And die as a man should; 'tis somewhat hard, Enter ALICIA. Alic. Stand off, and let me pass—I will I must Catch him once more in these despairing arms, And hold him to my heart-O Hastings! Hastings! Hast. Alas! why com'st thou at this dreadful mo ment, To fill me with new terrors, new distractions; And shock the peace of my departing soul ? Alic. Stop a minute Till my full griefs find passage-Oh, the tyrant! Hast. What means thy frantic grief? Alic. I cannot speak But I have murder'd thee-Oh, I could tell thee! Hast. Speak and give ease to thy conflicting passion, Be quick, nor keep me longer in suspense, Time presses, and a thousand crowding thoughts Break in at once! this way and that they snatch, They tear my hurry'd soul: All claim attention, And yet not one is heard. Oh! speak, and leave me, For I have business would employ an age, And but a minute's time to get it done in. Alic. That, that's my grief-'tis I that urge thee on, Thus haunt thee to the toil, sweep thee from earth, And drive thee down this precipice of fate. Hast. Thy reason is grown wild. Could thy weak hand Bring on this mighty ruin? If it could, Raving and mad I flew to my revenge, And writ I know not what-told the protector, "Hast. Accursed jealousy! "Oh, merciless, wild, and unforgiving fiend! "For there is none so deadly; doubly curs'd "Alic. If thou wilt curse, curse rather thine own falsehood; "Curse the lewd maxims of thy perjur'd sex, "Which taught thee first to laugh at faith and justice ; "To scorn the solemn sanctity of oaths, "And make a jest of a poor woman's ruin : "Curse thy proud heart, and thy insulting tongue, "That rais'd this fatal fury in my soul, "And urg'd my vengeance to undo us both." Hast. Oh, thou inhuman! Turn thy eyes away, And blast me not with their destructive beams: Why should I curse thee with my dying breath? Begone! and let me die in peace. Alic. Can'st thou-Oh, cruel Hastings, leave me thus! Hear me, I beg thee-I conjure thee, hear mel While with an agonizing heart, I swear, By all the pangs I feel, by all the sorrows, Oh! had I once divin'd, false as thou art, I would have met it for thee, and made bare Hast Now mark! and tremble at Heaven's just award: While thy insatiate wrath and fell revenge, For me, the snares of death are wound about me, And, in compassion of my strong affliction, The fatal rashness of ungovern'd love? [Kneeling. For, oh! 'tis certain, if I had not lov'd thee rows. [Raising her. Assuage thy tears, for I will chide no more, No more upbraid thee, thou unhappy fair one. To punish me by thy mistaken hand, Most righteous doom! for, Oh, while I behold thee, And charge thy ruin on me; thy fair fame, Alic. And does thy heart relent for my undoing? Hast. Here then exchange we mutually forgiveness : So may the guilt of all my broken vows, My perjuries to thee, be all forgotten, As here my soul acquits thee of my death, As here I part without one angry thought, As here I leave thee with the softest tenderness, Mourning the chance of our disastrous loves, And begging Heav'n to bless and to support thee. Rat. My lord, dispatch; the duke has sent to chide me, For loitering in my duty Hast. obey. Alic. Insatiate, savage monster! Is a moment So tedious to thy malice? Oh, repay him, Thou great avenger! Give him blood for blood: Guilt haunt him! fiends pursue him! lightnings blast him! "Some horrid, cursed kind of death o'ertake him, "Sudden, and in the fulness of his sins !" That he may know how terrible it is, To want that moment he denies thee now. Hast. This rage is all in vain, "that tears thy bosom; |