gave a sanction to our mutual ardours. Can what was virtue once be now a crime? Can I be guilty
Mah. Yes towards me you are-
You, nursed from infancy beneath my eye,
Child of my care and pupil of my faith,
You, whom my partial fondness still distinguished
From all the captive youths that graced my
triumphs,
And you who now, without my leave, permit
A slave to bear thee from my sight for ever.
Pal. No, we both live, nay more, would die
for thee:
And oh, my lord! if all that earth can offer
Of grandeur, opulence, or pleasure, e'er
Shall make me deaf to gratitude's demands,
May Zaphna's self be evidence against me,
And plead for double vengeance on my treachery!
Mah. apart.] Zaphna again! Furies! I shall
relapse,
And make her witness of my weakness.
Trust then thy dearest interests to my bosom;
But know your fate depends on your obedience.
If I have been a guardian to your youth,
If all my lavish bounties past weigh aught,
Deserve the future blessings which await you.
Howe'er the voice of heaven dispose of Zaphna,
Confirm him in the path where duty leads,
That he may keep his vow and merit thee.
Pal. Distrust him not, my sovereign;
Zaphna
Disdains to lag in love or glory's course.
Mah. Enough of words-
Pal. As boldly I've avowed
The love I bear that hero at your feet,
I'll now to him, and fire his generous breast
To prove the duty he has sworn to thee.
[Exit Palmira. Mah. Confusion! must I, spite of me, be made
The confidant of her incestuous passion?
What could I say? such sweet simplicity
Lured down my rage, and innocently winged
The arrow through my heart. And shall I bear
this?
Be made the sport of curst Alcanor's house?
Checked in my rapid progress by the sire,
Supplanted in my love by this rash boy,
And made a gentle pander to the daughter?
Perdition on the whole detested race!
This night the old enthusiast offers incense
To his vain gods in sacred Caabo:
Zaphna, who flames with zeal for Heaven and
thee,
May be won o'er to seize that lucky moment.
Mah. He shall; it must be so; he's born to
The glorious crime; and let him be at once
The instrument and victim of the murder.
My law, my love, my vengeance, my own safety,
Have doomed it so-But, Mirvan, dost thou
think
His youthful courage, nursed in superstition,
Can e'er be worked-
Mir. I tell thee, Mahomet,
He's tutored to accomplish thy design.
Palinira too, who thinks thy will is Heaven's,
Will nerve his arm to execute thy pleasure.
Love and enthusiasm blind her youth:
They're still most zealous who're most ignorant.
Mah. Didst thou engage him by a solemn vow?
Mir. I did, with all the enthusiastic pomp
Thy law enjoins; then gave him, as from thee,
A consecrated sword to act thy will.
Oh, he is burning with religious fury!
Mah. But hold, he comes-
This infidels themselves may boast, when led
By ostentation, rage, or brute-like rashness.
To do whate'er Heaven gives in sacred charge,
Nor dare to sound its fathomless decrees,
Mir. Now, Mahomet, is the time to seize on This, and this only's meritorious zeal.
Crush this Alcanor, and enjoy Palmira,
Attend, adore, obey; thou shalt be armed
By death's remorseless angel, which awaits me.
Zaph. Speak out, pronounce; what victim must |
I offer?
What tyrant sacrifice? whose blood requirest
thou?
Mah. The blood of a detested infidel,
A murderer, a foe to Heaven and me,
A wretch, who slew my child, blasphemes my god,
And, like a huge Colossus, bears a world
Of impious opposition to my faith:
The blood of curst Alcanor!
Zaph. I!-Alcanor!
Support my faltering will, harden my heart,
Lest nature, pity, plead Alcanor's cause,
And wrest the dagger from me.
Ha! who comes here?
Alc. Whence, Zaphna, that deep gloom,
That, like a blasting mildew on the ear
Of promised harvest, blackens o'er thy visage?
Grieve not, that here, through form, thou art
confined;
I hold thee not as hostage, but as friend,
Mah. What! dost thou hesitate? Rash youth, And make thy safety partner with my own.
He that deliberates, is sacrilegious.
Far, far from me be those audacious mortals,
Who for themselves would impiously judge,
Or see with their own eyes; who dares to think,
Was never born a proselyte for me.
Know who I am; know on this very spot
I have charged thee with the just decree of Hea
And when that Heaven requires of thee no more
Than the bare offering of its deadliest foe,
Nay, thy foe too, and mine, why dost thou ba-I
lance,
As thy own father were the victim claimed!
Go, vile idolater! false Musselman!
Go seek another master, a new faith!
Zaph. Oh Mahomet!
Mah. Just when the prize is ready,
When fair Palmira's destined to thy arms-
But what's Palmira ? or what's heaven to thee,
Thou poor weak rebel to thy faith and love!
Go serve and cringe to our detested foe.
Zaph. Oh pardon, Mahomet! methinks I hear
The oracle of Heaven-It shall be done.
Mah. Obey then, strike, and for his impious blood,
Palmira's charms and Paradise be thine.
Zaph. And make my safety partner with thy
[Aside. Alc. The bloody carnage, by this truce sus
For a few moments, like a torrent checked
In its full flow, will, with redoubled strength,
Bear all before it-
In this impending scene of public horror,
Be then, dear youth! these mansions thy asylum:
I'll be thy hostage now, and with my life
Will answer, that no mischief shall befall thee.
know not why, but thou art precious to me.
Zaph. Heaven, duty, gratitude, humanity!
[Aside.
What didst thou say, Alcanor? Didst thou say,
That thy own roof should shield me from the
tempest?
That thy own life stood hostage for my safety?
Alc. Why thus amazed at my compassion for
thee?
I am a man myself, and that's enough
To make me feel the woes of other men,
And labour to redress them,
Zaph. [Aside. What melody these accents
make!
And whilst my own religion spurs to murder,
His precepts of humanity prevail.
Apart to Mirvan.] Mirvan, attend him close, and [To Alcanor.] Can, then, a foe to Mahomet's sa
Be fixed on every movement of his soul.
Zaph. Soft, let me think-This duty wears the face
Alc. Thou know'st but little, Zaphna, If thou dost think true virtue is confined To climes or systems; no, it flows spontaneous, Of something more than monstrous-Pardon, | Like life's warm stream, throughout the whole
To sacrifice an innocent old man,
Weighed down with age, unsuccoured and un-
armed!
When I am hostage for his safety too!-
No matter, Heaven has chose me for the duty;
My vow is past and must be straight fulfilled.
Ye stern relentless ministers of wrath,
Spirits of vengeance! by whose ruthless hands
The haughty tyrants of the earth have bled,
Come to my succour, to my flaming zeal
Join your determined courage;
And thou, angel
Of Mahomet, exterminating angel!
That mow'st down nations to prepare his passage,
And beats the pulse of every healthful heart.
How canst thou, Zaphna, worship for thy god
A being, claiming cruelty and murders
From his adorers? Such is thy master's god.
Zaph. [Aside.] Oh, my relenting soul! thou'rt
almost thawed
From thy resolve-I pray you, sir, no more.
Peace, reason, peace!
Alc. [Aside.] The more I view him, talk with
him, observe
His understanding towering above his age,
His candour, which even bigotry can't smother,
The more my breast takes interest in his wel-
farç.
[To Zaphna] Zaphna, come near-I oft have | This conference with the foe? To Mahomet Away this instant; he commands thy presence. Zaph. [Aside.] Where am I? Heavens! how shall I now resolve?
To whom thou owest thy birth; whose generous
The camp of godlike Mahomet has been
My cradle and my country; whilst, of all
His captive infants, no one more has shared
The sunshine of his clemency and care.
Alc. I do not blame thy gratitude, young man:
But why was Mahomet thy benefactor?
Why was not I? I envy him that glory.
Why, then, this impious man has been a father
Alike to thee and to the fair Palmira?
Zaph. Oh!
Alc. What is the cause, my Zaphna, of that sigh, And all that language of a smothered anguish? Why didst thou snatch away thy cordial eye, That shone on me before?
Zaph. [Aside.] Oh my torn heart! Palmira's name revives the racking thought Of my near blunted purpose.
Alc. Come, my friend;
The floodgates of destruction, soon thrown open,
Will pour in ruin on that curse of nations.
If I can save but thee and fair Palmira
From this o'erflowing tide, let all the rest
Of his abandoned minions be the victims
For your deliverance-I must save your blood.
Zaph. [Aside.] Just Heaven! and is it not I
must shed his blood?
Alc. Nay, tremble, if thou dar'st to hesitate. Follow me straight.
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In vain I call in all the softening arts
Of pity, love, and friendship, to engage
His breast is seared by that impostor's precepts
'Gainst all who bid defiance to his laws.
But, Pharon, didst thou mark the baneful gloom,
The somewhat like reluctance, rage, and pity,
That, blended, sat upon his pensive brow?
Pha. I did; there is something at his heart—
Alc. There is-
Would I could fathom it! This letter, Pharon, | His aspect, age, the transport that I taste, When he is near me; the anxiety
His absence gives, do too much violence
To my distracted sense. Hercides here
Desires to see me; 'twas his barbarous hands,
That robbed me of my children; they are living,
He tells me, under Mahomet's protection,
And he has something to unfold, on which
Their destiny and mine depend. This Zaphna
And young Palmira, vassals of that tyrant,
Are ignorant from whom they are descended.
Imagination's pregnant with that thought.
My wishes mock me. Sinking with my grief,
I blindly catch at every flattering error,
And supplicate deception's self for succour.
Pha. Hope, but yet fear, Alcanor: think, my
chief,
How
many infants from their parents torn,
Ere conscious whose they are, attend that tyrant,
Drink in his dictates, place their being in him,
And deem him an infallible dispenser
Of Heaven's decisions-
Alc. Well, no matter, Pharon;
At noon of night conduct Hercides hither;
Thy master in the adjoining fane once more
Will importune the gods with prayers and in-
That he may save his friends, and see his children. Pha. Thou shalt not find thy Pharon slack in aught,
That tends to thy deliverance from this anguish. [Exit Phar.
Alc. Just Heaven! if, by erroneous thought or
I have drawn down your fierce displeasure on me,
Point me to right! I'll onward to its goal
With double energy, will expiate all,
That, in the days of ignorance, might offend;
Only restore my children to my care,
Give to my craving arms my hapless children,
That I may form them, turn them back from wrong,
SCENE I-MAHOMET's apartment.
Mah. Ambition knows not conscienceWell, this Zaphna
Is fixed at length-I lessoned him so home,
Dealt to his young enthusiastic soul
Such promises and threats-
Weed their young minds from those pernicious
The arch-impostor has implanted in them, Train them in virtue's school, and lead them on To deeds of glorious and immortal honour.
Mir. Oh, Mahomet, I fear the nice woven web Of our design's unravelled. Ere thy spirit Had re-inflamed young Zaphna with the thirst Of old Alcanor's blood, he had revealed The dreadful purpose to Hercides—
He's not her father, as she knows it not.
Trust me, those partial ties of blood and kindred
Are but the illusive taints of education :
What we call nature is mere habit, Mirvan;
That habit's on our side; for the whole study
Of this young creature's life has been obedience,
To think, believe, and act as pleasured me.
But hold; the hour, on which our fortune hangs,
Is now at hand. While Zaphna seeks the temple,
Let us look round us, see that not a wheel
Lag in the vast machine we have at work :
It is success, that consecrates our actions;
The vanquished rebel as a rebel dies,
The victor rebel plumes him on a throne.
[Exeunt.
Mir. Hercides loves the youth, and Zaphna Enter ZAPHINA, with a drawn sword in his hand.
Has held him as a father.
Mah. That I like not.
What does Hercides say? thinks he with us? Mir. Oh no; he trembles at the very thought Of this dread scene, compassionates Alcanor,
Mah. He's but a half friend then, and a half friend
Is not a span from traitor. Mirvan, Mirvan,
A dangerous witness must be some way dealt
with:
Am I obeyed?
Mir. "Tis done.
Mah. Then for the rest
Or e'er the harbinger of morrow's dawn
Gleam in the east, Alcanor, thou must set,
Or Mahomet and all his hopes must perish:
That's the first step; then, Zaphna, next for thee!
Soon as thy hands have dealt the midnight mis-
chief,
In thy own blood the secret must be drowned.
Thus quit of son and father (those curst rivals,
Who elbow me at once in love and grandeur)
Both Mecca and Palmira shall be mine.
Oh towering prospect! how it fills the eye
Of my aspiring and enamoured soul !
Night! put on double sable, that no star
May be a spy on those dark deeds-Well,
Mirvan,
Shall we accomplish this?
Mir. We shall, my chief.
Mah. What though I seize his life, from whom she sprung?
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What horrid sacrifice is this enjoined thee?
What victim does the god of Mahomet
Claim from thy tender hand?
Zaph. Oh, my guardian angel,
Speak, resolve me;
How can assassination be a virtue?
How can the gracious parent of mankind
Delight in mankind's sufferings? May not this
prophet,
This great announcer of his heavenly will,
Mistake it once?
Pal. Oh, tremble to examine.
He sees our hearts-To doubt is to blaspheme. Zuph. Be steady, then, my soul, firm to thy
And let religion steel thee against pity.
Come forth, thou foe to Mahomet, and Heaven,
And meet the doom thy rebel faith deserves!
Come forth, Alcanor!
Pal. Who, Alcanor!
Zaph. Yes.
Pal. The good Alcanor?
Zaph. Why do you call him good?
Curse on his pagan virtues! he must die;
So Mahomet commands: and yet methinks
Some other deity arrests my arm,
And whispers to my heart-Zaphna, forbear!
Pal. Distracting state!
Zaph. Alas! my dear Palmira,
I'm weak, and shudder at this bloody business.
Help me, oh help, Palinira! I am torn,
Distracted with this conflict.
Zeal, horror, love, and pity, seize my breast,
And drag it different ways. Alas! Palmira,
You see me tossing on a sea of passions;
"Tis thine, my angel, to appease this tempest,
Fix my distracted will, and teach me-
Pal. What!
What can I teach thee in this strife of passions?
Oh Zaphna! I revere our holy prophet,
Think all his laws are registered in heaven,
And every mandate minted in the skies.
Zaph. But then, to break through hospitality,
And murder him, by whom we are protected!
Pal. Oh, poor Alcanor! generous, good Alca-
My heart bleeds for thee.
Zaph. Know then, unless I act this horrid scene,
Unless I plunge this dagger in the breast
Of that old man, I must-I must-
Pal. What
Zaph. Must, Palmira
(Oh agonizing thought!) lose thee for ever.
Pal. Am I the price of good Alcanor's blood?
Zaph. So Mahomet ordains.
SCENE draws, and discovers the inner part of
the temple, with a pagan altar and images;
ALCANOR addressing himself to the idols.
Alc. Eternal Powers! that deign to bless these
mansions,
Protectors of the sons of Ishmael,
Crush, crush this blasphemous invader's force,
And turn him back with shame! If power be
your's,
Oh! shield your injured votaries, and lay
Oppression, bleeding at your altar's foot.
Enter ZAPHNA and PALMIRA.
Pal. entering.] Act not this bloody deed! oh save him, save him!
Zaph. Save him, and lose both paradise and
thee!
Pal. Hah, yon' he stands-Oh! Zaphna, all
my blood is frozen at the sight!
Alc. 'Tis in your own behalf that I implore
The terrors of your might; swift, swiftly
Pour vengeance on this vile apostate's head,
Zaph. Thou knowest the curse our prophet Who dares profanely wrest your thunder from
And lodge it with an unknown fancied god.
Zaph. Hear how the wretch blasphemes! So,
Pal. Hold, Zaphna!
Zaph. Let me go→→
Pal. I cannot-cannot.
Alc. But if, for reasons which dim-sighted mor-
tals
Can't look into, you'll crown this daring rebel
With royalty and priesthood, take my life!
And if, ye gracious Powers! you have aught of
bliss
In store for me, at my last hour permit me
To see my children, pour my blessing on them,
Expire in their dear arms, and let them close
These eyes, which then would wish no after-
sight!
Pal. His children, did he say?
Zaph. I think he did-
|