Reclines against the shore; our Grecian troop
Extends its lines along the sandy beach,
Elate with hope, and panting for a foe.
The fav'ring winds assist the great design,
Sport in our sails, and murmur o'er the deep.
"Tis well-A single blow completes our wishes;
Return with speed, Leontius, to your charge;
The Greeks, disorder'd by their leader's absence,
May droop dismay'd, or kindle into madness.
Suspected still!-What villain's pois'nous tongue
Dare join Leontius' name with fear or falsehood?
Have I for this preserv'd my guiltless bosom,
Pure as the thoughts of infant innocence ?
Have I for this defy'd the chiefs of Turkey,
Intrepid in the flaming front of war?
Hast thou not search'd my soul's profoundest thoughts? Is not the fate of Greece and Cali thine?
Why has thy choice then pointed out Leontius,
Unfit to share this night's illustrious toils?
To wait remote from action and from honour,
An idle list'ner to the distant cries
Of slaughter'd infidels, and clash of swords?
Tell me the cause, that while thy name, Demetrius,
Shall soar triumphant on the wings of Glory,
Despis'd and curs'd, Leontius must descend
Through hissing ages, a proverbial coward,
The tale of women, and the scorn of fools?
Can brave Leontius be the slave of Glory?
Glory, the casual gift of thoughtless crowds!
Glory, the bribe of avaricious virtue!
Nor will I trust th' uncertain chance of combat;
The rights of princes let the sword decide,
The petty claims of empire and of honour:
Revenge and subtle jealousy shall teach
A surer passage to his hated heart.
O spare the gallant Greek, in him we lose
The politician's arts, and hero's flame,
When next we meet before we storm the palace,
The bowl shall circle to confirm our league ;
Then shall these juices taint Demetrius' draught,
[Shewing a phial.
And stream destructive through his freezing veins :
Thus shall he live to strike th' important blow,
And perish ere he taste the joys of conquest.
MAHOMET, MUSTAPHA, CALI, ABDALLA.
Henceforth for ever happy be this day,
Sacred to love, to pleasure, and Irene!
The matchless fair has bless'd me with compliance;
Let every tongue resound Irene's praise,
And spread the general transport through mankind.
Blest prince, for whom indulgent Heav'n ordains
At once the joys of paradise and empire,
Now join thy people's and thy Cali's prayers;
Suspend thy passage to the seats of bliss,
Nor wish for Houries in Irene's arms.
Forbear-I know the long-try'd faith of Cali,
O! could the eyes of kings, like those of Heav'n,
Search to the dark recesses of the soul,
Oft would they find ingratitude and treason,
By smiles, and oaths, and praises, ill disguis'd.
How rarely would they meet, in crowded courts,
Fidelity so firm, so pure, as mine.
Yet, ere we give our loosen'd thoughts to rapture,
Let prudence obviate an impending danger:
Tainted by sloth, the parent of sedition,
The hungry Janizary burns for plunder,
And growls in private o'er his idle sabre.
To still their murmurs, ere the twentieth sun
Shall shed his beams upon the bridal bed,
I rouze to war, and conquer for Irene.
Then shall the Rhodian mourn his sinking tow'rs,
And Buda fall, and proud Vienna tremble:
Then shall Venetia feel the Turkish pow'r,
And subject seas roar round their queen in vain:
Then seize fair Italy's delightful coast,
To fix your standard in imperial Rome.
Her sons malicious clemency shall spare,
To form new legends, sanctify new crimes,
To canonize the slaves of superstition,
And fill the world with follies and impostures,
Till angry Heav'n shall mark them out for ruin,
And war o'erwhelm them in their dream of vice.
O, could her fabled saints and boasted prayers
Call forth her antient heroes to the field,
How should I joy, 'midst the fierce shock of nations,
To cross the tow'rings of an equal soul,
And bid the master genius rule the world!
Abdalla, Cali, go-proclaim my purpose.
[Exeunt Cali and Abdalla.
Still Cali lives: and must he live to-morrow?
That fawning villain's forc'd congratulations
Will cloud my triumphs, and pollute the day.
With cautious vigilance, at my command,
Two faithful captains, Hasan and Caraza,
Pursue him through his labyrinths of treason,
And wait your summons to report his conduct.
Call them but let them not prolong their tale, Nor press too much upon a lover's patience. [Exit Mustapha.
Whome'er the hope, still blasted, still renew'd,
Of happiness lures on from toil to toil,
Remember Mahomet, and cease thy labour.
Behold him here, in love, in war, successful,
Behold him wretched in his double triumph!
His fav'rite faithless, and his mistress base.
Ambition only gave her to my arms,
By reason not convinc'd, nor won by love.
Ambition was her crime; but meaner folly
Dooms me to loath at once, and doat on falschood,
And idolize th' apostate I contemn.
If thou art more than the gay dream of fancy,
More than a pleasing sound without a meaning,
O happiness! sure thou art all Aspasia's.
MAHOMET, MUSTAPHA, HASAN, CARAZA.
Caraza, speak-have ye remark'd the Bassa?
Close, as we might unseen, we watch'd his steps;
His hair disorder'd, and his gait unequal,
Betray'd the wild emotions of his mind.
Sudden he stops, and inward turns his eyes,
Absorb'd in thought; then, starting from his trance,
Constrains a sullen smile, and shoots away.
With him Abdalla we beheld-
He wears of late resentment on his brow,
Deny'd the government of Servia's province.
We mark'd him storming in excess of fury,
And heard, within the thicket that concealed us,
An undistinguish'd sound of threat'ning rage.
How guilt, once harbour'd in the conscious breast,
Intimidates the brave, degrades the great;
See Cali, dread of kings, and pride of armies,
By treason level'd with the dregs of men!
Ere guilty fear depress'd the hoary chief,
An angry murmur, a rebellious frown,
Had stretch'd the fiery boaster in the grave.
Shall monarchs fear to draw the sword of justice,
Aw'd by the crowd, and by their slaves restrain'd?
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