Murphy, Arthur (1727-1805)

The Orphan of China, A Tragedy

Printed for P. Vaillant

London

1759

"How my heart burns within me!"

ZAMTI.
How my heart burns within me!--Oh! my friends,
Call now to mind the scene of desolation,
Which Timurkan, in one accursed hour,
Heap'd on this groaning land.--Ev'n now I see
The savage bands, o'er reeking hills of dead,
Forcing their rapid way.--I see them urge
With rage unhallow'd to this sacred temple,
Where good Osmingti, with his queen and children,
Fatigu'd the Gods averse.--See where Arphisa,
Rending the air with agonizing shrieks,
Tears her dishevell'd hair: Then, with a look
Fix'd on her babes, grief choaks its passage up,
And all the feelings of a mother's breast
Throbbing in one mix'd pang, breathless she faints
Within her husband's arms.--Adown his cheek,
In copious streams fast flow'd the manly sorrow;
While clust'ring round his knees his little offspring,
In tears all-eloquent, with arms outstretch'd,
Sue for parental aid.--
(III, p. 42)

Fire::Burning

LION

First performed April 21, 1759. 10 entries in ESTC (1759, 1761, 1763, 1772, 1787, 1797).

Text from The Orphan of China, A Tragedy, As It Is Perform'd at the Theatre-Royal, in Drury-Lane. (London: Printed for P. Vaillant, 1759).

11/18/2013