Dion. Vile slave, no more. drag 'em hence To die in misery. Impall'd alive, Melanthon, tue Pho. Oh! lead me to her; that exalted vir[jav❜lin, With firmer nerve shall bid me grasp the The winds shall parch them on the craggy cliff. Shall bid my sword with more than lightSelected from the rest, let one depart A messenger to Greece, to tell the fate Her chosen sons, her first advent'rers, met. [Exit. more Timoleon's camp; alarm his slumbʼring rage; Assail the walls; thou with thy phalanx seek The subterraneous path; that way at night The Greeks may enter, and let in destruction On the astonish'd foe. Pho. Would'st thou have me Basely retreat while my Euphrasia trembles Here on the ridge of peril ? Mel. Yet hear the voice Of sober age. Should Dionysius' spies Pho. By heaven, I will; My breath shall wake his rage; this very night, When sleep sits heavy on the slumb'ring city, Then Greece unsheaths her sword, and great ning's swiftness Blaze in the front of war, and glut its rage [Exeunt. SCENE 11.—A Temple, with a Monument in the middle. Enter EUPHRASIA, ERIXENE, and other Female Attendants. Euph. This way, my virgins, this way bend your steps. The pale remains of my dear mother lie. There let me pay the tribute of a tear, Erix. Forbear, Euphrasia, to renew your sorrows. Euph. My tears have dried their source; then let me here Pay this sad visit to the honour'd clay, That moulders in the tomb. These sacred I'll burn, an off'ring to a parent's shade, viands And sprinkle with this wine the hallow'd That duty paid, I will return, my virgins. mould. [Goes into the Tomb. Erix. Look down, propitious powers! beAnd heal the pangs that desolate her soul. hold that virtue, Enter PHILOTAS. Phil. Mourn, mourn, ye virgins; rend your scatter'd garments; In vain the tyrant would appease with sacrifice And, from the marble, drops of blood distil. Re-enter EUPHRASIA, from the Tomb. Euph. Virgins, I thank you-Oh! more lightly now My heart expands; the pious act is done, His wild, disorder'd step-Do you retire. Phil. Alas! I fear to yield:- awhile I'll leave thee, And at the temple's entrance wait thy coming. [Exit. Euph. Now then, Euphrasia, now thou may'st indulge To this old frame, what nature's hand must do. Euph. Timoleon too' Invites thee back to life. Evan. And does he still Urge on the siege? Euph. His active genius comes To scourge a guilty race. The Punic fleet Half lost, is swallow'd by the roaring sea. The shatter'd refuse seek the Libyan shore, To bear the news of their defeat to Carthage. Evan. These are thy wonders, heaven! abroad, thy spirit [vanish'd. Moves o'er the deep, and mighty fleets are Euph. Ha!-Hark! what noise is that? It comes this way. [ment. Some busy footstep beats the hollow'd paveOh! Sir, retire-Ye powers!-Philotas!-ha! Enter PHILOTAS. Phil. For thee, Euphrasia, Dionysius calls. Some new suspicion goads him. At yon gate I stopp'd Calippus, as with eager haste He bent this way to seek thee. Oh! my sovereign, My king, my injur'd master, will you pardon The wrongs I've done thee? [Kneels to EVAnder. Evan. Virtue such as thine, From the fierce trial of tyrannic power Pass but another day, and Dionysius Falls from a throne usurp'd. Evan. But ere he pays The forfeit of his crimes, what streams of blood Shall flow in torrents round! Methinks, I might Prevent this waste of nature-I'll go forth, And to my people show their rightful king. Euph. Banish that thought; forbear; the rash attempt Were fatal to our hopes; oppress'd, dismay'd, The people look aghast, and, wan with fear, None will espouse your cause. Evan. Yes, all will dare To act like men;-their king, I gave myself The young but breathing to grow gray in bon. dage, And the old sinking to ignoble graves, valour. Euph. Yet stay; yet be advis'd. No plan is fix'd, and no concerted measure. Evan. Forbear: the man like thee, Who feels the best emotions of the heart, Truth, reason, justice, honour's fine excitements, [tion. Acts by those laws, and wants no other sancEuph. Again, th' alarm approaches; sure destruction To thee, to all, will follow:-hark! a sound Comes hollow murm'ring through the vaulted aisle. It gains upon the ear. Withdraw, my father; All's lost if thou art seen. Phil. And, lo! Calippus Darts with the lightning's speed across the aisle. Cal. This sullen musing in these drear abodes [tings, Alarms suspicion: the king knows thy plotThy rooted hatred to the state and him. His sov'reign will commands thee to repair This moment to his presence. Euph. Ha! what means The tyrant? I obey. [Exit CALIPPUS] And, oh! ye powers, Ye ministers of heaven! defend my father; Support his drooping age; and when anon Avenging justice shakes her crimson steel, Oh! be the grave at least a place of rest; That from his covert, in the hour of peace, Forth he may come to bless a willing people, And be your own just image here on earth. ACT IV. [Exit. Her. "Tis not mine To plead Timoleon's cause; not mine the office An interval of peace, a pause of horror, vain. Of those he murder'd, from my tender care Her. The hero, Sir, Wages no war with those who bravely die. Dion. Be it so; I grant thy suit: soon as to-morrow's dawn Some careful officer conduct him forth. Dion. Admit her to our presence. Enter EUPHRASIA. Dion. Approach, fair mourner, and dispel Thy grief, thy tender duty to thy father, Euph. Vile dissembler! Detested homicide! [Aside.] And has thy heart Dion. Urgencies of state Abridg'd his liberty; but to his person Euph. The righteous gods Have mark'd thy ways, and will in time repay Dion. If to see thy father, If here to meet him in a fond embrace, him now, Aged, infirm, worn out, with toil and years— Dion. Control this wild alarm; with pru- Philotas shall conduct him; here I grant Euph. Disastrous fate! Ruins impends!--This will discover all; must meet. Together you may serve the state and me. Euph. Oh! give the means, Dion. From a Greek Torments have wrung the truth. Thy hus- Euph. Oh! say, speak of my Phocion. Hath kindled up this war; with treach'rous arts [traitor Inflam'd the states of Greece, and now the Comes with a foreign aid to wrest my crown. Euph. And does my Phocion share Timoleon's glory? Dion. With him invests our walls, and bids Euph. Oh! bless him, gods! come With wreaths of triumph, and with conquests On thy descendants fix'd Sicilia's crown? Shall on a nobler basis found their rights, Euph. What sudden cause requires Euphra- On their own virtue, and a sia's presence? Dion. Misguided woman people's choice. Euph. Ask of thee protection! The father's valour shall protect his boy. Dion. Rush not on sure destruction; ere too late [these: Accept our proffer'd grace. The terms are Instant send forth a message to your husband; Bid him draw off his Greeks, unmoor his fleet, And measure back his way. Full well he knows You and your father are my hostages; [him So meanly of my Phocion?-Dost thou deem Of his exalted soul. With gen'rous ardour And bids for ever flourish on his tomb, Euph. Better for him to sink at once to rest, Than linger thus beneath the gripe of famine, In a vile dungeon, scoop'd with barb'rous skill Deep in the flinty rock; a monument Dion. Obdurate woman! obstinate in ill! Here ends all parley. Now your father's doom Is fix'd, irrevocably fix'd. Euph. Thy doom, perhaps, May first be fix'd: the doom that ever waits The fell oppressor, from a throne usurp'd Hurl'd headlong down. Think of thy father's At Corinth, Dionysius! Dion. Ha! this night [fate Evander dies; and thou, detested fair! Thou shalt behold him, while inventive cruelty Pursues his wearied life through every nerve. 1 scorn all dull delay. This very night Shall sate my great revenge. [Exit. Euph. This night perhaps [tion. Shall whelm thee down, no more to blast creaMy father, who inhabit'st with the dead, Now let me seek thee in the lonely tomb, And tremble there with anxious hope and fear. [Exit. Who's there?-Evander ?-Answer-tell mespeak Re-enter PHOCION, from the Tomb. Speak of Evander; tell me that he lives, Pho. Heart-swelling transport! Euph. Support me; reach thy hand. Pho. Once more I clasp thee in this fond embrace. Euph. What miracle has brought thee to Oh! let me thus, thus, strain you to my heart. Euph. Why, my father, Why thus adventure forth? The strong alarm O'erwhe.m'd my spirits. Evan. I went forth, my child, When all was dark, and awful silence round, Enter PHILOTAS. Phil. Inevitable ruin hovers o'er you: The tyrant's fury mounts into a blaze; Unsated yet with blood, he calls aloud For thee, Evander; thee his rage hath order'd This moment to his presence. Evan. Lead me to him: His presence hath no terror for Evander. I'll perish rather. His policy has granted truce, To turn the hour of peace to blood and horror? Euph. I know the monster well: when spe- | For all the wondrous goodness lavish'd on us. cious seeming Becalms his looks, the rankling heart within Teems with destruction; Mountains hurl'd up in air, and moulten rocks, And all the land with desolation cover'd. Mel. Now, Phocion, now on thee our hope depends. Fly to Timoleon; I can grant a passport: Rouse him to vengeance; on the tyrant turn His own insidious arts, or all is lost. Pho. Evander, thou; and thou, my best Euphrasia, Both shall attend my flight. Th' attempt would hazard all. We will remain, safe in the cave of death; arm. companions Taken in battle, wilt thou guard their lives? Phil. Trust to my care: no danger shall assail them. Pho. By heaven, the glorious expectation swells This panting bosom! Yes, Euphrasia, yes; Evan. Yet, ere thou go'st, young man, Attend my words: though guilt may oft provoke, As now it does, just vengeance on its head, Pho. Farewell; the midnight hour shall give you freedom. [Exit with MELANTHON and PHILOTAS. Euph. Ye guardian deities, watch all his ways. Eren. Come, my Euphrasia, Together we will pour Our hearts in praise, in tears of adoration, ACT V. SCENE I. [Exeunt. Dion. The troops retir'd To gain recruited vigour from repose? Meet at the citadel. An hour at furthest Fly to thy post, and bid Euphrasia enter. [Exit CAL. Evander dies this night: Euphrasia too Shall be dispos'd of. Curse on Phocion's fraud, That from my power withdrew their infant boy. In him the seed of future kings were crush'd, And the whole hated line at once extinguish'd. Enter EUPHRASIA. Dion. Once more approach and hear me ; 'tis not now A time to waste in the vain war of words. A crisis big with horror is at hand. I meant to spare the stream of blood, that soon Shall deluge yonder plains. My fair proposals Thy haughty spirit has with scorn rejected. And now, by heaven! here in thy very sight, Evander breathes his last. Euph. If yet there's wanting A crime to fill the measure of thy guilt, Add that black murder to the dreadful list; With that complete the horrors of thy reign. Dion. Woman, beware: Philotas is at hand, And to our presence leads Evander. All Thy dark complottings, and thy treach'rous Have prov'd abortive. [arts, Euph. Ha!-What new event! And is Philotas false?-Has he betray'd him? [Aside. Dion. What, ho! Philotas. Enter PHILOTAS. |