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FALDONI AND TERESA.
By MR. JERNINGHAM.
IS IT IN HEAV'N A CRIME TO LOVE TOO WELL? POPE.
A NEW EDITION.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. ROBSON, BOOKSELLER, NEW BOND-STREET. M DCC LXXIII.
ADVERTISEMENT.
[]The following poem is founded on a very ſingular Event that happened near Lyons in the month of June 1770—Two Lovers (FALDONI and TERESA MEUNIER) meeting with an invincible obſtacle to their union, determined to put an end to their exiſtence with piſtols. The place they choſe for the execution of their terrible project was a chapel that ſtood at a little diſtance from the houſe. They even decorated the altar for the occaſion: they alſo paid a particular attention to their own dreſs: TERESA was dreſſed in white, with roſe-coloured Ribbands: The ſame coloured Ribbands were tied to the piſtols. Each held the Ribband that was faſtened to the other's trigger, which they drew at a ſignal agreed upon.
Arria and Paetus (ſays Monſieur de Voltaire) ſet the example, but then it muſt be conſidered they were condemned to death by a tyrant, whereas love was the only inventor and perpetrator of the deed we have recorded—See Queſtions ſur L'Encyclopedie, Articles De caton et de ſuicide—See alſo a book entitled Les Tableaux by the Marquis de Pezai.
FALDONI AND TERESA,
[]TO you, ye ſons of France, the Muſe appeals,
To vouch the truth of what ſhe now reveals:
Say, have ye not beheld what love can dare,
When torn with grief, and prompted by deſpair.
Still urg'd by pity ye bewail their doom,
Still to the traveller ye mark the tomb,
Where ſleep, from tyrant laws, and ſorrows free,
The youthful victims of their own decree.
All-ruling Love, the God of Youth, poſſeſs'd
Entire dominion of FALDONI's breaſt:
An equal flame did ſympathy impart,
(A flame deſtructive) to TERESA's heart:
[2]As on one ſtem two opening flowers reſpire,
So grew their life (entwin'd) on one deſire:
Yet leſt their hopes parental power ſhould blaſt,
Still o'er their love her veil Concealment caſt:
Near to the manſion, on a ſecret ſpot,
(Meet haunt for lovers) roſe a ſylvan grot:
True to the ſtated moment ſtill they came,
Here breath'd the vow, here fed the mutual flame;
Here form'd to liſt'ning Heaven the firm reſolve,
Which power, nor fate averſe, ſhou'd e'er diſſolve:
This grot the confident of ev'ry fear,
This kind receſs that boſom'd ev'ry tear,
Where oft the impaſſion'd ſoul they did aſſuage,
Urg'd by a warmth congenial to their age,
Still they devoted to the pow'r above,
And fondly call'd the Temple of their Love.
Once as they haſten'd to this ſtill retreat,
The mutual object of their wiſh to meet,
FALDONI ſaw the beauteous maid diſtreſs'd,
Her cheek with terror and alarm impreſt:
[3]Saw rais'd to Heav'n her ſupplicating eyes,
As if to deprecate the vengeful ſkies:
'Ah ſpeak (he cried) with anxious wonder fraught,
'What undivided care employs thy thought?'
In accents ſuited to the ſtrain of woe,
TERESA thus indulg'd her thoughts to flow:
'The cloud, which long has threaten'd to deſtroy,
'With rage redoubled burſts upon our joy:
'Ev'n thro' the friendly veil Concealment wove,
'There are who mark'd the progreſs of our love:
'To pity dead, and Nature's ſtronger claim,
'A father—Whence does he uſurp that name?
'Ah had thine eyes beheld the cruel ſcene,
'As with indignant and tremendous mien,
'While to his mercy kneeling I applied,
'With barb'rous hand he flung me from his ſide,
'And bad me—Oh inſenſible of heart!
'Far from his angry preſence to depart,
'Unleſs—Can I pronounce his dread demand?
'I wou'd from thee withdraw this plighted hand:
[4]'Behold me baniſh'd from my native home,
'To thee a hapleſs fugitive I come,
'Bent to the ground beneath Misfortune's ſhow'r,
'Affliction's bride, a father's curſe my dow'r:
'Yet why complain! ſtill happy in thy love,
'What more can earth beſtow, or Heaven above?
'For this are daughters born, (FALDONI cried)
'To fall the victims of parental pride!
'When nature, youth, and ſympathy unite,
'Say, ſhall a father's voice forbid the rite?
'Shall he, with cruel and relentleſs hands,
'O'erthrow the altar? tear the nuptial bands?
'But thou with love and virtue ſhall combine,
'To break the law that bids thee not be mine:
'Still ſhall the lov'd TERESA be my bride:
'Not Fortune's gifts to which thou art allied,
'In my attachment claim'd their venal part,
'I fought what love requires, a tender heart:
'Tho' wreck'd, deſpoil'd, of Fortune's golden ſtore,
'Rich only in thy heart, I prize thee more.
[5]'With me aſcend yon Alpinean height,
'Let Italy's bright ſun illume our flight,
'There, haply there, at our diſaſtrous tale,
'In ſome kind breaſt compaſſion may prevail!
'In vain—for buſy apprehenſion ſtill
'Alarms my love, and traverſes my will:
'Worn with the labours of the length'ning way,
'Should'ſt thou ſink down to wearineſs a prey:
'If in that moment, by thy father led,
'Of Ruſſians thou ſhould'ſt hear the thund'ring tread,
'What wou'd my rage, by love impell'd, avail,
'If, as the coward numbers ſhou'd prevail,
'(Thou moſt ador'd, thou bleſt with every charm)
'They ſtill ſhou'd tear thee from this vanquiſh'd arm,
'Not all their cruelty (the fair rejoin'd)
'Shall ever boaſt a conqueſt o'er my mind,
'Ne'er ſhall they wreſt this heart, ſtill uncontrol'd,
'From Conſtancy's embrace, and Paſſion's hold:
'If to the law that bids me not be thine,
'One more ſevere, a father, ſhou'd adjoin,
[6]'To reſcue ſtill my ſoul from that diſtreſs,
'A thought, enboſom'd in this heart's receſs,
'Shou'd, riſing into act—Ah ſpare the reſt!—
'Say can't thy fancy my reſolve ſuggeſt?—
'This poniard—
'Greatly thought (the youth reply'd)
'Be bolder ſtill, and let my voice decide:
'The ills to come, why tremblingly await?
'Ah rather meet inevitable fate!
'Let us, ſince life, with foul and haggard mien,
'Holds to our wiſhes but a deſert ſcene,
'To Death's dread region urge our daring way,
'And quit the aſpect of the living day.
'I give (ſhe cry'd) this breaſt, 'tis thine, to bleed,
'Ah more than give, I glory in the deed:
'Unfold the means—the inſtruments prepare—
'All, all that daring Love can do, I dare.
[7]
The youth rejoin'd: 'When o'er the ſilent world
'The hand of Darkneſs has her veil unfurl'd:
'When thro' her mid career the Night has run,
'Shall, warranted by Love, a deed be done,
'Which not the records of Diſtreſs can ſhow,
'Thro' the long page of love-created woe:
'The ſacred wall of this ſequeſter'd ſpot,
'That's doom'd to witneſs our unhappy lot,
'Shall (an eternal monument) proclaim
'Affection's triumph, and parental ſhame.
'Ev'n to the tomb, where ſorrow ſhall repoſe,
'Where Pity's hand our aſhes ſhall encloſe,
'Her num'rous train poſterity ſhall lead,
'And to her children thus unfold the deed:
'Here (hallow'd ſpot) Love's martyrs reſt ſecure;
'Ah! what they ſuffer'd may ye ne'er endure:
'But why to vain diſcourſe thus idly give
'The precious moments—while I talk we live.'
The ſtated hour at length approaching near,
Th' unhappy youth beheld, devoid of fear:
[8]See to the grot the faithful maid repair,
Prepar'd to act the counſel of deſpair.
With eager arms he ſtrain'd her to his breaſt,
And thus the purpoſe of his ſoul expreſs'd.
'See rear'd by me yon ſacred altar ſtands,
'Adorn'd with lights, and dreſs'd with flow'ry bands:
'See near the croſs (in ſilken chains array'd)
'The ready inſtruments of Death diſplay'd:
'Nor pale regret, nor doubt, the coward's train,
'Shall dare the orgies of this night profane:
'But intrepidity, that life diſdains,
'And breaks, Oh Prejudice! thy pow'rful chains:
'With Confidence, that lifts her raptur'd eye,
'To meet the future bleſſings of the ſky,
'And chearfulneſs, white-veſted as a bride,
'With blue-ey'd Pleaſure walking at her ſide,
'Delightful band! ſhall to yon altar move,
'To celebrate the feſtival of Love.
'But ſay, TERESA, do theſe eyes miſlead?
'Or doſt thou tremble at the hallow'd deed?
[9]'Yes, treach'rous fear, thy troubled aſpect pales,
'Ah loſt FALDONI!—thy companion fails:
'Wil't thou, departing from thy firſt deſign,
'Submit to live?—yet will I not repine:
'Shall at my voice that beauty ceaſe to bloom?
'And does my love condemn thee to the tomb?
'Shal't thou in flow'r of youth reſign thy life,
'And ſmile in death to be FALDONI's wife?
'The baſe, th'ungen'rous wiſh I now diſown,
'FALDONI acts the tragic ſcene alone:
'In pity leave me to my own deſpair,
'Nor ſtay to witneſs what thou muſt not ſhare:
'Return—thy preſence my reſolve diſarms,
'Return—and bleſs an aged father's arms:
'Tell him the youth, by beauty's charm beguil'd,
'Who taught rebellion to his only child,
'Urg'd by that fatal paſſion is no more,
'Slain by his hand, and welt'ring in his gore!
'Oh! dire reſolve, (the heart-pierc'd mourner cries)
'Joy ſinks for ever when FALDONI dies:
[10]'Yet, yet reflect—reverſe the cruel doom—
'Still let me ſnatch thee from the youthful tomb:
'There faithful Love reſigns his ſacred fires,
'Remembrance ſickens, and bright hope expires.
In vain (he added) life unfolds her charms
'While ſhe with-holds thee from theſe widow'd arms:
'Depriv'd of thee the world's a deſert ſhore,
'Round which the ſurges beat and tempeſts roar:
''Tis wiſdom then to launch into the main,
'And ſeek the clime where happier ſeaſons reign:
'Enough—may length of days and joy be thine,
'Let truth, let conſtancy, and death be mine.'
The fair, indignant ſaid—'Too haſty youth,
'He who ſuſpects firſt breaks the law of truth!
'Did not this boſom, firſt by paſſion taught,
'Conceive, unprompted, the intrepid thought?
'Did not this voice firſt ſpeak the bold decree,
'To periſh rather than be falſe to thee?
[11]'Mark how theſe hands have deck'd this little form,
'To grace the rites I'm deſtin'd to perform;
'Behold me now impatient, ſelf-decreed,
'The gaudy victim at Love's ſhrine to bleed.
'Thou glory of thy ſex, (the youth replied)
'O'erwhelm'd and loſt in paſſion's ruſhing tide,
'My ſenſe was drown'd—now to thy merit juſt,
'Ev'n to thy courage, as thy love I truſt.
'That courage welcomes (ſpoke the beauteous maid)
'This terror-ſhedding ſcene, for death array'd:
'Yet then Religion acts her rigid part,
'Forbear ſhe cries, and damps the boldeſt heart:
'Methinks I view wide op'ning at my feet,
'Form'd by an angry God, the direful ſeat:
'Now, now I hear infernal voices call,
'And from the gulph fiends beckon us to fall:
'Ev'n as I haſten'd to this bleſs'd retreat,
'The vow that love had witneſs'd to compleat,
[12]'The darken'd air ſent forth a voice unknown,
'That ſhriek'd my name—the foreſt breath'd a groan—
'Ill-omen'd birds acroſs my paſſage flew,
'And frighten'd Nature ſhudder'd at my view.
'To airy nothing give (the youth rejoin'd)
'From whence they ſprung, theſe ſpectres of the mind:
'Ah! know meek homage can that God aſſuage,
'And turn to clemency awaken'd rage:
'What he the moſt requires, thou can'ſt impart,
''Tis Virtue's offering, an unſpotted heart.
'Let us implore him at yon altar's baſe,
'To bleſs our deed with his abſolving grace:
'Which as the ſun, whoſe vivifying ray,
'Gilds the dark cloud that wou'd obſcure the day,
'Will gild within the dark'ning thoughts that roll,
'And beautify the purpoſe of our ſoul:
'Then ſhall the hoſt of ſaints at Virtue's call,
'Behold our act, and conſecrate our fall.'
He ſpoke—when guided by a rage divine,
Th'enthuſiaſt led her to the ſacred ſhrine:
[13]Then, as their bended knee the ground impreſs'd,
He thus aloud the throne of grace addreſs'd:
'Thou who did'ſt form our mutual hearts to glow,
'With all the feelings that the tender know,
'Behold us by a parent's voice with-held,
'From rites connubial, and from joy expell'd:
'Free of remorſe, the guilty feel, we die,
'To thee from woes and tyrant-laws we fly:
'Ah from our fears remove thy vengeful rod,
'And be at once our Father and our God.'
Now, on the fair, FALDONI caſt his eye,
While half-ſuppreſs'd aroſe compaſſion's ſigh:
'Prepare (he ſaid) the tragic ſcene to cloſe,
'And ſhun the fate that iron-hearts impoſe:
'Yet, when I think, if ſtern parental pow'r
'Had to our wiſhes giv'n the nuptial hour,
'Life might have wing'd its way ſupremely bleſt,
'By fortune favour'd, and by love careſt:
'Ah wonder not theſe tears unbidden flow,
'That round thy form theſe arms encircling grow;
[14]'That not ev'n Wiſdom's dictates can control,
'The grief that harrows up my bleeding ſoul.
'Yet will I not too laviſhly complain,
'A future world may recompence our pain.
'Ah! in that world ſhou'd we, too bleſt, rejoin,
'No father there ſhall traverſe Love's deſign:
'Thee to my hope ſhou'd fav'ring Heav'n beſtow,
'Ah! let us love as we have lov'd below.
'Tho' flatt'ring Hope (ſhe ſaid) inform your breaſt
'This boſom owns not ſuch a welcome gueſt:
'Tho' Paſſion's torch illume the path we tread,
'Drear is the paſſage to the ſilent dead:
'Yet not the leſs do I conſent to ſteer
'Thro' this tremendous ſea of doubt and fear:
'The dread omniſcient pow'r, who rules above,
'Still ſees my fears ſubjected to my love.
'I go—whate'er that pow'r ſhall now ordain,
'To view thy bliſs, or to divide thy pain.
Lo near the inſtruments of death they ſtand!
To which they reach a bold determin'd hand:
[15]'Oh unexampled fair (FALDONI ſaid)
'To life's pale confines by thy lover led,
'Think not theſe engines deſtin'd to deſtroy,
'Ah rather deem them hallow'd keys of joy!
'Whoſe magic pow'r, to ſcreen from future woes,
'Eternity's bright portal ſhall uncloſe!
'Then ſhall TERESA from each care releas'd
''Mid angels take her radiant ſeat'—
He ceas'd.
'Yet ere (ſhe cried) we meet th' impending doom,
'Yet ere we ſink into th' untimely tomb,
'Let me, reclining on that tender heart,
'The farewell accents of my love impart:
'—Methinks we ſtand beneath Death's hov'ring pall
'Paſs one ſhort moment and we both muſt fall:
'One moment—and dire ruin ſhall deface,
'Sent from this thund'ring tube, each living grace;
'That form, which ſtill I view, ſhall know decay,
'And all that beauty be the grave-worm's prey:
'Diſtracting thought—Who ſpoke the dread command?
'Who with this fiery weapon arm'd this hand?—
[16]'Born by the torrent of diſtreſs away,
'My loſt afflicted thoughts from reaſon ſtray:
'Forgive this weakneſs—worthy ſtill of thee
'I'm ſtill prepar'd to fall at Love's decree.
See now FALDONI draw aſide the veſt,
And to the ſight reveal his naked breaſt:
As if, impatient to embrace his fate,
He griev'd one inſtant had prolong'd his date:
This ſcene the firmneſs of her mind appalls
And all her wonted tenderneſs recalls.
'Is it for me that breaſt with blood to ſtain
'And pierce that heart with agonizing pain?
'That feeling heart—where ev'ry virtue glows?
'Where I poſſeſs the rank that love beſtows?
'The voice of Nature ſure forbids the deed:
'Ne'er ſhall FALDONI by this engine bleed,
'On me, on me it now ſhall act its part,
'(She ſaid) and boldly held it to her heart.
[17]FALDONI ſwiftly ſeiz'd her daring hand,
And ſpoke—'Ah what has thy diſtraction plann'd?
'The ſacred plan, that Love ordain'd, recall:
'Slain by each other's willing arm to fall.
'Now heav'n methinks with our reſolve conſpires,
'And o'er yon tapers ſheds the pureſt fires:
'Gives to yon twining wreaths a brighter bloom
'And o'er the cenſor breaths divine perfume:
'While, myſtic emblems of eternal day,
'Above the altar lambent glories play.'
She added—'faithful to thy juſt demand,
'I'll now direct this death-entruſted hand:
'And now at length I take the parting view,
'Ah! now theſe lips pronounce the laſt adieu:
'FALDONI, Oh my treaſure! Oh my pride!
'In life, in love, in death to me allied!
'May ſaints prepare the garland for thy brow—
'Farewell—to yonder conſcious ſhrine I vow,
'This voice which faintly pours its cloſing ſtrain,
'Shall never utter thy fond name again.'
[18]They now approach to give the fatal wound,
While trembling Expectation hovers round:
One ſolemn moment they reſerve to pray'r.
And now the dire exploſion rends the air,
They fall—and to the awful pow'r above,
Reſign the tortur'd ſoul of hopeleſs love.
Unhappy victims! tho' cold reaſon hear,
Your mournful ſtory with unheeding ear:
Tho' pious zealots at your death exclaim,
Still ſacred Pity conſecrates your name:
Ev'n ſtern Religion as ſhe ſees you bleed,
Lets fall a tear, and half-abſolves the deed.
FINIS.
- Citation Suggestion for this Object
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 3386 Faldoni and Teresa By Mr Jerningham. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5AB2-6