DRAMATIS PERSONA. MEN. WOMEN. KING HENRY. SIR TRUSTY, Keeper of the Bower. ROSAMOND. QUEEN ELINOR. PAGE. MESSENGER. GRIDELINE, Wife to Sir Trusty. Guardian Angels, &c. SCENE, WOODSTOCK PARK. ACT I. SCENE I-A prospect of Woodstock Park, terminating in the Bower. Enter QUEEN and PAGE. QUEEN. WHAT place is here! What scenes appear ! Where'er I turn my eyes, All around Enchanted ground And soft Elysiums rise: Flowery mountains, Mossy fountains, Shady woods, Crystal floods, With wild variety surprise; Caves resounding, Not a single word is lost. PAGE. There gentle Rosamond immured, QUEEN. Curse on the name! I faint, I die, 2 With secret pangs of jealousy. [Aside The comic scenes of this opera are pleasant and entertaining. Alluding to the famous echo in Woodstock Park. PAGE. There does the pensive beauty mourn, QUEEN. Death and confusion! I'm too slow- [Aside. PAGE. Great Henry there— QUEEN. Trifler, no more!— PAGE. -Great Henry there Will soon forget the toils of war. QUEEN. No more! the happy mansion show My wrath, like that of heaven, shall rise, PAGE. Behold on yonder rising ground In meanders, Ever bending, Never ending, Glades on glades, Shades in shades, QUEEN. In such an endless maze I rove, My breast with hoarded vengeance burns, With hope engage, And rule my wavering soul by turns. PAGE. The path yon verdant field divides, Which to the soft confinement guides. QUEEN. Eleonora, think betimes, What are thy hated rival's crimes! 'Tis her crime to be loved, 'Tis her crime to have charms. Let us fly, let us fly, She shall die, she shall die. I feel, I feel my heart relent, How could the fair be innocent! To a monarch like mine, my ear? PAGE. Hark, hark! what sound invades A sound of war, And fill with horror every wind. The traitress shall bleed; No pity disarm; shall be seen The revenge of a queen. SCENE II.-The entry of the Bower. SIR TRUSTY, Knight of the Bower, solus How unhappy is he, That is tied to a she, And famed for his wit and his beauty! For of us pretty fellows Our wives are so jealous, They ne'er have enough of our duty. But ah! my limbs begin to quiver, GRIDELINE and SIR TRUSTY. GRID. Faithless varlet, art thou there? SIR TR. O Grideline! consult thy glass, (Charming creature) Will convince you I am true. The spouse of such a peerless knight! SIR TR. At length the storm begins to cease, I've soothed and flattered her to peace. 'Tis now my turn to tyrannize : I feel, I feel my fury rise! GRID. Tigress, begone. -I love thee so I cannot go. SIR TR. Fly from my passion, beldame, fly! [Aside. SIR TR. Thou 'rt the plague of my life. Let us part. GRID. Will you break my poor heart? SIR TR. I will if I can. my poor heart? GRID. O barbarous man! From whence doth all this passion flow? SIR TR. Thou art ugly and old, And a villanous scold. GRID. Thou art a rustic to call me so. I'm not ugly nor old, Nor a villanous scold, But thou art a rustic to call me so. Thou traitor, adieu! SIR TR. Farewell, thou shrew! GRID. Thou traitor, BоTH. Adieu! adieu! [Exit Grid. SIR TR., solus. How hard is our fate, Who serve in the state, And should lay out our cares On public affairs; When conjugal toils, And family broils, Make all our great labours miscarry! Yet this is the lot Of him that has got Fair Rosamond's bower, With the clue in his power, And is courted by all, Both the great and the small, As principal pimp to the mighty King Harry SCENE IV. ROSAMOND and SIR TRUSTY. ROSA. From walk to walk, from shade to shade, |