And since thy son thus trait'rously conspires, King. Danger is come; and must I now unarm, To thee I give my life, crown, reputation; 9 My pomps to clouds; and (as forlorn with men) Calica. My soul now joys. Doing breathes horror out. Absence must be our first step. Let us fly. A pause in rage makes Alaham to doubt; As dainty sparks, which till men dead do know, I hear the spies of power drawing near. Sir, follow me: Misfortune's worst is come; 20 Her strength is change: and change yields better doom. If God do grant, it is a place to save; If God denies, it is a ready grave. ZOPHI appears. Calica. What see I here? more spectacles of woe! And are my kindred only made to be Agents and patients in iniquity? Ah forlorn wretch ! ruin's example right! Lost to thyself, not to thy enemy, Whose hand e'en while thou fliest thou fall'st into; And with thy fall thy father dost undo. Save one I may: Nature would save them both; But Chance hath many wheels, Rage many eyes. *Zophi is represented as a prince of weak understanding. 30 Is nature narrow to adversity? Despair, in bonds; fear, of itself in awe : Dost thou, that canst not see, hope to escape? 10 Zophi. Make calm thy rage: pity a ghost distrest : My right, my liberty, I freely give: Give him, that never harm'd thee, leave to live. Calica. Fly unto God: for in humanity 20 Zophi. Help, God! defend thine altar! since thy In earth, leaves innocents no other right. [might, Calica. Eternal God! that sec'st thyself in us, 31 If vows be more than sacrifice of lust, Rais'd from the smokes of hope and fear in us, ALAHAM causes search to be made after his Father and Brother. ZOPHI is discovered, and CELICA; who, being questioned by ALAHAM where she has hid her Father, dissembles as though she thought that the King was dead; but being threatened with the rack, her Exclamations call her Father from his hiding-place; who, together with her, and her Brother ZOPHI, are sentenced by ALAHAM to the flames. ALAHAM. Attendants. Alaham. Sirs, seek the city, examine, torture, rack; Sanctuaries none let there be; make darkness known; Pull down the roofs, dig, burn, put all to wrack; And let the guiltless for the guilty groan. Change, shame, misfortune, in their 'scaping lie, He sees CELICA. Good fortune welcome! We have lost our care, Behold the forlorn wretch, half of my fear, Cælica! awake: that God of whom you crave Is deaf, and only gives men what they have. 10 Calica. Ah cruel wretch! guilty of parent's blood! Might I, poor innocent, my father free, My murther yet were less impiety. But on; devour: fear only to be good: Let us not 'scape: thy glory then doth rise, Must he be kill'd again that gave thee breath? 20 Alaham. Leave off this mask; deceit is never wise; Though he be blind, a king hath many eyes. Calica. O twofold scorn! God be reveng'd for me. Yet since my father is destroy'd by thee, 30 Alaham. Passions are learn'd, not born within the That method keep: Order is quiet's art. [heart, Tell where he is: for, look, what love conceals, 14 Calica. This is reward which thou dost threaten me; If terror thou wilt threaten, promise joys. Alaham. Smart cools these boiling styles of Calica. And if my father I no more shall see, The way is easy where the guide is love. 10 Thy glorious pride of this unglorious deed be led. Graves be the thrones of kings when they be dead. Calica. He was (unhappy) cause that thou art now; Thou art, ah wicked! cause that he is not; Alaham. Well, Sirs, go seek the dark and secret caves, The holy temples, sanctified cells, 20 All parts wherein a living corpse may dwell. him there: Yet lose no pains, good souls, go not to hell; 30 Than that he is where you would have him go. Woe loves itself; fear from itself would fly. Do not these trembling motions witness bear, That all these protestations be of fear? Calica. If aught be quick in me, move it with scorn: Nothing can come amiss to thoughts forlorn. Alaham. Confess in time. Revenge is merciless. Calica. Reward and pain, fear and desire too, Are vain in things impossible to do. Alaham. Tell yet where thou thy father last did see. Calica. Even where he by his loss of eyes hath won That he no more shall see his monstrous son. First in perpetual night thou mad'st him go; His flesh the grave; his life the stage, where sense Plays all the tragedies of pain and woe. And wouldst thou trait'rously thyself exceed, By seeking thus to make his ghost to bleed? 10 Alaham. Bear her away; devise; add to the rack Torments, that both call death and turn it back. Calica. The flattering glass of power is others' pain. Perfect thy work; that heaven and hell may know, To worse I cannot, going from thee, go. Eternal life, that ever liv'st above! If sense there be with thee of hate, or love, The KING comes forth. King. What sound is this of Cælica's distress? Alaham, wrong not a silly sister's faith. "Tis plague enough that she is innocent; My child, thy sister; born (by thee and me) 20 29 Break me; I am the prison of thy thought: Those wounds which thou to my heart then did'st give, Thou did'st from death mine elder brother free. King. Flatter thy wickedness; adorn thy rage; To wear a crown, tear up thy father's age. |