Now join thy people's and thy Cali's prayers;
Suspend thy passage to the seats of bliss,
Nor wish for Houries in Irene's arms.

Forbear-I know the long-try'd faith of Cali.

CALI.

O! could the eyes of kings, like those of Heav'n,
Search to the dark recesses of the soul,

Oft would they find ingratitude and treason,
By smiles, and oaths, and praises, ill disguis'd.
How rarely would they meet, in crowded courts,
Fidelity so firm, so pure, as mine.

MUSTAPHA.

Yet, ere we give our loosen'd thoughts to rapture,
Let prudence obviate an impending danger:
Tainted by sloth, the parent of sedition,
The hungry Janizary burns for plunder,
And growls in private o'er his idle sabre.

MAHOMET.

To still their murmurs, ere the twentieth sun
Shall shed his beams upon the bridal bed,
I rouse to war, and conquer for Irene.

Then shall the Rhodian mourn Iris sinking tow'rs,
And Buda fall, and proud Vienna tremble:
Then shall Venetia feel the Turkish pow'r,
And subject seas roar round their queen in vain.

ABDALLA.

Then seize fair Italy's delightful coast,
To fix your standard in imperial Rome.

MAHOMET.

Her sons malicious clemency shall spare,
To form new legends, sanctify new crimes,
To canonize the slaves of superstition,
And fill the world with follies and impostures,
Till angry Heav'n shall mark them out for ruin,
And war o'erwhelm them in their dream of vice.
O, could her fabled saints and boasted prayers
Call forth her ancient heroes to the field,

How should I joy, 'midst the fierce shock of nations,
To cross the tow'rings of an equal soul,

And bid the master genius rule the world!
Abdalla, Cali, go-proclaim my purpose.

[Exeunt Cali and Abdalla.

SCENE VI.

MAHOMET, MUSTAPHA.

MAHOMET.

Still Cali lives and must he live to-morrow?
That fawning villain's forc'd congratulations
Will cloud my triumphs, and pollute the day.

MUSTAPHA.

With cautious vigilance, at my command,
Two faithful captains, Hasan and Caraza,
Pursue him through his labyrinths of treason,
And wait your summons to report his conduct.

MAHOMET.

Call them-but let them not prolong their tale, Nor press too much upon a lover's patience. [Exit Mustapha

SCENE VII.

MAHOMET, Solus.

Whome'er the hope, still blasted, still renew'd,
Of happiness lures on from toil to toil,

Remember Mahomet, and cease thy labour,
Behold him here, in love, in war, successful,
Behold him wretched in his double triumph;
His fav'rite faithless, and his mistress base.
Ambition only gave her to my arms,
By reason not convinc'd, nor won by love.
Ambition was her crime; but meaner folly
Dooms me to loath at once, and doat on falsehood,
And idolize th' apostate I contemn.

If thou art more than the gay dream of fancy,
More than a pleasing sound without a meaning,
O happiness! sure thou art all Aspasia's.

SCENE VIIL

MAHOMET, MUSTAPHA, HASAN, CARAZA.

MAHOMET.

Caraza, speak-have ye remark'd the Bassa?

CARAZA.

Close, as we might unseen, we watch'd his steps; His hair disorder'd, and his gait unequal,

Betray'd the wild emotions of his mind.

Sudden he stops, and inward turns his eyes,

Absorb'd in thought; then, starting from his trance, Constrains a sullen smile, and shoots away.

With him Abdalla we beheld

He wears of late resentment on his brow,

Deny'd the government of Servia's province.

CARAZA.

We mark'd him storming in excess of fury,
And heard, within the thicket that concealed us,
An undistinguish'd sound of threat'ning rage.

MUSTAPHA,

How guilt, once harbour'd in the conscious breast,
Intimidates the brave, degrades the great;

See Cali, dread of kings, and pride of armies,
By treason levell'd with the dregs of men!
Ere guilty fear depress'd the hoary chief,
An angry murmur, a rebellious frown,
Had stretch'd the fiery boaster in the grave.

MAHOMET.

Shall monarchs fear to draw the sword of justice, Aw'd by the crowd, and by their slaves restrain'd? Seize him this night, and through the private passage Convey him to the prison's inmost depths,

Reserv'd to all the pangs of tedious death,

[Exeunt Mahomet and Mustapha.

SCENE IX.

HASAN, CARAZA.

HASAN.

Shall then the Greeks, unpunish'd and conceal'd,
Contrive perhaps the ruin of our empire,

League with our chiefs, and propagate sedition?

CARAZA.

Whate'er their scheme, the Bassa's death defeats it,
And gratitude's strong ties restrain my tongue.

HASAN.

What ties to slaves? what gratitude to foes?

CARAZA.

In that black day when slaughter'd thousands fell
Around these fatal walls, the tide of war
Bore me victorious onward, where Demetrius
Tore unresisted from the giant hand

Of stern Sebalias the triumphant crescent,

And dash'd the might of Asam from the ramparts.
There I became, nor blush to make it known,
The captive of his sword. The coward Greeks,
Enrag'd by wrongs, exulting with success,
Doom'd me to die with all the Turkish captains;
But brave Demetrius scorn'd the mean revenge,
And gave me life.-

HASAN.

Do thou repay the gift,

Lest unrewarded mercy lose its charms.