FRANCES E. BENNETT. DUKE At UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure %oom THE COLERIDGE COLLECTION 1M P'M -^c-^ l :^*\ , iC^^T' / < A t? IP* ^*J? * / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2Q12 with funding from Duke University Libraries http://archive.org/details/zapolyachristmasOOcole ZAPOLYA. ZAPOLYA: A CHRISTMAS TALE, IN TWO PARTS: ENTITLED "THE USURPER'S FORTUNE;" AND ENTITLED "THE USURPER'S FATE.'' S. T. COLERIDGE, Esq. LONDON: PRINTED FOR REST FENNER, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1817. S. Curtis, Printer, Camberwell Press. TV.fc.A. ADVERTISEMENT +++**r++-r*r THE form of the following dramatic poem is in humble imitation of the Winters Tale of Shakespear, except that I have called the first part a Prelude instead of a first Act, as a some- what nearer resemblance to the plan of the ancients, of which one specimen is left us in the Mschylian Trilogy of the Aga- memnon, the Orestes, and the Eumenides. Though a matter of form merely, yet two plays, on different periods of the same tale, might seem less bold, than an interval of twenty years between a first and second act. This is, however, in mere obedience to custom. The effect does not, in reality, at all depend on the Time of the interval ; but on a very different principle. There are cases in which an interval of twenty hours between the acts would have a worse effect (i. e. render the imagination less disposed to take the position required) than twenty years in other cases. Tor the rest, I shall be well content if my readers will take it up, read and judge it, as a Christmas tale. S. T. COLERIDGE. 283850 CHARACTERS. Mtn. Emerick, Usurping King of IUyria. Raab Kiuprili, , An Illyrian Chieftain. Casimir, Son of Kiuprili. Chef Ragozzi, A Military Commander. Women. Zapolya, Queen of IUyria. 263850 Z A P O L Y A. SCENE I. Front of a Palace with a magnificent Colonade. On one side a military Guard-house. Sentries pacing backward and forward before the Palace. Chef Ragozzi, at the door of the Guard- house, as looking forwards at some object in the distance. Ch. Rag. My eyes deceive me not, it must be he. Who but our chief, my more than father, who But Raab Kiuprili moves with such a gait ? Lo! e'en this eager and unwonted haste v But agitates, not quells, its majesty. My patron ! my commander ! yes, 'tis he ! Call out the guards. The Lord Kiuprili comes. 2 ZAPOLYA. [PRELUDE. Drums beat, fyc. the Guard turns out. Enter Raab KlUPRILI. R. K.IU P. (Making a signal to stop the Drums, i US! Thy fancied heaven, dear girl, like that above thee, In its mere self a cold, drear, colorless void, Seen from below and in the large, becomes The bright blue ether, and the seat of gods ! Well! but this broil that scared you from the dance ! And was not Laska there : he, your betrothed ? Gly. Yes, madam ! he was there. So was the may- pole, For we danced round it. Sarol. Ah, Glycine ! why, Why did you then betroth yourself? Gly. Because My own dear lady wished it ! 'twas you asked me ! Sarol. Yes, at my lord's request, but never wished My poor affectionate girl, to see thee wretched. Thou know'st not yet the duties of a wife. Gly. Oh, yes! It is a wife's chief duty, madam! To stand in awe of her husband, and obey him, And, I am sure, I never shall see Laska But I shall tremble. Sarol. Not with fear, I think, SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 39 For you still mock him. Bring a" seat from the cottage ! {Exit Glycine into the Cottage, Sarolta continues her Speech looking after her;) Something above thy rank there hangs about thee, And in thy countenance, thy voice, and motion, Yea, e'en in thy simplicity, Glycine, A fine and feminine grace, that makes me feel More as a mother than a mistress to thee ! Thou art a soldier's orphan '• that — the courage, Which rising in thine eye, seems oft to give A new soul to its gentleness, doth prove thee ! Thou art sprung too of no ignoble blood, Or there's no faith in instinct ! [Angry voices and clamour without, re-enter Glycine. Gly. Oh, madam ! there's a party of your servants, And my lord's steward, Laska, at their head, Have come to search for old Bathory's son, Bethlen, that brave young man ! 'twas he, my lady, That took our parts, and beat off the intruders, And, in mere spite and malice, now they charge him With bad words of Lord Casimir and the king. 40 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. Pray don't believe them, madam ! This way ! This way! Lady Sarolta's here. [Calling without. Sarol. Be calm, Glycine. Enter Laska and Servants with Old Bathory. Las. (to Bathory.) We have no concern with you! What needs your presence ? Bath. What! Do you think I'll suffer my brave boy To be slandered by a set of coward-ruffians, And leave it to their malice, — yes, mere malice! — To tell its own tale? [Laska and Servants bow to Lady Sarolta. Sarol. Laska ! What may this mean ? Las. (pompously, as commencing a set speech.) Madam ! and may it please your ladyship ! This old man's son, by name, Bethlen Bathory, Stands charged, on weighty evidence, that he, On yester-eve, being his lordship's birth-day, Did traitorously defame Lord Casimir : The lord high steward of the realm, moreover Sarol. Be brief! We know his titles! Las. . And moreover SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 41 Raved like a traitor at our liege King Emerick. And furthermore, said witnesses make oath, Led on the assault upon his lordship's servants ; Yea, insolently tore, from this, your huntsman, His badge of livery of your noble house, And trampled it in scorn. Sarol. (to the servants who offer to speak.) You have had your spokesman ! Where is the young man thus accused ? Bath I know not : But if no ill betide him on the mountains, He will not long be absent ! Sarol. Thou art his father ? Bath. None ever with more reason prized a son ; Yet I hate falsehood more than I love him. But more than one, now in my lady's presence, Witness' d the affray, besides these men of malice ; And if I swerve from truth Gly. Yes! good old man! My lady ! pray believe him ! Sarol. Hush, Glycine ! ' Be silent I command you. [Then to Bathory. Speak ! we hear you ! 42 ZAPOLYA [ACT I. Bath. My tale is brief. During oar festive dance, Your servants, the accusers of my son, Offered gross insults, in unmanly sort, To our village maidens. He, (could he do less ?) Rose in defence of outraged modesty, And so persuasive did his cudgel prove, (Your hectoring sparks so over brave to women Are always cowards) that they soon took flight, And now in mere revenge, like baffled boasters, Have framed this tale, out of some hasty words Which their own threats provoked. Sarol. Old man ! you talk Too bluntly ! Did your son owe no respect To the livery of our house ? Bath. Even such respect As the sheep's skin should gain for the hot wolf That hath began to worry the poor lambs! Las. Old insolent ruffian ! Gly. Pardon ! pardon, madam ! I saw the whole affray. The good old man Means no offence, sweet lady ! — You, yourself, Laska ! .know well, th#t these men were the ruffians ! SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 43 Shame on you ! Sarol. {speaks with affected anger.) What ! Glycine? Go, retire ! {Exit Glycine mournfully. Be it then that these men faulted. Yet yourself, Or better still belike the maidens' parents, Might have complained to us. Was ever access Denied you? Or free audience? Or are we Weak and unfit to punish our own servants? Bath. So then ! So then ! Heaven grant an pld man patience ! And must the gard'ner leave his seedling plants, Leave his young roses to the rooting swine While he goes ask their master, if perchance His leisure serve to scourge them from their ravage? Lask. Ho! Take the rude clown from your lady's presence I will report her further will ! Sarol. Wait then, Till thou hast learnt it ! Fervent good old man ! Forgive me that, to try thee, I put on A face of sterness, alien to my meaning ! [ Then speaks to the Servants. Hence ! leave my presence ! and you Laska ! mark me ! 44 ZAPOLYA. [ACT 1. Those rioters are no longer of my household ! If we but shake a dew-drop from a rose In vain would we re-place it, and as vainly Restore the tear of wounded modesty To a maiden's eye familiarized to licence.- — But these men, Laska — Lask. {aside) Yes now 'tis coming ! Sarol. Brutal aggressors first, then baffled dastards, That they have sought to piece out their revenge With a tale of words lur'd from the lips of anger Stamps them most dangerous ; and till I want Fit means for wicked ends, we shall not need Their services. Discharge them ! You, Bathory ! Are henceforth of my household ! I shall place you Near my own person ! When your son returns Present him to us ! Batho. Ha ! what strangers* here ? What business have they in an old man's eye I Your goodness, lady — and it came so sudden — I cannot — must not — let you be deceived. I have yet another tale, but {then to Sarolta aside.) not for all ears ! * Refers to the tear, which he feels starting in his eye. The following line was borrowed unconsciously from Mr. Wordsworth's Excursion. SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 45 Sarol. I oft have passed your cottage, and still prais'd Its beauty, and that trim orchard-plot, whose blossoms The gusts of April shower'd aslant its thatch. Come, you shall show it me ! And, while you bid it Farewell, be not ashamed that I should witness The oil of gladness glittering on the water Of an ebbing grief. [Bathory bowing, shows her into his cottage. Lask. {alone) Vexation! baffled! school'd! Ho! Laska! wake! why? what can all this mean? She sent away that cockatrice in anger! Oh the false witch! It is too plain, she loves him. And now, the old man near my lady's person, She'll see this Bethlen hourly ! [Laska flings himself into the seat. Glycine peeps in timidly. • Gly. Laska! Laska! Is my lady gone ? Lask. (surlily.) Gone. Gly. Have you yet seen him ? Is he returned ? ^ [Laska starts up from his seat. Has the seat stung you, Laska ? 46 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. Lask. No, serpent! no; 'tis you that sting me ; you! What ! you would cling to him again ? Gly. Whom ? Lask. Bethlen! Bethlen- Yes ; gaze as if your very eyes embraced him ! Ha ! you forget the scene of yesterday ! Mute ere he came, but then — Out on your screams, And your pretended fears ! Gly. Your fears, at least, Were real, Laska ! or your trembling limbs And white cheeks play'd the hypocrites most vilely ! Lask. I fear! whom? what? Gly. I know, what / should fear, Were I in Laska's place. Lask. What? Gly. My own conscience For having fed my jealousy and envy With a plot, made out of other men's revenges, Against a brave and innocent young man's life! Yet, yet, pray tell me! Lask. {malignantly.) You will know too soon. Gly. Would I could find my lady! tho' she chid me — SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 47 Yet this suspense — (going.) Lask. Stop! stop! one question only — I am quite calm — Gly. Ay, as the old song says, Calm as a tyger, valiant as a dove. Nay now, I have marr'd the verse: well! this one question — Lask. Are you not bound to me by your own pro- mise? And is it not as plain — Gly. Halt! that 'a two questions. Lask. Pshaw! Is it not as plain as impudence, That you're in love with this young swaggering beggar, Bethlen Bathory ? When he was accused, Why pressed you forward? Why did you defend him? Gly. Question meet question: that's a woman's privilege. Why, Laska, did you urge Lord Casimir To make my lady force that promise from me? Lask. So then, you say, Lady Sarolta forc'd you ? Gly. Could I look up to her dear countenance, And say her nay ? As far back as I wot of, All her commands were gracious, sweet requests. How could it be then, but that her requests Must needs have sounded to me as commands? 48 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. And as for love, had I a score of loves, I'd keep them all for my dear, kind, good mistress. Lask. Not one for Bethlen? Gly. Oh ! that's a different thing-. To be sure he's brave, and handsome, and so pious To his good old father. But for loving him— Nay, there, indeed, you are mistaken, Laska! Poor youth ! I rather think I grieve for him ; For I sigh so deeply when I think of him ! And if I see him, the tears come in my eyes, And my heart beats ; and all because I dreamt That the war-wolf* had gor'd him as he hunted In the haunted forest ! Las. You dare own all this? Your lady will not warrant promise-breach. Mine, pamper'd Miss ! you shall be ; and I'll make you Grieve for him with a vengeance. Odd's, my fingers Tingle already! {makes threatening signs.) Gly. (aside.) Ha! Bethlen coming this way ! [Glycine then cries out as if afraid of being beaten. Oh, save me! Save me! Pray don't kill me, Laska! * For the best account of the War-wolf or Lycanthropus, see Drayton's Moon-calf, Chalmers' English Poets, Vol. IV. p. 133. SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 49 Enter Bethlen in an Hunting Dress. Beth. What, beat a woman! i Lask. (to Glycine.) O you cockatrice! Beth. Unmanly dastard, hold! Lask. (pompously.) Do you chance to know Who — I — am, Sir? — ('Sdeath! how black he looks !) Beth. I have started many strange beasts in my time, * But none less like a man, than this before me That lifts his hand against a timid female. Lask. Bold youth! she's mine. Gly. No, not my master yet, But only is to be ; and all, because Two years ago my lady asked me, and I promised her, not him; and if she'll let me, I'll hate you, my lord's steward. Beth. Hush, Glycine ! Gly. Yes, I do, Bethlen; for he just now brought False witnesses to swear away your life : Your life, and old Bathory's too. Beth. Bathory's! • Where is my father? Answer, or Ha? gone! * • [Laska during this time slinks off the Stage, using threatening gestures to Glycine. 50 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. Gly. Oh, heed not him ! I saw you pressing onward, And did but feign alarm. Dear gallant youth, It is your life, they seek ! Beth. My life? Gly. Alas, Lady Saroltaeven — Beth. She does not know me! Gly. Oh that she did! she could not then have spoken With such stern countenance. But though she spurn me, I will kneel, Bethlen — Beth. Not for me, Glycine ! What have I done ? or whom have I offended ? Gly. Rash words, 'tis said, and treasonous of the king. [Bethlen mutters to himself indignantly. Gly. (aside.) So looks the statue, in our hall, o'the god, The shaft just flown that kill'd the serpent ! Beth, (muttering aside.) King ! Gly. Ah, often have I wished you were a king. You would protect the helpless every where, As you did us. And I, too, should not then SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 51 Grieve for you, Bethlen, as I do ; nor have The tears come in my eyes ; nor dream bad dreams That you were killed in the forest ; and then Laska Would have no right to rail at me, nor say (Yes, the base man, he says,) that I — I love you. Beth. Pretty Glycine! wer't thou not betrothed — But in good truth I know not what I speak. This luckless morning I have been so haunted With my own fancies, starting up like omens, That I feel like one, who waking from a dream Both asks and answers wildly. — But Bathory? Gly. Hist ! 'tis my lady's step ! She must not see you! [Bethlen retires. Enter from the Cottage Sarolta and Bathory. Sarol. Go, seek your son! I need not add be speedy. You here, Glycine ? [Exit Bathory. Gly. Pardon, pardon Madam ! If you but saw the old man's son, you would not, You could not have him harm'd. Sarol. Be calm, Glycine! Gly. No, I shall break my heart, (sobbing.) e2 52 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. . SAROL. (taking her hand .) Ha! is it so? O strange and hidden power of sympathy, That of like fates, though all unknown to each, Dost make blind instincts, orphan's heart to orphan's Drawing by dim disquiet ! Gly. Old Bathory— - Sarol. Seeks his brave son. Come, wipe away thy tears. Yes, in good truth, Glycine, this same Bethlen Seems a most noble and deserving youth. Gly. My lady does not mock me ? Sarol. Where is Laska? Has he not told thee 1 Gly. Nothing. In his fear — Anger, I mean — stole off — I am so fluttered— Left me abruptly — Sarol. His shame excuses him! He is somewhat hardly task'd ; and in discharging His own tools, cons a lesson for himself, ; Bathory and the youth henceforward live Safe in my lord's protection. Gly. The Saints bless you! Shame on my graceless heart! How dared I fear, Lady Sarolta could be cruel ? SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 53 Sarol. Come, Be yourself, girl ! Gly. O, 'tis so full here ! {at her heart.) And now it can not harm him if I tell you, That the old man's son — Sarol. Is not that old man's son ! A destiny, not unlike thine own, is his. For all I know of thee is, that thou art A soldier's orphan : left when rage intestine Shook and engulph'd the pillars of Illyria. This other fragment, thrown back by that same earth- quake, This, so mysteriously inscribed by nature, Perchance may piece out and interpret thine. Command thyself ! Be secret! His true father Hear'st thou ? Gly^ O tell — (eagerly.) Beth. {Who had overheard the last few words, now rushes out.) \ Yes, tell me, Shape from heaven ! Who is my father? Sarol. {Gazing with surprize.) Thine? Thy father? Rise! Gly. Alas! He hath alarmed you, my dear lady ! 54 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. Sarol. His countenance, not his act ! Gly. Rise, Bethlen! Rise! Beth. No ; kneel thou too ! and with thy orphan's tongue Plead for me ! I am rooted to the earth And have no power to rise ! Give me a father ! There is a prayer in those uplifted eyes That seeks high Heaven ! But I will overtake it, And bring it back, and make it plead for me In thine own heart! Speak! Speak! Restore to me A name in the world! Sarol. By that blest Heaven I gaz'd at, I know not who thou art. And if I knew, Dared I — —-But rise! Beth. Blest spirits of my parents, Ye hover o'er me now ! Ye shine upon me ! And, like a flower that coils forth from a Ruin, I feel and seek the light, I can not see! Sarol. Thou see'st yon dim spot on the mountain's ridge, But what it is thou know'st not. Even such Is all I know of thee — haply, brave youth, Is all, Fate makes it safe for thee to know ! SCENE I.] zapolya: 55 Beth. Safe? Safe? O let me then inherit danger, And it shall be my birth-right ! Sarol. (aside.) That look again ! — The wood which first incloses, and then skirts The highest track that leads across the mountains — Thou know'st it, Bethlen? Beth. Lady, 'twas my wont To roam there in my childhood oft alone And mutter to myself the name of father. For still Bathory (why, till now I guess'd not) Would never hear it from my lips, but sighing Gaz'd upward. Yet of late an idle terror — " Gly. Madam, that wood is haunted by the war- wolves, Vampires, and monstrous— Sarol. (with a smile.) Moon-calves, credulous girl ! Haply some o'ergrown savage of the forest Hath his lair there, and fear hath framed the rest. [ Then speaking again to Bethlen. After that last great battle, (O young man ! Thou wakest anew my life's sole anguish) that Which fixed Lord Emerick on his throne, Bathory Led by a cry, far inward from the track, 56 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. In the hollow of an oak, as in a nest, Did find thee, Betlilen, then an helpless babe. The robe, that wrapt thee, was a widow's mantle. Beth. An infant's weakness doth relax my frame. say — I fear to ask — Sarol. And I to tell thee. Beth. Strike ! O strike quickly ! See, I do not shrink. (striking his breast.) 1 am stone, cold stone. Sarol. Hid in a brake hard by, . Scarce by both palms supported from the earth, A wounded lady lay, whose life fast waning Seemed to survive itself in her fixt eyes, That strained towards the babe. At length one arm Painfully from her own weight disengaging, She pointed first to heaven, then from her bosom Drew forth a golden casket. Thus entreated Thy foster-father took thee in his arms, And kneeling spake : If aught of this world's comfort Can reach thy heart, receive a poor man's troth, That at my life's risk I will save thy child! Her countenance work'd, as one that seem'd preparing A loud voice, but it died upon her lips In a faint whisper, " Fly! Save him! Hide — hide all !" SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 57 Beth. And did he leave her? What had I a mother? And left her bleeding, dying ? Bought I vile life With the desertion of a dying mother? Oh agony ! Gly. Alas ! thou art bewildered, And dost forget thou wer't an helpless infant ! Beth. What else can I remember, but a mother Mangled and left to perish ? Sarol* Hush, Glycine! It is the ground-swell of a teeming instinct: Let it but lift itself to air and sunshine, And it will find a mirror in the waters, It now makes boil above it. Check him not! Beth. O that I were diffused among the waters That pierce into the secret depths of earth, And find their way in darkness ! Would that I Could spread myself upon the homeless winds ! And I would seek her ! for she is not dead ! She can not die ! O pardon, gracious lady ! You were about to say, that he returned — Sarol. Deep Love, the Godlike in us, still believes Its objects as immortal as itself! Beth. And found her still — Sarol. Alas ! he did return, 58 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. He left no spot unsearch'd in all the forest. But she (I trust me by some friendly hand) Had been borne off. Beth. O whither? Gly. Dearest Bethlen ! I would that you could weep like me ! O do not Gaze so upon the air ! Sarol. (continuing the story) While he was absent A friendly troop, 'tis certain, scoured the wood, Hotly pursued indeed by Emerick. Beth. , Emerick ! Oh Hell! Gly. {to silence him) Bethlen ! Beth. Hist! I'll curse him in a whisper! This gracious lady must hear blessings only. She hath not yet the glory round her head, Nor those strong eagle wings, which made swift way To that appointed place, which I must seek : Or else she were my mother ! Sarol. Noble youth ! From me fear nothing ! Long time have I owed Offerings of expiation for misdeeds Long passed that weigh me down, tho' innocent ! Thy foster-father hid the secret from thee, SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 59 For he perceived thy thoughts, as they expanded, . Proud, restless, and ill-sorting with thy state! Vain was his care ! Thou 'st made thyself suspected E'en where Suspicion reigns, and asks no proof But its own fears ! Great Nature hath endow'd thee With her best gifts ! From me thou shalt receive All honorable aidance ! But haste hence ! Travel will ripen thee, and enterprize Beseems thy years ! Be thou henceforth my soldier! And whatsoe'er betide thee, still believe That in each noble deed, achieved or suffered, Thou solvest best the riddle of thy birth ! And may the light that streams from thine own honour Guide thee to that, thou seekest ! Gly. Must he leave us ? Beth. And for such goodness can I return nothing, But some hot tears that sting mine eyes? Some sighs That if not breath'd would swell my heart to stifling ? May heaven and thine own virtues, high-born lady, Be as a shield of fire, far, far aloof To scare all evil from thee ! Yet, if fate Hath destined thee one doubtful hour of danger, From the uttermost region of the earth, methinks, Swift as a spirit invoked, I should be with thee ! (50 J5APOLYA. [ACT I. And then, perchance, I might have power t' unbosom These thanks that struggle here. Eyes fair as thine Have gazed on me with tears of love and anguish, Which these eyes saw not, or beheld unconscious; And tones of anxious fondness, passionate prayers, Have been talk 'd to me ! But this tongue ne'er soothed A mother's ear, lisping a mother's name ! O, at how dear a price have I been lov'd And no love could return ! One boon then, lady ! Where'er thou bid'st, I go thy faithful soldier, But first must trace the spot, where she lay bleeding Who gave me life. No more shall beast of ravine Affront with baser spoil that sacred forest ! Or if avengers more than human haunt there, Take they what shape they list, savage or heavenly, They shall make answer to me, though my heart's blood Should be the spell to bind them. Blood calls for blood ! [Exit Bethlen. Sarol. Ah ! it was this I fear'd. To ward off this Did I with-hold from him that old Bathory Returning hid beneath the self-same oak, Where the babe lay, the mantle, and some jewel Bound on his infant arm. SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 61 Gly. Oli, let me fly And stop him ! Mangled limbs do there lie scattered Till the lured eagle bears them to her nest. And voices have been heard ! And there the plant - grows That being eaten gives the inhuman wizard Power to put on the fell Hyaena's shape. Sarol. What idle tongue hath bewitch'd thee, Glycine I I hoped that thou had'st learnt a nobler faith. Gly. O, chide me not, dear lady; question Laska, Or the old man. Sarol. Forgive me, I spake harshly. It is indeed a mighty sorcery That doth enthrall thy young heart, my poor girl. And what hath Laska told thee ? Gly. Three days past A courier from the king did cross that wood ; A wilful man, that arm'd himself on purpose: And never hath been heard of from that time ! {Sound of horns without,) Sarol. Hark ! dost thou hear it 1 Gly. 'Tis the sound of horns? Out huntsmen are net out ! 62 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. SAROL. Lord Casimir "Would not come thus ! (Horns again.) Gly. Still louder ! Sarol. Haste we hence ! For I believe in part thy tale of terror ! But, trust me, 'tis the inner man transform'd : Beasts in the shape of men are worse than war-wolves. (Sarolta and Glycine exeunt. Trumpets, $fc. louder. Enter Emerick, Lord Rudolph Laska, and Huntsmen and Attendants.) Rud. A gallant chace, sire. Emer. Aye, but this new quarry That we last started seems worth all the rest. {Then to Laska. And you — excuse me — what's your name ? Lask. Whatever Your majesty may please. Emer. Nay, that's too late, man. Say, what thy mother and thy godfather Were pleased to call thee. Lask. Laska, my liege sovereign. Emer. Well, my liege subject Laska ! And you are Lord Casimir's steward ? Lask. And your majesty's creature. SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 63 Emer. Two gentle dames made off at our approach. Which was your lady ? Lask . My liege lord, the taller. The other, please your grace, is her poor handmaid, Long since betrothed to me. But the maid's froward — Yet would your grace but speak — Emer. Hum, master steward ! I am honor'd with this sudden confidence. Lead on. {To Laska, then to Rudolph.) Lord Rudolph, you '11 announce our coming. Greet fair Sarolta from me, and entreat her To be our gentle hostess. Mark, you add How much we grieve, that business of the state Hath forced us to delay her lord's return. Rud. {aside.) Lewd, ingrate tyrant! Yes, I will announce thee. Emer. Now onward all. [Exeunt attendants. Emerick solus. A fair one by my faith ! If her face rival but her gait and stature, My good friend Casimir had his reasons too. " Her tender health, her vow of strict retirement, " Made early in the convent — His word -pledged—" 64 ZAPOLYA. [ACT I. All fictions, all: fictions of jealousy. Well ! If the mountain move not to the prophet, The prophet must to the mountain ! In this Laska There's somewhat of the knave mix'd up with dolt. Through the transparence of the fool, methought, I saw (as I could lay my finger on it) The crocodile's eye, that peer'd up from the bottom. This knave may do us service. Hot ambition Won me the husband. Now let vanity And the resentment for a forced seclusion Decoy the wife! Let him be deem'd th' aggressor Whose cunning and distrust, began the game ! {Exit. END OP ACT I. ACT II, SCENE I. A savage wood. At one side a cavern, overhung with ivy. Zapolya and Kiuprili discovered : both, but especially the latter, in rude and savage garments. Kiup. Heard you then aught while I was slum- , bering? Zapo. Nothing. Only your face became convulsed. We miserable ! Is heaven's last mercy fled? Is sleep grown treacherous? Kiup. O for a sleep, for sleep itself to rest in ! I dreamt I had met with food beneath a tree And I was seeking you, when all at once My feet became entangled in a net : Still more entangled as in rage I tore it , At length I freed myself, had sight of yon, But as I hastened eagerly, again I found my frame encumbered : A huge serpent Twined round my chest, but tightest round my throat. £6 - ZAPOLYA. [ACT II. Zapo. Alas ! 'twas lack of food : for hunger choaks ! KiUP. And now I saw you by a shrivelled child Strangely pursued. You did not fly, yet neither Touch'd you the ground methought, but close above it Did seem to shoot yourself along the air, And as you passed me, turn'd your face and shriek'd. Zapo. I did in truth send forth a feeble shriek, Scarce knowing why. Perhaps the mock'd sense crav'd To hear the scream, which you but seem'd to utter. For your whole face look'd like a mask of torture ! Yet a child's image doth indeed pursue me Shrivell'd with toil and penury ! KiUP. Nay ! what ails you ? Zapo. A wond'rous faintness there comes stealing o'er me. Is it Death's lengthening shadow, who comes onward, Life's setting sun behind him ? KiUP. Cheerly! The dusk Will quickly shroud us. Ere the moon be up, Trust me I'll bring thee food ! Zapo. Hunger's tooth has Gnawn itself blunt. O, I could queen it well O'er my own sorrows as my rightful subjects. SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 67 But wherefore, O revered Kiuprili ! wherefore Did my importunate prayers, my hopes and fancies, Force thee from thy secure though sad retreat ? Would that my tongue had then cloven to my mouth ! But Heaven is just! With tears I conquered thee, And not a tear is left me to repent with ! Had'st thou not done already — had'st thou not Suffered — oh, more than e'er man feign'd of friendship ? Kitjp. Yet be thou comforted ! What ! had'st thou faith When I tum'd back incredulous ? 'Twas thy light That kindled mine. And shall it now go out, And leave thy soul in darkness ? Yet look up, And think thou see'st thy sainted Lord commissioned And on his way to aid us ! Whence those late dreams, Which after such long interval of hopeless And silent resignation all at once Night after night commanded thy return Hither ? and still presented in clear vision This wood as in a scene ? this very cavern ? Thou dar'st not doubt that Heaven's especial hand Worked in those signs. The hour of thy deliverance Is on the stroke: — for Misery can not add Grief to Jhy griefs, or Patience to thy sufferance ! f2 68 ZAPOLYA. [ACT II. Zapo. Can not ! Oh, what if thou were taken from me ? Nay, thou said'st well : for that and death were one. Life's, grief is at its height indeed ; the hard Necessity of this inhuman state Has made our deeds inhuman as our vestments. Housed in this wild wood, with wild usages, Danger our guest, and famine at our portal — Wolf-like to prowl in the shepherd's fold by night ; At once for food and safety to affrighten The traveller from his road— (Glycine is heard singing without.) Kiup. Hark ! heard you not A distant chaunt X SONG, by Glycine. A sunny shaft did I behold, From sky to earth it slanted ; And poised there in a bird so bold — Sweet bird, thou wert enchanted ! He sunk, he rose, he twinkled, he troll'd Within that shaft of sunny mist ; His eyes of fire, his beak of gold, All else of amethyst! SCENE I.] ZAPOLYA. 69 And thus he sang : " Adieu! adieu! Love's dreams prove seldom true. Sweet month of May, We must away ; Far, far away ! To day! to day!" Zapo. Sure 'tis some blest spirit ! For since thou slew's! the usurper's emissary That plung'd upon us, a more than mortal fear Is as a wall, that wards off the beleaguerer And starves the poor besieged. (Song again.) Kiup. It is a maiden's voice ! quick to the cave ! Zapo. Hark ! her voice faulters ! [Exit Zapolya. Kiup. She must not enter The cavern, else I will remain unseen ! (Kiup. retires to one side of the stage. Glycine enters singing.) Gly. (Fearfully.) A savage place ! Saints' shield me! Bethlen! Bethlen ! No$ here ? — There's no one here ! I'll sing again. (Sings again.) If I do not hear my own voice, I shall fancy 70 ZAPOLYA. [ACT II. Voices in all chance sounds ! (Starts.) 'Twas some dry branch Dropt of itself! Oh, he went forth so rashly, Took no food with him — only his arms and boar-