Poems on Various Subjects :: :: University of Virginia Library

Roldan; Messenger; Chorus; Sophia; Albert; Monimia; Medical Assistant.
Monimia.
Oh my dear child! and do these aged eyes,
Once more with doting fondness gazing o'er
Thy animated limbs, admire the glow
Of matchless beauty which pervades thy form?

Albert.
My dear Sophia! my soul's better part!
And shall I yet, yet once again attend
With silent rapture to thy tuneful tongue?
Shall I once more admire th'enchanting flow
Of wisdom and of softness, sweetly join'd
In unison by thy attractive tongue?

Edmund,
(at a distance.)
Oh cruel Fate! must I thus gaze aloof,
Nor dare to be partaker of their joys?

Roldan,
(kneeling)
Oh thou dear injur'd fair-one! at thy feet
A wretch, who dares not to thy injur'd face
Uplift his guilty eyes, submissive begs
Thy pardon and thy pity.

Sophia.
Roldan rise,
Nor by that posture to my mind recal
Those fatal moments I must blush to think of.
Oh leave me, leave me!

Roldan.
Ah! in mercy yet,
If thou wouldst not to desperation drive
A poor repentant wretch, Sophia hear.

Sophia.
Oh my poor drooping heart! What wouldst thou have?

Roldan.
Thy pardon, sweet Sophia!

Sophia.
I could not,
If in my nature I were so inclin'd,
Refuse my pardon to a suppliant now;
When I so lately at the hand of Heav'n
Such favours have receiv'd.

Roldan.
And wilt thou, then,
At Hymen's altar crown my life with joy?

Sophia.
No, Roldan; no. Can I suppose that thou,
Who couldst insult my weakness, wouldst not still
Of thy untimely triumph mind me oft?
What then but anguish could our union bring?

Roldan.
Oh never, never, by high Heav'n I swear—.

Sophia.

Peace, Roldan; peace! High Heav'n's eternal throne,
And all the sacred attributes of God,
Thy faithless vows already have blasphem'd.
Oh do not wake the memory of thy crimes,
By repetition of those sacred oaths
Which could not bind thy wavering heart before.

But oh farewel! my feeble spirits faint.
This conflict of contending passions shakes
My frame too much. Farewel!

Roldan.
Ah stay, Sophia!
Oh didst thou know the pangs which gnaw my breast!
And didst thou know with how sincere an ardour—

Sophia.
—Urge me not. I will not think so harshly,
As, that thou didst not from thy soul intend
Whate'er the ardour of thy early love
So frequent swore. But if thy changeling mind
Was so unstable once, what hold secure
Can I at present have? Therefore farewel.

Roldan.

Oh torture! Oh my friends! Ye who have seen
My keen sensations of sincere remorse,
Will none, in pity, plead a wretch's cause?

Where shall I wander, desperate and alone,
And spend in bootless penitence my days?
Some silent, dark, sequester'd gloom I'll find,
Where lazy zephyrs thro' close woven sprays
Scarce whispering creep, nor with their feeble wings
Disturb the surface of the sleeping lake;
Where living thing as yet was never seen,
Save when the widow'd dove retir'd to mourn;
Where tread of foot ne'er press'd the unshorn grass,
Unless the spirits (if such things there are)
Which fill with troubled dreams the dormant brain,
Might there withdraw, to gather gloomy thoughts.
There will I ponder on Sophia's charms,
And sigh away my soul in pray'rs for her.

Haply Sophia, when I am no more,
Thou'lt to my memory drop a tender tear,
And sigh a pray'r for my departed soul.

Sophia.
Oh Roldan!

Chorus.
Youth, behold the fair-one melts,
And soft consenting in her azure eyes
Appears to languish bland.

Roldan.
Oh my Sophia!
Can then thy heart, in pity to my woes,
Accept the incense of repentant sighs,
And melt compassionate at these my tears?

Sophia.
Alas! Sophia's heart was never form'd
To hear her Roldan sigh, and hear unmov'd.
Then, if indeed this hand can make thee bless'd,
Accept it. Well thou know'st my heart is thine.

Roldan.
Oh bliss too great!

Chorus.
Hear me, thou gentle fair,
And you, ye happy parents, Yet in store
There is increase of happiness.—Your son—.

Albert
Ha! What of him?

Chorus.
Oh fortify your hearts
With firm philosophy; for I shall tell
What else with joy your reason might o'erturn.
Your Edmund still survives.

Sophia.
Oh Heav'n!

Chorus.
And soon he will be here.

Edmund
comes forward.
Yes, here he is.
Oh my dear sister! fondling of my heart!
Do I then clasp thee in my arms once more
Alive and breathing, rescu'd from the grave?
Oh transport! oh delight!

(Embraces her.)
Sophia.
My brother, oh!

Edmund.
Oh my lov'd parents!

(Embrace.)

Chorus.
While with transports they,
Too great for utterance, weep their sudden joys,
Say does thy heart, Pharmacinus, not feel
A conscious glow of intellectual pleasure,
Beyond the vulgar joys of appetite?

Medical Assistant.
It does, my friend. But be it not forgot
That first to Heav'n, which warm'd the generous breasts
Of those who spread Resuscitation's art,
And next, to that society belongs
The grateful tribute of sincere applause.

Chorus.
'Tis spoken well. And ye, most happy friends!
Let not the pleasures of your future lives
Drive from your hearts the memory of this day;
But ever, with true gratitude inspir'd,
Confess the mercies which ye have receiv'd,
With several thousand fellow creatures more,
From Heav'n and the HUMANE SOCIETY.

Exeunt Omnes.