by John Dryden
For, true to Love, she measur’d Time so right
As not to miss one Moment of Delight. 220
The Garden, seated on the level Floor,
She left behind, and locking ev’ry Door,
Thought all secure; but little did she know,
Blind to her Fate, she had inclos’d her Foe.
Attending Guiscard in his Leathern Frock 225
Stood ready, with his thrice-repeated Knock:
Thrice with a doleful Sound the jarring Grate
Rung deaf, and hollow, and presag’d their Fate.
The Door unlock’d, to known Delight they haste,
And panting in each other’s Arms, embrac’d, 230
Rush to the conscious Bed, a mutual Freight,
And heedless press it with their wonted Weight.
The sudden Bound awak’d the sleeping Sire,
And shew’d a Sight no Parent can desire:
His opening Eyes at once with odious View 235
The Love discover’d, and the Lover knew:
He would have cry’d; but hoping that he dreamt,
Amazement ty’d his Tongue, and stopp’d th’ Attempt.
Th’ ensuing Moment all the Truth declar’d,
But now he stood collected, and prepar’d; 240
For Malice and Revenge had put him on his Guard.
So, like a Lion that unheeded lay,
Dissembling Sleep, and watchful to betray,
With inward Rage he meditates his Prey.
The thoughtless Pair, indulging their Desires, 245
Alternate kindl’d and then quench’d their Fires;
Nor thinking in the Shades of Death they play’d,
Full of themselves, themselves alone survey’d,
And, too secure, were by themselves betray’d.
Long time dissolv’d in Pleasure thus they lay, 250
Till Nature could no more suffice their Play:
Then rose the Youth, and through the Cave again
Return’d; the Princess mingl’d with her Train.
Resolv’d his unripe Vengeance to defer,
The Royal Spy, when now the Coast was clear, 255
Sought not the Garden, but retir’d unseen,
To brood in secret on his gather’d Spleen,
And methodize Revenge: To Death he griev’d;
And, but he saw the Crime, had scarce believ’d.
Th’ Appointment for th’ ensuing Night he heard; 260
And therefore in the Cavern had prepar’d
Two brawny Yeomen of his trusty Guard.
Scarce had unwary Guiscard set his Foot
Within the farmost Entrance of the Grot,
When these in secret Ambush ready lay, 265
And rushing on the sudden, seiz’d the Prey:
Encumber’d with his Frock, without defence,
An easie Prize, they led the Pris’ner thence,
And, as commanded, brought before the Prince
The gloomy Sire, too sensible of Wrong 270
To vent his Rage in Words, restrain’d his Tongue;
And only said, Thus Servants are preferr’d
And trusted, thus their Sov’reigns they reward.
Had I not seen, had not these Eyes receiv’d
Too clear a Proof, I could not have believ’d. 275
He paus’d, and choak’d the rest. The Youth, who saw
His forfeit Life abandon’d to the Law,
The Judge th’ Accuser, and th’ Offence to him,
Who had both Pow’r and Will t’ avenge the Crime;
No vain Defence prepar’d, but thus reply’d, 280
The Faults of Love by Love are justify’d;
With unresisted Might the Monarch reigns,
He levels Mountains, and he raises Plains,
And, not regarding Diff’rence of Degree,
Abas’d your Daughter, and exalted me. 285
This bold Return with seeming Patience heard,
The Pris’ner was remitted to the Guard.
The sullen Tyrant slept not all the Night,
But lonely walking by a winking Light,
Sobb’d, wept, and groan’d, and beat his wither’d Breast, 290
But would not violate his Daughters Rest;
Who long expecting lay, for Bliss prepar’d,
Listning for Noise, and griev’d that none she heard;
Oft rose, and oft in vain employ’d the Key,
And oft accus’d her Lover of Delay, 295
And pass’d the tedious Hours in anxious Thoughts away.
The Morrow came; and at his usual Hour
Old Tancred visited his Daughters Bow’r;
Her Cheek (for such his Custom was) he kiss’d,
Then blessed her kneeling, and her Maids dismiss’d. 300
The Royal Dignity thus far maintain’d,
Now left in private, he no longer feign’d;
But all at once his Grief and Rage appear’d,
And Floods of Tears ran trickling down his Beard.
O Sigismonda, he began to say; 305
Thrice he began, and thrice was forc’d to stay,
Till Words with often trying found their Way;
I thought, O Sigismonda, (But how blind
Are Parents Eyes their Childrens Faults to find!)
Thy Vertue, Birth, and Breeding were above 310
A mean Desire, and vulgar sense of Love:
Nor less than Sight and Hearing could convince
So fond a Father, and so just, a Prince,
Of such an unforeseen, and unbeliev’d Offence.
Then what indignant Sorrow must I have, 315
To see thee lie subjected to my Slave!
A Man so smelling of the Peoples Lee,
The Court receiv’d him first for Charity;
And since with no Degree of Honour grac’d,
But only suffer’d where he first was plac’d: 320
A grov’ling Insect still; and so design’d
By Natures Hand, nor born of Noble Kind:
A Thing by neither Man nor Woman priz’d,
And scarcely known enough to be despis’d:
To what has Heav’n reserv’d my Age? Ah! why 325
Should Man, when Nature calls, not chuse to die,
Rather than stretch the Span of Life, to find
Such Ills as Fate has wisely cast behind,
For those to feel, whom fond Desire to live
Makes covetous of more than Life can give! 330
Each has his Share of Good; and when ’tis gone,
The Guest, though hungry, cannot rise too soon.
But I, expecting more, in my own wrong
Protracting Life, have liv’d a Day too long.
If Yesterday cou’d be recall’d again, 335
Ev’n now would I conclude my happy Reign:
But ’tis too late, my glorious Race is run,
And a dark Cloud o’ertakes my setting Sun.
Hadst thou not lov’d, or loving sav’d the Shame,
If not the Sin, by some Illustrious Name, 340
This little Comfort had reliev’d my Mind,
’Twas Frailty, not unusual to thy Kind:
But thy low Fall beneath thy Royal Blood
Shews downward Appetite to mix with Mud:
Thus not the least Excuse is left for thee, 345
Nor the least Refuge for unhappy me.
For him I have resolv’d: whom by Surprize
I took, and scarce can call it, in Disguise;
For such was his Attire, as, with Intent
Of Nature, suited to his mean Descent: 350
The harder Question yet remains behind,
What Pains a Parent and a Prince can find
To punish an Offence of this degenerate Kind.
As I have lov’d, and yet I love thee more
Than ever Father lov’d a Child before; 355
So, that Indulgence draws me to forgive:
Nature, that gave thee Life
, would have thee live,
But, as a Publick Parent of the State,
My Justice, and thy Crime, requires thy Fate.
Fain would I chuse a middle Course to steer; 360
Nature’s too kind, and Justice too severe:
Speak for us both, and to the Balance bring
On either side, the Father, and the King.
Heav’n knows, my Heart is bent to favour thee;
Make it but scanty weight, and leave the rest to me. 365
Here stopping with a Sigh, he pour’d a Flood
Of Tears, to make his last Expression good.
She who had heard him speak, nor saw alone
The secret Conduct of her Love was known,
But he was taken who her Soul possess’d, 370
Felt all the Pangs of Sorrow in her Breast:
And little wanted, but a Womans Heart
With Cries, and Tears had testifi’d her Smart:
But in-born Worth; that Fortune can controul,
New strung, and stiffer bent her softer Soul; 375
The Heroine assum’d the Womans Place,
Confirmed her Mind, and fortifi’d her Face:
Why should she beg, or what cou’d she pretend,
When her stern Father had condemned her Friend!
Her Life she might have had; but her Despair 380
Of saving, his, had put it past her Care:
Resolv’d on Fate, she would not lose her Breath,
But rather than not die, sollicit Death.
Fix’d on this Thought, she, not as Women use,
Her Fault by common Frailty would excuse; 385
But boldly justifi’d her Innocence,
And while the Fact was own’d, deny’d th’ Offence:
Then with dry Eyes, and with an open Look,
She met his Glance mid-way, and thus undaunted spoke.
Tancred, I neither am dispos’d to make 390
Request for Life, nor offer’d Life to take;
Much less deny the Deed; but least of all
Beneath pretended Justice weakly fall.
My Words to sacred Truth shall be confin’d,
My Deeds shall shew the Greatness of my Mind. 395
That I have lov’d, I own; that still I love,
I call to Witness all the Pow’rs above:
Yet more I own; To Guiscard’s Love I give
The small remaining Time I have to live;
And if beyond this Life Desire can be, 400
Not Fate it self shall set my Passion free.
This first avow’d; nor Folly warp’d my Mind,
Nor the frail Texture of the Female Kind
Betray’d my Vertue: For too well I knew
What Honour was, and Honour had his due: 405
Before the Holy Priest my Vows were ty’d,
So came I not a Strumpet, but a Bride;
This for my Fame, and for the Publick Voice:
Yet more, his Merits justify’d my Choice;
Which had they not, the first Election thine, 410
That Bond dissolv’d, the next is freely mine:
Or grant I err’d, (which yet I must deny,)
Had Parents Pow’r ev’n second Vows to tie,
Thy little Care to mend my Widow’d Nights
Has forc’d me to recourse of Marriage-Rites, 415
To fill an empty Side, and follow known Delights.
What have I done in this, deserving Blame?
State-Laws may alter: Nature’s are the same
Those are usurp’d on helpless Woman-kind,
Made without our Consent, and wanting Pow’r to bind. 420
Thou, Tancred, better should’st have understood,
That, as thy Father gave thee Flesh and Blood,
So gav’st thou me: Not from the Quarry hew’d,
But of a softer Mould, with Sense endu’d;
Ev’n softer than thy own, of suppler Kind, 425
More exquisite of Taste, and more than man refin’d.
Nor need’st thou by thy Daughter to be told,
Though now thy spritely Blood with Age be cold,
Thou hast been young; and canst remember still,
That when thou hadst the Pow’r, thou hadst the Will; 430
And from the past Experience of thy Fires,
Canst tell with what a Tide our strong Desires
Come rushing on in Youth, and what their Rage requires.
And grant thy Youth was exercis’d in Arms,
When Love no Leisure found for softer Charms, 435
My tender Age in Luxury was train’d,
With idle Ease and Pageants entertain’d;
My Hours my own, my Pleasures unrestrain’d.
So bred, no wonder if I took the Bent
That seem’d ev’n warranted by thy Consent; 440
For, when the Father is too fondly kind,
Such Seed he sows, such Harvest shall he find.
Blame then thy self, as Reason’s Law requires,
(Since Nature gave, and thou foment st my Fires;)
If still those Appetites continue strong, 445
Thou mayest consider I am yet but young
Consider too, that having been a Wife,
I must have tasted of a better Life,
And am not to be blam’d, if I renew,
By lawful Means, the Joys which then I knew. 450
Where was the Crime, if Pleasure I procur’d,
Young, and a Woman, and to Bliss inur’d?
That was my Case, and this is my Defence;
I pleas’d my self, I shunned Incontinence,
And, urg’d by strong Desires, indulg’d my Sense. 455
Left to my self, I must avow, I strove
From publick Shame to screen my secret Love,
And, well acquainted with thy Native Pride,
Endeavour’d, what I could not help, to hide,
For which a Womans Wit an easie Way supply’d. 460
How this, so well contriv’d, so closely laid,
Was known to thee, or by what Chance betray’d,
Is not my Care: To please thy Pride alone
I could have wish’d it had been still unknown.
Nor took I Guiscard by blind Fancy led, 465
Or hasty Choice, as many Women wed;
But with delib’rate Care, and ripen’d Thought,
At Leisure first design’d, before I wrought:
On him I rested after long Debate,
And not without consid’ring, fix’d my Fate: 470
His Flame was equal, though by mine inspir’d:
(For so the Diff’rence of our Birth requir’d:)
Had he been born like me, like me his Love
Had first begun, what mine was forc’d to move:
But thus beginning, thus we persevere; 475
Our Passions yet continue what they were,
Nor length of Trial makes our Joys the less sincere.
At this my Choice, though not by thine allow’d,
(Thy Judgment herding with the common Crowd)
Thou tak’st unjust Offence; and, led by them, 480
Dost less the Merit than the Man esteem.
Too sharply, Tancred, by thy Pride betray’d,
Hast thou against the Laws of Kind inveigh’d;
For all th’ Offence is in Opinion plac’d,
Which deems high Birth by lowly Choice debas’d. 485
This Thought alone with Fury fires thy Breast,
(For Holy Marriage justifies the rest)
That I have sunk the Glories of the State,
And mix’d my Blood with a Plebeian Mate:
In which I wonder thou shouldst oversee 490
Superiour Causes, or impute to me
The Fault of Fortune, or the Fates Decree.
Or call it Heav’ns Imperial Pow’r alone,
Which moves on Springs of Justice, though unknown;
Yet this we see, though order’d for the best, 495
The Bad exalted, and the Good oppress’d;
Permitted Laurels grace the Lawless Brow,
Th’ Unworthy rais’d, the Worthy cast below.
But leaving that: Search we the secret Springs,
And backward trace the Principles of Things; 500
There shall we find, that when the World began,
One common Mass compos’d the Mould of Man;
One Paste of Flesh on all Degrees bestow’d,
And kneaded up alike with moistning Blood.
The same Almighty Pow’r inspir’d the Frame 505
With kindl’d Life, and form’d the Souls the same:
The Faculties of Intellect, and Will,
Dispens’d with equal Hand, dispos’d with equal Skill,
Like Liberty indulg’d with Choice of Good or Ill.
Thus born alike, from Vertue first began 510
The Diff’rence that distinguish’d Man from Man:
He claim’d no Title from Descent of Blood,
But that which made him Noble, made him Good:
Warm’d with more Particles of Heav’nly Flame,
He wing’d his upward Flight, and soar’d to Fame; 515
The rest remain’d below, a Tribe without a Name.
This Law, though Custom now diverts the Course,
As Natures Institute, is yet in Force;
Uncancell’d, tho disus’d: And he, whose Mind
Is Vertuous, is alone of Noble Kind; 520
Though poor in Fortune, of Celestial Race;
And he commits the Crime, who calls him Base.
Now lay the Line; and measure all thy Court,
By inward Vertue, not external Port,
And find whom justly to prefer above 525
The Man on whom my Judgment plac’d my Love:
So shalt thou see his Parts, and Person shine,
And thus compar’d, the rest a base degen’rate Line.
Nor took I, when I first survey’d thy Court,
His Valour or his Vertues on Report; 530
But trusted what I ought to trust alone,
Relying on thy Eyes, and not my own;
Thy Praise (and Thine was then the Publick Voice)
First recommended Guiscard to my Choice:
Directed thus by thee, I look’d, and found 535
A Man, I thought, deserving to be crowned!
First by my Father pointed to my Sight,
Nor less conspicuous by his Native Light:
His Mind, his Meen, the Features of his Face,
Excelling all the rest of Humane Race: 540
These were thy Thoughts, and thou could’st judge aright,
Till Int’rest made a Jaundice in thy Sight.
Or shou’d I grant thou didst not rightly see;
Then thou wert first deceiv’d, and I deceiv’d by thee.
But if thou shalt alledge, through Pride of Mind, 545
Thy Blood with one of base Condition join’d,