Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Modern Theatre, Vol. 8 of 10: A Collection of Successful Modern Plays, as Acted at the Theatres Royal, London
Of providence redeem'd thee from the rage
Of savage war, and shelter'd thee within
This calm asylum. Mercia's potent Earl,
The noble Morcar, will protect thy virtues;
And, if I err not, wishes but to share
His conquests with thee.
Mat. O my friend, ofttimes
The flow'ry path that tempts our wand'ring steps
But leads to misery; what thou fondly deem'st
My soul's best comfort, is its bitterest woe.
Earl Morcar loves me. To the generous mind
The heaviest debt is that of gratitude,
When 'tis not in our power to repay it.
Ber. Oft have I heard thee say, to him thou ow'st
Thy honour and thy life.
Mat. I told thee truth.
Beneath my father's hospitable roof,
I spent my earlier, happier days, in peace
And safety: when the Norman conq'ror came,
Discord, thou know'st, soon lit her fatal torch,
And spread destruction o'er this wretched land.
The loyal Ranulph flew to William's aid,
And left me to a faithful peasant's care,
Who liv'd, sequester'd, in the fertile plains
Of rich Northumbria: There awhile I dwelt
In sweet retirement, when the savage Malcolm
Rush'd on our borders.
Ber. I remember well
The melancholy hour. Confusion rag'd
On ev'ry side, and desolation spread
Its terrors round us. How didst thou escape?
Mat. A crew of desperate ruffians seiz'd upon me,
A helpless prey: For, O! he was not there,
Who best could have defended his Matilda.
Then had I fall'n a wretched sacrifice
To brutal rage, and lawless violence,
Had not the generous Morcar interposed
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