Sardanapalus

ACT I.

SCENE I.--A Hall in the Palace.

Salemenes (solus).He hath wronged his queen, but still he is her lord;He hath wronged my sister--still he is my brother;5He hath wronged his people--still he is their sovereign--And I must be his friend as well as subject:He must not perish thus. I will not seeThe blood of Nimrod and SemiramisSink in the earth, and thirteen hundred years10Of Empire ending like a shepherd's tale;He must be roused. In his effeminate heartThere is a careless courage which CorruptionHas not all quenched, and latent energies,Repressed by circumstance, but not destroyed--15Steeped, but not drowned, in deep voluptuousness.If born a peasant, he had been a manTo have reached an empire: to an empire born,He will bequeath none; nothing but a name,Which his sons will not prize in heritage:--20Yet--not all lost--even yet--he may redeemHis sloth and shame, by only being thatWhich he should be, as easily as the thingHe should not be and is. Were it less toilTo sway his nations than consume his life?25To head an army than to rule a harem?He sweats in palling pleasures, dulls his soul,And saps his goodly strength, in toils which yield notHealth like the chase, nor glory like the war--He must be roused. Alas! there is no sound30[Sound of soft music heard from within.To rouse him short of thunder. Hark! the lute--The lyre--the timbrel; the lascivious tinklingsOf lulling instruments, the softening voicesOf women, and of beings less than women,35Must chime in to the echo of his revel,While the great King of all we know of earthLolls crowned with roses, and his diademLies negligently by to be caught upBy the first manly hand which dares to snatch it.40Lo, where they come! already I perceiveThe reeking odours of the perfumed trains,And see the bright gems of the glittering girls,At once his Chorus and his Council, flashAlong the gallery, and amidst the damsels,45As femininely garbed, and scarce less female,The grandson of Semiramis, the Man-Queen.--He comes! Shall I await him? yes, and front him,And tell him what all good men tell each other,Speaking of him and his. They come, the slaves50Led by the monarch subject to his slaves.

SCENE II.

Enter SARDANAPALUS effeminately dressed, his Headcrowned with Flowers, and his Robe negligently flowing,attended by a Train of Women and young Slaves.55

Sar. (speaking to some of his attendants).Let the pavilion over the EuphratesBe garlanded, and lit, and furnished forthFor an especial banquet; at the hourOf midnight we will sup there: see nought wanting,60And bid the galley be prepared. There isA cooling breeze which crisps the broad clear river:We will embark anon. Fair Nymphs, who deignTo share the soft hours of Sardanapalus,We'll meet again in that the sweetest hour,65When we shall gather like the stars above us,And you will form a heaven as bright as theirs;Till then, let each be mistress of her time,And thou, my own Ionian Myrrha, choose;Wilt thou along with them or me?70

Myr. My Lord--

Sar. My Lord!--my Life! why answerest thou so coldly?It is the curse of kings to be so answered.Rule thy own hours, thou rulest mine--say, wouldst thouAccompany our guests, or charm away75The moments from me?

Myr. The King's choice is mine.

Sar. I pray thee say not so: my chiefest joyIs to contribute to thine every wish.I do not dare to breathe my own desire,80Lest it should clash with thine; for thou art stillToo prompt to sacrifice thy thoughts for others.

Myr. I would remain: I have no happinessSave in beholding thine; yet--

Sar. Yet! what YET?85Thy own sweet will shall be the only barrierWhich ever rises betwixt thee and me.

Myr. I think the present is the wonted hourOf council; it were better I retire.

Sal. (comes forward and says)90The Ionian slave says well: let her retire.

Sar. Who answers? How now, brother?

Sal. The Queen's brother,And your most faithful vassal, royal Lord.

Sar. (addressing his train).95As I have said, let all dispose their hoursTill midnight, when again we pray your presence.[The court retiring.(To MYRRHA, who is going.)Myrrha! I thought thou wouldst remain.100

Myr. Great King,Thou didst not say so.

Sar. But thou looked'st it:I know each glance of those Ionic eyes,Which said thou wouldst not leave me.105

Myr. Sire! your brother----

Sal. His Consort's brother, minion of Ionia!How darest thou name me and not blush?

Sar. Not blush!Thou hast no more eyes than heart to make her crimson110Like to the dying day on Caucasus,Where sunset tints the snow with rosy shadows,And then reproach her with thine own cold blindness,Which will not see it. What! in tears, my Myrrha?

Sal. Let them flow on; she weeps for more than one,115And is herself the cause of bitterer tears.

Sar. Curséd be he who caused those tears to flow!

Sal. Curse not thyself--millions do that already.

Sar. Thou dost forget thee: make me not rememberI am a monarch.120

Sal. Would thou couldst!

Myr. My sovereign,I pray, and thou, too, Prince, permit my absence.

Sar. Since it must be so, and this churl has checkedThy gentle spirit, go; but recollect125That we must forthwith meet: I had rather loseAn empire than thy presence. [Exit MYRRHA.

Sal. It may be,Thou wilt lose both--and both for ever!

Sar. Brother!130I can at least command myself, who listenTo language such as this: yet urge me notBeyond my easy nature.

Sal. 'Tis beyondThat easy--far too easy--idle nature,135Which I would urge thee. O that I could rouse thee!Though 'twere against myself.

Sar. By the god Baal!The man would make me tyrant.

Sal. So thou art.140Think'st thou there is no tyranny but thatOf blood and chains? The despotism of vice,The weakness and the wickedness of luxury,The negligence, the apathy, the evilsOf sensual sloth--produce ten thousand tyrants,145Whose delegated cruelty surpassesThe worst acts of one energetic master,However harsh and hard in his own bearing.The false and fond examples of thy lustsCorrupt no less than they oppress, and sap150In the same moment all thy pageant powerAnd those who should sustain it; so that whetherA foreign foe invade, or civil broilDistract within, both will alike prove fatal:The first thy subjects have no heart to conquer;155The last they rather would assist than vanquish.

Sar. Why, what makes thee the mouth-piece of the people?

Sal. Forgiveness of the Queen, my sister wrongs;A natural love unto my infant nephews;Faith to the King, a faith he may need shortly,160In more than words; respect for Nimrod's line;Also, another thing thou knowest not.

Sar. What's that?

Sal. To thee an unknown word.

Sar. Yet speak it;165I love to learn.

Sal. Virtue.

Sar. Not know the word!Never was word yet rung so in my ears--Worse than the rabble's shout, or splitting trumpet:170I've heard thy sister talk of nothing else.

Sal. To change the irksome theme, then, hear of vice.

Sar. From whom?

Sal. Even from the winds, if thou couldst listenUnto the echoes of the Nation's voice.175

Sar. Come, I'm indulgent, as thou knowest, patient,As thou hast often proved--speak out, what moves thee?

Sal. Thy peril.

Sar. Say on.

Sal. Thus, then: all the nations,180For they are many, whom thy father leftIn heritage, are loud in wrath against thee.

Sar. 'Gainst me!! What would the slaves?

Sal. A king.

Sar. And what185Am I then?

Sal. In their eyes a nothing; butIn mine a man who might be something still.

Sar. The railing drunkards! why, what would they have?Have they not peace and plenty?190

Sal. Of the firstMore than is glorious: of the last, far lessThan the King recks of.

Sar. Whose then is the crime,But the false satraps, who provide no better?195

Sal. And somewhat in the Monarch who ne'er looksBeyond his palace walls, or if he stirsBeyond them, 'tis but to some mountain palace,Till summer heats wear down. O glorious Baal!Who built up this vast empire, and wert made200A God, or at the least shinest like a GodThrough the long centuries of thy renown,This, thy presumed descendant, ne'er beheldAs king the kingdoms thou didst leave as hero,Won with thy blood, and toil, and time, and peril!205For what? to furnish imposts for a revel,Or multiplied extortions for a minion.

Sar. I understand thee--thou wouldst have me goForth as a conqueror. By all the starsWhich the Chaldeans read--the restless slaves210Deserve that I should curse them with their wishes,And lead them forth to glory.

Sal. Wherefore not?Semiramis--a woman only--ledThese our Assyrians to the solar shores215Of Ganges.

Sar. Tis most true. And how returned?

Sal. Why, like a man--a hero; baffled, butNot vanquished. With but twenty guards, she madeGood her retreat to Bactria.220

Sar. And how manyLeft she behind in India to the vultures?

Sal. Our annals say not.

Sar. Then I will say for them--That she had better woven within her palace225Some twenty garments, than with twenty guardsHave fled to Bactria, leaving to the ravens,And wolves, and men--the fiercer of the three,Her myriads of fond subjects. Is this Glory?Then let me live in ignominy ever.230

Sal. All warlike spirits have not the same fate.Semiramis, the glorious parent ofA hundred kings, although she failed in India,Brought Persia--Media--Bactria--to the realmWhich she once swayed--and thou mightst sway.235

Sar. I sway them--She but subdued them.

Sal. It may be ere longThat they will need her sword more than your sceptre.

Sar. There was a certain Bacchus, was there not?240I've heard my Greek girls speak of such--they sayHe was a God, that is, a Grecian god,An idol foreign to Assyria's worship,Who conquered this same golden realm of IndThou prat'st of, where Semiramis was vanquished.245

Sal. I have heard of such a man; and thou perceiv'stThat he is deemed a God for what he did.

Sar. And in his godship I will honour him--Not much as man. What, ho! my cupbearer!

Sal. What means the King?250

Sar. To worship your new GodAnd ancient conqueror. Some wine, I say.

Enter Cupbearer.

Sar. (addressing the Cupbearer).Bring me the golden goblet thick with gems,255Which bears the name of Nimrod's chalice. Hence,Fill full, and bear it quickly. [Exit Cupbearer.

Sal. Is this momentA fitting one for the resumption ofThy yet unslept-off revels?260

Re-enter Cupbearer, with wine.

Sar. (taking the cup from him). Noble kinsman,If these barbarian Greeks of the far shoresAnd skirts of these our realms lie not, this BacchusConquered the whole of India, did he not?265

Sal. He did, and thence was deemed a Deity.

Sar. Not so:--of all his conquests a few columns.Which may be his, and might be mine, if IThought them worth purchase and conveyance, areThe landmarks of the seas of gore he shed,270The realms he wasted, and the hearts he broke.But here--here in this goblet is his titleTo immortality--the immortal grapeFrom which he first expressed the soul, and gaveTo gladden that of man, as some atonement275For the victorious mischiefs he had done.Had it not been for this, he would have beenA mortal still in name as in his grave;And, like my ancestor Semiramis,A sort of semi-glorious human monster.280Here's that which deified him--let it nowHumanise thee; my surly, chiding brother,Pledge me to the Greek God!

Sal. For all thy realmsI would not so blaspheme our country's creed.285

Sar. That is to say, thou thinkest him a hero,That he shed blood by oceans; and no God,Because he turned a fruit to an enchantment,Which cheers the sad, revives the old, inspiresThe young, makes Weariness forget his toil,290And Fear her danger; opens a new worldWhen this, the present, palls. Well, then I pledge theeAnd him as a true man, who did his utmostIn good or evil to surprise mankind. [Drinks.

Sal. Wilt thou resume a revel at this hour?295

Sar. And if I did, 'twere better than a trophy,Being bought without a tear. But that is notMy present purpose: since thou wilt not pledge me,Continue what thou pleasest.(To the Cupbearer.) Boy, retire. [Exit Cupbearer.300

Sal. I would but have recalled thee from thy dream;Better by me awakened than rebellion.

Sar. Who should rebel? or why? what cause? pretext?I am the lawful King, descended fromA race of Kings who knew no predecessors.305What have I done to thee, or to the people,That thou shouldst rail, or they rise up against me?

Sal. Of what thou hast done to me, I speak not.

Sar. ButThou think'st that I have wronged the Queen: is't not so?310

Sal. Think! Thou hast wronged her!

Sar. Patience, Prince, and hear me.She has all power and splendour of her station,Respect, the tutelage of Assyria's heirs,The homage and the appanage of sovereignty.315I married her as monarchs wed--for state,And loved her as most husbands love their wives.If she or thou supposedst I could link meLike a Chaldean peasant to his mate,Ye knew nor me--nor monarchs--nor mankind.320

Sal. I pray thee, change the theme: my blood disdainsComplaint, and Salemenes' sister seeks notReluctant love even from Assyria's lord!Nor would she deign to accept divided passionWith foreign strumpets and Ionian slaves.325The Queen is silent.

Sar. And why not her brother?

Sal. I only echo thee the voice of empires,Which he who long neglects not long will govern.

Sar. The ungrateful and ungracious slaves! they murmur330Because I have not shed their blood, nor led themTo dry into the desert's dust by myriads,Or whiten with their bones the banks of Ganges;Nor decimated them with savage laws,Nor sweated them to build up Pyramids,335Or Babylonian walls.

Sal. Yet these are trophiesMore worthy of a people and their princeThan songs, and lutes, and feasts, and concubines,And lavished treasures, and contemnéd virtues.340

Sar. Or for my trophies I have founded cities:There's Tarsus and Anchialus, both builtIn one day--what could that blood-loving beldame,My martial grandam, chaste Semiramis,Do more, except destroy them?345

Sal. 'Tis most true;I own thy merit in those founded cities,Built for a whim, recorded with a verseWhich shames both them and thee to coming ages.

Sar. Shame me! By Baal, the cities, though well built,350Are not more goodly than the verse! Say whatThou wilt 'gainst me, my mode of life or rule,But nothing 'gainst the truth of that brief record.Why, those few lines contain the historyOf all things human: hear--"Sardanapalus,355The king, and son of Anacyndaraxes,In one day built Anchialus and Tarsus.Eat, drink, and love; the rest's not worth a fillip."

Sal. A worthy moral, and a wise inscription,For a king to put up before his subjects!360

Sar. Oh, thou wouldst have me doubtless set up edicts--"Obey the king--contribute to his treasure--Recruit his phalanx--spill your blood at bidding--Fall down and worship, or get up and toil."Or thus--"Sardanapalus on this spot365Slew fifty thousand of his enemies.These are their sepulchres, and this his trophy."I leave such things to conquerors; enoughFor me, if I can make my subjects feelThe weight of human misery less, and glide370Ungroaning to the tomb: I take no licenseWhich I deny to them. We all are men.

Sal. Thy Sires have been revered as Gods--

Sar. In dustAnd death, where they are neither Gods nor men.375Talk not of such to me! the worms are Gods;At least they banqueted upon your Gods,And died for lack of farther nutriment.Those Gods were merely men; look to their issue--I feel a thousand mortal things about me,380But nothing godlike,--unless it may beThe thing which you condemn, a dispositionTo love and to be merciful, to pardonThe follies of my species, and (that's human)To be indulgent to my own.385

Sal. Alas!The doom of Nineveh is sealed.--Woe--woeTo the unrivalled city!

Sar. What dost dread?

Sal. Thou art guarded by thy foes: in a few hours390The tempest may break out which overwhelms thee,And thine and mine; and in another dayWhat is shall be the past of Belus' race.

Sar. What must we dread?

Sal. Ambitious treachery,395Which has environed thee with snares; but yetThere is resource: empower me with thy signetTo quell the machinations, and I layThe heads of thy chief foes before thy feet.

Sar. The heads--how many?400

Sal. Must I stay to numberWhen even thine own's in peril? Let me go;Give me thy signet--trust me with the rest.

Sar. I will trust no man with unlimited lives.When we take those from others, we nor know405What we have taken, nor the thing we give.

Sal. Wouldst thou not take their lives who seek for thine?

Sar. That's a hard question--But I answer, Yes.Cannot the thing be done without? Who are theyWhom thou suspectest?--Let them be arrested.410

Sal. I would thou wouldst not ask me; the next momentWill send my answer through thy babbling troopOf paramours, and thence fly o'er the palace,Even to the city, and so baffle all.--Trust me.415

Sar. Thou knowest I have done so ever;Take thou the signet. [Gives the signet.

Sal. I have one more request.

Sar. Name it.

Sal. That thou this night forbear the banquet420In the pavilion over the Euphrates.

Sar. Forbear the banquet! Not for all the plottersThat ever shook a kingdom! Let them come,And do their worst: I shall not blench for them;Nor rise the sooner; nor forbear the goblet;425Nor crown me with a single rose the less;Nor lose one joyous hour.--I fear them not.

Sal. But thou wouldst arm thee, wouldst thou not, if needful?

Sar. Perhaps. I have the goodliest armour, andA sword of such a temper, and a bow,430And javelin, which might furnish Nimrod forth:A little heavy, but yet not unwieldy.And now I think on't, 'tis long since I've used them,Even in the chase. Hast ever seen them, brother?

Sal. Is this a time for such fantastic trifling?--435If need be, wilt thou wear them?

Sar. Will I not?Oh! if it must be so, and these rash slavesWill not be ruled with less, I'll use the swordTill they shall wish it turned into a distaff.440

Sal. They say thy Sceptre's turned to that already.

Sar. That's false! but let them say so: the old Greeks,Of whom our captives often sing, relatedThe same of their chief hero, Hercules,Because he loved a Lydian queen: thou seest445The populace of all the nations seizeEach calumny they can to sink their sovereigns.

Sal. They did not speak thus of thy fathers.

Sar. No;They dared not. They were kept to toil and combat;450And never changed their chains but for their armour:Now they have peace and pastime, and the licenseTo revel and to rail; it irks me not.I would not give the smile of one fair girlFor all the popular breath that e'er divided455A name from nothing. What are the rank tonguesOf this vile herd, grown insolent with feeding,That I should prize their noisy praise, or dreadTheir noisome clamour?

Sal. You have said they are men;460As such their hearts are something.

Sar. So my dogs' are;And better, as more faithful:--but, proceed;Thou hast my signet:--since they are tumultuous,Let them be tempered, yet not roughly, till465Necessity enforce it. I hate all pain,Given or received; we have enough within us,The meanest vassal as the loftiest monarch,Not to add to each other's natural burthenOf mortal misery, but rather lessen,470By mild reciprocal alleviation,The fatal penalties imposed on life:But this they know not, or they will not know.I have, by Baal! done all I could to soothe them:I made no wars, I added no new imposts,475I interfered not with their civic lives,I let them pass their days as best might suit them,Passing my own as suited me.

Sal. Thou stopp'stShort of the duties of a king; and therefore480They say thou art unfit to be a monarch.

Sar. They lie.--Unhappily, I am unfitTo be aught save a monarch; else for meThe meanest Mede might be the king instead.

Sal. There is one Mede, at least, who seeks to be so.485

Sar. What mean'st thou!--'tis thy secret; thou desirestFew questions, and I'm not of curious nature.Take the fit steps; and, since necessityRequires, I sanction and support thee. Ne'erWas man who more desired to rule in peace490The peaceful only: if they rouse me, betterThey had conjured up stern Nimrod from his ashes,"The Mighty Hunter!" I will turn these realmsTo one wide desert chase of brutes, who were,But would no more, by their own choice, be human.495What they have found me, they belie; that whichThey yet may find me--shall defy their wishTo speak it worse; and let them thank themselves.

Sal. Then thou at last canst feel?

Sar. Feel! who feels not500Ingratitude?

Sal. I will not pause to answerWith words, but deeds. Keep thou awake that energyWhich sleeps at times, but is not dead within thee,And thou may'st yet be glorious in thy reign,505As powerful in thy realm. Farewell! [Exit SALEMENES.

Sar. (solus). Farewell!He's gone; and on his finger bears my signet,Which is to him a sceptre. He is sternAs I am heedless; and the slaves deserve510To feel a master. What may be the danger,I know not: he hath found it, let him quell it.Must I consume my life--this little life--In guarding against all may make it less?It is not worth so much! It were to die515Before my hour, to live in dread of death,Tracing revolt; suspecting all about me,Because they are near; and all who are remote,Because they are far. But if it should be so--If they should sweep me off from Earth and Empire,520Why, what is Earth or Empire of the Earth?I have loved, and lived, and multiplied my image;To die is no less natural than thoseActs of this clay! 'Tis true I have not shedBlood as I might have done, in oceans, till525My name became the synonyme of Death--A terror and a trophy. But for thisI feel no penitence; my life is love:If I must shed blood, it shall be by force.Till now, no drop from an Assyrian vein530Hath flowed for me, nor hath the smallest coinOf Nineveh's vast treasures e'er been lavishedOn objects which could cost her sons a tear:If then they hate me, 'tis because I hate not:If they rebel, 'tis because I oppress not.535Oh, men! ye must be ruled with scythes, not sceptres,And mowed down like the grass, else all we reapIs rank abundance, and a rotten harvestOf discontents infecting the fair soil,Making a desert of fertility.--540I'll think no more.--Within there, ho!

Enter an ATTENDANT.

Sar. Slave, tellThe Ionian Myrrha we would crave her presence.

Attend. King, she is here.545

MYRRHA enters.

Sar. (apart to Attendant). Away!

(Addressing MYRRHA.) Beautiful being!Thou dost almost anticipate my heart;It throbbed for thee, and here thou comest: let me550Deem that some unknown influence, some sweet oracle,Communicates between us, though unseen,In absence, and attracts us to each other.

Myr. There doth.

Sar. I know there doth, but not its name:555What is it?

Myr. In my native land a God,And in my heart a feeling like a God's,Exalted; yet I own 'tis only mortal;For what I feel is humble, and yet happy--560That is, it would be happy; but---- [MYRRHA pauses.

Sar. There comesFor ever something between us and whatWe deem our happiness: let me removeThe barrier which that hesitating accent565Proclaims to thine, and mine is sealed.

Myr. My Lord!--

Sar. My Lord--my King--Sire--Sovereign; thus it is--For ever thus, addressed with awe. I ne'erCan see a smile, unless in some broad banquet's570Intoxicating glare, when the buffoonsHave gorged themselves up to equality,Or I have quaffed me down to their abasement.Myrrha, I can hear all these things, these names,Lord--King--Sire--Monarch--nay, time was I prized them;575That is, I suffered them--from slaves and nobles;But when they falter from the lips I love,The lips which have been pressed to mine, a chillComes o'er my heart, a cold sense of the falsehoodOf this my station, which represses feeling580In those for whom I have felt most, and makes meWish that I could lay down the dull tiara,And share a cottage on the CaucasusWith thee--and wear no crowns but those of flowers.

Myr. Would that we could!585

Sar. And dost thou feel this?--Why?

Myr. Then thou wouldst know what thou canst never know.

Sar. And that is----

Myr. The true value of a heart;At least, a woman's.590

Sar. I have proved a thousand--Athousand, and a thousand.

Myr. Hearts?

Sar. I think so.

Myr. Not one! the time may come thou may'st.595

Sar. It will.Hear, Myrrha; Salemenes has declared--Or why or how he hath divined it, Belus,Who founded our great realm, knows more than I--But Salemenes hath declared my throne600In peril.

Myr. He did well.

Sar. And say'st thou so?Thou whom he spurned so harshly, and now daredDrive from our presence with his savage jeers,605And made thee weep and blush?

Myr. I should do bothMore frequently, and he did well to call meBack to my duty. But thou spakest of perilPeril to thee----610

Sar. Aye, from dark plots and snaresFrom Medes--and discontented troops and nations.I know not what--a labyrinth of things--A maze of muttered threats and mysteries:Thou know'st the man--it is his usual custom.615But he is honest. Come, we'll think no more on't--But of the midnight festival.

Myr. 'Tis timeTo think of aught save festivals. Thou hast notSpurned his sage cautions?620

Sar. What?--and dost thou fear?

Myr. Fear!--I'm a Greek, and how should I fear death?A slave, and wherefore should I dread my freedom?

Sar. Then wherefore dost thou turn so pale?

Myr. I love.625

Sar. And do not I? I love thee far--far moreThan either the brief life or the wide realm,Which, it may be, are menaced;--yet I blench not.

Myr. That means thou lovest nor thyself nor me;For he who loves another loves himself,630Even for that other's sake. This is too rash:Kingdoms and lives are not to be so lost.

Sar. Lost!--why, who is the aspiring chief who daredAssume to win them?

Myr. Who is he should dread635To try so much? When he who is their rulerForgets himself--will they remember him?

Sar. Myrrha!

Myr. Frown not upon me: you have smiledToo often on me not to make those frowns640Bitterer to bear than any punishmentWhich they may augur.--King, I am your subject!Master, I am your slave! Man, I have loved you!--Loved you, I know not by what fatal weakness,Although a Greek, and born a foe to monarchs--645A slave, and hating fetters--an Ionian,And, therefore, when I love a stranger, moreDegraded by that passion than by chains!Still I have loved you. If that love were strongEnough to overcome all former nature,650Shall it not claim the privilege to save you?

Sar. Save me, my beauty! Thou art very fair,And what I seek of thee is love--not safety.

Myr. And without love where dwells security?

Sar. I speak of woman's love.655

Myr. The very firstOf human life must spring from woman's breast,Your first small words are taught you from her lips,Your first tears quenched by her, and your last sighsToo often breathed out in a woman's hearing,660When men have shrunk from the ignoble careOf watching the last hour of him who led them.

Sar. My eloquent Ionian! thou speak'st music:The very chorus of the tragic songI have heard thee talk of as the favourite pastime665Of thy far father-land. Nay, weep not--calm thee.

Myr. I weep not.--But I pray thee, do not speakAbout my fathers or their land.

Sar. Yet oftThou speakest of them.670

Myr. True--true: constant thoughtWill overflow in words unconsciously;But when another speaks of Greeks, it wounds me.

Sar. Well, then, how wouldst thou save me, as thou saidst?

Myr. By teaching thee to save thyself, and not675Thyself alone, but these vast realms, from allThe rage of the worst war--the war of brethren.

Sar. Why, child, I loathe all war, and warriors;I live in peace and pleasure: what can manDo more?680

Myr. Alas! my Lord, with common menThere needs too oft the show of war to keepThe substance of sweet peace; and, for a king,'Tis sometimes better to be feared than loved.

Sar. And I have never sought but for the last.685

Myr. And now art neither.

Sar. Dost thou say so, Myrrha?

Myr. I speak of civic popular love, self-love,Which means that men are kept in awe and law,Yet not oppressed--at least they must not think so,690Or, if they think so, deem it necessary,To ward off worse oppression, their own passions.A King of feasts, and flowers, and wine, and revel,And love, and mirth, was never King of Glory.

Sar. Glory! what's that?695

Myr. Ask of the Gods thy fathers.

Sar. They cannot answer; when the priests speak for them,'Tis for some small addition to the temple.

Myr. Look to the annals of thine Empire's founders.

Sar. They are so blotted o'er with blood, I cannot.700But what wouldst have? the Empire has been founded.I cannot go on multiplying empires.

Myr. Preserve thine own.

Sar. At least, I will enjoy it.Come, Myrrha, let us go on to the Euphrates:705The hour invites, the galley is prepared,And the pavilion, decked for our return,In fit adornment for the evening banquet,Shall blaze with beauty and with light, untilIt seems unto the stars which are above us710Itself an opposite star; and we will sitCrowned with fresh flowers like----

Myr. Victims.

Sar. No, like sovereigns,The Shepherd Kings of patriarchal times,715Who knew no brighter gems than summer wreaths,And none but tearless triumphs. Let us on.

Enter PANIA.

Pan. May the King live for ever!

Sar. Not an hour720Longer than he can love. How my soul hatesThis language, which makes life itself a lie,Flattering dust with eternity. Well, Pania!Be brief.

Pan. I am charged by Salemenes to725Reiterate his prayer unto the King,That for this day, at least, he will not quitThe palace: when the General returns,He will adduce such reasons as will warrantHis daring, and perhaps obtain the pardon730Of his presumption.

Sar. What! am I then cooped?Already captive? can I not even breatheThe breath of heaven? Tell prince Salemenes,Were all Assyria raging round the walls735In mutinous myriads, I would still go forth.

Pan. I must obey, and yet----

Myr. Oh, Monarch, listen.--How many a day and moon thou hast reclinedWithin these palace walls in silken dalliance,740And never shown thee to thy people's longing;Leaving thy subjects' eyes ungratified,The satraps uncontrolled, the Gods unworshipped,And all things in the anarchy of sloth,Till all, save evil, slumbered through the realm!745And wilt thou not now tarry for a day,--A day which may redeem thee? Wilt thou notYield to the few still faithful a few hours,For them, for thee, for thy past fathers' race,And for thy sons' inheritance?750

Pan. 'Tis true!From the deep urgency with which the PrinceDespatched me to your sacred presence, IMust dare to add my feeble voice to thatWhich now has spoken.755

Sar. No, it must not be.

Myr. For the sake of thy realm!

Sar. Away!

Pan. For thatOf all thy faithful subjects, who will rally760Round thee and thine.

Sar. These are mere fantasies:There is no peril:--'tis a sullen schemeOf Salemenes, to approve his zeal,And show himself more necessary to us.765

Myr. By all that's good and glorious take this counsel.

Sar. Business to-morrow.

Myr. Aye--or death to-night.

Sar. Why let it come then unexpectedly,'Midst joy and gentleness, and mirth and love;770So let me fall like the plucked rose!--far betterThus than be withered.

Myr. Then thou wilt not yield,Even for the sake of all that ever stirredA monarch into action, to forego775A trifling revel.

Sar. No.

Myr. Then yield for mine;For my sake!

Sar. Thine, my Myrrha!780

Myr. 'Tis the firstBoon which I ever asked Assyria's king.

Sar. That's true, and, wer't my kingdom, must be granted.Well, for thy sake, I yield me. Pania, hence!Thou hear'st me.785

Pan. And obey. [Exit PANIA.

Sar. I marvel at thee.What is thy motive, Myrrha, thus to urge me?

Myr. Thy safety; and the certainty that noughtCould urge the Prince thy kinsman to require790Thus much from thee, but some impending danger.

Sar. And if I do not dread it, why shouldst thou?

Myr. Because thou dost not fear, I fear for thee.

Sar. To-morrow thou wilt smile at these vain fancies.

Myr. If the worst come, I shall be where none weep,795And that is better than the power to smile.And thou?

Sar. I shall be King, as heretofore.

Myr. Where?

Sar. With Baal, Nimrod, and Semiramis,800Sole in Assyria, or with them elsewhere.Fate made me what I am--may make me nothing--But either that or nothing must I be:I will not live degraded.

Myr. Hadst thou felt805Thus always, none would ever dare degrade thee.

Sar. And who will do so now?

Myr. Dost thou suspect none?

Sar. Suspect!--that's a spy's office. Oh! we loseTen thousand precious moments in vain words,810And vainer fears. Within there!--ye slaves, deckThe Hall of Nimrod for the evening revel;If I must make a prison of our palace,At least we'll wear our fetters jocundly;If the Euphrates be forbid us, and815The summer-dwelling on its beauteous border,Here we are still unmenaced. Ho! within there![Exit SARDANAPALUS.

Myr. (solus).Why do I love this man? My country's daughters820Love none but heroes. But I have no country!The slave hath lost all save her bonds. I love him;And that's the heaviest link of the long chain--To love whom we esteem not. Be it so:The hour is coming when he'll need all love,825And find none. To fall from him now were baserThan to have stabbed him on his throne when highestWould have been noble in my country's creed:I was not made for either. Could I save him,I should not love him better, but myself;830And I have need of the last, for I have fallenIn my own thoughts, by loving this soft stranger:And yet, methinks, I love him more, perceivingThat he is hated of his own barbarians,The natural foes of all the blood of Greece.835Could I but wake a single thought like thoseWhich even the Phrygians felt when battling long'Twixt Ilion and the sea, within his heart,He would tread down the barbarous crowds, and triumph.He loves me, and I love him; the slave loves840Her master, and would free him from his vices.If not, I have a means of freedom still,And if I cannot teach him how to reign,May show him how alone a King can leaveHis throne. I must not lose him from my sight. [Exit.845

ACT II.

SCENE I.--The Portal of the same Hall of the Palace.

Beleses (solus).The Sun goes down: methinks he sets more slowly,Taking his last look of Assyria's Empire.850How red he glares amongst those deepening clouds,Like the blood he predicts. If not in vain,Thou Sun that sinkest, and ye stars which rise,I have outwatched ye, reading ray by rayThe edicts of your orbs, which make Time tremble855For what he brings the nations, 'tis the furthestHour of Assyria's years. And yet how calm!An earthquake should announce so great a fall--A summer's sun discloses it. Yon disk,To the star-read Chaldean, bears upon860Its everlasting page the end of whatSeemed everlasting; but oh! thou true Sun!The burning oracle of all that live,As fountain of all life, and symbol ofHim who bestows it, wherefore dost thou limit865Thy lore unto calamity? Why notUnfold the rise of days more worthy thineAll-glorious burst from ocean? why not dartA beam of hope athwart the future years,As of wrath to its days? Hear me! oh, hear me!870I am thy worshipper, thy priest, thy servant--I have gazed on thee at thy rise and fall,And bowed my head beneath thy mid-day beams,When my eye dared not meet thee. I have watchedFor thee, and after thee, and prayed to thee,875And sacrificed to thee, and read, and feared thee,And asked of thee, and thou hast answered--butOnly to thus much: while I speak, he sinks--Is gone--and leaves his beauty, not his knowledge,To the delighted West, which revels in880Its hues of dying glory. Yet what isDeath, so it be but glorious? 'Tis a sunset;And mortals may be happy to resembleThe Gods but in decay.

Enter ARBACES by an inner door.885

Arb. Beleses, whySo wrapt in thy devotions? Dost thou standGazing to trace thy disappearing GodInto some realm of undiscovered day?Our business is with night--'tis come.890

Bel. But notGone.

Arb. Let it roll on--we are ready.

Bel. Yes.Would it were over!895

Arb. Does the prophet doubt,To whom the very stars shine Victory?

Bel. I do not doubt of Victory--but the Victor.

Arb. Well, let thy science settle that. MeantimeI have prepared as many glittering spears900As will out-sparkle our allies--your planets.There is no more to thwart us. The she-king,That less than woman, is even now uponThe waters with his female mates. The orderIs issued for the feast in the pavilion.905The first cup which he drains will be the lastQuaffed by the line of Nimrod.

Bel. 'Twas a brave one.

Arb. And is a weak one--'tis worn out--we'll mend it.

Bel. Art sure of that?910

Arb. Its founder was a hunter--I am a soldier--what is there to fear?

Bel. The soldier.

Arb. And the priest, it may be: butIf you thought thus, or think, why not retain915Your king of concubines? why stir me up?Why spur me to this enterprise? your ownNo less than mine?

Bel. Look to the sky!

Arb. I look.920

Bel. What seest thou?

Arb. A fair summer's twilight, andThe gathering of the stars.

Bel. And midst them, markYon earliest, and the brightest, which so quivers,925As it would quit its place in the blue ether.

Arb. Well?

Bel. 'Tis thy natal ruler--thy birth planet.

Arb. (touching his scabbard).My star is in this scabbard: when it shines,930It shall out-dazzle comets. Let us thinkOf what is to be done to justifyThy planets and their portents. When we conquer,They shall have temples--aye, and priests--and thouShalt be the pontiff of--what Gods thou wilt;935For I observe that they are ever just,And own the bravest for the most devout.

Bel. Aye, and the most devout for brave--thou hast notSeen me turn back from battle.

Arb. No; I own thee940As firm in fight as Babylonia's captain,As skilful in Chaldea's worship: now,Will it but please thee to forget the priest,And be the warrior?

Bel. Why not both?945

Arb. The better;And yet it almost shames me, we shall haveSo little to effect. This woman's warfareDegrades the very conqueror. To have pluckedA bold and bloody despot from his throne,950And grappled with him, clashing steel with steel,That were heroic or to win or fall;But to upraise my sword against this silkworm,And hear him whine, it may be----

Bel. Do not deem it:955He has that in him which may make you strife yet;And were he all you think, his guards are hardy,And headed by the cool, stern Salemenes.

Arb. They'll not resist.

Bel. Why not? they are soldiers.960

Arb. True,And therefore need a soldier to command them.

Bel. That Salemenes is.

Arb. But not their King.Besides, he hates the effeminate thing that governs,965For the Queen's sake, his sister. Mark you notHe keeps aloof from all the revels?

Bel. ButNot from the council--there he is ever constant.

Arb. And ever thwarted: what would you have more970To make a rebel out of? A fool reigning,His blood dishonoured, and himself disdained:Why, it is his revenge we work for.

Bel. CouldHe but be brought to think so: this I doubt of.975

Arb. What, if we sound him?

Bel. Yes--if the time served.

Enter BALEA.

Bal. Satraps! The king commands your presence atThe feast to-night.980

Bel. To hear is to obey.In the pavilion?

Bal. No; here in the palace.

Arb. How! in the palace? it was not thus ordered.

Bal. It is so ordered now.985

Arb. And why?

Bal. I know not.May I retire?

Arb. Stay.

Bel. (to Arb. aside). Hush! let him go his way.990(Alternately to Bal.) Yes, Balea, thank the Monarch, kiss the hemOf his imperial robe, and say, his slavesWill take the crumbs he deigns to scatter fromHis royal table at the hour--was't midnight?

Bal. It was: the place, the hall of Nimrod. Lords,995I humble me before you, and depart. [Exit BALEA.

Arb. I like not this same sudden change of place;There is some mystery: wherefore should he change it?

Bel. Doth he not change a thousand times a day?Sloth is of all things the most fanciful--1000And moves more parasangs in its intentsThan generals in their marches, when they seekTo leave their foe at fault.--Why dost thou muse?

Arb. He loved that gay pavilion,--it was everHis summer dotage.1005

Bel. And he loved his Queen--And thrice a thousand harlotry besides--And he has loved all things by turns, exceptWisdom and Glory.

Arb. Still--I like it not.1010If he has changed--why, so must we: the attackWere easy in the isolated bower,Beset with drowsy guards and drunken courtiers;But in the hall of Nimrod----

Bel. Is it so?1015Methought the haughty soldier feared to mountA throne too easily--does it disappoint theeTo find there is a slipperier step or twoThan what was counted on?

Arb. When the hour comes,1020Thou shall perceive how far I fear or no.Thou hast seen my life at stake--and gaily played for:But here is more upon the die--a kingdom.

Bel. I have foretold already--thou wilt win it:Then on, and prosper.1025

Arb. Now were I a soothsayer,I would have boded so much to myself.But be the stars obeyed--I cannot quarrelWith them, nor their interpreter. Who's here?

Enter SALEMENES.1030

Sal. Satraps!

Bel. My Prince!

Sal. Well met--I sought ye both,But elsewhere than the palace.

Arb. Wherefore so?1035

Sal. 'Tis not the hour.

Arb. The hour!--what hour?

Sal. Of midnight.

Bel. Midnight, my Lord!

Sal. What, are you not invited?1040

Bel. Oh! yes--we had forgotten.

Sal. Is it usualThus to forget a Sovereign's invitation?

Arb. Why--we but now received it.

Sal. Then why here?1045

Arb. On duty.

Sal. On what duty?

Bel. On the state's.We have the privilege to approach the presence;But found the Monarch absent.1050

Sal. And I tooAm upon duty.

Arb. May we crave its purport?

Sal. To arrest two traitors. Guards! Within there!

Enter Guards.1055

Sal. (continuing). Satraps,Your swords.

Bel. (delivering his). My lord, behold my scimitar.

Arb. (drawing his sword). Take mine.

Sal. (advancing). I will.1060

Arb. But in your heart the blade--The hilt quits not this hand.

Sal. (drawing). How! dost thou brave me?Tis well--this saves a trial, and false mercy.Soldiers, hew down the rebel!1065

Arb. Soldiers! Aye--Alone, you dare not.

Sal. Alone! foolish slave--What is there in thee that a Prince should shrink fromOf open force? We dread thy treason, not1070Thy strength: thy tooth is nought without its venom--The serpent's, not the lion's. Cut him down.

Bel. (interposing). Arbaces! Are you mad? Have I not renderedMy sword? Then trust like me our Sovereign's justice.

Arb. No--I will sooner trust the stars thou prat'st of,1075And this slight arm, and die a king at leastOf my own breath and body--so far thatNone else shall chain them.

Sal. (to the Guards). You hear him and me.Take him not,--kill.1080

[The Guards attack ARBACES, who defends himselfvaliantly and dexterously till they waver.

Sal. Is it even so; and mustI do the hangman's office? Recreants! seeHow you should fell a traitor.1085[SALEMENES attacks ARBACES.

Enter SARDANAPALUS and Train.

Sar. Hold your hands--Upon your lives, I say. What, deaf or drunken?My sword! O fool, I wear no sword: here, fellow,1090Give me thy weapon. [To a Guard.

[SARDANAPALUS snatches a sword from one of the soldiers,and rushes between the combatants--they separate.

Sar. In my very palace!What hinders me from cleaving you in twain,1095Audacious brawlers?

Bel. Sire, your justice.

Sal. Or--Your weakness.

Sar. (raising the sword). How?1100

Sal. Strike! so the blow's repeatedUpon yon traitor--whom you spare a moment,I trust, for torture--I'm content.

Sar. What--him!Who dares assail Arbaces?1105

Sal. I!

Sar. Indeed!Prince, you forget yourself. Upon what warrant?

Sal. (showing the signet). Thine.

Arb. (confused). The King's!1110

Sal. Yes! and let the King confirm it.

Sar. I parted not from this for such a purpose.

Sal. You parted with it for your safety--IEmployed it for the best. Pronounce in person.Here I am but your slave--a moment past1115I was your representative.

Sar. Then sheatheYour swords.[ARBACES and SALEMENES return their swords to the scabbards.

Sal. Mine's sheathed: I pray you sheathe not yours:1120Tis the sole sceptre left you now with safety.

Sar. A heavy one; the hilt, too, hurts my hand.(To a Guard.) Here, fellow, take thy weapon back. Well, sirs,What doth this mean?

Bel. The Prince must answer that.1125

Sal. Truth upon my part, treason upon theirs.

Sar. Treason--Arbaces! treachery and Beleses!That were an union I will not believe.

Bel. Where is the proof?

Sal. I'll answer that, if once1130The king demands your fellow-traitor's sword.

Arb. (to Sal.). A sword which hath been drawn as oft as thineAgainst his foes.

Sal. And now against his brother,And in an hour or so against himself.1135

Sar. That is not possible: he dared not; no--No--I'll not hear of such things. These vain bickeringsAre spawned in courts by base intrigues, and baserHirelings, who live by lies on good men's lives.You must have been deceived, my brother.1140

Sal. FirstLet him deliver up his weapon, andProclaim himself your subject by that duty,And I will answer all.

Sar. Why, if I thought so--1145But no, it cannot be: the Mede Arbaces--The trusty, rough, true soldier--the best captainOf all who discipline our nations----No,I'll not insult him thus, to bid him renderThe scimitar to me he never yielded1150Unto our enemies. Chief, keep your weapon.

Sal. (delivering back the signet).Monarch, take back your signet.

Sar. No, retain it;But use it with more moderation.1155

Sal. Sire,I used it for your honour, and restore itBecause I cannot keep it with my own.Bestow it on Arbaces.

Sar. So I should:1160He never asked it.

Sal. Doubt not, he will have it,Without that hollow semblance of respect.

Bel. I know not what hath prejudiced the PrinceSo strongly 'gainst two subjects, than whom none1165Have been more zealous for Assyria's weal.

Sal. Peace, factious priest, and faithless soldier! thouUnit'st in thy own person the worst vicesOf the most dangerous orders of mankind.Keep thy smooth words and juggling homilies1170For those who know thee not. Thy fellow's sinIs, at the least, a bold one, and not temperedBy the tricks taught thee in Chaldea.

Bel. Hear him,My liege--the son of Belus! he blasphemes1175The worship of the land, which bows the kneeBefore your fathers.

Sar. Oh! for that I pray youLet him have absolution. I dispense withThe worship of dead men; feeling that I1180Am mortal, and believing that the raceFrom whence I sprung are--what I see them--ashes.

Bel. King! Do not deem so: they are with the stars,And----

Sar. You shall join them ere they will rise,1185If you preach farther--Why, this is rank treason.

Sal. My lord!

Sar. To school me in the worship ofAssyria's idols! Let him be released--Give him his sword.1190

Sal. My Lord, and King, and Brother,I pray ye pause.

Sar. Yes, and be sermonised,And dinned, and deafened with dead men and Baal,And all Chaldea's starry mysteries.1195

Bel. Monarch! respect them.

Sar. Oh! for that--I love them;I love to watch them in the deep blue vault,And to compare them with my Myrrha's eyes;I love to see their rays redoubled in1200The tremulous silver of Euphrates' wave,As the light breeze of midnight crisps the broadAnd rolling water, sighing through the sedgesWhich fringe his banks: but whether they may beGods, as some say, or the abodes of Gods,1205As others hold, or simply lamps of night,Worlds--or the lights of Worlds--I know nor care not.There's something sweet in my uncertaintyI would not change for your Chaldean lore;Besides, I know of these all clay can know1210Of aught above it, or below it--nothing.I see their brilliancy and feel their beauty--When they shine on my grave I shall know neither.

Bel. For neither, Sire, say better.

Sar. I will wait,1215If it so please you, Pontiff, for that knowledge.In the mean time receive your sword, and knowThat I prefer your service militantUnto your ministry--not loving either.

Sal. (aside). His lusts have made him mad. Then must I save him,1220Spite of himself.

Sar. Please you to hear me, Satraps!And chiefly thou, my priest, because I doubt theeMore than the soldier; and would doubt thee allWert thou not half a warrior: let us part1225In peace--I'll not say pardon--which must beEarned by the guilty; this I'll not pronounce ye,Although upon this breath of mine dependsYour own; and, deadlier for ye, on my fears.But fear not--for that I am soft, not fearful--1230And so live on. Were I the thing some think me,Your heads would now be dripping the last dropsOf their attainted gore from the high gatesOf this our palace, into the dry dust,Their only portion of the coveted kingdom1235They would be crowned to reign o'er--let that pass.As I have said, I will not deem ye guilty,Nor doom ye guiltless. Albeit better menThan ye or I stand ready to arraign you;And should I leave your fate to sterner judges,1240And proofs of all kinds, I might sacrificeTwo men, who, whatsoe'er they now are, wereOnce honest. Ye are free, sirs.

Arb. Sire, this clemency----

Bel. (interrupting him).1245Is worthy of yourself; and, although innocent,We thank----

Sar. Priest! keep your thanksgivings for Belus;His offspring needs none.

Bel. But being innocent----1250

Sar. Be silent.--Guilt is loud. If ye are loyal,Ye are injured men, and should be sad, not grateful.

Bel. So we should be, were justice always doneBy earthly power omnipotent; but InnocenceMust oft receive her right as a mere favour.1255

Sar. That's a good sentence for a homily,Though not for this occasion. Prithee keep itTo plead thy Sovereign's cause before his people.

Bel. I trust there is no cause.

Sar. No cause, perhaps;1260But many causers:--if ye meet with suchIn the exercise of your inquisitive functionOn earth, or should you read of it in heavenIn some mysterious twinkle of the stars,Which are your chronicles, I pray you note,1265That there are worse things betwixt earth and heavenThan him who ruleth many and slays none;And, hating not himself, yet loves his fellowsEnough to spare even those who would not spare himWere they once masters--but that's doubtful. Satraps!1270Your swords and persons are at libertyTo use them as ye will--but from this hourI have no call for either. Salemenes!Follow me.

[Exeunt SARDANAPALUS, SALEMENES, and the Train, etc.,1275leaving ARBACES and BELESES.

Arb. Beleses!

Bel. Now, what think you?

Arb. That we are lost.

Bel. That we have won the kingdom.1280

Arb. What? thus suspected--with the sword slung o'er usBut by a single hair, and that still wavering,To be blown down by his imperious breathWhich spared us--why, I know not.

Bel. Seek not why;1285But let us profit by the interval.The hour is still our own--our power the same--The night the same we destined. He hath changedNothing except our ignorance of allSuspicion into such a certainty1290As must make madness of delay.

Arb. And yet--

Bel. What, doubting still?

Arb. He spared our lives, nay, more,Saved them from Salemenes.1295

Bel. And how longWill he so spare? till the first drunken minute.

Arb. Or sober, rather. Yet he did it nobly;Gave royally what we had forfeitedBasely----1300

Bel. Say bravely.

Arb. Somewhat of both, perhaps--But it has touched me, and, whate'er betide,I will no further on.

Bel. And lose the world!1305

Arb. Lose any thing except my own esteem.

Bel. I blush that we should owe our lives to suchA king of distaffs!

Arb. But no less we owe them;And I should blush far more to take the grantor's!1310

Bel. Thou may'st endure whate'er thou wilt--the starsHave written otherwise.

Arb. Though they came down,And marshalled me the way in all their brightness,I would not follow.1315

Bel. This is weakness--worseThan a scared beldam's dreaming of the dead,And waking in the dark.--Go to--go to.

Arb. Methought he looked like Nimrod as he spoke,Even as the proud imperial statue stands1320Looking the monarch of the kings around it,And sways, while they but ornament, the temple.

Bel. I told you that you had too much despised him,And that there was some royalty within him--Whatthen? he is the nobler foe.1325

Arb. But weThe meaner.--Would he had not spared us!

Bel. So--Wouldst thou be sacrificed thus readily?

Arb. No--but it had been better to have died1330Than live ungrateful.

Bel. Oh, the souls of some men!Thou wouldst digest what some call treason, andFools treachery--and, behold, upon the sudden,Because for something or for nothing, this1335Rash reveller steps, ostentatiously,'Twixt thee and Salemenes, thou art turnedInto--what shall I say?--Sardanapalus!I know no name more ignominious.

Arb. But1340An hour ago, who dared to term me suchHad held his life but lightly--as it is,I must forgive you, even as he forgave us--Semiramis herself would not have done it.

Bel. No--the Queen liked no sharers of the kingdom,1345Not even a husband.

Arb. I must serve him truly----

Bel. And humbly?

Arb. No, sir, proudly--being honest.I shall be nearer thrones than you to heaven;1350And if not quite so haughty, yet more lofty.You may do your own deeming--you have codes,And mysteries, and corollaries ofRight and wrong, which I lack for my direction,And must pursue but what a plain heart teaches.1355And now you know me.

Bel. Have you finished?

Arb. Yes--With you.

Bel. And would, perhaps, betray as well1360As quit me?

Arb. That's a sacerdotal thought,And not a soldier's.

Bel. Be it what you will--Truce with these wranglings, and but hear me.1365

Arb. No--There is more peril in your subtle spiritThan in a phalanx.

Bel. If it must be so--I'll on alone.1370

Arb. Alone!

Bel. Thrones hold but one.

Arb. But this is filled.

Bel. With worse than vacancy--A despised monarch. Look to it, Arbaces:1375I have still aided, cherished, loved, and urged you;Was willing even to serve you, in the hopeTo serve and save Assyria. Heaven itselfSeemed to consent, and all events were friendly,Even to the last, till that your spirit shrunk1380Into a shallow softness; but now, ratherThan see my country languish, I will beHer saviour or the victim of her tyrant--Or one or both--for sometimes both are one;And if I win--Arbaces is my servant.1385

Arb. Your servant!

Bel. Why not? better than be slave,The pardoned slave of she Sardanapalus!

Enter PANIA.

Pan. My Lords, I bear an order from the king.1390

Arb. It is obeyed ere spoken.

Bel. Notwithstanding,Let's hear it.

Pan. Forthwith, on this very night,Repair to your respective satrapies1395Of Babylon and Media.

Bel. With our troops?

Pan. My order is unto the Satraps andTheir household train.

Arb. But----1400

Bel. It must be obeyed:Say, we depart.

Pan. My order is to see youDepart, and not to bear your answer.

Bel. (aside). Aye!1405Well, Sir--we will accompany you hence.

Pan. I will retire to marshal forth the guardOf honour which befits your rank, and waitYour leisure, so that it the hour exceeds not.[Exit PANIA.1410

Bel. Now then obey!

Arb. Doubtless.

Bel. Yes, to the gatesThat grate the palace, which is now our prison--No further.1415

Arb. Thou hast harped the truth indeed!The realm itself, in all its wide extension,Yawns dungeons at each step for thee and me.

Bel. Graves!

Arb. If I thought so, this good sword should dig1420One more than mine.

Bel. It shall have work enough.Let me hope better than thou augurest;At present, let us hence as best we may.Thou dost agree with me in understanding1425This order as a sentence?

Arb. Why, what otherInterpretation should it bear? it isThe very policy of Orient monarchs--Pardon and poison--favours and a sword--1430A distant voyage, and an eternal sleep.How many Satraps in his father's time--For he I own is, or at least was, bloodless--

Bel. But will not--can not be so now.

Arb. I doubt it.1435How many Satraps have I seen set outIn his Sire's day for mighty Vice-royalties,Whose tombs are on their path! I know not how,But they all sickened by the way, it wasSo long and heavy.1440

Bel. Let us but regainThe free air of the city, and we'll shortenThe journey.

Arb. 'Twill be shortened at the gates,It may be.1445

Bel. No; they hardly will risk that.They mean us to die privately, but notWithin the palace or the city walls,Where we are known, and may have partisans:If they had meant to slay us here, we were1450No longer with the living. Let us hence.

Arb. If I but thought he did not mean my life--

Bel. Fool! hence--what else should despotism alarmedMean? Let us but rejoin our troops, and march.

Arb. Towards our provinces?1455

Bel. No; towards your kingdom.There's time--there's heart, and hope, and power, and means--Which their half measures leave us in full scope.--Away!

Arb. And I even yet repenting must1460Relapse to guilt!

Bel. Self-defence is a virtue,Sole bulwark of all right. Away, I say!Let's leave this place, the air grows thick and choking,And the walls have a scent of night-shade--hence!1465Let us not leave them time for further council.Our quick departure proves our civic zeal;Our quick departure hinders our good escort,The worthy Pania, from anticipatingThe orders of some parasangs from hence:1470Nay, there's no other choice, but----hence, I say.[Exit with ARBACES, who follows reluctantly.

Enter SARDANAPALUS and SALEMENES.

Sar. Well, all is remedied, and without bloodshed,That worst of mockeries of a remedy;1475We are now secure by these men's exile.

Sal. Yes,As he who treads on flowers is from the adderTwined round their roots.

Sar. Why, what wouldst have me do?1480

Sal. Undo what you have done.

Sar. Revoke my pardon?

Sal. Replace the crown now tottering on your temples.

Sar. That were tyrannical.

Sal. But sure.1485

Sar. We are so.What danger can they work upon the frontier?

Sal. They are not there yet--never should they be so,Were I well listened to.

Sar. Nay, I have listened1490Impartially to thee--why not to them?

Sal. You may know that hereafter; as it is,I take my leave to order forth the guard.

Sar. And you will join us at the banquet?

Sal. Sire,1495Dispense with me--I am no wassailer:Command me in all service save the Bacchant's.

Sar. Nay, but 'tis fit to revel now and then.

Sal. And fit that some should watch for those who revelToo oft. Am I permitted to depart?1500

Sar. Yes----Stay a moment, my good Salemenes,My brother--my best subject--better PrinceThan I am King. You should have been the monarch,And I--I know not what, and care not; butThink not I am insensible to all1505Thine honest wisdom, and thy rough yet kind,Though oft-reproving sufferance of my follies.If I have spared these men against thy counsel,That is, their lives--it is not that I doubtThe advice was sound; but, let them live: we will not1510Cavil about their lives--so let them mend them.Their banishment will leave me still sound sleep,Which their death had not left me.

Sal. Thus you runThe risk to sleep for ever, to save traitors--1515A moment's pang now changed for years of crime.Still let them be made quiet.

Sar. Tempt me not;My word is past.

Sal. But it may be recalled.1520

Sar. 'Tis royal.

Sal. And should therefore be decisive.This half-indulgence of an exile servesBut to provoke--a pardon should be full,Or it is none.1525

Sar. And who persuaded meAfter I had repealed them, or at leastOnly dismissed them from our presence, whoUrged me to send them to their satrapies?

Sal. True; that I had forgotten; that is, Sire,1530If they e'er reached their Satrapies--why, then,Reprove me more for my advice.

Sar. And ifThey do not reach them--look to it!--in safety,In safety, mark me--and security--1535Look to thine own.

Sal. Permit me to depart;Their safety shall be cared for.

Sar. Get thee hence, then;And, prithee, think more gently of thy brother.1540

Sal. Sire, I shall ever duly serve my sovereign.[Exit SALEMENES.

Sar. (solus). That man is of a temper too severe;Hard but as lofty as the rock, and freeFrom all the taints of common earth--while I1545Am softer clay, impregnated with flowers:But as our mould is, must the produce be.If I have erred this time, 'tis on the sideWhere Error sits most lightly on that sense,I know not what to call it; but it reckons1550With me ofttimes for pain, and sometimes pleasure;A spirit which seems placed about my heartTo count its throbs, not quicken them, and askQuestions which mortal never dared to ask me,Nor Baal, though an oracular deity--1555Albeit his marble face majesticalFrowns as the shadows of the evening dimHis brows to changed expression, till at timesI think the statue looks in act to speak.Away with these vain thoughts, I will be joyous--1560And here comes Joy's true herald.

Enter MYRRHA.

Myr. King! the skyIs overcast, and musters muttering thunder,In clouds that seem approaching fast, and show1565In forkéd flashes a commanding tempest.Will you then quit the palace?

Sar. Tempest, say'st thou?

Myr. Aye, my good lord.

Sar. For my own part, I should be1570Not ill content to vary the smooth scene,And watch the warring elements; but thisWould little suit the silken garments andSmooth faces of our festive friends. Say, Myrrha,Art thou of those who dread the roar of clouds?1575

Myr. In my own country we respect their voicesAs auguries of Jove.

Sar. Jove!--aye, your Baal--Ours also has a property in thunder,And ever and anon some falling bolt1580Proves his divinity,--and yet sometimesStrikes his own altars.

Myr. That were a dread omen.

Sar. Yes--for the priests. Well, we will not go forthBeyond the palace walls to-night, but make1585Our feast within.

Myr. Now, Jove be praised! that heHath heard the prayer thou wouldst not hear. The GodsAre kinder to thee than thou to thyself,And flash this storm between thee and thy foes,1590To shield thee from them.

Sar. Child, if there be peril,Methinks it is the same within these wallsAs on the river's brink.

Myr. Not so; these walls1595Are high and strong, and guarded. Treason hasTo penetrate through many a winding way,And massy portal; but in the pavilionThere is no bulwark.

Sar. No, nor in the palace,1600Nor in the fortress, nor upon the topOf cloud-fenced Caucasus, where the eagle sitsNested in pathless clefts, if treachery be:Even as the arrow finds the airy king,The steel will reach the earthly. But be calm;1605The men, or innocent or guilty, areBanished, and far upon their way.

Myr. They live, then?

Sar. So sanguinary? Thou!

Myr. I would not shrink1610From just infliction of due punishmentOn those who seek your life: were't otherwise,I should not merit mine. Besides, you heardThe princely Salemenes.

Sar. This is strange;1615The gentle and the austere are both against me,And urge me to revenge.

Myr. 'Tis a Greek virtue.

Sar. But not a kingly one--I'll none on't; orIf ever I indulge in't, it shall be1620With kings--my equals.

Myr. These men sought to be so.

Sar. Myrrha, this is too feminine, and springsFrom fear----

Myr. For you.1625

Sar. No matter, still 'tis fear.I have observed your sex, once roused to wrath,Are timidly vindictive to a pitchOf perseverance, which I would not copy.I thought you were exempt from this, as from1630The childish helplessness of Asian women.

Myr. My Lord, I am no boaster of my love,Nor of my attributes; I have shared your splendour,And will partake your fortunes. You may liveTo find one slave more true than subject myriads:1635But this the Gods avert! I am contentTo be beloved on trust for what I feel,Rather than prove it to you in your griefs,Which might not yield to any cares of mine.

Sar. Grief cannot come where perfect love exists,1640Except to heighten it, and vanish fromThat which it could not scare away. Let's in--The hour approaches, and we must prepareTo meet the invited guests who grace our feast.[Exeunt.1645

ACT III.

SCENE I.--The Hall of the Palace illuminated--SARDANAPALUSand his Guests at Table.--A storm without, and Thunderoccasionally heard during the Banquet.

Sar. Fill full! why this is as it should be: here1650Is my true realm, amidst bright eyes and facesHappy as fair! Here sorrow cannot reach.

Zam. Nor elsewhere--where the King is, pleasure sparkles.

Sar. Is not this better now than Nimrod's huntings,Or my wild Grandam's chase in search of kingdoms1655She could not keep when conquered?

Alt. Mighty thoughThey were, as all thy royal line have been,Yet none of those who went before have reachedThe acmé of Sardanapalus, who1660Has placed his joy in peace--the sole true glory.

Sar. And pleasure, good Altada, to which gloryIs but the path. What is it that we seek?Enjoyment! We have cut the way short to it,And not gone tracking it through human ashes,1665Making a grave with every footstep.

Zam. No;All hearts are happy, and all voices blessThe King of peace--who holds a world in jubilee.

Sar. Art sure of that? I have heard otherwise;1670Some say that there be traitors.

Zam. Traitors theyWho dare to say so!--'Tis impossible.What cause?

Sar. What cause? true,--fill the goblet up;1675We will not think of them: there are none such,Or if there be, they are gone.

Alt. Guests, to my pledge!Down on your knees, and drink a measure toThe safety of the King--the monarch, say I?1680The God Sardanapalus![ZAMES and the Guests kneel, and exclaim--Mightier thanHis father Baal, the God Sardanapalus![It thunders as they kneel; some start up in confusion.1685

Zam. Why do you rise, my friends? in that strong pealHis father gods consented.

Myr. Menaced, rather.King, wilt thou bear this mad impiety?

Sar. Impiety!--nay, if the sires who reigned1690Before me can be Gods, I'll not disgraceTheir lineage. But arise, my pious friends;Hoard your devotion for the Thunderer there:I seek but to be loved, not worshipped.

Alt. Both--1695Both you must ever be by all true subjects.

Sar. Methinks the thunders still increase: it isAn awful night.

Myr. Oh yes, for those who haveNo palace to protect their worshippers.1700

Sar. That's true, my Myrrha; and could I convertMy realm to one wide shelter for the wretched,I'd do it.

Myr. Thou'rt no God, then--not to beAble to work a will so good and general,1705As thy wish would imply.

Sar. And your Gods, then,Who can, and do not?

Myr. Do not speak of that,Lest we provoke them.1710

Sar. True--, they love not censureBetter than mortals. Friends, a thought has struck me:Were there no temples, would there, think ye, beAir worshippers? that is, when it is angry,And pelting as even now.1715

Myr. The Persian praysUpon his mountain.

Sar. Yes, when the Sun shines.

Myr. And I would ask if this your palace wereUnroofed and desolate, how many flatterers1720Would lick the dust in which the King lay low?

Alt. The fair Ionian is too sarcasticUpon a nation whom she knows not well;The Assyrians know no pleasure but their King's,And homage is their pride.1725

Sar. Nay, pardon, guests,The fair Greek's readiness of speech.

Alt. Pardon! sire:We honour her of all things next to thee.Hark! what was that?1730

Zam. That! nothing but the jarOf distant portals shaken by the wind.

Alt. It sounded like the clash of--hark again!

Zam. The big rain pattering on the roof.

Sar. No more.1735Myrrha, my love, hast thou thy shell in order?Sing me a song of Sappho; her, thou know'st,Who in thy country threw----

Enter PANIA, with his sword and garments bloody,and disordered. The guests rise in confusion.1740

Pan. (to the Guards). Look to the portals;And with your best speed to the walls without.Your arms! To arms! The King's in danger. MonarchExcuse this haste,--'tis faith.

Sar. Speak on.1745

Pan. It isAs Salemenes feared; the faithless Satraps----

Sar. You are wounded--give some wine. Take breath, good Pania.

Pan. 'Tis nothing--a mere flesh wound. I am wornMore with my speed to warn my sovereign,1750Than hurt in his defence.

Myr. Well, Sir, the rebels?

Pan. Soon as Arbaces and Beleses reachedTheir stations in the city, they refusedTo march; and on my attempt to use the power1755Which I was delegated with, they calledUpon their troops, who rose in fierce defiance.

Myr. All?

Pan. Too many.

Sar. Spare not of thy free speech,1760To spare mine ears--the truth.

Pan. My own slight guardWere faithful, and what's left of it is still so.

Myr. And are these all the force still faithful?

Pan. No--1765The Bactrians, now led on by Salemenes,Who even then was on his way, still urgedBy strong suspicion of the Median chiefs,Are numerous, and make strong head againstThe rebels, fighting inch by inch, and forming1770An orb around the palace, where they meanTo centre all their force, and save the King.(He hesitates.) I am charged to----

Myr. 'Tis no time for hesitation.

Pan. Prince Salemenes doth implore the King1775To arm himself, although but for a moment,And show himself unto the soldiers: hisSole presence in this instant might do moreThan hosts can do in his behalf.

Sar. What, ho!1780My armour there.

Myr. And wilt thou?

Sar. Will I not?Ho, there!--but seek not for the buckler: 'tisToo heavy:--a light cuirass and my sword.1785Where are the rebels?

Pan. Scarce a furlong's lengthFrom the outward wall the fiercest conflict rages.

Sar. Then I may charge on horseback. Sfero, ho!Order my horse out.--There is space enough1790Even in our courts, and by the outer gate,To marshal half the horsemen of Arabia.[Exit SFERO for the armour.

Myr. How I do love thee!

Sar. I ne'er doubted it.1795

Myr. But now I know thee.

Sar. (to his Attendant). Bring down my spear too--Where's Salemenes?

Pan. Where a soldier should be,In the thick of the fight.1800

Sar. Then hasten to him----IsThe path still open, and communicationLeft 'twixt the palace and the phalanx?

Pan. 'TwasWhen I late left him, and I have no fear;1805Our troops were steady, and the phalanx formed.

Sar. Tell him to spare his person for the present,And that I will not spare my own--and say,I come.

Pan. There's victory in the very word. [Exit PANIA.1810

Sar. Altada--Zames--forth, and arm ye! ThereIs all in readiness in the armoury.See that the women are bestowed in safetyIn the remote apartments: let a guardBe set before them, with strict charge to quit1815The post but with their lives--command it, Zames.Altada, arm yourself, and return here;Your post is near our person.[Exeunt ZAMES, ALTADA, and all save MYRRHA.

Enter SFERO and others with the King's Arms, etc.1820

Sfe. King! your armour.

Sar. (arming himself). Give me the cuirass--so: my baldric; nowMy sword: I had forgot the helm--where is it?That's well--no, 'tis too heavy; you mistake, too--It was not this I meant, but that which bears1825A diadem around it.

Sfe. Sire, I deemedThat too conspicuous from the precious stonesTo risk your sacred brow beneath--and trust me,This is of better metal, though less rich.1830

Sar. You deemed! Are you too turned a rebel? Fellow!Your part is to obey: return, and--no--It is too late--I will go forth without it.

Sfe. At least, wear this.

Sar. Wear Caucasus! why, 'tis1835A mountain on my temples.

Sfe. Sire, the meanestSoldier goes not forth thus exposed to battle.All men will recognise you--for the stormHas ceased, and the moon breaks forth in her brightness.1840

Sar. I go forth to be recognised, and thusShall be so sooner. Now--my spear! I'm armed.[In going stops short, and turns to SFERO.Sfero--I had forgotten--bring the mirror.

Sfe. The mirror, Sire?1845

Sar. Yes, sir, of polished brass,Brought from the spoils of India--but be speedy.[Exit SFERO.

Sar. Myrrha, retire unto a place of safety.Why went you not forth with the other damsels?1850

Myr. Because my place is here.

Sar. And when I am gone----

Myr. I follow.

Sar. You! to battle?

Myr. If it were so,1855'Twere not the first Greek girl had trod the path.I will await here your return.

Sar. The placeIs spacious, and the first to be sought out,If they prevail; and, if it be so,1860And I return not----

Myr. Still we meet again.

Sar. How?

Myr. In the spot where all must meet at last--In Hades! if there be, as I believe,1865A shore beyond the Styx; and if there be not,In ashes.

Sar. Darest thou so much?

Myr. I dare all thingsExcept survive what I have loved, to be1870A rebel's booty: forth, and do your bravest.

Re-enter SFERO with the mirror.

Sar. (looking at himself).This cuirass fits me well, the baldric better,And the helm not at all. Methinks I seem1875[Flings away the helmet after trying it again.Passing well in these toys; and now to prove them.Altada! Where's Altada?

Sfe. Waiting, Sire,Without: he has your shield in readiness.1880

Sar. True--I forgot--he is my shield-bearerBy right of blood, derived from age to age.Myrrha, embrace me;--yet once more--once more--Love me, whate'er betide. My chiefest gloryShall be to make me worthier of your love.1885

Myr. Go forth, and conquer![Exeunt SARDANAPALUS and SFERO.Now, I am alone:All are gone forth, and of that all how fewPerhaps return! Let him but vanquish, and1890Me perish! If he vanquish not, I perish;For I will not outlive him. He has woundAbout my heart, I know not how nor why.Not for that he is King; for now his kingdomRocks underneath his throne, and the earth yawns1895To 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 himNow--now--far more than----Hark--to the war shout!1900Methinks it nears me. If it should be so,[She draws forth a small vial.This cunning Colchian poison, which my fatherLearned to compound on Euxine shores, and taught meHow to preserve, shall free me! It had freed me1905Long ere this hour, but that I loved untilI half forgot I was a slave:--where allAre slaves save One, and proud of servitude,So they are served in turn by something lowerIn the degree of bondage: we forget1910That shackles worn like ornaments no lessAre chains. Again that shout! and now the clashOf arms--and now--and now----

Enter ALTADA.

Alt. Ho, Sfero, ho!1915

Myr. He is not here; what wouldst thou with him? HowGoes on the conflict?

Alt. Dubiously and fiercely.

Myr. And the King?

Alt. Like a king. I must find Sfero,1920And bring him a new spear with his own helmet.He fights till now bare-headed, and by farToo much exposed. The soldiers knew his face,And the foe too; and in the moon's broad light,His silk tiara and his flowing hair1925Make him a mark too royal. Every arrowIs pointed at the fair hair and fair features,And the broad fillet which crowns both.

Myr. Ye Gods,Who fulminate o'er my father's land, protect him!1930Were you sent by the King?

Alt. 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!1935What, Sfero! I will seek the armoury--He must be there. [Exit ALTADA.

Myr. 'Tis no dishonour--no--'Tis no dishonour to have loved this man.I almost wish now, what I never wished1940Before--that he were Grecian. If AlcidesWere shamed in wearing Lydian Omphale'sShe-garb, and wielding her vile distaff; surelyHe, who springs up a Hercules at once,Nursed in effeminate arts from youth to manhood,1945And rushes from the banquet to the battle,As though it were a bed of love, deservesThat a Greek girl should be his paramour,And a Greek bard his minstrel--a Greek tombHis monument. How goes the strife, sir?1950

Enter an Officer.

Officer. Lost,Lost almost past recovery. Zames! WhereIs Zames?

Myr. Posted with the guard appointed1955To watch before the apartment of the women.[Exit Officer.

Myr. (sola). 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,1960A line of thirteen ages, and the livesOf thousands, and the fortune of all leftWith life, are merged; and I, too, with the great,Like a small bubble breaking with the waveWhich bore it, shall be nothing. At the least,1965My fate is in my keeping: no proud victorShall count me with his spoils.

Enter PANIA.

Pan. Away with me,Myrrha, without delay; we must not lose1970A moment--all that's left us now.

Myr. The King?

Pan. Sent me here to conduct you hence, beyondThe river, by a secret passage.

Myr. Then1975He lives----

Pan. And charged me to secure your life,And beg you to live on for his sake, tillHe can rejoin you.

Myr. Will he then give way?1980

Pan. Not till the last. Still, still he does whate'erDespair can do; and step by step disputesThe very palace.

Myr. They are here, then:--aye,Their shouts come ringing through the ancient halls,1985Never profaned by rebel echoes tillThis fatal night. Farewell, Assyria's line!Farewell to all of Nimrod! Even the nameIs now no more.

Pan. Away with me--away!1990

Myr. No: I'll die here!--Away, and tell your KingI loved him to the last.

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

Sar. Since it is thus,1995We'll die where we were born--in our own hallsSerry your ranks--stand firm. I have despatchedA trusty satrap for the guard of Zames,All fresh and faithful; they'll be here anon.All is not over,--Pania, look to Myrrha.2000[PANIA returns towards MYRRHA.

Sal. We have breathing time; yet once more charge, my friends--One for Assyria!

Sar. Rather say for Bactria!My faithful Bactrians, I will henceforth be2005King of your nation, and we'll hold togetherThis realm as province.

Sal. Hark! they come--they come.

Enter BELESES and ARBACES with the Rebels.

Arb. Set on, we have them in the toil. Charge!2010charge!

Bel. 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 ofZAMES with the Guard before mentioned.2015The Rebels are then driven off, and pursued bySALEMENES, etc. As the King is going to join thepursuit, BELESES crosses him.

Bel. Ho! tyrant--I will end this war.

Sar. Even so,2020My warlike priest, and precious prophet, andGrateful and trusty subject: yield, I pray thee.I would reserve thee for a fitter doom,Rather than dip my hands in holy blood.

Bel. Thine hour is come.2025

Sar. No, thine.--I've lately read,Though but a young astrologer, the stars;And ranging round the zodiac, found thy fateIn the sign of the Scorpion, which proclaimsThat thou wilt now be crushed.2030

Bel. But not by thee.[They fight; BELESES is wounded and disarmed.

Sar. (raising his sword to despatch him, exclaims)--Now call upon thy planets, will they shootFrom the sky to preserve their seer and credit?2035

[A party of Rebels enter and rescue BELESES.They assail the King, who in turn, isrescued by a Party of his Soldiers, who drivethe Rebels off.

The villain was a prophet after all.2040Upon them--ho! there--victory is ours.[Exit in pursuit.

Myr. (to Pan.)Pursue! Why stand'st thou here, and leavest the ranksOf fellow-soldiers conquering without thee?2045

Pan. The King's command was not to quit thee.

Myr. Me!Think not of me--a single soldier's armMust not be wanting now. I ask no guard,I need no guard: what, with a world at stake,2050Keep 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 shieldThy sovereign. [Exit MYRRHA.2055

Pan. Yet stay, damsel!--She's gone.If aught of ill betide her, better IHad lost my life. Sardanapalus holds herFar dearer than his kingdom, yet he fightsFor that too; and can I do less than he,2060Who never flashed a scimitar till now?Myrrha, return, and I obey you, thoughIn disobedience to the monarch. [Exit PANIA.

Enter ALTADA and SFERO by an opposite door.

Alt. Myrrha!2065What, gone? yet she was here when the fight raged,And Pania also. Can aught have befallen them?

Sfe. I saw both safe, when late the rebels fled;They probably are but retired to makeTheir way back to the harem.2070

Alt. If the KingProve victor, as it seems even now he must,And miss his own Ionian, we are doomedTo worse than captive rebels.

Sfe. Let us trace them:2075She cannot be fled far; and, found, she makesA richer prize to our soft sovereignThan his recovered kingdom.

Alt. Baal himselfNe'er fought more fiercely to win empire, than2080His silken son to save it: he defiesAll augury of foes or friends; and likeThe close and sultry summer's day, which bodesA twilight tempest, bursts forth in such thunderAs sweeps the air and deluges the earth.2085The man's inscrutable.

Sfe. Not more than others.All are the sons of circumstance: away--Let's seek the slave out, or prepare to beTortured for his infatuation, and2090Condemned without a crime. [Exeunt.

Enter SALEMENES and Soldiers, etc.

Sal. The triumph isFlattering: they are beaten backward from the palace,And we have opened regular access2095To the troops stationed on the other sideEuphrates, who may still be true; nay, must be,When they hear of our victory. But whereIs the chief victor? where's the King?

Enter SARDANAPALUS, cum suis, etc., and MYRRHA.2100

Sar. Here, brother.

Sal. Unhurt, I hope.

Sar. Not quite; but let it pass.We've cleared the palace----

Sal. And I trust the city.2105Our numbers gather; and I've ordered onwardA cloud of Parthians, hitherto reserved,All fresh and fiery, to be poured upon themIn their retreat, which soon will be a flight.

Sar. It is already, or at least they marched2110Faster than I could follow with my Bactrians,Who spared no speed. I am spent: give me a seat.

Sal. There stands the throne, Sire.

Sar. Tis no place to rest on,For mind nor body: let me have a couch,2115[They place a seat.A peasant's stool, I care not what: so--nowI breathe more freely.

Sal. This great hour has provedThe brightest and most glorious of your life.2120

Sar. And the most tiresome. Where's my cupbearer?Bring me some water.

Sal. (smiling) 'Tis the first time heEver had such an order: even I,Your most austere of counsellors, would now2125Suggest a purpler beverage.

Sar. Blood--doubtless.But there's enough of that shed; as for wine,I have learned to-night the price of the pure element:Thrice have I drank of it, and thrice renewed,2130With greater strength than the grape ever gave me,My charge upon the rebels. Where's the soldierWho gave me water in his helmet?

One of the Guards. Slain, Sire!An arrow pierced his brain, while, scattering2135The last drops from his helm, he stood in actTo place it on his brows.

Sar. Slain! unrewarded!And slain to serve my thirst: that's hard, poor slave!Had he but lived, I would have gorged him with2140Gold: all the gold of earth could ne'er repayThe pleasure of that draught; for I was parchedAs I am now. [They bring water--he drinks.I live again--from henceforthThe goblet I reserve for hours of love,2145But war on water.

Sal. And that bandage, Sire,Which girds your arm?

Sar. A scratch from brave Beleses.

Myr. Oh! he is wounded!2150

Sar. Not too much of that;And yet it feels a little stiff and painful,Now I am cooler.