The cruel choice of infamy or death.
O, Zamti, I must yield thee to thy fate.
asseli.
Rather exert the power which beauty gives thee
O’er the proud Scythian, you have found the art
To please him.
idame.
Would I had not! that, alas!
But makes me more unhappy.
asseli.
You alone
Might soften all the rigor of our fate;
For you already his relenting soul
Withheld its fierceness; you subdued his rage;
Zamti still lives, his rival, and his foe:
This bloody conqueror stands in awe of thee,
And dare not hurt him: here he first beheld
Thy lovely form, here paid his guiltless vows.
idame.
No more: it were a crime to think of them.
SCENE VI.
zamti, idame, asseli.
idame.
Zamti! what brought thee hither? what kind power
Hath thus restored thee to my arms?
zamti.
The tyrant
Hath given me this short respite; by his orders
I came to seek thee.
idame.
Hast thou heard, my Zamti,
The shameful terms proposed to save thy life,
And the dear Orphan’s?
zamti.
Mine’s not worth thy care:
What is the loss of one unhappy being
Amidst the general ruin? O Idame,
Remember my first duty is to save
My king; whate’er we boast, whate’er we love,
To him we owe it all, except our honor,
That only good which we can call our own.
I have concealed the Orphan ’midst the tombs
Of his great ancestors, unless we soon
Fly to relieve him, he must perish there.
Korea’s generous prince in vain expects him:
Etan, our faithful servant, is in chains;
Thou art our only hope; preserve the life
Of thy dear infant, and thy husband’s honor.
idame.
What wouldst thou have me do?
zamti.
Forget me, live
But for thy country, give up all to that,
And that alone; heaven points out the fair path
Of glory to thee, and a husband’s death,
For Zamti soon must die, shall leave thee free
To act as best may serve the common cause:
Enslave the Tartar, make him all thy own;
And yet to leave thee to that proud usurper
Will make the pangs of death more bitter to me:
It is a dreadful sacrifice, but duty
Spreads sweet content o’er all that she inspires:
Idame, be a mother to thy king,
And reign; remember, ’tis my last command,
Preserve thy sovereign, and be happy.
idame.
Stay,
Thou knowest me not: thinkest thou I’ll ever purchase
Those shameful honors with my Zamti’s blood?
O thou art doubly guilty; love and nature
Cry out against thee! barbarous to thy son,
And still more cruel to thy wife. O Zamti,
Heaven points us out a nobler way to death.
The tyrant, whether from contempt or love
I know not, leaves me at full liberty;
I am not watched, or guarded here; I know
Each secret path and avenue that leads
To the dark tombs where thou hast hid the king;
Thither I’ll fly, and to Korea’s chief
Bear the rich prize, the nation’s only hope,
The royal infant, as a gift from heaven:
I know ’twill be in vain, and we must die;
But we shall die with glory; we shall leave
Behind us names that, worthy of remembrance,
shall shine forever in the rolls of time.
Now, Zamti, have I followed thy example?
zamti.
Thou gracious God, who hast inspired, support her!
I blush, my love, at thy superior virtue;
Heaven grant thee power to save thy king and country!
End of the Fourth Act.
ACT V.
SCENE I.
idame, asseli.
asseli.
All then is lost; twice in one fatal day
Have I beheld thee made a slave: alas!
What could a helpless woman unsupported
Against a mighty conqueror?
idame.
I have done
What duty bade me, carried in my arms
The royal infant; for a while his presence
Inspired our troops, but Genghis came, and death
Followed his steps, the savage herd prevailed,
And bore down all before them; I was made
Once more a captive.
asseli.
Zamti then must perish,
And share his master’s fate.
idame.
They both must die:
Perhaps some cruel torments, worse than death,
Already are prepared; my son perhaps
Must follow them: to triumph o’er my grief,
And aggravate my sorrows, the proud tyrant
Called me before him: how his looks appalled
My shrinking soul, when thrice he lifted up
His bloody hand against the wretched infants!
Trembling I stepped between, and at his feet