278 REDEMPTION.
His tortuous steps, the faithless miscreant turn'd, And thus t' his thoughts in fruitless sighs gave vent:
" Ah ! me, betray'd him; whither shall I flee? Where hide my guilty head ? how 'scape his ire ? Betray'd, who me had bless'd! Consign'd to death, Who blameless lived, whose every act was love ! Thou burning brand of infamy and shame ! Betray'd him with a kiss ! Oh ! infamy, Hast thou a deeper depth ? Open your jaws, Infernal hell, I come betray'd with kiss ! Hiss it, ye fiery demons, Him betray'd ! Emblazon it, betray'd Him with a kiss ! Yet live, unblasted by his breath ! my name Henceforth, the name for traitor and false friend. I, once so near him placed, next to his side, Made partner in his kingdom, crown'd with gifts, Sold him for thirty groat ! Scourge me, ye fiends ; 'Tis my desert; seize this damn'd soul, abort; Torture, and in your seething caldrons roll, Where burn your sulph'rous flames with fiercest heat ; For I some ease must find e'en there, where most Hell's wrath is spent fit place for me, who him Could thus betray, him ill for good requite. ' High shall he be exalt, who these subserves' Ay ! high as Aman, such my merit is, With badge of Cain emblazon'd on my brow. ' His fame all peoples learn, all times extend, For none shall envy, none say ' Would 'twere I.' What serpent, demon, hiss'd that in mine ear ? Though false by nature, he was true in this. I, serpent, demon, I, 'twas I alone, Whose freewill did the hellish plot devise,
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