University of Virginia Library

SCENE III.

King and Villeroy.
King.
Villeroy be near me, for indeed thy King,
Tho every View of Danger be far off,
Far as the wary Mind of Peace could wish,
His martial Spirit takes not the Alarm
From arming Princes, or combining Crowns,
Is grown at last distrustful of himself.

Vill.
But whence can it proceed?—

King.
To tell thee that,
Would be to shew my Picture thro a Glass
With blacken'd Colours, and diminish'd Lustre;
My self have on my self commenc'd a War,
Reason gives back, and Resolution shrinks,
And all the Rebel in me gets the day.
I am in Chains, Villeroy, a Woman's Chains,
Weak as the weakest Slave that e'er was yet
Caught by a Look, a Feature, or an Air;
Yes, Montmorency's Daughter haunts my Soul,
[Villeroy starts.
Whatever Sport, Amusement or Retreat,
It seeks for Refuge from the fair Intruder:
For Beauty like a Spirit steals its Way,
Thro every Fence and Fortress of the Mind,
And in the strong Idea still retains
The distant Person, and the Gazer's Heart.

Vill.
How! Montmorency's Daughter! sure e'er now
The Prince of Conde has espous'd the Fair,
[Aside.
But it is now of moment I conceal it,
And, if I can, divert the fatal Flame.

King.
But why should Love be falsely charg'd the Vice,
That ought to be the Glory of a Man?
As the superiour Passion of the Mind,
Be it the superiour Privilege of Kings,
The Foremost of Mankind. Have I not read,
That all those mighty Sons of War, who shine
In History, so fam'd for great Exploits,
And Battels never lost, have yielded there?
Since in the Chace of Glory, I have still
Propos'd these great Examples to my Sword,
If Love a Weakness be, and they have lov'd,
Let their Examples then extenuate mine.

Vill.
False Argument, weak Error of the Mind!
Excuse me, Sir, unworthy him that shews it;
Shall he whose Will is Fate, whose Nod a Law
To all the Tributary Nations round,
By one unbridled Frailty sully all
His Harvest of accumulated Glories,
Undo the Labours of twice twenty Years,
And now when when every Eye stands gazing on,
Thus tumble from the Precipice of Fame?
Let not victorious Henry stoop so low,
To varnish o'er his own by other's Faults;
Be it his Pride, to copy wisely out
The greatest Actions of the greatest Men,
And where they err, his Glory to dissent.

King.
Villeroy, no more, you torture me in vain,
I am asham'd to look into my self,
To find how mean, how impotent I am,
How fal'n, how much unlike what once I was.
Oh Anthony, thou great unhappy Victor!
Like thee amidst the Flush of full Success,
I drive on Rocks, and languish for Destruction,
Bound in a second Cleopatra's Charms;
But with this juster Difference, as the first
With Female Cunning, and with borrow'd Help,
Deriv'd her wicked Power from magick Aid;
Mine with a lavish Stock of Nature's Bounty,
Unconscious of her Charms, puts gayly forth
A fair Variety of guiltless Lustre,
Shines without Art, and kills without Design.

Vill.
The stronger are the Fetters that enslave,
The greater is the Praise to struggle thro.

King.
Such Praise but few indeed dare merit well,
Or fewer yet desire: Oh tempting Ruin!
But I will break the Charm, or wear no more
The useless Title of a fetter'd King;
Nor sway the Gallick, Empire, and yet want
The Power to sway the Empire, o'er myself.
Could I do this? And wherefore could I not?
This I enjoin my Soul, (great Enterprize!)
To make the Test and Standard of its Glory.
Yes, Villeroy, I will dare resolve on Freedom,
Let Love and Beauty ply their strongest Art,
Against each potent Spell I'll man my Heart,
Redeem the Monarch from the Lover's State,
And in my foremost Triumph number That.

[Exeunt.