English

SCENE II.

LYCIDAS. DIONE in a shepherd's habit.

LYCIDAS.

Hah! who comes here? turn hence, be timely wise;
Trust not thy safety to Parthenia 's eyes.
As from the bearing faulcon flies the dove,
So, wing'd with fear, Parthenia flies from love.

DIONE.

If in these vales the fatal beauty stray,
From the cold marble rise; let's haste away.
Why lye you panting, like the smitten deer?
Trust not the dangers which you bid me fear.

LYCIDAS.

ACT II. SCENE I.

Lycidas lying on the grave of Menalcas.

LYCIDAS.

When shall these scalding fountains cease to flow?
How long will life sustain this load of woe?
Why glows the morn? roll back, thou source of light.
And feed my sorrows with eternal night.
Come, sable Death! give, give the welcome stroke;
The raven calls thee from yon' blasted oak.
What pious care my ghastful lid shall close?
What decent hand my frozen limbs compose?
O happy shepherd, free from anxious pains,

SCENE V.

LYCIDAS. PARTHENIA. DIONE. LAURA.

LYCIDAS.

What do I see? no. Fancy mocks my eyes,
And bids the dear deluding vision rise.
'Tis she. My springing heart her presence feels.
See, prostrate Lycidas before thee kneels.
Why will Parthenia turn her face away?

PARTHENIA.

Who calls Parthenia ? hah!

LYCIDAS.

— — — Stay, virgin, stay.
O wing my feet, kind Love. See, see, she bounds,
Fleet as the mountain roe, when prest by hounds.

SCENE IV.

LYCIDAS. PARTHENIA.

LYCIDAS.

When shall my steps have rest? through all the wood,
And by the winding banks of Ladon 's flood
I sought my love. O say, ye skipping fawns,
(Who range entangled shades and daisy'd lawns)
If ye have seen her! say, ye warbling race,
(Who measure on swift wing th' aerial space,
And view below hills, dales, and distant shores)
Where shall I find her whom my soul adores!

SCENE III.

PARTHENIA. SHEPHERDS.

1 SHEPHERD .

Why this way dost thou turn thy baneful eyes,
Pernicious Basilisk? Lo! there he lies,
There lies the youth thy cursed beauty slew;
See, at thy presence, how he bleeds anew!
Look down, enjoy thy murder.

PARTHENIA.

— — — Spare my fame;
I come to clear a virgin's injur'd name.
If I'm a Basilisk, the danger fly,
Shun the swift glances of my venom'd eye:

SCENE II.

1 SHEPHERD .

Here gently rest the corse. — With faultring breath
Thus spake Menatcas on the verge of death.
" Belov'd Palemon , hear a dying friend;
" See, where yon hills with craggy brows ascend,
" Low in the valley where the mountain grows,
" There first I saw her, there began my woes.
" When I am cold, may there this clay be laid;
" There often strays the dear the cruel maid,
" There as she walks, perhaps you'll hear her say,

ACT I. SCENE I.

A Plain, at the foot of a steep craggy mountain.

DIONE LAURA.

LAURA.

Why dost thou fly me? stay, unhappy fair,
Seek not these horrid caverns of despair;
To trace thy steps the midnight air I bore,
Trod the brown desart, and unshelter'd moor:
Three times the lark has sung his matin lay,
And rose on dewy wing to meet the day,
Since first I found thee, stretch'd in pensive mood,
Where laurels border Ladon 's silver flood.

DIONE.

Design'd for the Pastoral Tragedy of D IONE .

There was a time (Oh were those days renew'd!)
Ere tyrant laws had woman's will subdu'd;
Then nature rul'd, and love, devoid of art,
Spoke the consenting language of the heart.
Love uncontroul'd! insipid, poor delight!
'Tis the restraint that whets our appetite.
Behold the beasts who range the forests free,
Behold the birds who fly from tree to tree;
In their amours see nature's power appear!
And do they love? Yes — — One month in the year.

STAVE.

Our stage Play has a moral — and no doubt
You all have sense enough to find it out.

SCENE IX.

KITTY.

It is his ghost — or is it he indeed?
Wert thou not sent to war? hah, dost thou bleed?
No — — 'tis my Filbert .

FILBERT.

— — — Yes, 'tis he, 'tis he,
Dorcas confess'd; the Justice set me free.
I'm thine again. — —

KITTY.

— — — I thine — —

FILBERT.

— — — Our fears are fled.
Come, let's to Church, to Church. — —

KITTY.

— — — To wed.

FILBERT.

— — — To bed.