You have put hills of fire into this breast,
Not to be quench'd with tears; for which may
guilt

Sit on your bosoms! at your meals and beds
Despair await you! What! before my face?
Poison of asps between your lips! Diseases
Be your best issues! Nature make a curse,
And throw it on you!

Are. Dear Philaster, leave
To be enraged, and hear me.

Phi. I have done :

Forgive my passion. Not the calmed sea,
When Eolus locks up his windy brood,

Is less disturb'd than I: I'll make you know it.
Dear Arethusa, do but take this sword,
And search how temperate a heart I have;
Then you, and this your boy, may live and reign
In lust without control. Wilt thou, Bellario?
I pr'ythee kill me: thou art poor, and may'st
Nourish ambitious thoughts when I am dead:
This way were freer. Am I raging now?
If I were mad I should desire to live.
Sirs, feel my pulse: whether have you known
A man in a more equal tune to die?

Bel. Alas, my lord, your pulse keeps madman's So does your tongue.

Phi. You will not kill me, then?

Are. Kill you?

Bel. Not for a world.

Phi. I blame not thee,

[time,

Bellario: thou hast done but that, which gods
Would have transformed themselves to do. Be-
Leave me without reply; this is the last [gone;
Of all our meeting. [Exit BELLARIio.]—Kill me
with this sword;

Be wise, or worse will follow. We are two
Earth cannot bear at once. Resolve to do,
Or suffer.

Are. If my fortune be so good to let me fall
Upon thy hand, I shall have peace in death.
Yet tell me this, will there be no slanders,
No jealousy in the other world; no ill there?
Phi. No.

[Draws.

Are. Show me, then, the way. Phi. Then guide my feeble hand, You that have power to do it, for I must Perform a piece of justice!-If your youth Have any way offended Heaven, let prayers Short and effectual reconcile you to it. Are. I am prepared.

Enter a Country Fellow.

Coun. I'll see the king, if he be in the forest. I have hunted him these two hours; if I should come home and not see him, my sisters would laugh at me. I can see nothing but people better horsed than myself, that outride me; I can hear nothing but shouting. These kings had need of good brains; this whooping is able to put a mean man out of his wits. There's a courtier with his sword drawn; by this hand, upon a woman, I think.

Phi. Are you at peace?

Are. With heaven and earth.

Phi. May they divide thy soul and body! [Wounds her.

Coun. Hold, dastard, strike a woman! Thou art a craven, I warrant thee: Thou would'st be loath to play half a dozen of venies at wasters 1 with a good fellow for a broken head.

Phi. Leave us, good friend.

Are. What ill-bred man art thou, to intrude thyself

Upon our private sports, our recreations?

1 venies at wasters-bouts at cudgels.

Coun. God uds me, I understand you not;

but

I know the rogue has hurt you.

Phi. Pursue thy own affairs: It will be ill
To multiply blood upon my head;
Which thou wilt force me to.

Coun. I know not your rhetoric; but I can lay
it on, if you touch the woman. [They fight.
Phi. Slave, take what thou deservest.
Are. Heavens guard my lord!
Coun. Oh, do you breathe?

Phi. I hear the tread of people. I am hurt: The gods take part against me. Could this boor Have held me thus else? I must shift for life, Though I do loathe it. I would find a course To lose it rather by my will, than force.

[Exit PHILASTER. Coun. I cannot follow the rogue. I pray thee, wench, come and kiss me now.

Enter PHARAMOND, DION, CLEREMONT, and
Woodmen.

ACT IV.-SCENE IV.

Another part of the same.

Enter BELLARIO, and lies down.

Bel. A heaviness near death sits on my brow, And I must sleep. Bear me, thou gentle bank, For ever, if thou wilt. You sweet ones all, Let me unworthy press you: I could wish, I rather were a corse strew'd o'er with you, Than quick above you. Dulness shuts mine eyes, And I am giddy. Oh that I could take So sound a sleep, that I might never wake! [Falls asleep.

Enter PHILASTER.

Phi. I have done ill; my conscience calls me
false,

To strike at her, that would not strike at me.
When I did fight, methought I heard her pray
She may be abused,
The gods to guard me.
And I a loathed villain. If she be,
She will conceal who hurt her. He has wounds,
And cannot follow; neither knows he me.-
Who's this? Bellario sleeping? If thou be'st
Guilty, there is no justice that thy sleep
Should be so sound; and mine, whom thou hast
[Cry within.
wrong'd,
So broken. Hark! I am pursued. Ye gods,
I'll take this offer'd means of my escape:
They have no mark to know ine, but my wounds,
If she be true; if false, let mischief light

On all the world at once! Sword, print my wounds

Upon this sleeping boy! I have none, I think,
Are mortal, nor would I lay greater on thee.
(Wounds BELLARIO.
Blest be
hope, is come.

Bel. Oh! death,
that hand.
It meant me well. Again, for pity's sake!
Phi. I have caught myself:

[Falls.

come.

went.

1 followers-pursuers.

Pha. I will know

Who hired thee to this deed.
Bel. Mine own revenge.
Pha. Revenge! for what?
Bel. It pleased her to receive

Me as her page, and, when my fortunes ebb'd,
That men strid o'er them careless, she did shower
Her welcome graces on me, and did swell
My fortunes, till they overflow'd their banks,
Threat'ning the men that crost 'em; when as
swift

As storms arise at sea, she turn'd her eyes
To burning suns upon me, and did dry
The stream she had bestow'd; leaving me worse
And more contemn'd, than other little brooks,
Because I had been great. In short, I knew
I could not live, and therefore did desire
To die revenged.

Pha. If tortures can be found,
Long as thy natural life, resolve to feel
The utmost rigour.

[PHILASTER creeps out of a bush.

Cle. Help to lead him hence.

Phi. Turn back, you ravishers of innocence! Know ye the price of that you bear away So rudely?

Pha. Who's that?

Dion. 'Tis the Lord Philaster.

Phi. "Tis not the treasure of all kings in one,
The wealth of Tagus, nor the rocks of pearl
That pave the court of Neptune, can weigh down
That virtue! It was I that hurt the princess.
Place me, some god, upon a pyramid,

Higher than hills of earth, and lend a voice
Loud as your thunder to me, that from thence
I may discourse to all the under-world
The worth that dwells in him!
Pha. How's this?

Bel. My lord, some man

Weary of life, that would be glad to die.

Phi. Leave these untimely courtesies, Bellario. Bel. Alas, he's mad! Come, will you lead me on ?

Phi. By all the oaths that men ought most to
keep,

And gods do punish most when men do break,
He touch'd her not.-Take heed, Bellario,
How thou dost drown the virtues thou hast
shown

With perjury.-By all that's good, 'twas I!
You know, she stood betwixt me and my right.
Pha. Thy own tongue be thy judge.

Cle. It was Philaster.

R

Dion. Is't not a brave boy?

Well, sirs, I fear me, we were all deceived.

Phi. Have I no friend here?

Dion. Yes.

Phi. Then show it:

Some good body lend a hand to draw us nearer. Would you have tears shed for you when you die?

Then lay me gently on his neck, that there
I may weep floods, and breathe forth my spirit.
'Tis not the wealth of Plutus, nor the gold
Lock'd in the heart of earth, can buy away
This armful from me. This had been a ransom
To have redeem'd the great Augustus Cæsar,
Had he been taken. You hard-hearted men,
More stony than these mountains, can you see
Such clear pure blood drop, and not cut your

flesh

To stop his life? To bind whose bitter wounds, Queens ought to tear their hair, and with their

tears

Bathe 'em.-Forgive me, thou that art the wealth Of poor Philaster!

Enter KING, ARETHUSA, and a Guard. King. Is the villain ta'en?

Pha. Sir, here be two confess the deed; but sure It was Philaster.

Phi. Question it no more; it was.

King. The fellow, that did fight with him, will tell us that.

Are. Ah me! I know he will.

King. Did not you know him?
Are. Sir, if it was he,

He was disguised.

Phi. I was so.--Oh, my stars! That I should live still.

King. Thou ambitious fool!

Thou hast laid a train for thy own life!--
Now I do mean to do, I'll leave to talk.

Bear them to prison.

Are. Sir, they did plot together to take hence This harmless life; should it pass unrevenged, I should to earth go weeping. Grant me, then (By all the love a father bears his child), Their custodies, and that I may appoint Their tortures and their deaths.

Dion. Death? Soft! our law will not reach that for this fault.

King. 'Tis granted; take 'em to you, with a guard.

Come, princely Pharamond, this business past, We may with more security go on

To your intended match.

Cle. I pray that this action lose not Philaster the hearts of the people.

Dion. Fear it not; their over-wise heads will think it but a trick.

ACT V.-SCENE I.

[Exeunt.

MESSINA. The Court of the Palace. Enter DION, CLEREMONT, and THRASILINE. Thra. Has the king sent for him to death? Dion. Yes; but the king must know 'tis not in

his power to war with Heaven.

Cle. We linger time; the king sent for Philaster and the headsman an hour ago.

Thra. Are all his wounds well?

Dion. All; they were but scratches; but the loss of blood made him faint.

Cle. We dally, gentlemen.

Thra. Away!

Dion. We'll scuffle hard, before he perish.

[Exeunt.

Bel. Nay, good my lord, forbear; we are wondrous well.

Phi. Oh, Arethusa! oh, Bellario! Leave to be kind:

I shall be shut from heaven, as now from earth,
If you continue so. I am a man,

False to a pair of the most trusty ones
That ever earth bore: can it bear us all?
Forgive and leave me! But the king hath sent
And then forget me! And for thee, my boy,
To call me to my death; oh, show it me,
I shall deliver words will mollify
The hearts of beasts, to spare thy innocence.

Bel. Alas, my lord, my life is not a thing
Worthy your noble thoughts. 'Tis not a life;
"Tis but a piece of childhood thrown away.
Should I outlive you, I should then outlive
Virtue and honour; and, when that day comes,
If ever I shall close these eyes but once,
May I live spotted for my perjury,
And waste my limbs to nothing!

Are. And I (the woful'st maid that ever was, Forced with my hands to bring my lord to death) Do, by the honour of a virgin, swear

To tell no hours beyond it.

Phi. Make me not hated so.

Are. Come from this prison, all joyful to our deaths.

Phi. People will tear me, when they find ye true
To such a wretch as I; I shall die loath'd.
Enjoy your kingdoms peaceably, whilst I
For ever sleep forgotten with my faults!
Every just servant, every maid in love,
Will have a piece of me, if ye be true.
Are. My dear lord, say not so.
Bel. A piece of you?

He was not born of woman that can cut
It and look on.

Phi. Take me in tears betwixt you, for my
heart

Will break with shame and sorrow.

Are. Why, 'tis well.

Bel. Lament no more.

Phi. What would you have done

If you had wrong'd me basely, and had found

Your life no price, compared to mine? For love, sirs,

Deal with me truly.

Bel. 'Twas mistaken, sir.

Phi. Why, if it were?

Bel. Then, sir, we would have ask'd you pardon. Phi. And have hope to enjoy it?

Are. Enjoy it?

Phi. Would you,

deed Be plain.

Bel. We would, my lord

Phi. Forgive me, then.

Are. So, so.

Bel. 'Tis as it should be now.

Phi. Lead to my death.

ACT V.-SCENE III.

A State-room in the Palace.

[Exeunt.

Enter KING, DION, CLEREMONT, and THRASILINE.
King. Gentlemen, who saw the prince?
Cle. So please you, sir, he's gone to see the city,

1 servant-lover.

Oh, I could beat myself! or, do you beat me, And I'll beat you; for we had all one thought. Cle. No, no, 'twill but lose time.

Dion. You say true. Are your swords sharp? Well, my dear countrymen, What-ye-lacks, if you continue, and fall not back upon the first broken skin, I'll have you chronicled and chronicled, and cut and chronicled, and sung in allto-be-praised sonnets, and graved2 in new brave ballads, that all tongues shall troule3 you in sæcula sæculorum, my kind can-carriers.

Thra. What if a toy take 'em i' th' heels now, and they run all away, and cry, 'The devil take the hindmost?'

Dion. Then the same devil take the foremost too, and souse him for his breakfast! If they all prove cowards, my curses fly amongst them, and be speeding! May they have murrains rain to keep the gentlemen at home, unbound in easy frieze! May the moths branch their velvets, and their silks only be worn before sore eyes! May their false lights undo 'em, and discover presses, holes, stains, and oldness in their stuffs, and make them shop-rid! May they keep whores and horses, and break; and live mewed up with necks of beef and turnips! May they have many children, and none like the father! May they know no language but that gibberish they prattle to their parcels; unless it be the goatish Latin they write in their bonds; and may they write that false, and lose their debts!

Enter the KING.

King. Now the vengeance of all the gods confound them; how they swarm together! What a hum they raise! Devils choke your wild throats! If a man had need to use their valours, he must pay a brokage for it, and then bring 'em on, and they will fight like sheep. 'Tis Philaster, none but Philaster, must allay this heat. They will not hear me speak, but fling dirt at me, and call me tyrant. Oh, run, dear friend, and bring the lord Philaster. Speak him fair; call him prince; do him all the courtesy you can; commend me to him! Oh, my wits, my wits! [Exit CLEREMONT.

Dion. Oh, my brave countrymen! as I live, I will not buy a pin out of your walls for this. Nay, you shall cozen me, and I'll thank you; and send you brawn and bacon, and soil you every long vacation a brace of foremen, that at Michaelmas shall come up fat and kicking.

King. What they will do with this poor prince the gods know, and I fear.

Dion. Why, sir, they'll flay him, and make church-buckets on's skin, to quench rebellion; then clap a rivet in's sconce, 10 and hang him up for a sign.

Enter CLEREMONT with PHILASTER. King. Oh, worthy sir, forgive me! Do not make Your miseries and my faults meet together, To bring a greater danger. Be yourself Still sound amongst diseases. I have wrong'd

you,

And though I find it last, and beaten to it,
Let first your goodness know it. Calm the people,
And be what you were born to. Take your love,
And with her my repentance, all my wishes,
And all my prayers. By the gods, my heart
speak this;
And if the least fall from me not perform'd,
May I be struck with thunder!
Phi. Mighty sir,

I will not do your greatness so much wrong,
As not to make your word truth. Free the
princess,

And the poor boy, and let me stand the shock Of this mad sea-breach; which I'll either turn, Or perish with it.

King. Let your own word free them.

Phi. Then thus I take my leave, kissing your hand,

And hanging on your royal word. Be kingly, And be not moved, sir: I shall bring you peace, Or never bring myself back.

King. All the gods go with thee!

ACT V.-SCENE IV.

A Street.

[Exeunt.

Enter an old Captain and Citizens, with
PHARAMOND.

Cap. Come, my brave myrmidons, let us fall on! Let our caps swarm, my boys, and your nimble tongues

Forget your mother gibberish, of 'what do you lack,'

And set your mouths up, children, till your palates
Fall frighted, half a fathom past the cure
Of bay-salt and gross pepper. And then cry
Philaster! brave Philaster! Let Philaster
Be deeper in request, my ding-dongs,
My pairs of dear indentures, kings of clubs,'
Than your cold water-camlets, or your paintings
Spitted with copper. Let not your hasty silks,
Or your branch'd cloth of bodkin, or your tissues,
Dearly beloved of spiced cake and custard,
Your Robinhoods, Scarlets and Johns, tie your
affections

In darkness to your shops. No, dainty duckers,
Up with your three-piled spirits, your wrought

valours;

6

And let your uncut choler make the king feel
Cry, my rose-nobles, cry!
The measure of your mightiness. Philaster!

All. Philaster! Philaster!

Cap. How do you like this, my lord prince? These are mad boys, I tell you: these are things That will not strike their top-sails to a foist; And let a man-of-war, an argosy, Hull and cry cockles.

1 clubs-the favourite weapons of the apprentices.

2 Spitted-grossly stitched.-COTGRAVE,

cloth of bodkin (or bandkin)—the richest kind of stuff, the web being gold, and the woof silk, with embroidery. -NARES, who derives it from Bagdad.

4 Scarlet and John were two of Robin Hood's favourite

2 graved-Dyce reads bawled.

here to sing, or push about the song.

4To all eternity.'

5 toy-whim.-DYCE.

6 branch-cut into branches or figures.

7 goatish.-Gothic is another reading; goatish means rank, barbarous.

8 soil-fatten.

foremen-Dyce thinks this a cant term for geese. 10 sconce-head.

7 A rose-noble was a gold coin, originally struck in Edward 's reign, and stamped with a rose, worth 6s. 8d.; in our author's time worth far more.-WEBER. 8 foist-a small vessel with sails and oars; fuste in French. The text evidently alludes to the Lord Mayor's, or any other barge gorgeously painted, in reference to the gaudy apparel and effeminacy of Pharamond. Το cry cockles, according to Grose, is to be hanged. Hull means to float.