University of Virginia Library

ACT II.

SCENE. Ordelia's Chamber; Ordgar and Ordelia.
Ord.
The great Concern my Sister but this moment
Engag'd me in, requires me to prepare
For the important Part I act to Night;
I must take Care to caution Egbert too,
Lest he betray us—

Ordg.
Oh! that Word, betray!
How strange it is That God-like Creature MAN,
Form'd to possess, and shine with Heav'nly Vertues,
Shou'd stoop to base Distrusts and Fears of Treachery!
Fear is the shiv'ring Ague of our Souls!
A Passion Man created for himself,
For sure! that Frost of Nature cou'd not dwell
In the warm Realms of Glory!

Ord.
But can You,
Can any Man, live void of Apprehension?

Ordg.
Of Apprehension, no, but void of Jealousie;
I scorn to judge so Ill of any Man,
As to believe he dares be greatly Wicked,
Till he has wrong'd me into Proofs he is so.
For, let me tell you, Lady! Villains Souls
Shou'd be possess'd of more than mortal Courage;
Those, who fight Men, fight equal Enemies,
But those, who fight with Conscience, meet such odds,
They lose by Victory; Thought, Rest, and Solitude,
The balmy Relaxations of Our Care
Drag their Repose to Torments; and the Wretches
Are not alone forbid to hope for Heav'n,
But bear a Hell about 'em!

Ord.
Well! my Lord,
I wish, no base Deceiver wrongs your Goodness,
Were you betray'd, how wou'd you meet the Traitor?

Ordg.
As Hawks meet Ravens, or as Lyons Wolves,
He, who assumes the Name of Friend to hurt me,
Is more a Devil, than Devils themselves—For Devils
Are Foes who dare profess it.

Ord.
But in Love?
Is not there somewhat to be fear'd in Love?

Ordg.
Ah, no, Love lives on hearty Hope, Ordelia.

Ord.
But what if Hope proves vain?

Ordg.
Why then Hope dies,
And shou'd be buried in Loves falling Ruins;
If hope is vain, far vainer is the Love,
That lives beyond the hope, which gave it Birth.
Not but, where Worth and Beauty meet in Woman,
As both meet brightly in Ordelia's Charms,
'Tis worth a Disappointed Lovers Pains,
To strive by Pray'rs, and Vows, and tender Looks,
To keep Hope living to the latest Gasp.
But when no Pray'rs, no Vows, no Looks revive it,
He bears a Woman's Soul, who pines to lose it.

Ord.
I thought a Passion, violent like Love,
Was not our Slave, but Master.

Ord.
Oh! You err,
Loves Infant Wings are weak, and 'tis our Aid
Must lift the petty Tyrant, e're he flys,
Prudence may clip those Wings, and then he leads,
Just whither we direct him—

Ord.
Sir, your Rival—
Wou'd give another Definition of it.

Ordg.
Nay, use not that stale Female Art, Ordelia,
To threaten me with Follies Bugbear, Rival.
Women are much to blame, who cloak their Wishes,
Perverting Modesty from Natures Meaning;
Her End in that bright Vertue was to join
To guiltless Freedom, artless Innocence;
But modern Ladies scarce find other Use
For the new moulded Nymph, than to cloak Nature,
And by affecting more than Heav'n enjoyn'd them,
Make a stiff Monster of the Queen of Vertues.
You are too wise, not to know this, Ordelia;
You know, I love you more than Egbert can,
And I know you esteem me more than him,
Why therefore nam'd you Rival?

Ord.
I must own,
I see more Worth in you, than he can boast.
But, pray, when gave I you encouragement,
To hope, much less direct my Love?

Ordg.
My Hope was born from my Opinion of your Wisdom,
Who knowing Egbert wants my Honesty,
Must know he cannot equalize my Love.

Ord.
He promises like you, like you pretends
To dare do most to gain me.

Ordg.
How! Pretends!
Lovers should scorn Pretence, and dare indeed;
I shou'd be glad, if he durst say to me,
He dar'd deserve Ordelia, I would trace him
Thro' Woods and Streams, thro' Groves of pointed Steel,
Tear up the Roots of Mountains to come at him;
And wou'd he then—

Ord.
Hold Sir, you promise fairly,
What Labours wou'd you prove to win my Heart?

Ord.
With bursting Veins I'd climb 'gainst Hills of Fire,
Were you the Prize twou'd gain me—for your sake,
I'd plunge my shivering Limbs in Seas of Snow,
And swim thro' all the freezing Lakes of Winter:
Were you a Pris'ner, to restore your Freedom,
I wou'd rush on, and throw my naked Breast
Upon the Spears of Armies—To reach you
I wou'd tear Lyons Throats, and combat Dragons;
I wou'd descend to Hell, cou'd Hell retain you;
But Hell wou'd be no Hell, when you were there!
I wou'd do more than Fancy can impose,
Or Woman wish, to gain you—but by Heav'ns,
The very moment you depos'd your Honour,
I wou'd despise, forsake, and scorn to own you.

Ord.
I shou'd detest a Love, less brave than this,
For he, who flatters Vice, can know no Vertue;
I think 'tis near the hour my Sister nam'd.

Enter Athelwold.
Ordg.
What ails my Friend? You seem freighted with Care,
And bear your Bill of Lading on your Brow.

Athel.
Alas, my Ordgar, had you lov'd, like me,
And for that Love, like me, been prov'd a Traitor,
You'd not have ask'd me, why my Heart is heavy.
Wilt thou not pity me? but ah! thou can'st not!
He must know Guilt, like mine, who wou'd conceive
What Torments Apprehension tears my Soul with.
But, Bright Ordelia, Thou art form'd a Woman,
Woman was cast in Natures softest Mould,
And Pity is thy Sexes Darling Passion.

Ord.
Your Crime was small, my Lord; for Mighty Love
Is Natures Tyrant Passion, Vertue trembles
When Loves keen Arrows are discharg'd against her;
You had the King's Consent to marry Elfrid,
And since my Sister grieves not, why grieve you?

Athel.
Know you my Guilt so soon then?—Oh Ordelia!
Deceit is the false Road to Happiness,
And all the Joys we travel to through Vice,
Like Fairy Banquets vanish, when we touch them.
Had he but known his Gift!

Ordg.
By Heav'ns till now
I thought, of all Old England's Gallant Sons,
The Bravest, Noblest, was this Athelwold,
But by my Mother's Honour, 'tis as false
As thy poor Doubts—Thou art a very Coward—

Athel.
The Voice of War wou'd not have told me so,
There hast thou seen me step for step with thee,
Wade deep thro' Seas of Blood to Rocks of Danger;
The Man, who then had dar'd tell Athelwold,
He was a Coward, had not seen him bear it
Tamely, as Guilt and Friendship bid him now.

Ordg.
Art thou a Traitor then? hast thou been led
To act some monstrous Crime, some shock to Nature,
That Conscience and Remorse thus torture thee,
Thus change thy Sanguine Courage into Fear,
Below a Womans Paleness.—

Ord.
Fie my Lord—
Friendship has lost her way, when roughness meets her.

Ordg.
I cannot bear to see a brave Man doubt;
If Ruin threatens, let him meet it Greatly,
Not whine for Pains he feels not. Servile Doubt
Argues an Impotence of Mind, that says
We fear, because we dare not meet Misfortunes.

Athel.
Alas! Thou dost not know the force of Passion,
How bitter 'tis to hazard what we love,
What lost a moment, must be lost for ever!
I call the Tongue of Heav'n to witness for me,
I ne'er befriended Vice, nor injur'd Vertue;
Nor ever in the Course of my past Life,
Can charge Remembrance with one act, but this,
Which claims Repentance from me—oh! 'tis hard,
One Sin, which such Temptations too drew on,
Shou'd damn my future quiet—

Ord.
Good my Lord,
Judge not so rashly, Diffidence offends
The Throne of Mercy, and while Man distrusts
The gracious help of Heav'n, 'tis oft with-held
To punish sinful Doubt.

Athel.
Alas, my Friends!
I see my Follies, as lost Mariners
See Rocks, when 'tis too late to shun their Danger.
Just now I left the King, who writes alone;
And as I pass'd the Hall, the Doors all round me
Creek'd loud, and then like Thunder, on a sudden
Flew strangely open, thro' each vacant Entrance
A hollow Wind came whistling; and a Voice,
Shrill as the midnight Shrieks of Ghosts in Desarts,
Cry'd Athelwold, then groan'd; then shrill again,
Cry'd Athelwold, three times with dreadful sound
The Voice cry'd Athelwold; then faintly fell,
And dy'd in distant Eccho's; strait the Doors
With noise more frightful than before clapp'd to,
And left my stiffen'd Hair, like Pikes erect,
And my chill'd Soul bound up in Frosts of Wonder!

Ordg.
Dreams! Dreams! meer Dreams, by Heav'n!

Ord.
Wild Births of Fancy!

Athel.
Ordgar! The King designs to send you hence,
With Letters of Concern, as far as Plimouth,
Where certain Vessels lie, expecting Orders;
I know not certainly, but guess the Business
To be some sudden Resolution taken
Against the Rebel Welch!

Ordg.
Another Time,
I shou'd be griev'd to leave Ordelia thus;
But now rejoice, because, by leaving her,
I leave a Mad-man's Fears in Athelwold!

Athel.
In losing thee, I lose a Guard of Honour!
Thy Presence here, might curb the swing of Fate!
Friends, always dear, are welcome most in woe!

[Exeunt Athelwold and Ordgar.
Enter Egbert to Ordelia.
Egb.
Ordelia! brightest Star, in Beauty's Sphere!
Your Egbert cannot live, but where you shine;
Courts, wanting you, are Desarts!

Ord.
O, my Lord!
The Tongues of Courtiers are like Jugglers Hands:
Your Briskness of Address is only us'd,
To make your Art admir'd by Lookers on,
The better, while we wonder at your Skill,
To pass false Play upon us.

Egb.
Ladies Beauty,
Is Charm enough to ruin Worlds of Lovers;
But where 'tis strengthen'd with a Wit, like yours,
All, but the Blind, and Deaf, must be undone!

Ord.
You know, my Lord, to talk of Love to me,
Is to discharge those Arrows in the Air,
Which, aim'd at proper Marks, might win you Honour!
I am so great a Foe to Love, my Lord,
That was Diana really what we read her,
I shou'd devote my Person to her Service!

Egb.
Your Beauty, and bright Form indeed, profess
A Nymph, more lovely, than e'er grac'd that Goddess!
But there's a Swain, I doubt, whose pow'rful Lays
Wou'd charm you from that Sylvan Resolution!
The happy Ordgar wou'd not quit you so!

Ord.
I never gave my Heart to Ordgar's keeping,
But am as free, as Innocence can make me.

Egb.
Make me the Keeper of that Innocence,
'Twill lose no more by my possessing it,
Than Jewels lose their Value, when lock'd up,
And giv'n to Servants Care!

Ord.
That Word lock'd up
Forms an unlucky Emblem of my Fears;
The single State, my Lord, like those great Kings,
Who, with despotick Rule, exert their Pow'r,
Knows no Dependance, and, thence, knows no Fear;
But, unconfin'd by Laws, in boundless Sway,
Feasts upon Pleasures, Glories, Charms, and Joys
The common Wealth of Marriage cannot tast,
But with restrain'd Permission!

Egb.
Yet those Kings,
Who rashly on their own free Wills depend,
And scorn the useful Aid of Counsellors,
Are often known to break their Spring of Pow'r,
By skrewing it too high: A Partner therefore,
Not to control, but guide the Bliss of Life,
Cou'd be no weight on Happiness.

Ord.
But then,
Kings still have Pow'r to chuse their Counsellors,
Tho' they submit to take them. I have chosen.

Egb,
And your fix'd Choice is Ordgar?

Ord.
Nay, why so?
I do not tell you 'tis a Man I chose.

Egb.
You cannot need a female Counsellor,
For your whole Sexes Wisdom meets in you!
I know 'tis Ordgar, for your Blushes say so;
And what can Ordgar do, to gain your Love,
Which Egbert wou'd not double?

Ord.
Wou'd you then
Oblige me in the Grant of one Request?

Egb.
Bid me bear Torments, and I'll bear 'em smiling:
Bid me lose Life to find your Love, and Life
Is doubly found by losing.

Ord.
My Request
Wears no such rigid Keeness, as these do;
But you must swear to keep the Secret well!

Egb.
Forsake me all the Joys of Heav'n, and Earth,
When I forsake the Faith I pledge to keep it!

Ord.
Enough! my Sister's Husband is grown jealous,
That, if the King shou'd see her, Love wou'd follow,
And, therefore, fearing Danger, has injoin'd her
Not to appear, till the King leaves the House;
While I must take her Name, and Duty on me:
This Project, none but you can render vain;
And 'tis that Secret, you have sworn to keep.

Egb.
Tho' I've more Cause for Fear, than Athelwold,
Yet Love, and Honour sway my mind so far,
That I will favour the Deceit, to please
The beautiful Deceiver;—See! the King!

Enter the King, Athelwold, and Ordgar.
Athel.
The King, my Dear, who ever honours me,
Beyond my Hope, or Merit, wou'd prevent you
From paying Majesty the Duty, due,
And forc'd me to direct to your Apartment.

Ord.
If kneeling thus, before a Prince, like you,
[Kneeling.
Cou'd pay the thousandth Part of that true Duty,
I owe your Majesty, I'd kneel for ever;
But outward Signs of Duty oft deceive,
True Gratitude is seated in the Soul,
And there mine flames, with a just sense of all,
That Love, and Loyalty can bid me pay you!

King.
We must not see so fair a Subject kneel,
Beauty, and Worth, like yours, shou'd be kneel'd to!
We cou'd not ride so near your Residence,
And not take time to make a friendly Visit!

Ord.
I wish, the Entertainment, you'll receive,
Cou'd equal the high Honour, you bestow;
But rural Cottages are unprepar'd
To welcome mighty Princes, such as You!

King.
Tho' sweet Retirements shade you, Fame took Care
To be the happy Bearer of your Praises;
And in that sense, at least, the lovely Elfrid
Has been no stranger to the Court, and me!

Ord.
It was a Blessing, that in any sense,
So poor a Thing, as I, cou'd reach your Notice!

Ord.
[Aside.]
Elfrid her self cou'd not look more like Elfrid,
Nor more enchant the Eyes of all, who see her!

Athel.
[Aside.]
So well she acts her Part, that Hope revives!

King.
I think, the Air's reputed good, you breath in!

Athel.
Your Majesty's whole Kingdom knows no better.

King.
I'm sorry for it; were it less so, sure
'Twou'd less confine you here! Peace too befriends you!
You cou'd not be thus spar'd in rougher Times,
For War wou'd borrow you from Love, to serve us!
Wou'd you part with him, Lady?

Ord.
Oh! Sir, yes;
When Glory calls, brave Men spring loose from Love;
And I possess a kind of Roman Soul,
Which tells me, Publick Safety is a Plea,
Shou'd silence Private Int'rest!

King.
While you live,
Britain can never want her Boadicea!
I hope, tho' Business interrupts us now,
You will not give us Reason to complain,
That you seek Absence from us, while we trouble you.

Ord.
Duty, Great Sir, and Inclination both,
Forbid me that Omission!

King.
Pardon us,
Affairs of State are Tyrants o'er King's Pleasures.

Ord.
Alas! Poor Prince! he seems to feel his Fate!
[Exeunt all but Ord.
Kings are at best but Royal Slaves of State!
Who o'er wide Worlds exert a fancied sway,
While their own Passion's Power themselves obey.

[Exit.