 | Irene |  |
74
SCENE VI.
Irenewalks at a Distance from her Attendants. After a Pause.
Against the Head which Innocence secures,
Insidious Malice aims her Darts in vain;
Turn'd backwards by the powerful Breath of Heav'n.
Perhaps ev'n now the Lovers unpursu'd
Bound o'er the sparkling Waves. Go, happy Bark,
Thy sacred Freight shall still the raging Main.
To guide thy Passage shall th' aerial Spirits
Fill all the starry Lamps with double Blaze;
Th' applauding Sky shall pour forth all its Beams
To grace the Triumph of victorious Virtue.
While I, not yet familiar to my Crimes,
Recoil from Thought, and shudder at myself.
How am I chang'd! How lately did Irene
Fly from the busy Pleasures of her Sex,
Well pleas'd to search the Treasures of Remembrance,
And live her guiltless Moments o'er anew!
Come let us seek new Pleasures in the Palace,
[To her Attendants, going off.
Till soft Fatigue invite us to repose.
| Irene | |