Percy: A Tragedy

by Hannah More

SCENE I. THE HALL.

Enter Douglas, speaking.

See that the traitor instantly be seiz'd,

And strictly watch'd: let none have access to him.—

O jealousy, thou aggregate of woes!

Were there no hell, thy torments would create one.

But yet she may be guiltless—may? she must.

How beautiful she look'd! pernicious beauty!

Yet innocent as bright seem'd the sweet blush

That mantled on her cheek. But not for me,

But not for me, those breathing roses blow!

And then she wept—What! can I bear her tears?

Well—let her weep—her tears are for another;

O did they fall for me, to dry their streams

I'd drain the choicest blood that feeds this heart,

Nor think the drops I shed were half so precious.

[he stands in a musing posture.

Enter Lord Raby.

Raby. Sure I mistake—am I in Raby Castle?

Impossible; that was the seat of smiles;

And Cheerfulness and Joy were household gods.

I us'd to scatter pleasures when I came,

And every servant shar'd his lord's delight;

But now Suspicion and Distrust dwell here,

And Discontent maintains a sullen sway.

Where is the smile unfeign'd, the jovial welcome,

Which cheer'd the sad, beguil'd the pilgrim's pain,

And made Dependency forget its bonds?

Where is the antient, hospitable hall,

Whose vaulted roof once rung with harmless mirth,

Where every passing stranger was a guest,

And every guest a friend? I fear me much,

If once our nobles scorn their rural seats,

Their rural greatness, and their vassals' love,

Freedom and English grandeur are no more.

Dou. [advancing.] My lord, you are welcome.

Raby. Sir, I trust I am;

But yet methinks I shall not feel I'm welcome

Till my Elwina bless me with her smiles:

She was not wont with ling'ring step to meet me,

Or greet my coming with a cold embrace;

Now, I extend my longing arms in vain;

My child, my darling, does not come to fill them.

O they were happy days, when she would fly

To meet me from the camp, or from the chace,

And with her fondness overpay my toils!

How eager would her tender hands unbrace

The ponderous armour from my war-worn limbs,

And pluck the helmet which oppos'd her kiss!

Dou. O sweet delights, that never must be mine!

Raby. What do I hear?

Dou. Nothing: inquire no farther.

Raby. My lord, if you respect an old man's peace,

If e'er you doted on my much-lov'd child,

As 'tis most sure you made me think you did,

Then, by the pangs which you may one day feel,

When you, like me, shall be a fond, fond father,

And tremble for the treasure of your age,

Tell me what this alarming silence means?

You sigh, you do not speak, nay more, you hear not;

Your lab'ring soul turns inward on itself,

As there were nothing but your own sad thoughts

Deserv'd regard. Does my child live?

Dou. She does.

Raby. To bless her father!

Dou. And to curse her husband!

Raby. Ah! have a care, my lord, I'm not so old—

Dou. Nor I so base, that I should tamely bear it;

Nor am I so inur'd to infamy,

That I can say, without a burning blush,

She lives to be my curse!

Raby. How's this?

Dou. I thought

The lily opening to the heaven's soft dews,

Was not so fragrant, and was not so chaste.

Raby. Has she prov'd otherwise? I'll not believe it,

Who has traduc'd my sweet, my innocent child?

Yet she's too good to 'scape calumnious tongues.

I know that Slander loves a lofty mark:

It saw her soar a flight above her fellows,

And hurl'd its arrow to her glorious height,

To reach her heart, and bring her to the ground.

Dou. Had the rash tongue of Slander so presum'd,

My vengeance had not been of that slow sort

To need a prompter; nor should any arm,

No, not a father's, dare dispute with mine,

The privilege to die in her defence.

None dares accuse Elwina, but—

Raby. But who?

Dou. But Douglas.

Raby. [puts his hand to his sword.]

You?—O spare my age's weakness!

You do not know what 'tis to be a father;

You do not know, or you would pity me,

The thousand tender throbs, the nameless feelings,

The dread to ask, and yet the wish to know,

When we adore and fear; but wherefore fear?

Does not the blood of Raby fill her veins?

Dou. Percy;—know'st thou that name?

Raby. How? What of Percy?

Dou. He loves Elwina, and, my curses on him!

He is belov'd again.

Raby. I'm on the rack!

Dou. Not the two Theban brothers bore each other

Such deep, such deadly hate as I and Percy.

Raby. But tell me of my child.

Dou. [not minding him.] As I and Percy!

When at the marriage rites, O rites accurs'd!

I seiz'd her trembling hand, she started back,

Cold horror thrill'd her veins, her tears flow'd fast.

Fool that I was, I thought 'twas maiden fear;

Dull, doting ignorance! beneath those terrors,

Hatred for me and love for Percy lurk'd.

Raby. What proof of guilt is this?

Dou. E'er since our marriage,

Our days have still been cold and joyless all;

Painful restraint, and hatred ill disguis'd,

Her sole return for all my waste of fondness.

This very morn I told her 'twas your will

She should repair to court; with all those graces,

Which first subdued my soul, and still enslave it,

She begg'd to stay behind in Raby Castle,

For courts and cities had no charms for her.

Curse my blind love! I was again ensnar'd,

And doted on the sweetness which deceiv'd me.

Just at the hour she thought I should be absent,

(For chance could ne'er have tim'd their guilt so well,)

Arriv'd young Harcourt, one of Percy's knights,

Strictly enjoin'd to speak to none but her;

I seiz'd the miscreant: hitherto he's silent,

But tortures soon shall force him to confess!

Raby. Percy is absent—They have never met.

Dou. At what a feeble hold you grasp for succour!

Will it content me that her person's pure?

No, if her alien heart dotes on another,

She is unchaste, were not that other Percy.

Let vulgar spirits basely wait for proof,

She loves another—'tis enough for Douglas.

Raby. Be patient.

Dou. Be a tame convenient husband,

And meanly wait for circumstantial guilt?

No—I am nice as the first Cæsar was,

And start at bare suspicion.[going.

Raby. [holding him.] Douglas, hear me;

Thou hast nam'd a Roman husband; if she's false,

I mean to prove myself a Roman father.[exit Douglas.

This marriage was my work, and thus I'm punish'd!

Enter Elwina.

Elw. Where is my father? let me fly to meet him,

O let me clasp his venerable knees,

And die of joy in his belov'd embrace!

Raby. [avoiding her embrace.] Elwina!

Elw. And is that all? so cold?

Raby. [sternly.] Elwina!

Elw. Then I'm undone indeed! How stern his looks!

I will not be repuls'd, I am your child,

The child of that dear mother you ador'd;

You shall not throw me off, I will grow here,

And, like the patriarch, wrestle for a blessing.

Raby. [holding her from him.]

Before I take thee in these aged arms,

Press thee with transport to this beating heart,

And give a loose to all a parent's fondness,

Answer, and see thou answer me as truly

As if the dread inquiry came from heaven,—

Does no interior sense of guilt confound thee?

Canst thou lay all thy naked soul before me?

Can thy unconscious eye encounter mine?

Canst thou endure the probe, and never shrink?

Can thy firm hand meet mine, and never tremble?

Art thou prepar'd to meet the rigid Judge?

Or to embrace the fond, the melting, father?

Elw. Mysterious Heaven! to what am I reserv'd!

Raby. Should some rash man, regardless of thy fame,

And in defiance of thy marriage vows,

Presume to plead a guilty passion for thee,

What would'st thou do?

Elw. What honour bids me do.

Raby. Come to my arms![they embrace.

Elw. My father!

Raby. Yes, Elwina,

Thou art my child—thy mother's perfect image.

Elw. Forgive these tears of mingled joy and doubt;

For why that question? who should seek to please

The desolate Elwina?

Raby. But if any

Should so presume, canst thou resolve to hate him,

Whate'er his name, whate'er his pride of blood,

Whate'er his former arrogant pretensions?

Elw. Ha!

Raby. Dost thou falter? Have a care, Elwina.

Elw. Sir, do not fear me: am I not your daughter?

Raby. Thou hast a higher claim upon thy honour;

Thou art Earl Douglas' wife.

Elw. [weeps.] I am, indeed!

Raby. Unhappy Douglas!

Elw. Has he then complain'd?

Has he presum'd to sully my white fame?

Raby. He knows that Percy——

Elw. Was my destin'd husband;

By your own promise, by a father's promise,

And by a tie more strong, more sacred still,

Mine, by the fast firm bond of mutual love.

Raby. Now, by my fears, thy husband told me truth.

Elw. If he has told thee, that thy only child

Was forc'd a helpless victim to the altar,

Torn from his arms who had her virgin heart,

And forc'd to make false vows to one she hated,

Then I confess that he has told the truth.

Raby. Her words are barbed arrows in my heart.

But 'tis too late. [aside.] Thou hast appointed Harcourt

To see thee here by stealth in Douglas' absence?

Elw. No, by my life, nor knew I till this moment

That Harcourt was return'd. Was it for this

I taught my heart to struggle with its feelings?

Was it for this I bore my wrongs in silence?

When the fond ties of early love were broken,

Did my weak soul break out in fond complaints?

Did I reproach thee? Did I call thee cruel?

No—I endur'd it all; and wearied Heaven

To bless the father who destroy'd my peace.

Enter Messenger.

Mes. My lord, a knight, Sir Hubert as I think,

But newly landed from the holy wars,

Entreats admittance.

Raby. Let the warrior enter.[exit Messenger.

All private interests sink at his approach;

All selfish cares be for a moment banish'd;

I've now no child, no kindred but my country.

Elw. Weak heart, be still, for what hast thou to fear?

Enter Sir Hubert.

Raby. Welcome, thou gallant knight! Sir Hubert, welcome!

Welcome to Raby Castle!—In one word,

Is the king safe? Is Palestine subdu'd?

Sir H. The king is safe, and Palestine subdu'd.

Raby. Blest be the God of armies! Now, Sir Hubert,

By all the saints, thou'rt a right noble knight!

O why was I too old for this crusade!

I think it would have made me young again,

Could I, like thee, have seen the hated crescent

Yield to the Christian cross.—How now, Elwina!

What! cold at news which might awake the dead?

If there's a drop in thy degenerate veins

That glows not now, thou art not Raby's daughter.

It is religion's cause, the cause of Heaven!

Elw. When policy assumes religion's name,

And wears the sanctimonious garb of faith

Only to colour fraud, and license murder,

War then is tenfold guilt.

Raby. Blaspheming girl!

Elw. 'Tis not the crosier, nor the pontiff's robe,

The saintly look, nor elevated eye,

Nor Palestine destroy'd, nor Jordan's banks

Deluged with blood of slaughter'd infidels;

No, nor the extinction of the eastern world,

Nor all the mad, pernicious, bigot rage

Of your crusades, can bribe that Power who sees

The motive with the act. O blind, to think

That cruel war can please the Prince of Peace!

He, who erects his altar in the heart,

Abhors the sacrifice of human blood,

And all the false devotion of that zeal

Which massacres the world he died to save.

Raby. O impious rage! If thou would'st shun my curse,

No more, I charge thee.—Tell me, good Sir Hubert,

Say, have our arms achiev'd this glorious deed,

(I fear to ask,) without much Christian bloodshed?

Elw. Now, Heaven support me![aside.

Sir H. My good lord of Raby,

Imperfect is the sum of human glory!

Would I could tell thee that the field was won,

Without the death of such illustrious knights

As make the high-flush'd cheek of victory pale.

Elw. Why should I tremble thus?[aside.

Raby. Who have we lost?

Sir H. The noble Clifford, Walsingham, and Grey,

Sir Harry Hastings, and the valiant Pembroke,

All men of choicest note.

Raby. O that my name

Had been enroll'd in such a list of heroes!

If I was too infirm to serve my country,

I might have prov'd my love by dying for her.

Elw. Were there no more?

Sir H. But few of noble blood.

But the brave youth who gain'd the palm of glory,

The flower of knighthood, and the plume of war,

Who bore his banner foremost in the field,

Yet conquer'd more by mercy than the sword,

Was Percy.

Elw. Then he lives![aside.

Raby. Did he? Did Percy?

O gallant boy, then I'm thy foe no more;

Who conquers for my country is my friend!

His fame shall add new glories to a house,

Where never maid was false, nor knight disloyal.

Sir H. You do embalm him, lady, with your tears:

They grace the grave of glory where he lies—

He died the death of honour.

Elw. Said'st thou—died?

Sir H. Beneath the towers of Solyma he fell.

Elw. Oh!

Sir H. Look to the lady.

[Elwina faints in her father's arms.

Raby. Gentle knight, retire——

'Tis an infirmity of nature in her,

She ever mourns at any tale of blood;

She will be well anon—mean time, Sir Hubert,

You'll grace our castle with your friendly sojourn.

Sir H. I must return with speed—health to the lady.[exit.

Raby. Look up, Elwina. Should her husband come!

Yet she revives not.

Enter Douglas.

Dou. Ha——Elwina fainting!

My lord, I fear you have too harshly chid her.

Her gentle nature could not brook your sternness.

She wakes, she stirs, she feels returning life.

My love![he takes her hand.

Elw. O Percy!

Dou. [starts.] Do my senses fail me?

Elw. My Percy, 'tis Elwina calls.

Dou. Hell, hell!

Raby. Retire awhile, my daughter.

Elw. Douglas here,

My father and my husband?—O for pity—

[exit, casting a look of anguish on both.

Dou. Now, now confess she well deserves my vengeance!

Before my face to call upon my foe!

Raby. Upon a foe who has no power to hurt thee—

Earl Percy's slain.

Dou. I live again.—But hold—

Did she not weep? she did, and wept for Percy.

If she laments him, he's my rival still,

And not the grave can bury my resentment.

Raby. The truly brave are still the truly gen'rous;

Now, Douglas, is the time to prove thee both.

If it be true that she did once love Percy,

Thou hast no more to fear, since he is dead.

Release young Harcourt, let him see Elwina,

'Twill serve a double purpose, 'twill at once

Prove Percy's death, and thy unchang'd affection.

Be gentle to my child, and win her heart

By confidence and unreproaching love.

Dou. By Heaven, thou counsel'st well! it shall be done.

Go set him free, and let him have admittance

To my Elwina's presence.

Raby. Farewell, Douglas.

Shew thou believ'st her faithful, and she'll prove so.[exit.

Dou. Northumberland is dead—that thought is peace!

Her heart may yet be mine, transporting hope!

Percy was gentle, even a foe avows it,

And I'll be milder than a summer's breeze.

Yes, thou most lovely, most ador'd of women,

I'll copy every virtue, every grace,

Of my bless'd rival, happier even in death

To be thus loved, than living to be scorn'd.[exit.

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