_His parting from her._
Since she must go, and I must mourn, come Night,
Environ me with darkness, whilst I write:
Shadow that hell unto me, which alone
I am to suffer when my Love is gone.
Alas the darkest Magick cannot do it, 5
Thou and greate Hell to boot are shadows to it.
Should _Cinthia_ quit thee, _Venus_, and each starre,
It would not forme one thought dark as mine are.
I could lend thee obscureness now, and say,
Out of my self, There should be no more Day, 10
Such is already my felt want of sight,
Did not the fires within me force a light.
Oh Love, that fire and darkness should be mixt,
Or to thy Triumphs soe strange torments fixt?
Is't because thou thy self art blind, that wee 15
Thy Martyrs must no more each other see?
Or tak'st thou pride to break us on the wheel,
And view old Chaos in the Pains we feel?
Or have we left undone some mutual Right,
Through holy fear, that merits thy despight? 20
No, no. The falt was mine, impute it to me,
Or rather to conspiring destinie,
Which (since I lov'd for forme before) decreed,
That I should suffer when I lov'd indeed:
And therefore now, sooner then I can say, 25
I saw the golden fruit, 'tis rapt away.
Or as I had watcht one drop in a vast stream,
And I left wealthy only in a dream.
Yet Love, thou'rt blinder then thy self in this,
To vex my Dove-like friend for my amiss: 30
And, where my own sad truth may expiate
Thy wrath, to make her fortune run my fate:
So blinded Justice doth, when Favorites fall,
Strike them, their house, their friends, their followers all.
Was't not enough that thou didst dart thy fires 35
Into our blouds, inflaming our desires,
And made'st us sigh and glow, and pant, and burn,
And then thy self into our flame did'st turn?
Was't not enough, that thou didst hazard us
To paths in love so dark, so dangerous: 40
And those so ambush'd round with houshold spies,
And over all, thy husbands towring eyes
That flam'd with oylie sweat of jealousie:
Yet went we not still on with Constancie?
Have we not kept our guards, like spie on spie? 45
Had correspondence whilst the foe stood by?
Stoln (more to sweeten them) our many blisses
Of meetings, conference, embracements, kisses?
Shadow'd with negligence our most respects?
Varied our language through all dialects, 50
Of becks, winks, looks, and often under-boards
Spoak dialogues with our feet far from our words?
Have we prov'd all these secrets of our Art,
Yea, thy pale inwards, and thy panting heart?
And, after all this passed Purgatory, 55
Must sad divorce make us the vulgar story?
First let our eyes be rivited quite through
Our turning brains, and both our lips grow to:
Let our armes clasp like Ivy, and our fear
Freese us together, that we may stick here, 60
Till Fortune, that would rive us, with the deed
Strain her eyes open, and it make them bleed:
For Love it cannot be, whom hitherto
I have accus'd, should such a mischief doe.
Oh Fortune, thou'rt not worth my least exclame, 65
And plague enough thou hast in thy own shame.
Do thy great worst, my friend and I have armes,
Though not against thy strokes, against thy harmes.
Rend us in sunder, thou canst not divide
Our bodies so, but that our souls are ty'd, 70
And we can love by letters still and gifts,
And thoughts and dreams; Love never wanteth shifts.
I will not look upon the quickning Sun,
But straight her beauty to my sense shall run;
The ayre shall note her soft, the fire most pure; 75
Water suggest her clear, and the earth sure.
Time shall not lose our passages; the Spring
How fresh our love was in the beginning;
The Summer how it ripened in the eare;
And Autumn, what our golden harvests were. 80
The Winter I'll not think on to spite thee,
But count it a lost season, so shall shee.
And dearest Friend, since we must part, drown night
With hope of Day, burthens well born are light.
Though cold and darkness longer hang somewhere, 85
Yet _Phoebus_ equally lights all the Sphere.
And what he cannot in like Portions pay,
The world enjoyes in Mass, and so we may.
Be then ever your self, and let no woe
Win on your health, your youth, your beauty: so 90
Declare your self base fortunes Enemy,
No less by your contempt then constancy:
That I may grow enamoured on your mind,
When my own thoughts I there reflected find.
For this to th'comfort of my Dear I vow, 95
My Deeds shall still be what my words are now;
The Poles shall move to teach me ere I start;
And when I change my Love, I'll change my heart;
Nay, if I wax but cold in my desire,
Think, heaven hath motion lost, and the world, fire: 100
Much more I could, but many words have made
That, oft, suspected which men would perswade;
Take therefore all in this: I love so true,
As I will never look for less in you.
[Elegie. XII. _&c._ _Ed:_ Eleg. XIIII _&c._ _1635-54_ (Eleg.
XIII. _being_ Come, Fates, _&c._, _p._ 407): Elegie XIIII.
_1669:_ At her Departure. _A25:_ At his Mistris departure.
_B:_ Elegie. _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD_ (_II_)]
[1 Night, _Ed:_ night _1635-69_]
[4 Love] soule _1635-54_]
[5-44 _omit_, _1635-54_, _A25_, _B_]
[6 Thou and greate Hell _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96:_ And that
great Hell _1669_
to boot are _1669_, _H40_, _O'F:_ are nought but _P_, _S96_]
[7 thee, _Ed:_ thee _1669_]
[9 thee _H40:_ them _1669_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD_]
[10 Day, _Ed:_ Day. _1669_]
[11 felt want _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ self-want,
_1669_
sight, _Ed:_ sight _1669_]
[12 fires _H40_, _S96_, _TCD:_ fire _1669_, _P_]
[14 Or] Are _S96:_ And _TCD_
soe _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ such _1669_]
[17 the _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ thy _1669_]
[20 Through holy fear, that merits (causes _S96_) thy despight
(meriteth thy spight _P_) _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_
That thus with parting thou seek'st us to spight? _1669_]
[21 was _H40_, _S96:_ is _1669_, _P_, _TCD_]
[23 Which ... decreed, _H40_, _O'F_, _S96:_ Which (since I
lov'd) for me before decreed, _1669_, _P_, _TCD:_ Which,
since I lov'd in jest before, decreed _H-K_, _which Chambers
follows_]
[25 now, sooner _all the MSS.:_ sooner now _1669_
rapt] wrapt _1669_]
[27 a vast _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ the vast _1669_]
[29 thy self] myself _Chambers_]
[31 my own _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96:_ one _1669_
sad _1669:_ glad _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD_]
[32 fate: _Ed:_ fate. _1669_]
[33 blinded] blindest _H40_]
[34 followers _H40_, _P_, _TCD:_ favourites _1669_, _S96_]
[37 glow _H40_, _S96_, _P_, _TCD:_ blow _1669_]
[38 flame _H40_, _S96_, _P_, _TCD:_ flames _1669_]
[40 so dangerous _H40_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ and dangerous
_1669_]
[42 all, _Ed:_ all _1669_
towring _1669_, _TCD:_ towred _O'F_, _P_, _S96:_ lowering
_Grolier_
the towred husbands eyes _H40:_ the Loured, husbandes eyes
_RP31_]
[43 That flam'd with oylie _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_
Inflam'd with th'ouglie _1669_
jealousie: _Ed:_ jealousie, _1669_]
[44 with _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ in _1669_]
[45 Have we not kept our guards, _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_,
_TCD:_ Have we for this kept guards, _1669_
on _1669:_ o'r _1635-54_]
[49 most _1635-69_, _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD:_ best
_1669_]
[50 our] thy _RP31_]
[52 from our words? _1669:_ from words? _1635-54_]
[53 these secrets _MSS.:_ the secrets _1635-69_
our] thy _RP31_]
[54 Yea ... panting heart? _1635-69_, _A25:_ Yea thy pale
colours inward as thy heart? _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96_, _TCD_]
[56 sad] rude _P_, _TCD_]
[57-66 _om._ _1635-54_, _A25_, _B_]
[58 brains] beams _P:_ brain _Chambers_]
[61 Fortune, _Ed:_ fortune, _1669_
would rive us, with _H40_, _O'F_, _S96_, _TCD:_ would ruine us
with _1669_]
[62 her _H40:_ his _1669_
it] yet _1669_
bleed: _Ed:_ bleed. _1669_]
[65 Oh Fortune,] Oh fortune, _1669_, _S96:_ And Fortune _H40_,
_P_]
[66 shame. _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S96:_ name. _1669_]
[67 Do thy great worst _&c._ _1669:_ Fortune, doe thy worst
_&c._ _1635-54_ (_after_ 56 the vulgar story?)
armes, _1635-69_, _H40_, _O'F_, _P_, _S_, _TCD:_ charmes _H-K_
(_Grosart and Chambers_)]
[69 Rend us in sunder, _1669 and MSS.:_ Bend us, in sunder
_1635-54_]
[72 shifts. _1635:_ shifts, _1639-69_]
[76 Water _H40_, _P_, _TCD:_ Waters _1635-69_, _A25_, _S96_
sure. _Ed:_ sure; _1635-69_]
[77 Time] Times _H40_, _TCD_