O ceafe then coldly to fufpect my love; 290 And let my deed, at least, my faith approve. Alas! no youth fhall my endearments share; Nor day nor night fhall interrupt my care; No future ftory fhall with truth upbraid The cold indiff'rence of the Nut-brown Maid: Nor to hard banishment shall Henry run; While careless Emma fleeps on beds of down. View me refolv'd, where-e'er thou lead'st, to go, Friend to thy pain, and partner of thy woe: For I atteft fair Venus, and her fon, 296 300 That I, of all mankind, will love but thee alone. HENRY. 305 Let prudence yet obftruct thy vent'rous way; And take good heed, what men will think and say: That beauteous Emma vagrant courses took; Her father's house and civil life forfook; That, full of youthful blood, and fond of man, She to the wood-land with an exile ran. Reflect, that leffen'd fame is ne'er regain'd; And virgin honor once, is always stain❜d: Timely advis'd, the coming evil fhun: Better not do the deed, than weep it done. No penance can absolve our guilty fame ; Nor tears, that wash out fin, can wash out shame. Then fly the fad effects of desp'rate love; 310 And leave a banish'd man through lonely woods to rove. EMMA. Let Emma's hapless case be falfely told By the rash young, or the ill-natur'd old : Let ev'ry tongue its various cenfures chuse; Abfolve with coldness, or with spight accufe: Fair Truth at last her radiant beams will raise ; And malice vanquish'd heightens virtue's praise. Let then thy favour but indulge my flight; O! let my presence make thy travels light; And potent Venus fhall exalt my name Above the rumours of cenforious Fame; Nor from that bufie demon's restless pow'r Will ever Emma other grace implore, 325 Than that this truth fhould to the world be known, That I, of all mankind, have lov'd but thee alone. HENRY. 331 But canft thou wield the fword, and bend the bow? With active force repel the sturdy foe? When the loud tumult speaks the battel nigh, And winged deaths in whistling arrows fly; Wilt thou, tho' wounded, yet undaunted stay, Perform thy part, and share the dangerous day? Then, as thy ftrength decays, thy heart will fail, Thy limbs all trembling, and thy cheeks all pale; With fruitless forrow, thou, inglorious maid, Wilt weep thy fafety by thy love betray'd: Then to thy friend, by foes o'ercharg'd, deny 341 Then wilt thou curfe the chance that made thee love A banish'd man, condemn'd in lonely woods to rove. EMMA. With fatal certainty Thaleftris knew 345 350 Near thee, miftruft not, conftant I'll abide, And fall, or vanquish, fighting by thy fide. Though my inferior strength may not allow, That I fhould bear or draw the warrior bow; 355 With ready hand, I will the shaft supply, And joy to fee thy victor arrows fly. Touch'd in the battel by the hostile reed, Should't thou (but Heav'n avert it!) fhould't thou bleed; To ftop the wounds my finest lawn I'd tear, 360 Wash them with tears, and wipe them with my hair: Bleft, when my dangers, and my toils, have shown, That I, of all mankind, could love but thee alone. HENRY. But canft thou, tender maid, canst thou sustain Afflictive want, or hunger's preffing pain? 365 Those limbs, in lawn and softest filk array'd, From fun-beams guarded, and of winds afraid; Can they bear angry Jove? Can they refift The parching dog-ftar, and the bleak north-eaft? When, chill'd by adverse fnows, and beating rain, We tread with weary steps the longsome plain; When with hard toil we feek our ev'ning food, Berries and acorns from the neighb'ring wood; And find among the cliffs no other house, But the thin covert of some gather'd boughs; 375 Wilt thou not then reluctant fend thine eye Around the dreary wafte; and weeping try (Tho' then, alas! that trial be too late) To find thy father's hospitable gate, And feats, where Ease and Plenty brooding fate? Those seats, whence long excluded thou must mourn; That gate, for ever barr'd to thy return: Wilt thou not then bewail ill-fated love, And hate a banish'd man, condemn'd in woods to rove. EMMA. Thy rife of fortune did I only wed, From it's decline determin'd to recede? Did I but purpose to embark with thee On the smooth surface of a fummer's fea; 385 While gentle Zephyrs play in profp'rous gales, } When from the cave thou risest with the day, To beat the woods, and rouse the bounding prey; The cave with mofs and branches I'll adorn, And cheerful fit, to wait my lord's return: And, when thou frequent bring'st the smitten deer (For feldom, archers fay, thy arrows err), I'll fetch quick fuel from the neighb'ring wood, And ftrike the sparkling flint, and drefs the food; With humble duty, and officious haste, I'll cull the furtheft mead for thy repast: 401 405 411 The choiceft herbs I to thy board will bring; |