No More Learning

ah, gone is he!
O Hermes! pity me!

_Tham. _ And I the noble Flood, whose tributary tide
Does on her silver margent smoothly glide;
But heaven grew jealous of our happy state,
And bid revolving fate
Our doom decree;
No more the King of Floods am I,
No more the Queen of Albion, she!
[_These two Lines are sung by Reprises
betwixt_ AUGUSTA _and_ THAMESIS.

_Aug. _ O Hermes! pity me! } _Sung by_ AUG. _and_
} THAM. _together. _
_Tham. _ O Hermes! pity me! }

_Aug. _ Behold!

_Tham. _ Behold!

_Aug. _ My turrets on the ground,
That once my temples crowned!

_Tham. _ The sedgy honours of my brows dispersed!
My urn reversed!

_Merc. _ Rise, rise, Augusta, rise!
And wipe thy weeping eyes:
Augusta! --for I call thee so:
'Tis lawful for the gods to know
Thy future name,
And growing fame.
Rise, rise, Augusta, rise.

_Aug. _ O never, never will I rise,
Never will I cease my mourning,
Never wipe my weeping eyes,
Till my plighted lord's returning!
Never, never will I rise!

_Merc. _ What brought thee, wretch, to this despair?
The cause of thy misfortune show.

_Aug. _ It seems the gods take little care
Of human things below,
When even our sufferings here they do not know.

_Merc. _ Not unknowing came I down,
Disloyal town!
Speak! didst not thou
Forsake thy faith, and break thy nuptial vow?

_Aug. _ Ah, 'tis too true! too true!
But what could I, unthinking city, do?
Faction swayed me,
Zeal allured me,
Both assured me.
Both betrayed me!

_Merc. _ Suppose me sent
Thy Albion to restore,--
Can'st thou repent?

_Aug. _ My falsehood I deplore!

_Tham. _ Thou seest her mourn, and I
With all my waters will her tears supply.

_Merc. _ Then by some loyal deed regain
Thy long-lost reputation,
To wash away the stain
That blots a noble nation,
And free thy famous town again
From force of usurpation.

_Chorus of all. _ We'll wash away the stain
That blots a noble nation,
And free this famous town again
From force of usurpation. [_Dance of the Followers of_ MERCURY.

_Aug. _ Behold Democracy and Zeal appear;
She, that allured my heart away,
And he, that after made a prey.

_Merc. _ Resist, and do not fear!

_Chorus of all. _ Resist, and do not fear!

_Enter_ DEMOCRACY _and_ ZEAL _attended by_ ARCHON.

_Democ. _ Nymph of the city! bring thy treasures,
Bring me more
To waste in pleasures.

_Aug. _ Thou hast exhausted all my store,
And I can give no more.

_Zeal. _ Thou horny flood, for Zeal provide
A new supply; and swell thy moony tide,
That on thy buxom back the floating gold may glide.

_Tham. _ Not all the gold the southern sun produces,
Or treasures of the famed Levant,
Suffice for pious uses,
To feed the sacred hunger of a saint!

_Democ. _ Woe to the vanquished, woe!
Slave as thou art,
Thy wealth impart,
And me thy victor know!

_Zeal. _ And me thy victor know.
Resistless arms are in my hand,
Thy bars shall burst at my command,
Thy tory head lie low.
Woe to the vanquished, woe!

_Aug. _ Were I not bound by fate
For ever, ever here,
My walls I would translate
To some more happy sphere,
Removed from servile fear.

_Tham. _ Removed from servile fear.
Would I could disappear,
And sink below the main;
For commonwealth's a load,
My old imperial flood
Shall never, never bear again.
A commonwealth's a load, } THAMES. _and_
Our old imperial flood, } AUG. _together. _
Shall never, never, never, bear again. }

_Dem. _ Pull down her gates, expose her bare;
I must enjoy the proud disdainful fair.
Haste, Archon, haste
To lay her waste[1]!

_Zeal. _ I'll hold her fast
To be embraced!

_Dem. _ And she shall see
A thousand tyrants are in thee,
A thousand thousand more in me!

_Archon. _ to _Aug. _ From the Caledonian shore
Hither am I come to save thee,
Not to force or to enslave thee,
But thy Albion to restore:
Hark! the peals the people ring,
Peace, and freedom, and a king.

_Chorus. _ Hark! the peals the people ring,
Peace, and freedom, and a king.

_Aug. _ and _Tham. _ To arms! to arms!

_Archon. _ I lead the way!

_Merc. _ Cease your alarms!
And stay, brave Archon, stay!
'Tis doomed by fate's decree,
'Tis doomed that Albion's dwelling,
All other isles excelling,
By peace shall happy be.

_Archon. _ What then remains for me?

_Merc. _ Take my caduceus! Take this awful wand,
With this the infernal ghosts I can command,
And strike a terror through the Stygian land.
Commonwealth will want pretences,
Sleep will creep on all his senses;
Zeal that lent him her assistance,
Stand amazed without resistance.
[ARCHON _touches_ DEMOCRACY _with a Wand. _

_Dem. _ I feel a lazy slumber lays me down:
Let Albion, let him take the crown.
Happy let him reign,
Till I wake again. [_Falls asleep. _

_Zeal. _ In vain I rage, in vain
I rouse my powers;
But I shall wake again,
I shall, to better hours.
Even in slumber will I vex him;
Still perplex him,
Still incumber:
Know, you that have adored him,
And sovereign power afford him,
We'll reap the gains
Of all your pains,
And seem to have restored him. [ZEAL _falls asleep. _

_Aug. _ and _Tham. _ A stupifying sadness
Leaves her without motion;
But sleep will cure her madness,
And cool her to devotion.

_A double Pedestal rises: on the Front of it is painted, in
Stone-colour, two Women; one holding a double-faced Vizor; the other
a Book, representing_ HYPOCRISY _and_ FANATICISM; _when_ ARCHON _has
charmed_ DEMOCRACY _and_ ZEAL _with the Caduceus of_ MERCURY, _they
fall asleep on the Pedestal, and it sinks with them. _

_Merc. _ Cease, Augusta! cease thy mourning,
Happy days appear;
God-like Albion is returning
Loyal hearts to chear.
Every grace his youth adorning,
Glorious as the star of morning,
Or the planet of the year.

_Chor. _ Godlike Albion is returning, &c.

_Merc. _ to _Arch. _ Haste away, loyal chief, haste away,
No delay, but obey;
To receive thy loved lord, haste away. [_Ex. _ ARCH.

_Tham. _ Medway and Isis, you that augment me,
Tides that increase my watery store,
And you that are friends to peace and plenty,
Send my merry boys all ashore;
Seamen skipping,
Mariners leaping,
Shouting, tripping,
Send my merry boys all ashore!

_A dance of Watermen in the King's and Duke's Liveries. _

_The Clouds divide, and_ JUNO _appears in a Machine drawn by
Peacocks; while a Symphony is playing, it moves gently forward, and
as it descends, it opens and discovers the Tail of the Peacock,
which is so large, that it almost fills the opening of the Stage
between Scene and Scene. _

_Merc. _ The clouds divide; what wonders,
What wonders do I see!
The wife of Jove! 'Tis she,
That thunders, more than thundering he!

_Juno. _ No, Hermes, no;
'Tis peace above
As 'tis below;
For Jove has left his wand'ring love.

_Tham. _ Great queen of gathering clouds,
Whose moisture fills our floods,
See, we fall before thee,
Prostrate we adore thee!

_Aug. _ Great queen of nuptial rites,
Whose power the souls unites,
And fills the genial bed with chaste delights,
See, we fall before thee,
Prostrate we adore thee!

_Juno. _ 'Tis ratified above by every god,
And Jove has firmed it with an awful nod,
That Albion shall his love renew:
But oh, ungrateful fair,
Repeated crimes beware,
And to his bed be true!

IRIS _appears on a very large Machine. This was really seen the 18th
of March, 1684, by Captain_ Christopher Gunman, _on Board his R. H.
Yacht, then in Calais Pierre: He drew it as it then appeared, and
gave a Draught of it to us. We have only added the Cloud where the
Person of_ IRIS _sits. _

_Juno. _ Speak, Iris, from Batavia, speak the news!
Has he performed my dread command,
Returning Albion to his longing land,
Or dare the nymph refuse?

_Iris. _ Albion, by the nymph attended,
Was to Neptune recommended;
Peace and Plenty spread the sails,
Venus, in her shell before him,
From the sands in safety bore him,
And supplied Etesian gales. [_Retornella. _
Archon, on the shore commanding,
Lowly met him at his landing,
Crowds of people swarmed around;
Welcome rang like peals of thunder;
Welcome, rent the skies asunder;
Welcome, heaven and earth resound.

_Juno. _ Why stay we then on earth,
When mortals laugh and love?
'Tis time to mount above,
And send Astræa down,
The ruler of his birth,
And guardian of his crown.
'Tis time to mount above,
And send Astræa down.

_Mer. Jun. Ir. _ 'Tis time to mount above,
And send Astræa down. [MER. JU. _and_ IR. _ascend. _

_Aug. _ and _Tham. _ The royal squadron marches,
Erect triumphal arches,
For Albion and Albanius;
Rejoice at their returning,
The passages adorning:
The royal squadron marches,
Erect triumphal arches
For Albion and Albanius.

_Part of the Scene disappears, and the Four Triumphal arches,
erected on his Majesty's Coronation, are seen. _

ALBION _appears,_ ALBANIUS _by his Side, preceded by_ ARCHON,
_followed by a Train, &c. _

_Full Chorus. _ Hail, royal Albion, Hail!

_Aug. _ Hail, royal Albion, hail to thee,
Thy longing people's expectation!

_Tham. _ Sent from the gods to set us free
From bondage and from usurpation!

_Aug. _ To pardon and to pity me,
And to forgive a guilty nation!

_Tham. _ Behold the differing Climes agree,
Rejoicing in thy restoration.

Entry.
_Representing the Four Parts of the World, rejoicing at the
Restoration of_ ALBION.


ACT II.

_The Scene is a Poetical Hell. The Change is total; The Upper Part
of the House, as well as the Side-Scenes. There is the Figure of_
PROMETHEUS _chained to a Rock, the Vulture gnawing his Liver;_
SISYPHUS _rolling the Stone; the_ BELIDES, _&c. Beyond, Abundance of
Figures in various Torments. Then a great Arch of Fire. Behind this,
three Pyramids of Flames in perpetual Agitation. Beyond this,
glowing Fire, which terminates the Prospect. _

PLUTO, _and the_ FURIES; _with_ ALECTO, DEMOCRACY, _and_ ZELOTA.

_Plu. _ Infernal offspring of the night,
Debarred of heaven your native right,
And from the glorious fields of light,
Condemned in shades to drag the chain,
And fill with groans the gloomy plain;
Since, pleasures here are none below,
Be ill our good, our joy be woe;
Our work to embroil the worlds above,
Disturb their union, disunite their love,
And blast the beauteous frame of our victorious foe.

_Dem. _ and _Zel. _ O thou, for whom those worlds are made,
Thou sire of all things, and their end,
From hence they spring, and when they fade,
In shuffled heaps they hither tend;
Here human souls receive their breath,
And wait for bodies after death.

_Dem. _ Hear our complaint, and grant our prayer.

_Plu. _ Speak what you are,
And whence you fell?

_Dem. _ I am thy first-begotten care,
Conceived in heaven, but born in hell.
When thou didst bravely undertake in fight
Yon arbitrary power,
That rules by sovereign might,
To set thy heaven-born fellows free,
And leave no difference in degree,
In that auspicious hour
Was I begot by thee.

_Zel. _ One mother bore us at a birth,
Her name was Zeal before she fell;
No fairer nymph in heaven or earth,
'Till saintship taught her to rebel:
But losing fame,
And changing name,
She's now the Good Old Cause in hell.

_Plu. _ Dear pledges of a flame not yet forgot,
Say, what on earth has been your lot?

_Dem. _ and _Zel. _ The wealth of Albion's isle was ours,
Augusta stooped with all her stately towers.

_Dem. _ Democracy kept nobles under.

_Zel. _ Zeal from the pulpit roared like thunder.

_Dem. _ I trampled on the state.

_Zel. _ I lorded o'er the gown.

_Dem. _ and _Zel. _ We both in triumph sate,
Usurpers of the crown.
But oh, prodigious turn of fate!
Heaven controuling,
Sent us rolling, rolling down.

_Plu. _ I wondered how of late our Acherontic shore
Grew thin, and hell unpeopled of her store;
Charon, for want of use, forgot his oar.
The souls of bodies dead flew all sublime,
And hither none returned to purge a crime:
But now I see, since Albion is restored,
Death has no business, nor the vengeful sword.
'Tis too, too much that here I lie
From glorious empire hurled;
By Jove excluded from the sky;
By Albion from the world.

_Dem. _ Were common-wealth restored again,
Thou shouldst have millions of the slain
To fill thy dark abode.

_Zel. _ For he a race of rebels sends,
And Zeal the path of heaven pretends,
But still mistakes the road.

_Plu. _ My labouring thought
At length hath wrought
A bravely bold design,
In which you both shall join.
In borrowed shapes to earth return;
Thou, Common-wealth, a Patriot seem,
Thou, Zeal, like true Religion burn,
To gain the giddy crowd's esteem. --
Alecto, thou to fair Augusta go,
And all thy snakes into her bosom throw.

_Dem. _ Spare some, to fling
Where they may sting
The breast of Albion's king.

_Zel. _ Let jealousies so well be mixed,
That great Albanius be unfixed.

_Plu. _ Forbear your vain attempts, forbear:
Hell can have no admittance there;
The people's fear will serve as well,
Make him suspected, them rebel.

_Zel. _ You've all forgot
To forge a plot,
In seeming care of Albion's life;
Inspire the crowd
With clamours loud,
To involve his brother and his wife.

_Alec. _ Take, of a thousand souls at thy command,
The basest, blackest of the Stygian band,
One, that will swear to all they can invent,
So thoroughly damned, that he can ne'er repent:
One, often sent to earth,
And still at every birth
He took a deeper stain:
One, that in Adam's time was Cain;
One, that was burnt in Sodom's flame,
For crimes even here too black to name:
One, who through every form of ill has run:
One, who in Naboth's days was Belial's son;
One, who has gained a body fit for sin;
Where all his crimes
Of former times
Lie crowded in a skin[2].

_Plu. _ Take him,
Make him
What you please;
For he can be
A rogue with ease.
One for mighty mischief born;
He can swear, and be forsworn.

_Plu. _ and _Alect. _ Take him, make him what you please;
For he can be a rogue with ease.

_Plu. _ Let us laugh, let us laugh, let us laugh at our woes,
The wretch that is damned has nothing to lose. --
Ye furies, advance
With the ghosts in a dance.
'Tis a jubilee when the world is in trouble;
When people rebel,
We frolic in hell;
But when the king falls, the pleasure is double.
[_A single entry of a Devil, followed
by an entry of twelve Devils. _

_Chorus. _ Let us laugh, let us laugh, let us laugh at our woes,
The wretch that is damned hath nothing to lose.

_The Scene changes to a Prospect taken from the middle of the
Thames; one side of it begins at York-Stairs, thence to White-Hall,
and the Mill-bank, &c. The other from the Saw-mill, thence to the
Bishop's Palace, and on as far as can be seen in a clear day. _

_Enter_ AUGUSTA: _She has a Snake in her Bosom hanging down. _

_Aug. _ O jealousy, thou raging ill,
Why hast thou found a room in lovers' hearts,
Afflicting what thou canst not kill,
And poisoning love himself, with his own darts?
I find my Albion's heart is gone,
My first offences yet remain,
Nor can repentance love regain;
One writ in sand, alas, in marble one.
I rave, I rave! my spirits boil
Like flames increased, and mounting high with pouring oil;
Disdain and love succeed by turns;
One freezes me, and t'other burns; it burns.
Away, soft love, thou foe to rest!
Give hate the full possession of my breast.
Hate is the nobler passion far,
When love is ill repaid;
For at one blow it ends the war,
And cures the love-sick maid.

_Enter_ DEMOCRACY _and_ ZELOTA; _one represents a Patriot, the
other, Religion. _

_Dem. _ Let not thy generous passion waste its rage,
But once again restore our golden age;
Still to weep and to complain,
Does but more provoke disdain.
Let public good
Inflame thy blood;
With crowds of warlike people thou art stored.
And heaps of gold;
Reject thy old,
And to thy bed receive another lord.

_Zel. _ Religion shall thy bonds release,
For heaven can loose, as well as tie all;
And when 'tis for the nation's peace,
A king is but a king on trial;
When love is lost, let marriage end,
And leave a husband for a friend.

_Dem. _ With jealousy swarming,
The people are arming,
The frights of oppression invade them.

_Zel. _ If they fall to relenting,
For fear of repenting,
Religion shall help to persuade them.

_Aug. _ No more, no more temptations use
To bend my will;
How hard a task 'tis to refuse
A pleasing ill!

_Dem. _ Maintain the seeming duty of a wife,
A modest show with jealous eyes deceive;
Affect a fear for hated Albion's life,
And for imaginary dangers grieve.

_Zel. _ His foes already stand protected,
His friends by public fame suspected,
Albanius must forsake his isle;
A plot, contrived in happy hour,
Bereaves him of his royal power,
For heaven to mourn, and hell to smile.

_The former Scene continues. _

_Enter_ ALBION _and_ ALBANIUS _with a train. _

_Alb. _ Then Zeal and Common-wealth infest
My land again;
The fumes of madness, that possest
The people's giddy brain,
Once more disturb the nation's rest,
And dye rebellion in a deeper stain.

II.

Will they at length awake the sleeping sword,
And force revenge from their offended lord?
How long, ye gods, how long
Can royal patience bear
The insults and wrong
Of madmen's jealousies, and causeless fear?

III.

I thought their love by mildness might be gained,
By peace I was restored, in peace I reigned;
But tumults, seditions,
And haughty petitions,
Are all the effects of a merciful nature;
Forgiving and granting,
Ere mortals are wanting,
But leads to rebelling against their creator.

MERCURY _descends. _

_Mer. _ With pity Jove beholds thy state,
But Jove is circumscribed by fate;
The o'erwhelming tide rolls on so fast,
It gains upon this island's waste;
And is opposed too late! too late!

_Alb. _ What then must helpless Albion do?

_Mer. _ Delude the fury of the foe,
And, to preserve Albanius, let him go;
For 'tis decreed,
Thy land must bleed,
For crimes not thine, by wrathful Jove;
A sacred flood
Of royal blood
Cries vengeance, vengeance, loud above. [MERCURY _ascends. _

_Alb. _ Shall I, to assuage
Their brutal rage,
The regal stem destroy?
Or must I lose,
To please my foes,
My sole remaining joy?
Ye gods, what worse,
What greater curse,
Can all your wrath employ!

_Alban. _ Oh Albion! hear the gods and me!
Well am I lost, in saving thee.
Not exile or danger can fright a brave spirit,
With innocence guarded,
With virtue rewarded;
I make of my sufferings a merit.

_Alb. _ Since then the gods and thou will have it so,
Go; (Can I live once more to bid thee? ) go,
Where thy misfortunes call thee, and thy fate;
Go, guiltless victim of a guilty state!
In war, my champion to defend,
In peaceful hours, when souls unbend,
My brother, and, what's more, my friend!
Borne where the foamy billows roar,
On seas less dangerous than the shore;
Go, where the gods thy refuge have assigned,
Go from my sight; but never from my mind.

_Alban. _ Whatever hospitable ground
Shall be for me, unhappy exile, found,
'Till heaven vouchsafe to smile;
What land soe'er,--
Though none so dear
As this ungrateful isle,--
O think! O think! no distance can remove
My vowed allegiance, and my loyal love.

_Alb. _ and _Alban. _ The rosy-fingered morn appears,
And from her mantle shakes her tears,
In promise of a glorious day;
The sun, returning, mortals chears,
And drives the rising mists away,
In promise of a glorious day. [_Ritornelle. _

_The farther part of the heaven opens, and discovers a Machine; as
it moves forward, the clouds which are before it divide, and shew
the person of_ APOLLO, _holding the Reins in his Hand. As they fall
lower, the Horses appear with the Rays, and a great glory about_
APOLLO.

_Apol. _ All hail, ye royal pair,
The Gods' peculiar care!
Fear not the malice of your foes;
Their dark designing,
And combining,
Time and truth shall once expose:
Fear not the malice of your foes.

II.

My sacred oracles assure,
The tempest shall not long endure;
But when the nation's crimes are purged away,
Then shall you both in glory shine;
Propitious both, and both divine;
In lustre equal to the god of day.
[APOLLO _goes forward out of sight. _

NEPTUNE _rises out of the Water, and a Train of Rivers, Tritons, and
Sea-Nymphs attend him. _

_Tham. _ Old father Ocean calls my tide;
Come away, come away;
The barks upon the billows ride,
The master will not stay;
The merry boatswain from his side
His whistle takes, to check and chide
The lingering lads' delay,
And all the crew aloud have cried,
Come away, come away.

See, the god of seas attends thee,
Nymphs divine, a beauteous train;
All the calmer gales befriend thee,
In thy passage o'er the main;
Every maid her locks is binding,
Every Triton's horn is winding;
Welcome to the watry plain!

CHACON[3].

_Two Nymphs and Tritons sing. _

Ye Nymphs, the charge is royal,
Which you must convey;
Your hearts and hands employ all,
Hasten to obey;
When earth is grown disloyal,
Shew there's honour in the sea.

_The_ CHACON _continues. _

_The Chorus of Nymphs and Tritons repeat the same Verses. _

_The_ CHACON _continues. _

_Two Nymphs and Tritons. _

Sports and pleasures shall attend you
Through all the watry plains,
Where Neptune reigns;
Venus ready to defend you,
And her nymphs to ease your pains,
No storm shall offend you,
Passing the main;
Nor billow threat in vain
So sacred a train,
'Till the gods, that defend you,
Restore you again.

_The_ CHACON _continues. _

_The Chorus repeat the same Verses,_ Sports and Pleasures _&c. _

_The_ CHACON _continues. _

_The two Nymphs and Tritons sing. _

See, at your blest returning,
Rage disappears;
The widowed isle in mourning
Dries up her tears;
With flowers the meads adorning,
Pleasure appears,
And love dispels the nation's causeless fears.

_The_ CHACON _continues. _

_The Chorus of Nymphs and Tritons repeat the same Verses,_ See at
your blest returning, _&c. _

_The_ CHACON _continues. _

_Then the Chorus repeat,_ See the god of Seas, _&c. And this
Chorus concludes the Act. _


ACT III.

_The Scene is a View of Dover, taken from the Sea. A row of Cliffs
fill up each Side of the Stage, and the Sea the middle of it, which
runs into the Pier; Beyond the Pier, is the town of Dover; On each
side of the Town, is seen a very high hill; on one of which is the
Castle of Dover; on the other, the great stone which they call the
Devil's-Drop. Behind the Town several Hills are seen at a great
distance, which finish the View. _

_Enter_ ALBION _bare-headed;_ ACACIA _or_ INNOCENCE _with him. _

_Alb. _ Behold, ye powers! from whom I own
A birth immortal, and a throne;
See a sacred king uncrowned,
See your offspring, Albion, bound;
The gifts, you gave with lavish hand,
Are all bestowed in vain;
Extended empire on the land,
Unbounded o'er the main.

_Aca. _ Empire o'er the land and main,
Heaven, that gave, can take again;
But a mind, that's truly brave,
Stands despising
Storms arising,
And can ne'er be made a slave.

_Alb. _ Unhelped I am, who pitied the distressed,
And, none oppressing, am by all oppressed;
Betrayed, forsaken, and of hope bereft.

_Aca. _ Yet still the gods, and Innocence are left.

_Alb. _ Ah! what canst thou avail,
Against rebellion armed with zeal,
And faced with public good?
O monarchs, see
Your fate in me!
To rule by love,
To shed no blood,
May be extolled above;
But here below,
Let princes know,
'Tis fatal to be good.

_Chorus of both. _ To rule by love, _&c. _

_Aca. _ Your father Neptune, from the seas,
Has Nereids and blue Tritons sent,
To charm your discontent.

_Nereids rise out of the Sea, and sing; Tritons dance. _

From the low palace of old father Ocean,
Come we in pity your cares to deplore;
Sea-racing dolphins are trained for our motion,
Moony tides swelling to roll us ashore.

II.