Bal. Surely he is a god!
Myr.
So we Greeks deem too;
And yet I sometimes think that gorgeous orb
Must rather be the abode of gods than one
Of the immortal sovereigns. Now he breaks
Through all the clouds, and fills my eyes with light
That shuts the world out. I can look no more.
Bal. Hark! heard you not a sound?
Myr.
Myr.
Sal. I fain would live this hour out, and the event,
But doubt it. Wherefore did ye bear me here? ⚫
Sol. By the king's order. When the javelin struck
you,
You fell and fainted: 't was his strict command
To bear you to this hall.
Sal.
'T was not ill done:
No, 't was mere fancy: For, seeming slain in that cold dizzy trance,
The sight might shake our soldiers—but—'t is vain,
I feel it ebbing!
They battle it beyond the wall, and not,
As in late midnight conflict, in the very
Chambers: the palace has become a fortress
Since that insidious hour; and here, within
The very centre, girded by vast courts
And regal halls of pyramid proportions,
Which must be carried one by one before
They penetrate to where they then arrived,
We are as much shut in even from the sound
Of peril as from glory.
I heard the soldiers say he struck him down.
Myr. The wretch was over.hrown, but rescued to
Triumph, perhaps, o'er one who vanquish'd him
In fight, as he had spared him in his peril;
And by that heedless pity risk'd a crown.
Bal. Hark!
Hence, I say! Here's a courtier and
A woman, the best chamber company.
As you would not permit me to expire
Upon the field, I'll have no idle soldiers
About my sick couch. Hence! and do my bidding!
[Exeunt the Soldiers.
Myr. Gallant and glorious spirit! must the earth
Myr. You are right; some steps approach, but So soon resign thee? slowly.
Enter Soldiers, bearing in SALEMENES wounded, with a broken Javelin in his side: they seat him upon one of the Couches which furnish the Apartment.
Sal.
Gentle Myrrha, it is
The end I would have chosen, had I saved
The monarch or the monarchy by this;
As 't is, I have not outlived them.
Myr.
You wax paler.
Sal. Your hand; this broken weapon but prolongs
My pangs, without sustaining life enough
To make me useful; I would draw it forth
And my life with it, could I but hear how.
The fight goes.
"We are used to such inflictions."-E.
I thought 't was the intent
Of Salemenes not to risk a sally
Till ye were strengthen'd by the expected succours.
Sar. I over-ruled him.
Myr.
Well, the fault's a brave one.
Sar. But fatal. Oh, my brother! I would give
These realms, of which thou wert the ornament,
The sword and shield, the sole-redeeming honour,
To call back--But I will not weep for thee;
Thou shalt be mourn'd for as thou wouldst be
It grieves me most that thou couldst quit this life
Believing that I could survive what thou
Hast died for-our long royalty of race.
If I redeem it, I will give thee blood
Of thousands, tears of millions, for atonement
(The tears of all the good are thine already).
If not, we meet again soon,-if the spirit
Within us lives beyond:-thou readest mine,
And dost me justice now. Let me once clasp
That yet warm hand, and fold that throbless heart
- [Embraces the body.
To this, which beats so bitterly. Now, bear
The body hence.
Sar. Well, Pania! have you placed the guards, and issued The orders fix'd on?
Sar. And do the soldiers keep their hearts up?
Sar. I'm answer'd! When a king asks twice, and [has A question as an answer to his question, It is a portent. What! they are dishearten'd? Pan. The death of Salemenes, and the shouts Of the exulting rebels on his fall, Have made them-
Sar. Rage-not droop-it should have been. We'll find the means to rouse them.
Might sadden even a victory.
Who can so feel it as I feel? but yet,
Though coop'd within these walls, they are strong, and we [hosts, Have those without will break their way through To make their sovereign's dwelling what it was— A palace; not a prison, nor a fortress.
Enter an Officer, hastily.
Sar. Thy face seems ominous.
Offi.
Sar.
Speak!
I dare not.
Dare not?
While millions dare revolt with sword in hand!
That's strange. I pray thee break that loyal silence
Which loathes to shock its sovereign; we can hear
Worse than thou hast to tell.
Pan.
Proceed, thou hearest.
Offi. The wall which skirted near the river's brink
Is thrown down by the sudden inundation
Of the Euphrates, which now rolling, swoln
From the enormous mountains where it rises,
By the late rains of that tempestuous region,
O'erfloods its banks, and hath destroy'd the bulwark.
Pan. That's a black augury! it has been said
For ages, "That the city ne'er should yield
"To man, until the river grew its foe.”
Sar. I can forgive the omen, not the ravage.
How much is swept down of the wall?
Offi.
Some twenty stadii. (1)
Pervious to the assailants?
For the present The river's fury must impede the assault; But when he shrinks into his wonted channel, And may be cross'd by the accustom❜d barks, The palace is their own.
(1) About two miles and a half.
Though men, and gods, and elements, and omens,
Have risen up 'gainst one who ne'er provoked them,
My father's house shall never be a cave
For wolves to horde and howl in.
Pan.
With your sanction,
I will proceed to the spot, and take such measures
For the assurance of the vacant space
As time and means permit.
About it straight;
And bring me back, as speedily as full
And fair investigation may permit,
Report of the true state of this irruption
Of waters.
Myr.
Against you.
Sar.
My worthy Pania! further ties between us
Draw near a close, I pray you take this key:
[Gives a key.
It opens to a secret chamber, placed
Behind the couch in my own chamber. (Now
Press'd by a nobler weight than e'er it bore-
Though a long line of sovereigns have lain down
Along its golden frame-as bearing for
A time what late was Salemenes.) Search
The secret covert to which this will lead you;
'T is full of treasure; (2) take it for yourself
And your companions: there's enough to load ye,
[Exeunt PANIA and the Officer. Though ye be many. (3) Let the slaves be freed, too; Thus the very waves rise up
They are not my subjects, girl,
And may be pardon'd, since they can't be punish'd.
Myr. I joy to see this portent shakes you not.
Sur. I am past the fear of portents; they can tell
Nothing I have not told myself since midnight: [me
Despair anticipates such things.
Sar, No; not despair precisely. When we know
All that can come, and how to meet it, our
Resolves, if firm, may merit a more noble
Word than this is to give it utterance.
But what are words to us? we have well nigh done
With them and all things.
And all the inmates of the palace, of
Whatever sex, now quit it in an hour.
Thence launch the regal barks, once form'd for plea-
And now to serve for safety, and embark.
The river's broad and swoln, and uncommanded
(More potent than a king) by these besiegers.
Fly! and be happy!
Under your protection!
So you accompany your faithful guard.
Sar. No, Pania! that must not be; get thee hence
And leave me to my fate.
I ever disobey'd: but now
Sar.
So all men
Dare beard me now, and Insolence within
Save one deed-the last Apes Treason from without! Question no further;
'T is my command, my last command.
Oppose it? thou!
And greatest to all mortals; crowning act
Of all that was—or is—or is to be-
The only thing common to all mankind,
So different in their births, tongues, sexes, natures,
Hues, features, climes, times, feelings, intellects, (1)
Without one point of union save in this,
To which we tend, for which we're born, and thread
The labyrinth of mystery, call'd life.
Sar. Our clew being well nigh wound out,
be cheerful.
They who have nothing more to fear may well
Indulge a smile at that which once appall'd;
As children at discover'd bugbears.
Well, then,
Swear that you will obey when I shall give
The signal.
Pan. With a heavy but true heart,
I promise.
'Tis enough. Now order here
Faggots, pine-nuts, and wither'd leaves, and such (4)
Things as catch fire and blaze with one sole sp k;
Bring cedar, too, and precious drugs, and spices,
And mighty planks, to nourish a tall pile;
Bring frankincense and myrrh, too, for it is
For a great sacrifice I build the pyre;
And heap them round yon throne.
Pan.
As was reported: I have order'd there
A double guard, withdrawing from the wall
Where it was strongest the required addition,
To watch the breach occasion'd by the waters.
Sar. You have done your duty faithfully; and as, Without a vow.
"Complexions, climes, eras, and intellects."-E.
(2) "Athenæus makes these treasures amount to a thousand myriads of talents of gold, and ten times as many talents of silver, which is a sum that exceeds all credibility. A man is lost if he attempts to sum up the whole value; which induces me to believe that Athenæus must have very much exaggerated; however, we
And could keep my faith
[Exit PANIA
may be assured, from his account, that the treasures were immensely great." Rollin.
"Ye will find the crevice To which the key fits, with a little care."--E. (4) In the MS.
Enough of dry wood," etc.-E.
Her. (showing a ring.) Be sure that he is now In the camp of the conquerors; behold His signet-ring.
Sar 'Tis his. A worthy triad! Poor Salemenes! thou hast died in time To see one treachery the less: this man Was thy true friend and my most trusted subject. Proceed.
Her. They offer thee thy life, and freedom Of choice to single out a residence
In any of the further provinces,
Guarded and watch'd, but not confined in person,
Where thou shalt pass thy days in peace ; but on Condition that the three young princes are
Given up as hostages.
Sar. (ironically.) The generous victors! Her. I wait the answer.
Have slaves decided on the doom of kings?
Her. Since they were free.
Sar.
Mouthpiece of mutiny!
Thou at the least shalt learn the penalty
Of treason, though its proxy only. Pania!
Let his head be thrown from our walls within
The rebels' lines, his carcass down the river.
Away with him!
[PANIA and the Guards seizing him. Pan. I never yet obey'd
Your orders with more pleasure than the present. Hence with him, soldiers! do not soil this hall Of royalty with treasonable gore;
My life waits your breath
Yours (I speak humbly)-but it may be yours
May also be in danger scarce less imminent:
Would it then suit the last hours of a line
Such as is that of Nimrod, to destroy
A peaceful herald, unarm'd, in his office;
And violate not only all that man
Holds sacred between man and man-but that
More holy tie which links us with the gods?
Sar. He's right.-Let him go free.-My life's last Shall not be one of wrath. Here, fellow, take
[Gives him a golden cup from a table near. This golden goblet, let it hold your wine, And think of me; or melt it into ingots, And think of nothing but their weight and value. Her. I thank you doubly, for my life and this Most gorgeous gift, which renders it more precious. But must I bear no answer?
Higher, my good soldiers,
And thicker yet; and see that the foundation
Be such as will not speedily exhaust
Its own too subtle flame: nor yet be quench'd
With aught officious aid would bring to quell it.
Let the throne form the core of it; I would not
Leave that, save fraught with fire unquenchable,
To the new-comers. Frame the whole as if
'T were to enkindle the strong tower of our
Myr. But not so rare, my Pania, as thou think'st it.
In the mean time, live thou.-Farewell! the pile
Is ready.
Pan. I should shame to leave my sovereign
With but a single female to partake
His death.
Sar. Too many far have heralded
Me to the dust already. Get thee hence;
Enrich thee.
Thy vow:-'t is sacred and irrevocable.
Pan. Since it is so, farewell.
Sar.
Search well my chamber,
Feel no remorse at bearing off the gold;
Remember, what you leave you leave the slaves
Who slew me and when you have borne away
All safe off to your boats, blow one long blast
Upon the trumpet as you quit the palace.
The river's brink is too remote, its stream
Too loud at present, to permit the echo
To reach distinctly from its banks. Then fly,
And as you sail, turn back; but still keep on
Your way along the Euphrates: if you reach
The land of Paphlagonia, where the queen
Is safe with my three sons in Colta's court,
Say, what you saw at parting, and request
That she remember what I said at one
Parting more mournful still.
Let me then once more press it to my lips;
There be I shall know soon. Farewell-Farewell.
[Exeunt PANIA and Soldiers.
Myr. These men were honest: it is comfort still
That our last look should be on loving faces.
Sar. And lovely ones, my beautiful!—but hear
If at this moment,-for we now are on [me!
The brink,-thou feel'st an inward shrinking from
This leap through flame into the future, say it:
I shall not love thee less; nay, perhaps more,
For yielding to thy nature: and there's time
Yet for thee to escape hence.
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It may be, purified by death from some
Of the gross stains of too material being,
I would not leave your ancient first abode
To the defilement of usurping bondmen;
If I have not kept your inheritance
As ye bequeath'd it, this bright part of it,
Your treasure, your abode, your sacred relics
Of arms, and records, monuments, and spoils
In which they wou'd have revell'd, I bear with me
To you in that absorbing element
Which most personifies the soul, as leaving
The least of matter unconsumed before
Its fiery workings:-and the light of this
Most royal of funereal pyres shall be
Not a mere pillar form'd of cloud and flame,
A beacon in the horizon for a day,
And then a mount of ashes, but a light
To lesson ages, rebel nations, and
Voluptuous princes. Time shall quench full many
A people's records, and a hero's acts;
Sweep empire after empire, like this first
Of empires, into nothing; but even then
Shall spare this deed of mine, and hold it up
A problem few dare imitate, and none
Despise-but, it may be, avoid the life
And these poor soldiers who throng round you, and Which led to such a consummation.
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