Here, here I swear, no other claim to make,
Than to approve my wrongs,, restore my son,
The rightful heir of this unbounded empire.

OLARIA.

Hark! sure the gates unbar!-a light appears,
Some stranger from the field is now arriv'd,
See-through the aisle he shoots, and lo! he comes,
Your brother comes, to sooth your every care!
Enter FEDROwitz.

FEDROWITZ.

All now is lost;-fortune, a foe to justice,
Yields up her palm to infamy and fraud;
The Guards, the pitying Guards, who brought the
Prince

To take a kind embrace-were all surpris'd,-
The spies of Artamon had watch'd their way,
And now they claim their lives.

OTTOKESA.

Ah!-where's my son?

FEDROWITZ.

Ill-fated youth!—and do I live to speak it:
E'en now he drags the chain,-unconquer'd yet,
If minds can hold their freedom,-he, alas!
This hour must take his trial.

Do not say trial!

OTTOKESA.

Then he must die.

For trial sure is condemnation here;

Who will attempt to plead, defend my child,
When lo! his father, his stern rigid judge,

Deaf to his plaints, regardless of his suit,
Will urge the cruel deed?

FEDROWITZ.

Yet will I plead,

Though earth and Heaven oppose,—

The Czar as potent as embattled Jove
Shall not deter me;-thou, Artamon, be there!
And if destruction can await thy wiles,
If shame can rifle colour from thy cheeks,
And plant detection there,—there, with bold truth,
And conscious scorn I'll meet thee;

Thy hour shall soon approach, thy sun shall set;
Superior fate shall cast thee to the earth,
And ring thy parting knell.

OTTOKESA.

Delay not then,

Each moment's precious;-I'll to the tower's top, And catch from babbling winds each passing gale That breathes or death or freedom.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

The Palace.

ARTAMON and DESNA.

ARTAMON.

All now succeeds, e'en to my utmost wish;
Alexis seiz'd in the broad act of treason,
The father hesitates no more on death;
This clears us too of Ottokesa's vengeance,
And fixes Catharine on the Russian throne.

DESNA.

The Czar, enamour'd of his blooming bride,
Thinks not of Ottokesa ;-in her dark cell
She wails her woes to the relentless walls,
And beats in vain the air.

ARTAMON.

Her date is short;

The doom her son shall meet with soon will fix

The period of her griefs.

DESNA.

Alas! poor Queen!

Methinks I mourn her fate.

ARTAMON.

Dost thou relent?

We've plung'd too far in guilt, and should thy

tongue

Proclaim the secret cause, reveal my shame,
Her fate shall soon be thine.

DESNA.

I shrink not now,

But on the wings of speed will force my way

To execute your orders.

ARTAMON.

This moment, then;

For see the Czar is hast'ning to the trial ;Catharine's meek nature must not guess our

process;

In the short compass of this busy night

Our all is at a stake ;-straight to the prison;
There use your utmost arts,-create delays
To stop the Queen's arrival ;-should she appear,
Before her son receives his final doom,

I know the Czar would waver;-fly, begone;
Serve me but now, and fortune pants to yield
Her every bright reward.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.

The CZAR discovered on the Throne.

On one side ARTAMON and his abettors; on the other, AMGAR and other Friends of the repudiated Queen and her Son. Boyars, Guards, Attendants.

CZAR.

From joyful triumph, and the dreams of bliss,
Behold, my faithful friends, the sad reverse
Of this inglorious hour;-here view at large
A monarch's cares, nor with the vulgar think
That he who wears the glittering garb of State
Can feel no pangs
within.

ARTAMON.

Your subjects ever

Must sure lament this most ungrateful cause
Of your severe distress.-Affection, they may fear,
Will plead too loudly for a darling son,

Tho' your own life's at stake; facts already prov'd
Leave little room for trial,-but to silence

Those whom ambition prompts to seek their own More than their Sov'reign's good,-you still vouchsafe

Each witness to repeat what he has sworn,
Should the bold Prince presume to allege before