Nicholas Rowe

“ Dumont disarms Lord Hastings. Lord H. Confusion! baffled by a base-born hind! Dum. Now, haughty sir, where is our difference now? Your life is in my hand, and did not honour, The gentleness of blood, and inborn virtue, (Howe'er unworthy I may seem to you,) Plead in my bosom, I should take the forfeit. But wear your sword again; and know, a lord, Oppos'd against a man, is but a man. Lord H. Curse on my failing hand! your better fortune Has giv'n you 'vantage o'er me; but perhaps Your triumph may be bought with dear repentance. ”

“ Have we not found you, In scorn of the protector's strict command, Assisting this base woman, and abetting Her infamy? Shore. Infamy on thy head! Thou tool of power, thou pander to authority! I tell thee, knave, thou know'st of none so virtuous, And she that bore thee was an Ethiop to her. Cates. You'll answer this at full—away with 'em. Shore. Is charity grown treason to your court? What honest man would live beneath such rulers? I am content that we should die together—— Cates. Convey the men to prison; but, for her, Leave her to hunt her fortune as she may. ”

“ Jane S. The blessings of a heart with anguish broken And rescu'd from despair, attend your highness. Alas! my gracious lord, what have I done To kindle such relentless wrath against me? Glos. Marry, there are, though I believe them not, Who say you meddle in affairs of state: That you presume to prattle like a busy-body, Give your advice, and teach the lords o' the council What fits the order of the commonweal. Jane S. Oh, that the busy world, at least in this, Would take example from a wretch like me? ”

“ Such is the fate unhappy women find, And such the curse entail'd upon our kind, That man, the lawless libertine, may rove, Free and unquestion'd through the wilds of love; While woman,—sense and nature's easy fool, If poor, weak, woman swerve from virtue's rule; If, strongly charm'd, she leave the thorny way, And in the softer paths of pleasure stray; Ruin ensues, reproach and endless shame, And one false step entirely damns her fame ”

“ Lord H. How fierce a fiend is passion! With what wildness, What tyranny, untam'd it reigns in woman! Unhappy sex! whose easy, yielding, temper Gives way to ev'ry appetite alike: And love in their weak bosoms is a rage As terrible as hate, and as destructive. But soft ye now—for here comes one, disclaims Strife and her wrangling train; of equal elements, Without one jarring atom, was she form'd, And gentleness and joy make up her being. Enter Jane Shore. Forgive me, fair one, if officious friendship Intrudes on your repose, and comes thus late To greet you with the tidings of success. ”

“ And you, the brightest of the stars above, Ye saints that once were women here below, Be witness of the truth, the holy friendship, Which here to this my other self I vow. If I not hold her nearer to my soul, Than every other joy the world can give, Let poverty, deformity, and shame, Distraction and despair, seize me on earth, Let not my faithless ghost have peace hereafter, Nor taste the bliss of your celestial fellowship. Jane S. Yes, thou art true, and only thou art true; Therefore, these jewels, once the lavish bounty Of royal Edward's love, I trust to thee ”

“ You've got a noble friend to be your advocate; A worthy and right gentle lord he is, And to his trust most true. This present now Some matters of the state detain our leisure; Those once dispatch'd, we'll call for you anon, And give your griefs redress. Go to! be comforted. Jane S. Good heav'ns repay your highness for this pity, And show'r down blessings on your princely head. Come, my Alicia, reach thy friendly arm, And help me to support this feeble frame, That, nodding, totters with oppressive woe, And sinks beneath its load. ”

“ Spite of his deadly, unrelenting, nature, He shall be mov'd to pity, and redress thee. Jane S. My form, alas! has long forgot to please; The scene of beauty and delight is chang'd; No roses bloom upon my fading cheek, Nor laughing graces wanton in my eyes; But haggard grief, lean-looking, sallow, care, And pining discontent, a rueful train, Dwell on my brow, all hideous and forlorn. One only shadow of a hope is left me; The noble-minded Hastings, of his goodness, Has kindly underta'en to be my advocate, And move my humble suit to angry Gloster. ”

“ Too much of love thy hapless friend has prov'd, Too many giddy, foolish, hours are gone, And in fantastic measures danc'd away: May the remaining few know only friendship. So thou, my dearest, truest, best, Alicia, Vouchsafe to lodge me in thy gentle heart, A partner there, I will give up mankind, Forget the transports of increasing passion, And all the pangs we feel for its decay. Alic. Live! live and reign for ever in my bosom ”

“ Lord H. Curse on the innovating hand attempts it! Remember him, the villain, righteous heaven, In thy great day of vengeance! Blast the traitor And his pernicious counsels; who, for wealth, For pow'r, the pride of greatness, or revenge, Would plunge his native land in civil wars! Glos. You go too far, my lord. Lord H. Your highness' pardon—— Have we so soon forgot those days of ruin, When York and Lancaster drew forth their battles; When, like a matron butcher'd by her sons, Our groaning country bled at every vein; When murders, rapes, and massacres, prevail'd ”

“ Did not the king Our royal master, Edward, in concurrence With his estates assembled, well determine What course the sov'reign rule should take henceforward? When shall the deadly hate of faction cease, When shall our long-divided land have rest, If every peevish, moody, malecontent, Shall set the senseless rabble in an uproar, Fright them with dangers, and perplex their brains Each day with some fantastic giddy change? ”

“ My good lord chamberlain, We're much beholden to your gentle friendship. Lord H. My lord, I come an humble suitor to you. Glos. In right good time. Speak out year pleasure freely. Lord H. I am to move your highness in behalf Of Shore's unhappy wile. Glos. Say you, of Shore? Lord H. Once a bright star, that held her place on high: The first and fairest of our English dames, While royal Edward held the sov'reign rule. Now, sunk in grief and pining with despair, Her waning form no longer shall incite Envy in woman, or desire in man. ”

“ AN APARTMENT IN JANE SHORE'S HOUSE.
Enter Alicia, speaking to Jane Shore as entering.
Alic. No further, gentle friend; good angels guard you, And spread their gracious wings about your slumbers. The drowsy night grows on the world, and now The busy craftsmen and the o'er-labour'd hind Forget the travail of the day in sleep: Care only wakes, and moping pensiveness; With meagre discontented looks they sit, And watch the wasting of the midnight taper. Such vigils must I keep, so wakes my soul, Restless and self-tormented! O, false Hastings! ”

“ Fly from the court's pernicious neighbourhood; Where innocence is sham'd, and blushing modesty Is made the scorner's jest; where hate, deceit, And deadly ruin, wear the masks of beauty, And draw deluded fools with shows of pleasure. ”

“ Lord H. And dost thou know me, slave? Dum. Yes, thou proud lord! I know thee well; know thee with each advantage Which wealth, or pow'r, or noble birth, can give thee. I know thee too for one who stains those honours, And blots a long illustrious line of ancestry, By poorly daring thus to wrong a woman. Lord H. 'Tis wondrous well! I see, my saint-like dame, You stand provided of your braves and ruffians, To man your cause, and bluster in your brothel. Dum. Take back the foul reproach, unmanner'd railer! ”

“ Enter Jane Shore. Sure, or I read her visage much amiss, Or grief besets her hard. Save you, fair lady, The blessings of the cheerful morn be on you, And greet your beauty with its opening sweets. Jane S. My gentle neighbour! your good wishes still Pursue my hapless fortunes; ah! good Belmour! How few, like thee, inquire the wretched out, And court the offices of soft humanity. Like thee, reserve their raiment for the naked, Reach out their bread to feed the crying orphan, Or mix their pitying tears with those that weep. ”

“ This wayward and perverse declining from us, Has warranted at full the friendly notice, Which we this morn receiv'd. I hold it certain, The puling, whining, harlot rules his reason, And prompts his zeal for Edward's bastard brood. Cates. If she have such dominion o'er his heart, And turn it at her will, you rule her fate; And should, by inference and apt deduction, Be arbiter of his. Is not her bread, The very means immediate to her being, The bounty of your hand? Why does she live, If not to yield obedience to your pleasure, To speak, to act, to think, as you command! ”

“ The time is full of danger and distrust, And warns us to be wary. Hold me not Too apt for jealousy and light surmise, If, when I meant to lodge you next my heart, I put your truth to trial. Keep your loyalty, And live your king and country's best support: For me, I ask no more than honour gives, To think me yours, and rank me with your friends. ”

“ The saints and angels have thee in their charge, And all things shall be well. Think not, the good, The gentle, deeds of mercy thou hast done, Shall die forgotten all; the poor, the pris'ner, The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow, Who daily own the bounty of thy hand, Shall cry to heav'n, and pull a blessing on thee. Ev'n man, the merciless insulter, man, Man, who rejoices in our sex's weakness, Shall pity thee, and with unwonted goodness Forget thy tailings, and record thy praise.
Jane S. Why should I think that man will do for me, What yet he never did for wretches like me? ”

“ This is the sorcery of Edward's wife, Who, in conjunction with that harlot Shore, And other like confed'rate midnight hags, By force of potent spells, of bloody characters, And conjurations horrible to hear, Call fiends and spectres from the yawning deep, And set the ministers of hell at work, To torture and despoil me of my life. ”

“ Age sits with decent grace upon his visage, And worthily becomes his silver locks; He wears the marks of many years well spent, Of virtue, truth well tried, and wise experience; A friend like this would suit my sorrows well. ”

“ Shall they be left a prey to savage power? Can they lift up their harmless hands in vain, Or cry to heaven for help, and not be heard? Impossible! O gallant, generous, Hastings, Go on; pursue, assert, the sacred cause: Stand forth, thou proxy of all-ruling Providence, And save the friendless infants from oppression. Saints shall assist thee with prevailing prayers, And warring angels combat on thy side. ”

“ Dost thou in scorn Preach patience to my rage, and bid me tamely Sit like a poor, contented, idiot down, Nor dare to think thou'st wrong'd me? Ruin seize thee, And swift perdition overtake thy treachery. Have I the least remaining cause to doubt? Hast thou endeavour'd once to hide thy falsehood? To hide it might have spoke some little tenderness, And shown thee half unwilling to undo me: But thou disdain'st the weakness of humanity. ”

“ That I had art and eloquence divine, To pay my duty to my master's ashes, And plead, till death, the cause of injur'd innocence. Glos. Ha! Dost thou brave me, minion! Dost thou know How vile, how very a wretch, my pow'r can make thee? That I can place thee in such abject state, As help shall never find thee; where, repining, Thou shall sit down, and gnaw the earth for anguish; Groan to the pitiless winds without return; Howl, like the midnight wolf amidst the desert, And curse thy life, in bitterness and misery! ”

“ On that I build: this paper meets his doubts, And marks my hated rival as the cause Of Hastings' zeal for his dead master's sons. Oh, jealousy! thou bane of pleasing friendship, How does thy rancour poison all our softness, And turn our gentle natures into bitterness! See, where she comes! once my heart's dearest blessing, Now my chang'd eyes are blasted with her beauty, Loath that known face, and sicken to behold her. Enter Jane Shore. Jane S. O my Alicia! Alic. What new grief is this? What unforeseen misfortune has surpris'd thee, That racks thy tender heart thus? ”

“ Amidst the wealthy city, murmurs rise, Lewd railings, and reproach on those that rule, With open scorn of government; hence credit, And public trust 'twixt man and man, are broke. The golden streams of commerce are withheld, Which fed the wants of needy hinds and artizans, Who therefore curse the great, and threat rebellion. Lord H. The resty knaves are over-run with ease, As plenty ever is the nurse of faction ”

“ And though no gaudy titles grac'd my birth, Yet heav'n that made me honest, made me more Than ever king did, when he made a lord. ”

“ Re-enter Jane Shore. Jane S. Alas! what have you done? Know ye the pow'r, The mightiness, that waits upon this lord? Dum. Fear not, my worthiest mistress; 'tis a cause In which heaven's guards shall wait you. O pursue, Pursue, the sacred counsels of your soul, Which urge you on to virtue; Assisting angels shall conduct your steps, Bring you to bliss, and crown your days with peace. ”

“ Let her, like me, of every joy forlorn, Devote the hour when such a wretch was born; Cast ev'ry good, and ev'ry hope, behind; Detest the works of nature, loathe mankind; Like me, with cries distracted fill the air,} Tear her poor bosom, rend her frantic hair, And prove the torments of the last despair. ”