in my Wounds and their own scourge has punisht 'em Oront If their own scourge has punish'd 'em and all The pouring Vials of immortal Wrath Have fill'd the whole embitter'd Draught of Woe May I have leave to ask that beauteous Judge Is her avenging Sword of Fate yet satisfied Clar. Satisfied Oront That Sword thou dear Divine Destroyer After such streams of Blood and piles of Graves Is the keen Death the reeking Point still drawn At poor Orontes Heart Clar. Indeed thou askst that Question Oront I would have thy Mercy answer Say thou All-Angel Sweet if angry Heaven Has emptied all its Quivers on this Head Has Clarismunda still new Bolts to Kill Clar. New Bolts No wretched King those righteous Pow'rs Have made my Wrongs that ample satisfaction I now can ask no more Oront If those kind Pow'rs Have paid thee all the whole indebted Summ May I presume to ask that fair Offended If a poor punisht Criminal his stains Wash'd with the Bloud of thousand thousand Lives From tott'ring Pow'r and falling Empire lost From all the glitt'ring Wreaths of Royal Honours Crusht to base Chains a vile inglorious Slave Say is this little Out-cast of the World Still that strange hateful Monster Clar. No Orontes Thou' rt faln so low I must not hate thee now Oront What says that Breath of Life Claris Must hate no more No suff'ring Wretch thou hast met thy Crimes Reward And Justice when her executing Aim Has struck the Blow turns her yeil'd Eyes away And sees the Guilt no more On thy proud Throne And tow'ring at thy prouder Armies head When Death met Death and Thunder grapled Thunder Orontes then in all thy circling Glories The Tyrant Lord of Pow'r was worth my Frown I could look up and hate thee down I must not Oront Then farewell Empire Thrones Dominion all The plagues of Pow'r and curse of Crowns farewel And my dear Chains and Glorious Misery Welcome For now she hates no more Chant that blest Sound Ye great Angelick Quires immortal Sweets Perfume the hallow'd Breath and bear it round The ecchoing Skies and all the list'ning Globe That Clarismunda now can hate no more My Chains my Fetters No thou Dear all Heav'n My Bracelets strings of Pearl and links of Gold But thou all Sacred Sweetness cou'd that kind Unclouding Brow to all this infinite Goodness Add one rich Blessing more cou'dst thou love too Clar. Love Love Oront Yes Love thou All-descending Goodness Turn not those beauteous Eyes away Oh Arm Those pointed Deaths no more I am no longer The black Orontes now 't was Seythia's Tyrant Pride and Ambition's Purple Devil all The burning Hells of Power that sinn'd against thee But I am now no more No thy kind Brother Like the Great Jove has crusht the tumbling Giant Script all my guilty Greatness to a little Poor naked Slave an humble crawling Wretch The Scepter'd Savage and Imperial Monster Those hideous Names all banisht from the World And I am nothing now but kneeling Love And if that pardoning Mercy Clar. Oh Orontes Thy Tears thy Penitence and to Crown all Thy murmuring Love pleads with that courting Eloquence But ha What says my Heart Oront Oh speak thou dearest Oracle of Life Breathe the Celestial Sound Methinks I saw The pitying God in those relenting Eyes Just issuing down with all his glitt'ring Mercy But those seal'd Lips shut up the lovely Paradise And cruelty hold back the kind descending Heav'n Clar. Well Prince if I must speak But oh forgive My blushing weakness when these Eyes must tell thee That thou hast conquer'd thou hast conquer'd King My tenderest melting Souls all softest Pity Oront And cou'd that softest Pity Claris Aske no more For beyond Pity 't is all vast Eternity The All my utmost Life can ever give thee Oront The All. Claris Alas my Love 's beyond my Pow'r But I have given too much Hence from my Sight For from this Hour I ne'r must see thee more Oront No more Claris Retire without Reply lest my reviving Wrongs Recall my prodigal blushing Mercy back Yes Fly to some far corner of the Earth Whilst I have pow'r to give thy pitied Sufferings This last kind Tribute from my melting Eyes Go and bear with thee round the wander'd World A Sigh from Clarismunda Oront 'T is enough That Sigh that Pity all Eternal Bliss And Gods I ask no more But Madam when I fly from those dear Eyes The wander'd World will be too short a Walk No Clarismunda Love's last Race must run Beyond the narrow Travels of the Sun Far above Worlds and Days dull mortal Light Thus he takes Wing and thus sets out his Flight Stabs hiwself Clar. By thy own Hand thy Hearts last pouring Flood Oh King so kind a Stream this rich atoning Sacrifice Has wash'd thee all so White and touch'd my Soul so near That I must whisper in thy dying Ear Had I a Heart to give 't were all thy own Oront Oh Divine Harmony Now I am blest Clar. Oh generous Prince thou fill'st my painting Veins With all that tender'st warmth But hast oh haste Mount the bright Stars and bear this Message with thee When thou shalt meet thy own great Martyr there Tell him thou hast left His Clarismunda a Divided Heart Thine all my Pity all my Love Orsanes Oront Yes Madam I 'll obey your blest Commands Speed speed my Posting Soul and when we meet Orsanes I 'll Rival thee in Heaven But oh how much are all My Sighs o'erpaid to die in these blest Arms How worthless is dull Life when Death 's all Charms Dies Clar. Now all the work I had on Earth is done My Dear Orsanes that long waiting Bridegroom Holds an immortal Chaplet for my Brow Shut from the World then to a Cell I 'll fly There my dear Winding-sheets my Robe of Glory Sweet Death's kind call with bending Knees I 'll stay The Trump to my great Coronation-Day Exit Scene Changes Enter Celestina and Rosalin Ros What can this mean Not Lunacy more wild Her wander'd Reason and distracted Senses Stung with that strange Tarantula Cel. Hush Mirvan Not a word Should Boys tell Tales Not for a thousand Worlds I 'll have the Secret Shut in a Marble Chest lock'd up in Graves Deep as the Center of the groaning World That not one angry murmuring God shall hear it But ha we are betray'd betray'd dear Mirvan See there that grinning Tarquin in the Hangings Looks with a listning Face and yonder Parrot Oh 't is a prating Bird The Air will breath it Winds whistle it Ravens croke it Ros Dear Madam Cel. Rosalin Ha art thou here Ros Yes Madam a poor Mourner Cel. Oh fie in Tears and on my Wedding day This is unkind Ay Girl I am to be Married Dost thou not see the Courting kneeling King Oh 't is the fondest fool to make a Husband That kind believing thing See he presents me A Bracelet strung with bleeding Lovers Hearts And every Pearl a Tear of dying
into Discourse in the mean while in dumb show with the Queen and Tygr. Amor. Mirvan dost mark that Charming Stranger there Mir. Ay and that firing King too aside to Amorin King That Lady to Artaban Art My dread Lord King That fair one Celest Shoot home my Charms now my Prophetick Glory aside Mir. Shine out fair stranger aside to Celestina Celest Boy Mir. There 's Honour near ye Tygr. Dear Sister these Resenting Murmurs speak With such an Emphasis Clar. Do they speak Brother They must act too These wrongs that find a Tongue Must find an Arm Tygranes Tygr. Yes Royall sufferer Thou shalt have Vengeance Vengeance Clarismunda If Arming Man and ayding Heaven can give it thee Clar. Do this and all my work of Life is done And when thy Sword draws bloud drink deep my Brother Remember nothing but a pile of Death Can build the Tomb of Love Build thou that Tomb For Clarismunda then I dare dye pleas'd When I have seen my blazing monument rays'd King Succeed and Challenge that Reward my Artaban to Arta. Exeunt all but Celestina and Mirvan Celest 'T is don 't is done I read it in his Eyes The Golden Shaft and all the whole Blind God Now my kind Sybill thou hast fullfill'd thy Promise And I could kneel to thank thy Charming Oracle Oh Beauty Love and Triumph wait thy Throne Hold my kind Toyl but fast the Game 's my own Exit Mir. So a poor Slave has Charms to snare a King Yes fair unknown th' Imperiall Thunderer Hangs gathering o're thee in a glittering Shower And 't is but spreading of thy Smiles before him To catch the Golden God well There 's Love for you Death what was I born for Love 's not my Province The Sweets of Life are banish't from these Lips Kind Nature stampt me in Heavens Image Man Born with a Face perhaps t' have Captived Queens Till mercinary Infamous Barbarity An Evnuch Monster basely rob'd my Cradle And left me a dull Drone of the Creation Since then the Gall and Dreggs of Life are all My Portion to requite the spightfull worlds Unkindness let me this one pleasure find To doal round my own Draught to all Mankind Finis Actus Secundi ACT. III. SCENE I. Herminia discover'd Sleeping on a couch attended by Mirvan and Amorin Song WHy do's the Idle World mistake And Love a Godhead make If Love were Heav'n like Heav'n t wou'd last And the Immortall Joys would never dye Ah no false man at ev'ry blast In broken Vows Loves fleeting Shadows fly Down then let all his Glorys fall His Templet Altars Empire all To dirt and Ashes trod For oh the Fools for oh the Fools that make blind Love a God So when fair Celia mournd to find Philander so unkind She saw the Tempest yoll too fast And all o'respread her rising Mornings dawn Her louring Fate was quite o'recast And her Ecclipsing Glorys all withdrawn But tho' there shine such fading Jemms In brittle Earthly Diadems Poor Celia ne're despair There 's Starrs above there 's starrs above to crown thee brighter there The Scene shuts and Mir. and Amo. advance upon the Stage Amor. OH Mirvan this fair Scythians Charms are sure Made up of Prodigy and the blind God Has stockt her with such Shafts her Eyes Disdain To play a lesser Game then Miracles Mir. Miracles indeed An unknown Stranger face Who or from whence Hell knows to catch a Monarch from a young Princely Bride the fair Herminia A Beauty scarce Enjoy'd The very Virgin Blushes on her Cheeks Still warme that lovelyest Rose gather'd but yesterday And all the fragrant Sweets thrown by to day Abandon'd Slighted ay and all this too By the strange Charms of such an Easy wanton That Scarce held out the Courtship of an hour But See the glittring Pageant moves this way With what Devouring ravenous Eyes he swallows The fair Destruction Amor. Put my dear Lost Mrs. The poor Herminia what a mournfull part Hast thou in this gay Scene Too unkind King Was it for this in thy first blooming Youth By thy Imperiall Fathers kind Commission A Visitant in the fair Court of India That Early Votary t' Herminia's Eyes Thou knelst at those dear Feet Sweet injur'd Goodness My heart bleeds for thee Mir. Troth so does not mine Amor. How Mirvan canst thou see our Royall Mrs. The poor neglected Queen thus Scorn'd thus Slighted Without one pitying Thought Mir. A pitying Thought Faith none at all Amor. Canst thou be Man and say this Mir. No Fool were I a man I should not say this But when the cursed Luxury of Greatness As the early brand of a Court Slave A dog a nobler Creature took Man from me It took Humanity too Spight darling Spight Amor. But See the Queen and Princess Mir. Well if this fair Scythian Wanton This white she-devil do not prove at last That firebrand that State-Firebrand as shall one day Set Persia in a Flame if this she-Phaeton Prove not at last the arrantest State-grievance E're ruin'd Monarch or Suck't Nation poor May my Propheticks be believed no more Enter Queen and Clarismunda Queen The Treasure of my soul my dear Lords Love The hoarded Mass of a whole Ages Bliss All by one midnight Thief for ever lost Clar. Indeed my Royall Sister thy sad Story Melts pity from my Eyes and trust me dear Herminia My own unhappy Load of Miseries Have drein'd these Streams so low their did not want Thy Sufferings to rayse a second Spring Queen This generous Sense of my hard Fate speaks thee So truly kind Claris. So truly just Herminia For in the deep Resentments of thy Wrongs Mine is no common Share 'T was Clarismunda Was their unfortunate Cause That infamous Creature That Scythian Devill my unhappy Favourite By my mistaken Charity to that Deluding Face the fatall Cockatrice Egg Hatcht by my warmth to all this brood of Mischiefe Queen Nay Clarismunda charge not Thy fair Virtue With so unjust a Stain Thy part was innocent When angry Providence resolves to kill It easily finds the Means Misery and Misfortune still like Weeds and poysons Shoot Alas they want a very little Root Clar. Sweet murmuring Turtle hush thy mournfull plaints And bear thy Soul above the Worlds poor spight Let thy dark shades make thy fair Truth more bright 'T is the True Diamond that shines by night And then the frowns of Fortune we out brave When Grief is not our Tyrant but our slave Exeunt Enter Orontes disguis'd attended onely by Briomar Oront Yonder she moves my louring planet moves But why do I not follow her run to her Run to my doom and catch her blasting fires Bid all her blazing Bolts of Thunder turn Court the Keen Lightning of her Eyes and burn Briom Oh Royall Sir think to what threatning Danger Will your Rash Love expose your Life and Glory Yes if bold Truth may speak to what unprincely Nay what unmanly Dangers Oront Preaching fool No more profane Reflections on a Cause So
Sir King To stand the kind Spectator of your Victory Oh the fair Hand of a soft melting Venus To buckle on the Sword of her proud Mars To plume his Crest and send him forth to Battle Tygr. Death and Confusion Queen Oh my blassed Ears Tygr. Oh thou amazing Voice of Royal Thunder Break forth from thy dark-Cloud thou louting Heav'n And say what mean these Mystick Sounds of Horror King Mean Is that a Question At this loud Hour of all thy Ecchoing Treason The crying Shame of that incestuous Devil Queen Good Gods Tygr. Oh King what false infernal Malice Dares blast the Fame of that all beauteous Truth Queen For the last Blow to all my bleeding Sufferings My Loyal Faith and all my Mourning Innocence Transform'd into this hideous Gorgon King Innocence But my tame Justice sleeps too long Sieze this brace of Monsters Tygr. Hold angry King Oh stop your headlong Fury Till the wrong'd Virtue of that brightest Saint Has wiped the spots from her fair Ermin Whiteness Stab'd the foul Falshood through the Canker'd Throat And Seer'd the Tongues of Blasphemy King No doubt on 't Run to a Camp to cool her burning Hell And in the height of the ingendring Crocadiles Whine Heav'n and Sanctity Queen How can I hear these dismal Sounds and Live Tygr. Plot rank Conspiracy The Camp That undesigning Chance the foolish Error Of an unlucky Boy But if so slight A shadow can assume a shape so dreadful Sir let the Boy be call'd the fatal Cause Of this accurst Mistake young Mirvan King How that young Bawd Dost thou call him thy Witness No thou Grand-Fiend thou know'st thy wiser Politicks Have husht that Traytor with a Dose of Poyson Tygr. Riddles and Death Still more mysterious Horror Poyson King Yes Poyson Your Midnight Purveyor your trusty Pandar In a return for all his faithful Services Your dark designs too great for that weak Counsel-keeper By a kind Drug sent Sleeping from the World But your thin Arts and all your Cobweb-Veils Tygr. Some most accursed Engine of Damnation King Dull canting Fool But hence I 'll hear no more Queen Yes Royal Sir Hear your poor wrong'd Herminia By yon fair Lamps and fairer Heav'n that lights 'em By all the hopes of my Eternal Peace King Whining Syren But Treason ne'r wants a Knee nor Guilt a Tongue Sighs Prayers and Tears are the false Tools they cheat with Take 'em away and house 'em in a Dungeon Tygr. Yet hold your mad blind Rage Till some kind God the guard of pittied Innocence In the dear Cause of that all Angel Goodness King Silence that poison'd Breath vain talking Slave Exit Tygr. Oh thou all-ruling Providence what an Ungovern'd World thy great first Mover turns If Truth has this Reward And Thou bright Virtue Thy most inhumane Wrongs hard-fated Fair Oh how can the Almighty Justice give Prevailing Hell this strange unbridl'd Pow'r Queen Yes Prince Hell has prevail'd and 't is a sad Sad Portion but if the Divine Dispenser Has so ordain'd 't is not our part to quarrel Omnipotence we may wail Misery But must not murmure at it Tygr. Miracle Of Goodness Queen No Tygranes if the Toil Of Fate is set and our pursuing Blood hounds Have caught our hunted Lives our Stars have dealt us The hardest-Lot on Earth only to purchase The fairest Crown in Heaven Enter a Messenger who speaks to the Officer that has the Custody of the Queen and Tygranes Mes 'T is the King's Pleasure That Execution be dispatch'd immediately The Queen and Prince are both those popular Darlings Delay may be unsafe and for that reason He calls this hastning blow Officer Curse on the Office Aside If forc'd Obedience to the King's Command Kneels to the Queen and Prince And the ungrateful Duty I must pay May hope a Pardon Queen If the King Commands Rise and Obey Thy Part poor Slave is innocent If he must Kill and guiltless Veins must bleed The Axe is blameless 't is the Judge that 's cruel Tygr. But cruel King thou merciless Arm of Fate Have all my Laurels And what 's more than Laurels Has that chaste Mourner deserv'd his hard hard Fate Queen What we have deserv'd Tygranes Is ours no more What we must suffer Prince Is all our Business now We must prepare For Death Death Is that all Witness ye Pow'rs That I dare Die The only pain in Dying Will be to leave a blotted Name behind me The branding Blazon of Recorded Infamy Tygr. No thou fair Saint To Die's too much fear not a Second Murder Treason and Perjury may have pow'r to Kill The Innocent but not Innocence The Martyrdom Of Honour Slander'd Truth and traduced Virtue Are so Divine a Charge that care of Providence That if no earlier Justice wakes to right 'em The very Prodigies of Heav'n and all Their aiding Miracles rise up their Champions Thy Fame Herminia must not dye though thou must Queen Shall my Fame live Nay then to death lead on Lye white my Winding-Sheet and soft my Grave But Prince must thou bleed too Herminia's Ruines Pull down thy Fate with mine Thy Blood Tygranes This is too much ye Gods How shall I make My last great Audit at th' Eternal Throne For thy unhappy Death At my own Grave There I can smile but I must weep for thine Tygr. A tear that fair rich Pearl of Life for me My poorer Veins not worth the care of Heav'n When such neglected brighter Virtue bleeds But if the generous Fair must play the Prodigal Oh! let me teach thee how to give me Blessings Beyond the price of Lives When on thy Throne Thy radiant Throne of Stars those Eyes I meet T' obtain in Heaven what was on Earth too great Shall I have leave to kneel at those dear Feet Queen Yes Prince thou shalt kneel there And if there be One richer fairer Coronet above For wondrous Truth and more prodigious Love O're that dear Brow with the Jemm'd Wreath I 'll stand And Crown thee Martyr with my own kind Hand Tygr. Nay then to Death to Life to Glory all At one kind Blow Queen And oh to meet that Blow With all the pomp of Martyrdom we 'll go And Shine above to Light the World below Exeunt Scene Changes Enter Orontes and Clarismunda Oront To Heaven the dearest and on Earth the Fairest Thy Guardian Gods have done thee Justice now A Hundred thousand slaughter'd Scythian Ghosts In the fresh Blushes of their Crimson Gore Walk the black Strand to tell the trembling Shades The wondrous Tale of Clarismunda's Vengeance Clar. Yes King my Stars at last are just Oront So Just that all yon bright Eternals The Pow'rs that gild the Night and guide the Day Rank'd their embattell'd Fires for Clarismunda All the proud Champions in thy darling Cause So keen the Sword that arming Beauty draws Clar. If aiding Heav'n has battel'd on my side It has no more than plaid its own Revenger Mine are Heavens wrongs their own Divinest Image Stabb'd