SCENE I.
SALOME, MAZAEL.
MAZAEL.
Never did fair appearance gild so well
The specious covering of a happy falsehood:
With what dexterity I played on him,
And blended truth with artifice! But why
Art thou dejected? art thou not restored
To Herod’s favor? Mariamne lost,
Beyond recovery lost? Thou art avenged;
The king’s distracted. I am shocked myself
When I behold the work of my own hands:
Thou too hast seen the horrid spectacle,
The trembling slaves all butchered by his hand.
The queen half-dead, and fainting by their side,
And Herod’s arm uplifted as in act
To murder her: the children bathed in tears
Fall at his feet, and offer their own lives
To save their mother’s: canst thou wish for more,
Or hast thou aught to fear?
SALOME.
I fear the king,
I fear those fatal charms which he adores;
That arm which oft uplifted falls as oft
Inactive down; that anger which soon kindled
Is soon extinct; which, doubtful still and blind,
Exhausts its feeble powers in sudden transports:
My triumphs, Mazael, are uncertain still;
Twice has my fate been changed this day, and twice
To hatred love succeeded: if he sees
The queen again, we are undone.
SCENE II.
HEROD, SALOME, MAZAEL, Guards.
MAZAEL.
He comes,
And seems disturbed: what horror in his aspect!
SALOME.
Say, Herod, hast thou taken ample vengeance?
MAZAEL.
I hope my royal master will forgive
His faithful servant, who thus dares to speak
Touching the queen: but Varus is her safeguard;
Prevent his dark designs, and save thyself:
The haughty prætor, resolute and bold,
Will make a merit of destroying thee.
HEROD.
Alas! my sister, how have I been treated!
Deceived, betrayed! help me to rail, to curse
This dear ungrateful woman: now my heart
Rests all its hopes on thy assisting friendship:
Thou, Salome, wert made a sacrifice
To my unhappy love for Mariamne;
I numbered thee amongst my worst of foes;
For her unkindness did I punish thee;
But thou hast seen my tenderness betrayed,
And, ere this day is past, we’ll be revenged:
Yes, she shall suffer for her fatal power
O’er Herod’s heart, that sighed for her alone.
O how have I adored, and how detested,
The faithless Mariamne! and thou, Varus,
Shalt feel my wrath; thou art a Roman, therefore
Thy life is safe; but I can punish thee
In blood more precious, and a dearer self:
Thou shalt behold the object of thy love,
Who has preferred thee to her hated lord,
Thou shalt behold her soon expire in torment
Before thy eyes: dost thou not think Augustus
Will praise my just severity?
SALOME.
No doubt
He will, my lord, and would himself advise it.
On the same altar where his friends adore him,
He sheds the blood of foes: he teaches kings
To rule and to be feared; let Herod mark
And follow his example; thus alone
Thy life can be secure: the queen must stand
Condemned by all, and thou be justified.
MAZAEL.
But make good use of this important moment,
Whilst Varus is yet absent, and his forces
Far from our walls; now seize her, and complete
Thy easy vengeance.
SALOME.
Above all conceal
From Israel’s sons thy purpose and thy grief,
And spare thyself the horror of a sight
So dreadful; fly from this unhappy place,
The witness of thy shame, that must recall
A thousand mournful images; O hide
From every eye thy sorrows and thy tears.
HEROD.
No: I must see her; face to face confound her;
Force her to answer; hear her poor excuses:
I’ll make her tremble at the approach of death,
And ask that pardon she shall never obtain.
SALOME.
My lord, you will not see her?
HEROD.
Fear me not;
Her doom is fixed: vainly she hopes that love
Will plead her cause; my heart is shut against her:
Those eyes, which once were dangerous to my peace,
Are harmless now; her presence will but raise
My anger, not my love. Guards, bring her hither;
I’ll only see, and hear, and punish her.
Sister, I would be private for a moment:
[To the attendants.
Send Mariamne here: you may retire.
[To the guards.
SCENE III.
HEROD.
[Alone.
Art thou resolved to see her then? O Herod,
Canst thou depend on thy own treacherous heart?
Is not her guilt too plain, and have I not
Been basely injured? Why then seek for more?
What profit can this interview afford me?
I know her thoughts already, know she hates me;
Why lives she yet? revenge, thou art too slow!
Unworthy Herod, coward as thou art,
Go, see her, pardon, sigh again, and court
Your haughty tyrant. No: to-night she dies:
I’ve sworn it; the Asmonæan blood shall flow;
I hate the race, and am abhorred by them.
But see, she comes; heaven! what a mournful sight!
SCENE IV.
MARIAMNE, HEROD, ELIZA, Guards.
ELIZA.
Rouse up your spirits, madam, ‘tis the king.
MARIAMNE.
Where am I; whither do you lead me? O
‘Tis death to look upon him.
HEROD.
How my soul
Shudders at sight of her!
MARIAMNE.
Eliza, help,
Support me, I grow faint.
ELIZA.
This way.
MARIAMNE.
What torment.
HEROD.
What shall I say to her? O heaven!
MARIAMNE.
Well, sir,
Your pleasure: wherefore am I ordered here?
Is it to yield thee up the poor remains
Of hated life, destructive to us both?
Take it; strike here; I’ll thank thee for the blow;
The only gift I would accept from thee.
HEROD.
Then thou shalt have it: but first speak, defend,
If possible, thy shameful flight, and tell me wherefore,
When Herod’s heart to thee alone indulgent,
So oft offended, yet as oft forgave thee,
The partner of my empire and my glory,
What couldst thou purpose by so black a crime?
MARIAMNE.
Is that a question fit for thee to ask?
But ‘tis not now a time for vain reproaches;
Yet sure, my lord, if wretched Mariamne,
Far from these walls had sought some kind retreat,
If she for once had dared to violate
A husband’s rights, and swerve from her obedience,
Think of my royal ancestors; remember
My sufferings past, my present danger; think
On these, my lord, and blame me if thou darest.
HEROD.
But when thy guilty passion for a traitor,
For Varus —
MARIAMNE.
Stop thy bold licentious tongue:
My life is thine: but do not cover me
With foul dishonor; let me pass at least
Without a blush unspotted to the grave:
Do not forget the sacred tie that bound us,
That joined my honor and my fame with thine,
As such I have preserved them: look on me;
Strike here; thou art welcome: but remember still
I am thy wife; pay some respect to me,
And to thyself.
HEROD.
O! it becomes thee well
To talk of sacred ties which thou hast broken:
Perfidious woman! would not the proud scorn
And hatred thou hast shown alone condemn thee?
MARIAMNE.
Since thou already hast decreed my fate,
What would avail my hatred or my love?
What right hast thou to Mariamne’s heart,
Which thou hast filled with sorrow, and despair,
And anguish: thou who, for these five years past,
Hast marked my days with bitterness and woe;
Thou fell destroyer of my guiltless parents.
Where is my murdered father? cruel Herod!
O! if thy rage had sought no blood but mine,
Heaven be my witness, I had loved thee still,
And blessed thee in my latest hour: but O!
Do not pursue me, Herod, after death;
Do not extend my woes beyond the grave,
Preserve my children; do not punish them,
Because they are mine, but act a father’s part:
Perhaps hereafter thou wilt know their mother;
Perhaps shalt one day pity, when too late,
The heart, which, never but by thee suspected,
Could not disguise its griefs; the heart which still
Preserved its virtue, and, but for thyself,
Had loved thee, Herod.
HEROD.
Ha! what do I hear!
What charm, what secret power controls my rage,
And steals me from myself? O Mariamne!
MARIAMNE.
O cruel Herod!
HEROD.
O my foolish heart!
MARIAMNE.
For pity’s sake behold my wretchedness,
And take this hated life.
HEROD.
My own is thine,
Forever thine; thou art my Mariamne:
Banish thy fears; O thou wert sure to triumph
When I beheld thee; make no more excuses,
Thou art, thou must be innocent: I now
Must tremble in my turn, and ask forgiveness:
Wilt thou not pardon him who pardoned thee?
Were our hearts made but to detest each other,
To persecute ourselves? Let us at once
End all our fears and all our pains together;
Give me thy love, give me thy hand again.
MARIAMNE.
Canst thou desire this hand? O heaven, thou knowest
Herod’s is stained with blood.
HEROD.
It is: I slew
Thy father, and my king; but wherefore did it?
To reign with thee: and what was my reward?
Thy hatred; a reward I well deserved:
I have no right to murmur or complain;
Thy father’s death, and the injustice done
To thy unhappy children, are the least
Of Herod’s guilt; it reached even Mariamne,
And for a moment I detested thee;
Nay more, gave ear to foul suspicions of thee;
‘Twill be the height of virtue to forgive me;
The more my crimes, the more thy soul will show
Its greatness: thou hast seen my weakness for thee,
Take heed that thou abuse it not; for love
And rage, thou knowest, by turns possess my soul;
O give it ease; thou turnest aside thine eyes,
Speak, Mariamne —
MARIAMNE.
Such tumultuous transports
Can never spring, I fear, from true repentance:
Art thou sincere, and may I trust thee, Herod?
HEROD.
Thou mayest: what is there which thou canst not do
If thou wilt cease to hate me? ‘twas thy scorn
That raised such furious tempests in my soul;
It was the loss of Mariamne’s heart
That made me savage, barbarous, and inhuman:
My tears shall wash away the mutual stain
Of both our faults: and here I swear —
SCENE V.
HEROD, MARIAMNE, ELIZA, a Guard.
GUARD.
My lord,
The people are in arms; they have destroyed
The scaffold raised by Salome’s command,
And slain the officers of justice: Varus
Assumes the sovereign power, he comes this way,
And every moment we expect him here.
HEROD.
Ha! can it be! thus at the very instant
When I was falling at thy feet, to raise
Thy minion —
MARIAMNE.
O my lord, can you believe —
HEROD.
Thou seekest my life, and thou shalt have it, traitress;
But I will drag thee with me to the tomb,
Spite of thyself, we there shall be united.
A guard there, seize, and watch her.
SCENE VI.
HEROD, MARIAMNE, SALOME, MAZAEL, ELIZA, Guards.
SALOME.
O, my brother,
Venture not forth; for the rebellious Hebrews
Are raised against you, and demand your life,
Repeating still the name of Mariamne:
They come even now to seize and take her from thee.
HEROD.
Away. I’ll meet them unappalled: but thou
Shalt answer for this insult: to thy care
I leave her, Salome, guard well thy charge.
MARIAMNE.
I fear not death, but call high heaven to witness —
MAZAEL.
My lord, the Romans are already here.
HEROD.
And must I leave the guilty wretch unpunished?
No: she shall bleed: it must be so: alas!
In my sad state I can determine nothing;
Death would be welcome; I’ll away and meet it.
End of the Fourth Act.