University of Virginia Library

SCENE THE SECOND.

Pereus, Myrrha, Euryclea.
Pe.
Thy father, Myrrha, hath transported me
With unexpected joy: my destiny,
Which I expected trembling, he himself
Hath cheerfully announced to me as happy.
Since thou wilt have it so, by morrow's dawn,
At thy command, my sails shall be unfurl'd.
It pleases me at least, thy parents yield
Contentedly and placidly to this:
For me no other pleasure there can be
Save that of satisfying thy desires.

My.
Yes, much-loved consort; for by this fond name
Already I accost thee; if a wish
My bosom ever fervently inspired,
Now do I wish intensely, nay I will,
To-morrow, at the break of day, to part
From hence with thee. To find myself at once
With thee alone; no longer to behold
One of the many objects in my sight
So long the witnesses, and perhaps the cause,
Of my distress; to sail in unknown seas;
To land in countries hitherto unseen;
To breathe a fresh invigorating air;
And evermore to witness at my side,
Beaming with exultation, and with love,
A spouse like thee; all this, I am convinced,
Will renovate me soon a second time
To be what once I was. Less irksome, then,
I trust that I shall be to thee. Meanwhile
My state will stand in need of some indulgence;
But, be assured that this will not last long.
My grief, if never to my mind recall'd,
Will be eradicated soon. Do thou,
Of my abandon'd and paternal realm,
Of my disconsolate and childless parents,
In short, of nothing, that was once my own,
Once precious to my heart, ever remind me,
Nor even breathe to me their thrilling names.
This, this will be the only remedy
That will for ever staunch the bitter fount
Of my perpetual and horrible tears.

Pe.
Strange and unparallel'd is thy design,
Oh Myrrha: ah may heaven in mercy grant
That thou may'st not, when 'tis too late, repent it!
Yet though my heart the flattering thought admits not
Of being dear to thee, I am resolved
Blindly t'accomplish every wish of thine.
Provided that my destiny decree
That I should ne'er be worthy of thy love,
My life, which only for thy sake I keep,
(That life which I had sacrificed already
With my own hand, if I had been to-day
Forced to relinquish thee) this life of mine,
Since for this sacred purpose thou hast deign'd
To make a choice of me, I consecrate
For ever to thy grief.—To weep with thee,
If thou desire it; with festivity,
And mirthful sports, to make the time pass by
With lighter wings, and cheat thee of thy cares;
With strenuous watchfulness, t'anticipate
All thy desires; to shew myself at all times,
Whichever most thou wishest me to be,
Consort, protector, brother, friend, or servant;
Behold, to what I pledge myself: in this,
And this alone, my glory and my life
Will all be centred. Yet, by this unmoved,
If thou canst never love me, still, methinks,
I cannot be the object of thy hate.

My.
What say'st thou? Learn, ah learn better to know,
Better to appreciate thyself and Myrrha!
To thy so various endowments, thou
Addest such boundless love, that thou deservest
A far, far different object to myself.
Love in my bosom will enshrine his fires,
When he has clear'd it of its blighting tears.
And oh, to-day, be pleased to accept it, thou,
An ample and indubitable proof
Of this, that I select thyself alone
As with medicinable power endow'd
To heal my bosom's festering malady;
That I esteem thee, that with lofty voice
I hail thee as my only true deliverer.

Pe.
Thou dost inflame me with excessive joy:
Never till now did accents sweet as these
Flow from thy beauteous lips: within my heart
Engraved in characters of fire they live.—
Behold the priests, and the hymeneal train,
And our dear parents, hitherward advance.
Ah! may this moment be to thee propitious,
As it hath been the brightest of my life.