Sal. And fit that some should watch for those who revel Too oft. Am I permitted to depart?

Sar. Yes Stay a moment, my good Salemenes,
My brother, my best subject, better prince

Than I am king. You should have been the monarch,
And I-I know not what, and care not; but

Think not I am insensible to all

Thine honest wisdom, and thy rough yet kind,
Though oft reproving, sufferance of my follies.
If I have spared these men against thy counsel,
That is, their lives-it is not that I doubt
The advice was sound; but, let them live: we will not
Cavil about their lives-so let them mend them.

Their banishment will leave me still sound sleep,
Which their death had not left me.

Sal.

Thus you run
The risk to sleep for ever, to save traitors-
A moment's pang now changed for years of crime.
Still let them be made quiet.

Sar.

My word is past.

Sal.

Sar. 'Tis royal.

Sal.

Tempt me not;

But it may be recall'd.

And should therefore be decisive.

This half indulgence of an exile serves

But to provoke-a pardon should be full,

Or it is none.

Sar.

And who persuaded me

After I had repeal'd them, or at least

Only dismiss'd them from our presence, who
Urged me to send them to their satrapies ?

Sal. True; that I had forgotten; that is, sire,
If they e'er reach'd their satrapies-why, then,
Reprove me more for my advice.

Sar.

And if

They do not reach them-look to it !—in safety,
In safety, mark me—and security—

Look to thine own.

Sal.

Permit me to depart;

Their safety shall be cared for.

Sar.
Get thee hence, then;
And, prithee, think more gently of thy brother.
Sal. Sire, I shall ever duly serve my sovereign.

Sar. (solus). That man is of a temper too severe;
Hard but as lofty as the rock, and free
From all the taints of common earth-while I
Am softer clay, impregnated with flowers :
But as our mould is, must the produce be.
If I have err'd this time, 'tis on the side.
Where error sits most lightly on that sense,
I know not what to call it; but it reckons
With me ofttimes for pain, and sometimes pleasure;
A spirit which seems placed about my heart
To count its throbs, not quicken them, and ask
Questions which mortal never dared to ask me,
Nor Baal, though an oracular deity-
Albeit his marble face majestical

Frowns as the shadows of the evening dim
His brows to changed expression, till at times
I think the statue looks in act to speak.

Away with these vain thoughts, I will be joyous—
And here comes Joy's true herald.

[Exit SALEMENES.

Myr.

Enter MYRRHA.

King! the sky

Is overcast, and musters muttering thunder,
In clouds that seem approaching fast, and show
In forked flashes a commanding tempest.'

Will you then quit the palace?

Sar.

Myr. Ay, my good lord.

Sar.

Tempest, say'st thou ?

For my own part, I should be

Not ill content to vary the smooth scene,
And watch the warring elements; but this

6 ["Nor silent Baal, our imaged deity,

Although his marble face looks frowningly
As the dull shadows," &c. -MS.]

7

[“In distant flashes{

a wide-spreading} tempest."—MS.]

the approaching

Would little suit the silken garments and
Smooth faces of our festive friends. Say, Myrrha,
Art thou of those who dread the roar of clouds?
Myr. In my own country we respect their voices
As auguries of Jove."

Sar.

Jove!-ay, your Baal

Ours also has a property in thunder,

And ever and anon some falling bolt
Proves his divinity,—and yet sometimes
Strikes his own altars.

Myr.

That were a dread omen.

Sar. Yes-for the priests. Well, we will not go forth Beyond the palace walls to-night, but make

Our feast within.

Myr.

Now, Jove be praised! that he

Hath heard the prayer thou wouldst not hear. The gods

Are kinder to thee than thou to thyself,

And flash this storm between thee and thy foes,

To shield thee from them.

Sar.

Methinks it is the same within these walls

As on the river's brink.

Myr.

Child, if there be peril,

Not so; these walls

Are high and strong, and guarded. Treason has

To penetrate through many a winding way,

And massy portal; but in the pavilion

There is no bulwark.

Sar.

No, nor in the palace,

Nor in the fortress, nor upon the top

Of cloud-fenced Caucasus, where the eagle sits
Nested in pathless clefts, if treachery be:

Even as the arrow finds the airy king,

The steel will reach the earthly. But be calm;

The men, or innocent or guilty, are
Banish'd, and far upon their way.
Myr.

Sar. So sanguinary? Thou!
Myr.

VOL. IV.

They live, then?

I would not shrink

8 ["As from the gods to augur."-MS.]

T

9

1

From just infliction of due punishment

On those who seek your life: were't otherwise,
I should not merit mine.

The princely Salemenes.

Sar.

Besides, you heard

This is strange;

The gentle and the austere are both against me,

And urge me to revenge.

Myr.

'Tis a Greek virtue.

Sar. But not a kingly one-I'll none on't; or

If ever I indulge in't, it shall be

With kings-my equals.

Myr.

These men sought to be so.

Sar. Myrrha, this is too feminine, and springs
From fear-

Myr.

Sar.

For you.

No matter, still 'tis fear.

I have observed your sex, once roused to wrath,
Are timidly vindictive to a pitch

Of perseverance, which I would not copy.
I thought you were exempt from this, as from
The childish helplessness of Asian women.”

Myr. My lord, I am no boaster of my love,
Nor of my attributes; I have shared your splendour,
And will partake your fortunes. You may live
To find one slave more true than subject myriads
But this the gods avert! I am content

To be beloved on trust for what I feel,
Rather than prove it to you in your griefs,'
Which might not yield to any cares of mine.

Sar. Grief cannot come where perfect love exists,
Except to heighten it, and vanish from
That which it could not scare away. Let's in-
The hour approaches, and we must prepare

To meet the invited guests who grace our feast.

[“The weaker merit of our Asian women.”—MS.]

["Rather than prove that love to you in griefs.”—MS.]

[Exeunt.

2 [The second act, which contains the details of the conspiracy of Arbaces, its detection by the vigilance of Salemenes, and the too rash and hasty forgiveness of the rebels by the king, is, on the whole, heavy and uninteresting.—JEFFREY.]

ACT III.

SCENE I.-The Hall of the Palace illuminated-SARDANAPALUS and his Guests at Table.-A storm without, and Thunder occasionally heard during the Banquet.

Is

Sar. Fill full! why this is as it should be: here

my

true realm, amidst bright eyes and faces

Happy as fair! Here sorrow cannot reach.

Zam. Nor elsewhere-where the king is, pleasure sparkles.
Sar. Is not this better now than Nimrod's huntings,

Or my wild grandam's chase in search of kingdoms

She could not keep when conquer'd?

Alt.

Mighty though

They were, as all thy royal line have been,
Yet none of those who went before have reach'd
The acmé of Sardanapalus, who

Has placed his joy in peace—the sole true glory.

Sar. And pleasure, good Altada, to which glory Is but the path. What is it that we seek? Enjoyment! We have cut the way short to it, And not gone tracking it through human ashes, Making a grave with every footstep.

Zam. No; All hearts are happy, and all voices bless

The king of peace, who holds a world in jubilee.

Sar. Art sure of that? I have heard otherwise; Some say that there be traitors.

Zam.

Who dare to say so !-'Tis impossible.

What cause?

Sar.

Traitors they

What cause? true,-fill the goblet up;

We will not think of them: there are none such,

Or if there be, they are gone.

Alt.

Guests, to my pledge!