 | A royal arbor (1663) |  |
The Broken Contract.
1
You that are safe and sound in soul,Whose mindes are well, and hearts are whole,
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The sorrows of a broken heart;
So sad it is, that much I fear,
'Twill break your very hearts to hear.
2
A Lady (as my story saith)Was bound within the bonds of faith
As fast as Contract could unite
Unto a youthful noble Knight;
But by her powerful Brother she
Was forc'd to break this unity.
3
She now is married to a richAnd very jealous Old man, which
Doth in her love take much delight,
But she must ne're stir out of sight;
By all that look upon her he
Doth fear he shall cornuted be.
4
The old man breaks his heart with fears,The Knight doth waste his soul in cares;
The Lady spends her time in tears,
Her Brother courts a friend of hers:
And being now a Lover strong,
Repents he did his Sister wrong.
5
Her Brother and his Love are nowUnited by a lasting vow,
The gallant Bridegroom and his Bride
Do for the Nuptial day provide;
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He could not make it to retreat.
6
But she that should have been his wifeDoth grow so weary of her life,
That she resolves to eat no food
Or sustenance to do her good,
Till famine ceise on all her parts;
Thus broken vows make broken hearts.
7
The Knight a challenge sends to him,Who now in seas of joyes do swim,
And bids him meet without delay
The morning of his wedding day;
Or else he vow'd for all his harms
To kill him in his Ladies arms.
8
The Bridegroom meets him, and they fight,But the undaunted daring Knight
Fill'd with revenge doth charge him so,
That he in his own blood doth flow;
Thus in a moment here you have
A Bride-bed turn'd into a Grave.
9
When this report abroad was blaz'd,The woful Bride being much amaz'd,
Tears off the wedding garment, which
Her body lately did enrich;
Her heart o'recharg'd with grief, she cry'd,
We'l meet above, and so she dy'd.
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10
The Bridegrooms sister which beforeHad made a vow to feed no more,
Being in seas of sorrows drown'd,
She throws her self upon the ground;
Saying it cannot be withstood,
But broken vows must end in blood.
11
These words she had no sooner spoke,But instantly her heart was broke;
The Knight with hands in blood imbrued
Is now by Officers pursued,
And in his Chamber they at last
Do finde him with his door lockt fast.
12
They break it open, and there finde,The saddest sight is left behinde;
For when they in the Chamber come,
They finde him naked in the room,
Where every vein from head to foot
He with his knife had newly cut.
13
Much like a fountain there he stood,For all his limbs were spouts of blood;
But when his veins did cease to swell,
He dyed, and down the fountain fell;
Thus doth one broken vow devour
The lives and precious blood of four.
14
May this a warning prove to all,Whose Vows are Matrimoniall;
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The breach can never be allow'd;
For you may well discern by this,
A Contract broke, like Murther is.
| A royal arbor (1663) | |