Hide me, oh hide me from upbraiding Greece;
Oh, hide me from myself!

Dem.

Be fruitless grief

The doom of guilt alone, nor dare to seize

The breast where Virtue guards the throne of Peace.
Devolve, dear maid, thy sorrows on the wretch,
Whose fear, or rage, or treachery, betray us!

Irene, aside. A private station may discover more;
Then let me rid them of Irene's presence;

Proceed, and give a loose to love and treason. [Withdraws. Asp. Yet tell.

Dem.

To tell or hear were waste of life.
Asp. The life, which only this design supported,
Were now well lost in hearing how you fail'd.
Dem. Or meanly fraudulent or madly gay,
Abdalla, while we waited near the palace,
With ill-tim'd mirth propos'd the bowl of love.
Just as it reach'd my lips, a sudden cry
Urg'd me to dash it to the ground untouch'd,
And seize my sword with disencumber'd hand.

Asp. What cry? The stratagem? Did then Abdalla--
Dem. At once a thousand passions fir'd his cheek!
Then all is past, he cry'd--and darted from us;
Nor at the call of Cali deign'd to turn.

Asp. Why did you stay, deserted and betray'd?
What more could force attempt, or art contrive?
Dem. Amazement seiz'd us, and the hoary Bassa
Stood torpid in suspence; but soon Abdalla
Return'd with force that made resistance vain,
And bade his new confederates seize the traitors.
Cali disarm'd was borne away to death;

Myself escap'd, or favour'd, or neglected.

Asp. O Greece! renown'd for science and for wealth,

Behold thy boasted honours snatch'd away.

Dem. Though disappointment blast, our general scheme, Yet much remains to hope. I shall not call The day disastrous that secures our flight; Nor think that effort lost which rescues thee.

[Enter Abdalla.

SCENE IV.

IRENE, ASPASIA, DEMETRIUS, ABDALLA.

Abd. At length the prize is mine-The haughty maid That bears the fate of empires in her air,

Henceforth shall live for me; for me alone

Shall plume her charms, and, with attentive watch,
Steal from Abdalla's eye the sign to smile.

Dem. Cease this wild roar of savage exultation;
Advance, and perish in the frantick boast.

Asp. Forbear, Demetrius, 'tis Aspasia calls thee;
Thy love, Aspasia, calls; restrain thy sword;
Nor rush on useless wounds with idle courage.
Dem. What now remains?

Asp.

It now remains to fly!

Dem. Shall then the savage live, to boast his insult; Tell how Demetrius shunn'd his single hand,

And stole his life and mistress from his sabre?
Abd. Infatuate loiterer, has Fate in vain
Unclasp'd his iron gripe to set thee free?
Still dost thou flutter in the jaws of death;
Snar'd with thy fears, and maz'd in stupefaction?
Dem. Forgive, my Fair; 'tis life, 'tis nature, calls:
Nor, traitor, feel the fear that chills my hand.

Asp. 'Tis madness to provoke superfluous danger,
And cowardice to dread the boast of folly.

Abd. Fly, wretch, while yet my pity grants thee flight;

The power of Turkey waits upon my call.
Leave but this maid, resign a hopeless claim,
And drag away thy life in scorn and safety,
Thy life, too mean a prey to lure Abdalla.

Dem. Once more I dare thy sword; behold the prize, Behold I quit her to the chance of battle.

[Quitting Aspasia.

Abd. Well may'st thou call thy master to the combat,

And try the hazard, that hast nought to stake;
Alike my death or thine is gain to thee;

But soon thou shalt repent: another moment
Shall throw th' attending Janisaries round thee.

SCENE V.

[Exit hastily Abdalla.

ASPASIA, IRENE, DEMETRIUS.

Irene. Abdalla fails; now, Fortune, all is mine. [Aside. Haste, Murza, to the palace, let the Sultan

[To one of her Attendants.

Dispatch his guards to stop the flying traitors,
While I protract their stay. Be swift and faithful.

This lucky stratagem shall charm the Sultan,

Secure his confidence, and fix his love.

[Exit Murza. [Aside.

Dem. Behold a boaster's worth! Now snatch, my fair,
The happy moment; hasten to the shore,
Ere he return with thousands at his side.

Asp. In vain I listen to th' inviting call
Of freedom and of love; my trembling joints,
Relax'd with fear, refuse to bear me forward.
Depart, Demetrius, lest my fate involve thee;
Forsake a wretch abandon'd to despair,
To share the miseries herself has caus'd.

Dem. Let us not struggle with th' eternal will,
Nor languish o'er irreparable ruins ;

Come, haste, and live-Thy innocence and truth.
Shall bless our wond'rings, and propitiate Heav'n.

Irene. Press not her flight, while yet her feeble nerves, Refuse their office, and uncertain life

Still labours with imaginary woe;

Here let me tend her with officious care,
Watch each unquiet flutter of the breast,
And joy to feel the vital warmth return,
To see the cloud forsake her kindling cheek,
And hail the rosy dawn of rising health.

Asp. Oh! rather, scornful of flagitious greatness,
Resolve to share our dangers and our toils,

Companion of our flight, illustrious exile,

Leave slavery, guilt, and infamy behind.

Irene. My soul attends thy voice, and banish'd Virtue Strives to regain her empire of the mind: Assist her efforts with thy strong persuasion; Sure 'tis the happy hour ordain'd above, When vanquish'd Vice shall tyrannize no more. Dem. Remember peace and anguish are before thee, And honour and reproach, and Heav'n and Hell. Asp. Content with freedom, and precarious greatness. Dem. Now make thy choice, while yet the pow'r of choice Kind Heav'n affords thee, and inviting Mercy

Holds out her hand to lead thee back to truth.

Irene. Stay--in this dubious twilight of conviction, The gleams of reason, and the clouds of passion, Irradiate and obscure my breast by turns:

Stay but a moment, and prevailing truth
Will spread resistless light upon my soul.

Dem. But since none knows the danger of a moment,
And Heav'n forbids to lavish life away,
Let kind compassion terminate the contest.

[Seizing her hand.

Ye Christian captives, follow me to freedom:
A galley waits us, and the winds invite.
Irene. Whence is this violence?
Dem.

Will teach a gentler term.

Irene.

Your calmer thought

Forbear this rudeness,

And learn the rev'rence due to Turkey's Queen :
Fly, slaves, and call the Sultan to my rescue.

Dem. Farewell, unhappy maid: may every joy
Be thine, that wealth can give, or guilt receive!
Asp. And when, contemptuous of imperial pow'r,
Disease shall chase the phantoms of ambition,
May penitence attend thy mournful bed,
And wing thy latest prayer to pitying Heav'n!

[Exeunt Dem. Asp. with part of the Attendants.

SCENE VI.

[IRENE walks at a distance from her Attendants.]
After a pause.

Against the head, which innocence secures,
Insidious Malice aims her darts in vain,

Turn'd backwards by the pow'rful breath of Heav'n.
Perhaps even now the lovers unpursu'd
Bound o'er the sparkling waves. Go, happy bark,
Thy sacred freight shall still the raging main.
To guide thy passage shall th' aërial spirits
Fill all the starry lamps with double blaze;
Th' applauding sky shall pour forth all its beams,
grace the triumph of victorious virtue;
While I, not yet familiar to my crimes,
Recoil from thought, and shudder at myself.
How am I chang'd! How lately did Irene
Fly from the busy pleasures of her sex,

Το

Well pleas'd to search the treasures of remembrance,
And live her guiltless moments o'er anew!

Come, let us seek new pleasures in the palace,

[To her Attendants, going off.

Till soft fatigue invite us to repose.

SCENE VII.

[Enter MUSTAPHA, meeting and stopping her.] Mus. Fair Falsehood, stay,

Irene.

What dream of sudden power

Has taught my slave the language of command?

Henceforth be wise, nor hope a second pardon.

Mus. Who calls for pardon from a wretch condemn'd? Irene. Thy look, thy speech, thy action, all is wildness— Who charges guilt on me?

Mus.
Who charges guilt!
Ask of thy heart; attend the voice of Conscience-
Who charges guilt! lay by this proud resentment