Radama I

“ Radames called softly.
"Alas, why should I meet thee," she sobbed, "since thou wilt marry Amneris to-morrow?"
"Aïda, I have come to tell thee there is hope," Radames whispered, trembling with happiness. "The Ethiopians have again risen against us. I am immediately to go forth to battle. I shall crush them this time, and on my return the King will once more be generous to me, and I shall demand then, that for my reward he free me from Amneris and give me thee for my wife. When I have twice saved his kingdom, he cannot refuse me." ”

“ Radames (Regarding Aida) .
(See her cheek wan with weeping and sorrow,
From affliction new charm seems to borrow,
In my bosom love's flame seems new lighted
By each tear-drop that flows from her eyes.)
Amneris.
(With what glances on her is he gazing,
Glowing passion witin them is blazing;
She is loved and my passion is slighted,
Stern revenge in my breast loudly cries.)
King.
High in triumph since our banners now are soaring,
Let us spare those our mercy imploring,
By the gods mercy aye is requited,
And gives strength to princely sway.
Radames (To King) . ”

“ It was in this vast and beautiful hall that Radames, a gallant soldier and favourite of the Egyptian court, met Ramphis, the High Priest, on the day when the Oracle, Isis, was to choose the general of the army.
Isis had already spoken, and Ramphis knew it, but he did not tell Radames. Together they spoke of Radames's loyal wish to serve his people, either as a great general or as a soldier. He was too modest to think that Isis would choose him, out of all the worthy men of the army, to lead the hosts of Egypt. ”

“ Vainly tall Amneris intercedes with the deep-voiced priest. Ramphis has spoken the word: "He shall die!" Vainly do the priests call upon Radames to defend himself against their terrible accusations. His lips are silent. He must die the death of traitors. They sentence him to living burial under the foundations of the temple, under the feet of the granite gods.
Under the feet of the deities they have made the tomb of Radames—a chasm wrought in a mountain of hewn granite. ”

“ Radames alone knows—and Radames loves thee," he finished significantly.
"But since he loves me, how can I betray him, father?" she asked.
"Choose—between thy father and the man who is to-299- marry Amneris.—Or—" with a new thought he hesitated a moment—"or why should Radames not leave these cold people for a fairer place and kinder? Why should he not become one of us?" Aïda stared at her father in amazement.
"Betray his people?"
"Why not? Since he loves thee, shall not thy people become his people, even as thou wouldst have made his people thine, hadst thou been wedding him. ”

“ Amonasro shouted, and as the people began to pour from the Temple, he sprang forward and would have plunged his sword through her had Radames not sprung between them.
"Thou art a madman," he shouted, horrified at the deed Amonasro would have done. Meantime all was confusion. People shouted for the guard, and Radames cried to Aïda:
"Fly with thy father. Fly or thou art lost." His voice was so full of agony for her that she suddenly turned and fled.-302-
"Follow them," Ramphis demanded of the soldiers, while Radames said hopelessly:
"Ramphis, I yield to thee." ”

“ Stairs led from the temple above into the vault, and Radames sat down upon the steps as the priests let down again the massive stone that covered the opening beneath the altar. Radames watched the closing of the opening, the descent of the great stone into place.
"I can bear my fate, since Aïda may never know. She could not survive such horror," he said, under his breath. The vault, the ghostly cold about him, the rows upon rows of senseless marble, supported by the expressionless stone faces of the gods, these things overwhelmed the great warrior. ”

“ Fly with us. Even now the Ethiopians are without the gates ready for battle. Join them, lead them, and——"
"A traitor to my country!" he cried, stricken with horror at the thought.
"Then there is no hope. The Princess will drive us to death and despair." She drew a picture that brought it all vividly into Radames's mind. At last with breaking heart he cried:
"I will go with thee—making thy people my people," and he started to leave the Temple with her.
"What path shall we take to avoid the Egyptian soldiers?" she questioned wildly. ”

“ Our people have risen in arms again! Radames loves thee!—he will tell thee all! What! dost thou hesitate? Refuse!—and they who died to free thee from captivity shall arise from the black gulf to curse thee! Refuse!—and the shade of thy mother will return from the tomb to curse thee! Refuse!—and I, thy father, shall disown thee and invoke upon thy head my everlasting curse!"
Radames comes! Amonasro, hiding in the shadow of the palms, hears all. Radames betrays his country to Aïda. "Save thyself!—fly with me!" she whispers to her lover. "Leave thy gods ”

“ The desert shall be our nuptial couch!—the silent stars the witness of our love. Let my black hair cover thee as a tent; my eyes sustain thee; my kisses console thee." And as she twines about him and he inhales the perfume of her lips and feels the beating of her heart, Radames forgets country and honor and faith and fame; and the fatal word is spoken. Napata!—Amonasro, from the shadows of the palm-trees, shouts the word in triumph! There is a clash of brazen blades; Radames is seized by priests and soldiers: Amonasro and his daughter fly under cover of the night. ”

“ When I first thee regarded,
How can I e'er forget?
Aida.
Beneath our skies more freely
To our hearts will love be yielded,
The gods thy youth that shielded
Will not our love forget.
Radames (Hesitating) .
Aida!
Aida.
Me thou lov'st not! Go!
Radames.
Not love thee?
Ne'er in mortal bosom
Burnt yet love's flame with ardour more devouring.
Aida.
Go, thy Amneris 'waits thee! ”

“ Thou shalt be happy made.
SCENE V.
Enter Amneris from the Temple, then Ramphis, Priests, Guards, and the above.
Amneris.
Traitor vile!
Aida.
The Princess here!
Amonasro.
(Advancing with a dagger towards Amneris.)
Comest thou here to mar my projects?
Die then!
Radames.
(Rushing between them.) Nay, strike not, thou madman!
Amonasro.
O fury!
Ramphis.
Guards there, advance!
Radames.
(To Aida and Amonasro.) Fly! quick! Delay not!
Amonasro (Dragging Aida) .
Come then, my daughter!
Ramphis (To the Guards) .
Guards! quick, follow!
Radames (To Ramphis) . ”

“ While the Princess was speaking, Aïda clasped her hands wildly and cried out. Thus, she betrayed instantly all her love for Radames, and Amneris was no longer in doubt.
"So, you love him?" she cried. "That was what I wished to know. Now let me tell thee that he lives and is returning with honours—but not for thee. If you love him, so do I. What chance has one like you—a slave—beside a princess like me? I feel nothing but hate now for you, and from this moment you shall know all the humility of a slave. Since you have dared to love Radames, I shall be revenged." ”

“ We reach the last act of the drama. Radames is to be tried for treason in having betrayed a secret of war to his country's enemy. Amneris fain would save him were he to renounce Aïda and accept her love. She offers on such terms to intercede for him with her father, the king. From her Radames learns that Aïda escaped the guards who slew her father. He is resolute to die rather than prove faithless to her, and is led away to the subterranean trial chamber. Amneris, crouched without, hears the accusing voices of the priests and the awful silence which follows each accusation ”

“ In a hall of the Royal Palace, flanked by a colonnade with statues and flowering shrubs, and commanding a view of the city's palaces and temples and the pyramids, Radames, an Egyptian soldier, and Ramfis, a high priest, discuss a report that the Ethiopians are in revolt in the valley of the Nile, and that Thebes is threatened. The high priest has consulted Isis, and the goddess has designated who shall be the leader of Egypt's army against the rebels. An inspiring thought comes into the mind of Radames. ”

“ But Aïda was filled with despair, being torn by conflicting feelings; and when all the resplendent company had departed to the Temple of Vulcan to witness the investiture and dedication of Radames to his heaven-chosen office, she remained behind, that none might witness her sorrow.
"How dare I wish victory to my beloved one, when that means defeat and bondage for my native land?" she murmured, in anguish. "Shall I desire my own royal father, my brothers, and my people to be destroyed? Yet, if they are victorious, my lover will [381] be dishonoured and ruined! ”

“ Thou canst generously do so much for us." At this, Aïda understanding that she must not let it be known that the King himself was a prisoner, added her entreaties to Amonasro's.
"Nay, ye must face the fortune of war. Death is thy portion," the King answered. Then Aïda's grief became pitiful, and Radames, who was watching her lovingly, was sorrowful on her account. While all others clamoured for the death of the Ethiopians, Radames stepped forth and asked the King to hear him.
"My King, thou hast said that I should have whatever I would ask of thee." ”

“ The heavy slab that formed the cover of the great coffer slowly raised as though lifted by unseen hands and there emerged from its dark recesses a slim, white-clad figure with his forearms crossed on his breast-the figure of a man perhaps thirty years old, his long, black hair hanging down upon his white-robed shoulders in strange contrast to the seamless garment that he wore. His face, devoid of emotion, was as handsome and serene as the great face of Ammon Ra himself that gazed down upon the scene. Silently Aradamas stepped from the ancient tomb and advanced slowly toward the high priest. ”

“ Then thou, like Mars courting the queen of love,
Mayst drive away this melancholy fit.
Rasni. The proof is good and philosophical;
And more, thy counsel plausible and sweet.—
Come, lords, though Rasni wants his Radagon,
Earth will repay him many Radagons,
And Alvida with pleasant looks revive
The heart that droops for want of Radagon. ”

“ By the assistance of a large army of monkeys, Ráma marches against Lanka, and when they stand helpless—for the water separates them from Ceylon—he then invokes the goddess of the sea, as Achilles did Thetis, and she comes in radiant beauty, telling them how to bridge the waves. The monkeys bring timber and stones, the bridge is built, Lanka reached, and the battle begins. Indra sends his own chariot down from heaven to Ráma, who mounts it, and vanquishes Ravana in single combat, upon which Sítá is restored to her husband. ”

“ In the second act Amneris, in order to test Aïda's feelings, tells her, that Radames fell in battle, and finds her doubts confirmed by Aïda's terror. Amneris openly threatens her rival, and both hasten to receive the soldiers, who return victorious. In Radames' suite walks King Amonasro, who has been taken prisoner, disguised as a simple officer. Aïda recognizes her father, and Amonasro telling his conqueror, that the Ethiopian King has fallen, implores his clemency. Radames, seeing Aïda in tears, adds his entreaties to those of the Ethiopian ”

“ Nilkant Rai rose to his feet with majesty.
“I go. Never shall the God be rejected and ask twice. But when your daughter, old and haggard, looks up at you, answer that it was her unworthy father who kept her as a drudge on earth, when he might have raised her to a throne in heaven.”
As the old man stood with clasped hands, Radha broke from the shadows and threw herself before him. ”

“ After a pause he said, ‘’Tis well, Rahma, that this paper, bearing the signet of our Lord the Sultan, has been found. If this Nazarene prove to be João, the famous gunsmith, I forgive your rash and unmaidenly conduct: but be careful for the future, never to enter without me or an attendant any place where a man, Christian or Moslem, may be.’
‘Baba,’ answered Rahma, ‘I always obey you; but if you care for my happiness do not shoot the Christian. Do him no harm, he has eaten our bread and he believes in God. ”

“ Thus we talked, the man Subbul asleep at last—having eaten—under the tamarisk, and the cool morning wind stirring the white salt under our fingers. Perhaps it was the change from suffering and uncertainty to hope, or perhaps it was no more than the food, but Radha's spirits soared, and the wine of her laughter warmed even the thin veins of an old man.
“What men are these?” she asked suddenly, springing up to stare into the sun that was no more than spear high over the plain. ”

“ Whether Rāma has been exiled through Kaikeyi's lust for dominion or through the exigencies of the bestowal of the boon, there cannot be any doubt that the king has acted most unrighteously. Even if this hath been done in harmony with the wish of the Lord, I do not perceive any reason for the banishment of Rāma. The king through lack of sense has done heedlessly what is opposed to morality; and this banishment of Rāma will but bring upon him woe here and hereafter. Fatherhood find I none in the monarch. My brother and feeder and friend and father is even Rāghava. ”

“ Said the lord En-lil, addressing his son Ramman: 'O son, spirit of wisdom, with all-seeing eyes and high vision, full of knowledge as the Pleiades, may thy sonorous voice give forth its utterance. Go forth, go up, who can strive with thee? The father is with thee against the cunning foe. Thou art cunning in wielding the hail-stones great and small. Oh, with thy right hand destroy the enemy and root him up!' Ramman hearkened to the words of his father and took his way from the dwelling, the youthful lion, the spirit of counsel. ”