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In what suspense, what agony of fear,

I wait thy words; for well, too well, I see
Thy lips are fraught with fatal auguries

To some one of my race.

ALCESTIS.

Death hath his rights,

Of which not e'en the great Supernal Powers
May hope to rob him. By his ruthless hand,
Already seized, the noble victim lay,

The heir of empire, in his glowing prime

10 And noon-day struck;- Admetus, the revered, The blessed, the loved, by all who owned his sway, By his illustrious parents, by the realms

Surrounding his, - and oh! what need to add,
How much by his Alcestis?

Such was he,

15 Already in the unsparing grasp of death,
Withering, a certain prey. Apollo thence
Hath snatched him, and another in his stead,
Although not an equal, (who can equal him ?)
Must fall a voluntary sacrifice.

· --

20 Another of his lineage, or to him

By closest bonds united, must descend
To the dark realm of Orcus in his place,
Who thus alone is saved.

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E'en now, O father! hath been made; the prey
Is ready, nor is wholly worthless him

30 For whom 't is freely offered. Nor wilt thou,
O mighty goddess of the infernal shades!
Whose image sanctifies this threshold floor,
Disdain the victim.

PHERES.

All prepared the prey!

35 And to our blood allied! O heaven! and yet

* Orcus, the god of the lower world.

Thou bad'st me weep no more!

ALCESTIS.

And thus again I say,

Yes, thus I said,

thou shalt not weep

Thy son's, nor I deplore my husband's doom.

5 Let him be saved, and other sounds of woe,

Less deep, less mournful far, shall here be heard,
Than those his death had caused. With some few tears,
But brief, and mingled with a gleam of joy,
E'en while the involuntary tribute lasts,

10 The victim shall be honored, who resigned
Life for Admetus. Wouldst thou know the prey, -
The vowed, the willing, the devoted one,
Offered and hallowed to the infernal gods?
Father! 't is I.

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PHERES.

What hast thou done?

O heaven!

What hast thou done? And think'st thou he is saved
By such a compact? Think'st thou he can live
Bereft of thee? Of thee, his light of life,

His

soul! very

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20 Than his loved parents, - than 13 children more,

More than himself! -Oh! no, it shall not be !
Thou perish, O Alcestis! in the flower

Of thy young beauty; perish, and destroy

Not him, not him alone, but us, but all,

25 Who as a child adore thee! Desolate

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Would be the throne, the kingdom, reft of thee. And think'st thou not of those, whose tender years Demand thy care? — thy children! think of them! O thou, the source of each domestic joy, 30 Thou in whose life alone Admetus lives, His glory, his delight, thou shalt not die, While I can die for thee! Me, me alone, The oracle demands, a withered stem, Whose task, whose duty is, for him to die. 35 My race is run ; - the fulness of my years, The faded hopes of age, and all the love

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Which hath its dwelling in a father's heart,
And the fond pity, half with wonder blent,

Inspired by thee, whose youth with heavenly gifts
So richly is endowed, all, all unite

To grave in adamant the just decree,

That I must die. But thou - I bid thee live!
Pheres commands thee, O Alcestis! live!

Ne'er, ne'er shall woman's youthful love surpass
An aged sire's devotedness.

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Thy lofty soul, thy fond paternal love;
Pheres, I know them well, and not in vain
Strove to anticipate their high resolves.
But if in silence I have heard thy words,
15 Now calmly list to mine, and thou shalt own
They may not be withstood.

PHERES.

Which I should hear? I go,

What canst thou say

resolved to save

Him who, with thee, would perish: 20 E'en now I fly.

ALCESTIS.

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Stay, stay thee! 't is too late.

Already hath consenting Proserpine,
From the remote abysses of her realms,
Heard and accepted the terrific vow

25 Which binds me, 'with indissoluble ties,

To death. And I am firm, and well I know
None can deprive me of the awful right

That vow hath won.

Yes! thou mayst weep my fate,

30 Mourn for me, father! but thou canst not blame

My lofty purpose. Ch the more endeared
My life by every tie, the more I feel
Death's bitterness, the more my sacrifice
Is worthy of Admetus. I descend

35 To the dim, shadowy regions of the dead,
A guest more honored.

In thy presence here

Again I utter the tremendous vow,
Now more than half fulfilled.

I feel, I know

Its dread effects. Through all my burning veins 5 The insatiate fever revels. Doubt is o'er.

The Monarch of the Dead hath heard; - he calls,
He summons me away, and thou art saved,
O my Admetus!

CXXXVI.-CANNING AND BROUGHAM.

ANONYMOUS.

[This passage of words between Canning and Brougham took place in April, 1823. Canning had recently come into the cabinet, as secretary for foreign affairs, in consequence of the death (by his own hands) of the Marquis of Londonderry, more generally known as Lord Castlereagh. The charge brought against Canning was, that he had come into office without extorting any distinct pledges from his colleagues in favor of Catholic emancipation, to which he was well known to be friendly; and this formed the burden of Brougham's attack. Canning's defence was, that if that concession had been insisted upon, it would have been impossible to form an administration to carry on the government of the country; and that it was better to secure some desirable results, than to lose the whole by insisting upon having either the whole or none.

The tone of debate in the English house of commons is more guarded and decorous than that of our house of representatives; and Canning's language was an unusually vehement expression of feeling.]

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THOUGH they resembled each other in standing foremost and alone in their respective parties, they were in every other respect opposed as the zenith and nadir, or as light and darkness.

This difference extended even to their personal appearance. Canning was airy, open, and prepossessing; Brougham seemed stern, hard, lowering, and almost repulsive. The head of Canning had an air of extreme elegance: that of Brougham was much the reverse; but stili, in whatever 10 way it was viewed, it gave a sure indication of the terrible

power of the inhabitant within. Canning's features were handsome; his eye, though deeply ensconced under his

The feat

eyebrows, was full of sparkle and gayety. ures of Brougham were harsh in the extreme: while his forehead shot up to a great elevation, his chin was long and square; his mouth, nose, and eyes seemed huddled 5 together in the centre of his face-the eyes absolutely lost amid folds and corrugations; and while he sat listening, they seemed to retire inward, or to be veiled by a filmy curtain, which not only concealed the appalling glare which shot away from them when he was roused, but renIO dered his mind and his purpose a sealed book to the keenest scrutiny of man.

Canning's passions appeared upon the open campaign of his face, drawn up in a ready array, and moved to and fro at every turn of his oration, and every retort in that of his 15 antagonist: those of Brougham remained within, as in a citadel which no artillery could batter and no mine blow up; and even when he was putting forth all the power of his eloquence, when every ear was tingling at what he said, and while the immediate object of his invective was writh20 ing in helpless and indescribable agony, his visage retained its cold and brassy hue, and he triumphed over the pas sions of other men by seeming to be wholly without passion himself. The whole form of Canning was rounded, and smooth, and graceful; that of Brougham angular, long, 25 and awkward. When Canning rose to speak, he elevated

his countenance, and seemed to look round for the applause of those about him, as an object dear to his feelings; while Brougham stood coiled and concentrated, reckless of all but the power that was within himself. From Canning 30 there was expected the glitter of wit and the flow of spirit something showy and elegant. Brougham stood up as a being whose powers and intentions were all a mystery whose aim and effect no living man could divine. You bent forward to catch the first sentence of the one, and 35 felt human nature elevated in the specimen before you; you crouched and shrank back from the other, and dreams

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