Cast. This to thy heart, then, tho' my mother bore thee.

[Fight; Polydore drops his sword, and runs on

Castalio's.]

Pol. Now my Castalio is again my friend.

Cast. What have I done? my sword is in thy breast. Pol. So I would have it be, thou best of men, Thou kindest brother, and thou truest friend.

Cast. Ye gods, we're taught that all your works are justice,

Ye're painted merciful, and friends to innocence:
If so, then why these plagues upon my head?

Pol. Blame not the heav'ns; here lies thy fate,
Castalio;

Th' are not the gods, 'tis Polydore has wrong'd thee; I've stain'd thy bed; thy spotless marriage joys

Have been polluted by thy brother's lust.

Cast. By thee!

Pol. By me, last night, the horrid deed

Was done, when all things slept but rage and incest. Cast. Now where's Monimia? Oh!

Enter MONIMIA.

Mon. I'm here, who calls me ?

Methought I heard a voice

Sweet as the shepherd's pipe upon the mountains,

When all his little flock's at feed before him.

But what means this? Here's blood.

Cast. Ay, brother's blood.

Art thou prepar'd for everlasting pains?

Pol. Oh, let me charge thee, by th' eternal justice, Hurt not her tender life!

Cast. Not kill her?"Rack me

"Ye pow'rs above, with all your choicest torments,
"Horror of mind, and pains yet uninvented,
"If I not practise cruelty upon her,

"And wreak revenge some way yet never known."
Mon. That task myself have finish'd, I shall die
Before we part; I've drank a healing draught
For all my cares, and never more shall wrong thee.
Pol. O she's innocent!

Cast. Tell me that story,

And thou wilt make a wretch of me indeed.

Pol. Hadst thou, Castalio, us'd me like a friend,
This ne'er had happen'd; hadst thou let me know
Thy marriage, we had all now met in joy;
But ignorant of that,

Hearing th' appointment made, enrag'd to think
Thou hadst outdone me in successful love,
I, in the dark, went and supply'd thy place;
Whilst, all the night, 'midst our triumphant joys,
The trembling, tender, kind, deceiv'd Monimia,
Embrac'd, caress'd, and call'd me her Castalio.

Cast. And all this is the work of my own fortune; None but myself could e'er have been so curs'd! My fatal love, alas! has ruin'd thee,

Thou fairest, goodliest frame the gods e'er made, Or ever human eyes and hearts ador'd.

I've murder'd too my brother.

K

Why wouldst thou study ways to damn me farther ? And force the sin of parricide upon me?

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Pol. 'Twas my own fault, and thou art innocent ; Forgive the barbarous trespass of my tongue; 'Twas a hard violence: I could have died With love of thee, e'en when I us'd thee worst ; Nay, at each word that my distraction utter'd, My heart recoil'd, and 'twas half death to speak 'em. Mon. Now, my Castalio, the most dear of men, Wilt thou receive pollution to thy bosom,

And close the eyes of one that has betray'd thee? Cast. Oh, I'm th' unhappy wretch, whose cursed

fate

Has weigh'd thee down into destruction with him.
Why then, thus kind to me?

Mon. When I am laid low i'th'grave, and quite forgotten,

Mayst thou be happy in a fairer bride;

But none can ever love thee like Monimia.

When I am dead, as presently I shall be, (For the grim tyrant grasps my heart already) Speak well of me; and if thou find ill tongues, Too busy with my fame, don't hear me wrong'd; 560 'Twill be a noble justice to the memory

Of a poor wretch, once honour'd with thy love. How my head swims! 'tis very dark. Good night.

[Dies.

Cast. If I survive thee-what a thought was that? Thank Heav'n, I go prepar'd against that curse.

Enter CHAMONT, disarmed and seiz'd by Acasto and

servants.

Cha. Gape earth, and swallow me to quick destruction,

If I forgive your house! if I not live

An everlasting plague to thee, Acasto,

And all thy race. Ye've o'erpower'd me now;
But hear me, Heav'n !-Ah, here's a scene of death!
My sister, my Monimia breathless!-Now,
Ye pow'rs above, if ye have justice, strike

Strike bolts thro' me, and through the curs'd Castalio. "Acast. My Polydore !

"Pol. Who calls?

"Acast. How cam'st thou wounded?"

Cast. Stand off, thou hot-brain'd, boist'rous, noisy ruffian,

And leave me to my sorrows.

Cha. By the love

I bore her living, I will ne'er forsake her;

580

But here remain, 'till my heart burst with sobbing. Cast. Vanish, I charge thee, or- [Draws a dagger. Cha. Thou canst not kill me;

That would be kindness, and against thy nature.
Acast. What means Castalio? Sure thou wilt not pull
More sorrows on thy aged father's head.

Tell me, I beg you, tell me the sad cause
Of all this ruin.

Pol. That must be my task:

But 'tis too long for one in pains to tell;

You'll in my closet find the story written

Of all our woes.

Castalio's innocent,

And so's Monimia; only I'm to blame.

Enquire no farther.

Cast. Thou, unkind Chamont,

Unjustly hast pursu'd me with thy hate,

And sought the life of him that never wrong'd thee:
Now, if thou wilt embrace a noble vengeance,
Come, join with me, and curse-

Cha. What?

Cast. First, thyself,

As I do, and the hour that gave thee birth:
Confusion and disorder seize the world,
To spoil all trust and converse amongst men,
'Twixt families engender endless feuds,
In countries needless fears, in cities factions,
In states rebellion, and in churches schism:
'Till all things move against the course of nature:
'Till form's dissolv'd, the chain of causes broken,
And the original of being lost.

Acast. Have patience.

Cast. Patience! preach it to the winds,

The roaring seas, or raging fires! the knaves
That teach it, laugh at ye when ye believe 'em,
Strip me of all the common needs of life,
Scald me with leprosy, let friends forsake me,
I'll bear it all; but curs'd to the degree
That I am now, 'tis this must give me patience :
Thus I find rest, and shall complain no more.

6co

[Stabs himself.