| Elw. Each avenue is so beset with guards, |
| And lynx-ey'd Jealousy so broad awake, |
| He cannot pass unseen. Protect him, heaven! |
|
| Enter Birtha. |
|
| My Birtha, is he safe? has he escap'd? |
|
| Bir. I know not. I dispatch'd young Harcourt to him, |
| To bid him quit the castle, as you order'd, |
| Restore the scarf, and never see you more. |
| But how the hard injunction was receiv'd, |
| Or what has happen'd since, I'm yet to learn. |
|
| Elw. O when shall I be eas'd of all my cares, |
| And in the quiet bosom of the grave |
| Lay down this weary head!—I'm sick at heart! |
| Should Douglas intercept his flight! |
|
| Bir. Be calm; |
| Douglas this very moment left the castle, |
| With seeming peace. |
|
| Elw. Ah, then, indeed there's danger! |
| Birtha, whene'er Suspicion feigns to sleep, |
| 'Tis but to make its careless prey secure. |
|
| Bir. Should Percy once again entreat to see thee, |
| 'Twere best admit him; from thy lips alone |
| He will submit to hear his final doom |
| Of everlasting exile. |
|
| Elw. Birtha, no; |
| If honour would allow the wife of Douglas |
| To meet his rival, yet I durst not do it. |
| Percy! too much this rebel heart is thine: |
| Too deeply should I feel each pang I gave; |
| I cannot hate—but I will banish—thee. |
| Inexorable duly, O forgive, |
| If I can do no more! |
|
| Bir. If he remains, |
| As I suspect, within the castle walls, |
| 'Twere best I sought him out. |
|
| Elw. Then tell him, Birtha, |
| But, Oh! with gentleness, with mercy, tell him, |
| That we must never, never, meet again. |
| The purport of my tale must be severe, |
| But let thy tenderness embalm the wound |
| My virtue gives. O soften his despair; |
| But say—we meet no more. |
|
| Enter Percy. |
|
| Rash man, he's here! |
| [she attempts to go, he seizes her hand. |
|
| Per. I will be heard; nay, fly not; I will speak; |
| Lost as I am, I will not be denied |
| The mournful consolation to complain. |
|
| Elw. Percy, I charge thee, leave me. |
|
| Per. Tyrant, no: |
| I blush at my obedience, blush to think |
| I left thee here alone, to brave the danger |
| I now return to share. |
|
| Elw. That danger's past: |
| Douglas was soon appeas'd; he nothing knows. |
| Then leave me, I conjure thee, nor again |
| Endanger my repose. Yet, ere thou goest, |
| Restore the scarf. |
|
| Per. Unkind Elwina, never! |
| 'Tis all that's left me of my buried joys, |
| All which reminds me that I once was happy. |
| My letter told thee I would ne'er restore it. |
|
| Elw. Letter! what letter? |
|
| Per. That I sent by Harcourt. |
|
| Elw. Which I have ne'er receiv'd. Douglas perhaps— |
| Who knows? |
|
| Bir. Harcourt, t' elude his watchfulness, |
| Might prudently retire. |
|
| Elw. Grant heaven it prove so! |
| [Elwina going, Percy holds her. |
|
| Per. Hear me, Elwina; the most savage honour |
| Forbids not that poor grace. |
|
| Elw. It bids me fly thee. |
|
| Per. Then, ere thou goest, if we indeed must part, |
| To sooth the horrors of eternal exile, |
| Say but—thou pity'st me! |
|
| Elw. [weeps.] O Percy—pity thee! |
| Imperious honour;—surely I may pity him. |
| Yet, wherefore pity? no, I envy thee: |
| For thou hast still the liberty to weep, |
| In thee 'twill be no crime: thy tears are guiltless, |
| For they infringe no duty, stain no honour, |
| And blot no vow; but mine are criminal, |
| Are drops of shame which wash the cheek of guilt, |
| And every tear I shed dishonours Douglas. |
|
| Per. I swear my jealous love e'en grudges thee |
| Thy sad pre-eminence in wretchedness. |
|
| Elw. Rouse, rouse, my slumb'ring virtue! Percy, hear me. |
| Heaven, when it gives such high-wrought souls as thine, |
| Still gives as great occasions to exert them. |
| If thou wast form'd so noble, great, and gen'rous, |
| 'Twas to surmount the passions which enslave |
| The gross of human-kind.—Then think, O think, |
| She, whom thou once didst love, is now another's. |
|
| Per. Go on—and tell me that that other's Douglas. |
|
| Elw. Whate'er his name, he claims respect from me: |
| His honour's in my keeping, and I hold |
| The trust so pure, its sanctity is hurt |
| E'en by thy presence. |
|
| Per. Thou again hast conquer'd. |
| Celestial virtue, like the angel spirit, |
| Whose flaming sword defended Paradise, |
| Stands guard on every charm,—Elwina, yes, |
| To triumph over Douglas, we'll be virtuous. |
|
| Elw. 'Tis not enough to be,—we must appear so: |
| Great souls disdain the shadow of offence, |
| Nor must their whiteness wear the stain of guilt. |
|
| Per. I shall retract—I dare not gaze upon thee; |
| My feeble virtue staggers, and again |
| The fiends of jealousy torment and haunt me. |
| They tear my heart-strings.——Oh! |
|
| Elw. No more; |
| But spare my injur'd honour the affront |
| To vindicate itself. |
|
| Per. But, love! |
|
| Elw. But, glory! |
|
| Per. Enough! a ray of thy sublimer spirit |
| Has warm'd my dying honour to a flame! |
| One effort and 'tis done. The world shall say, |
| When they shall speak of my disastrous love, |
| Percy deserv'd Elwina though he lost her. |
| Fond tears, blind me not yet! a little longer, |
| Let my sad eyes a little longer gaze, |
| And leave their last beams here. |
|
| Elw. [turns from him.] I do not weep. |
|
| Per. Not weep? then why those eyes avoiding mine? |
| And why that broken voice? those trembling accents? |
| That sigh which rends my soul? |
|
| Elw. No more, no more. |
|
| Per. That pang decides it. Come—I'll die at once; |
| Thou Power supreme! take all the length of days, |
| And all the blessings kept in store for me, |
| And add to her account.—Yet turn once more, |
| One little look, one last, short glimpse of day, |
| And then a long dark night.—Hold, hold, my heart, |
| O break not yet, while I behold her sweetness; |
| For after this dear, mournful, tender moment, |
| I shall have nothing more to do with life. |
|
| Elw. I do conjure thee, go. |
|
| Per. 'Tis terrible to nature! |
| With pangs like these the soul and body part! |
| And thus, but oh, with far less agony, |
| The poor departing wretch still grasps at being, |
| Thus clings to life, thus dreads the dark unknown, |
| Thus struggles to the last to keep his hold; |
| And when the dire convulsive groan of death |
| Dislodges the sad spirit—thus it stays, |
| And fondly hovers o'er the form it lov'd. |
| Once and no more—farewell, farewell! |
|
| Elw. For ever! |
[they look at each other for some time,
then exit Percy. After a pause; |
| 'Tis past—the conflict's past! retire, my Birtha, |
| I would address me to the throne of grace. |
|
| Bir. May Heaven restore that peace thy bosom wants! |
| [exit Birtha. |
|
| Elw. [kneels.] Look down, thou, awful, heart-inspecting Judge, |
| Look down with mercy on thy erring creature, |
| And teach my soul the lowliness it needs! |
| And if some sad remains of human weakness |
| Should sometimes mingle with my best resolves, |
| O breathe thy spirit on this wayward heart, |
| And teach me to repent th' intruding sin |
| In it's first birth of thought! |
| [Noise within.] What noise is that? |
| The clash of swords! should Douglas be return'd! |
|
| Enter Douglas and Percy, fighting. |
|
| Dou. Yield, villain, yield! |
|
| Per. Not till this good right arm |
| Shall fail its master. |
|
| Dou. This to thy heart, then. |
|
| Per. Defend thy own. |
| [they fight; Percy disarms Douglas. |
|
| Dou. Confusion, death, and hell! |
|
| Edr. [without] This way I heard the noise. |
|
Enter Edric, and many Knights and Guards,
from every part of the stage. |
|
| Per. Cursed treachery! |
| But dearly will I sell my life. |
|
| Dou. Seize on him. |
|
| Per. I'm taken in the toils. |
| [Percy is surrounded by Guards, who take his sword. |
|
| Dou. In the cursed snare |
| Thou laid'st for me, traitor, thyself art caught. |
|
| Elw. He never sought thy life. |
|
| Dou. Adulteress, peace! |
| The villain Harcourt too—but he's at rest. |
|
| Per. Douglas, I'm in thy power; but do not triumph, |
| Percy's betray'd, not conquer'd. Come, dispatch me. |
|
| Elw. [to Douglas] O do not, do not, kill him! |
|
| Per. Madam, forbear; |
| For by the glorious shades of my great fathers, |
| Their godlike spirit is not so extinct, |
| That I should owe my life to that vile Scot. |
| Though dangers close me round on every side, |
| And death besets me, I am Percy still. |
|
| Dou. Sorceress, I'll disappoint thee—he shall die, |
| Thy minion shall expire before thy face, |
| That I may feast my hatred with your pangs, |
| And make his dying groans, and thy fond tears, |
| A banquet for my vengeance. |
|
| Elw. Savage tyrant! |
| I would have fallen a silent sacrifice, |
| So thou had'st spar'd my fame.—I never wrong'd thee. |
|
| Per. She knew not of my coming;—I alone |
| Have been to blame—Spite of her interdiction, |
| I hither came. She's pure as spotless saints. |
|
| Elw. I will not be excus'd by Percy's crime; |
| So white my innocence, it does not ask |
| The shade of others' faults to set it off; |
| Nor shall he need to sully his fair fame |
| To throw a brighter lustre round my virtue. |
|
| Dou. Yet he can only die—but death for honour! |
| Ye powers of hell, who take malignant joy |
| In human bloodshed, give me some dire means, |
| Wild as my hate, and desperate as my wrongs! |
|
| Per. Enough of words. Thou know'st I hate thee, Douglas; |
| 'Tis stedfast, fix'd, hereditary hate, |
| As thine for me; our fathers did bequeath it |
| As part of our unalienable birthright, |
| Which nought but death can end.—Come, end it here. |
|
| Elw. [kneels] Hold, Douglas, hold!—not for myself I kneel, |
| I do not plead for Percy, but for thee: |
| Arm not thy hand against thy future peace, |
| Spare thy brave breast the tortures of remorse,— |
| Stain not a life of unpolluted honour, |
| For, oh! as surely as thou strik'st at Percy, |
| Thou wilt for ever stab the fame of Douglas. |
|
| Per. Finish the bloody work. |
|
| Dou. Then take thy wish. |
|
| Per. Why dost thou start? |
[Percy bares his bosom. Douglas advances
to stab him, and discovers the scarf. |
|
| Dou. Her scarf upon his breast! |
| The blasting sight converts me into stone; |
| Withers my powers like cowardice or age, |
| Curdles the blood within my shiv'ring veins, |
| And palsies my bold arm. |
|
| Per. [ironically to the Knights] Hear you, his friends! |
| Bear witness to the glorious, great exploit, |
| Record it in the annals of his race, |
| That Douglas, the renown'd—the valiant Douglas, |
| Fenc'd round with guards, and safe in his own castle, |
| Surpris'd a knight unarm'd, and bravely slew him. |
|
| Dou. [throwing away his dagger] |
| 'Tis true—I am the very stain of knighthood. |
| How is my glory dimm'd! |
|
| Elw. It blazes brighter! |
| Douglas was only brave—he now is generous! |
|
| Per. This action has restor'd thee to thy rank, |
| And makes thee worthy to contend with Percy. |
|
| Dou. Thy joy will be as short as 'tis insulting.[to Elwina. |
| And thou, imperious boy, restrain thy boasting. |
| Thou hast sav'd my honour, not remov'd my hate, |
| For my soul loaths thee for the obligation. |
| Give him his sword. |
|
| Per. Now thou'rt a noble foe, |
| And in the field of honour I will meet thee, |
| As knight encount'ring knight. |
|
| Elw. Stay, Percy, stay, |
| Strike at the wretched cause of all, strike here, |
| Here sheath thy thirsty sword, but spare my husband. |
|
| Dou. Turn, madam, and address those vows to me, |
| To spare the precious life of him you love. |
| Even now you triumph in the death of Douglas; |
| Now your loose fancy kindles at the thought, |
| And, wildly rioting in lawless hope, |
| Indulges the adultery of the mind. |
| But I'll defeat that wish.—Guards, bear her in. |
| Nay, do not struggle.[she is borne in. |
|
| Per. Let our deaths suffice, |
| And reverence virtue in that form inshrin'd. |
|
| Dou. Provoke my rage no farther.—I have kindled |
| The burning torch of never-dying vengeance |
| At love's expiring lamp.—But mark me, friends, |
| If Percy's happier genius should prevail, |
| And I should fall, give him safe conduct hence, |
| Be all observance paid him.—Go, I follow thee. |
| [aside to Edric. |
| Within I've something for thy private ear. |
|
| Per. Now shall this mutual fury be appeas'd! |
| These eager hands shall soon be drench'd in slaughter! |
| Yes—like two famish'd vultures snuffing blood, |
| And panting to destroy, we'll rush to combat; |
| Yet I've the deepest, deadliest, cause of hate, |
| I am but Percy, thou'rt—Elwina's husband. [exeunt. |
