in short, my part of this Adventure. In order to acquit myself of the
Charge you laid upon me in your Absence, I went last night, just as
'twas dark, to view the several Approaches of the House where you had
left your Wife; and I observ'd not far from one of the back Doors, two
Persons in close eager Conference: I was disguis'd, so ventur'd to
pass near 'em, and by a Word or two I heard, I found 'twas _Guzman_
talking to _Jacinta_. My Concern for your Honour, made me at first
resolve to call him to an immediate Account. But then reflecting that
I might possibly over-hear some Part of their Discourse, and by that
judge of _Leonora_'s Thoughts, I rein'd my Passion in; and by the help
of an advancing Buttress, which kept me from their Sight, I learnt the
black Conspiracy. Don _Guzman_ said, he had great Complaint to make;
and since his honourable Love had been so ill return'd, he could with
ease forgive himself, if by some rougher Means he should procure, what
Prayers and Tears and Sighs had urg'd in vain.
Don _Ped._ Go on.
Don _John._ His kind Assistant clos'd smoothly with him, and inform'd
him with what ease that very Night she'd introduce him to her Chamber.
At last, they parted, with this Agreement, that at some Overture in a
Wall, he should expect her to inform him when _Leonora_ was in Bed, and
all the Coast was clear.
Don _Ped._ Dispatch the rest--Is't possible after all he should be
innocent!
Don _John._ I must confess the Resolution taken, made me tremble
for you: How to prevent it now and for ever, was my next Care. I
immediately order'd _Lopez_ to go lie at Don _Felix_'s, and to open me
the Door when all the Family were in Bed. He did as I directed him.
I enter'd, and in the dark found my way to _Leonora_'s Apartment. I
found the Door open, at which I was surpriz'd. I thought I heard some
stirring in her Chamber, and in an Instant heard her cry for Aid. At
this I drew, and rush'd into the Room, which _Guzman_, alarm'd at,
cry'd out to her Assistance. His ready Impudence, I must confess, at
first quite struck me speechless; but in a Moment I regain'd my Tongue,
and loud proclaim'd the Traitor.
Don _Ped._ Is't possible?
Don _John._ Yet more: your Arrival hindring me at that Time from taking
Vengeance for your Wrong, I at this Instant expect him here, to punish
him (with Heaven's righteous Aid) for daring to attempt my Ruin with
the Man, whose Friendship I prefer to all the Blessings Heaven and
Earth dispense. And now, Don _Pedro_, I have told you this, if still
you have a Mind to take my Life, I shall defend it with the self-same
Warmth I intended to expose it in your Service.
[_Draws._
Don _Ped._ [_Aside._] If I did not know he was in love with _Leonora_,
I could be easily surpriz'd with what he has told me. But--But yet 'tis
certain he has destroyed the Proofs against him; and if I only hold him
guilty as a Lover; why must Don _Guzman_ pass for innocent? Good Gods,
I am again returning to my Doubts!
Don _John._ [_Aside._] I have at last reduc'd him to a Balance, but one
Lye more tost in, will turn the Scale.
_To Don ~Ped.~_] One Obligation more, my Friend, you owe me; I thought
to have let it pass, but it shall out. Know then, I lov'd, like you,
the beauteous _Leonora_; but from the Moment I observ'd how deep her
Dart had pierc'd you, tore my Passion from my bleeding Heart, and
sacrific'd my Happiness to yours. Now, I have no more to plead; if
still you think your Vengeance is my due, come pay it me.
Don _Ped._ Rather ten thousand Poignards strike me dead! O _Alvarada_!
can you forgive a wild distracted Friend? Gods! Whither was my jealous
Frenzy leading me? Can you forget this barbarous Injury?
Don _John._ I can: No more. But for the future, think me what I am, a
faithful and a zealous Friend.--Retire, and leave me here. In a few
Moments I hope to bring you further Proofs on't. _Guzman_ I instantly
expect, leave me to do you Justice on him.
Don _Ped._ That must not be. My Revenge can ne'er be satisfy'd by any
other Hand but this.
Don _John._ Then let That do't. You'll in a Moment have an Opportunity.
Don _Ped._ You mistake; he won't be here.
Don _John._ How so?
Don _Ped._ He has not had your Challenge. His Sister intercepted it,
and desired I wou'd come to prevent the Quarrel.
Don _John._ What then is to be done?
Don _Ped._ I'll go and find him out immediately.
Don _John._ Very well: Or hold----[_Aside._] I must hinder 'em from
talking. Gossiping may discover me. Yes: let's go and find him: Or, let
me see----Aye,----'twill do better.
Don _Ped._ What?
Don _John._ Why----That the Punishment should suit the Crime.
Don _Ped._ Explain.
Don _John._ Attack him by his own Laws of War--'Twas in the Night he
would have had your Honour, and in the Night you ought to have his Life.
Don _Ped._ His Treason cannot take the Guilt from mine.
Don _John._ There is no Guilt in fair Retaliation. When 'tis a Point
of Honour sounds the Quarrel, the Laws of Sword-Men must be kept, 'tis
true: But if a Thief glides in to seize my Treasure, methinks I may
return the Favour on my Dagger's Point, as well as with my Sword of
Ceremony six Times as long.
Don _Ped._ Yet still the nobler Method I wou'd choose; it better
satisfies the Vengeance of a Man of Honour.
Don _John._ I own it, were you sure you shou'd succeed: But the Events
of Combats are uncertain. Your Enemy may 'scape you: You perhaps may
only wound him; you may be parted. Believe me, _Pedro_, the Injury's
too great for a Punctilio Satisfaction.
Don _Ped._ Well, guide me as you please, so you direct me quickly to my
Vengeance. What do you propose?
Don _John._ That which is as easy, as 'tis just to execute. The Wall he
passed, to attempt your Wife, let us get over to prevent his doing so
any more. 'Twill let us into a private Apartment by his Garden, where
every Evening in his amorous Solitudes he spends some Time alone, and
where I guess his late fair Scheme was drawn. The Deed done, we can
retreat the Way we enter'd; let me be your Pilot, 'tis now e'en dark,
and the most proper Time.
Don _Ped._ Lead on; I'll follow you.
Don _John._ [_Aside._] How many Villanies I'm forc'd to act, to keep
one secret!
[_Exeunt._
+SCENE+, _Don. ~Guzman~'s Apartments._
_Don ~Guzman~, sitting solus._
With what Rigour does this unfaithful Woman treat me! Is't possible it
can be me, who appeared to love me with so much Tenderness? How little
stress is to be laid upon a Woman's Heart! Sure they're not worth
those anxious Cares they give. [_Rising._] Then burst my Chains, and
give me Room to search for nobler Pleasures. I feel my Heart begin to
mutiny for Liberty; there is a Spirit in it yet, will struggle hard for
Freedom: but Solitude's the worst of Seconds. Ho! _Sancho_, _Galindo_,
who waits there? Bring some Lights.--Where are you?
_Enter ~Galindo~, rubbing his Eyes, and drunk._
_Galin._ I can't well tell. Do you want me, Sir?
Don _Guz._ Yes, Sir, I want you. Why am I left in the dark? What were
you doing?
_Gal._ Doing, Sir! I was doing----what one does when one sleeps, Sir.
Don _Guz._ Have you no Light without?
_Galin._ [_Yawning._] Light!----No, Sir,----I have no Light. I'm us'd
to Hardship, I can sleep in the dark.
Don _Guz._ You have been drinking, you Rascal, you are drunk.
_Gal._ I have been drinking, Sir, 'tis true, but I am not drunk. Every
Man that is drunk, has been drinking, confess'd. But every Man that has
been drinking, is not drunk.----Confess that too.
Don _Guz._ Who is't has put you in this Condition, you Sot?
_Galin._ A very honest Fellow: Madam _Leonora_'s Coachman, nobody else.
I have been making a little debauch with Madam _Leonora_'s Coachman;
yes.
Don _Guz._ How came you to drink with him, Beast?
_Gal._ Only _per_ Complaisance, Sir. The Coachman was to be drunk upon
Madam's Wedding; and I being a Friend, was desired to take Part.
Don _Guz._ And so, you Villain, you can make yourself merry, with what
renders me miserable.
_Galin._ No, Sir, no; 'twas the Coachman was merry; I drank with Tears
in my Eyes. The remembrance of your Misfortunes made me so sad, so sad,
that every Cup I swallow'd was like a Cup of Poison to me.
Don _Guz._ Without doubt.
_Galin._ Yes; and to mortify myself upon melancholy Matters, I believe
I took down fifty; yes.
Don _Guz._ Go fetch some Lights, you drunken Sot, you.
_Galin._ I will, if I can find the [_Feeling for the Door and running
against it._] Door, that's so say----The Devil's in the Door; I think
'tis grown too little for me----Shrunk this wet Weather, I presume.
[_Ex. ~Galin~._
_Don ~Guzman~ alone._
Absence, the old Remedy for Love, must e'en be mine: to stay and brave
the Danger, were Presumption: Farewel _Valencia_, then, and farewel,
_Leonora_. And if thou can'st, my Heart, redeem thy Liberty, secure it
by a Farewel eternal to her Sex.
_Re-enter ~Galindo~ with a Candle, he falls, and puts
it out._
_Galin._ Here's light, Sir----So,----
Don _Guz._ Well done. You sottish [_Passing angrily into another
Chamber._] Rascal, come no more in my Sight.
[_Ex. Don ~Guz~._
_Galin._ These Boards are so uneven----You shall see now I shall
neither find [_Rising and feeling about for the Candle._] the
Candle----nor the Candlestick; It shan't be for want of searching,
however.
----O ho, have I got you? Enough, I'll look for your Companion
to-morrow.
_Enter Don ~Pedro~ and Don ~John~._
Don _Ped._ Where are we now?
Don _John._ We are in the Apartment I told you of----Softly----I hear
something stir----Ten to one but 'tis he.
_Galin._ Don't I hear, somewhat?----No----when one has Wine in one's
Head, one has such a bustle in one's Ears.
Don _Pedro._ [_To Don ~John~._] Who is that is talking to himself?
Don _John._ 'Tis his Servant, I know his Voice, keep still.
_Galin._ Well; since my Master has banished me his Sight, I'll redeem
by my Obedience, what I have lost by my Debauch. I'll go sleep twelve
Hours in some melancholy Hole where the Devil Shan't find me; yes.
[_Exit ~Galindo~._
Don _John._ He's gone; but hush, I hear somebody coming.
Don _Guz._ Ho there! will nobody bring Light?
[_Behind the Scene._
Don _Ped._ 'Tis _Guzman_.
Don _John._ 'Tis so, prepare.
Don _Ped._ Shall I own my Weakness? I feel an inward Check; I wish this
could be done some other way.
Don _John._ Distraction all! Is this a Time to balance? Think on the
Injury he would have done you, 'twill fortify your Arm, and guide your
Dagger to his Heart.
Don _Ped._ Enough, I'll hesitate no more; be satisfy'd; hark! he's
coming.
_Don ~Guzman~ passes the Stage._
Don _Guz._ I think these Rogues are resolved to leave me in the dark
all Night.
[_Exit Don ~Guz~._
Don _John._ Now's your Time, follow him and strike home.
Don _Ped._ To his Heart, if my Dagger will reach it.
[_Don ~Pedro~ follows him._
Don _John._ [_Aside._] If one be kill'd, I'm satisfy'd; 'tis no great
Matter which.
_Re-enter Don ~Guzman~, Don ~Pedro~ following him,
with his Dagger ready to strike._
Don _Guz._ [_Aside._] My Chamber Door's lock'd, and I think I hear
somebody tread----Who's there?----Nobody answers. But still I hear
something stir. Hola there! _Sancho_, are you all drunk? Some Lights
here, quickly.
[_Exit._
_Don ~Guzman~ passes by the Corner where ~Don John~ stands,
and goes of the Stage; Dan ~Pedro~ following him, stabs
Don ~John~._
Don _Ped._ [_Aside._] I think I'm near him now:----Traitor, take that,
my Wife has sent it thee.
Don _John._ Ah, I'm dead!
Don _Ped._ Then thou hast thy Due.
Don _John._ I have, indeed; 'tis I that have betray'd thee.
Don _Ped._ And 'tis I that am reveng'd on thee for doing it.
Don _John._ I wou'd have forc'd thy Wife.
Don _Ped._ Die then with the Regret to have fail'd in thy Attempt.
Don _John._ Farewel, if thou can'st forgive me--
[_Dies._
Don _Ped._ I have done the Deed, there's nothing left but to make our
Escape. Don _John_, where are you? Let's begone, I hear the Servants
coming.
_~Lopez~ knocks hard at the Door._
_Lop._ Open there quickly, open the Door.
Don _Ped._ That's _Lopez_, we shall be discover'd. But 'tis no great
Matter, the Crime will justify the Execution; but where's Don _John_?
Don _John_, where are you?
_~Lopez~ knocks again._
_Lop._ Open the Door there, quickly. Madam, I saw 'em both pass the
Wall; the Devil's in't if any good comes on't.
_Leo._ I am frightened out of my Senses: ho, _Isabella_!
Don _Ped._ 'Tis _Leonora_. She's welcome. With her own Eyes let her see
her _Guzman_ dead.
_Enter Don ~Guzman~, ~Leonora~, ~Isabella~, ~Jacinta~ and
~Lopez~, with Lights._
Don _Ped._ Ha! what is't I see? _Guzman_ alive? Then who art thou?
[_Looking on Don ~John~._
Don _Guz._ _Guzman_ alive! Yes, _Pedro_, _Guzman_ is alive.
Don _Ped._ Then Heaven is just, and there's a Traitor dead.
_Isabella weeps._] Alas, Don _John_!
_Lop._ [_Looking upon Don ~John~._] _Bonus Nocius._
Don _Guz._ What has produced this bloody Scene?
Don _Ped._ 'Tis I have been the Actor in't;----my Poignard, _Guzman_,
I intended in your Heart.----I thought your Crime deserv'd it: but I
did you wrong, and my Hand in searching the Innocent, has by Heaven's
justice been directed to the Guilty. Don _John_, with his last Breath,
confess'd himself the Offender.--Thus my Revenge is satisfied, and you
are clear'd.
Don _Guz._ Good Heaven, how equitable are thy Judgments!
Don _Ped._ [_To ~Leo~._] Come, Madam, my Honour now is satisfied, and
if you please my Love may be so too.
_Leo._ If it is not,
_You to yourself alone shall owe your Smart,
For where I've given my Hand, I'll give my Heart._
[Illustration]
EPILOGUE,
Spoken by Mrs. _Oldfield_.
_What say you, Sirs, d'ye think my Lady'll 'scape?
'Tis dev'lish hard to stand a Fav'rite's Rape.
Shou'd ~Guzman~, like Don ~John~, break in upon her,
For all her Virtue, Heaven have Mercy on her:
Her Strength, I doubt, 's in his Irresolution,
There's wond'rous Charms in vig'rous Execution.
Indeed you Men are Fools, you won't believe
What dreadful Things we Women can forgive:
I know but one we never do pass by,
And that you plague us with eternally;
When in your courtly Fears to disoblige,
You won't attack the Town which you beseige:
Your Guns are light, and planted out of Reach:
D'ye think with Billet-doux to make a Breach?
'Tis Small-Shot all, and not a Stone will fly:
Walls fall by Cannon, and by firing nigh:
In sluggish dull Blockades you keep the Field,
And starve us ere we can with Honour yield.
In short----
We can't receive those Terms you gently tender,
But storm, and we can answer our Surrender._
=END of the FIRST VOLUME=
+PLAYS+ printed for =T. Lowndes=,
at 6d. each.
A Bramule, by Dr. Trapp
Adventures of Half an Hour
Albion and Albanius, by Dryden
Alchymist, by Ben Johnson
Alcibiades, by Otway
All for Love, by Dryden
Ambitious Step-mother, by Rowe
Amboyna, by Dryden
Amphitryon, by Dryden
Anatomist, by Ravenscroft
Anna Bullen, by Bankes
As You Like It, by Shakespeare
Artful Husband, by Taverner
Athaliah, by Mr. Duncomb
Aurengzebe, by Dryden
Bartholomew Fair, by Ben Johnson
Baffet Table, by Centlivre
Beaux Stratagem, by Farquhar
Beggar's Opera, by Gay
Biter, by Rowe
Bold Stroke for a Wife
British Enchanters, by Lansdown
Busiris, by Dr. Young
Busy Body, by Centlivre
Caius Marius, by Otway
Careless Husband, by Cibber
Catiline, by Ben Johnson
Cato, by Addison
Chances, by D. Buckingham
Chaplet, by Mr. Mendez
Cleomenes, by Dryden
Cobler of Preston
Comedy of Errors, by Shakespeare
Conscious Lovers, by Cibber
Committee, by Sir R. Howard
Confederacy, by Vanbrugh
Conscious Lovers, by Steele
Constant Couple, by Farquhar
Contrivances, by Carey
Country Lasses, by B. Johnson
Country Wife, by Wycherly
Cymbeline, altered by Mr. Garrick
Damon and Phillida, by Mr. Dibdin
Devil of a Wife
Devil to Pay, by Coffey
Distressed Mother, by Am. Philips
Don Carlos, by Otway
Double Dealer, by Congreve
Double Gallant, by Cibber
Dragon of Wantley
Drummer, by Addison
Duke and no Duke, by Sir A. Cockain
Duke of Guise, by Dryden
Earl of Essex, by Bankes
Every Man in his Humour
Fair Penitent, by Rowe
Fair Quaker of Deal, by C. Shadwell
False Friend
Fatal Curiosity
Fatal Secret, by Theobald
Fiora, or Hob in the Well
Fox, by Ben Johnson
Friendship in Fashion, by Otway
Funeral, by Sir R. Steele
Gamesier, by Mrs. Centlivre
Gentle Shepherd
George Barnwell, by Lillo
Gloriana
Greenwich Park
Hamlet, by Shakespeare
Henry IV. 2 Parts, by ditto
Henry V. by ditto
Henry VI. 3 Parts, by ditto
Henry VIII. by ditto
Henry V. by Aaron Hill
Honest Yorkshireman
Jane Gray, by Rowe
Jane Shore, by Rowe
Inconstant, by Farquhar
King John, by Shakespeare
King Lear, by ditto
King Lear, by Tate
Limberham, by Dryden
Love for Love, by Congreve
Love in a Mist
Love in a Tub, by Etherege
Love makes a Man, by C. Cibber
Love's Last shift, by Cibber
Lying Lover, by Steele
Macbeth, by Shakespeare
Man of Mode, by Etherege
Marianne, by Fenton
Measure for Measure, by Shakespeare
Merchant of Venice, by Shakespeare
Mistake, by Vanbrugh
Mourning Bride, by Congreve
Much ado about Nothing
Mustapha, by Lord Orrery
Nonjurer, by C. Cibber
Oedipus, by Dryden
Old Bachelor, by Congreve
Oroonoko, by Southern
Orphan, by Otway
Othello, by Shakespeare
Perjured Husband
Perolla and Isidora, by C. Cibber
Phædra and Hippolitus, by Smith
Pilgrim, by Beaumont and Fletcher
Polly, by Mr. Gay
Prophetess, by Beaumont
Provok'd Husband, by C. Cibber
Provok'd Wife, by Vanbrugh
Recruiting Officer, by Farquhar
Refusal, by Cibber
Rehearsal, by of Buck.
Relapse, by Vanbrugh.
Revenge, by Dr. Young.
Richard III. by C. Cibber.
[Illustration]
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
errors.
Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
Enclosed unitalicized font in ~tildes~.
Enclosed unitalicized small cap font in =equals=.
Enclosed letter-spaced characters in +plus signs+.