And brave his power.
mérope.
I see the precipice
That opens wide its horrid gulf before me;
But men and gods deceived me; I expected
Justice from both, and both refused to grant it.
euricles.
I will assemble yet our little force
Of trusty friends, to anchor our poor bark,
And save it from the fury of the storm;
To shield thee from the insults of a tyrant,
And the mad rage of an ungrateful people.
SCENE IV.
mérope, ismenia.
ismenia.
’Tis not the people’s fault; they love you still,
And would preserve the honor of your crown:
They wish to see you joined to Poliphontes,
That from your hand he then might seem to hold
The sovereign power.
mérope.
They give me to a tyrant,
Betray Ægisthus, and enslave his mother.
ismenia.
They call you to the throne of your forefathers:
Obey their voice; it is the voice of heaven.
mérope.
And wouldst thou have me purchase empty honors
With infamy and shame?
SCENE V.
mérope, euricles, ismenia.
euricles.
O queen, I tremble
To stand before thee: now prepare thy heart
For the most dreadful stroke; call forth thy courage
To bear the news.
mérope.
I have no courage left,
’Tis worn out by misfortune; but no matter.
Proceed, inform me.
euricles.
All is past; and fate—
I can no more.
mérope.
Go on: my son—
euricles.
He’s dead:
It is too true: the dreadful news hath shocked
Your friends, and froze their active zeal.
mérope.
My son,
Ægisthus, dead!
ismenia.
O gods!
euricles.
Some base assassins
Had in his passage laid the snares of death;
The horrid crime is done.
mérope.
O hateful day!
Why shines the sun on such a wretch as I?
He’s lost; he’s gone: what cruel hand destroyed him!
Who shed his blood, the last of my sad race?
euricles.
It was that stranger, that abandoned slave,
Whose persecuted virtue you admired,
For whom such pity rose in your kind breast;
Even he whom you protected.
mérope.
Can it be!
Was he that monster?
euricles.
We have certain proofs,
And have discovered two of his companions,
Who, lurking here, were still in search of Narbas,
Who had escaped them: he who slew Ægisthus
Had taken from your son these precious spoils,
[The armor is shown at a distance at the farther end of the stage.
The armor which old Narbas bore from hence.
The traitor, that he might not be discovered,
Had thrown aside these bloody witnesses.
mérope.
What hast thou told me? O these trembling hands
Did on Cresphontes put that very armor
When first he went to battle. Ye dear relics,
O to what hands were ye delivered! monster,
To seize this sacred armor.
euricles.
’Tis the same
Ægisthus did bring hither.
mérope.
Now behold it
Stained with his blood! but in Alcides’ temple
Did they not see a poor old man?
euricles.
’Twas Narbas:
So Poliphontes owns.
mérope.
O dreadful truth!
The villain, to conceal his crime, hath cast
His body to the waves, and buried him
In the rude ocean: O I see it all,
All my sad fate: O my unhappy son!
euricles.
Would you not have the traitor brought before you,
And questioned here?
SCENE VI.
mérope, euricles, ismenia, erox, Guards.
erox.
Permit me in the name
Of Poliphontes, my rejected master.
Perhaps rejected but because unknown,
To offer you, in this distressful hour,
His best assistance: he already knows
Ægisthus is no more, and bears a part
In your misfortunes.
mérope.
That I know he does,
A joyful part, and reaps the fruits of them,
The throne of my Cresphontes, and Ægisthus.
erox.
That throne he wishes but to share with you,
And throw his sceptre at thy feet; the crown
He hopes will make him worthy of thy hand:
But to