But die I will without the leaft complaint;
My foul fhall vanifh filent as the dew.
Attracted by the fun from verdant fields:

And leaves of weeping flowers. -Come, my dear friend, Partner in fate, give me thy body in

Thefe faithful arms, and O now let me tell thee,

And you, my Lords, and Heaven my witnefs too,
I have no weight, no heaviness on my foul,
But that I've loft my dearest friend his life.

SOUTH. And I proteft, by the fame powers divine, And to the world, 'tis all my happiness,

The greatest blifs of mind yet e'er enjoy'd,
Since we must die, my Lord, to die together.
OFFICER. The Queen, my Lord Southampton, has
been pleas'd

C

To grant particular mercy to your person;
And has by us fent you a reprieve from death,
With pardon of your treafons, and commands
You to depart immediately from hence.

SOUTH. O my unguarded foul! Sure never was A man with mercy wounded fo before.

Ess. Then I am loofe to fteer my wand'ring voyage;
Like a bad veffel that has long been croft,
And bound by adverfe winds, at last gets liberty,
And joyfully makes all the fail she can

To reach its wifh'd-for-port-Angels protect
The Queen; for her my chiefest prayers

fhall be, That as in time fhe has fpar'd my noble friend,

And owns his crimes worth mercy, may she ne'er'
Think fo of me too late when I am dead

Again, Southampton, let me hold thee faft,

For 'tis my laft embrace.

SOUTH. O be lefs kind, my friend, or move lefs pity, Or I fhall fink beneath the weight of sadness!

I
And should have fmil'd to share the death of Effex..

weep that I am doom'd to live without you,

1

Ess. Ofpare this tenderness for one that needs it, i
For her that I commit to thee, 'tis all that I
Can claim of my Southampton- O my wife!
Methinks that very name should stop thy pity,
And make thee covetous of all as lost

That is not meant to her-be a kind friend
To her, as we have been to one another;
Name hot the dying Effex to thy Queen,
Left it should coft a tear, nor e'er offend her."

SOUTH. O ftay, my Lord; let me have one word more;

One laft farewell, before the greedy axe

Shall part my friend, my only friend, from me,

And Effex from himself-I know not what

Are call'd the pangs of death, but sure I am
I feel an agony that's worse than death
Farewell..

Ess. Why, that's well faid-Farewell to thee-
Then let us part, juft like two travellers,
Take diftant paths, only this difference is,
Thine is the longeft, mine the shortest way-
Now let me go-if there's a throne in heaven
For the most brave of men and best of friends,

I will bespeak it for Southampton.

SOUTH. And I, while I have life, will hoard thy memory: When I am dead, we then shall meet again.

Ess. Till then, Farewell.

SOUTH. Till then, Farewell.

CHAP. X.

EARL OF ESSEK.

JAFFIER AND PIERRE..

JAFF. By Heav'n, you ftir not!

I must be heard, I must have leave to speak!

Thou

Thou haft difgrac'd me, Pierre, by a vile blow!
Had not a dagger done thee nobler justice ?

But ufe me as thou wilt, thou canst not wrong me,
For I am fallen beneath the bafeft injuries:
Yet look upon me with an eye of mercy;

With pity and with charity behold me;

Shut not thy heart against a friend's repentance;
But, as there dwells a godlike nature in thee,
Liften with mildnefs to my fupplications.

PIER. What whining monk art thou? what holy cheat,
That would'ft incroach upon my credulous ears,
And cant'ft thus vilely? hence! I know thee not.
JAFF. Not know me, Pierre!

PIER. No, know thee not; what art thou?

JAFF. Jaffier, thy friend, thy once lov'd, valu'd friend! Tho' now deferv'dly scorn'd, and us'd moft hardly.

PIER. Thou Jaffier! thou my once lov'd, valu'd friend!
By heav'ns thou ly'ft; the man fo call'd my friend,
Was generous, honeft, faithful, juft, and valiant,
Noble in mind, and in his perfon lovely,

Dear to my eyes, and tender to my heart:
But thou a wretched, base, false, worthless coward,
Poor even in foul, and loathsome in thy aspect :
All eyes must fhun thee, and all hearts deteft thee.
Prithee avoid, nor longer cling thus round me,
Like fomething baneful, that my nature's chill'd at.
JAFF. I have not wrong'd thee; by these tears I

have not;

But still am honeft, true, and hope too, valiant;
My mind ftill full of thee, therefore ftill noble.
Let not thy eyes then fhun me, nor thy heart
Deteft me utterly: Oh! look upon me,
Look back and fee my fad, fincere fubmiffion!
How my heart fwells, as e'en 'twould burft my bofom,

Fond

Fond of its goal, and lab'ring to be at thee,

What shall I do? what say to make thee hear me? PIER Haft thou not wrong'd me ? dar'st thou call thyfelf

That once lov'd, valued friend of mine,

And swear thou haft not wrong'd me? Whence these chains ?

Whence the vile death which I may meet this moment? Whence this dishonour, but from thee, thou falfe one? JAFF. All's true; yet grant one thing, and I've done asking.

JAFF. To take thy life on fuch conditions

The council have propos'd thou and thy friend
May yet live long, and to be better treated..

PIER. Life! ask my life! confefs! record myself A villain for the privilege to breathe,

And carry up and down this curfed city
A difcontented and repining fpirit,
Burdenfome to itself, a few years longer,

To lofe it, may be, at laft, in a lewd quarrel

For fome new friend, treacherous and false as thou art! No, this vile world and I have long been jangling,

And cannot part on better term's than now,

When only men like thee are fit to live in't.
JAFF. By all that's juft

PIER. Swear by fome other powers,

For thou haft broken that facred oath too lately.

JAFF. Then by that hell I merit, I'll not leave thee,

Till to thyfelf at least thou'rt reconcil'd,

However thy refentment deal with me. ::

PIER. Not leave me!

JAFF. No; thou fhalt not force me from thee;

Ufe me reproachfully, and like a flave;

Tread on me, buffet me, heap wrongs on wrongs

On

On my poor head; I'll bear it all with patience; brot
I'll weary out thy most unfriendly crueltys
Lie at thy feet and kifs 'em, tho' they fpurn me,
Till wounded by my fufferings thou relent, î
And raise me to thy arms with dear forgiveness...
PIERS Art thou not

PIER. A coward, a moft fcandalous coward,
Spiritlefs, void of honour, one who has fold
Thy everlasting fame for fhameless life Pens

7

JAFF. All, all, and more, much more: my faults care numberless.

PIER. And would'ft thou have me live on terms like.

JAFF. No; 'tis to me that's granted : The fafety of thy life was all I aim'd at,

In recompenfe for faith and trust fo broken.

PIER. I fcorn it more, because preferv'd by thee: And as when firft my foolish heart took pity On thy misfortunes, fought thee in thy miferies, Reliev'd thy wants, and rajs'd thee from thy state Of wretchedness, in which thy fate had plung'd thee, To rank thee in my lift of noble friends; All I receiv'd in furety, for thy truth,

Were unregarded oaths, and this, this dagger,

Given with a worthlefs pledge thou fince haft ftol'n :
So I restore it back to thee again;

Swearing by all thofe powers which thou haft violated,
Never from this curs'd hour to hold communion,
Friendship, or intereft with thee, tho' our years

Were