Have driv'n him forth to seek some safer shelter, Alic. You triumph! do! and with gigantic pride But perjury, like thine, shall dwell in safety. Hast. Whate'er my fate decrees for me hereafter, Let any other kind of plague o'ertake me, Alic. Thy pray'r is heard—I go—but know, proud lord, Howe'er thou scorn'st the weakness of my sex, And view thee fall'n, and grov'ling at my feet; And tread thee sinking to the shades below. [Exit. Hast. How fierce a fiend is passion! With what wildness, What tyranny untam'd it reigns in woman! Unhappy sex whose easy yielding temper Gives way to ev'ry appetite alike: "Each gust of inclination, uncontrol'd, "Sweeps thro' their souls and sets them in an uproar; "Each motion of the heart rises to fury," And love in their weak bosoms is a rage As terrible as hate, and as destructive. "So the wind roars o'er the wide fenceless ocean, "Alike from north, from south, from east, from west; "With equal force the tempest blows by turns Enter JANE SHORE. Forgive me, fair one, if officious friendship There plead your cause, with never-failing beauty, J. Sh. Thus humbly let your lowly servant bend. [Kneeling. Thus let me bow my grateful knee to earth, Hast. Rise, gentle dame, you wrong my meaning much, Think me not guilty of a thought so vain, To sell my courtesy for thanks like these. J. Sh. 'Tis true, your bounty is beyond my speaking: But tho' my mouth be dumb, my heart shall thank you; And when it melts before the throne of mercy, Hast. If there be ought of merit in my service, Hast. Why bend thy eyes to earth? Wherefore these looks of heaviness and sorrow? Why breathes that sigh, my love? And wherefore falls This trickling show'r of tears, to stain thy sweetness ? 7. Sh. If pity dwells within your noble breast, (As sure it does) Oh, speak not to me thus. Hast. Can I behold thee, and not speak of love? Ev'n now, thus sadly as thou stand'st before me, Thus desolate, dejected, and forlorn, Thy softness steals upon my yielding senses, Till my soul faints, and sickens with desire; How canst thou give this motion to my heart, J. Sh. Cast round your eyes Upon the high-born beauties of the court; Where is thy wonted pleasantness of face, 7. Sh. Yes, I will own I merit the reproach; All tongues, like yours, are licens'd to upbraid me, And treat me like that abjeƐt thing I have been. "Who knows my crimes, has seen my sorrow for them." Hast. No more of this dull stuff. 'Tis time enough To whine and mortify thyself with penance, "When the decaying sense is pall'd with pleasure, "And weary nature tires in her last stage; "Then weep and tell thy beads, when alt'ring rheums "Have stain'd the lustre of thy starry eyes, "And failing palsies shake thy wither'd hand.” The present moment claims more gen'rous use; Thy beauty, night and solitude, reproach me, For having talk'd thus long-come let me press thee, [Laying hold of her. Pant on thy bosom, sink into thy arms, And lose myself in the luxurious flood. "J. Sh. Never! by those chaste lights above, I swear, "My soul shall never know pollution more;" Forbear, my lord !-here let me rather die : [Kneeling. "Let quick destruction overtake me here," 7. Sh. Retire! I beg you leave me→→ Hast. Thus to coy it! With one who knows you too.→→→→ J. Sh. For mercy's sake― [Striving. |