Amintas a pastoral acted at the Theatre Royal / made English out of Italian from the Aminta of Tasso by Mr. Oldmixon.

SCENE I.

Elpinus, Chorus.

Elpin.

OH Love! how rigid are thy Laws? How much must all that once subject Themselves to thee, endure before They taste the promis'd joy? Who, who would not have curst thy power, Rebell'd against thy sway, and sought Some other way to bliss? if poor Amintas had not scap'd the deaths Thy usage tempted him to seek. Ev'n we, who have ador'd thee long With much fidelity and zeal; We, who have rais'd thy name above All other Gods, to whom we make Our own Apollo yield; should then Have taught our Children to forget Thy worship, and forsake thy Temples. But now that our Amintas lives, We'll, if 'tis possible, forget Thy Cruelty, to bless thy Care.

Chorus.

The Sage Elpinus comes and talks As if Amintas were alive: Ah Shepherd! didst thou know the things Which we have heard to day; the ills That Love has brought on all, thou wouldst Have little reason to forget His Cruelty, or bless his Care.

Elpin.

Rejoyce, my friends, rejoice, the news You heard is false; Amintas lives.

Chor.

Ah! what, Eipinus, dost thou say? How dost thou comfort us? Is't false?

Did he not fling himself but now From yonder Hill among the Rocks? Ah! tell us how he was preserv'd? what pow'r, What God was by, to save him at his fall?

Elpin.

Hear then what I shall say, no more Than I have with these eyes beheld. I've in the Desart Vale a Cave, Where Thyrsis came to mc to day, Where, while we talkt of that proud Nymph Whose Fetters formerly he wore, And I at present wear, we heard A voice, and lookt up tow'rds the hill; Whence, down the Precipice, we saw A Body tumble on a Bush. Just by my Cave, and near the Mount, A few tall Bushes rise from Box, And other Trees, which all unite In one; on these we saw him fall: But, carry'd by the Body's weight, He rowl'd off thence, and at our feet Fell next; the Bushes sav'd the blow So much, we took him up alive. He was yet speechless, and 'twas long E're we had any other signs Of Life, besides his sighs and groans, which shew'd Us that he breath'd: But, oh! When we perceiv'd who 'twas, what tongue Can tell the fright which we were in? Pity and wonder struck us dumb: Yet thinking by his breath, he might Still live, we were a little calm'd.

Chor.

Oh wonderful Escape! Oh thou Hadst cause, Elpinus, to applaud The Care and Providence of Love.

Elp.

Thyrsis then told me what had past, The secret of his Love, and how Despair had hurry'd him to this. We fetch'd the Remedies we had At hand, and for Alfibeus sent,

Who by Apollo has been taught The Art of Physick; when he came, He told us quickly, there were hopes. And as we wept to see him still Lye speechless in his arms he said We should not be surpriz'd at that; For, having searcht him well, he found No wounds, nor any thing which might With reason make us fear: 'Tis true, He said he might be some time in a Trance, But after would recover soon. And having then perform'd his Art, He order'd men to bear him home, Who at a little distance hence, Are coming with our Friend.

Chorus.

What Fools are men in Love? how apt To be deceiv'd, how ready oft To joyn with those they love to cheat themselves? What mischiefs have their false despairs, And groundless hopes begot? How near Was poor Amintas rash mistake, Depriving us of what we all Expected in our time to see, The grace and pleasure of these woods?

Elp.

Alfibeus with his charge appears, And in his Looks we may discern, How much Amintas. safely glads His soul as well as ours.