The British drama

Evan. Oh! would the gods roll back the, Awhile I leave you to the care of Heaven.

stream of time,

And give this arm the sinew that it boasted
At Tauromenium, when its force resistless
Mowed down the ranks of war; I then might
guide

The battle's rage, and, ere Evander die,

Add still another laurel to my brow.

Fell Dionysius, tremble! ere the dawn
Timoleon thunders at your gates; the rage,
The pent-up rage of twenty thousand Greeks,
Shall burst at once, and the tumultuous roar
Alarm the astonished world. The brazen gates
Asunder shall be rent; the towers, the ramparts,
Shall yield to Grecian valour; death and rage

Euph. Enough of laurelled victory your sword Through the wide city's round shall wade in gore,

Hath reaped in earlier days.

Evan. And shall my sword,

When the great cause of liberty invites,
Remain inactive, unperforming quite ?
Youth, second youth rekindles in my veins :
Though worn with age, this arm will know its of-
fice;

Will shew that victory has not forgot
Acquaintance with this hand. And yet-O shame!
It will not be the momentary blaze
Sinks, and expires: I have survived it all;
Survived my reign, my people, and myself.
Euph. Fly, Phocion, fly; Melanthon will con-

duct thee.

Melan. And when the assault begins, my faithful cohorts

Shall form their ranks around this sacred dome. Pho. And my poor captive friends, my brave companions

Taken in battle, wilt thou guard their lives? Melan. Trust to my care: no danger shall assail them.

Pho. By Heaven, the glorious expectation swells This panting bosom! Yes, Euphrasia, yes;

And guilty men awake to gasp their last.
Melanthon, come.

Evan. Yet, ere thou goest, young man,
Attend my words: though guilt may oft provoke,
As now it does, just vengeance on its head,
In mercy punish it. The rage of slaughter
Can add no trophy to the victor's triumph;
Bid him not shed unnecessary blood.
Conquest is proud, inexorable, fierce;
It is humanity ennobles all.

So thinks Evander, and so tell Timoleon.
Pho. Farewell; the midnight hour shall give
you freedom.

[Exit with Melanthon and Philotas.
Euph. Ye guardian deities, watch all his ways.
Evan. Come, my Euphrasia, in this interval
Together we will seek the sacred altar,
And thank the god, whose presence fills the
dome,

For the best gift his bounty could bestow,
The virtue he has given thee; there we will pour
Our hearts in praise, in tears of adoration,
For all the wondrous goodness lavished on us.
[Exeunt.

Their preparations for approaching night,
Didst thou then mark the motions of the Greeks?

Cal. From the watch-tower I saw them:
things spoke

all

A foe secure, and discipline relaxed.
Their arms thrown idly by, the soldiers strayed
To one another's tents; their steeds no more
Stood near at hand caparisoned for war;
And from the lines numbers poured out, to see
The spot where the besieged had sallied forth,
And the fierce battle raged; to view the slain,
That lie in heaps upon the crimson beach.
There, the fond brother, the afflicted father,
And the friend, sought some vestige of the face
Of him who died in battle; night came on;
Some slowly gained their tents: dispersed around
Whole parties loitered, touched with deep
gret;

War, and its train of duties, all forgot.
Dion. Their folly gives them to my sword; are
all

My orders issued?

Cal. All.

Dion. The troops retired,

To gain recruited vigour from repose?

Cal. The city round lies hushed in sleep.
Dion. Anon

Let each brave officer, of chosen valour,
Forsake his couch, and, with deliberate spirit,
Meet at the citadel. An hour at farthest
Before the dawn, 'tis fixed to storm their camp;
And whelm their men, their arms, and steeds
and tents,
In one prodigious ruin.
Fly to thy post, and bid

Haste, Calippus,
Euphrasia enter.

[Exit Calippus. Euphrasia, too,

Evander dies this night:
Shall be disposed of. Curse on Phocion's
fraud,

That from my power withdrew their infant
boy.

re-In him the seeds of future kings were crushed, And the whole hated line at once extinguished.

Enter EUPHRASIA.

View with compassion! To the bad extend
Some portion of your mercy; crimes and blood

Dion. Once more approach and bear me; 'tis Have made their souls a seat of desolation,

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. The truce you have granted,
Suspends the rage of war: mean time, send forth
The orators of peace with olive crowned.
Timoleon, good and just, and ever willing
To conquer rather by persuasive truth,
Than by devouring slaughter, will agree
In friendly parley to assert his rights,
And compromise the war.

Dion. And must I sue

For terms of peace? To an invader sue?
Since you, the fiend of Syracuse and Greece,
Since you thus urge me on to desperate daring,
Your father first-of him I'll be assured--
Your father meets his fate.

Euph. If yet there's wanting

A crane 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 treacherous arts,
Have proved abortive.

Euph. Ha! What new event?

And is Philotas false? Has he betrayed him?

[Aside.

Dion. Evander's doom is sealed-What, ho! Philotas;

Now shalt thou see him die in pangs before thee.

Of woe, despair, and horror! Turn to them
An eye of pity: whom your bounty formed
To truth, to goodness, and to generous deeds,
On them no more from your bright stores of
bliss

You need dispense: their virtue will support them.

Dion. Now, then, thou feelest my vengeance. Euph. Glory in it;

Exult and triumph. The worst shaft is sped. Yet still the unconquered mind with scorn can view thee;

With the calm sunshine of the breast can see
Thy power unequal to subdue the soul,
Which virtue formed, and which the gods pro-

tect.

Dion. Philotas, bear her hence; she shall not

live.

This moment bear her hence; you know the

rest.

Go, see our will obeyed; that done, with all
A warrior's speed, attend me at the citadel;
There meet the heroes, whom this night shall

lead

To freedom, victory, to glorious havoc,
And the destruction of the Grecian name. [Erit.
Euph. Accept my thanks, Philotas; generous

man!

These tears attest the emotions of my heart. But oh! should Greece defer

Phil. Dispel thy fears;

Phocion will bring relief; or should the tyrant Assault their camp, he'll meet a marshalled foe.

Let me conduct thee to the silent tomb.

Euph. Ah! there Evander, paked and disarmed,

Defenceless quite, may meet some ruffian stroke. Phil. Lo! here's a weapon: bear this dagger to him.

In the drear monument should hostile steps Dare to approach him, they must enter singly; This guards the passage; man by man they die. There may'st thou dwell amidst the wild commotion.

Euph. Ye pitying gods, protect my father there! [Exeunt.

SCENE II.-The Citadel.

CALIPPUS and several Officers.

1st. Offi. What new event thus summons us together?

Cal. Tis great occasion calls; Timoleon's ar dour

Comes rushing on; his works rise high in air, Advance each day, and tower above our walls. One brave exploit may free us-Lo! the king.

Enter MELANTHON.

Enter DIONYSIUS.

Dion. Ye brave associates, who so oft have
shared

Our toil and danger in the field of glory,
My fellow-warriors, what no god could promise,
Fortune hath given us. In his dark embrace
Lo! sleep envelops the whole Grecian camp.
Against a foe, the outcasts of their country,
Freebooters roving in pursuit of prey,
Success by war, or covert stratagem,
Alike is glorious. Then, my gallant friends,
What need of words? The generous call of free-
dom,

Your wives, your children, your invaded rights,
All that can steel the patriot breast with valour,
Expands and rouses in the swelling heart.
Follow the impulsive ardour; follow me,
Your king, your leader; in the friendly gloom
Of night, assault their camp; your country's love,
And fame eternal, shall attend the men,
Who marched through blood and horror, to re-
deem,

From the invader's power, their native land.

Cal. Lead to the onset; Greece shall find we
bear

Hearts prodigal of blood, when honour calls,
Resolved to conquer or to die in freedom.

Dion. Thus I've resolved: when the decli

ning moon

Hath veiled her orb, our silent march begins.
The order thus:-Calippus, thou lead forth
Iberia's sons, with the Numidian bands,
And line the shore. Perdiccas, be it thine
To march thy cohorts to the mountain's foot,
Where the wood skirts the valley; there make
halt,

Till brave Amyntor stretch along the vale.
Ourself, with the embodied cavalry.

Clad in their mailed cuirass, will circle round
To where their camp extends its furthest line;
Unnumbered torches there shall blaze, at once,
The signal of the charge; then, oh my friends,
On every side let the wild uproar loose;
Bid massacre and carnage stalk around,
Unsparing, unrelenting; drench your swords
In hostile blood, and riot in destruction.

Enter an Officer.

Ha! speak; unfold thy purpose.
Offi. Instant arm;

To arms, my liege; the foe breaks in upon us;
The subterraneous path is theirs; that way
Their band invades the city, sunk in sleep.

Dion. Treason's at work; detested, treacher-The ous villains!

Is this their promised truce? Away, my friends,
Rouse all the war; fly to your several posts,
And instant bring all Syracuse in arms.

[Exeunt.-Warlike music.

victor's shouts, the groans of murderde wretches,

In wild confusion rise. Once more descend Eudocia's tomb; there thou may'st find a shelter. Euph. Anon, Erixene, I mean to visit, Perhaps, for the last time, a mother's urn.

And brave them to the last.

Cal. Our weary foes

Desist from the pursuit.

Dion. Though all betray me,

Though every god conspire, I will not yield.
If I must fall, the temple's ponderous roof,
The mansion of the gods combined against me,
Shall first be crushed, and lie in ruin with me.
Euphrasia here! Detested, treacherous woman!
For my revenge preserved! By Heaven 'tis well;
Vengeance awaits thy guilt, and this good sword
Thus sends thee to atone the bleeding victims,
This night has massacred.

Cal. [Holding Dionysius's arm.] My liege, forbear;

Her life preserved may plead your cause with Greece,

And mitigate your fate.

Dion. Presumptuous slave!

My rage is up in arms; by Heaven she dies!

Enter EVANDER from the tomb.

Prostrate and grovelling on the earth before thee;
He begs to die; exhaust the scanty drops
That lag about his heart; but spare my child!
Dion. Evander!-Do my eyes once more be-
hold him?

May the fiends seize Philotas! Treacherous slave!
'Tis well thou liv'st; thy death were poor revenge
From any hand but mine. [Offers to strike.
Euph. No, tyrant, no;
[Rushing before Evander.
I have provoked your vengeance; through this
bosom

Open a passage; first on me, on me
Exhaust your fury; every power above
Commands thee to respect that aged head;
His withered frame wants blood to glut thy rage;
Strike here; these veins are full; here's blood
enough;

The purple tide will gash to glad thy sight.
Dion. Amazement blasts and freezes every
power!

They shall not live. Ha! the fierce tide of war [A flourish of trumpets.

This way comes rushing on.

[Goes to the stop of the stage. Euph. [Embracing Evander.] Oh! thus, my father,

We'll perish thus together.

Dion. Bar the gates;

Close every passage, and repel their force. Evan. And must I see thee bleed? Oh! for a sword!

Bring, bring me daggers!

Dion. [Advancing ] Guards, seize the slave, And give him to my rage.

Evan. [Seized by the guards.] Oh! spare her, spare her! Inhuman villains!

Euph. Now, one glorious effort!

Dion. Let me dispatch; thou traitor, thus my arm

Euph. A daughter's arm, fell monster, strikes the blow. [Stabs him. Yes, first she strikes; an injured daughter's arm Sends thee devoted to the infernal gods.

[He falls. Dion. Detested fiend! Thus by a woman's hand!

Euph. Yes, tyrant, yes; in a dear father's

Convulse the land; to its foundation shake The groaning isle! May civil discord bear

Evan. Horror! forbear! Thou murderer, hold Her flaming brand through all the realms of

thy hand!

The gods behold thee, horrible assassin ! Restrain the blow; it were a stab to Heaven; All nature shudders at it! Will no friend Arm, in a cause like this, a father's hand? Strike at this bosom rather. Lo! Evander

Greece;

Kneel to your rightful king: the blow for free- I To calm the uproar, and recall from carnage His conquering troops.

dom

Gives you the rights of men! And oh! my father,

My ever honoured sire, it gives thee life.
Evan. My child! my daughter! saved again
by thee!
[Embraces her.

A flourish of Trumpets. Enter PHOCION,
LANTHON, PHILOTAS, &c.

Euph. Oh! once again, my father,
Thy sway shall bless the land. Not for himself
Timoleon conquers; to redress the wrongs
Of bleeding Sicily the hero comes.

Thee, good Melanthon, thee, thou generous man,
His justice shall reward. Thee, too, Philotas,
ME-Whose sympathizing heart could feel the touch
Of soft humanity, the hero's bounty,

Pho. Now, let the monster yield. My best
Euphrasia!

Euph. My lord! my Phocion! welcome to
my heart.

Lo! there the wonders of Euphrasia's arm! Pho. And is the proud one fallen! The dawn shall see him

A spectacle for public view. Euphrasia!
Evander too! Thus to behold you both-

Evan. To her direct thy looks; there fix thy
praise,

And gaze with wonder there. The
life I gave
her,

Oh, she has used it for the noblest ends!
To fill each duty; make her father feel
The purest joy, the heart-dissolving bliss
To have a grateful child. But has the rage
Of slaughter ceased?

Pho. It has.

Evan. Where is Timoleon?

Pho. He guards the citadel; there gives his orders

His brightest honours, shall be lavished on thee. Evander, too, will place thee near his throne; And shew mankind, even on this shore of being, That virtue still shall meet its sure reward.

Phil. I am rewarded: feelings such as mine Are worth all dignities; my heart repays me. Evan. Come, let us seek Timoleon; to his

care

I will commend ye both: for now, alas!
Thrones and dominions now no more for me.
To thee I give my crown: yes, thou, Euphrasia,
Shall reign in Sicily. And oh! ye powers,
In that bright eminence of care and peril,
Watch over all her ways; conduct and guide
The goodness you inspired; that she may prove,
If e'er distress like mine invade the land,
A parent to her people; stretch the ray
Of filial piety to times unborn,

That men may hear her unexampled virtue,
And learn to emulate THE GRECIAN DAUGHTER!
[Exeunt omnes.

VOL. I.

5 P

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