[_As she is at the Toilet, he looks over her shoulder,
and sees her Face in the Glass_.
_Let_. Go you first, Sir, I will but stay to say my Prayers,
which are that Heaven wou’d deliver me. [_Aside_.
Sir _Feeb_. Say thy Prayers!--What, art thou mad! Prayers upon thy
Wedding-night! a short Thanksgiving or so--but Prayers quoth a--’Sbobs,
you’ll have time enough for that, I doubt--
_Le_. I am asham’d to undress before you, Sir; go to Bed--
Sir _Feeb_. What, was it asham’d to shew its little white Foots, and its
little round Bubbies--well, I’ll go, I’ll go--I cannot think on’t, no I
cannot--
[_Going towards the Bed_, Bellmour _comes forth from between
the Curtains, his Coat off, his Shirt bloody, a Dagger in his
hand, and his Disguise off_.
_Bel_. Stand--
Sir _Feeb_. Ah--
_Let_. and _Phil_. [_squeak_]--Oh, Heavens!
--why, is it _Bellmour_? [_Aside to_ Phil.
_Bel_. Go not to Bed, I guard this sacred Place,
And the Adulterer dies that enters here.
Sir _Feeb_. Oh--why do I shake?--sure I’m a Man, what art thou?
_Bel_. I am the wrong’d, the lost and murder’d _Bellmour_.
Sir _Feeb_. O Lord! it is the same I saw last night--Oh!--hold thy
dread Vengeance--pity me, and hear me--Oh! a Parson--a Parson--what
shall I do--Oh! where shall I hide my self?
_Bel_. I’th’ utmost Borders of the Earth I’ll find thee--
Seas shall not hide thee, nor vast Mountains guard thee:
Even in the depth of Hell I’ll find thee out,
And lash thy filthy and adulterous Soul.
Sir _Feeb_. Oh! I am dead, I’m dead; will no Repentence save me? ‘twas
that young Eye that tempted me to sin; Oh!--
_Bel_. See, fair Seducer, what thou’st made me do;
Look on this bleeding Wound, it reach’d my Heart,
To pluck my dear tormenting Image thence,
When News arriv’d that thou hadst broke thy Vow.
Sir _Feeb_. Oh Lord! oh! I’m glad he’s dead though.
_Let_. Oh, hide that fatal Wound, my tender Heart faints with a Sight
so horrid! [_Seems to Weep_.
Sir _Feeb_. So, she’ll clear her self, and leave me in the Devil’s
Clutches.
_Bel_. You’ve both offended Heaven, and must repent or die.
Sir _Feeb_. Ah,--I do confess I was an old Fool,--bewitcht with Beauty,
besotted with Love, and do repent most heartily.
_Bel_. No, you had rather yet go on in Sin:
Thou wou’dst live on, and be a baffled Cuckold.
Sir _Feeb_. Oh, not for the World, Sir! I am convinc’d and mortifi’d.
_Bel_. Maintain her fine, undo thy Peace to please her, and still be
Cuckol’d on,--believe her,--trust her, and be Cuckol’d still.
Sir _Feeb_. I see my Folly--and my Age’s Dotage--and find the Devil was
in me--yet spare my Age--ah! spare me to repent.
_Bel_. If thou repent’st, renounce her, fly her sight;--
Shun her bewitching Charms, as thou wou’dst Hell,
Those dark eternal Mansions of the dead--
Whither I must descend.
Sir _Feeb_. Oh--wou’d he were gone!--
_Bel_. Fly--be gone--depart, vanish for ever from her to some more safe
and innocent Apartment.
Sir _Feeb_. Oh, that’s very hard!--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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