_Gui._ Without an oath I do; therefore have mercy,
And think not death could make me tremble thus;
Be pitiful to those infirmities
Which thus unman me; stay till the council's over;
If you are pleased to grant an hour or two
To my last prayer, I'll thank you as my saint:
If you refuse me, madam, I'll not murmur.
_Mar._ Alas, my Guise!--O heaven, what did I say?
But take it, take it; if it be too kind,
Honour may pardon it, since 'tis my last.
_Gui._ O let me crawl, vile as I am, and kiss
Your sacred robe.--Is't possible! your hand!
[_She gives him her hand._
O that it were my last expiring moment,
For I shall never taste the like again.
_Mar._ Farewell, my proselyte! your better genius
Watch your ambition.
_Gui._ I have none but you:
Must I ne'er see you more?
_Mar._ I have sworn you must not:
Which thought thus roots me here, melts my resolves, [_Weeps._
And makes me loiter when the angels call me.
_Gui._ O ye celestial dews! O paradise!
O heaven! O joys, ne'er to be tasted more!
_Mar._ Nay, take a little more: cold Marmoutiere,
The temperate, devoted Marmoutiere
Is gone,--a last embrace I must bequeath you.
_Gui._ And O let me return it with another!
_Mar._ Farewell for ever; ah, Guise, though now we part,
In the bright orbs, prepared us by our fates,
Our souls shall meet,--farewell!--and Io's sing above,
Where no ambition, nor state-crime, the happier spirits prove,
But all are blest, and all enjoy an everlasting love.
Pages:
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126