Against your state: and, fully to discharge
Myself of what I've undertaken, now
I think it fit to tell you, that your guards
Are tainted; some among them have resolved
To rescue Osmyn at the place of death.
King. Is treason, then, so near us as our guards?
Zara. Most certain; though my knowledge is
not yet

So ripe, to point at the particular men.
King. What's to be done?

Zara. That, too, I will advise.

I have, remaining in my train, some mutes,
A present once from the sultana queen,

In the grand signior's court.

infancy,

These, from their

Are practised in the trade of death; and shall (As there the custom is) in private strangle Osmyn.

Gons. My lord, the queen advises well.
King. What offering, or what recompence re-

mains

In me, that can be worthy so great services?
To cast beneath your feet the crown you've saved,
Though on the head that wears it, were too little.
Zara. Of that hereafter: but, mean time, 'tis fit
You give strict charge that none may be admitted
To see the prisoner, but such mutes as I

Shall send.

King. Who waits there?

Enter PEREZ.

On your life, take heed

That only Zara's mutes, or such who bring
Her warrant, have admittance to the Moor.
Zara. They, and no other, not the princess' self.
Per. Your majesty shall be obeyed.
King. Retire.
[Exit PEREZ.
Gons. That interdiction, so particular,
Pronounced with vehemence, against the princess,
Should have more meaning than appears barefa-
ced.

This king is blinded by his love, and heeds
It not. [Aside.]-Your majesty, sure, might have
spared

The last restraint: you hardly can suspect
The princess is confederate with the Moor.
Zara. I've heard her charity did once extend
So far, to visit him, at his request.

Gons. Ha!

King. What dost thou think, Gonsalez ? Are we not much indebted to this fair one? Gons. I am a little slow of credit, sir, In the sincerity of women's actions. Methinks this lady's hatred to the Moor Disquiets her too much; which makes it seem As if she'd rather that she did not hate him. I wish her mutes are meant to be employed As she pretends I doubt it now-Your guards Corrupted! How? By whom? Who told her so? I' th' evening Osmyn was to die; at midnight She begg'd the royal signet, to release him; In the morning he must die again; ere noon Her mutes alone must strangle him, or he'll Escape. This, put together, suits not well.

King. Yet that there's truth in what she has discovered

Is manifest, from every circumstance.
This tumult, and the lords who fled with Heli,
Are confirmation; that Alphonso lives,
Agrees expressly too, with her report.

Gons. grant it, sir; and doubt not, but in

rage

Of jealousy, she has discovered what
She now repents. It may be I'm deceived.
But why that needless caution of the princess?
What if she had seen Osmyn? Though 'twere
strange;

But if she had, what was't to her, unless
She feared her stronger charms might cause the
Moor's

Affection to revolt?

King. I thank thee, friend.

There's reason in thy doubt, and I am warned.— But think'st thou that my daughter saw this Moor?

Gons. If Osmyn be, as Zara has related, Alphonso's friend, 'tis not impossible But she might wish, on his account, to see him. King. Say'st thou? By Heaven, thou hast

roused a thought,

That, like a sudden earthquake, shakes my frame. Confusion! then my daughter's an accomplice, And plots in private with this hellish Moor!

Gons. That were too hard a thought—but
see, she comes-

"Twere not amiss to question her a little,
And try, howe'er, if I've divined aright.
If what I fear be true, she'll be concerned
For Osmyn's death, as he's Alphonso's friend:
Urge that, to try if she'll solicit for him.

Enter ALMERIA and LEONORA.
King. Your coming has prevented me, Alme-
ria;

I had determined to have sent for you. Let your attendant be dismissed; I have [LEORORA retires. To talk with you. Come near; why dost thou shake!

What mean those swollen and red-flecked eyes, that look

As they had wept in blood, and worn the night In waking anguish? Why this on the day Which was designed to celebrate thy nuptials;

rate

With damned conspirators, to take my life.
Oh, impious parricide! Now canst thou speak?
Alm. O earth! behold I kneel upon thy bosom,
And bend my flowing eyes to stream upon
Thy face, imploring thee that thou wilt yield;
Open thy bowels of compassion; take
Into thy womb the last and most forlorn
Of all thy race! Hear me, thou common parent,
-I have no parent else be thou a mother,
And step between me and the curse of him,
Who was-who was, but is no more, a father;
But brands my innocence with horrid crimes;
And, for the tender names of child and daughter,
Now calls me murderer and parricide.

King. Rise, I command thee, rise—and if thou
wouldst

Acquit thyself of these detested names,
Swear thou hast never seen that foreign dog,
Now doomed to die, that most accursed Osmyn.
Alm. Never, but as with innocence I might,
And free of all bad purposes. So Heaven's
My witness.

King. Vile equivocating wretch!
With innocence! Oh, patience! hear-she owns

it!

Confesses it! By Heaven, I'll have him racked, Torn, mangled, flayed, impaled-all pains and

tortures

That wit of man, or dire revenge, can think,
Shall he, accumulated, underbear.

Alm. Oh, I am lost!There fate begins to
wound.

King. Hear me; then, if thou canst, reply;
know, traitress,

I'm not to learn that cursed Alphonso lives;
Nor am I ignorant what Osmyn is.

Alm. Then all is ended, and we both must die. Since thou'rt revealed, alone thou shalt not die; And yet alone would I have died, Heaven knows, Repeated deaths, rather than have revealed thee. VOL. I.

Yes, all my father's wounding wrath, though each
Reproach cuts deeper than the keenest sword,
And cleaves my heart, I would have borne it all,
Nay, all the pains that are prepared for thee;
To the remorseless rack I would have given
This weak and tender flesh, to have been bruised
And torn, rather than have revealed thy being.
King. Hell! hell! Do I hear this, and yet en-
dure!

What! dar'st thou to my face avow thy guilt?
Hence, ere I curse-fly my just rage with speed;
Lest I forget us both, and spurn thee from me.

Alm. And yet a father! Think I am your child, Turn not your eyes away-look on me kneeling! Now, curse me if you can, now spurn me off. Did ever father curse his kneeling child? Never: for always blessings crown that posture. Nature inclines, and half way meets that duty, Stooping to raise from earth the filial reverence; For bended knees returning folding arms, With prayers, and blessings, and paternal love. Oh, hear me, then, thus crawling on the earthKing. Be thou advised, and let me go, while

more of that;

For, on my soul, he dies, though thou and I,
And all, should follow, to partake his doom.
Away, off, let me go--Call her attendants.

[LEONORA and women return. Alm. Drag me, and harrow the earth with my bare bosom;

I will not go till you have spared my husband! King. Ha! What say'st thou? Husband! Husband! damnation!

What husband! which? Who?

Alm. He, he is my husband!
King. Poison and daggers! Who?
Alm. Oh!-

Gons. Help! support her.

[Faints.

7.

Alm. Let me go, let me fall, sink deep-I'll dig, I'll dig a grave, and tear death; up I will; I'll scrape, till I collect his rotten bones, And cloath their nakedness with my own flesh; Yes, I will strip off life, and we will change: I will be death! then, though you kill my husband, He shall be mine still, and for ever mine.

King. What husband? whom dost thou mean? Gons. She raves.

Alm. Oh, that I did! Osmyn, he is my husband. King. Osmyn!

Alm. Not Osmyn, but Alphonso, is my dear And wedded husband-Heaven, and air, and seas, Ye winds and waves, I call ye all to witness.

King. Wilder than winds or waves thyself dost

rave;

Should I hear more, I too should catch thy mad

ness.

Yet somewhat she must mean of dire import, Which I'l not hear till I am more at peace. Watch her returning sense, and bring me word;

2 L

And look that she attempt not on her life.

[Exit King. Alm. Oh, stay, yet stay; hear me, I am not mad. I would to Heaven I were- -He's gone. Gons. Have comfort.

Alm. Cursed be that tongue that bids me be

of comfort!

Cursed my own tongue,, that could not move his pity!

Cursed these weak hands that could not hold him here!

For he is gone, to doom Alphonso's death. Gons. Your too excessive grief works on your fancy,

And deludes your sense. Alphonso, if living, Is far from hence, beyond your father's power.

Alm. Hence, thou detested, ill-timed flatterer, Source of my woes! thou and thy race be cursed! But doubly thou, who couldst alone have policy And fraud to find the fatal secret out, And know that Osmyn was Alphonso.

Gons. Ha!

Alm. Why dost thou start? What dost thou
see or hear?

Was it the doleful bell, tolling for death?
Or dying groans from my Alphonso's breast?
See, see, look yonder! where a grizzled, pale,
And ghastly head glares by, all smeared with
blood,

Gasping as it would speak; and after, see!
Behold, a damp, dead hand, has dropped a dagger:
I'll catch it-Hark! a voice cries murder! ah!
My father's voice! Hollow it sounds, and calls
Me from the tomb-I'll follow it; for there
I shall again behold my dear Alphonso.

[Exeunt ALMERIA and LEONORA. Gons. She's greatly grieved; nor am I less surprised.

Osmyn Alphonso! No, she over-rates
My policy; I ne'er suspected it;

Nor now had known it, but from her mistake.
Her husband, too! Ha! where is Garcia then;
And where the crown that should descend on him,
To grace the line of my posterity?

Hold, let me think-if I should tell the kingThings come to this extremity: his daughter Wedded already-what if he should yield? Knowing no remedy for what is past,

And urged by nature pleading for his child,
With which he seems to be already shaken.
And though I know he hates, beyond the grave,
Anselmo's race; yet if—that If concludes me.
To doubt, when I may be assured, is folly.
But how prevent the captive queen, who mears
To set him free? Ay, now 'tis plain. O well
Invented tale! He was Alphonso's friend.
This subtle woman will amuse the king.
If I delay-'twill do-or better so.
One to my wish.-Alonzo, thou art welcome.
Enter ALONZO.

Alon. The king expects your lordship.
Gons. 'Tis no matter.

I'm not i' th' way at present, good Alonzo.
Alon. If't please your lordship, I'll return, and

say

I have not seen you.

Gons. Do, my best Alonzo.

Yet stay, I would-but go; anon will serveYet I have that requires thy speedy help.

I think thou wouldst not stop to do me service? Alon. I am your creature.

Gons. Say thou art my friend.

I have seen thy sword do noble execution. Alon. All that it can, your lordship shall com mand.

Gons. Thanks; and I take thee at thy word. Thou'st seen,

Amongst the followers of the captive queen, Dumb men, who make their meaning known by signs?

Alon. I have, my lord.

Gons. Couldst thou procure, with speed And privacy, the wearing garb of one Of those, though purchased by his death, I'd give Thee such reward, as should exceed thy wish. Alon. Conclude it done. Where shall I wait your lordship? Gons. At my apartment. ligence;

And say, I've not been

Alonzo.

Use thy utmost di

seen-Haste, good

[Erit ALONZO

So, this can hardly fail. Alphonso slain,
The greatest obstacle is then removed.
Almeria, widowed, yet again may wed,
And I yet fix the crown on Garcia's head. [Erit

Entering, he met my eyes, and, starting back,
Frighted, and fumbling one hand in his bosom,
As to conceal the importance of his errand,
[ALONZO follows him, and returns with a paper.
Alon. A bloody proof of obstinate fidelity!
King, What dost thou mean?

Alon. Soon as I seized the man,

He snatched from out his bosom this-and strove, With rash and greedy haste, at once, to cram The morsel down his throat. I caught his arm, And hardly wrenched his hand to wring it from him;

Which done, he drew a poniard from his side, And, on the instant, plunged it in his breast. King. Remove the body thence, ere Zara see it.

Alon. I'll be so bold to borrow his attire; 'Twill quit me of my promise to Gonsalez.

[Aside. Exit. Per. Whate'er it is, the king's complexion

turns.

King. How's this! My mortal foe beneath my roof! [Having read the letter. Oh, give me patience, all ye powers! No, rather

Give me new rage, implacable revenge,
And trebled fury-Ha! who's there?
Per. My lord.

King. Hence, slave! how dar'st thou bide to watch, and pry

nto how poor a thing a king descends, How like thyself, when passion treads him down! da! stir not, on thy life; for thou wert fixed, And planted here, to see me gorge this bait, And lash against the hook-by Heaven, you're

Per. It was your majesty's command I should❘ Obey her order.

King. [Reading.] And still will I set Chce free, Alphonso'-Hell! cursed, cursed Alphonso!

False and perfidious Zara! Strumpet daughter! Away, begone, thou feeble boy, fond Love! All nature, softness, pity, and compassion, This hour I throw ye off, and entertain Fell hate within my breast, revenge and gall 3y Heaven, I'll meet, and counterwork this treachery.

Hark thee, villain, traitor-answer me, slave! Per. My service has not merited those titles. King. Dar'st thou reply? Take that-thy service! thine! [Strikes him.

What's thy whole life, thy soul, thy all, to my One moment's ease? Hear my command; and look

That thou obey, or horror on thy head:
Drench me thy dagger in Alphonso's heart-
Why dost thou start? Resolve, or—
Per. Sir, I will.

King. 'Tis well-that when she comes to set
him free,

His teeth may grin, and mock at her remorse. [PEREZ going.

Stay thee-I've farther thought-I will add to this,

And give her eyes yet greater disappointment:
When thou hast ended him, bring me his robe;
And let the cell, where she'll expect to see him,
Be darkened, so as to abuse the sight.

I'll be conducted thither-mark me well-
There with his turban and his robe arrayed,
And laid along, as he now lies, supine,

I shall convict her, to her face, of falsehood.
When, for Alphonso's, she shall take my hand,
And breathe her sighs upon my lips, for his;
Sudden I'll start, and dash her with her guilt.
But see, she comes. I'll shun the encounter ;
thou

Follow me, and give heed to my direction.

Enter ZARA and SELIM.

[Exeunt

Zara. The mute not yet returned! ha! 'twas

the king,

The king that parted hence! frowning he went;
His eyes, like meteors, rolled, then darted down
Their red and angry beams; as if his sight
Would, like the raging dog-star, scorch the earth,
And kindle ruin in its course: Dost think
He saw me?

Sel. Yes: but then, as if he thought
His eyes had erred, be hastily recalled
The imperfect look, and sternly turned away.
Zara. Shun me when seen! I fear thou hast
undone me.

Thy shallow artifice begets suspicion,
And, like a cobweb veil, but thinly shades
The face of thy design; alone disguising
What should have ne'er been seen, imperfect
mischief.

Thou, like the adder, venomous and deaf,
Hast stung the traveller, and after hear'st
Not his pursuing voice; even when thou think'st
To hide, the rustling leaves and bended grass
Confess, and point the path which thou hast
crept.

Oh, fate of fools! officious in contriving;
In executing, puzzled, lame, and lost.

Sel. Avert it, Heaven, that you should ever suffer

For my defect; or that the means which I
Devised to serve, should ruin your design!
Prescience is Heaven's alone, not given to man ;
If I have failed, in what, as being man,

I needs must fail, impute not as a crime
My nature's want, but punish nature in me;.
I plead not for a pardon, and to live,