SCENE I.
IDAME, ASSELI.
IDAME.
O Asseli, amidst this scene of horror,
Whilst desolation rages through the land,
And the proud Tartar threatens instant ruin
To this devoted palace, must thy friend
Experience new calamities?
ASSELI.
Alas!
We all partake the general ruin; all
Must with the public sorrows mix our own:
Who doth not tremble for a father’s life,
A husband’s, son’s, or brother’s? even within
These sacred walls, where dwells the holy band,
The ministers of heaven, the interpreters
Of China’s laws, with helpless infancy,
And feeble age; even here we are not safe:
Who knows how far the cruel conqueror
May urge his triumphs, whilst the thunder breaks
On every side, and soon may burst upon us?
IDAME.
Who is this great destroyer, this dire scourge
Of Catai’s sinking empire?
ASSELI.
He is called
The king of kings, the fiery Genghis Khan,
Who lays the fertile fields of Asia waste,
And makes it but a monument of ruin:
Already Octar, his successful chief,
Has stormed the palace; this once powerful empire,
The mistress of the world, is bathed in blood!
IDAME.
Knowest thou, my friend, that this destructive tyrant,
Whom now we tremble at, who proudly thus
Treads on the necks of kings, is yet no more
Than a wild Scythian soldier; bred to arms
And practised in the trade of blood; who long
Had wandered o’er the neighboring deserts, there
Formed a rude band of lawless rioters,
And fought his way to glory; now successful,
And now oppressed, at length by fortune led
Hither he came for refuge: Asseli,
I think thou must remember him, his name
Was Temugin.
ASSELI.
Ha! he who once addressed
His vows to thee! thy angry father then
Rejected him with scorn; though now his name
Is grown so terrible.
IDAME.
It is the same:
Methought even then I saw the rising dawn
Of future glory: I remember well,
Even when he came a beggar to the palace,
And craved protection, he behaved like one
Born to command: he loved me; and I own
My foolish heart had well nigh listened to him:
Perhaps it soothed the woman’s vanity
To hold this lion in my toils; perhaps
I hoped in time to soften his rude soul,
And bend his savage fierceness to the ways
Of social life: he might have served the state
Which now he would destroy: our proud refusal
Incensed the hero, fatal may it prove
To this unhappy kingdom: well thou knowest
Our pride and jealousy: the ancient laws
Of this imperial city; our religion,
Our interest and our glory, all forbid
Alliance with the nations: for myself,
The noble Zamti merited my love,
And heaven hath joined me to him by the ties
Of holy marriage: who would e’er have thought
This poor despised abandoned Scythian thus
Should triumph over us? I refused his hand;
I am a wife and mother; how that thought
Alarms me! he is fiery and revengeful;
A Scythian never pardons: cruel fate!
And will this valiant nation tamely yield
Its neck to slavery, and be led like sheep
To slaughter?
ASSELI.
‘Tis reported the Koreans
Have raised an army, but we know not yet
If it be true.
IDAME.
This sad uncertainty
But doubles our distress: heaven only knows
What we must suffer, if the emperor
Has found a place of refuge, if the queen
Is fallen beneath the tyrant’s power, if yet
They live; alas! the last surviving pledge
Of their unhappy nuptials, the dear infant
Entrusted to our care! I tremble for him.
Perhaps my Zamti’s sacred character
And holy office may subdue the hearts
Of these proud conquerors; savage as they are,
And thirsting for the blood of half mankind,
They yet believe there is a power above
That rules o’er all; nature in every breast
Hath wisely stamped the image of its God:
I talk of hope, but have a thousand fears
That wring my heart.
SCENE II.
IDAME, ZAMTI, ASSELI.
ASSELI.
O my unhappy lord,
Speak, what must be our fate? is it determined?
What hast thou seen?
ZAMTI.
I tremble to repeat it:
We are undone: our empire is no more;
A prey to robbers: what hath it availed us
That we have trod in the fair paths of virtue?
Long time secure within the arms of peace
We shone illustrious in the rolls of time,
And gave a bright example to mankind:
From us the world received its laws; but vain
Is human worth when lawless power prevails:
I saw the northern hive rush in upon us,
And force their passage through a sea of blood;
Where’er they passed they spread destruction round them:
At length they seized the palace, where the best
Of sovereigns and of men, with calm composure
And resignation yielded to his fate:
The wretched queen lay fainting in his arms:
Those of their numerous sons, whom lusty manhood
Had sent to battle, were already slain:
The rest, who naught could give him but their tears,
Hung at his knees and wept; by secret paths
I found an entrance to the palace; there
Did I behold the cruel tyrants bind
In ignominious chains the conquered king,
His children, and his wife
IDAME.
Unhappy monarch!
O what a change is this! relentless heaven!
ZAMTI.
The wretched captive turned his eyes towards me,
And in the sacred language, to the Tartar
And to the multitude unknown, cried out,
“Preserve my last and only hope — my son.”
From my full heart I promised, swore to act
As he directed me, then fled to thee.
Whether the tyrants, busied in their search
Of plunder, thought not of me, or the symbol
Which here I wear of the divinity
Struck their rude souls with reverential awe,
Or whether heaven in kind compassion meant
To save my precious charge, and cast a cloud
O’er their deluded eyes, I know not what
Drew their attention, but they let me pass.
IDAME.
We yet may save him, he shall go with me,
And with my son; old Etan shall conduct us:
In some lone wood, or solitary cave,
We may conceal him till the search is past:
Thank heaven they have not reached us yet.
ZAMTI.
Alas!
No place is sacred, no asylum’s left
For the dear royal infant: I expect
The brave Koreans, but they’ll come too late:
But let us seize the favorable hour,
And lodge our precious pledge in safety.
SCENE III.
ZAMTI, IDAME, ASSELI, ETAN.
ZAMTI.
Etan,
Thou seemest disordered: what’s the news?
IDAME.
My lord,
We must away; the Scythian has prevailed,
And all is lost.
ETAN.
You are observed, and flight
Is now impossible: a guard is placed
Around us: all obey the conqueror,
And tremble at his power: the emperor’s loss
Fills every heart with terror.
ZAMTI.
Is he dead?
IDAME.
O heaven!
ETAN.
It was indeed a dreadful sight:
Himself, his queen, his children, butchered all;
A race divine, respected, loved, adored;
Their headless trunks exposed to the derision
Of their proud conqueror, whilst their trembling subjects
Submissive bend beneath the yoke, nor dare
To shed a tear o’er those whom long they loved.
At length our haughty lord, grown tired of conquest,
And satiated with blood, proclaimed to all
The terms of life, eternal slavery.
This northern tyrant, whom the wrath of heaven
Hath sent for our destruction, once contemned
And spurned at by our court, returns to glut
His vengeance on us: these wild sons of rapine,
Who live in tents, in chariots, and in fields,
Will never brook confinement ‘midst the walls
Of this close city: they detest our arts,
Our customs, and our laws; and therefore mean
To change them all; to make this splendid seat
Of empire one vast desert, like their own.
IDAME.
I know the conqueror comes to sate his vengeance
On this unhappy kingdom: whilst I lived
Unnoticed and obscure, I might have hope
Of safety; but that hope is now no more:
The night is past that hid me from the eye
Of persecution, and I must be wretched.
Thrice happy those, who to a tyrant master
Are still unknown.
ZAMTI.
Who knows but gracious heaven
May interpose and save the royal infant:
‘Tis our first duty to preserve the charge
Committed to our care, and guard him well.
What comes this Tartar for?
IDAME.
O heaven! defend us.
SCENE IV.
OCTAR.
Hear, slaves; and let your answer be — obedience:
An infant yet remains, of royal race,
Amongst you: in the conqueror’s name I here
Command you to deliver him — to me.
I shall expect him here: begone; delay
Were dangerous: bring him instantly, or know,
Destruction waits on all, but first on you.
The day’s far spent; ere night he must be found:
Remember, and obey.
SCENE V.
ZAMTI, IDAME.
IDAME.
O dreadful message!
For what are we reserved? Alas! my lord,
Ne’er till this day of blood did crimes like this
Affright my soul: you answer not, but send
Your fruitless sighs to heaven. Sweet innocent,
Must we then give thee up a sacrifice
To brutal rage?
ZAMTI.
I’ve promised, sworn to save him.
IDAME.
What can thy oaths, thy promises avail?
Thou canst not keep them; every hope is lost.
ZAMTI.
And wouldst thou have me sacrifice the son
Of my loved sovereign?
IDAME.
O I cannot bear
To think of it; my eyes are bathed in tears.
O were I not a mother, would kind heaven
But grant me now to shorten my sad days,
Then would I say to Zamti, come, my lord,
We’ll die together; all is lost to us,
And we will perish with our country.
ZAMTI.
Who
That sees the wretched fate of Cathay’s kings
Would wish to live? what is this phantom death,
That thus appalls mankind? the wretch’s hope,
The villain’s terror, and the brave man’s scorn:
Without reluctance, and without regret,
The wise expect and meet him as a friend.
IDAME.
What secret purpose labors in your breast?
Your cheek is pale, your eyes are filled with tears;
My sympathizing heart feels all your sorrows,
And would relieve them; what have you resolved?
ZAMTI.
To keep my oath; therefore away, and watch
The royal infant: I shall follow you.
IDAME.
Alas! a woman’s tears can ne’er defend him.
SCENE VI.
ZAMTI, ETAN.
ZAMTI.
Vain is your care, your kind compassion vain,
For he must die; the nation’s weal demands it.
Think rather how thou mayest preserve thy country.
ZAMTI.
Yes, I will make the dreadful sacrifice.
Etan, I know thou holdest this empire dear;
Yes, thou adorest the God of heaven and earth,
As worshipped by our ancestors; that God
Our bonzes know not, and our tyrants scorn.
ETAN.
In him I trust, on him alone rely
For my own comfort, and my country’s safety.
ZAMTI.
Swear then by him, and his all-ruling power,
That thou wilt bury in eternal silence
The solemn secret that I mean to pour
Into thy faithful bosom: swear, thy hand
Shall still be ready to perform whate’er
Thy duty and thy God by me command.
ETAN.
I swear; and may the miseries that have fallen
On this unhappy kingdom light on me,
If ever I am false in word or deed!
ZAMTI.
I cannot now recede: then mark me, Etan.
ETAN.
Alas! thou weepest: amidst the general ruin
Can there be cause for added grief?
ZAMTI.
The doom
Is past, my friend, and cannot be reversed.
ETAN.
I know it cannot; but a stranger’s son —
ZAMTI.
A stranger! he, my king!
ETAN.
When I remember
He is our emperor’s child, I shudder at it:
What’s to be done?
ZAMTI.
My path thou seest, is here
Prescribed, and every action noted down
By our new tyrants; thou mayest act with freedom,
Because unknown and unobserved: thou knowest
The orphan’s place of refuge: for a time
We may conceal him ‘midst the secret tombs
Of our great ancestors; then shelter him
Beneath Korea’s chief; he will protect
The royal infant: leave the rest to me.
ETAN.
And how will you appear without him, how
Appease the conqueror?
ZAMTI.
I have wherewithal
To glut his vengeance.
ETAN.
You, my lord?
ZAMTI.
O nature!
O cruel duty!
ETAN.
How —
ZAMTI.
I have a son,
An only child, now in his cradle — go
And seize him.
ETAN.
Ha! your son!
ZAMTI.
To save — my king.
Away, and let him — but I can no more.
ETAN.
Alas! my lord, what a command is this!
I never can obey it.
ZAMTI.
Think on Zamti;
Think on his love, his weakness, his misfortunes,
Thy duty, and — thy oath.
ETAN.
‘Twas rash and vain:
Thou didst extort it from me: I admire
Thy generous purpose; but if as a friend
I might be heard —
ZAMTI.
No more; I’ve heard too much
Already: what is all that thou couldst say
To what a father feels? When nature’s silenced,
Friendship should urge no longer.
ETAN.
I obey.
ZAMTI.
Leave me for pity’s sake.
SCENE VIII.
ZAMTI.
[Alone.
Is nature silent?
O wretched father! still thou hearest that voice
So fatal and so dear: O drown it, heaven,
In sweet oblivion; do not let my wife
And her dear babe distract this heart; O heal
My wounded heart: but man is far too weak
To conquer nature: let thy aid divine
Support me, and assist my feeble virtue!
END of the FIRST ACT.