Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

Have driv'n him forth to seek some safer shelter,
Where he may rest his weary wings in peace.

Alic. You triumph! do! and with gigantic pride
Defy impending vengeance. Heav'n shall wink;
No more his arm shall roll the dreadful thunder,
Nor send his lightnings forth : no more his justice
Shall visit the presuming sons of men,

But perjury, like thine, shall dwell in safety.

Hast. Whate'er my fate decrees for me hereafter,
Be present to me now, my better angel!
Preserve me from the storm that threatens now,
And if I have beyond attonement sinn'd,

Let any other kind of plague o'ertake me,
So I escape the fury of that tongue.

Alic. Thy pray'r is heard—I go—but know, proud lord,

Howe'er thou scorn'st the weakness of my sex,
This feeble hand may find the means to reach thee,
Howe'er sublime in pow'r and greatness plac'd,
With royal favour guarded round and grac❜d;
On eagle's wings my rage shall urge her flight,
And hurl thee headlong from thy topmost height;
Then, like thy fate, superior will I sit,

And view thee fall'n, and grov'ling at my feet;
See thy last breath with indignation go,

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

[ocr errors]

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,
"And heaves the billows of the boiling deep,

"Alike from north, from south, from east, from

west;

"With equal force the tempest blows by turns
"From every corner of the seaman's compass."
But soft ye now-for here comes one, disclaims
Strife and her wrangling train; of equal elements,
Without one jarring atom was she form'd,
And gentleness and joy make up her being.

Enter JANE SHORE.

Forgive me, fair one, if officious friendship
Intrudes on your repose, and comes thus late
To greet you with the tidings of success.
The princely Gloster has vouchsaf'd your hearing,
To-morrow he expects you at the court;

There plead your cause, with never-failing beauty,
Speak all your griefs, and find a full redress.

J. Sh. Thus humbly let your lowly servant bend.

[Kneeling.

Thus let me bow my grateful knee to earth,
And bless your noble nature for this goodness.

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,
Mourning and bleeding for my past offences,
My fervent soul shall breathe one pray'r for you,
If pray'rs of such a wretch are heard on high,
That Heav'n will pay you back, when most you need,
The grace and goodness you have shewn to me.

Hast. If there be ought of merit in my service,
Impute it there, where most 'tis due, to love;
Be kind, my gentle mistress, to my wishes,
And satisfy my panting heart with beauty.
J. Sh. Alas! my lord-

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,
And bid my tongue be still?

J. Sh. Cast round your eyes

Upon the high-born beauties of the court;
Behold, like opening roses, where they bloom,
Sweet to the sense, unsully'd all, and spotless;
There choose some worthy partner of your heart,
To fill your arms, and bless your virtuous bed;
Nor turn your eyes this way, "where sin and misery,
"Like loathsome weeds, have over-run the soil,
"And the destroyer, Shame, has laid all waste."
Hast. What means this peevish, this fantastic
change?

Where is thy wonted pleasantness of face,
Thy wonted graces, and thy dimpled smiles?
Where hast thou lost thy wit, and sportive mirth?
That chearful heart, which us'd to dance for ever,
And cast a day of gladness all around thee?

7. Sh. Yes, I will own I merit the reproach;
And for those foolish days of wanton pride,
My soul is justly humbled to the dust:

All tongues, like yours, are licens'd to upbraid me,
Still to repeat my guilt, to urge my infamy,

And treat me like that abjeƐt thing I have been.
"Yet let the saints be witness to this truth,
"That now, tho' late, I look with horror back,
"That I detest my wretched self, and curse
"My past polluted life. All-judging Heav'n,

"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,"
And end my sorrows and my shame for ever.
Hast. Away with this perverseness,—'tis too much.
Nay, if you strive-'tis monstrous affectation!

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.

« ZurückWeiter »