Mahomet. A chosen troop.....to intercept.....Demetrius..... The queen requested.....Wretch, repeat the message; traitor. . Murza: The queen requested............ Mahomet. Who? the dead Irene ? Was she then guiltless! has my thoughtless rage Ye slaves of cruelty, ye tools of rage, Ye blind officious ministers of folly, [To Has. and Car. Could not her charms repress your zeal for murder? Could not her pray'rs, her innocence, her tears, Suspend the dreadful sentence for an hour? One hour had freed me from the fatal error ! One hour had sav❜d me from despair and madness. Caraza. Your fierce impatience forc'd us from your presence, Urg'd us to speed, and bade us banish pity, Nor trust our passions with her fatal charms. Mahomet. What hadst thou lost by slighting those commands? Thy life, perhaps.....Were but Irene spar'd, Well if a thousand lives like thine had perish'd; Great is thy wo! But think, illustrious Sultan, Rush to the war, display thy dreadful banners, Mahomet. Robb'd of the maid with whom I wish'd to triumph, Remorse and anguish seize on all my breast; Those groves, whose shades embower'd the dear Irene Heard her last cries, and fann'd her dying beauties, Shall hide me from the tasteless world for ever. [Mahomet goes back, and returns. Yet, ere I quit the sceptre of dominion, Let one just act conclude the hateful day. Hew down, ye guards, those vassals of destruction, [Pointing to Hasan and Caraza. Those hounds of blood, that catch the hint to kill, Bear off with eager haste th' unfinish'd sentence, Then hear, great Mahomet, the voice of truth. Mahomet. Hear! shall I hear thee! didst thou hear Irene ? Caraza. Hear but a moment. Mahomet. Hadst thou heard a moment, Thou might'st have liv'd, for thou hadst spar'd Irene. Caraza. I heard her, pitied her, and wish'd to save her. Mahomet. And wish'd.....be still thy fate to wish in vain. I heard, and soften'd, till Abdalla brought Mahomet. Abdalla brought her doom! Abdalla brought it! Hasan. Abdalla brought it, While yet she begg❜d to plead her cause before thee.' Mahomet. O seize me, Madness.....Did she call on me! I feel, I see the ruffian's barb'rous rage. He seiz'd her melting in the fond appeal, And stopp'd the heav'nly voice that call'd on me. Which murder'd innocence that call'd on me. [Exit Mahomet; Abdalla is dragged off. SCENE XIII. HASAN, CARAZA, MUSTAPHA, MURZA. Mustapha to Murza. What plagues, what tortures, are in store for thee, Thou sluggish idler, dilatory slave ! Behold the model of consummate beauty, Torn from the mourning earth by thy neglect. Murza. Such was the will of Heav'n.....A band of Greeks, That mark'd my course, suspicious of my purpose, Rush'd out and seiz'd me, thoughtless and unarm❜d, Breathless, amaz'd, and on the guarded beach Detain'd me, till Demetrius set me free. Mustapha. So sure the fall of greatness, rais'd on crimes! When haughty guilt exults with impious joy, EPILOGUE, BY SIR WILLIAM YOUNG. MARRY a Turk! a haughty, tyrant king! Besides, he has fifty wives, and who can bear 'Tis true, the fellow's handsome, straight, and tall, In vain proud man usurps what's woman's due; For us alone, they honour's paths pursue; Inspir'd by us, they glory's heights ascend; Woman the source, the object, and the end. Though wealth, and pow'r, and glory, they receive, These all are trifles to what we can give. For us the statesman labours, hero fights, Bears toilsome days, and wakes long tedious nights; And, when blest peace has silenc'd war's alarms, Receives his full reward in Beauty's arms. |