have I observed the promises we made Deeply imprest and manfully performed. Now, to thyself beneficent, O prince. Never henceforth renew those weak complaints Against Covilla's vows and Julian s faith, His honour broken, and her heart estranged. O, if thou boldest peace or glory dear. Away with jealousy — brave Sisabert, Smite from thy bosom, smite that scorpion down ; It swells and hardens amid mildewed hopes, O'erspreads and blackens whatever most delights, And renders us, haters of loveliness, The lowest of the fiends : ambition led The higher on, furious to disposess. From admiration sprung and phrenzied love. ^^4 COUNT JULIAN: This disingenuous soul-debasing passion, Rising from abject and most sordid fear, Stings her own breast with bitter self-reproof^^ Consumes the vitals, pines, and never dies. Love, Honour, Justice, numberless the forms. Glorious and high the stature, she assumes ; But watch the wandering changeful mischief well, And thou shalt see her with low lurid light Search where the soul's most valued treasure lies, Or, moi^e embodied to our vision, stand With evil eye, ar^d sorcery hers alone, Looking ajway her helpless progeny. And drawing poison from its very smiles. For Julian's truth have I not pledged my own ? Have I not sworne Covilla weds no other? Sis, Her persecutor have not I chastized ^ Have not I fought for Julian, won the town , And liberated thee ? Opas, But left for him The dangers of pursuit, of ambuscade, Of absence from thy high and splendid name. Sis. Do probity and truth want such supports ? Opas, Gryphens and eagles, ivory and gold, Can add no clearness to the lamp above, But many look for them in palaces Who have them not, and want them not, at home. Virtue and valour and experience Are never trusted by themselves alone Further than infancy and idiocy ; The men around hira, not the man himself, Are looked at, and by these is he preferd : Tis the green mantk of the warrener And his loud whistle, that alone attract The lofty gazes of the noble herd : And thus, without thy countenance and help. Feeble and faint is still our confidence, Brief perhaps our success. Sis. Should I resign To Abdalazis her I once adored ? He truly, he must wed a Spanish queen 1 He rule in Spain ! ah ! whom could any land Obey so gladly as the meek, the humble, F OS COUNT JULIAN ; The friend of all who have no friend beside ^ Covilla ! could he choose, or could he find Another who might so confirm his power ? And now, indeed, from long domestic wars Who else survives of all our ancient house — ► Opas. But Egilona. Sis, Vainly she upbraids Roderigo. ^J Opas. She divorces him, abjures, ttn i^d v.im*iul^ And carries vengeance to that hideous highth if wa3 Which piety and chastity would shrink -i! nA tj^BsH To look from, on the world, or on themselves. i si^H Sis, She may forgive him yet. Opas, Ah Sisabert! Wretched are those a w^oman has forgiven ; With her forgiveness ne'er hath love returned : Ye know not, till too late, the filmy tie That holds heaven's precious boon, eternally To those who fondly cherish her ; once go Driven by mad passion, strike but at her peace, And, tho* she step aside from broad reproach, Yet every softer virtue dies' aWay. ^ i^ id hnbm sdT Beaming with virtue inaccessible s^i feiiioa ! jsHjvoD Stood Egilona; for her lord she liye4i, "t edv.^ TsiJoaA And for the heavens that raised her sphere so hJ^^^*"^ All thoughts were on her^-all, beside her own. Negligent as the blossoms of the field, t^^ ArrayeM in candour and simplicity, Before her path she heard the strf^ams of joy ^c^^^^ Murmur her name in all their cadences, fc=i\0 . Saw them in every scene, in light, in shade, -> ^pA Reflect her image— but acknowledged them i^'/i^MW Hers most complete when flowing from her most.^ " - All things in want of her, herself of none. Pomp and dominion lay beneath her feet Unfelt and unregarded : now behold ^iW The earthly passions war against the heavenly ! -^-^^ Pride against love, ambition and revenge odi sY Against devotion and compliancy — i^^4T Her glorious beams adversity hath blunted, ^2©di oT And coming nearer to our quiet view -^^- 68 COUNT JULIAN : The original clay of coarse mortality Hardens and flaws around her. Sis. Every germ Of virtue perishes, when love recedes From those hot shifting sands, the female heart. Opas, His was the fault ; be his the punishment. 'Tis not their own crimes only, men commit, They harrow them into another's breast, And they shall reap the bitter growth with pain. Sis.* Yes, blooming royalty will first attract These creatures of the desert — now I breathe More freely — she is theirs if I pursue The fugitive again — he well deserves The death he flies from — stay ! don Julian twice Called him aloud, and he, methinks, replied. Could not I have remain'd a moment more, And seen the end ? altho' with hurried voice He bade me intercept the scattered foes, * Walking up and down, abstractedly. I I A TRAGEDY. 69 And hold the city barred to their return. May Egilona be another's wife Whether he die or live ! but oh !* — Covilla— She never can be mine ! yet she may be Still happy — no, Covilla, no— not happy, But more deserving happiness without it* Mine never! nor another's — 'tis enough. The tears I shed no rival can deride ; In the fond intercourse, a name once cherished Will never be defended by faint smiles^ Nor given up with vows of alter'd lovci And is the passion of my soul at last Reduced to this? is this my happiness? This my sole comfort? this the close of all Those promises, those tears, those last adieus, And those long vigils for the morrow's dawn. Opas. Arouse thee ! be thyself. O Sisabert, Awake to glory from these feverish dreams ; The enemy is in our land — two enemies — We must quell both-— shame on us, if we fail. * Aloud, to Opas. 70 COUNt WLIAN : Sis. Incredible! at^atjon be subdued^ «fi ^/li lo JoM Peopled as oursl^^S^e ^^^ ^' E?)f: p?b m to 53«B)2ib10 p^flj. Corruption may subvert ^ ^wil gnhall What force G«)uldne(iwBrp-^ >r^ sssdT 5w. Traitors mdj^^s 2 ,Xr^i; c:;x.0wi2 1:; a^cnsioi ad} nl Opas. Alas ! ^ • ^^'^-^ ,dlf£3 sdl.l toddu mom ^ijsM If traitors can, ibebifcsisii&ibut^rait.*^^^'^I>fod;>d odw aY I mean such traitors as the vacant worlds dj y^nu^tqasO Edioes most stunningly ; not fur^orobed knaves J K Whose whispers raise the dreaming bloodhound's c^rl Against benighted famished wanderers; lA While with remorseless guilt they undermine at ,^i a oM Palace and shed, their very father's house, vo\ 11— O blind ! their own and children's heritage, c^bIJ DdT To leave more ample space for fearful wealth*! iiE Plunder in some most harmless guise they swathe^ Call it some Tery meek and hallowed name, j Some known and borne by their good forefathers, -S And own and vaunt it thus redeem 'd from sin. 3 These are the plagues heaven sends o'er every land :i Before it sink — the portents of the street, - ^ '^d^' A tRAGEDY* ?! Not of the air— lest nations should complain Of distance or of dimness in the signs, Flaring from far to Wisdom's eye alone : These are the last ! these^ when the sun rides high In the forenoon of doomsday, revelling, Make men abhor the earth, arraign the skies. Ye who behold them spoil field after field, Despising them in individual strength, Not with one torrent sweeping;them away Into the ocean of eternity^rb ^r^^ '^^ : W Arise! despach! no renovating gale, No second spring awaits you — up, begone, —If you have force and courage even for flight-— The blast of dissolution is behind. Sis. How terrible! how true! what voice likf thine iii Can rouse and warn the nation ! if she rise, ^^ j Say, whither go, where stop we ? ^' ^^ Opas* God will guide. Let us pursue the oppressor to destruction, The rest is heaven's : must we move no step ■Jt:d8 1% COUNT JULIAN: Because we cannot see the boundaries b ffjlo 9^\ \ Of our long way, and every stone between ? Sis. Is not thy vengeance for the late affront, For threats and outrage and imprisonment? Opas, For outrage, yes — imprisonment and threats I pardon him, and whatsoever ill He could do me. Sis. To hold Covilla from me, :>«i| Uhm' To urge her into vows against her faitliy.>ud s-dt b^iol' Against her beauty, youth, and inclination, Without her mother's blessing, nay without Her father's knowledge and authority — So that she never will behold me more, Flying afar for refuge and for help Where never friend but God will comfort her— Opas. These, and more barbarous deeds were per- petrated. Sis» Yet her proud father deigned not to inform Me, whom he loved and taught, in peace and war, Me, whom he called his son, before I hoped To merit it by marriage or by arms. ,.93.81: dri UBI' 0.. I . A TRAGEDY, 73 He offered no excuse, no plea; exprest No sorrow ; but with firm unfaltering voice Commanded me — I trembled as he spoke — To follow where he led, redress his wrongs, And vindicate the honour of his child. He called on God, the witness of his cause, On Spain, the partner of his victories, iVnd yet amidst these animating words Rolled the huge tear down his unvizor'd face — A general swell of indignation rose Thro' the long line, sobs burst from every breast, Hardly one voice succeeded — you might hear The impatient hoof strike the soft sandy plain : But when the gates flew open, and the king In his high car came forth triumphantly, Then was Count Julian's stature moEe elate; Tremendous was the smile that smote the eyes Of all he past — " fathers, and sons, and brothers,'' He cried, " I fight your battles, follow me ! " Soldiers, we know no danger but disgrace!" Father, and general, and king, they shout. And would proclaim him — back he cast his face, 74 COUNT JULIAN : Pallid with grief, and one loud groan burst forth ; It kindled vengeance thro' the Asturian ranks. And they soon scattered, as the blasts of heaven Scatter the leaves and dust, the astonished foe* Opas. And doubtest thou his truth? ^ r v i^fj Sis. I love — and doubt — j oo Ks'i Fight — and believe : Roderigo spoke untrutbi^g ^^(fl'' In him I place no trust j but Julian hol4fl^^rf ^^dt 'noli Truths in reserve — how should I quite gouBMI hhfoW Opas. By sorrows thou beholdest him opprest ; Doubt the more prosperous : march, Sisahert, Once more against his enemy and ours ; Much hath been done, but much there still remjmH^ ACT IV. SCENE 1. ^odmQ&. Tent of JuLIA^'^. Roderigo and Julian. Jul. To stop perhaps at any wickedness Appears a merit no w> and at the time A TKAGEDY. fS Prudence or policy it often is ^ ■^*A^> . n^^v^ ^« ^^ fin^^ Which afterward seems magn^iiiniJtJr;"^?^ * b^lbmA il The people had deserted thee, and thronged X'^^^ ^^^-^^ My standard, had I rais*d it, at the first; '^tK^?ife3^ But once subsiding, and no voice of mine Calling by name each grievance to each man, They, silent ahd submissive by degrees, Bore thy hard yoke, and, hadst thou but opprest, ^ ^^' Would still have borne it : thou hast now deceived f^ Thou hast done all a foren foe could do, And more, against them; with ingratitude Not hell itself could arm the foren foe — 9^nO 'Tis forged at home, and kills not from afar* Amid whate er vain glories fell upon Thy rainbow span of power, which I dissolve, Boast not how thou conferredst wealth and rank, How thou preservedst me, my family, All my distinctions, all my offices, When Witiza was murder'd, that I stand Count Julian at this hour by special grace. The sword of Julian sayed the walls of Ceut^^ °^^ • * 70 COUNT JULIAN : And not the shadow that attends his name : It was no badge, no title, that o'erthrew Soldier, and steed, and engine — don Roderigo, The truly and the falsely great here differ. These by dull wealth or daring fraud advance^ Plim the Almighty calls amidst his people To sway the wills and passions of mankind. The weak of heart and intellect beheld Thy splendour, and adored thee lord of Spain — I rose — Roderigo lords o'er Spain no more. Rod, Now to a traitor's add a boaster's name. Jul, Shameless and arrogant, dost thou believe I boast for pride or pastime ? forced to boast, Truth costs me more than falsehood e'er cost thee. Divested of that purple of the soul, That potency, that palm of wise ambition — Cast headlong by thy madness from that high- That only eminence 'twixt earth and heaven, Virtue — which some desert, but none despise— Whether thou art beheld again on earth, Whether a captive or a fugitive ; A TRAGEDY^ tl i\Iiner or galley-slave, depends on me : But he alone who made me what 1 am Can make me greater, or can make me less. Rod. Chance, and chance only, threw me in thy power, Give me my sword again and try my strength. Jul, I tried it in the front of thousands. Rod, Death .(.Uo^iDini ^ At least vouchsafe me from a soldier's hand. Jul, I love to hear thee ask it — now my own Would not be bitter; no, nor immature. Rod, Defy it, say thou rather. Jul, Death itself Shall not be granted thee, unless from God; A dole from his and from no other hand. Thou shalt now hear and own thine infamy — Rod. Chains, dungeons, tortures — but I hear no more. Jul, Silence, thou wretch, live on — aye, live — abhor'd. Thou shalt have tortures, dungeons, chains, enough — 78 COtf NT JVmAH : They naturally rise and grow around 0:3 'hhBii- t*it: Monsters like thee, everywhere, and for eveiuoq? oik? Rod. Insulter of the fallen! must I endure a^uol Commands as well as threats P.roy vassal's too ?!k>}1 Nor breathe from underneath his trampling feet ?i^l Jul. Could I speak patiently who speak t© ;tiilii^oT I would say more — part of thy.pumshmentril o3 asvulfi It should be, to be taught. i :i^ltJ<^s i^jd //— «1b^ Rod. Reserve thy wisdom oiwaii^dT oWL Until thy patiencecoflie, its best allie 1* aidj d oisoSl I learn no lore, of peace or war, from thee.ioH .\^\. Jul, No, thou shalt study soon another tongu^ioq i And suns more ardent shall mature thy mind, -jhdz I Either the cross thou bearest, and thy knees::s ^ afidW Among the silent caves of Palestine xth tl : oil J Wear the sharp flints away with midnight prayer;j93oi*I Or tljiou shalt keep the fasts of Barbary — Jgiv-file eiV jShalt wait amid the crowds that throng the weU ^d aiT prom sultry noon till the skies fade again, i^B .boft Tp draw up water and to bring it home 3>;: 1«\ A TRAGEDY^ f§ In the crackt gourd of some vile testy knave, Who spurns thee back with bastinaded foot For ignorance or delay of his command. Rod, Rather the poison or the bow-string. Jul, Slaves To other's passions die such deaths as those. Slaves to their own should die — Rod. — What worse ? Jul. Their own. Rod, Is this thy counsel, renegade ? Jul, Not mine; I point a better path, nay, force thee on* I shelter thee from every brave man's sword While I am near thee : I bestow on thee Life : if thou die, 'tis when thou sojournest Protected by this arm and voice no more ; 'Tis slavishly, 'tis ignominiously, 'Tis by a villain's knife. Rod. By whose? JuL Roderigo's^ 80 COUNT JULIAN : Rod. O powers of vengeance! must I hear? endure? Live ? Jul, Call thy vassals, no ! then wipe the drops Of froward childhood from thy shameless eyes. So ! thou canst weep for passion — not for pity. Rod, One hour ago I ruled all Spain ! a camp Not larger than a shcepfold stood alone Against me ; now, no friend throughout the world Follows my steps or hearkens to my call. Behold the turns of fortune, and expect No better; of all faithless men, the Moors Are the most faithless — from thy own experience Thou canst not value nor rely on them. '^ Jul. I value not the mass that makes my sword, -^^ Yet while I use it I rel}^ on it. Rod. Julian, thy gloomy soul still meditates— ^^^-C^i^Cl Plainly I see it — death to me — pursue The dictates of thy leaders, let revenge Have its full sway, let Barbary prevail, And the pure creed her elders have embraced : A TRAGEDY. 81 Those placid sages hold assassination A most compendious supplement to law. Jul, Thou knowest not the one, nor I the other. Torne hast thou from me all my soul held dear 1 Her form, her voice, all, hast thou banish'd from me, Nor dare I, wretched as I am ! recall Those solaces of every grief, erewhile I I stand abased before insulting crime. I faulter like a criminal myself. The hand that hurled thy chariot o'er its wheels, That held thy steeds erect and motionless As moulten statues on some palace-gates. Shakes, as with palsied age, before thee now. Gone is the treasure of my heart, for ever, Without a father, mother, friend, or name ! Daughter of Julian — Such was her delight — Such was mine too ! what pride more innocent, What, surely, less deserving pangs like these, Than springs from filial and parental love! Debarred from every hope that issues forth G 82 COUNT JULIAN : To meet the balmy breath of early life, Her sadden'd days, all, cold and colourless, Will stretch before her their whole weary length Amid the sameness of obscurity. She wanted not seclusion, to unveil Her thoughts to heaven, cloister, nor midnight bell | She found it in all places, at all hours : While, to assuage my labours, she indulged A playfulness that shunn'd a mother's eye, Still, to avert my perils, there arose A piety that, even from me, retired. Rodj^ Such was she ! — what am I ! — those are the arms That are triumphant when the battle fails. Julian, Julian ! all thy former words Struck but the imbecile plumes of vanity ; These, thro* its steely coverings, pierce the heart.^ 1 ask not life nor death; but, if I live, * Much agitated — after a pause* A TRAGEi)Y. 83 Send my most bitter enemy to watch My secret paths, send poverty, send pain — I will add more — wise as thou art, thou knowest No foe more furious than forgiven kings. I ask not then what thou woudst never grant : May heaven, O Julian, from thy hand, receive A pardoned man, a chasten'cl crimiiial. JuL This farther curse hast thou inflicted ; wretch, I cannot pardon thee. Rod. Ihy tone, thy mi€inj Refute those words. Jul, No — I can not forgive. Rod, Upon* my knee, my conqueror, I implore^ — Upon the earth, before thy feetf — hard heart ! JuL Audacious ! hast thou never heard that prayer And scom'd it ? 'tis the last thou shouldst repeat* Upon the earth ! upon her knees ! O God ! Rod. Resemble not a wretch so lost as I : Be better; O ! be happier; and pronounce it. ♦ Julian greatly moved, goes towards him. t Starts back. 84 COUNT JULIAN : Jul, I swerve not from my purpose : thou art mine, Conquer'd ; and I have sworne to dedicate — Like a torne banner on my chapel's roof — Thee to that power from whom thou hast rebelled. Expiate thy crimes by prayer, by penances — Rod, Hasten the hour of trial, speak of peace.* Pardon me not, then — but with purer lips Implore of God, who would hear thee, to pardon. Jul. Hope it I may — pronounce it — O Roderigo! Ask it of him who can ; I too will ask, And, in my own transgressions, pray for thine. Rod, One name I dare not — Jul. Go — abstain from that, I do conjure thee ; raise not in my soul Again the tempest that has wrecked my fame ; Thou shalt not breathe in the same clime with her. Far o'er tte unebbing sea thou shalt adore The eastern star, and — may thy end be peace. * Julian looks sternly on the ground and does not answer. A TRAGEDY. 85 ACT IV. SCENE 2. Julian and Hernando. Her. From the prince Tarik I am sent, my lord. Jul, A welcome messager, my brave Hernando. How fares it with the gallant soul of Tarik. Her. Most joyfully ; he scarcely had pronounced Your glorious name, and bidden me urge your speed, Than, with a voice as though it answer'd heaven, He shall confound them in their dark designs Cried he — and turned away, with that swift stride Wherewith he meets and quells his enemies. Jul. Alas, I cannot bear felicitation. Who shunned it even in felicity. Her. Often we hardly think ourselves the happy Unless we hear it said by those around. O my lord Julian, how your praises cheer'd Our poor endeavours ! sure, all hearts are open Lofty and low, wise and unwise, to praise. 8S COUNT JULIAN : Even the defyarted spirit hovers round Our blessings and our prayers ; the corse itself Hath shined with other light than the still stars Shedd on its rest, or the dim taper, nigh. My father, old men say, who saw him dead And heard your lips pronounce him good and happy, Smiled faintly thro* the quiet gloom, that eV6f ' ■ '^ ' And the shroud throbbM upon his grateful breast. Howe'er it be, many who tdl the tale ^^ ^^-^^ ^^ Are good and happy from that voice of ptSfefei'^^ ^'^ ^ His guidance and example were deni^ ^' iohdxw od i My youth and childhood : what I am t owfe^""'^ JuL Hernando, look not back : a narrow path i And arduous lies before thee, if thou stop ''•^^^'^ '^^^ Thou fallest; go right onward, nor observe l^Kr/tiuI Closely and rigidly another's way, »^'X, ^0*5'^ But, free and active, follow up thy own. ^<^(^ ^^^^ Her, The voice that urges now my manly step Onward in life, recalls me to the past, And from that fount I freshen for the goal. Early in youth, amongst us villagers A TRAGEDY. 87 Converse and ripened counsel you bestowed. O happy days of (far departed !) peace, Days when the mighty Julian stooped his brow Entering our cottage door ; another air Breathed thro* the house; tired age and lightsome youth Beheld him, with intensest gaze — these felt More chastened joy ; those, more profound repose. Yes, my best lord, when labour sent them home And midday suns, when from the social meal The wicker window held the summer heat, Prais'd have those been who, going unperceived, Open'd it wide, that all might see you well : Nor were the children blamed, upon the mat. Hurrying to watch what rush would last arise From your foot's pressure, ere the door was closed, And not yet wondering how they dared to love. Your counsels are more precious now than ever* ^4; But are they — pardon if I err the same? Tarik is gallant, kind, the friend of Julian, 88 COUNT JULIAN: Can he be more? or ought he to be less? Alas ! his faith ! Jul. In peace or war ? Hernando. Her, O, neither — far above it; faith in God — JuL 'Tis God^s, not thine — embrace it not, nor hate it. Precious or vile, how dare we seize that offering, Scatter it, spurn it, in its way to heaven. Because we know it not ? the sovran lord Accepts his tribute, myrrh and frankincense From some, from others penitence and prayer : Why intercept them from his gracious hand ? Why dash them down ? why smite the supplicant? Her, Tis what they do ? Jul. Avoid it thou the more. If time were left me, I could hear well-pleased How Tarik fought up Calpe's fabled cliff, While I pursued the friends of don Roderigo Across the plain, and drew fresh force from mine. O ! had some other land, some other cause, r- r A TRAGEDY. 89 Invited him and me, I then could dwell On this hard battle with unmixt delight. Her, Eternal is its glory, if the deed Be not forgotten till it be surpast : Much praise by land, by sea much more, he won, For then a Julian was not at his side, Nor led the van, nor awed the best before ; The whole, a mighty whole, was his alone. There might be seen how far he shone above All others of the day : old Muza watched From his own shore the richly laden fleet, lU-arm'd and scattered, and pursued the rear Beyond those rocks that bear St. Vincent's name, Cutting the treasure, not the strength, away — Valiant, where any prey lies undevour'd In hostile creek or too confiding isle : Tarik; with his small barks, but with such love As never chief from rugged sailor won. Smote their high masts and swelling rampires down; And Cadiz wept in fear o'er Trafalgar. Who that beheld our sails from oflf the bights, 90 COUNT JULIAN : Like the white birds, nor larger, tempt the gale In sunshine and in shade, now almost touch The solitary shore, glance, turn, retire, Would think these lovely playmates could portend Such mischief to the world ; such blood, such woe ; Could draw to them from far the peaceful hinds. Cull the gay flower of cities, and divide Friends, children, every bond of human life ; Could dissipate whole families, could sink Whole states in ruin, at one hour, one blow. Jul. Go, good Hernando — who would think these things ? Say to the valiant Tarik, I depart Forthwith ; he knows not from what heaviness Of soul I linger here ; I could endure No converse, no compassion, no approach, Other than thine, whom the same cares improved Beneath my father's roof, my foster-brother. To brighter days and happier end, I hope ; In whose fidelity my own resides With Tarik and with his compeers and chief. A TRAGEDY. 91 I cannot share the gladness I excite, ■ ^ Yet shall our Tarik's generous heart rejoice.* ACT lY. SCENE 3. Julian and Egilon a. Egil. O fly me not because I am unhappy, Because I am deserted fly me not. It was not so before, it cannot be Ever from Julian. JuL What would Egilona That Julian's power with her new lords can do? Surely her own must there preponderate. EgiL I hold no suit to them — restore, restore -VI Roderigo. ^dK) JuL He no longer is my prisoner. r-*^! Egil. Escapes he then? * Egilona enters. Hernando goes. 92 COUNT JULIAN : Jul. Escapes he — dost thou say ? O Egilona ! what unworthy passion — EgiL Unworthy, when I loved him, was my pas- sion, The passion that now swells my heart, is just Jul, What fresh reproaches hath he merited? EgiL Deeprooted hatred shelters no reproach. But whither is he gone. Jul. Far from the walls. EgiL And I knew nothing! — Jul, His offence was known To thee at least. EgiL Will it be expiated ? Jul.^ I trust it will. EgiL This withering calm consumes me« He marries then Covilla ! 'twas for this His people were excited to rebell, His sceptre was thrown by, his vows were scorn'd, And I — and I — * After some hesitation. A TRAGEDY. 93 JuL Cease, Egilona ! Egil, Cease? Sooner shalt thou to live, than I to reign. ACT V. SCENE 1. Tent of MuzA. MuzA. Tarik. Abdalazis. Muza. To have first landed on these shores, ap- pears Transcendent glory to the applauded Tarik. Tank. Glory, but not transcendent, it appears. What might in any other. Muza. Of thyself All this vain boast? Tarik. Not of myself — 'twas Julian. Against his shield the refluent surges rolled. While the sea-breezes threw the arrows wide And fainter cheers urged the reluctant steeds. 94 cotNt Jtrt^lAN : Muza, That Julian, of whose treason I have proofs. That Julian, who rejected my commands Twice, when OUr mortal foe besieged the camp, And forced my princely presence to his tent. Tarik. Say rather, who without one exhortatiouj One precious drop from true believer's vei!#,^ /ijml^ Marched, and discomfited our enemies. * ^^^ .in»T I found in him no treachery — Hernando,"^*^^* ^*^^' nooc Who, little versed in moody wiles, is gon^ *^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ To lead him hither, was by him assigned'^'^^'^-^'^"*'^ My guide, and twice in doubtful fight his am* ^^^ Protected me — once on the bights of Calpe, Once on the plain, when courtly jealousies ~^ Tore from the bravest and the best his due, >i oV And gave the dotard and the coward commanif'li ^^ **^ Then came Roderigo forth — the front of war "^"^ iUd^ Grew darker — him, equal in chevalry, ai .d/l Julian alone could with success oppose. ^" -l Abd, I doubt their worth who praise their enik'^^ A TRAGEDY. 95 TariL And theirs doubt I who persecute their friend Si Muza, Thou art in league with him. Tarik* Thou wert, by oaths, I am without them ; for his heart is brave. Muza. Am I to bear all this ? Tarik, All this, and more : Soon wilt thou see the man whom thou hast wronged, And the keen hatred in thy breast concealed Find its right way, and sting thee to the core. Muza, Hath he not foil'd us in the field ; not held Our wisdom to reproach ? Tarik, Shall we abandon All he hath left us in the eyes of men ; Shall we again make him our adversary Whom we have proved so, long and fatally ? If he subdue for us our enemies, Shall we raise others, or, for want of them. Convert him into one, against his will ? 96 COUNT JULIAN : ACT V. SCENE 2. Hernando enters, Tarik continues. Here comes Hernando from that prince himself — Muza, Who scorns, himself, to come. Her. The queen detains him. Abd, How ! Egilona ? Muza, 'Tvvas my will. Tarik. At last He must be happy; for delicious calm Follows the fierce enjoyment of revenge. Her. That calm was never his, no other will be ! Thou knowest not, and mayst thou never know, ^ How bitter is the tear that firy shame Scourges and tortures from the soldier's eye. Whichever of these bad reports be true, He hides it from all hearts, to wring his own, And drags the heavy secret to the grave. ' hash A TRAGEDY. 97 Not victory, that overshadows him, sees he ! No airy and light passion stirs abroad To ruffle or to soothe him ; all are quelled Beneath a mightier, sterner, stress of mind ; Wakeful he sits, and lonely, and unmoved, Beyond the arrows, views, or shouts of men ; As oftentimes an eagle, when the sun Throws o'er the varying earth his early ray, Stands solitary, stands immovable Upon some highest cliff, and rolls his eye, Clear, constant, unobservant, unabased. In the cold light, above the dews of morn. He now assumes that quietness of soul Which never but in danger have I seen On his staid breast. Tarik, Danger is past, he conquers ; No enemy is left him to subdue. Her. He sank not, while there was, into himself. Now plainly see I, from his altered tone, He cannot live much longer — thanks to God ! Tarik, What ! wishest thou thy once kind master dead ? ©8 COUNT JULIAN : Was he not kind to thee, ungrateful slave I Her, The gentlest, as the bravest, of mankind. Therefor shall memory dwell more tranquilly With Julian, once at rest, than friendship could, Knowing him yearn for death with speechless love. For his own sake I could endure his loss. Pray for it, and thank God ; yet mourn I must Him above all ! so great, so bountiful, So blessed once ! bitterly must I mourn. 'Tis not my solace that 'tis his desire ; Of all that pass us in life's drear descent We grieve the most for these that wished to die, A father to us all, he merited Unhappy man ! all a good father's joy In his own house, where seldom he hath been, But, ever mindful of its dear delights He formed one family around him, ever. Tank, Yes, we have seen and known him — let his fame Refresh his friends, but let it stream afar, Nor in the twilight of home-scenes be lost. He chose the best, and cherished them ; he left A TRAGEDY. ^9 To self-rfeproof the mutinies of vice — Avarice, that imps ambition's tone and mien, Envy, sick nursling of the court; ami pride That cannot bear his semblance nor himself; 4W And malice, with blear visage half-descried Amid the shadows of her hiding-place. Her, What could I not endure, O gallant man, To hear him spoken of, as thou hast spoken ! Oh ! I would almost be a slave to him Who calls me one. Muza. What! art thou not? begone. Tarik. Reply not, brave Hernando, but retire. All can revile, few only can reward. Behold the meed our mighty chief bestows ! Accept it, for thy services, and mine. More, my bold Spaniard, hath obedience won Than anger, even in the ranks of war. Her. The soldier, not the Spaniard, shall obey; Muzaf^ Into our very council bringest thou Children of reprobation and perdition ? * To Tarik. 100 COUNT JULIAN I Darkness thy deeds and emptiness thy speech. Such images thou raisest as buffoons Carry in merriment on festivals, Nor worthiness nor wisdom would display To public notice their deformities, Nor cherish them nor fear them ; why shouldst thouf j Tank. I fear not them nor thee. ACT V. SCENE 3. Egilona enters. Abd. Advance, O queen. Now let the turbulence of faction cease. Muza. Whatever thy purpose, speak, and be com- posed. EgiL He goes ; he is afar ; he follows her ; He leads her to the altar, to the throne, For, calm in vengeance, wise in wickedness, The traitor hath prevailed, o'er him, o'er me. A TRAGEDY. 101 0*cr you — the slaves, the dupes, the scorn, of Julian. What have I heard ! what have I seen ! Muza, Proceed — Abd. — And I swear vengeance on his guilty head Who intercepts from thee the golden rays Of sovranty ; who dares rescind thy rights ; Who steals upon thy rest, and breathes around Empoisoned damps o'er that serenit}'^ Which leaves the world, and faintly lingers here. Muza. Who shuns thee — Abd, — Whose desertion interdicts Homage, authority, precedency — Mvza, Till war shall rescue them— • Abd. — And love restore. Egil. O generous Abdalazis ! never ! never ! My enemies — Julian alone remains — The worst, in safety, far beyond my reach. Breathe freely on the summit of their hopes ; Because they never stopt, because they sprang From crime to crime, and trampled down remorse^ Oh ! if her heart knew tenderness like mine ! 102 COUNT JULIAN : Grant vengeance on the guilty; grant but that, I ask no more ; my hand, my crown, is thine. Fulfill the justice of offended heaven, Assert the sacred rights of royalty, Come not in vain, crush the rebellious crew, Crush, I implore, the indifferent and supine. Muzd, Roderigo thus escaped from Julian's tent? EgiL No, not escaped — escorted — like a king. The base Covilla first pursued her way On foot ; but after her the royal car. Which bore me from San Pablos to the throne, Empty indeed, yet ready at her voice, Rolled o'er the plain, amid the carcases Of those who fell in battle or in flight: She, a deceiver still, to whatever speed The moment might incite her, often stopt To mingle prayers with the departing breath, Improvident! and those with heavy wounds Groaned bitterly beneath her tottering knee. Tarik, Now, by the clement and the merciful ! The girl did well : when J breathe out my soul, A TRAGIBDY. 103 Oh ! if compassion give one pang the more, That pang be mine ; here be it, in this land- Such women are they in this land alone. EgiL Insulting man ! Muza, We shall confound him yet. Say, and speak quickly, whither went the king ? Thou knewest where w^^ Joliajj. Abd. I willtell '9^"?oofc9- borp Without his answer : yes, my friends! yes, Tarik, Now will I speak, nor thou, for once, reply. There is, I hear, a poor half-ruin'd cell In Xeres, whither few indeed resort ; Green are the walls within, green is the floor And slippery from disuse ; for christian feet Avoid it, as half-holy, half-accurst. Still in its dark recess fanatic sin Abases to the ground his tangled hair, And servile scourges and reluctant groans Roll o*er the vault uninterruptedly, Till, such the natural stilness of the place, The very tear upon the damps below 104 COUNT JULIAN : Drops audible, and the heart's throb replies. There is the idol maid of christian creed, And taller images, whose history I know not, nor inquired — a scene of blood, Of resignation amid mortal pangs, ,^,^03 ffr7# And other things, exceeding all belief. Hither the aged Opas of Seville ^ ^^^'.j „h^h. Walked slowly, and behind him was a man .-^^^ bolli Barefooted, bruized, dejected, comfortless, ^ gniJii^i In sack-cloth; the white ashes on his head ..... 7 Dropt as he smote his breast — he gathered up, Replaced them all, groaned deeply, looked to heaven, And held them, like a treasure, with claspt hands. Egil. O ! was Roderigo so abased ? Muza. Twas he. Now, Egilona, judge between your friends And enemies — behold what wretches brought The king, thy lord, Roderigo, to disgrace. Egil. He merited — but not from them — from mc This, and much worse : had I inflicted it, I had rejoiced — at what I ill endure. A TKAGEDY, 105 Muza. For thee, for thee alone, we wished him here, But other hands released him — Ahd, — With what aim Will soon, appear to those discerning eyes. Egil. I pray thee, tell what past until that hour. Abd. Few words, and indistinct : repentant sobs Filled the whole space ; the taper in his hand, Lighting two small dim lamps before the altar, He gave to Opas — at the idol's feet He laid his crown, and wiped his tears away : The crown reverts not, but the tears return. EgiL Yes, Abdalazis ! soon, abundantly. If he had only called upon my name, Seeking my pardon ere he looked to heaven's, I could have— no ! he thought not once on me ! Never shall he find peace or confidence; I will rely on fortune and on thee Nor fear my future lot : sure, Abdalazis, A fall so great can never happen twice. Nor man again be faithless, like Roderigo. 106 COUNT JULIAN : Abd, Faithless he may be still, never so faithless. Fainter must be the charms, remote the days, When memory and dread example die. When love and terror thrill the heart no more, And Egilona is herself forgotten. ■ j'm hlixxii mdi odW .»a^. ACT V. SCENE 4. *^^ ^H v Julian enters. Tank, Turn, and behold him ! who is now con- founded ? Ye who awaited him, where are ye ? speak — Is some close comet blazing o'er your tents ? Muza ! Abdalazis ! princes, conquerors, Summon, interrogate, command, condemn. Muza. Justly, don Julian — but respect for rank Allays resentment, nor interrogates Without due form — justly may we accuse This absence from our councils, from our camp ; This loneliness in which we still remain A TRAGEDY. 107 Who came invited to redress your wrongs; ' '^•^';^^> Where is the king ? i isiioi tsicirfti Jul. The people must decide. "TDm^n-i ma^f Muza, Imperfectly, I hope, I understand ''^' Those words, unworthy of thy birth and age. Jul. O chieftain, such have been our gothic laws. Muza, Who then amid such turbulence is safe ? Jul, He who observes them : 'lis no turbulence, It violates no peace : 'tis surely worth A voice, a breath of air, thus to create By their high will the man, form'd after them In their own image, vested with their power, To whom they trust their freedom and their lives. Muza. They trust ! the people ! God assigns the charge, Kings open but the book of destiny And read their names, all that remains for them The mystic hand from time to time reveals. Worst of idolaters ! idolater Of that refractory and craving beast Whose den is in the city, at thy hand I claim our common enemy, the king. 108 COUNT JULIAN : JuL Sacred from justice then ! but not from malice ! Tank, Surrender him, my friend: be sure his pains Will not be softened. Jul. 'Tis beyond my power. Tarik, Tomorrow — if in any distant fort He lies tonight: send after him. JuL My faith Is plighted, and he lives — no prisoner. Egil, I knew the truth. Abd, Now, Tarik, hear and judge. Was he not in* thy camp ? and in disguise ? Tarik, No : I will answer thee. Muza, Audacious man ! Had not the Kalif Walid placed thee here. Chains, and a traitor's death, should be thy doom. Speak, Abdalazis ! Egilona, speak. Were ye not present ? was not 1, myself, And aided not this Julian his escape ? JuL TJs true, * To Julian. A TRAGEDV. 109 Tank. Away then friendship ; to thy fate I leave thee : thou hast render'd Muza just, Me hostile to thee. Who is safe ! a man Arm'd with such power and with such perfidy ! Jul, Stay, Tarik ! hear me ; for, to thee alone Would I reply-ifjgj^ij, vob «« ^ Tarik, Thou hast replied, already.* Muza, We, who were enemies, would not inquire Too narrowly what reasons urged thy wrath Against thy sovran lord ; beneath his flag The christians first assailed us from these shores, And we seized gladly the first aid we found To quell a wealthy and a warlike king. We never held to thee the vain pretence That 'twas thy quarrel our brave youth espoused, Thine, who hast wrought us much disgrace and woe. From perils and from losses, here we rest And drink of the fresh fountain at our feet, * Goei, 110 COUNT JULIAN: Not madly following such illusive streams As overspread the dizzy wilderness, And vanish from the thirst they have seduced. Ours was the enterprise, the land is ours : What gain we by our toils if he escape ;^803^fi o Whom we came hither solely to subdue ? >i*Jill bssi Jvl. Is there no gain to live in amity ? ;ia^p \l Muza. The gain of traffickers and idle meti*]p «i^*^ Courage and zeal expire upon such calms* ' ^oii >iJ^^ Further, what amity can Moors expect^ - •^«^2JL When you have joined your forces? -»B ^jd} bf^wo> Jul. From the hour kU-g^ii 'jd'k That he was vanquished, I have laid aside All power, all arms. -^'8^^i ^ Muza. How can we trust thee, once ; 3i?d3 iuV Deceived, and oftener than this once despised^'^i^onoL' Thou camcst hither with no other aim - ileaaso Than to deprive Roderigo of his crown ^'^'f^' J^(^^ For thy own brow. >' Egil. Julian, base man, 'tis true. - He comes a prince, no warrior, at this hour. A TRAGEDY^ 111 Muza. His sword, O queen, would not avail him now. Abd. Julian, I feel less anger than regret. No violence of speech, no obloquy^ No accusation shall escape my lips : Need there is none, nor reason, to avoid My questions : if thou value truth, reply. Hath not Roderigo left the town and camp? Hath not thy daughter? Egil. — Past the little brook Toward the Betis — from a tower I saw The fugitives, far on their way ; they went Over one bridge, each with arm'd men — not half A league of road between them — and had join*d, But that the olive-groves along the path Concealed them from each other ; not from me : Beneath me the whole level I surveyed. And, when my eyes no longer could discern Which track they took, I knew it from the storks Rising in clouds above the reedy plain. Muza, Deny it, if thou canst. 112 COUNT JULIAN : Jul. I order'd it. Abd. None could beside: lo ! things in such a mass trailing together on observant minds, Create suspicion and establish proof: Wanted there fresh — why not employ our arms ? Why go alone ? Muza, To parley, to conspire, To reunite the Spaniards, which we saw, To give up treaties, close up enmities. And ratify the deed with Moorish blood. Jul, Gladly would Spain procure your safe re- turn. Gladly would pay large treasures, for the aid You brought against oppression- - Muza, Pay she shall — The treasures of her soil, her ports, her youth : If she resist, if she tumultuously Call forth her brigands and we lose a man, Dreadful shall be our justice ; war shall rage Through every city, hamlet, house, and field, A TRAGEDY. US And, universal o'er the gasping land, jDepopulation. Jul, They shall rue the day Who dare these things. Muza. Let order then prevail. In vain thousendest far away thy child, Thy counsellor the metropolitan, And Sisabert — prudence is mine, no less. Divide with us our conquests, but the king Must be delivered up. JuL Never by me. Muza. False then were thy reproaches, false thy grief. JuL O Egilona ! were thine also feigned ? Abd, Say, lovely queen, neglectful of thy charms Turned he his eyes toward the young Covilla? Did he pursue her to the mad excess Of breaking off her vows to Sisabert, And marrying her, against the christian law ? Muza, Did he prefer her so ? Abd. Could he prefer To Egilona — 114 COUNT JULIAN: EgiL Her! the child Coviila ? Eternal hider of a foolish face — Incapable of any thing but shame — To me ? old man ! to me ? O Abdalazis ! No : he but followed with slow pace my hate. And cannot pride check these unseemly tears !* Muza. The most offended, an offended woman, A wife, a queen, is silent on the deed. Abd. Thou disingenuous and ignoble man, Spreading these rumours ! sending into exile All those their blighting influence injured most : And whom ? thy daughter and adopted son, The chieftains of thy laws and of thy faith. Call any witnesses, proclaim the truth, And set, at last, thy heart, thy fame, at rest. Jul. Not, if I purposed or desired to live, My own dishonour would I e'er proclaim Amid vindictive and reviling foes. Muza. Calling us foes, avows he not his guilt ? Condemns he not the action we condemn, * To herself. Goes. A THAGEDY. 115 Owning it his, and owning it dishonour ? 'Tis well my cares prest forward, and struck home. Jul. Why smilest thou ? I never saw that smile But it portended an atrocious deed. Muza, After our manifold and stern assaults, With every tower and battlement destroyed, The walls of Ceuta still were strong enough* — JuL\ For what? who boasted now her brave defence, Or who forbad your entrance, after peace ? Muza, None : for who could ? their engines now arose To throw thy sons into the arms of death. For this erect they their proud crests again. Mark him at last turn pale before a Moor. Jul, Imprudent have they been, their youth shall plead. Abd, O father, could they not have been detained ? Muza, Son, thou art safe and wert not while the^ lived. * Abd. I feared them not. ♦ Stops. t Hastily. il6 COUNT JULIAN : Muxa. And therefor wert not safe: Under their star the blooming Egilona Would watch for thee the nuptial lamp in vain. JuL Never, oh never, hast thou worked a wile So barren of all good ! speak out at once. What hopest thou by striking this alarm ? It shocks my reason, not my fears or fondness. Mnza. Be happy then as ignorance can be ; Soon wilt thou hear it shouted from our ranks. Those who once hurled defiance o'er our heads, Scorning our arms, and scoffing at our faith, The nightly wolf hath visited, unscared, And loathed 'em as her prey; for famine first, Atchieving in few days the boast of years. Sunk their young eyes and opened us the gates : Ceuta, her port, her citadel, is ours. JuL Blest boys ! inhuman as thou art, what guilt Was theirs? Muza. Their father's. Jul. support me. Heaven \ Against this blow ! all others I have borne. A TRAGEDY. , 117 Ermenegild ! thou mightest, sure, have lived ! A father^s name awoke no dread of thee ! Only thy mother*s early bloom was thine ! There dwelt on Julian's brow — thine was serene — The brightened clouds of elevated souls, Feared by the most below : those who looked up Saw, at their season, in clear signs, advance Rapturous valour, calm solicitude. All that impatient youth would press from age, Or sparing age sigh and detract from youth : Hence was his fall ! my hope ! ipyself ! my Julian ! Alas ! I boasted — but I thought on him. Inheritor of all — all what? my wrongs- Follower of me — and whither ? to the grave — Ah no : it should have been so ! years far hence ! Him at this moment I could pity most, But I most prided in him ; now I know^ I loved a name, I doated on a shade. Sons ! I approach the mansions of the just, And my arms clasp you in the same embrace. 118^ COUNT JULIAN : Where none shall sever you ; and do I weep f And do they triumph o*er my tenderness ! I had forgotten mine inveterate foes Everywhere nigh me, I had half forgotten Your very murderers, while I thought on you : For, O my children, ye fill all the space My soul would wander o'er — O bounteous heave^if There is a presence, if the well-beloved^>iif bfl.uif>no8 Be torne from us by human violence, "^'i'^ 'i*«!lo hf^A More intimate, pervading, and complete,'' •'^'^ ^ ' ' Than when they lived and spoke like other men, And their pale images are our support When reason sinks, or threatens to desert us. I weep no more — pity and exultation Sway and console me : are they — no ! — both dead ? Muza, Aye, and unsepulchred. Jul, Nor wept nor seen By any kindred and far-following eye ? Mtiza, Their mother saw them, if not dead, ex- pire. A TRAGEDY. 119 Jul, O cruelty ! — to them indeed the least ! My children, ye are happy — ye have lived Of heart unconquered, honour unimpaired, And died, true Spaniards, loyal to the last. Muza. Away with him. Jul, Slaves ! not before I lift My voice to heaven and man : though enemies Surround me, and none else, yet other men And other times shall hear : the agony Of an opprest and of a bursting heart No violence can silence ; at its voice The trumpet is overpowered, and glory mute, And peace and war hide all their charms alike. Surely the guests and ministers of heaven Scatter it forth thro' all the elements, So suddenly, so widely, it extends, So fearfully men breathe it, shuddering To ask or fancy how it first arose. Muza, Yes, they shall shudder— but will that, henceforth, 140 COtNt JULIAN : Molest my privacy, or shake my power ? Jul, Guilt hath pavilions, but no privacy. The very engine of his hatred checks The torturer in his transport of revenge. Which, while it swells his bosom, shakes his power And raises friends to his worst enemy. Muza. Where now are thine? will they not curse the day ..»rfl i^m^ That gave thee birth, and hiss thy funeral ? ,'T Thou hast left none who could have pitied thee; Jul. Many, nor those alone of tenderer mould, For me will weep — many alas thro' mc ! Already I behold my funeral. The turbid cities wave and swell with it. And wrongs are lost in that day's pageantry : ' Opprest and desolate, the countryman Receives it like a gift; he hastens home. Shews where the hoof of Moorish horse laid waste His narrow croft and winter garden-plot. Sweetens with fallen pride his children's lore. I A TRAGEDY, 121 And points their hatred ; but applauds their tears. Justice, who came not up to us ihro' life, Loves to survey our likeness on our tombs, When rivalry, malevolence, and wrath. And every passion that once stormed around, Is calm alike without them as within. Our very chains make the whole world our own, Bind those to us who else had past us by, Those at whose call brought down to us, the light Of future ages lives upon our name. Muza. I may accelerate that meteor's fall, And quench that idle ineffectual light Without the knowledge of thy distant world. JuL My world and thine are not that distant one. Is age less wise, less merciful, than grief. To keep this secret from thee, poor old man ? Thou canst not lessen, canst not aggravate My sufferings, canst not shorten nor extend Half a sword's length between my God and me. I thank thee for that better thought than fame, 122 COUNT JULIAN : Which none however, who deserve, despise, Nor lose from view till all things e^se are lost. Abd, Julian, respect his age, regard his power. Many who feared not death, have dragged along A piteous life in darkness and in chains. Never was man so full of wretchedness But something may be suffered after all^ ^^^^«J^2. ^«^- Perhaps in what clings round his breast, and hel{)#- ^ To keep the ruin up, which he amidst *^*^ ^^^^^ ^^^ His agony and phrenzy overlooks, '^ ^4s} t^'T^^ But droops upon at last, and clasps, and dies.^'^'^''^' ^ Jul, Altho' a Muza send far underground. Into the quarry whence the palace rose, His mangled prey, climes alien and remote Mark and record the pang ; while overhead Perhaps he passes on his favorite steed, Less heedful of the misery he inflicts Than of the expiring sparkle from a stone. Yet we, alive or dead, have fellow men Jf ever we have served them, who collect A TRAGEDY. 1^3 From prisons and from dungeons our remains, And bear them in their bosom to their sons. Man's only reliques are his benefits ; These, be there ages, be there worlds, between, Retain him in communion with his kind : Hence is our solace, our security. Our sustenance, till heavenly truth descends* • Losing in brightness and beatitude The frail foundations of these humbler hopes • • And, like an angel, guiding us, at once Leaves the loose chain and iron gate behind. Muza, Take thou my justice first, then hope for theirs. I, who can bend the living to my will. Fear not the dead, and court not the unborn : Their arm will never reach me, nor shall thine. Abd. Pity, release him, pardon him, myiatbef,> f Forget how much thou hatest perfidy, r ^ ;, :t Think of him, once so potent, still so brave, So calm, so self-dependent in distress — 124 COUNT JULIAN : I marvel at him — hardly dare I blame, When I behold him fallen from so high, And so exalted after such a fall. Mighty must that man be, who can forgive A man so mighty ; seize the hour to rise, Another never comes : O say, my father, Say, " Julian, he mine enemy no more,'* He fills me with a greater awe than e'er The field of battle, with himself the first. When every flag that waved along our host Drooped down the staff, as if the very winds^ Hung in suspense before him — bid him go And peace be with him, or let me depart. Lo ! like a god, sole and inscrutable, He stands above our pity, Jul, For that wish, Vain as it is, 'tis virtuous — O, for that, However wrong thy censure and thy praise. Kind Abdalazis, mayst thou never feel The rancour that consumes thy father's breast^ A. TRAGEDY. 125 Nor want the pity thou hast sought for mc. 3Iuza, Now hast thou scaled thy doom. Jul. And thou thy crimes. Jlbd. O father, heed him not: those evil words Leave neither blight nor blemish — let him go. Muza. A boy, a very boy, art thou indeed ! One who in early day would sally out To chase the lion, and would call it sport. But, when more wary steps had closed him round. Slink from the circle, drop the toils, and blanch tike a lithe plant from under snow in spring. Abd, He who ne'er shrunk from danger, might shrink now. And ignominy would not follow here. Muza, Peace, Abdalazis ! how is this ? he bears Nothing that warrants him invulnerable. Shall r then shrink to smite him ? shall my fears Be greatest at -the blow that ends them all ? Fears? no! 'tis justice — fair, immutable. Whose measured step, at times, advancing nigh, 126 COUNT JULIAN : Appalls the majesty of kings themselves. O * were he dead ! tho' then revenge were o'er ! ACT V. SCENE 5. Officer, Thy wife, Count Julian ! Jul, Speak ! Offi. Is dead! Jul. Adieu Earth, and the humblest of all earthly hopes, To hear of comfort, tho' to find it vain. Thou murderer of the helpless ! shame of man ! Shame of thy own base nature ! 'tis an act He who could perpetrate could not avow. Stained, as he boasts to be, with innocent blood, Deaf to reproach, and blind to retribution. Offi, Julian, be just; 'twill make thee less unhappy. * Aside. A TRAGEDY, 127 Grief was her end : she held her younger boy And wept upon his cheek ; his naked breast By recent death now hardening and inert, Slipt from her knee ; again with frantic grasp She caught it, and it weighed her to the ground : There lay the dead — JuL She ? Offi, — And the youth her son. JuL Receive them to thy peace, eternal God ! O soother of my hours, while I beheld The light of day, and thine ! adieu, adieu! And, my Covilla ! dost thou yet survive? Yes, my lost child, thou livest yet — in shame ! agony, past utterance ! past thought ! That thro west death, as some light idle thing, With all its terrors, into dust and air — 1 will endure thee; I, whom heaven ordained Thus to have served beneath my enemies, Their conqueror, thus to have revisited My native land with vengeance and with woe. 1^8 COUNT JULIAN : Henceforward shall she recognise her sons, Impatient of oppression or disgrace, And rescue them,*or perish ; let her hold This compact, written with her blood, and mine. Now* follow me — but tremble t — years shall roll And wars rage on, and Spain at last be free. * To the guards. t To Muza, &c. THE END. J. MOVES, PRINTER, Greville Street, TIatton Garden, London.