University of Virginia Library

Act I.

Scene I.

Enter Manlius and Clodio.
Manlius.
Come hither, Clodio, thou must leave thy Play,
And be my little Mercury To-day.
Thou hast a pretty, forward, winning Face,
And may'st in time deserve a better Place.
Can'st thou cajole and flatter? Can'st thou tell
A Lover's Story to a Lady well.
If so;—Go to Eudosia's Chamber—On her wait,
And entertain her with thy harmless Chat.
Thou'lt gain an easy Audience from the Fair;
Thy prattling Nonsense she'll with Pleasure hear:
Perhaps regard, my Boy, what thou shalt say,
Tho' when I speak, she turns with Scorn away.
In thy Discourse let drop thy Master's Name,
And whisper now and then his ardent Flame.
Perhaps thy Tongue may prove a Cupid's Dart,
And melt with his soft Fires her frozen Heart.

Clod.
Great Sir, I'll do the very best I can,
And wish (to serve you more) I was a Man;
But as I am, I can run to and fro,
And drop a careless Letter as I go;
Can, while my Lady dresses, sing a Song,
(Which she'll suspect not, as I am so young)
Wherein your Love shall bear the greatest Part,
And that Way steal a Passage to her Heart.

Manl.
There's my good Boy, thou understand'st me well;
And may'st thou with Success my Passion tell.
If not,—a thousand Ways I'll still contrive;
New Plots I'll form to make my Hopes revive:
In various Shapes I will pursue my Love,
Shapes more than Proteus knew, or the dread Thund'rer Jove.
But ere I go, exert thy little Art,
And let me hear how thou wilt act thy Part.
Practise thy Song before me, let me see
How thy soft Sounds will with my Love agree.

Clod.
With Pleasure I obey.—But, my good Lord,
If I succeed, I hope you'll keep your Word.

[Clodio sings.
The SONG.

Manl.
O! may thy little Arts propitious prove,
And melt the beauteous Virgin down to Love!
If thou but prosper'st, thou shalt be supply'd
With all New Play-Things, and a Horse beside.

SCENE II.

Scene draws, and discovers Eudosia sitting at a Table, with a Book in her Hand, and Lucia attending by her. She reads part of a Poem against Sensual Pleasures.
[Eudosia shuts the Book, and rises.

Luc.
Madam, to Heav'n I own Devotion's due;
But no cold Vestal ever liv'd like you.
In Contemplation your whole Time is spent:
The Bow, methinks, should sometimes be unbent.
Some little Pleasures the kind Gods approve,
And Heav'n's great Queen obeys the Calls of Love.
Venus would court Adonis to her Arms,
And the chast Moon confess Endymion's Charms.
Why then should you such licens'd Joys despise,
And look on Manlius with such scornful Eyes?

Eud.
Lucia, thy ill-tim'd Arguments forbear;
Thou know'st his Name's ungrateful to my Ear.
Sure thou'rt instructed, hast receiv'd a Fee,
To prove an Advocate for him with me.
But all in vain; for I shall ever prove
Cold as a Statue to his ardent Love,

Luc.
Pardon me, Madam, I'd no other View
In the Proposal, but my Zeal for you.
His Wealth and Grandeur would melt me, I own:
I couldn't scorn a Lover with a Crown.

Eud.
Scepters and Crowns, 'tis true, are dazzling Things!
But anxious Cares attend the best of Kings.
Soft, easy Quiet sits not on a Throne;
Nor can a Monarch call one Day his own.
In my Opinion, happier is the Swain,
That daily labours on the verdant Plain,
Where Nature's Landscapes only charm his Sight.
With all her unexpensive, green Delight.
As for my Part, tho' Fate has rais'd me high,
In pleasing Solitude I'll live and die:
To Heav'n alone devote my future Days;
And sing, whilst I have Life, Diana's Praise.

[Eudosia sits down to her Book again. Clodio knocks at the outward Door.
Eud.
Lucia, step down, and see who knocks below.

[Lucia goes out. And returns again.
Luc.
'Tis Clodio, Madam, come to wait on you.

Eud.
Well, let him up. (Lucia goes out.)
What would the Prattler have?
The Play-Things which I promis'd him, I gave.

SCENE III.

Lucia introduces Clodio to Eudosia.
Eud.
So, Sir, and what's your weighty Errand pray?

Clod.
To sing you the New Song I learn'd to-day.
Corelli set it, and the Air is fine,
So are the Words; for you must know they're mine.

Eud.
Thy Infant-Poetry no doubt must charm;
Must needs be innocent and void of Harm.
Well then begin, thy little Skill exert,
And I'll reward thee to thy just Desert.

Clodio
sings.
Tis agonizing Pain to love,
Where we can meet with no Return, &c.

Eud.
Fie, Clodio, fie, why wouldst thou tell me Lies?
Thy Fancy never could such Thoughts devise.
You shou'd be whipt, young Man, for Songs like these.

Clod.
What should I sing then? for I fain would please.

Eud.
Psalms, Clodio, Psalms, and sometimes Hymns divine.
Their Air's melodious, and Composure fine.

Clod.
Psalms, Madam!—School-Boys only sing Psalm-Tunes:
We Pages, better taught, sing Court-Lampoons.

Eud.
Go, get you gone, you idle Prattler, go;
I'll never love you more for talking so.

[Frowns.
Clod.
I beg your Pardon, Madam, on my Knees:
What I have said I'm sorry should displease.
Oh! send me not without a Smile away:
Be Friends again, or I shall cry all Day.

Weeps.
Eud.
Well, well, I am: This Fault I shall forget!
But have a Care how you the next commit.
Clodio bows and goes out.
How soon corrupted is a tender Mind!
How soon are Youth to vicious Thoughts inclin'd!
Too few, alas, the Paths of Virtue tread,
Who're nobly born, or in a Palace bred.

[As Eudosia is going out, she meets Manlius, and turns back in Disorder.

SCENE IV.

Enter Manlius to Eudosia.
Manlius.
Why dost thou thus, fair Maid, thy Lover shun?
Why veil those Eyes by which he is undone?
Thou should'st have hid their killing Fires before,
Or mingled kind Compassion with their Pow'r.

Eud.
Why will you thus in vain disturb my Rest?
How often have I begg'd you to desist?
So many Times I have your Suit deny'd,
Methinks, my Lord, you might be satisfy'd,

Manl.
Think of the wondrous Patience of my Love!
Let my unwearied Zeal thy Pity move!
Think of the Pains your cold Rebukes create!
Think how a Prince lies prostrate at your Feet!
Oh! cease to wound me with your angry Eyes;
For my fond Passion, tho' supprest, will rise.
As the weak Reed, when the cold North Wind blows,
Yields to the boist'rous Blasts, and lowly bows:
Yet still the Storm insults it but in vain,
By slow Degrees it swells, and mounts again.

Eud.
Why will you still your luckless Passion move,
And follow One that is averse to Love?

Manl.
Because my Peace of Mind is that Way flown,
And I must find her out, or be undone.

Eud.
Oh! think not, Sir, I e'er shall ease your Pain:
Virtue's impregnable; your Siege is vain.

Manl.
Sure some ill Planet rul'd when I was born,
That I should thus become a Woman's Scorn!
Aside.
You think with Pride my Pow'r you may withstand,
Because I sue for what I might command.
[To her.
O Madam! think a little, with what Ease
I, as a Monarch, might the Blessing seize!
But Force dissolves the Pleasures we propose,
And more the Tyrant, than the Lover shows,
O do not then my long'd-for Joys deny!
Name your own Terms, and Manlius will comply.

Eud.
Could you then sully your unspotted Fame,
And quit your Honour for a lovesick Flame?
Could you the Censures of the World despise,
For such a Conquest, such a trifling Prize?

Manl.
A Trifle!—No,—To Heav'n thou art ally'd;
Art Nature's Master-Piece, her greatest Pride:
Thy Form, when finish'd, she with Pleasure view'd,
Excell'd herself, and own'd the Work was good.

Eud.
Oh! that those Charms had perish'd in the Bud!

Manl.
O direful Imprecation!—

Eud.
—Not too great,
When those soft Charms my Ruin would create.
Cease, cease your Suit; for Virtue can't comply:
Or do a Deed of Mercy,—let me die.

Manl.
Inexorable Fair, why shouldst thou prove
So bold a Rebel to the Cause of Love?

Eud.
Consider, Sir, when Vice and Virtue meet,
They must run counter, can't incorporate.

Manl.
Must we then part forever?—

Eud.
—Ever part.
My Resolution's fix'd.—

Manl.
—You'll break my Heart.

Eud.
To chaste Diana I'll for Refuge fly,
Will live a Virgin, and a Virgin die.

[she goes out.
Manlius
alone.