Cly. Sure there is none about you; But here stands honest Clytus, whom the king Invited to his banquet. Alex. Begone and sup with Philip, [Strikes him through. Parmenio, Attalus, Calisthenes; And let bold subjects learn, by thy sad fate, To tempt the patience of a man much above them. Cly. The rage of wine is drowned in gushing blood: O Alexander, I have been to blame ; Cly. I should have killed myself, had I but To be once sober-Now I fall with honour, My own hand would have brought foul death.O pardon! [Dies. Alex. Then I am lost; what has my vengeance done? Who is it thou hast slain? Clytus; what was he? Thou foughtst bare-headed at the river Granicus, Thy friends will shun thee now, and stand at distance, Nor dare to speak their minds, nor eat with thee, For we must never part. Cruel Hephestion Lys. Dear sir, we did. Aler. I know it; Ye held me like a beast, to let me go And barred my rage with their advancing points; Till I had seen what ruin did attend me: Alex. No, you have let me stain my rising virtue, strength! Here's not a slave but dares oppose my justice; Lys. I know not, my wounds bleed afresh With striving with him: Perdiccas, lend us your arm. [Eennt Perdiccas, Lysimachus. Heph. Call Aristander hither; Or Meleager, let us force him from the body. Cries without-Arm! Arm! Treason, Treason! Enter PERDICCAs bloody. Per. Haste, all take arms! Hephestion, where's the king? Heph. There, by old Clytus' side, whom he has slain. Per. Then misery on misery will fall, Like rolling billows, to advance the storm. Rise, sacred sir, and haste to aid the queen;. Roxana, filled with furious jealousy, Came with a guard of Zogdian slaves unmasked, And broke upon me with such sudden rage, That all are perished, who resistance made: I only with these wounds, through clashing spears, Have forced my way, to give you timely notice. Alex. What says Perdiccas? Is the queen in danger? Per. She dies, unless you turn her fate, and SCENE I. ACT V. STATIRA is discovered sleeping in the bower of Dar. Is innocence so void of cares, That it can undisturbed sleep, That make immortal spirits weep? Stat. No boding crows, nor ravens come, Dar. She walks, as she dreams, in a garden of And her hands are employed in the beautiful She dreams of the man that is far from the grove, And the nightingales lull her more fast with a song. Dar. But see the sad end which the gods have decreed. Stat. This poinard's thy fate. Dar. My daughter must bleed. Eer an hour be past, you must breathe out your last. Dar. And be such another as I. Enter ROXANA, with slaves and a dagger. Ror. At length we have conquered this stu pendous height, These flying groves, whose wonderful ascent Stat. Then all the vision's true, [Retires. Ror. Shut the brazen gate, And make it fast with all the massy bars. Stat. And what is she, who with such tower- Would awe a princess, that is born above her? Stat. No, barbarous woman, though I durst | As boldly as our lord, with a resolve, Chorus. And be such another as I. [Exeunt. This sure will sink you. STATIRA Sola. Stat. Bless me, ye powers above, and guard I saw, nor was't a dream, I saw and heard I heard their heavenly voices: Where, O where The motion of my robes makes my heart leap. Fain I would hide my blushes- Stat. No, Roxana, no: The blow you give will strike me to the stars, Stat. A thousand spirits tell me : Stat. While you, the burden of the earth, Ror. Heaven witness for me, I would spare If any thing but Alexander's love Stat. The world is less than Alexander's love, Stat. Perhaps at my request, And for a gift so noble as my life, Bestow a kiss. Ror. A kiss! no more? Stat. O gods! What shall I say to work her to my end? Your friend! What, must I bring you then together? Adore your bed, and see you softly laid? Stat. Yet hold thy hand advanced in air; cunning? And shall I die so tamely, thus defenceless? weakness? [Stabbing her. O ye gods, will you not help my Alex. Oh happy! Thou shalt reign the queen Ror. Do, strike, behold my bosom swells to meet thee; 'Tis full of thine, of veins that run ambition, And I can brave whatever fate you bring. Alex. Call our physicians! haste! I'll give an empire To save her-Oh my soul, alas Statira! These wounds,-Oh gods, are these my promised joys! Enter PHYSICIANS. Stat. My cruel love, my weeping Alexander, Would I had died before you entered here! For now I ask my heart an hundred questions; What! must I lose my life, my lord, for ever? Alex. Ha! villains, are they mortal?—what, Raise your dashed spirits from the earth, and say, Rox. Rend not your temper; see a general silence Confirms the bloody pleasure, which I sought; Alex. And darest thou, monster, think to escape? Stat. Life's on the wing,-my love, my lord, Come to my arms, and take the last adieu. Here let me lie, and languish out my soul. Alex. Answer me, father, wilt thou take her from me? What, is the black, sad hour at last arrived, And shot me with a thousand thousand smiles? loved lord, I swear by Orosmades, 'tis more pleasure, Alex. All, all, but speak that I may execute Before I follow thee. Stat. Leave not the earth Before Heaven calls you; spare Roxana's life. Twas love of you, that caused her give me death; And, O! sometimes, amidst your revels, think Of your poor queen, and ere the chearful bowl Salute your lips, crown it with one rich tear, And I am happy. [Dies Alex. Close not thy eyes; To give them an account of life and death, That waked their sweets, has left them now fo Therefore Roxana may have leave to hope And thank Statira, that thou art alive: Else thou hadst perished; yes, I would have rent, With my just hands, that rock, that marble heart; I would have dived through seas of blood to find it, To tear the cruel quarry from its center. Kill the triumpher, and avenge my wrong, Bolted with thunder let him rush along, Pursue his spotted ghost, and shoot him as he flies! [Exit. Alex. O my fair star, I shall be shortly with thee; For I already feel the sad effects Ror. O take me to your arms, and hide my Of those most fatal imprecations. blushes! I love you spite of all your cruelties; I tremble to approach: yet here's my hold, And love shall grasp it with these dying hands. Aler. O that thou wert a man, that I might drive Thee round the world, and scatter thy contagion, As gods hurl mortal plagues, when they are angry! Ror. Do, drive me, hew me into smallest pieces, My dust shall be inspired with a new fondness; Still the love-motes shall play before your eyes, Where'er you go, however you despise. Aler. Away! there's not a glance that flies from thee, But, like a basilisk, comes winged with death. Ror. O speak not such harsh words, my royal master! Look not so dreadful on your kneeling servant; My knees are weary, and my force is spent: me. Aler. O thou hast touched my soul so tenderly, That I will raise thee, though thy hands are ruin. Rise, cruel woman, rise, and have a care, That has revenge in store for perjured love, Enter PERDICCAS and LYSIMACHUS. Great Sysigambis, hearing Statira's death, Her last words gave the princess to the brave Alex. How! dead? Hephestion dead? alas the Unhappy youth!-But he sleeps happy, Will stretch my lids with vast, eternal tears- Alex. Fly, Meleager, hang him on a cross! But here lies my fate; Hephestion, Clytus, O when shall I be mad? Give order to spears, Pound their bright armour into dust; away! Draw dry the Ganges, make the Indies poor; I find Cassander's plot grows full of death; S And the sad sisters sweat, so fast I urge them. The sieve brim full, and the swift stone stand still. What, does it work? Pol. Speak softly. Cass. Well. Pol. It does; I followed him, and saw him swiftly walk Pol. When they took him up, He sighed, and entered with a strange wild look, Embraced the princes round, and said he must Dispatch the business of the world in haste. Enter PHILIP and THESSALUS. Phil. Back, back, all scatter-With a dreadful shout I heard him cry, 'I am but a dead man!' Pol. Peacewhere shall we meet? Methinks I see the frighted deities, While each soul here, that fills his noble vessel, SCENE II. Enter ALEXANDER and all his Attendants. Aler Search there, nay, probe me, search my wounded reins! Pull, draw it out! Lys. We have searched, but find no hurt. Alex. O I am shot, a forked burning arrow Sticks cross my shoulders: the sad venom flies, Like lightning, through my flesh, my blood, my marrow. Lys. This must be treason. Ferd. Would I could but guess! Alex. Ha! what a change of torments I endure! A bolt of ice runs hissing through my bowels : "Tis sure the arm of death: give me a chair; Cover me, for I freeze, and my teeth chatter, And my knees knock together. Perd. Heaven bless the king! Alex. Ha! who talks of heaven? I am all hell; I burn, I burn again! The war grows wondrous hot; hey for the Tiger! Bear me, Bucephalus, amongst the billows: O'tis a noble beast; I would not change him For the best horse the Sun has in his stable : For they are hot, their mangers full of coals, Their manes are flakes of lightning, curls of fire, And their red tails, like meteors, whisk about. Lys. Help all, Eumenes, help! I cannot hold him! Alex. Ha, ha, ha! I shall die with laughter. The grizly bristles of his pushing beard Lys. Yet warring in his wildness. Alex. Sound, sound, keep your ranks close; ay, Perd. Let's raise him softly, and bear him to his bed: Alex. Hold, the least motion gives me sudden My vital spirits are quite parched up, Lys. When you, the brightest star that ever shone, Shall set, it must be night with us for ever. Alex. Let me embrace you all before I die: Weep not, my dear companions; the good gods Shall send you, in my stead, a nobler prince, One that shall lead you forth with matchless con→ duct. Lys. Break not our hearts with such unkind expressions. Perd. We will not part with you, nor change for Mars. Alex, Perdiccas, take this ring, And see me laid in the temple of Jupiter Am mon. |