Classic Poem

ACT I. SCENE I

Enter A BDALL and Morat .

Mor. M Y Lord, you have good Intelligence,
What News from the Army,
Any certainty of their Design or Strength?
Abd. We know not thier Design: But for their Strength,
The disproportion is so great, we cannot but
Expect a fatal Consequence.
Mor. How great, my Lord?
Abd. The Turks are fourscore thousand Foot,
And fifty thousand Horse. And we in the whole
Exceed not forty Thousand.
Mor. Methinks the Prince should know
That Judgment's more essential to a General,
Than Courage; if he prove Victorious
'Tis but a happy Rashness.
Abd. But if he lose the Battel, 'tis an Error
Beyond Excuse, or Remedy, considering
That half the lesser Asia will follow
The Victor's Fortune.
Mor. 'Tis his single Virtue,
And Terror of his Name, that walls us in
From Danger; were he lost, the naked Empire
Would be a Prey expos'd to all Invaders.
Abd. But is't not necessary
The King should know his Danger?
Mor. To tell him of so great a Danger,
Were but to draw a greater on our selves:
For though his Eye is open as the Morning's,
Towards Lusts and Pleasures, yet so fast a Lethargy
Has seiz'd his Pow'rs towards publick Cares and Dangers,
He sleeps like Death.
Abd. He's a Man of that strange Composition,
Made up of all the worst Extremities
Of Youth, and Age.
Mor. And though
He feels the Heats of Youth, and Colds of Age,
Yet neither tempers, nor corrects the other;
As if there were an Ague in his Nature
That still inclines to one Extream.
Abd. But the Caliph , or Haly , or some that know
His softer Hours, might best acquaint him with it.
Mor. Alas, they shew him nothing
But in the Glass of Flattery; if any thing
May bear a shew of Glory, Fame, or Greatness,
'Tis multiplyed to an immense quantity,
And stretcht even to Divinity:
But if it tend to Danger, or Dishonour,
They turn about the Perspective, and shew it
So little, at such distance, so like nothing,
That he can scarce discern it.
Abd. Tis the Fate of Princes, that no Knowledge
Comes pure to them, but passing through the Eyes
And Ears of other Men, it takes a Tincture
From ev'ry Channel; and still bears a relish
Of Flattery, or private Ends.
Mor. But Danger and Necessity
Dare speak the Truth.
Abd. But commonly
They speak not till it is too late:
And for Haly ,
He that shall tell him of the Prince's Danger,
But tells him that himself is safe.

SCENE II.

Enter King, Princess, and Solyman.

King . Clear up, clear up, sweet Erythaea ,
That Cloud that hangs upon thy Brow presages
A greater Storm than all the Turkish Power
Can throw upon us, methinks I see my Fortune
Setling her Looks by thine, and in thy Smile
Sits Victory, and in thy Frown our Ruin:
Why should not Hope
As much erect our Thoughts, as Fear deject them?
Why should we
Anticipate our Sorrows? 'tis like those
That die for fear of Death:
What is't you doubt, his Courage, or his Fortune?
Princess. Envy itself could never doubt his Courage.
King. Then let not Love do worse, by doubting that
Which is but Valour's Slave; a wise well-temper'd Valour,
For such is his, those Giants Death and Danger,
Are but his Ministers, and serve a Master
More to be fear'd than they; and the blind Goddess
Is led amongst the Captives in his Triumph.
Princess. I had rather she had Eyes, for if she saw him
Sure she would love him better; but admit
She were at once a Goddess, and his Slave,
Yet Fortune, Valour, all is overborn
By Numbers: as the long resisting Bank
By the impetuous Torrent.
King. That's but Rumor:
Ne'er did the Turk invade our Territory,
But Fame and Terror doubled still their Files:
But when our Troops encountred, then we found
Scarce a sufficient matter for our Fury.
Solyman conduct him in,
'Tis surely from the Prince.

Enter Post, and delivers a Letter.

King. Give it our Secretaries, I hope the Prince is well.
Post. The Letter will inform you.
Mess. Sir, the Lords attend you.
King. What News from the Army?
Lord. Please you to hear the Letter?
King. Read it.
Lord. The Turk , enrag'd with his last Year's overthrow,
Hath re-inforcd' his Army with the choice of all his Janizars,
And the Flow'r of his whole Empire; we
Understand by some Fugitives, that he hath Commanded
The Generals to return with Victory, or expect
A shameful Death: what I shall further do,
(Their Numbers five times exceeding ours)
I desire to receive Directions from Your Majesty's Command.
King. Sed away all your Guards,
Let fresh Supplies of Victuals, and of Mony —
Lord. Your Treasures
Are quite exhausted, the Exchequer's empty.
King. Send to the Bankers.
Ab. Sir, upon your late Demands
They answered they were Poor.
King. Sure the Villains hold a Correspondence
With the Enemy, and thus they would betray us:
First give us up to Want, then to Contempt,
And then to Ruin;, but tell those Sons of Earth
I'll have their Mony, or their Heads.
'Tis my Command, when such Occasions are,
No Plea must serve; 'tis Cruelty to spare.

Another Messenger.

King. The Prince, transported with his youthful heat,
I fear, hath gone too far: 'tis some Disaster,
Or else he would not send so thick: well, bring him in:
I am prepar'd to hear the worst of Evils.

Enter Solyman and two Captains ,

Capt. kisses his Hand.

King. What, is the Prince besieged in his Trenches,
And lost his Army, or his Liberty?
Tell me what Province they demand for Ransom:
Or if the worst of all Mishaps hath fallen,
Speak, for he could not die unlike himself:
Speak freely; and yet methinks I read
Something of better fortune in thy Looks,
But dare not hope it.
Capt. Sir, the Prince lives.
King. And hath not lost his Honour?
Capt. As safe in Honour as in Life.
King. Nor Liberty?
Capt. Free as the Air he breathes.
King. Return with speed:
Tell him he shall have Mony, Victuals, Men,
With all the haste they can be levied. Farewel.
Capt. But Sir, I have one word more.
King. Then be brief.
Capt. So now you are prepar'd; and I may venture.
King. What is't?
Capt. Sir, a Father's Love mixt with a Father's Care,
This shewing Dangers greater, and that nearer,
Have rais'd your Fears too high; and those remov'd
Too suddenly, would let in such a Deluge
Of Joy, as might oppress your Aged Spirits,
Which made me gently first remove your Fears,
That so you might have room to entertain
Your fill of Joy: Your Son's a Conquerour.
King. Delude me not with feigned Hopes, false Joys,
It cannot be. And if he can but make
A fair Retreat, I shall account it more
Than all his former Conquests, (those huge Numbers
Arm'd with Despair) the Flow'r of all the Empire.
Capt. Sir, I have not us'd to tell you Tales, or Fables,
And why should you suspect your Happiness,
Being so constant? On my Life 'tis true, Sir.
King. Well, I'll no more suspect
My Fortune, nor thy Faith:
Thou and thy News most welcom: Solyman
Go call the Princess and the Lords , they shall
Participate our Joys, as well as Cares.

Enter Princess and Lords.

King. Fair Daughter, blow away those Mists and Clouds,
And let thy Eyes shine forth in their full Lustre;
Invest them with thy loveliest Smiles, put on
Thy choicest Looks: his coming will deserve them.
Princess. What, is the Prince return'd with Safety?
'Tis beyond belief, or hope.
King. Ay, sweet Erythaea ;
Laden with Spoils and Honour: all thy Fears,
Thy wakeful Terrors, and affrighting Dreams,
Thy Morning Sighs, and Evening Tears, have now
Their full Rewards. And you my Lords,
Prepare for Masques and Triumphs: Let no circumstance
Be wanting, that becomes
The greatness of our State, or Joy.
Behold he comes.

Enter Prince with Captain, and two

Captive Bashaws.

King. Welcom brave Son, as welcom to thy Father
As Phaebus was to Jove , when he had slain
Th ambitious Giants that assail'd the Sky;
And as my Power resembles that of Jove's ,
So shall thy Glory like high Phaebus shine
As bright and as immortal.
Prince. Gr at Sir, all acquisition
Of Glory as of Empire, here I lay before
Your Royal Feet, happy to be the instrument
To advance either: Sir I challenge nothing,
But am an humble Suitor for these Prisoners,
The late Commanders of the Turkish Powers,
Whose Valours have deserv'd a better Fortune.
King. Then what hath thine deserv'd? they're thine brave Mirza .
Worthy of all thy Royal Ancestors,
And all those many Kingdoms, which their Virtue,
Orgot, or kept, though thou hadst not been born to't.
But Daughter, still your looks are sad,
No longer I'll defer your Joys, go take him
Into thy chast Embrace, and whisper to him
That Welcom which those Blushes promise.
Prince. My Erythaea , why entertain'st thou with so sad a Brow
My long desir'd Return? thou wast wont
With Kisses and sweet Smiles, to welcom home
My Victories, though bought with Sweat and Blood,
And long expected.
Princess. Pardon Sir;
'Tis with our Souls
As with our Eyes, that after a long Darkness
Are dazled at the Approach of sudden Light:
When i'th' midst of Fears we are surpriz'd
With unexpected Happiness: the first
Degrees of Joy are meer Astonishment.
And 'twas so lately in a dreadful Dream
I saw my Lord so near Destruction,
Deprived of his Eyes, a wretched Captive;
Then shriekt my self awake, then slept again
And dreamt the same; my ill presaging Fancy
Suggesting still 'twas true.
Prince. Then I forgive thy sadness, since Love caus'd it,
For Love is full of Fears; and Fear the shadow
Of Danger, like the shadow of our Bodies,
Is greater then, when that which is the cause
Is farthest off.
Princess. But still there's something
That checks my Joys,
Nor can I yet distinguish
Which is an Apparation, this, or that.
Prince. An Apparition?
At Night I shall resolve that doubt, and make
Thy Dreams more pleasing.

Enter Haly and Mirvan.

Mir. The time has been, my Lord,
When I was no such stranger to your Thoughts.
You were not wont to wear upon your Brow
A Frown or Smile, but still have thought me worthy,
At least to know the cause.
Ha. 'Tis true,
Thy Breast hath ever been the Cabinet
Where I have lockt my Secrets.
Mir. And did you ever find
That any Art could pick the Lock, or Pow'r
Could force it open?
Ha. No, I have ever found thee
Trusty and secret. But is't observ'd i'th' Court
That I am sad?
Mir. Observ'd? 'tis all Mens Wonder and Discourse,
That in a Joy so great, so universal,
You should not bear a part.
Ha. Discourst of too?
Mir. Nothing but Treason
More commonly, more boldly spoken.
So singular a Sadness
Must have a Cause as strange as the Effect:
And Grief conceal'd, like hidden Fire, consumes;
Which flaming out, would call in help to quench it.
Ha. But since thou canst not mend it,
To let thee know it, will but make it worse;
Silence and Time shall cure it.
Mir. But in Diseases when the Cause is known,
'Tis more than half the Cure: you have, my Lord,
My Heart to counsel, and my Hand to act,
And my Advice and Actions both have met
Success in things unlikely.
Ha. But this
Is such a Secret, I dare hardly trust it
To my own Soul. And though it be a Crime
In Friendship to betray a trusted Counsel,
Yet to conceal this were a greater Crime,
And of a higher Nature.
Mir. Now I know it,
And your endeavour to conceal it
Speaks it more plainly. 'Tis some Plot upon the Prince.
Ha. Oh thou hast touch'd my Sore, and having search'd it,
Now heal it if thou canst: The Prince hates me,
Or loves me not, or loves another better;
Which is all one. This being known in Court,
Has rendred me despis'd, and scorn'd of all:
For I that in his absence
Blaz'd like a Star of the first magnitude,
Now in his brighter Sun-shine am not seen:
No Applications now, no Troops of Suitors;
No Power, no not so much as to do Mischief.
Mir. My Lord, I am asham'd of you,
So ill a Master in an Art, so long
Profest, and practis'd by you, to be angry,
And angry with a Prince. And yet to shew it
In a sad Look, or womanish Complaint:
How can you hope to compass your Designs,
And not dissemble em? go flatter and adore him,
Stand first among the Crowd of his Admirers.
Ha. Oh I have often spread those Nets, but he
Hath ever been too wise to think them real.
Mir. However,
Dissemble still, thank him for all his Injuries;
Take 'em for Favours; if at last
You cannot gain him, some pretty nimble Poison
May do the Feat. Or if he will abroad,
Find him some brave and honourable Danger.
Ha. Have I not found him out as many Dangers
As Juno did for Hercules ? yet he returns
Like Hercules , doubled in Strength and Honour.
Mir. If Danger cannot do it, then try Pleasure,
Which when no other Enemy survives,
Still conquers all the Conquerors. Endeavour
To soften his Ambition into Lust,
Contrive fit Opportunities, and lay
Baits for Temptation.
Ha. I'll leave nothing unattempted:
But sure this will not take; for all his Passions,
Affections, and Faculties, are Slaves
Only to his Ambition.
Mir. Then let him fall by his own Greatness,
And puff him up with glory, till it swell
And break him. First, betray him to himself,
Then to his Ruin: From his Virtues suck a Poyson,
As Spiders do from Flowers; praisc him to his Father,
You know his Nature: Let the Prince's Glory
Seem to eclipse, and cast a Cloud on his;
And let fall something that may raise his Jealousie:
But left he should suspect it, draw it from him
As Fishers do the Bait, to make him follow it.
Ha. But the old King is so suspicious.
Mir. But Withal
Most fearful: He that views a Fort to take it,
Plants his Artillery gainst the weakest part:
Work on his Fears, till Fear hath made him cruel;
And Cruelty shall make him fear again,
Methinks (my Lord) you that so oft have sounded
And fathom'd all his Thoughts, that know the Deeps
And Shollows of his Heart, should need no Instruments
To advance your Ends; his Passions, and his Fears
Lie Liegers for you in his Breast, and there
Negotiate your Affairs.

Enter King , Solyman, and Lords to them .

King. Solyman , be it your Care to entertain the Captains,
And the Prisoners, and an use them kindly.
Sol. Sir, I am not for Entertainments now I am Melancholy.
King. What, griev'd for your good Fottune?
Sol. No Sir, but now the Wars are done, we have no Pretences
To put off Creditors: I am haunted, Sir.
King. Not with Ghosts?
Sol. No Sir,
Material and Substantial Devils.
King. I know the Cause, what is't thou ow'st them?
Sol. Not much Sir, but so much as spoils me for a good Fellow;
'Tis but 2000 Dollars. A small sum — — to you Sir.
King. Well, it shall be paid.
Sol. Then if the Devil come, for drinking let me alone with him.
Well, Drink, I love thee but too well already,
But I shall love thee better hereafter: I haven often
Drunk my self into Debt, but never out of Debt till now.