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Myrrha. And I would ask if this your

palace were

Unroof'd and desolate, how many flatterers Would lick the dust in which the king lay low?

Altada. The fair Ionian is too sarcastic Upon a nation whom she knows not well; The Assyrians know no pleasure but their king's,

And homage is their pride.

Sard. Nay, pardon, guests,

The fair Greek's readiness of speech.
Altada. Pardon! sire:

We honour her of all things next to thee.

Hark! what was that?

Zames. That! nothing but the jar

Of distant portals shaken by the wind.

The rebels, fighting inch by inch, and
forming

An orb around the palace, where they mean
To centre all their force, and save the king.
(He hesitates.) I am charged to—
Myrrha. 'Tis no time for hesitation.
Pania. Prince Salemenes doth implore
the king

To arm himself, although but for a moment,
And show himself unto the soldiers: his
Sole presence in this instant might do more
Than hosts can do in his behalf.

Sard. What, ho!

My armour there.

Myrrha. And wilt thou?

Sard. Will I not?

Ho, there!--But seek not for the buckler; 'tis

Altada. It sounded like the clash of-Too heavy:-a light cuirass and my sword.

hark again!

Zames. The big rain pattering on the roof.
Sard. No more.

Myrrha, my love, hast thou thy shell in
order?

Sing me a song of Sappho, her, thou knowst,
Who in thy country threw-

Enter PANIA, with his sword and garments
bloody, and disordered. The Guests rise in
confusion.

Pania (to the guards). Look to the portals; And with your best speed to the wall without.

Your arms! To arms! The king's in danger.
Monarch!

Excuse this haste,-'tis faith.
Sard. Speak on.
Pania. It is

As Salemenes fear'd; the faithless satraps-
Sard. You are wounded give some
wine. Take breath, good Pania.
Pania. "Tis nothing-a mere flesh-wound,
I am worn

More with my speed to warn my sovereign,
Than hurt in his defence.

Myrrha. Well, sir, the rebels.

Pania. Soon as Arbaces and Beleses
reach'd

Their stations in the city, they refused
To march and on my attempt to use the
power

Which I was delegated with, they call'd
Upon their troops, who rose in fierce defiance.
Myrrha. All?

Pania. Too many.

Sard. Sparc not of thy free speech
To spare mine ears the truth.

Pania. My own slight guard
Were faithful-and what's left of it is still so.
Myrrha. And are these all the force still
faithful?

Pania. No

Where are the rebels?

Pania. Scarce a furlong's length
From the outward wall the fiercest conflict

rages.

Sard. Then I may charge on horseback.

Sfero, ho!

Myrrha.

Order my horse out.-There is space enough
Even in our courts, and by the outer gate,
To marshal half the horsemen of Arabia.
[Exit Sfero for the armour.
How I do love thee!
Sard. I ne'er doubted it.
Myrrha. But now I know thee.
Sard. (to his Attendant) Bring down my
spear, too.-
Where's Salemenes?

Pania. Where a soldier should be,
In the thick of the fight.

Sard. Then hasten to him-Is
The path still open, and communication
Left 'twixt the palace and the phalanx ?
Pania. 'Twas

When I late left him, and I have no fear:
Our troops were steady, and the phalanx
form'd.

Sard. Tell him to spare his person for

the present,

And that I will not spare my own--and say,
I come.

Pania. There's victory in the very word.
[Exit Pania.
Sard. Altada-Zames-forth and arm ye!

There

Is all in readiness in the armoury.
See that the women are bestow'd in safety
In the remote apartments: let a guard
Be set before them, with strict charge to quit
The post but with their lives-command it,
Zames.

Altada, arm yourself, and return here;
Your post is near our person.

[Excunt Zames, Altada, and all save
Myrrha.

The Bactrians, now led on by Salemenes,
Who even then was on his way, still urged
By strong suspicion of the Median chiefs,
Are numerous, and make strong head against Sfero. King! your armour.

Enter SFERO and others with the King's
Arms.

Sard. (arming himself) Give me the | And the helm not at all. Methinks, I seem cuirass-so: my baldric; now [Flings away the helmet after trying it again.

My sword: I had forgot the helm, where

is it?

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This is of better metal, though less rich. .Sard. You deem'd! Are you too turn'd a rebel? Fellow!

Your part is to obey: return, and-noIt is too late-I will go forth without it. Sfero. At least wear this.

Sard. Wear Caucasus! why, 'tis A mountain on my temples.

Sfero. Sire, the meanest

Soldier goes not forth thus exposed to battle. All men will recognize you-for the storm Has ceased, and the moon breaks forth in her brightness.

Sard. go forth to be recognized, and thus Shall be so sooner. Now my spear! I'm arm'd.

[In going stops short, and turns to Sfero. Sfero-I had forgotten--bring the mirror. Sfero. The mirror, sire?

Sard. Yes, sir, of polish'd brass, Brought from the spoils of India-but be speedy. [Exit Sfero. Myrrha, retire unto a place of safety. Why went you not forth with the other damsels?

Myrrha. Because my place is here.
Sard. And when I am gone-

Myrrha. I follow.

Sard. You! to battle?

Myrrha. If it were so,

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Passing well in these toys; and now to prove them.

Altada! Where's Altada?
Sfero. Waiting, sire,

Without: he has your shield in readiness.
Sard. True; I forget he is my shield-

bearer

more

By right of blood, derived from age to age. Myrrha embrace me; yet once more—once Love me, whate'er betide. My chiefest glory Shall be to make me worthier of your love. Myrrha. Go forth, and conquer!

[Exeunt Sardanapalus and Sfero. Now, I am alone.

All are gone forth, and of that all how few Perhaps return. Let him but vanquish, and Me perish! If he vanquish not, I perish; For I will not outlive him. He has wound About my heart, I know not how nor why. Not for that he is king; for now his kingdom

Rocks underneath his throne, and the earth yawns

To yield him no more of it than a grave; And yet I love him more. Oh, mighty Jove! Forgive this monstrous love for a barbarian, Who knows not of Olympus: yes, I love him Now, now, far more than-Hark-to the war-shout!

Methinks it nears me. If it should be so, [She draws forth a small vial. This cunning Colchian poison, which my

father

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Long ere this hour, but that I loved, until I half forgot I was a slave:--where all

"Twere not the first Greek girl had trod the Are slaves save one, and proud of servitude,

path.

I will await here your return.
Sard. The place

Is spacious, and the first to be sought out,
If they prevail; and, if it should be so,
And I return not-

Myrrha. Still, we meet again.
Sard. How?

Myrrha. In the spot where all must
meet at last-

In Hades! if there be, as I believe,

A shore beyond the Styx; and if there be not, In ashes.

Sard. Dar'st thou so much? Myrrha. I dare all things, Except survive what I have loved, to be A rebel's booty: forth, and do your bravest.

Re-enter SFERO with the mirror.

So they are served in turn by something lower

In the degree of bondage, we forget
That shackles worn like ornaments no less
Are chains. Again that shout! and now
the clash

Of arms-and now-and now

Enter ALTADA.

Altada. Ho, Sfero, ho!

Myrrha. He is not here; what wouldst thou with him? How

Goes on the conflict?

Altada. Dubiously and fiercely.
Myrrha. And the king?

Altada. Like a king. I must find Sfero, And bring him a new spear and his own helmet.

He fights till now bare-headed, and by far Sard. (looking at himself) This cuirass fits Too much exposed. The soldiers knew his

me well, the baldric better,

face,

And the foe too; and in the moon's broad

light,

His silk tiara and his flowing hair
Make him a mark too royal. Every arrow
Is pointed at the fair hair and fair features,
And the broad fillet which crowns both.
Myrrha. Ye gods,

Pania. And charged me to secure your life, And beg you to live on for his sake, till He can rejoin you.

Myrrha. Will he then give way?

Pania. Not till the last. Still, still he does whate'er

Despair can do; and step by step disputes

Who fulmine o'er my fathers' land, protect The very palace.

him!

Were you sent by the king?

Altada. By Salemenes,

Who sent me privily upon this charge, Without the knowledge of the careless sovereign.

The king! the king fights as he revels! ho! What, Sfero! I will seek the armoury, He must be there. [Exit Altada. Myrha. Tis no dishonour-no— 'Tis no dishonour to have loved this man. I almost wish now, what I never wish'd Before, that he were Grecian. If Alcides Were shamed in wearing Lydian Omphale's She-garb, and wielding her vile distaff; surely

He, who springs up a Hercules at once, Nursed in effeminate arts from youth to manhood,

And rushes from the banquet to the battle, As though it were a bed of love, deserves That a Greek girl should be his paramour, And a Greek bard his minstrel, a Greek tomb His monument. How goes the strife, sir?

Enter an Officer.

Officer. Lost, Lost almost past recovery. Zames! Where Is Zames?

Myrrha. Posted with the guard appointed To watch before the apartment of the women. [Exit Officer. Myrrha. He's gone; and told no more than that all's lost!

What need have I to know more? In those words,

Those little words, a kingdom and a king,
A line of thirteen ages, and the lives
Of thousands, and the fortune of all left
With life, are merged: and I, too, with

the great,

Like a small bubble breaking with the wave Which bore it, shall be nothing. At the least

My fate is in my keeping: no proud victor Shall count me with his spoils.

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Myrrha. They are here, then:—ay, Their shouts come ringing through the ancient halls,

Never profaned by rebel echoes till
This fatal night. Farewell, Assyria's line!
Farewell to all of Nimrod! Even the name
Is now no more.

Pania. Away with me-away!

Myrrha. No; I'll die here!-Away, and tell your king

I loved him to the last.

Enter SARDANAPALUS and SALEMENES with Soldiers. PANIA quits MYRRHA, and ranges himself with them.

Sard. Since it is thus,

We'll die where we were born-in our own halls.

Serry your ranks-stand firm. I have despatch'd

A trusty satrap for the guard of Zames,
All fresh and faithful; they'll be here anon.
All is not over.-Pania, look to Myrrha.

[Pania returns towards Myrrha. Sal. We have breathing time: yet one more charge, my friendsOne for Assyria!

Sard. Rather say for Bactria! My faithful Bactrians, I will henceforth be King of your nation, and we'll hold together This realm as province.

Sal. Hark! they come-they come. Enter BELESES and ARBACES with the Rebels. Arbaces. Set on, we have them in the toil. Charge! Charge!

Beleses. On! on!-Heaven fights for us and with us.-On!

[They charge the King and Salemenes with their Troops, who defend themselves till the arrival of Zames with the Guard before mentioned. The Rebels are then driven off, and pursued by Salemenes, etc. As the King is going to join the pursuit, Beleses crosses him. Beleses. Ho! tyrant-I will end this war. Sard. Even so,

My warlike priest, and precious prophet, and Grateful and trusty subject:-yield, I pray

thee.

I would reserve thee for a fitter doom,
Rather than dip my hands in holy blood.
Beleses. Thine hour is come.
Sard. No, thine.-I've lately read,
Though but a young astrologer, the stars;
And ranging round the zodiac, found thy

fate

In the sign of the Scorpion, which proclaims | His silken son to save it: he defies
That thou wilt now be crush'd.

Beleses. But not by thee.

[They fight; Beleses is wounded and disarmed.

Sard. (raising his sword to despatch him

exclaims-)

Now call upon thy planets, will they shoot From the sky to preserve their seer and credit?

[A party of Rebels enter and rescue Beleses. They assail the King, who, in turn, is rescued by a party of his Soldiers, who drive the Rebels off. The villain was a prophet after all. Upon them-ho! there-victory is ours. [Exit in pursuit. Myrrha (to Pania). Pursue! Why standst thou here, and leavest the ranks Offellow-soldiers conquering without thee? Pania. The king's command was not to quit thee.

Myrrha. Me!

Think not of me-a single soldier's arm Must not be wanting now. I ask no guard, I need no guard: what, with a world at stake, Keep watch upon a woman? Hence, I say, Or thou art shamed! Nay, then, I will go forth,

A feeble female, 'midst their desperate strife, And bid thee guard me there—where thou shouldst shield

Thy sovereign.
[Exit Myrrha.
Pania. Yet stay, damsel! She is gone.
If aught of ill betide her, better I
Had lost my life. Sardanapalus holds her
Far dearer than his kingdom, yet he fights
For that too; and can I do less than him,
Who never flesh'd a scimitar till now?
Myrrha, return, and I obey you, though
In disobedience to the monarch.

[Exit Pania. Enter ALTADA, and SFERO by an opposite door.

Altada. Myrrha!

What, gone? yet she was here when the fight raged,

And Pania also. Can aught have befallen them?

Sfero. I saw both safe, when late the rebels fled:

They probably are but retired to make
Their way back to the harem.

Altada. If the king

Prove victor, as it seems even now he must, And miss his own Ionian, we are doom'd To worse than captive rebels.

Sfero. Let us trace them;

She cannot be fled far; and, found, she

makes

A richer prize to our soft sovereign

Than his recover'd kingdom.

Altada. Baal himself

All augury of foes or friends; and like The close and sultry summer's day, which bodes

A twilight-tempest, bursts forth in such

thunder

As sweeps the air and deluges the earth. The man's inscrutable.

Sfero. Not more than others. All are the sons of circumstance; away— Let's seek the slave out, or prepare to be Tortured for his infatuation, and Condemn'd without a crime.

[Exeunt.

Enter SALEMENES and Soldiers.
Sal. The triumph is
Flattering: they are beaten backward from
the palace,

And we have open'd regular access
To the troops station'd on the other side
Euphrates, who may still be true; nay,
must be,

When they hear of our victory. But where
Is the chief victor? where's the king?
Enter SARDANAPALUS, cum suis, and
MYRRHA.

Sard. Here, brother.
Sal. Unhurt, I hope.

Sard. Not quite; but let it pass.
We've clear'd the palace—

Sal. And, I trust, the city. Our numbers gather; and I have order'd onward

A cloud of Parthians, hitherto reserved, All fresh and fiery, to be pour'd upon them In their retreat, which soon will be a flight. Sard. It is already, or at least they march'd

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Ne'er fought more fiercely to win empire, With greater strength than the grape ever

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My charge upon the rebels. Where's the As a lute's pierceth through the cymbal's

soldier

Who gave me water in his helmet?

One of the Guards. Slain, sire! An arrow pierced his brain, while, scattering The last drops from his helm, he stood in act To place it on his brows.

Sard. Slain! unrewarded! And slain to serve my thirst: that's hard, poor slave!

Had he but lived, I would have gorged him with

Gold: all the gold of earth could ne'er repay The pleasure of that draught; for I was parch'd

As I am now. [They bring water-he drinks. I live again-from henceforth The goblet I reserve for hours of love, But war on water.

Sal. And that bandage, sire,

Which girds your arm?

Sard. A scratch from brave Beleses. Myrrha. Oh! he is wounded! Sard. Not too much of that; And yet it feels a little stiff and painful, Now I am cooler.

Myrrha. You have bound it with-
Sard. The fillet of my diadem: the first
time

That ornament was ever aught to me
Save an incumbrance.

Myrrha (to the Attendants). Summon
speedily

A leech of the most skilful: pray, retire; I will unbind your wound and tend it.

Sard. Do so,

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clash,

Jarr'd but not drown'd by the loud battling; her

Waved arms, more dazzling with their own-born whiteness

Than the steel her hand held, which she caught up

From a dead soldier's grasp; all these things made

Her seem unto the troops a prophetess
Of victory, or Victory herself,
Come down to hail us hers.

Sal. (aside) This is too much:
Again the love-fit's on him, and all's lost,
Unless we turn his thoughts.

(Aloud.) But pray thee, sire, Think of your wound-you said even now 'twas painful.

Sard. That's true, too; but I must not think of it.

Sal. I have look'd to all things needful, and will now

Receive reports of progress made in such Orders as I had given, and then return To hear your further pleasure.

Sard. Be it so.

Sal. (in retiring) Myrrha!
Myrrha. Prince!

Sal. You have shown a soul to-night, Which, were he not my sister's lord→ But now

I have no time: thou lov'st the king?
Myrrha. I love

Sardanapalus.

Sal. But wouldst have him king still? Myrrha. I would not have him less than

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Myrrha. There needed not the voice of
Salemenes

To urge me on to this: I will not fail.
All that a woman's weakness can-

Sal. Is power Omnipotent o'er such a heart as his; Exert it wisely. [Exit Salemenes. Sard. Myrrha! what, at whispers With my stern brother? I shall soon be jealous.

Myrrha (smiling). You have cause, sire; for on the earth there breathes not A man more worthy of a woman's love— A soldier's trust—a subject's reverence— A king's esteem-the whole world's admi

ration!

Sard. Praise him, but not so warmly. I must not

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