Though hurricanes rise, and rise every wind, Then glory, my Jeany, man plead my excuse; [Rustic Courtship.] [From the Gentle Shepherd.'-Act I.] Hear how I served my lass I love as well As ye do Jenny, and with heart as leal. Last morning I was gay and early out, Upon a dike I leaned, glowering about, I saw my Meg come linkin' o'er the lee; I saw my Meg, but Meggy saw na me; For yet the sun was wading through the mist, And she was close upon me e'er she wist; Her coats were kiltit, and did sweetly shaw Her straight bare legs that whiter were than snaw. Her cockernony snooded up fu' sleek, Her haffet locks hang waving on her cheek; Her cheeks sae ruddy, and her e'en sae clear; And oh her mouth's like ony hinny pear. Neat, neat she was, in bustine waistcoat clean, As she came skiffing o'er the dewy green. Blythsome I cried, My bonny Meg, come here, I ferly wherefore ye're so soon asteer? But I can guess, ye're gaun to gather dew.' She scoured away, and said, 'What's that to you?' Then, fare-ye-weel, Meg-dorts, and e'en's ye like,' I careless cried, and lap in o'er the dike. I trow, when that she saw, within a crack, She came with a right thieveless errand back. Misca'd me first; then bade me hound my dog, To wear up three waff ewes strayed on the bog. I leugh; and sae did she; then with great haste I clasped my arms about her neck and waist; About her yielding waist, and took a fouth Of sweetest kisses frae her glowing mouth. While hard and fast I held her in my grips, My very saul came louping to my lips. Sair, sair she flet wi' me 'tween ilka smack, But weel I kend she meant nae as she spak. Dear Roger, when your jo puts on her gloom, Do ye sae too, and never fash your thumb. Seem to forsake her, soon she'll change her mood; Gae woo anither, and she'll gang clean wud. [Dialogue on Marriage.] PEGGY and JENNY. Jenny, Come, Meg, let's fa' to wark upon this green; Peggy. Gae far'er up the burn to Habbie's How, There wash oursells-'tis healthfu' now in May, Jenny. Daft lassie, when we're naked, what'll ye say Jenny. I dinna like him, Peggy, there's an end; Peggy. Ye dash the lad wi' constant slighting pride, Hatred for love is unco sair to bide: But ye'll repent ye, if his love grow cauld- Jenny. I never thought a single life a crime. Jenny. If Roger is my jo, he kens himsell, Peggy. Be doing your wa's; for me, I hae a mind To be as yielding as my Patie's kind. Jenny. Heh lass! how can ye loe that rattle-skull! A very deil, that aye maun hae his wull; We'll soon hear tell, what a poor fechting life You twa will lead, sae soon's ye're man and wife. Peggy. I'll rin the risk, nor hae I ony fear, But rather think ilk langsome day a year, Till I wi' pleasure mount my bridal-bed, Where on my Patie's breast I'll lean my head. Jenny. He may, indeed, for ten or fifteen days, Mak meikle o' ye, wi' an unco fraise, And daut ye baith afore fouk, and your lane; But soon as his newfangledness is gane, He'll look upon you as his tether-stake, And think he's tint his freedom for your sake. Instead then o' lang days o' sweet delight, Ae day be dumb, and a' the neist he'll flyte: And maybe, in his barleyhoods, ne'er stick To lend his loving wife a loundering lick. Peggy. Sic coarse-spun thoughts as thae want pith to move My settled mind; I'm ower far gane in love. Ilk day that he's alane upon the hill, He reads fell books that teach him meikle skill. The rest seem coofs compared wi' my dear Pate. Then I'll employ wi' pleasure a' my art Jenny. Hey, Bonny lass o' Branksome! or't be lang, Clean hag-a-bag I'll spread upon his board, Your witty Pate will put you in a sang. To mak them brats, then ye maun toil and spin. Peggy. Yes, it's a heartsome thing to be a wife, To hear their little plaints, and keep them right. Can there be toil in tenting day and night Jenny. But poortith, Peggy, is the warst o' a'; steer? Dear Meg, be wise, and live a single life; Peggy. May sic ill luck befa' that silly she Jenny. But what if some young giglet on the green, Wi' dimpled cheeks and twa bewitching een, Should gar your Patie think his half-worn Meg, And her kenn'd kisses, hardly worth a feg? Peggy. Nae mair o' that-Dear Jenny, to be free, There's some men constanter in love than we : Nor is the ferly great, when nature kind Has blest them wi' solidity o' mind. They'll reason calmly, and wi' kindness smile, When our short passions wad our peace beguile : Sac, whensoe'er they slight their maiks at hame, It's ten to ane the wives are maist to blame. And serve him wi' the best we can afford; Peggy. But we'll grow auld thegither, and ne'er find Lies darned within my breast this mony a day. Peggy. Alake, poor prisoner! Jenny, that's no fair, That ye'll no let the wee thing tak the air: Haste, let him out; we'll tent as weel's we can, Gif he be Bauldy's or poor Roger's man. Jenny. Anither time's as good-for see, the sun To freath the graith-if cankered Madge, our aunt, DRAMATISTS. In The dramatic literature of this period was, like its general poetry, polished and artificial. In tragedy, the highest name is that of Southerne, who may claim, with Otway, the power of touching the passions, yet his language is feeble compared with that of the great dramatists, and his general style low and unimpressive. Addison's 'Cato' is more properly a classical poem than a drama-as cold and less vigorous than the tragedies of Jonson. comedy, the national taste is apparent in its faithful and witty delineations of polished life, of which Wycherley and Congreve had set the example, and which was well continued by Farquhar and Vanbrugh. Beaumont and Fletcher first introduced what may be called comedies of intrigue, borrowed from the Spanish drama; and the innovation appears to have been congenial to the English taste, for it still pervades our comic literature. vigorous exposure of the immorality of the stage by Jeremy Collier, and the essays of Steele and Addison, improving the taste and moral feeling of the public, a partial reformation took place of those nuisances of the drama which the Restoration had introduced. The Master of the Revels, by whom all plays had to be licensed, also aided in this work of retrenchment; but a glance at even those improved plays of the reign of William III. and his successors, will show that ladies frequenting the theatres had still occasion to wear masks, which Colley Cibber says they usually did on the first days of acting of a new play. The THOMAS SOUTHERNE. THOMAS SOUTHERNE (1659–1746) may be classed either with the last or the present period. His life was long, extended, and prosperous. He was a native of Dublin, but came to England, and enrolled himself in the Middle Temple as a student of law. He afterwards entered the army, and held the rank of captain under the Duke of York, at the time of Monmouth's insurrection. His latter days were spent in retirement, and in the possession of a considerable fortune. Southerne wrote ten plays, but only two exhibit his characteristic powers, namely, Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage, and Oroonoko. The latter is founded on an actual occurrence; Oroonoko, an African prince, having been stolen from his native kingdom of Angola, and carried to one of the West India islands. The impassioned grandeur of Oroonoko's sufferings, his bursts of horror and indignation at the slave trade, and his unhappy passion for Imoinda, are powerful and pathetic. In the following scene, the hero and heroine unexpectedly meet after a long absence: That I would have: my husband! then I am They were so great, I could not think 'em true; Imo. Oh! I believe, And know you by myself. If these sad eyes, Bland. Sir, we congratulate your happiness; I do most heartily. Lieut. And all of us: but how it comes to pass- Even More precious time than I can spare you now. Oroo. Let the fools Who follow fortune live upon her smiles; Mr Hallam says that Southerne was the first Engslaves and the cruelties of their West Indian bondage. lish writer who denounced (in this play) the traffic in This is an honour which should never be omitted in any mention of the dramatist. Isabella' is more correct and regular than Oroonoko,' and the part of the heroine affords scope for a tragic actress, scarcely inferior in pathos to Belvidera. Otway, however, has more depth of passion, and more vigorous delineation of character. The plot of 'Isabella' is simple. In abject distress, and believing her husband, Biron, to be dead, Isabella is hurried into a second marriage. Biron returns, and the distress of the heroine terminates in madness and death. Comic scenes are interspersed throughout Southerne's tragedies, which, though they relieve the sombre colouring of the main action and interest of the piece, are sometimes misplaced and unpleasant. [Return of Biron.] A Chamber-Enter ISABELLA. Isa. I've heard of witches, magic spells, and charms, That have made nature start from her old course; The sun has been eclipsed, the moon drawn down From her career, still paler, and subdued To the abuses of this under world. Enter NURSE. Nurse. Madam, the gentleman's below. This ring was the first present of my love Isa. Well, both; both well; Bir. Oh! come again; Thy Biron summons thee to life and love; Excess of love and joy, for my return, Than words could say. Words may be counterfeit, And may he prove a father to your hopes, Bir. Come, no more tears. Isa. Seven long years of sorrow for your loss Have mourned with me. Bir. And all my days to come Shall be employed in a kind recompense For thy afflictions. Can't I see my boy? Isa. He's gone to bed; I'll have him brought to you. Bir. To-morrow I shall see him; I want rest Myself, after this weary pilgrimage. Isa. Alas! what shall I get for you? Bir. Nothing but rest, my love. To-night I would not Be known, if possible, to your family: I see my nurse is with you; her welcome To-morrow will do better. Isa. I'll dispose of her, and order everything As you would have it. [Exit. Bir. Grant me but life, good Heaven, and give the means To make this wondrous goodness some amends; O! she deserves of me much more than I A father and his fortune for her love! You wretched fathers, blind as fortune all! Isa. Where have I been? Why do you keep him Weighs down the portions you provide your sons. Oh, tell me all, For every thought confounds me. Bir. My best life! at leisure all. Isa. We thought you dead; killed at the siege of Candy. Bir. There I fell among the dead; But hopes of life reviving from my wounds, I was preserved but to be made a slave. I often writ to my hard father, but never had An answer; I writ to thee too. Isa. What a world of wo Had been prevented but in hearing from you! What is your trash, what all your heaps of gold, I must not think of that; it drives me back Enter ISABella. Isa. I have obeyed your pleasure; Everything is ready for you. Bir. I can want nothing here; possessing thee, All my desires are carried to their aim Of happiness; there's no room for a wish, I know the way, my love. I shall sleep sound. Bir. By no means; I've been so long a slave to others' pride, Isa. I'll but say my prayers, and follow you. My prayers! no, I must never pray again. I promised him to follow-him! Isa. You do not know how much I could have Is he without a name? Biron, my husband My husband! Ha! What then is Villeroy? What's to be done? for something must be done. Works the right way to rid me of them all; |