Smith monologue (Act 1) — The Indian Princess; Or, La Belle Sauvage

'Tis all in vain! no clue to guide my steps. [_Music._ By this the explorers have return'd despairing, And left their forward leader to his fate. The rashness is well punish'd, that, alone, Would brave the entangling mazes of these wilds. The night comes on, and soon these gloomy woods Will echo to the yell of savage beasts, And savage men more merciless. Alas! And am I, after all my golden dreams Of laurel'd glory, doom'd in wilds to fall, Ignobly and obscure, the prey of brutes? [_Music._ Fie on these coward thoughts! this trusty sword, That made the Turk and Tartar crouch beneath me, Will stead me well, e'en in this wilderness. [_Music._ O glory! thou who led'st me fearless on, Where death stalk'd grimly over slaughter'd heaps, Or drank the drowning shrieks of shipwreck'd wretches, Swell high the bosom of thy votary! [_Music. Exit SMITH._